Although Takeyo had asked Michael for knowledge of Heaven's systems before, the information available from the Archangel paled in comparison to what he could obtain directly from the God of the Bible herself. The difference was like comparing a single candle to the sun.
Takeyo slipped once more into a state of deep learning, his consciousness expanding to accommodate the flood of divine knowledge.
This kind of study wouldn't accelerate his advancement through cultivation realms, but it would grant him power far exceeding what his current level should allow. As his realm progressed, mortal-tier knowledge became insufficient for meaningful growth, only divine-level understanding could push him further.
"The sheer volume of knowledge at this level is staggering," Takeyo mused, his analytical abilities processing the information at superhuman speeds. "But there's an obvious limitation. She clearly didn't have enough time or experience to fully integrate and refine all of this."
A smile crossed his face. Based on his current computational power, even the God of the Bible couldn't match his processing capabilities. This overwhelming analytical strength would serve as his greatest protection going forward.
Without the sign-in system, Takeyo might have accepted Sona's offer to reincarnate as a Devil years ago. Through rapid study and application, he could have reached Ajuka's level of power within twenty years. But fate had given him something far more valuable, and far more dangerous.
Using his innate abilities, Takeyo resumed absorbing the divine knowledge flowing from the God's memories.
The God of the Bible possessed vast reserves of information, most of it far more profound than even Ajuka's accumulated wisdom. Completely digesting everything would take considerable time.
While Takeyo entered his deep learning trance, the silver-haired loli materialized beside him.
The dragon soul of Kurma the World Dragon, affectionately called Kurimo by Takeyo, existed in a state similar to Ddraig and Albion's imprisonment within their Sacred Gears. She couldn't manifest in the physical world unless granted permission.
With Takeyo's consent, Kurma's incarnation could merge with her dragon soul, allowing her true form to appear. However, Takeyo had never used this capability. When Kurimo remained within the Sacred Gear, utilizing Kurma's avatar consumed minimal power. Full manifestation would drain his actual reserves, making it less efficient than fighting directly.
"With external aid, I've reached four-digit strength," Kurimo said softly, gazing at Takeyo's sleeping form. "I wonder when you'll enter the three-digit tier on your own. When that happens... I'll introduce you to an entirely new world."
In her perception of time, the period she'd spent with Takeyo passed like the blink of an eye. From her perspective, he still needed significant accumulation, at minimum, he needed to reach four-digit Transcendent-class power through his own abilities, not borrowed strength.
"But I have considerable confidence in you, my little master," Kurimo murmured, a slight smile playing across her lips.
"I said, what are you doing staring at me with that creepy smile?" Takeyo's voice cut through her thoughts. "Are you secretly some kind of pervert?"
Kurimo heard the teenager's voice as he opened his eyes, looking at her with mild exasperation. He'd only paused his studies briefly, why was she hovering over him like some stalker?
"I came to remind you of something important," Kurimo said calmly, completely unbothered by his accusation.
"What is it?" Takeyo raised an eyebrow. For Kurimo to interrupt, this must be significant.
"You don't need to be so cautious about changing the future," she began. "Time, space, and destiny all possess inertia."
"What do you mean?" Takeyo leaned forward, suddenly very interested.
"From the moment you traveled through time and space, temporal waves began shifting. But those changes will automatically correct themselves," Kurimo explained patiently.
"For example, traveling from the future to the present alters certain events. Many different things may happen in between, but the ultimate future remains largely unchanged."
"It's like changing a straight line into a curve, the endpoint remains essentially the same."
"Unless..." Kurimo paused deliberately.
"Unless what?" Takeyo pressed urgently.
"Unless you possess power sufficient to oppose the world itself. You'd need strength capable of interfering with temporal fluctuations and resisting the world's corrective will."
"Currently, you cannot change the future by altering the past. When you traveled to this time period, that act of time travel itself became part of your past."
Kurimo's explanation was clear in principle, though many details remained murky.
"So you're saying I'm essentially just fulfilling actions I was always meant to take?" Takeyo understood the concept, but wanted clarification on how much influence he actually wielded.
If he'd previously worried about minimizing his impact, now, after hearing Kurimo's explanation, he wanted to know how to maximize it.
"Actually, if you want to create real change, there's no suffering involved. You simply need to jump outside this timeline," Kurimo said quietly, meeting his eyes.
"Jump outside this timeline?" Takeyo felt he understood, but needed confirmation.
"If you follow me, it would be the same as staying within this temporal period, you'd be ejected within a short span," Kurimo continued. "There's only one solution."
Takeyo looked at her intently, waiting.
"Are you proposing to me?" the God asked, suddenly standing before him.
She stepped forward on golden sandals, her movements graceful and ethereal as she leaned toward Takeyo. Her face was elegant and beautiful, white and soft, clear and ethereal, otherworldly in its perfection.
Takeyo studied the God carefully. He had to admit, this girl, no, this ancient being in the form of a young girl, was indeed peerlessly beautiful.
Her lips were like cherries, her neck slender, her shoulders thin and delicate. The white of her skin seemed to glow with inner light.
He understood exactly what she meant by "proposal." The implication was crystal clear.
Meanwhile, on the God's side of the timeline, the war had essentially concluded.
The first round, at least. Where did anyone get the idea that such a massive conflict could end so quickly?
In her battle against the Four Great Satans, the God had perfectly demonstrated her acting skills, presenting her "weakness" convincingly before all observers.
