A lotus unfurled budded with crystal-blue dew, hung in a halo of pink light. Qi drifted off it like warm breath on a frosty day. Gerard plucked it gingerly out of the air and presented it to Dorian with a bow.

“The Divinity Lotus. Fate had but two remaining in his possession. And one is now yours.”

“Saints,” breathed Dorian. He took a moment just to breathe in the crispness of the Lotus’s aura. Just a whiff and his thoughts all seemed to sharpen, clear up, the world of his sensations zoomed in and brought to fine focus. It was like the volume of the world had suddenly been turned up in his brain.

“If that old fart’s breaking out treasures like this…” muttered Dorian. “He really does have faith in me. Possibly too much faith.”

“This Divinity Lotus has been maturing for four millennia. It is perhaps the most valuable gift he could give to the current you, sir. It would not be out of place on the top shelf of the Royal Auction. I made certain to thank him profusely.”

“Four millennia…” Dorian ran the numbers. “That’s… what—sixteenfold, then?”

“Thereabouts.”

A sixteenfold increase in comprehension speed.

If it would’ve taken me 160 years to go from God to Godking… it now would only take 10.

…

FUCK!

His fingers were electric where the met the Lotus’s base.

Holding this treasure—by all accounts a legendary treasure if there ever was one—Dorian felt strangely conflicted. It must be some holdover from his speedruns. Truly an embarrassment of riches....even as the rest of him wished desperately to swallow the Lotus in a gulp some tiny part of him felt…awkward?

Which made no sense.

He frowned at the Lotus, and the drum.

Was it that accepting this—and the drum, and whatever else lay in Gerard’s ring—would make him beholden to Fate? But that was ridiculous. Fate, silly as the old fool was, should know better than to trust Dorian. Unlike Gerard, Dorian had no hang-ups about repaying others for kindnesses. Only cruelties.

As far as he was concerned investing in Dorian should be like throwing coin down a wishing well. You had to assume that shit was gone. And if something good comes of it is likely entirely coincidence! So what bothered him?

It might just be pride.

Which also made no sense. He had so little pride he gladly licked mortals’ toes to get ahead! And yet…

If there was one thing in the Multiverse he had some pride about it was his runs. And up ‘till now you could think of this as a run. It still had some integrity.

If he took this? No more. This drum, and this lotus, would boost him tremendously. They were gifted with the hopes of boosting him tremendously. Why, with these and the auction he might be nearing Empyrean by the time he left Ur! This would save him centuries.

It almost felt like cheating.

He paused for exactly three seconds, and then stuffed the Lotus in his mouth. And swallowed.

It was halfway dissolved before it even met his throat. By the time he felt it down his neck it’d melted into a stream of piercing frost-qi, like freshly melted glacier water trickling all the way up and down his body—

—and into his mind. Into his Soul.

[Spirit Bond Formed!]

[Divinity Lotus]

It appeared fleshed as an image in the eye of his mind. A lotus, settling into the soft ground of Dorian’s soul, and binding there. Symbiotic. Now he had two soul treasures. The Javelin, and the Lotus.

“Ah…” The sound rose unbidden from his mouth. He felt his body go limp, all his muscles relaxing at once. His grin was ear-to-ear.

There was a fact he had to face. This was no longer a run—not by his usual standards. It hadn’t been that way since beginning of Jez’s tampering! His quickest runs took centuries—and Fate had a point. Centuries was simply too long.

He wasn’t the Speedrunning Godking Dorian right now. He was scrabbling low-God Dorian. And he’d hardly let a little pride get in the way of a lot of power.

“I expect,” Gerard was saying, “The best use of the Lotus will be in conjunction with other Dao-boosting treasures. To magnify their effects. Elixirs, perhaps, or—”

“Dao Fruit.” Dorian cringed. “Shit!”

“Sorry?”

“It’s nothing. Just… unlucky timing.”

If only he’d had this Lotus before he ate the Dao Fruit! In one fell swoop he might’ve gone from Demigod to near Empyrean… but such was Fate. Meng’s Fruit took millennia to cultivate, and sparing three for their little picnic was already a test of her patience. The chance was past.

Gerard moved on. “Such Dao treasures can be readily purchased at the Auction, sir.”

“Then I’ll add some to the heisting list. Is that all for the gifts?”

There was no indication on Gerard’s face, but Dorian could tell he was faintly amused. “All? Sir, these two gifts could bankrupt a lesser Kingdom.”

“Oh, don’t get me wrong—I’m very satisfied. Fate What to do? Test my new comprehension with a Technique? Perhaps some meditations on the Dao? So many options! But let’s try the drum first. I swear the smell’s calling to me.”

“Whatever suits you, sir.”

“Drum it is!”

