1314 A Difficult Choice.
On the other side of the planet, Felix could be seen sitting at the highest point on a rugged snowy mountainous chain.
Rumble Rumble!
The sky above was gloomy and the noise of the thunderclaps never seemed to stop. However, those thunderclaps weren't really just hurtful noises, but they had some sort of a musical rhythm to them like the sky was singing its soul out.
Felix wasn't surprised by any of this as he knew that the Temperstarris were communicating with each other through pulsing their electric essence in rhythmic patterns, creating cascades of thunderous sound that carry meaning and emotion.
The language of the thunder was an art among the tribe, each member seeking to perfect their own 'voice' with its unique timbre and resonance.
The Tempestarii were one of the few tribes of Lightning Elementals who dwell in the roiling thunderstorms above the highest peaks of the Aeristok Mountains.
Born from the raw energy of storm and sky, their ephemeral bodies flicker with vibrant electric blue hues, their forms often branching out like fractal tendrils of lightning itself.
Though the exact count of their numbers was elusive, their aggregate energy was powerful enough to light the darkest nights and shatter the stillness with their thunders.
Felix decided to remain on top of the mountain instead of joining the tribe in the thunderclouds since he couldn't remain in the air permanently.
"Brat, it's time for your daily enhancement."
Chief Zolthan suddenly manifested before Felis as a humanoid figure made out of golden electrical discharges.
"I am under your care." Felix smiled as he watched the tribe chief push purified lightning energy through him.
Felix had made sure to bribe the tribe chief with plenty of food that he brought with him to secure his help when it came to improving lightning affinity.
After a while, Chief Zolthan returned to the sky the moment he was done with his end of the bargain.
Just as Felix wanted to test out the new range of his lightning manipulation, Lady Sphinx disclosed calmly, 'Felix, come down here."
'Alright."'
No questions asked, Felix entered his consciousness space and went straight to Lady Sphinx, who was sitting at the round table with a few tenants.
"I will get straight to the point, I have found out a method that will help you add another bloodline."
"Huh? What? How?" Felix's eyes widened in disbelief as he didn't expect such a statement at all!
It was understandable since Lady Sphinx hadn't told him that she was working on a method to help him add another bloodline in the first place to not raise his hopes for nothing.
"Interesting."
"You actually found a solution?"
Asna and the rest of the tenants dropped whatever was in their hands and joined the conversation with clear intrigue on their faces...Even Lord Shiva seemed somewhat interested.
"The kid can get to deity level easily by hitting the origin realm at his current condition. But, if he pulled it off with another bloodline and left the origin realm's enhancement after becoming a deity, what kind of monster will he become?
Maybe he isn't as hopeless as I thought?"
Lord Shiva might have shown absolutely no interest in Felix and considered him and his masters delusional to think that he has it in him to kill those beings, but he still did extensive research on him in the shadows.
After reading his memories thoroughly, he was just as knowledgeable about Felix's potential and path as the others, or probably even more...But it still didn't change his first decision that Felix would never reach those beings' level.
Though, this development somewhat changed everything.
"Remember the bit of space left in your human bloodline? While it can't fit the DNA of another bloodline without causing it to crumble, I did my research and found a method to take advantage of it."
"How?" Felix asked with an eager tone.
"I didn't find a method to add another bloodline, but I did find a way to empty some room for a new bloodline to be added." Lady Sphinx shared, "The only thing you need to do is choose a bloodline and I will rearrange your DNA to remove the related genome sequences related to it, which will give you back some space for a new and complete bloodline."
"Remove a bloodline?" Felix was left stunned.
He never expected that it was possible to even do anything about an already etched ability in his human bloodline since the change was considered permanent.
Don't even mention replacing one of the bloodlines that were a big part of his journey.
"This is the only way forward if you desired to add a new bloodline." Lady Sphinx said, "Otherwise, you should focus on your breakthrough to the origin realm."
"That's really a tough decision to make." Thor remarked.
""Can we know more details?" Asna asked with a serious tone.
"Because I will be breaking the chosen's ability genome sequences to create enough space, you will be losing it completely in addition to any mutation related to that bloodline. Obviously, all the enhancements obtained due to the etching process will also be gone plus any indirect caused effect in your bloodline path." Lady Sphinx disclosed, ""This means it's more favorable to choose the earliest bloodlines to minimize the negatives."
While Lady Sphinx made it sound too simple, Felix and the others knew that it was nowhere near that.
Choosing the earliest bloodlines to remove such as Jurmi's, Thor's, Lady Sphinx, and even Khoas' bloodlines implied getting rid of their replacement enhancements.
Since these enhancements were nowhere close to reaching their full potential like Felix's latest bloodlines due to his body's limitation being too sh*tty at the start, he wouldn't lose too much.
However, Jormungandr's Size Manipulation couldn't be given up as it would be one of Felix's greatest weapons in celestial battles.
Lady Sphinx's Truth Vision was also too important to be given up on as it was one of the best ultimate abilities a primogenitor could own.
Lady Sphinx had shown just a bit of its true danger when she used Quantum Invasion against Lord Heatiaz.
Though, Thor and Khaos' bloodlines weren't of the same importance due to the abilities etched.
"Will it be possible to hit a deity level with another bloodline replacement even though I will be losing a great deal of power?" Felix asked.
The choice was extremely difficult to make and if going through all of this and he wouldn't hit a deity level, he would rather not commit to it.
"If we assumed that you will lose 50k more or less due to your bloodline replacement affecting your overall strength in general, you will be at 750k more or less. With a new bloodline added to the mix while your body's limitation is at this level, you should be hitting 950k minimum since the last 100k BF is much more difficult to push through."
"I understand." Although it sounded weird that Felix would be getting a 200k BF increase more or less just like in his previous replacement, he understood that the final 100k was special.
The fact that it would be possible to get at least 50k closed in it was already something worth celebrating.
"In the case of people, this remaining 50k should be unbridgeable, but with your devourer and dragon marks providing you with a flat increase unaffected by your current body limitation, you will be able to push through it easily." Lady Sphinx said, "So, there is an extremely high chance of becoming a deity without needing the insane enhancement from the origin realm."
"You should go for it even if it meant choosing my bloodline to remove." Thor stated with a serious tone, "You must take advantage of those opportunities as you won't be finding any after you hit deity level."
"He is right." Jormungandr supported, "It's not a choice anymore of whether you should do it or not, it's a choice of what bloodline you should be replacing."
"I can see that.." Felix showed a bitter smile.