Serene’s heart skipped the instant Joe called her by name.

  The endless void around her blurred. For a fleeting moment, her senses dulled and the surface beneath her feet felt unsteady. Lightheaded, she staggered back a few steps and clutched her head. She feared she might collapse where she stood.

  By sheer force of will, she steadied herself.

  There was no way she would humiliate herself in front of a mortal. Not like this.

  “What’s wrong? Are you alright?” Joe cut himself off mid question when he noticed her unstable movements.

  “I’m fine,” Serene said quickly, brushing it off as though nothing had happened. She straightened her posture and restored the confident expression on her face. Looking down at Joe’s seated form, she regained the air of a divine being. “What was your question again?” she asked calmly.

  Outwardly she was composed, but on the inside, Serene was a chaotic mess as her heart pounded violently against her ribs.

  The last time Joe had spoken her name was when she introduced herself at the end of their first meeting. Even then, her heart had raced. It was such a small thing. Just a name.

  Yet every time it left his lips, warmth bloomed in her chest and an inexplicable joy followed.

  “So what do you think?” Joe finished.

  “Sorry, can you repeat that?” Serene asked, snapping out of her daze.

  Joe stared at her. “Are you sure you’re alright?” His tone carried genuine concern.

  “Yes,” she replied firmly. “Now, what were you asking me?”

  Joe hesitated, clearly unconvinced, but chose not to press her further. With a slightly dumbfounded expression, he repeated his question, making sure to speak clearly in case that had somehow been the problem.

  “Remember when you told me there are two kinds of Specialties and that a person can't have more than one from the same type?” Joe asked as he began.

  “Yes,” the Goddess confirmed, her focus now truly back on him.

  “Is it possible to learn skills from another Specialty without possessing it?”

  “No,” Serene answered immediately, confused as to why Joe would even ask. “Unless it is an Uncategorized Skill, which is available to all cultivators, you are limited to your Specialty. Didn’t we already go over this?”

  “We did, but I wanted to make sure. Because today I somehow managed to acquire a Martial Skill despite possessing the Essence Wielder Specialty.”

  “You what!” she shouted with wide eyes. “That’s impossible.”

  “It’s true. I learned it from an old man I know this afternoon. It’s a Bronze ranked Martial Skill. Even the system confirmed it.” Joe summoned his status. Since they were inside his consciousness, the message materialized physically and he presented it to her.

  The Goddess stared at the glowing blue message, its light reflected in her pale eyes. She blinked several times as if doubting her own sight. Then her gaze snapped between Joe and the notification again and again.

  ‘What the hell is wrong with this mortal!’ she exclaimed inwardly, stunned. ‘Not only did he learn a skill outside his Specialty, he mastered a Bronze ranked skill in a single day. Even a Copper ranked ability should take at least a few days for a prodigy with the proper Specialty. But he not only learned something outside his Specialty, he did it faster than any Martial Specialist would dare to dream. It is one impossible feat after another with him.’ Serene struggled to rationalize what she was seeing.

  If she had known that Joe learned the skill in the middle of battle within minutes of exposure, and did so without a manual or instruction from the man who demonstrated it, she might have fainted from shock alone.

  “Well… any answers?” Joe asked after she remained silent for over a minute, staring at him as if he were some terrifying creature.

  Serene floated a few meters back, a hand resting on her chin as she pondered. “This may sound like a stretch, but when you are involved, nothing seems impossible,” she said after a few seconds. “My theory is that when you absorbed those billion souls during our battle, traces of their essence lingered within your True Soul even after they were extinguished.”

  “How would that help with anything?” Joe asked, frowning in confusion.

  “A person’s soul is the core of their existence. It shapes everything, from their physical form to their personality and innate talent. My explanation is that the lingering essences now fused with your True Soul carried fragments of their talents. Somehow, your spirit absorbed those fragments and made them your own.”

  She continued, “For example, if you devoured the soul of someone gifted in swordsmanship, you may now possess the aptitude to learn Sword Skills despite lacking the appropriate Specialty. It should not be possible for a mortal. But your soul is a unique existence, so we cannot dismiss the possibility.”