He unscrewed the lid, set it to the side, and let himself marinate in the elixir’s peachy aroma. Initially he hadn’t planned on bolstering his qi much. With his star system, his qi ceiling at God was astronomical! What sense did it make chucking a few qi elixirs into that vast emptiness?

But this…

His hands met the steel at either side. He might’ve been holding an ocean in his arms. With the amount of energy held in this drum it was practically a bomb itself!

“Fate expects this will elevate you to the limits of God. And more still,” intoned Gerard. “Within lies enough qi to crown an Empyrean.”

“Fuck…”

The opening was the size of his head. Pink liquid bubbling with qi swirled milky below. And in its glassy reflection he saw his face. Lean, with shining eyes—almost manic—and a grin naked with wicked desire. He looked like a villain out of a children’s fable! Was this how he always looked when he lighted upon a treasure? Huh.

Anyhow.

“Hand me a straw, will you?”

Gerard looked so disappointed in him. “Sir…”

His servant tapped his ring, and out popped a tea set on a plate. A kettle was set to boil, and tea-cups were stacked neatly atop it. Gerard offered an empty cup to him with pinky up.

Dorian snatched it, sloshed up a cup, and swallowed it in three chugs. And then scooped up another, and downed it again. A little liquid dribbled out on the floor, which drew an audible groan out of Gerard.

But the bulk of it went down his throat. Straight into his eager core.

[Level-up!]

[Star Realm: Sun]

[85 -> 90%]

[Level-up!]

[Fire Planet: Moon]

[78% -> 83%]

He threw back another cup, and another.

To his side Gerard was sat on a steel chair. He’d magicked out a table, and was sipping tea in lazy contentment. “You needn’t rush, sir. A case can be made that slowing down is advisable even, to let the qi settle—oh dear! Sir!”

Dorian had thrown aside the cup. Far too slow! “Gerard,” he sighed as he climbed onto the drum’s top. “You ought to have learned by now! Try as you might, you’ll never make something civilized out of me.”

Then he dunked his head into the hole and started chugging in earnest.

[Level-up!]

[Star Realm: Sun]

[90 -> 95 %]

[Level-up!]

[Fire Planet: Moon]

[83 -> 88%]

….

….

He came back up only for air. Then dunked his head back in.

[Level-up!]

[Star Realm: Sun]

[95 -> 100%]

[Level-up!]

[Fire Planet: Moon]

[88 -> 93%]

Oh?

He felt within himself. His Dark Star was acting up. On the surface it seemed same as it’d ever been, except larger now he’d packed on the extra qi. But he felt a spark at its very center. The core of the star was getting so dense—so hugely pressurized—his qi was starting to undergo fusion!

As he packed more qi in would the rest of the Star fuse too?!

He had more space to fill than even he’d expected…

It was a thing at once good and bad. The bad was that it’d take far, far longer to reach his qi threshold for Empyrean.

The good, however… once he did max out his qi it’d be, inch-for-inch, pound-for-pound, one of the most potent in all the Multiverse! Or so he expected. And dearly wished.

[Level-up!]

[Star Realm: Sun -> Red Giant]

[0% -> 1%]

He winced at that. There was much qi left to drink—but Hells growth slowed fast! Stay alive long enough and most every Demigod could conceivably become a God. But it took something special indeed for a God to ascend to Empyrean…

[Level-up!]

[Fire Planet: Moon]

[93% -> 98%]

…

…

….

[Level-up!]

[Star Realm: Sun -> Red Giant]

[1% -> 2%]

….

…

…

[Level-up!]

[Fire Planet: Terrestrial]

[0% -> 3%]

…

…

…

The hours trickled on. So did the levels. Until at last Dorian found himself in a strange predicament.

[Level-up!]

[Star Realm: Sun -> Red Giant]

[14% -> 15%]

[Level-up!]

[Fire Planet: Terrestrial]

[28% -> 31%]

He came back up for air, and paused. “Ah, shit.”

Then, with the greatest reluctance, pulled himself out.

“Is there a problem, sir?” Gerard sat cross-legged, tea in one hand and a huge leather-bound book—Gretton’s Encyclopaedia of Flora & Fauna Native to Amarkand, said the cover—in the other.

“It appears I have hit upon my body’s physical limits.”

“You’ve hit the qi bottleneck to Empyrean? Already?”

“No, I need to piss.”

“Ah.”

“Where might I find a restroom in this lovely establishment?”

“I shall escort you,” sighed Gerard.

“Wait! First—”

He tapped his own Interspatial Ring, and pulled out the ranking crystal he’d bought but a few hours before. Pouring in some qi, he gave it a light shake. An unseen eye raked every fiber of his being. A pause.

[Assessment Complete.]

[Updating Profile….]

[User Dao Level: God]

[User Rank: 184-> 138]

[User Percentile: 99.998% -> 99.999%]

Nice!