And so, the moment of my triumph arrived. The eight strongest demons I had captured took their places in the sacrificial circles, while I positioned myself at the center of a massive three-dimensional structure resembling a stepped pyramid. Strangely, the basic principles of the ziggurat’s construction were copied from the demon city. Apparently, they had built a temple to elevate their archdemon. But the results of this domain’s development were now destined to be mine.
I was about to form eight ‘energetic tails,’ using all the Bahion reserves within the domain. After that, one of the tails was to be tuned to spider magic, requiring over a hundred thousand of my descendants to sustain the ritual with their energy. Most importantly, I intended to infuse this core structure with all my knowledge of magic. Even if I died and lost my memory, all necessary knowledge and skills would resurface in my consciousness, after which the mechanism for restoring past life memories would be activated.
Finally, all preparations were complete, and the ritual began. Mighty flows of magical energy and chakra set the Bahion in motion, concentrating within the ziggurat and flowing into me while undergoing the necessary transformations. Time passed, and the ritual continued. Minutes turned into hours, and hours into days. During this entire time, I sat in a trance, controlling the process of my ascension. Demons were slain, their souls purified, transformed, and grafted onto my spiritual body. Divine energy flowed into me, healing the spiritual wounds inflicted during the ritual, filling me with divine will, and transforming once-independent demon souls into parts of myself.
To a significant extent, this ritual was an attempt to create a god. A god from a machine, whose sole purpose of existence was my ascension. And now, this entity was recreating me, bestowing new qualities upon my essence. And so, the ritual entered its final phase. The last but not least significant part was the masking.
Perhaps it was naive of me, but I didn’t want beings of higher order to notice the changes within me. I intended to hide the presence of the seven tail embryos by showcasing the presence of two fully formed ones. Cloaks of secrecy and divine veils concealed the core of my soul behind false images and reflections. This part of the ritual was entirely my own invention, albeit based on others' scientific works. It was risky, but my research and experiments showed that there should be no negative consequences for me from this ritual.
After seven days and nights, the ritual was successfully completed. I stood up, stretched all four arms, and scanned myself carefully across various ranges. I succeeded! Exultation filled me. From now on, I was not just a human or a spider. I was an immortal being, capable of defeating even death itself. Now, I only needed to master my new abilities, and then I could think about what to do next.
And then, the heavens opened, and angry angels sounded their trumpets, heralding the arrival of the gods. The shield surrounding the domain burst, and the entire atmosphere began to dissipate into cosmic space. The magical underlayer of the world quaked, and a passage was torn through it with a wild grinding sound, from which emerged a being of incredible power. From the descriptions, I recognized the archdemon who had created this world thousands of years ago.
“Who dared to destroy my domain?” - The wrathful roar echoed.
The mental force of this being was such that spiders lost consciousness merely upon sensing its presence. Only the most experienced managed to raise mental shields to maintain mental clarity. The torrent of anger, hatred, and desire for death emanating from the archdemon made every living being on the planet tremble. I was not spared this fate. Fortunately, my camouflage made me indistinguishable from the other spiders, so I darted to the side and blended into the crowd of my kin.
“I will destroy!” - The voice of the archdemon reached such a power that thousands and thousands of my descendants perished instantly. Even I sustained damage, unable to cope with the roiling storm of wild magic. I had obtained a source of magical energy, but my control over it remained at the previous level of an ordinary spider.
And then, as if waiting for this moment, the heavens opened once more, and I felt the appearance of a Being in this world, along with several similar entities. Although… knowing this contagion, one could be sure that it was indeed waiting for this moment.
“Player attack on opponent’s figure detected.” - Announced a stern and indifferent voice. In an incomprehensible manner, I found myself pulled out of my familiar layer of reality. The figures of gods, beings, archdemons, or whatever they were, more clearly manifested in my consciousness.
“What? This cannot be!” - The anger in the archdemon’s voice abruptly shifted to panic. – “A mere mortal could not have done this.”