  “Awesome!” Joe shouted with sparkling eyes. “Does that mean I possess more than a billion talents now?”

  “In theory, yes,” Serene replied carefully. “You should be capable of learning nearly anything. But we will not know for certain until you attempt more skills outside your Specialty.”

  “That’s amazing. Are all bloodlines this incredible?”

  “No,” she said firmly. “You are an anomaly even among the most feared bloodlines in the universe. In truth, your soul should have been erased after your death. It still baffles me how you escaped the grasp of two Gods.”

  “About that, I’ve been thinking,” Joe said slowly. “What if the Gods did not let me go because of an oversight? What if I somehow devoured their souls?”

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  The Goddess stared at him with a gawking expression, as though she had forgotten how to speak.

  “I know it sounds crazy, but hear me out,” Joe continued. “During our battle, I managed to push you onto the back foot until you were scrambling to survive. Do you really think that would have been possible with only mortal souls? I know it was a billion of them, but would that truly matter to a God as powerful as you? It should have been like a swarm of ants against an adult. You should have handled me with ease, even while holding back.”

  He met her eyes. “But if we entertain the idea that I absorbed the spirits of two divine entities, it would explain how I pressured you and eventually won. Isn’t that more plausible than two Gods making the same mistake?”

  Truthfully, the thought had crossed Serene’s mind during the battle. For a fleeting instant, when she felt the crushing pressure radiating from Joe, she had considered it.

  Then she dismissed it.

  The idea that two Gods could be erased by a mortal was deeply offensive. The only reason she had lost a fraction of her soul to him was because her abilities were sealed. At her peak, such an outcome would have been impossible.

  And yet…

  Joe had forced her back during their encounter. After he absorbed the billion souls, he moved like a seasoned fighter. Though she had promised to hold back, she only restrained her attacks to avoid destroying his soul. When it came to movement, she used her full base physical speed simply to retreat. For the first time, she had been desperate to survive.

  Serene knew if she had activated even one technique, she would have won instantly. But the fact that she had been pressured to run with all she had should have been impossible.

  Unless.

  If two divine souls had been added to the equation, even low ranking Gods, then the scale shifted. Especially considering she was in her weakest state, possessing only a fragment of her True Soul and stripped of her abilities

  Objectively, two Gods combined could have achieved that much against her current form. What unsettled her was not the logic. It was the implication.

  Could Joe truly have devoured two Gods completely? Then gone on to absorb a billion souls from the Soul Realm? And even a fraction of her own?

  Such an act should have shattered any normal soul. Then she remembered who Joe was. He was an anomaly who had captured the strongest God in existence. If the Soul King had not banished him when he did, there was a real possibility that her entire True Soul would've been captured.

  The realization sent a chill down her spine.

  It was as if Joe existed to break the laws of the universe. A bug in the system, as mortals would say.

  “It’s possible,” the Goddess said after a long silence that stretched for a full minute.

  Joe blinked in surprise. He had expected her to ridicule him, not agree. Even he did not fully believe he could erase two Gods from existence. The fact that she did not dismiss the idea filled him with a strange satisfaction.

  “I think so too,” he said. “But then why didn’t it happen to you? Why couldn’t I consume you like the others?”

  “That is simple,” Serene replied. “Even this fragment of my soul is incomparable to two lesser Gods. Your soul likely trapped me because it knew it could not devour me in one attempt without risking collapse. These chains are probably a safeguard. A way to consume me slowly without endangering itself.”

  Her eyes narrowed slightly. “It is quite arrogant. Like a beast slowly eating its prey until nothing remains.”

  Joe felt a chill.

  The fact that his soul struggled to devour such a small piece of her True Soul proved how powerful she was at full strength. He finally understood why she so confidently called herself the strongest.

  What unsettled him more was that his soul had acted on its own. It had consumed, trapped, and calculated without his awareness.

  Was it following his will?

  Or did it have instincts of its own?

  “How long do you think it will take to devour all of you?” Joe asked quietly.

