The primordial runes, though numbering 144,000, vary in strength. For example, the death rune is considerably more powerful than the elemental runes Oliver has mastered. So, Oliver is extremely interested in this death rune!
Oliver was actually quite interested in dark runes as well, but he soon discovered that among the runes left by Tartarus, the dark runes were retively sparse in number and low in density, making it difficult to support further study of them. As a result, he had to focus on learning death runes and temporarily set the dark runes aside.
“Sizzle sizzle sizzle!”
The power of the death rune is too strong; Oliver doesn’t resist it, letting its force erode his flesh. Visibly, a dark orb of light appears within Oliver’s massive body. Wherever this orb passes, his flesh begins to rapidly age, decay, and even emit a foul stench. Any part of his flesh that comes into contact with that dark orb is dying! Those soul deities, watching from afar, are startled by this scene, filled with fear and unease, not daring to approach even slightly. The deterrence of the death rune is something even soul entities fear.
“To comprehend the death rune in this way…”
The branches and leaves of the World Tree sway, shocked by Oliver’s method—it’s extremely painful and incredibly dangerous. Ygg closely observes Oliver’s condition, always ready to unleash its life-healing skills to treat him. The World Tree of today has fully accepted Oliver as its master, hoping for him to grow even stronger. Only then can it securely take root in this chaotic space and become increasingly powerful.
This time, it gained countless soul subordinates. It feels very pleased in its heart. After all, every leaf of the World Tree contains a small space within it, and the World Tree needs some helpers to manage those spaces. In fact, the Níemogr cn was once chosen as colborators by the World Tree, but who could have known those creatures would harbor ill intentions, wanting to gnaw and devour the World Tree entirely? But now, these soul deities are Oliver’s servants, naturally too afraid to resist. This allows the World Tree to command them with peace of mind.
At this moment, atop the massive trunk of the World Tree, those soul deities crawl around like tiny ants, starting to tend to the leaves—using their soul power to clean dust off the leaves, trim irregur edges, and even pluck out hidden pests.
“Prune the leaves carefully and manage the internal spaces; those who do well will be rewarded!”
The World Tree notices that there seems to be no change on Oliver’s side, so it begins focusing more intently on handling these soul deities.
“Rewards?”
The deities all show expressions of curiosity.
“Like this!”
As soon as the World Tree’s words fall, its massive branches shake violently, and a surging wave of life force pours out like a tide. A sheep-like deity is chosen, and a flood of life force is infused into its body. Then, an astonishing transformation occurs. This deity, who had died and existed only as a soul, begins to regrow a physical body at a visible rate! The World Tree possesses the purest power of the life rune! For a powerful deity like Oliver, it might only offer healing, but when applied to these weaker deities, bringing them back from death is no difficult feat!
“Roar!”
At this, all the dead soul deities erupt in excitement, buzzing with enthusiasm, each eagerly looking toward the World Tree. Of course they all want to live—it’s far better than being dead.
“Quiet down, all of you! The master is comprehending the w of death right now; if you disturb him, forget about regrowing a body—your souls will be completely annihited as punishment!”
The World Tree quickly reprimands them, “Remember this: everything must prioritize the master’s interests above all else!”
“Yes, we understand, Big Brother World Tree!”
The crowd roars in unison, filled with immense respect and awe for both the World Tree and Oliver.
“Good, now get to work properly.”
The World Tree continues its instructions. This group of soul deities begins to work even harder.
Meanwhile, on the other side, Oliver is still immersed in comprehending the power of the death rune. His body is constantly being destroyed; this prolonged, one-sided destruction is something even someone as powerful as Oliver can’t endure forever, so he starts frantically absorbing the surrounding chaotic energy to restore his damaged flesh.
Boom!
Endless chaotic energy surges toward Oliver, forming what seems like a massive vortex. With him at the center, a super-massive chaotic vortex spanning millions of kilometers in diameter, a chaotic sphere, takes shape directly. Any passing deities who catch sight of this from afar flee in terror, afraid of being sucked in and turned into fodder for this unknown deity!
At this moment, Oliver is fully immersed in his comprehension of the death rune, having forgotten everything else. All emotions, all stray thoughts, seem to vanish. His mind enters a state of extreme focus. Every shift in the death rune’s power, every detail of the rune, every direction of its flow, is perceived by him, calcuted, and deduced in its entirety. His brain becomes like a computer dedicated to computing the power of runes. No, far more complex and powerful than the computers used by ordinary people in ter generations. After all, Oliver’s soul force is extraordinarily strong, boosting his computational ability by countless times!
“The death rune actually exists in opposition to the life rune; without life, there is no death. In fact, the death rune Tartarus wielded wasn’t even at its full potential because he never mastered the life rune…”
Oliver muses thoughtfully, realizing the true essence of the w of death! Death is a retive concept—if there’s no life, how can there be death? Tartarus only mastered death without grasping life, so his power could never reach its peak. And now, Oliver happens to possess the life rune as well, though he hasn’t mastered it either. Thus, this round of comprehension opens a new phase for Oliver. His flesh is constantly restored, then destroyed again. The powers of death and life cycle endlessly!
