Sylvester glanced down at his body as it was still being formed. He could see that there were no internal organs anymore, and that confused him. "What am I?"

"You are not human, nor a God."

Sylvester mused over Nehilius' words as he saw his normal body form itself around him as if nothing had happened. Heck, he could even make clothes for himself at will, since magic felt like a mere second thought now. Creation and Destruction—that was all he needed to will anything to come into existence.

"What is a god, then?" He asked.

Nehilius responded in kind, seemingly in a great mood since his chosen heir overcame the tormenting trial that he hadn't planned initially. "The moment you can obliterate my consciousness from this realm and take its ownership—You will become a god."

"Am I as strong as Solis?"

"No, not even close," Nehilius responded. "Different from myself, they are beings who are in the true sense… gods. Mere possession of boundless power does not ascend one to godhood, Sylvester Maximilian."

"Then what am I? I don't feel like I have any organs in me. It's more like a whirling storm of energy within me. Do I still need to sleep or eat? Can I simply absorb your physical body now? How strong am I?" Sylvester questioned him since he couldn't put a grade to his power.

'Still a Supreme Wizard? That shouldn't be the case,' he felt.

"Venture forth, and the truth shall reveal itself."

"Trial and error, then?" Sylvester was used to deducing Nehilius' meaning by now. "Before I try, what was the reason for the previous evolution if I was going to lose my physical body no matter what?"

"This path, Sylvester Maximilian, was not the one I originally destined for you. The trial you have conquered was ordained for your fourth evolution. Yet, by your overseer's intervention, this course was set," Nehilius responded with unwavering truth. "Henceforth, most of the limiters on your physical being have been unshackled. The onus now rests upon your shoulders to chart the course of your ascension. As the reservoir of magic and energy within you swells, so too shall your strength expand."

"Solis?" Sylvester asked quickly.

"Indeed."

'Why did he meddle this time? The last time I talked with him, he didn't show much interest in helping me,' Sylvester questioned silently. 'Did something change?'

"Do not delve too profoundly. The mind of a god is beyond mortal grasp. A realm understood only when mortal feet walk on the same divine path."

"Well, in that case, I'll try to explore this new… body," Sylvester replied, flying towards Nehilius' hand that he had previously cut to eat. "Since Creation and Destruction is the base, I should be able to deconstruct your body into energy for me to absorb."

Nehilius said nothing and silently observed everything. His body was dead anyway, and it was unknown how he was alive just as a mere voice and thought.

"Hmm…" Sylvester placed his palm on the remaining piece of Nehilius' finger. The deep purple flesh of the dead Eldritch God was still warm as if he was living. But it held no blood or bones. "Not easy… But not impossible."

It was a vastly slow process as he could feel Nehilius' flesh disintegrating into invisible particles, and he could directly absorb them. But now, since he didn't have any veins or muscles, the change was different. It was pure energy that was being absorbed into him—something he could use at any moment.

'Is this what gods are? Vessels of boundless energy? Then there should be a limit to how much they can hold.' Sylvester wondered through the whole process. 'How much must the Primordial Gods have?'

It was a time-consuming process but a step in the right direction. Sylvester was able to remove an entire finger from the massive body, something that had taken him almost a year previously. "This will greatly help, no doubt. But I have to return for now and meet with my family. What must I gather for the next evolution?"

"Yourself," Nehilius said. "What's left to gather is one's own might. Once you are strong enough and have consumed my entire body, you will be ready for the next evolution."

'An indefinite goal.' Sylvester sighed. 'It could take months or decades, and I'll never know how far I have to go… There goes my plan for peace.'

"You shall sense it… Especially after your oncoming adventure. Be well, and be wise, Sylvester Maximilian. I, whose sight extends only within my dominion, am blind to the realms beyond. Yet, the realm you are destined for harbors its own deities, perhaps even a Primordial God. The shield bestowed upon you by the noble sacrifice of Marcus Aurelius shall wane in that foreign world."

lightsΝοvel "I expected that much," Sylvester resolutely replied. "I don't know what's going to happen, but it's going to be a constant uphill battle as soon as I enter that portal."

"May good fortune favor you, Sylvester Maximilian."

Sylvester stared at the creature's body and sighed. "Forgive me if I can't bring myself to trust you, Nehilius, since that is my nature. Perhaps you still hold some evil scheme hidden behind this veil of nobility, but still, thank you for this gift of knowledge and power."The ancient being didn't respond in words and simply pushed Sylvester away outside his realm and towards the door that led to the outside world. In no time, Sylvester opened the door and left, leaving Nehilius alone to ponder.

"Despite being an Eldritch God, I succumbed to the fear of a higher existence. You, despite being a mere mortal, dare to show resistance—You have my respect."

…

"I don't feel anything different." Sylvester exited the Pope's Palace, stood under the open sky, and took a long breath. He didn't notice his chest heaving since there were no lungs anymore. "Better not inform anyone about this for now."

Clank!

"May the Holy Light enlighten us!"

Sylvester glanced and noticed a soldier saluting stiffly, standing in his full-bodied armor with a lance. "May you be enlightened. How long do you stand here on guard?"

"..." The knight was speechless as he didn't expect the Pope to actually talk to him. "I… I stand for twelve hours dutifully, Your Holiness!"

"Really?"

"F-Forgive me, Your Holiness! I will stand here for longer and do more work."

