Calling it a statue wasn't entirely accurate. The cross-legged figure had a radiant sheen flowing across its skin. Its ancient, yellowed garments were neither Buddhist nor Daoist, yet strangely reminiscent of both. Its expression was serene and tranquil, vividly lifelike.
Aside from its skin tone, which leaned toward a stone-like bluish gray, one could easily believe it was a living person.
More importantly, no matter who looked at it, even at first glance, it would inexplicably develop the misconception that it was still "alive."
That feeling didn't come from breathing or a heartbeat, but from a surging vitality that continuously radiated outward, then drew back in.
"Is she… a man?" Rowen froze for a moment, then shook his head.
Clearly, this wasn't her.
Not only because of its appearance, but also because behind this statue, pressed closely against the wall opposite the temple entrance, stood another statue…
Seven or eight meters tall, it had a human face and upper body, but its lower half was a fish tail, identical to a female of the mermaid race!
Unlike Princess Shirahoshi's gentle demeanor, this statue radiated heroic vigor and commanding presence. Compared to a princess, it felt more like a… queen?
But whatever it was, none of that mattered now.
Imu transformed into a black streak and instantly arrived beside the seated statue at the center of the temple. Forming his fingers into a blade, he ruthlessly slashed at the statue's neck.
Boom!!
A tremendous force collided, shockwaves bursting through the air.
Ka-cha… Ka-cha ka-cha!
Under the impact, a crack suddenly appeared on the statue's neck, rapidly spreading. With a loud bang, the statue's head fell to the ground.
The fractured cross-section, studded with translucent, luminous blue fragments, proved that even if it had once been "alive," it was still, in essence, a statue.
Hua-la!!
At the same time, as the statue was destroyed, a visible pillar of white mist burst violently from the severed neck, like blood spraying from a beheaded enemy, erupting at terrifying speed.
"This is it, the smell of food!"
Rowen had been holding back precisely because he couldn't pinpoint the source of the scent. Now that Imu had served the meal right up, Rowen naturally wouldn't be polite.
Imu also understood Rowen's objective, but he had no choice.
The light shield was already shattered. If he didn't act now, Rowen would find it anyway.
Better to seize the initiative himself.
At least this way, he could grab the majority of the divine power.
No one knew what Imu did, but the luminous white mist didn't disperse. Instead, it quickly condensed into streams of light, reversed direction, and surged toward him.
A black humanoid shadow separated from Imu's body, still covered in spiral Devil Fruit patterns. The sparkling particles within the white mist looked like stars scattered across the cosmos, continuously seeping into the shadow's arms before flowing through its entire form.
A burst of white light suddenly radiated from Imu's main body. That familiar sense of tenacity made Rowen momentarily feel as though he were looking at the temple's light shield again.
"Hmph. Naive."
Seeing this, Rowen sneered and didn't interfere.
Imu had just been on high alert against his attacks, yet now he was blatantly ignoring him? It wasn't hard to guess: if Rowen attacked now, he'd only be playing right into Imu's hands.
Because in the short term, Rowen couldn't kill an undying Imu, he'd only give Imu the chance to plunder even more divine power.
The priority was the food right in front of him!
Whoosh!!
Under Imu's stunned gaze, a mass of black mist nearly identical to his own erupted from Rowen's body, surging upward in blazing flames.
Without needing further direction, the black mist sensed the source of the divine power and spread over the statue like a dark cloud.
Buzz!!!
The luminous white mist that had been spraying out instantly collapsed back toward the neck. Not because it lacked momentum, but because the sudden arrival of another predator caused the flow speed to multiply several times over, no longer able to reach the height it had before.
If Imu's devouring was like taking huge bites, then Rowen's black mist was outright gulping like a whale!
A stream compared to the Yellow River, of course the speed was different.
Under Imu's shocked stare, Rowen grinned.
"So-called divine power is nothing more than a concrete manifestation of gathered rules, a naturally born transcendent spiritual force… like him, for example."
"The ocean can nurture all life and also unleash annihilating waves, like a gentle mother and a stern father. Seastone, as the crystallization of the sea, carries that rule. When such carriers gather together and develop self-awareness… this being is born."
"A God."
Seastone's ability to suppress Devil Fruit users only appeared after Devil Fruit users came into existence. Before that, it was merely a crystallized product of the sea,
A treasure capable of driving life along the path of evolution!
