Minx... who or what was she, really?
That was the question that lingered in Ash’s mind, one he couldn’t answer—at least not with the truth.
The Lord of Gifts, the Treasury of Existence... by now, those titles felt like nothing more than hollow labels.
And what were nas, anyway?
In Pantheos, they carried weight and power, especially when it ca to Star Nas.
But beyond that realm, nas were fickle, aningless.
What truly held significance was the title a person bore—not sothing handed down or shaped by outside forces, but sothing forged through their own actions and achievents.
Just like the Lord of Alchemy, the Ancestor Seeker, and others of their kind.
"Are you going to thank our lovely Aurora for helping?" Elysia teased, noticing the smile slowly forming on Ash’s face.
The conclusions he’d reached weren’t just from reading but were also shaped by Aurora’s actions.
"Well, I have the perfect gift in mind~" he said with a chuckle, glancing at his status notification.
Long before Isis had shown up, he’d received an affection notification, though until now, he hadn’t known who it was from.
[***** **** Affection - 88%]
Before, such a thing both surprised him and didn’t really bother him.
First, being in Pantheos ant he had no concerns about anyone watching him or believing they were powerful enough to harm him here.
Second, the level of affection was high, and that only worked to his advantage.
Now, with what he knew about the interaction between Aurora and Minx—and how Minx had once seed obsessed with him—it all started to add up.
It made sense.
"This is a good ti to rework how this affection works." Ash muttered as he had already ntioned how he wanted to learn more about the person who had affection for him.
Now fully omnipotent and beyond, he could make everything more stable and efficient.
The black-and-gold book turned to another page at his thought, and with a second, he activated Authoring Potential.
"And so, the affection chanics went through a few minor tweaks. The threshold dropped from 95% to the absolute lowest percentage possible.
At that point, instead of only fully copying soone’s existence, I’ll be able to see their life as a novel — a complete, readable story of their being, history, potential...
And even the Author of Ten Lucky Draws: I Beca OP’s thoughts behind creating the character."
The Codex responded instantly.
The text solidified, glowing faintly before settling into permanence.
The old 95% threshold for full copying was adjusted, and it beca 80%... which unmistakenly would allow Ash to completely bond with Minx... if he decided to.
Elysia drifted closer, glancing at the page with quiet approval.
"I would truly hate to be your enemy..." she laughed, knowing she’d find Ash infuriating.
Imagine scheming against soone since the dawn of ti, offering him tools to aid his ascension, only for him to flip everything in ways no one could foresee.
It was downright absurd how he could read, alter, and essentially bend the world around him to his will.
"Well, I’d hate too," Ash said with a shrug before glancing back at his status. This ti, the na of Minx—no, the Title of Minx—was no longer hidden.
[The First Transaction’s Affection – 88%]
[Would you like to view her Novel or Form a Bond?]
----
"The First Transaction?" Ash muttered, one eyebrow arching in mild surprise.
The title seed to carry an intentional gravity, almost as if its simplicity was ant to taunt him.
Without bothering to dwell on it any longer, he made his choice, tapping both options at the sa ti.
HUMMMMMMM!!!!!!
A surge of divinity rippled through him as the system began to respond.
A cocoon of shimring, multi-colored light started to form around his body — but before it could fully enclose him, Elysia giggled softly and extended her hand toward the Codex.
"And so, the One God’s transformation happened seamlessly without need for an evolution cocoon."
The Codex responded instantly.
The forming cocoon dissolved into harmless motes of light, and instead, Ash was bathed in a gentle, colorful radiance — soft hues of gold, silver, crimson, and deep void-black swirling around him like living auroras.
The light pulsed once, twice, then faded completely.
Outwardly, Ash looked unchanged — the sa long black and red hair, the sa calm, commanding presence, the sa reddish-purple eyes.
But sothing deeper had shifted.
Not only that, now he could feel it: a new layer of connection, the thread linking him to Minx in a way that went beyond simple affection or observation.
His focus, however, was not on himself.
It was on the black and green novel that had materialized in front of him, floating gently in the air.
The Primordial Exchange, Desire, Value — The First Transaction
The cover was elegant yet unsettling—black leather etched with shifting green runes that looked like ancient transaction ledgers, contracts, and balances.
The book seed to hum with a quiet, living energy, as if it held not just words but the very essence of deals, trades, and desires.
"Hmm, let’s see why the Author created you, Minx..." he murmured, touching the book.
In that instant, he and Elysia vanished without a trace.
-----
Isis, Unara, and Creara hovered unseen in a higher layer of the void, observing from a safe distance as Aurora and Ellyn strolled with Minx through the sprawling amusent park.
The park was a whimsical creation born of so ambitious Pantheon, yet it existed in the middle of the void between universes.
Isis floated with her arms crossed, her voice low and edged with clear nervousness.
"Can you see anything?" she asked after they had been watching for only a few minutes, though the spirits had said nothing except for the occasional burst of laughter.
"Maybe... we shouldn’t have let Aurora bring her here so casually."
Unara, in her full adult form, laughed softly, floating upside down for a mont as she watched Minx skip along beside Aurora, still holding her stack of Ash-thed gifts.
"She’s truly old as dust... and yet she’s playing this innocent little act," she teased, her very being embodying Ash’s eyes.
And Ash could see anything once his gaze was set.
In this mont, Unara could discern enough—from her title to her age. But it wasn’t as deep as what Ash would soon perceive.
Creara, also in her full adult form with her signature black-and-red hair flowing dramatically, smirked as she leaned forward, her eyes gleaming with sharp interest.
"Well, I’m sure you can feel it now," she said, her tone laced with amusent. "Master has already ford a bond with her."
With a shrug, she continued, "We might as well go show our faces. I want to see how she reacts up close when everything goes our way."
Unara giggled, spinning once in the air.
"I agree... Co on, let’s go say hi~"
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