"What? No, I think twelve hours is a lot. Perhaps a monthly eight-hour cycle will do better. It's a waste to utilize knights for guard duty all the time. You'll never gain field experience otherwise." Sylvester said as he continued to mutter to himself and decided. "Alright, I shall send the proposal to the Deputy Pope. Be well, my friend."

Seeing it was already evening, and the sun had vanished, Sylvester walked towards his home to have dinner, the final one, as he had decided to journey to the south conventionally while ensuring everything was normal.

Knock! Knock!

"Maxy!"

The door opened, and it was none other than Miraj, who was hanging on the doorknob as it rested in his mighty cute jaw, his wings fluttering to aid the door's swing.

'He's like a forever happy, excited little kid.' Sylvester caught the furry cat and closed the door behind.

"What did you do at home since morning?"

"I made cookies with Big Mum and played hide and seek with Ella,"lights

Sylvester's brows rose. "Hide and seek? But she can't see you."

"Oh, I tied a bell on my neck and hid. But she always shouted funny jokes that made me laugh, and the bell would ring. I think I'm bad at hide and seek, Maxy," Miraj depressingly revealed. "The haunting squishes… I can still feel them."

"Is that so?" Sylvester grinned and squeezed Miraj. "What about my squishies?"

"Nyoooo…" Like a boneless creature, Miraj slipped out and flew towards the ceiling. "Only Big Mum can squish me."

"Why?"

"Because she combs my spoiled fur afterward."

"I can comb you too, Chonky."

"Nyo! You're not gentle, and my fur is precious."

Sylvester scoffed and stepped in the air before grabbing the cat again. "You're just biased because she's Mum. Come here now. Let me squish you."

"Ummm… Nyo!"

"Welcome back." Xavia came out of the kitchen, hearing all that commotion. "How was your day?""Otherworldly… What's for dinner?"

"Everything that you like," Xavia replied, pulling him into the dining area. Ella and Rex were already there, helping Xavia put the plates on the table. Meanwhile, Zeke was in the kitchen, flipping meat patties.

"It sure is lively here." Sylvester took a seat and waited for everyone else to join him. With warmth in his heart and warmth in the room, he felt at peace in the only place he truly considered home—the small apartment. Seeing Ella run around with a wide smile on her face was a victory in itself.

'How many more kids like her got to smile in this world because of the work we all put in.' He wondered and couldn't help but feel relaxed at last. 'I wish you were here to see all this, Sir Dolorem.'

"Happy birthday, Father!"

"What?!" Sylvester exclaimed as Ella brought a small cake all of a sudden, with twenty-eight candles on it. "Really? What's the day today?"

Rex sighed and placed a knife beside the cake. "Old man, you're losing memory already?"

"You want homework?"

"Ah… Forgive this little boy, Big Brother!" Rex changed his tone in a heartbeat.

"Go ahead, blow on it." Xavia stood beside him on the right, while tall Zeke stood behind her with a massive face, ready to clap like a little kid. Ella sat on the chair on his other side, with Rex beside her. And Chonky, as always, was planted on his head with his greedy drool, almost on the verge of falling.

'This is…' Sylvester smiled faintly, feeling a little too emotional, and blew on the candles. 'If wishes do come true—May we all find warm peace devoid of any enemies in this life.'

"It's present time!" Rex bellowed immediately after and ran away to bring over the box he had prepared. "Open it, Godfather. I spent my month's allowance on it."

"What is it?" Amused, Sylvester unwrapped the wooden box covered with paper and looked. "A painting? Of all of us?"magic

"Yes!" Rex exclaimed. "That old man Loveland is expensive, but I made him paint it. It's you, Grandma Xavia, Ella, Zeke, Xylena, and even Chonky… Oh, there's that sword at the back as well. It's the one old man Sir Dolorem used."

Not just that, Sylvester noticed more details in the background. 'That old Loveland… He added the conical hat of Lord Inquisitor as well… and so many more details.'

"I like it. Let's put it on a wall here." Sylvester got up from his seat and placed it in the living room.

Afterward, Zeke came forward and presented a dagger. "Zeke made this."

'When did he learn weapon crafting?'

"Thank you, my brother. I'll make sure to use it and gut heathens with it." Sylvester placed it in his side pocket and looked at Ella, who shyly came with a small palm-sized box. "What's this?"

"I-I made this for your mission."

Instead of explaining it, Ella allowed Sylvester to open the box and find the marvel of a machine inside.

He gasped and put it on. "A wristwatch… It shows not only the day and month but also the year… It must have taken a lot of fine crafting and calculations to make!"

She proudly raised her chin. "That other world could have different seasons, day and night cycles. I made this so you can keep track of time back home."

'This girl… I didn't even think about this before.' Sylvester amusedly stared at the prodigy and went ahead to pat her head.

"As for me, I made you a hand-made sweater, since you can buy the world with the money you have." Xavia came forward with a beautiful red woolen sweater with golden words on the chest saying 'POPE'. It was cute and funny.

He wasted no time and wore it. "I'll cherish this with my life. Let's eat now!"

Quickly, the cake was divided into pieces, and the food was put on the plates. Relishing the delicate dishes, they all merrily chatted and ate.

"Sorry, Maxy," Miraj whispered sadly into Sylvester's ears. "I didn't get you a present."

"No, Chonky… I think I already got the best present I could hope for." Sylvester simply smiled.

"Where, Maxy?"

"You all are my greatest present."

_________________

Thank you for the Castle, Prolegy

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