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“Nevertheless, the court has determined that the destruction of the domain resulted from the ritual of acquiring powers. The lack of Bahion in the internal contour led to destabilization of the domain’s shell, which collapsed due to negligent adherence to instructions during its creation.” - The voice continued its indifferent broadcast. – “Archdemon Player caused the destruction of the game domain, but in a fit of rage, attacked another player’s figure and inflicted irreparable damage.”
I did not consider my injuries irreparable, but naturally, I did not state this. Those guys might tear something vital from me to ensure their words matched the reality. The oppressive gazes of the Players converged on me and scanned me in all available ranges. To my relief, after a second, they lost all interest in me. More precisely, everyone lost interest except the Being.
“I am taking his soul. This session can be considered over.”
“Confirmed.”
With that, the divine visions released me, and I sank back into darkness. But this time, I was aware of my own existence. Now, I was not just a soul but partially a spiritual being. It was hard to say how long I hung in the void, but after some time, I heard the voice of the Being.
“You’ve impressed me again. I thought you would just vanish in that world, crushed by fate and circumstances, but you managed not just to survive. You destroyed another player’s figure, defeated his army, and even tricked the clueless Archdemon, making him pay a hefty ransom. You also deserve compensation from the Judge. Soon, he will offer you the choice of a special game ability. I advise you to think carefully before making a decision.”
“What game are you talking about? I don’t even know the rules.” - I protested.
“You could have figured it out yourself.” - Being responded with irritation. – “We prepare the game board, place the figures, and then observe your life. Or we don’t observe, as was the case this time. In most cases, figures are required to destroy all opponent’s figures. If there are other victory conditions or special rules, the figures are informed about them.” - Yeah, and you didn’t mention anything about the restriction on using thermonuclear weapons in the Naruto world. – “The scenarios of the games vary, but I plan to place you where the scenario is more or less familiar to you. Or where your life experience might be useful. A small manipulation on my part, but all within the rules. If you die, you will be out of the game and receive a penalty from me depending on how foolish and boring you were. Well, that’s it. Think it over. And don’t bother me with questions. Everything I wanted to tell you, I already said.”
Well, I had quite the employer. If it's about a game ability, I could clearly ask for not just any spell, but something related to the game itself. And what threatens me the most? Of course, death. All other problems can be tried to solve with my own strength.
Just as I came to this conclusion, a source of blinding light appeared before me and spoke with an indifferent voice.
“As compensation for the player’s attack, you are given the opportunity to obtain one game ability. What will you choose?”
“I want the ability to resurrect after death so that this death is not considered my defeat in the game.”
“Again with the cheating tendencies.” - The indifferent voice carried hints of dissatisfaction. – “Fine. To resurrect after death under relatively safe circumstances, you will need to spend one Righteous Judgment Point. To earn points, you will need to offer one of the figures as a sacrifice to the Judge of the Game. To do this, you simply need to kill the figure and within five minutes say the phrase, ‘I offer this figure as a sacrifice to the Judge’. Note that your player does not receive any bonuses from such a kill.”
Heh, it seems I've managed to get a way to leave Being without any profit from my use. Well, I’ll think about it later.
“Thank you.” - I said to Judge. It seemed that I would be offering sacrifices to him. And he was quite a pest. Surely these deaths in his name were needed for something. However, that was not my concern. Just know, kill everyone indiscriminately. If only I knew how to distinguish a player’s piece from an ordinary mortal.
I imagined the Judge’s chuckle before the light faded, leaving me suspended in darkness.
“So, how did it go?” - Being reappeared.
“Wonderful.” - I grumbled in displeasure.
The response was a suspicious silence. A very, very long silence, filled with suspicion and doubt.
“Fine, if no one knows what your ability is, it will be much harder to counteract it.” - Being finally spoke. – “Since you are so smart, cunning, and lucky, I might as well assign you something non-trivial. I have a game in mind.”
Darkness blinked, and I fell back into oblivion, despite all my enhanced spiritual attributes.