Chapter 240: The Definition Of... Overpowered
After revising the terms of the agreement made with Nara long ago in the Land of Yomi, he returned to Dream Land through a portal.
The Divine Domain received him without ceremony: the massive mountain rose in the void as a lush green oasis of waterfalls, pools, and thick canopies, its peak still absurdly high, and the Golden Apple Tree still bearing its white fruit along the wood that led to his treehouse.
Akasha descended toward the mountain and came down at the base of that tree with Sage seated on his head.
As he entered the treehouse, his bare feet found the familiar floor, and the first thing he noticed was the absence of his women.
After restoring the world—now transformed into a world of training—Luna and Yume hadn’t returned as expected but had instead clearly wandered off to some unknown destination.
The zafu sat empty beneath the spot where the shimmering illusion of Melvin’s battle with Krax still hung in the air.
"I wonder what those two are up to..." he murmured.
Sage slowly opened her eyes, doing so with the same lazy reluctance she always carried into her words.
The glance she gave the empty room lasted less than a breath. Then she closed them again and returned to her nap as if words had never been worth the effort.
Akasha took his seat on the zafu.
In the air before him, the frozen projection of Melvin and Krax still waited from the last time he had left it... with Melvin’s winter locked over the barbarian stronghold and the two figures caught in the instant before the next exchange.
However, instead of watching the fight, he made a small motion with his hand to dismiss the screen for now, and the smile that followed had nothing to do with the absent women or the interrupted replay.
"It’s finally time," he said, "to get more power."
Although it had only been a few weeks since Akasha’s last evolution, it felt to him as though he’d been idle when it came to gaining power.
And it wasn’t just his rank—every other aspect of strength, from Auras, Distinctions, Authorities, and even his bloodline, seemed to have stalled.
Not only that, but since gaining so much knowledge, he realized there was still an immense amount he had yet to explore—particularly when it came to Distinctions and Authorities.
"Alright... I’m sure at some point this is going to lead to an evolution," he muttered, whether it happened when he advanced his bloodline or finally ranked up.
He knew he’d have to step away from everything for a while, which was part of why he had been busy tying up loose ends and finalizing his plans.
But while that was one reason, it was far from the main one.
The true reason he’d been moving from place to place was that he was preparing—preparing himself and those who would accompany him... to take their first steps into Pantheos.
"Since that’s the case... let’s just start with the simplest step."
As he spoke, he closed his eyes and began to picture exactly what he desired.
What he sought was something capable of holding Distinctions—much like the one he once possessed as the "Son of the Stars."
These Distinctions were essentially conceptual titles, each with seven stages that could be achieved through bloodlines or remarkable personal accomplishments.
But Akasha’s vision was far bolder.
He didn’t want just a single Distinction... he wanted them all.
It was a decision he had firmly committed to ever since becoming the Lesser Infinite Dream Unus.
Following his transformation, he acquired the trait known as "Lord of Dreams," a unique trait that allowed him to claim any Distinction at its highest stage, regardless of his rank.
What he dreamed took form in the air before the zafu.
[You have created a new Bloodline.]
[The Vault (Divine) —A completely new bloodline, never documented before, created solely for containment.
Any Distinction the user holds is stored within it automatically. Should that Distinction later be lost, stripped, overwritten, or set aside, the vault retains it forever.]
-----
Akasha smiled as he continued without pause.
He let the Lord of Dreams continue its work and began moving through every Distinction he knew.
He knew each one by name, though not all to their highest stage—such mastery lay beyond even Divine-stage knowledge.
Still, the trait only required him to reach the first stage before it elevated the rest on its own.
As he shifted, his old title returned, and once more, he was the Son of the Stars.
The instant that identity settled into place, a new status began to take shape.
[You have gained a new Distinction.]
[Lord of the Firmament — A Lord of the Firmament may completely claim any celestial body beneath the Universal Level without negotiation with that body’s celestial consciousness.
Stars, moons, worlds, and lesser firmament-bodies... are yours.]
---
HUMMMMM!!!!
When the new Distinction had finished settling, he waved his hands and drew the vault into himself.
The pure white blood moved across luminous brown skin as if the body itself had become a sponge, soaking inward without wound or resistance until the containment line disappeared into the Unus blood already there.
[1/36 Bloodlines Gained]
"Hmm?"
Akasha raised an eyebrow, not at the status that had appeared, but at the sheer power of the Distinction.
Ever since becoming an Unus, he had known he needed to obtain thirty-six bloodlines.
The first thirty-five could be chosen freely, according to his own desires and strategy.
The final one, however, would not be his to decide; it would be revealed to him, determined by the collection of bloodlines he had already gathered along the way.
In that moment, with his eyes closed once more, he reached for another first-stage name and let the Lord of Dreams bring it forth.
Instantly, as he assumed the title of the Son of Darkness, his trait surged to its highest form.
[You have gained a new Distinction.]
[Sovereign of Darkness — Sovereigns of Darkness are not callers of the dark.
They are the darkness itself.
Void, shadow, the black between worlds, even the darkness that runs through multiverses: none of it has to be summoned, bargained with, or drawn in from outside.
They are already one with it.]
----
As Akasha’s bloodline stored the distinction the same way it did with the Lord of the Firmament, Akasha was pleasantly pleased.
He tilted his head ever so slightly, careful not to disturb Sage, still asleep against his scalp as if nothing in the chamber had shifted.
"It seems," he murmured, "not all Distinctions are equal."