By now, those demonic leaders were probably plotting how to deal with the "weakened" God. Her carefully designed script, culminating in mutual destruction with the Four Great Satans, shouldn't encounter any problems.
Additionally, she'd obtained two valuable prizes during this round.
"Ddraig and Albion's dragon souls... you'll become the greatest weapons among the Sacred Gears, and as my legacy to this world, you'll explore that trace of possibility," the God murmured.
After returning, she'd immediately begun crafting these two unfortunate dragons into Sacred Gears. Both Heavenly Dragons had interrupted the three-way war between Angels, Devils, and Fallen Angels. Though the dragons were immensely powerful, they'd been overwhelmed under the combined assault of all three factions and killed.
"The Boosted Gear of the Red Dragon Emperor, the Divine Dividing of the White Dragon Emperor... wait, I'll create thirteen Longinus total, giving humanity this possibility."
"I hope that humans, the species most capable of breaking their own limits, can surpass even the gods and reach my realm... or even exceed it!"
The God had reached a decision. She would gift humanity with Sacred Gears and holy armaments.
Though humans were innately weaker than Angels, Devils, and various divine beings, they possessed one crucial characteristic: because humanity's upper limits were so low, becoming stronger required constantly breaking through those limits.
The God valued this trait highly. She expected that humans could surpass even the limitations of gods, reaching the realm beyond Transcendent-class, and thereby increasing the chances of handling threats from other worlds.
Having made her decision, the God began manufacturing Sacred Gears in earnest. She'd already created numerous god-slaying weapons; producing another god-killing tool was remarkably simple for her.
However, when she was halfway through production, she heard a familiar voice.
"Oh? You've actually killed the Red Dragon Emperor and White Dragon Emperor?"
Takeyo's phantom appeared beside the God. He'd been studying for some time, and the first round of war on her end had just concluded.
"Are you planning to turn Ddraig and Albion into Sacred Gears?" Takeyo observed the dormant dragon souls with interest. Because the God was actively working with them, both dragons had been placed in a hibernation state.
"Yes. Would you like me to give you a Sacred Gear? How about the Holy Spear of Dusk?" the God offered proudly.
"The Holy Spear of Dusk? You should use that yourself," Takeyo smiled and shook his head. He already possessed countless divine tools. The god-slaying attribute could be applied to any of his weapons.
After upgrading, Terminus Est should surpass even the Holy Spear of Dusk. That weapon would be completely useless in his hands.
"You're quite particular," the God smiled. But if it were Takeyo, that reaction was entirely normal. Even she felt the Holy Spear wasn't quite adequate for him.
Unless...
"By the way, didn't you show me the grand formation you wanted to build before?" Takeyo changed the subject.
That was his main purpose for appearing now.
"Yes, why do you ask?" The God tilted her head, displaying genuine confusion for the first time in their interactions.
"I've incorporated my own understanding and completed its construction. Even when used by someone without Transcendent-class power, it should generate force equivalent to a Sub-Dragon God," Takeyo said, materializing the Heaven-tier formation he'd modified.
That's right, it was the same formation Takeyo had previously used alongside the Underworld formation to combat Durmado. What remained was a formation designed to operate using materials available in the Heavenly Realm, so Takeyo had created this simplified version.
He still possessed a more powerful iteration, but was slightly short on materials for its construction.
Takeyo had identified the flaws in that Heaven-tier formation earlier. The issues weren't with the formation's design itself, but with material limitations that forced certain compromises in its structure.
Examining the formation Takeyo produced, the God fell into a stunned silence for several seconds.
"You just... you finished it? You completed this without discussing it with me?" The God looked at Takeyo with distinctly dissatisfied eyes.
Couldn't you have consulted me on something this meaningful?
"Uh... I thought you were busy with the war," Takeyo said with an awkward smile. He genuinely hadn't expected the God to care so deeply about this collaborative project.
"Forget it," the God said after staring at Takeyo for several long seconds, finally sighing in resignation.
Given the timeline Takeyo operated under, he truly hadn't had time to discuss and research with her.
"Next time, I'll be the one to die alongside the Four Great Satans," the God said quietly.
Suppressing her strength to fake weakness and eliminate those four incompetents was genuinely frustrating.
"What do you plan to do after your mutual destruction with them?" Takeyo asked seriously.
The God definitely wouldn't perish alongside the Four Great Satans. That meant she had other plans.
"What else can I do?" The God spread her hands helplessly.
"Find a dimensional plane similar to the one that sealed Trihexa, then seal myself until the proper point in time to ensure my continued existence."
She stated it as though it were obvious.
"Actually... there's another way," Takeyo said slowly.
"Tell me," the God said, golden eyes gleaming as she looked at Takeyo intently.
She wanted to see if Takeyo's idea matched her own thoughts. Facts had proven that the two of them possessed remarkable synchronization on certain matters.
"You could leave this space-time period with me," Takeyo said simply.
"You understand what that means?" The God smiled, then asked carefully.
"I know."
If the God followed him, it would be equivalent to Takeyo remaining in this time period, both would be ejected within a short timeframe. There was only one solution to that problem.
"So you are proposing to me," the God said, standing and stepping forward on golden footwear, closing the distance between them.
Her face was elegant and beautiful, white and soft, clear and ethereal, transcendent and otherworldly in its perfection.
Takeyo regarded the God carefully. He had to acknowledge, this being, regardless of whether she was called a girl or an ancient entity, was truly peerless in beauty.
Her lips like cherries, neck slender, shoulders thin, skin white and luminous.
He understood exactly what she meant by that question.