The statue before them was made of nothing else, it was pure, unadulterated Seastone!
And the blue crystals adorning the fracture surfaces were unmistakably Sea Crystals!
That was precisely why Imu had dared to confidently propose cooperation with Rowen, speaking of "half each." This was one of the reasons.
As a Devil Fruit user, the former Rowen couldn't even approach this statue,
Let alone talk about splitting it evenly.
And the second reason…
"As a product of rules made manifest, this kind of power can never be independently controlled by mortals."
Rowen turned his head toward the mermaid statue and sneered.
"No matter how powerful they become, mortals are still born by relying on countless rules of this world. They are seedlings growing from the soil, it's impossible to reverse cause and effect. As long as their essences differ, the two can never truly fuse."
"At most… like her, they can only borrow this power from him through certain means."
That was the reason there were two statues in the temple. Aside from his true body being made of Seastone, she also had to rely on such a method to wield divine power.
But this raised an unresolved problem…
The luminous mist was still continuously seeping into Imu's body. That long-lost sensation of immense strength should have left him refreshed and exhilarated.
However, cold sweat dripped from his forehead, and his face turned pale.
Because no matter how hard he tried, he could not pull the black shadow away from the statue.
He was indeed growing stronger; at this rate, recovering his peak strength from back then would only take a few minutes. The power contained within the statue was more than enough for that.
But at the same time, the essential power that defined him as a "god" was steadily diminishing.
He was becoming like that mermaid statue, no matter how powerful his main body became, even if he could wield divine power, he would never be able to change the fact that his essence was still mortal.
A god is not necessarily strong. Godhood is an elevation and transcendence of essence.
With that essence comes infinite possibilities.
Without it, one is no different from ordinary people, no matter how "godlike" they become in strength, once they reach their limit, there is no further path forward.
Sensing the suction force coming from the statue, Imu's expression darkened as he roared,
"Who are you really?!"
Rowen grinned.
"Rowen. An Earthling."
Imu's eyes widened instantly. "An… an extraterritorial Heavenly Demon!"
"So you have that term too? That saves me quite a bit of explaining…"
Rowen gave a slight shake of his head, then suddenly reminded him,
"Oh, and by the way, there's one more thing."
"You and I… are not the same."
As his words fell, the undying, indestructible black flames of destruction, born between the rise and fall of civilizations, suddenly surged, swallowing Imu whole.
Crack…!
Black-red lightning seized the moment to strike, tearing Imu apart into two halves.
At the same time, Rowen swiftly retreated, dragging along the half of Imu's body that had yet to fully die, and stopped outside the temple, watching the interior warily.
"Hiss…!!"
The other half of Imu's body was still stuck to the statue. The single remaining eye was filled with terror, and a horrible sound rasped from his throat.
Suddenly, he recalled Rowen's choice of words earlier.
"You… you all?"
The plural form, you all, could only be used if there were more than one!
Countless points of fluorescent light burst forth from the shattered black shadow and wrapped around the statue. When the glow finally dissipated, the "stone" that had fallen to the ground was back on the statue's neck without anyone noticing when it happened.
The bluish-gray skin gradually gained a luster. Unlike the earlier external glow, this sheen was born from within.
Thud!
Half of a plant, its form resembling vines, yet with fleshy tumors at its root junctions, slammed heavily onto the ground, sending a chill through anyone who saw it.
That was Imu's true body: A plant possessing the rule of "plunder."
He had come to divide up a god, only to be divided up himself.
Shua!
Suddenly, the statue opened its eyes and stared straight at Rowen. Its voice boomed like thunder.
"Hand him over to me, and I can let you leave."
"Hiss… burp!"
The black flames on Rowen's hand flared, devouring the remaining divine power inside that half of Imu's body. He casually tossed aside the withered yellow plant remains and grinned.
"Who did you say?"
One more chapter coming, wait a bit. I wasn't satisfied with the draft and rewrote it… perfectionist problems. I can't sleep unless I fill all the holes.
(End of Chapter)
This novel is finished, and I have posted all the advanced chapters on my Patreon https://www.patreon.com/darkshadow6395
I am translating some new fanfiction (Haikyuu- Starting From Volleyball). Read it and support me.
PS— I will post 1 Bonus Chapter for every 100 Power Stones