"Seram, if I receive your soul and merge our Life and Death God Powers, do you think we could truly become a God?"
[You're referring to the principles of Take Over Magic, right? Theoretically, it is possible. But if I take control of the Death God Power, it could run wild inside you afterward, completely disrupting the balance and affecting you.]
[Besides, even if we become a God, our strength wouldn't match our true peak levels, and the transformation would be extremely short-lived.]
"It is just a trump card, after all... How long do you estimate we could maintain the Life-Death God state?"
[That depends on how long your Life God Power can withstand the violent suppression of the Death God Power. Probably...]
...
Returning to the present, Ankh slowly opened his eyes, recalling the serious discussion he once had with Seram about fusing their Life and Death God Powers.
"Three seconds... I wonder if that is enough to kill you..."
A massive pillar of intertwined black and white light shot into the sky, transforming the entire firmament like rotating yin-yang fish, painting the mysterious wonder of the Taiji diagram across the heavens.
The whole sky was being manipulated, and all living beings across the entire Ishgar continent witnessed either pitch-black or pure white skies on this very day.
The divine miracles of life and death—two polar extremes—began rapidly spreading to increasingly distant realms.
Council Chairman Gran Doma stood trembling in the great hall, watching the intelligence displayed by detection magic, his entire body shaking uncontrollably.
"Chairman! The sky outside has changed!"
"Chairman! That mysterious power suddenly appeared—the Black Dragon's presence has been completely overwritten!"
"We can no longer detect the situation on Tenrou Island! Chairman!"
Gran Doma's aged body couldn't stop shuddering as he whispered hoarsely, "What... what kind of existence is this..."
Not just the Magic Council was in turmoil—after witnessing that profound and unfathomable sky, every single city across the Ishgar continent descended into sheer terror and chaos.
It felt as if a layer of heavy mist had suddenly clouded people's hearts.
All living beings trembled in their very souls, and various incredibly strange phenomena frequently occurred.
Elderly people nearing their natural ends seemed to accelerate through their final life processes.
The suffering inflicted by disease and illness vanished in an instant, as they looked upon their loved ones with final clarity before departing with deeply peaceful smiles.
Newborns arriving at this moment neither cried nor fussed, instead happily waving their tiny hands while their mothers' labor pains and pressures seemed to miraculously dissipate, as if receiving a direct divine blessing.
Miracles of life's beginnings and endings emerged simultaneously across the land.
But those in the coastal waters near Tenrou Island, facing the source of these divine manifestations directly, confronted immense, suffocating pressure.
Aboard the Grimoire Heart warship, the crew gazed at the celestial spectacle, their earlier desperate worries about Ankh gradually easing.
"What is that? It's so beautiful..."
"I feel... my physical strength and Magic Power rapidly recovering!"
Laxus finally showed a small smile watching the revitalized crew, then turned to look at Tenrou Island swallowed by the light, murmuring softly.
"Ankh... is this your hidden card...?"
...
Same distance, different experiences.
Aboard the recently scattered Alvarez fleet, Zeref's expression abruptly changed dramatically.
He shot up from his chair and quickly took two steps forward before dropping to his knees on the deck, commanding sharply.
"Everyone, kneel!"
Irene immediately followed without hesitation, dropping to one knee.
The Spriggans and guards nearest to Zeref promptly knelt as well.
However, there were inevitably those who didn't hear the command or failed to kneel in time...
"What... what is this..."
Invel watched from a distance as soldiers on other warships who hadn't knelt in time—one after another—had their bodies seemingly turned to dust in an instant, silently dispersing into nothingness in the air.
Sweat drenched his clothes as Invel aggressively lowered his head, breathing rapidly, not daring to look around.
Jacob whispered with a trembling voice, "What tremendous power is this..."
"The God of Life and Death, God Ankhseram. Though not in complete form... still not someone to be easily blasphemed or resisted."
Irene looked toward Tenrou Island as she spoke, her tone remaining completely calm.
Zeref sighed deeply, his gaze penetrating the distance.
Although that guy has prepared for this moment for hundreds of years...
Could he truly survive this?
...
On Tenrou Island, Acnologia struggled as he literally crawled on the ground.
His gaze was incredibly frenzied and feverish as he stared at the drastically transformed Ankh before him.
Ankh's short hair had become a cascade of golden locks flowing all the way down to his waist, swaying like a waterfall behind him.
His amber-gold eyes shimmered with alternating light and shadow. His face was incredibly solemn and dignified, appearing both undeniably sacred and untouchable.
Even the tiniest details, down to his eyelashes, seemed beautifully gilded with golden light.
His skin was like flawless innate jade, his eyes shimmering with a brilliance rivaling the sun and moon, and his face adorned with faintly glowing golden patterns.
Ankh was draped in a royal robe accompanied by both black and white light, beautifully embroidered with mysterious golden runes. His cloak transformed into a faint, elusive glow swirling majestically behind him.
On either side, multiple intricate magic arrays engraved with obscure characters in black and white hovered beside him.
As the arrays smoothly rotated, it seemed as though the life and death of all things were totally within his grasp.
"I've been waiting... for this very moment!!"
Acnologia forcefully withstood the crushing pressure of the life-and-death power, suddenly raising his head and roaring furiously at the sky.
Endless Magic Power was drawn into his lungs like a black hole, while the Death God Power within him simultaneously began to rapidly run wild.
The dark blue stripes on the Black Dragon's body rapidly turned crimson as if fully drenched in hellish magma.
His black scales grew increasingly dense and hardened, the entire dragon becoming even more terrifying.
The now more ferocious dragon head opened its mouth. Its vividly distinct dragon eyes burst with the sheer desperation and frenzy of a gambler.
Acnologia's aura surged boundlessly, layer upon layer of countless arrays densely covering his own body.
The Black Dragon's presence had actually grown much stronger than when he first appeared.
Acnologia instantly channeled centuries of accumulated power completely into himself, all for this one massive gamble today!
With boundless Magic Power fully gathered, the comprehensively evolved Acnologia roared at the sky, then violently thrust his head forward.
A destructive breath capable of reducing the entire island to absolute nothingness erupted, nearly crushing half of Tenrou Island just from the recoil.
Black Dragon's Roar!
Compared to the roars of Natsu and Gajeel, it was simply the difference between heaven and earth.
The unstoppable roar surged forth, collapsing the earth and shaking the heavens wherever it passed.
Ankh, in his divine form, let out a long, slow exhale.
Controlling this body feels as clumsy and heavy as an elementary student trying to operate an aircraft carrier...
Three seconds, just one move...
One move to decide the outcome!
Ankh exerted all his strength internally.
Facing the Black Dragon's Roar mere inches away, the divine body finally raised its arm.
Or rather... a single finger.
Pointing a single finger directly at Acnologia, Ankh's face in divine mode remained entirely impassive, sacred, and completely inviolable.
The softly spoken word fell like celestial chanting from beyond the horizon, captivating and totally overwhelming the mind.
"Die."
With that simple word, the Black Dragon's Roar before him—capable of engulfing kingdoms and obliterating any living being—instantly vanished into thin air!
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