(Moltherak’s Floating Island, The Time Stilled World, Leo’s POV)
*Gulp*
*Gulp*
The liquid ran down his throat smoothly, as a violent surge of energy erupted within his chest and spread rapidly through his veins, flooding every corner of his body with an overwhelming pressure that made it feel as though his entire being had been pushed far beyond its natural limits.
Within a single breath, his mana circuits overloaded.
At the Monarch tier, his mana circuits were no longer separate pathways, as they had already fused with his nervous system and circulatory network, which meant that every cell within his body now pulsed with raw mana as the excess energy had nowhere to disperse.
*Pupils dilating*
Leo felt his eyes stretch open, as his muscles tensed involuntarily while his heartbeat surged violently, each pulse sending waves of unstable energy crashing through him with increasing intensity.
"It’s too much..." he muttered under his breath, as he clenched his fists tightly, trying to contain the overwhelming surge that threatened to tear through his body from within.
However, he soon realized that it was impossible to stabilize the pressure through willpower alone, as it continued to rise within him violently.
"Yep, this potion is the real deal...."
He muttered, as in that moment, he understood exactly what needed to be done, as without hesitation, he moved.
*WOOSH*
His body vanished from its seated position as he stepped forward and unleashed his first strike into the empty sky, his arm cutting through space as the force behind it detonated outward in a deafening explosion.
*BOOM*
The shockwave rippled across the heavens, splitting the clouds above as the ocean below responded with violent disturbance, waves rising unnaturally as the pressure carried downward from the floating island.
Leo did not stop.
He struck again.
And again.
Each movement faster than the last, as his body blurred through motion while he unleashed a relentless barrage of attacks into the sky, each one carrying enough force to send tremors through the island beneath his feet.
[Crown Fall]
The named strike descended with overwhelming force, as the compressed energy within his swing erupted outward, tearing through the air and sending a cascading pressure wave that rippled across the entire Time Stilled World’s upper atmosphere.
*Tremble*
*Sonic boom*
The island trembled.
The seas below roared.
Sonic booms echoed endlessly across the horizon as the excess mana continued to pour out of him through destruction, each attack serving as a release valve for the unbearable pressure building within his body.
Yet even as he expelled the energy outward, the transformation within him had already begun.
Deep within his body, at a level far beyond conscious perception, the structure of his cells started to shift, as the very foundation of his existence began to evolve under the influence of the potion.
Where once his cells relied entirely on mana to sustain their function, a new force now began to take its place, as his cells now got their first taste of divine essence!
At first, it appeared as faint traces, subtle and almost insignificant, as it began to replace the mana within individual cells, stabilizing their structure while anchoring them into a far more permanent state of existence.
Before then spreading, as more and more of his cells transitioned from mana dependency to divine sustenance.
’This insane strength.... Is this what Demi God Tier feels like?’
He wondered as his body began to feel lighter, stronger, and more stable, as though the chaos that once defined his internal energy was being replaced by something far more refined.
Yet the process was not gentle.
The transition demanded balance, as the excess mana still needed to be expelled before the divine essence could fully take hold, which forced Leo to continue his relentless assault upon the sky without pause.
*BOOM*
*BOOM*
*WHIPLASH*
His strikes grew heavier and more devastating.
Each movement now carrying with it a power surge that had not been present moments before, as the wild surge of energy slowly began to refine itself into something deeper and more divine.
*SWOOSH*
*SWOOSH*
The trembling of the island lessened.
The chaos within his body eased.
And for the first time since drinking the potion, Leo felt a sense of control returning to him as his breathing steadied, and his heartbeat slowed.
Yet, the process wasn’t quite finished yet, as the transformation continued.
The divine essence spread through his body, stabilizing his cells and removing their dependence on external mana, as the slow decay that had once governed his limits began to lose its hold while a deeper, permanent strength settled into him.
As the last traces of mana exited his cells, Leo felt a definitive shift take hold within his body, as he felt a strange sense of confidence boom within him that wasn’t there before.
A confidence that said his bones would not crack no matter how much force he chose to exert, as the structure holding him together now felt absolute, unyielding to strain in a way that no longer resembled anything mortal.
A confidence that said he could bend and push his muscles as far as he desired without consequence, as they stretched and contracted with perfect response, returning to form without damage or fatigue.
A confidence that said he could channel any amount of mana through his body without fear of overload, as the pathways that once carried limits now felt vast and accommodating, no longer resisting the pressure of power.
As that certainty settled within him, Leo understood that what had changed was not simply the strength he possessed, but the very quality of his constitution, as his body had transitioned into something fundamentally more stable and complete.
The weakness that once lingered beneath even his greatest efforts had disappeared, replaced by a form that no longer operated under the same fragile constraints, as the balance between power and endurance no longer felt like something he needed to manage.
It simply existed.
And as Leo stood there in silence, he realized that this was what it meant to step beyond mortality, as his body no longer felt like something that could fail under pressure, but rather something that would endure regardless of it.
As finally.... He had become a Demi God!