Lower World
It was a dark summer night.
The moon and the stars lit up the sky with their pale glow.
They reigned untouched and sovereign over the night for countless years and they intended to continue this way until the end of time.
But then came a challenger.
A blue fire meteor broke through the barrier between the higher and lower realms. Its fire was far beyond what anyone could withstand.
It brazenly struck down the stars in its path, creating a black void in the sky, and then tore a piece from the face of the moon before heading toward the planet it orbited.
The blue fire meteor touched the atmosphere of this world and immediately incinerated it, creating a hole in the ozone layer.
It pierced the clouds and plummeted toward the ground, colliding with it and leaving a fierce scar in its wake, its ravenous flames gradually weakening. But not before consuming everything nearby.
It could be weakened. But never killed before consuming everything and everyone around it.
At the impact site, a sea of lava formed around the meteor.
But then the meteor revealed its true form.
It was not made of stone or metal, but of flesh and bone, cloaked in feathers that seemed like a rift in reality.
This was Thieving Bird, the thief of the gods.
The closest to becoming the True God of Lightning.
***
It was an ordinary day in the countryside, in a quiet and utterly peaceful village.
A young man, nearly of age, was whistling as he worked the fields. He was eager to finally become an adult, having dreamed for many years of heading toward Orario and the Tower of Babel.
He was very proud of his physical strength and robust muscles. He always chose the most strenuous tasks to give himself the best start in the future.
At this point, he was already envied for his physical strength and overwhelming potential. He would easily be recruited by many Familias.
"I wonder how much a sword from the Hephaestus Familia costs? Hmm, probably pretty expensive, right? Well, I can always make more money once I get there!" he said excitedly.
The young man had saved a lot of money over many years for this very moment, and that moment was quickly approaching.
He constantly asked himself questions like that, daydreaming about all the adventures he would live through, the girls he would win over, the magical items and gold he would one day possess.
Humming, he moved along with his sickle, harvesting wheat, never once noticing what was right in front of him…
The Thieving Bird gaze locked on him.
Its giant red eye stared at him with a bloodthirsty glow.
The divine bird, in its true form, had fallen from the sky like a meteor, leaving a trail tens of kilometers long upon impact, destroying everything in its path.
The fire he emitted was so hot that it reduced atoms to pure energy instantly. Its feathers burned intensely, crackling with a furious sound.
And yet no one noticed it.
The Thieving Bird was known by Its capability to be unperceived. Eventually the damage would be noticed by gods and mortals, but not before he left.
'As expected… there's a limit to how much I can endure... my foundation is weak… Luckily, there's a substitute here.' the bird sighed. Its body had evolved too rapidly, lacking the stable foundation necessary to contain so much power.
Unfortunately, that would be its end.
At least, as far as the gods were concerned...
The humming young man, his eyes glowing with joy — suddenly lost the light in his gaze and dropped the sickle from his hands.
He died.
Then, just as suddenly, the brilliance returned, as a transformation began to overtake his body. His eyes turned a bright sky blue, and his black hair turned silver like lightning.
Just like this, he had stolen a new body for himself.
Then he cracked his neck and sighed.
"Human again… how ironic." He got nostalgic for a few moments.
Although it had been thousands of years ago, he still remembered fondly his time as a human in a technological world. A world that felt like paradise compared to all the others he had seen since.
Looking at his old, beastly small body—giant by human standards, with wingspans over 300 meters—lying dead with not a single trace of its former glory, he couldn't help but feel melancholic, pitying himself.
"What a shame, this old shell almost makes me miss all my traumas." he said before letting go of the thought.
"At least this one still has some use."
[ New Skill Acquired: Spirit (SSS+) ]
| Description: The gods cannot know about this.
| You can use your spirit to move things and perform other utility functions.
With a single thought, part of his former body, some leather and feathers, transformed into a black cloak made of feathers, which wrapped around him perfectly. Likewise, a small leather bag appeared in his hand and was soon fastened to his waist.
The bag distorted time and space, creating a spacious storage area inside, but that wasn't even its primary trait. By divine standards, it was actually rather small.
However, it was entirely invisible to mortal senses, should its bearer so desire. Even the gods would have to make considerable effort to perceive anything hidden within the feathers of that legendary bird.
After all, unlike Zeus, who needed an object as authority, the body and spirit of a beast carries his authorities. His body carried several authorities, but the most important right now are the spatial manipulation and concealment.
Considering the vast distance between the lower worlds and the divine realms, it was almost impossible for anyone to discover his whereabouts. And yet, they would still try. That was precisely why he left behind some burned feathers.
"Oh no, what a pity. The bird stole from Zeus and Thor and then got burned to death." He chuckled with a mischievous grin. The gods would assume that some other deity had taken advantage of the chaos, stolen from the bird, and fled.
The rest of the body had been stored away, to be processed later. Now was not the time.
Anyway, there was a reason Zeus was feared, and it wasn't just his power, it was also his cunning. No one could plot against him without paying a price, and this time, the cost had been all the bestial power cultivated over millennia.
Luckily, he already intended to start over.
"System, show me my status."
[ STATUS ]
| Name: *%@#
| Race: Human (Reincarnated)
| Class: None
| Title: None
| Level: 0
| Rank: I
| Aura: #
| HP: 100/100
| MP: 0/0
| Vigor: 60/60
[ Attributes ]
| Strength: 10 (I)
| Endurance: 10 (I)
| Dexterity: 10 (I)
| Agility: 10 (I)
| Magic: 0 (I)
| Available EX: 0
[ Skills ]
| [Spirit(SSS+)]
"Really?The former divine bird inspected his new human body with his spirit, then clicked his tongue in disdain.
"Honestly, I don't know if there's a worse starting point…" He sighed, smirked and then...
CRACK CRACK CRACK
He laughed, using his spirit to break his bones, tear muscles and tendons, adjusting the body for his purposes.
BANG BANG BANG
Next, he completely destroyed internal organs and purged all the blood from his body. His blood had to be capable of nourishing the organism properly, and it was the organs that produced that blood.
[ New Skill Acquired: Life Authority (B) ]
| Description: It could be called the supreme power, if it were not a lesser authority.
| Causes damage to the spirit.
| Capable of regenerating and slightly improving organic matter.
He could still wield a lesser authority over life and he would make good use out of it.
From start to finish, he had no intention of strengthening the body's brute power. He simply wanted a flawless anatomy, free from impurities, creating a human body with the greatest possible potential.
"System, show me my status."
[ STATUS ]
| Name: *%@#
| Race: Human (Reincarnated)
| Class: None
| Title: None
| Level: 0
| Rank: I
| Aura: #
| HP: 12000/12000
| MP: 0/0
| Vigor: 7200/7200
[ Attributes ]
| Strength: 1200 (SSS)
| Endurance: 1200 (SSS)
| Dexterity: 1200 (SSS)
| Agility: 1200 (SSS)
| Magic: 0 (I)
| Available EX: 0
[ Skills ]
| [Spirit(SSS+)], [Life Authority (B)]
"Better."
The result was a brand-new, harmonious body, utterly beautiful, as if sculpted from marble. A body that would likely never fall ill, that would naturally resist poisons, and that would heal more quickly from wounds.
This was the perfect example of a human being.
The ultimate human.