"Gravity? No." Vesuvius immediately dismissed the first element, aware that it would be redundant with his dominion over time and space. As long as he wished, he could replicate the effects of gravity by merely curving space.
'That leaves either apocalyptic storm or stars.' Just through the sheer number of elements linked to them, Vesuvius knew that both affinities encompassed almost all his needs.
'With the apocalypse, I would gain access to the destructive powers of stars, but I doubt I would inherit their other capabilities.
'Do I even need to concern myself with an apocalyptic storm now? Storms are formidable, but compared to the power of stars, including black holes, they are inconsequential.'
As Vesuvius pondered, his decision became increasingly resolute. Stars represented more than mere forces of destruction; they were also forces of creation and sources of energy.
He could wield them to devastate with a power rivaling that of an apocalyptic storm—no, with power far surpassing it, as the most destructive catastrophes stemmed from the cosmos and stars—and at the same time use them to create.
With a last gleam in his eyes, time snapped back into motion. Angelic forces surged from the distant portals, converging with players appearing out of nowhere, demons descending from dark rifts in the sky, and reapers materializing into existence in a cataclysmic collision.
Channeling all the celestial energy within himself, Vesuvius directed it towards his two souls. As the world darkened, a searing, unbearable pain engulfed him, the rampant energy burning both souls. Struggling against this agony with fierce will and determination, he summoned his divine energy, attempting to control the raging energy.
'Transform, infuse, and ascend!' With his chosen affinities at the ready, he commanded the energy to transmute him.
The energy bursting forth from his body grew more intense, causing both pain and exhilaration as his life level surged. He noticed that the entire battlefield seemed to freeze momentarily, with tens of thousands of eyes now fixed on him.
As this energy continued to seethe within him, transforming his body and soul, more and more motes of light from the planet took their place.
'Right! I am not alone!'
The auras merged flawlessly, dramatically altering the dragon god's appearance. Its previously golden, ethereal form transmuted into a stark skeleton of gold and black bones, enveloped in a storm of elements and the purple energy of death. Its claws elongated, sharpening into deadly, scythe-like talons, and its wings now resembled the curved blades of reapers.
"Raise and serve the rulers of life and death!" As the words boomed, all the corpses scattered over the battlefield, including the rotting armored constructs, trembled before standing up, submerged in purple and golden flames. Then, at once, they launched themselves against the incoming angels, breaking their formation from every side.
Each of their blades ignited with divine powers of purity, death, and life, cutting through dozens of lesser angels with every second.
'This must be one of the reasons they chose this planet! There was an army hidden right under everyone's nose!' He had fought one of the weird constructs before and knew their power.
With renewed vigor, Vesuvius refocused on the changes in his two souls.
However, the next moment, a blinding light descended, and an angel, with nine pairs of wings so pure and white hovered above. The angel was no larger than a regular human, but the aura and power radiating out made Vesuvius freeze.
'Justice?'
The angel looked like a woman with her eyes tied by a fabric of pitch-black darkness. In her left hand, an antique-looking weight slowly lost its balance.
"Let your sins weigh upon you!"
Vesuvius felt genuine worry, as the angel was definitely an angel of king-level. 'Raguel, the angel of justice!'