“Are you crazy?” Elysian’s eyes widened in shock. “Are you making me a goddamned murderer?”

“Murderer?” BloodShade repeated the word, her eyes growing confused. “Aren’t you already one?”

‘Tsk, she’s right. I’m one.’

“Yeah, but what I mean is that you're trying to make me a mass murderer who goes into the street killing anyone he sees,” Elysian clarified, displeasure clear in his voice. “I may be a killer, but I don’t go out killing the innocent, as I’ve told you earlier. So stop making me one like that two-headed serpent.”

“Did I?” she asked, snorting at the accusation. “First, clearly read the requirement. It didn’t say that you needed to kill innocent people. You can kill those you think deserve it. Also, the ability doesn’t require you to suddenly kill today, tomorrow, or at any given time. You can kill one now; then next year, you can kill another, or never kill at all. It’s your choice.”

Elysian stared at the woman before sighing. “You’re right. I’m sorry. It seems I’m still emotionally affected by knowing what Xipilcoatl’s curse would entail. At the end of the day, this ability is my choice, which is good,” he apologized before arching his brow. “But killing seventy people to use this ability, really?”

“This isn’t some common ability you can just use anytime you want. This is a legendary ability. What do you expect?” BloodShade responded, shaking her head at the boy’s audacity to complain. “Higher-level abilities like this one typically require punishing requirements. Be happy that you are only required to kill seventy people. This is very straightforward. Some abilities require you to do some gruesome stuff that even I would pause at, while others require something obscure, making the ability unusable.”

“Yeah, you have a point,” the boy finally said, sighing in resignation.

“Also, do you think I have a say in the requirements and cost of these abilities?” the woman asked, staring at him. “With your accusation, it’s as if I’m the one who decides all that.”

“You don’t?”

“Of course not, someone or some entity has already put it in place. I don’t have a say in any of that. If I did, I would ask you what requirement you want, or I’d take it out altogether so that both of us can use this ability whenever we want,” BloodShade explained, frustration in her voice. “Alas, that isn't the case. I’m also forced to meet the same requirement to use these abilities.”

“Okay, I’m sorry,” Elysian apologized again for his earlier accusation. When the woman nodded, he smiled and added, “It seems I don’t have a choice but to fulfill all these if I want to use ‘True Emergence.’ Even with that detestable requirement, it doesn’t erase the fact that this ability is truly overpowered. Doesn’t it make me one of the most powerful cultivators in the whole of Creation within that duration?”

BloodShade suddenly erupted into a fit of laughter. “Are you dumb, boy?” she asked as she slowly reined herself in. “What level do you see in that ability?”

“Level 1,” Elysian answered, confused, before his eyes widened in realization. “Do you mean that…”

“Yes,” she responded without letting the boy finish. “Though my true form is extremely powerful, I can only use a tiny portion of my power. This is because our souls are connected. Since you are the primary entity in this symbiotic relationship of ours, my cultivation follows you. If I’m not mistaken, you are at the earliest stage of cultivation, an Initiate?” she asked, noticing his disappointed expression. When the boy nodded, she continued, “I have a similar stage as you, though at the peak of that stage. So don’t be too upset; I’m still a lot more powerful than you and more useful. Even if we have exactly the same cultivation level, I’m confident I would still be more powerful.”

“You are right about that,” Elysian muttered, smiling at her before sighing again. “It seems I’m foolish enough to think that I’m summoning something akin to a god in Creation.”

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

“Yes, you are a fool,” she agreed, chuckling at the boy's foolishness in thinking he could do something that absurd at his level. “Do you think it would only cost you a messy seventy people to summon my true form at its highest level? Does that even make sense?”

“Yeah,” he said, as he refocused on the remaining abilities.

image [https://i.imgur.com/BrH30fH.png]

‘Crimson Sacrifice? An attack-based ability. Finally, I have one. Until now, the only active abilities I’ve received were movement and support types. With this, I have something to directly hurt my opponent.

Let's see, hmm… With such a high cost and clear limitations just for a single attack ability, this means that this attack is very powerful. It is a good ability to use as a finishing move or if I want to kill my opponent instantly.

Yeah, it seems I’m right. The effect clearly indicates that it causes a grievous injury, which means I can cause quite a lot of damage to any pesky enemies that have a very high defense or are too powerful for my current cultivation.

However, it seems all is not well. This ability is like a double-edged sword, where I need to sacrifice a portion of my health to deal a devastating blow to my opponent. With what happened earlier, I am not surprised anymore. This seems to be the trend in using BloodShade or Xipilcoatl’s power. They have a strong connection to blood and shadow, so the costs are understandably related to them. It is a lot better than ‘True Emergence,’ where I needed to kill someone. I’m more than willing to sacrifice a portion of my health to use an ability rather than sacrifice other people. This doesn’t mean that I can just use this skill whenever I want; I need to use it sparingly and only in certain dire situations, or else I’ll be digging my own grave.’

image [https://i.imgur.com/iGWXZOY.png]

‘Shroud of Tenebris, another epic-rated ability? I now have three epic active abilities, and two of them are related to Xipilcoatl; more precisely, this could be considered a form of a gift from each of the Xiplcoatl’s heads. This one is from Tenebris, while the other one is from Blodwyn.

Hmm… another useful ability. It seems Xipilcoatl considered what I’m lacking the most from BloodShade and filled that up. Crimson Sacrifice is an attack ability, while the Shroud of Tenebris is a defensive ability, not to mention both are epic and extremely powerful. Aside from its active effect, the shroud also has a passive effect. Though a lot weaker than the active one, the veil is always in effect, not to mention that it doesn’t require any energy. It’s like I’m donning extra armor all the time.

If both of you snakey-heads are listening, thank you! I will use this very well.’

image [https://i.imgur.com/8XfW6EV.png]

‘Let’s see, this is the last one, Xipilcoatl’s Ascent. This is another legendary and similar to True Emergence. This ability summons Xipilcoatl to creation. Damn, even though the summon is connected to my cultivation level, it can’t be denied that the beings invoked are terrifying entities that should only exist in nightmares. Not only am I able to call on BloodShade, but now I’m also able to call on something even more powerful and scary, considered a god by some. Just think of the time when I increase my cultivation and am able to call their true strength. I’ll be a figure that my past self couldn’t even imagine reaching. By that time, those snobby ancient families wouldn’t dare ignore me.

F*ck! Nope, they should ignore me. I don’t want them to notice anything. It would only bring trouble.

Now that I’ve thought about it, why is Xipilcoatl’s Ascent just legendary, when it is clearly a more powerful and superior entity than BloodShade? Also, there is a shard written beside its name. What does it mean? Hmm…. let’s see. Sigh. Now I understand. This is an incomplete summoning. From what I saw in the past, the summoning by the Umbral failed. It seems that Xipilcoatl had broken up, leaving only a shard on BloodShade. Then, where are the other shards? And how many are there? Damn, finding them is going to be problematic.’

“Are you alright?” BloodShade asked, noticing the frown on the boy’s face.

“Hmm,” Elysian glanced at the woman and smiled. “Yeah, I’m fine. Well, better than fine, actually. The active abilities I received from Xipilcoatl are two epics and one legendary. This is an impressive haul.”

“It is,” BloodShade agreed, nodding. “Then why are you frowning?”

“The legendary one is incomplete,” Elysian responded, sighing in disappointment. “I only have one piece of Xipilcoatl. It would’ve been better if I got the complete version of it. The powerful version.”

“Don’t be shameless, boy,” BloodShade snorted before shaking her head. “You already got a legendary from it, and now you’re asking for more? Tsk. Truly shameless.