  “It is difficult to say,” Serene replied. “But your soul has grown more aggressive since you absorbed those billion spirits.”

  Joe had noticed. The glow around her had dimmed slightly.

  “What will happen when it finishes?” he asked.

  “I will meet the same fate as the others,” she said calmly. “This fragment will cease to exist and become part of your True Soul.”

  He already knew that. Hearing it aloud only made it heavier.

  “Is there a way to stop it? To free you?” he asked.

  “The connection is too deep,” she replied. “The only way would be to sever a portion of your soul. If you did, my spirit would be released into the void. It would never find its way back to the Soul Realm to reunite with my True Soul. It would likely be extinguished long before that.”

  “So either way, you die?” Joe asked, his voice lower than before.

  “The only alternative,” she said, “would be for you to transfer this fragment back to my real body yourself.”

  “Then that’s what I’ll do,” Joe said without hesitation. “I’ll return to the Soul Realm and reunite you with your True Soul before it’s too late.”

  Serene studied him. “You speak as if it is simple. The Soul King and the other Gods would never allow such a thing.”

  “I don’t care,” Joe replied, his voice firm. “If I need to become the strongest to do it, then I will. Besides, I promised I would meet your true self one day so we could fight and determine who is stronger. And I never go back on my word.”

  For a moment, silence filled the void.

  Then the Goddess smiled.

  “You sound very determined,” she said softly. “Very well. We shall wait and see.”

  “Is that all the questions you have for me?” Serene asked a few moments later.

  “No, there’s one more,” Joe replied. “It’s about our bond. When I received the system notification confirming that I was your Chosen, it said the contract was only partial. I was wondering if there’s a way to make it complete.”

  “You must not concern yourself with that right now,” the Goddess said. “You lack the power necessary to form a complete bond. Focus on getting stronger. When the time is right, we can revisit this question.”

  Joe nodded. There was no point in knowing how to complete the bond if he lacked the strength to act on it. For now, the incomplete contract still allowed him to learn Serene’s skills, and that was enough.

  “I should head back. Sorry I can’t stay and chat,” Joe said as he rose to his feet. He had spent far more time in his Soul Space than intended. Morning was approaching, which meant the prisoners would soon be awakened.

  “It’s fine,” Serene replied. “I know you have other concerns. Just do not get yourself killed. My soul is also at stake.”

  Joe chuckled. “Don’t worry. I have no intention of dying before I meet the real you.”

  A faint frown crossed Serene’s face at his wording, but Joe did not notice. He turned and created a glowing circle several meters away, linking his consciousness to his physical body.

  “Joe,” Serene called after him.

  He paused and looked back. “What is it?”

  “Although you can now harness 90% of your spirit energy, that does not mean you should release that much essence at once in the physical realm. Your soul form can endure it because it is unusually strong. Your true body cannot. If you are careless, you may destroy it before it has time to develop. Be careful.” Her tone was serious and sincere

  Joe smirked. “Are you worried about me?”

  “Of course,” she replied evenly. “It would be troublesome if my Chosen died due to arrogance and stupidity.”

  Joe sighed inwardly. He had hoped to see her flustered, but Serene rarely hid her feelings. It was something he admired about her.

  He stepped into the circle.

  “Hey, Joe.”

  He turned again just as a pillar of light surged upward from beneath his feet, swallowing him in radiance. His form began to dissolve into drifting fragments.

  “What is it?” he asked.

  “Thank you for not forgetting my name,” Serene said softly. “It truly means the world to me.”

  Joe blinked in surprise. It had only been two days since she revealed it to him.

  “Of course,” he said with a warm smile. “You’re my friend. Even when I’m old and senile, I’ll still remember you. You don’t have to feel alone anymore, Serene. I’m here.”

  In the beginning, he had only formed the bond to gain her techniques. But seeing her isolated existence within his True Soul reminded him of his own loneliness in his previous life. No one deserved that.

  Tears welled in Serene’s eyes, though she continued to smile.

  “See you later, Joe.”

  He smiled back as the light carried him away. A moment later, he vanished from the Soul Space, leaving her alone once more.