Chapter 1060 Death
Michael hoped he would never need this Soultrait, but he prepared it nonetheless.
Switch Bodies was a powerful Soultrait with one major restriction. You had to possess two bodies to use it. That kind of restriction was not something most Awakened could fulfill. In fact, the Primal were probably among the only ones with the powers to use Switch Bodies. After all, to meet the Soultrait's condition, your other bodies couldn't be much different. That condition was also why Michael had problems using Switch Bodies. The main body had several Divinities and different Soultrait Symbols as the secondary body, after all. Still, upon upgrading Switch Bodies to 10-Star, while also adding more than 100 traits of various Soultrait Symbols, Michael ended up with an immensely powerful Soultrait.
Switch Bodies could be used everywhere. It didn't matter where his bodies were located. He could be in the Origin Expanse, whereas the main body could be somewhere running across the cosmos. Or, the main body could be restrained by an Essence Seal that blocked all spatial movements. It didn't seem possible at first, but 90ish of the 100 Soultrait properties he had added to Switch Bodies had been infused into it to create this effect.
It worked out even better than Michael had expected. Switch Bodies was his greatest trump card...and something he didn't tell anyone for fear someone could find out about it with a Soultrait like Mind Watcher. Not telling anyone about it could be considered lying to Alice, Lucia, and others, but Michael told everyone he would be fine.
He smiled one last time at Alice and Lucia before Switch Bodies triggered, consuming the energy accumulated within the secondary body. n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om
Then they switched bodies. Michael disappeared for a quarter of a second, only to be replaced by...Michael, who was covered in countless scratches. Silver serum gushed from the wounds, healing them slowly as he turned to the men and women in the clearing.
The Essence Blades pierced Michael before Switch Bodies activated, but they didn't cut deep enough to inflict much damage to his main body before the secondary body sacrificed himself with their trump card.
Memories of the secondary body flashed before Michael's naked eyes. It was a gruesome sight, something Michael would never forget. Even less because he felt everything as if it happened to him...because that was the case, somehow.
The endless pain of hundreds of Essence Blades piercing through his body, tearing through his skin, flesh, and bones. His screams filled Michael's ears for a moment. Then everything went silent.
The Essence Blades exploded, tearing through the secondary body, ripping him into shreds, just like Primal Xerx had promised.
He turned to Alice, who smiled at him through the turmoil of emotions wreaking havoc inside her and nodded confidently in his direction.
"I know you can do it. I always knew."
Godly Faith pushed Michael further and further, unleashing the true potential of his Divinities for the first time since they blossomed.
For the first time, Michael acquired the powers of a true god.
A vibrant halo formed behind him while multi-colored hues burst from his body. He listened to his subjects' prayers, digested them, and manifested the Runic Gate next to him.
The waves of rage and fury overflowed, but something had changed. Michael allowed the emotions to loosen and didn't try to contain them anymore. Instead of losing himself to the emotions, Michael gained full control of everything. Since his parents abandoned them, Michael had never felt like this. He had to keep the emotions inside to make his brother happy and show everyone that he didn't need his parents or sister to live a happy life. The emotions he tried to contain when he lost his brother or when his mother returned suddenly.
Michael had been overflowing with worries and doubts. He wondered why he had never been good enough for his parents and asked himself if it was his fault that they had been abandoned. Even though he had much bigger worries to take care of, everything still lingered on Michael's mind.
But what did it matter whether he had Demi Gods, full-fledged gods, or the Primal to defeat if he couldn't even be himself.
Michael was sick of hiding the full extent of his emotions.
For the first time in an eternity, Michael felt truly free.
At last, the faith in himself was restored.