[You were supposed to survive Hel's presence in the fourth trial, but the Untamed Jungle adjusted the Fallen God using bits and pieces of its Divinity to alter the fourth trial…and adjust the third trial. The Heart Seed took root in your body, and you were pulled out earlier to start the Incubation Trial when the Dragys changed their tactics.] Fenrir explained while Hel added.
[The Untamed Jungle has been tracking you for a while now, and the Primordial Tree Spirit knows you're going to go wild if it keeps you in the Forgotten Temple until your territory has been eradicated. You would obliterate the Untamed Jungle in the attempt to kill the Dragys. Therefore, the Primordial Tree Spirit intervened a little and took a gamble. It wants you to kill the Dragys and rule the Untamed Jungle alongside it.]
"Granting me a Fragment of its Divinity is a heavy investment. Either the Primordial Tree Spirit is this desperate, or it trusts me."
The three God Curses nodded. They were of the same opinion.
"The Heart connects me to everyone and everything in the Untamed Jungle, including the primal root. To think that a simple plant life transformed into a divinity by fusing with the region's Energy Vein and by combining the Fallen Deity Guardian. I don't think anyone will believe this story," He smirked while calling upon the power of the Nature Heart.
The primal root stirred for a second, but it surrendered and released a massive amount of energy, which his Divine Shell and the Energy Vortex devoured instantly. 'If I consume half of the primal root, I can push straight to the 7th Tier. That way, I would be strong enough to deal with all Dragys easily. But is that necessary in the first place? I am already a Divine Lifeform in all but my Tier. The Divine Shell pushes me far above the threshold of a Higher Lifeform…and I have a bunch of powerful Soultraits, God Curses, and a Divinity Fragment to use.'
He rejected the idea of consuming the primal root. It nourished the Grand Region and allowed it to sustain the flora and fauna. The energy permeating the Untamed Jungle was the reason Michael survived this long. It was the sole reason he managed to become the man he was now. It would be a disgrace to consume half of the primal root when it wasn't necessary.
However, there was something Michael had to do with the energy of the primal root.
"Give me a little more," Michael bent down and caressed the primal root gently, "Not too much. I don't want to drain you. Another burst, and I will leave this place to kill the Dragys. Support me, and you will be free of pain soon." He smiled down at the primal root while his words resonated with the Nature Heart. A flood of energy gushed out of the primal root in a higher quantity and more potent than the first flood. Michael's smile widened, and he absorbed the energy using Swallow Domain to transform everything into curse power.
"Absorb it, Hel. I will need your power. Accept me like your brothers did. Etch your Essence into my soul to fight together!" Michael intonated while offering the flood of curse power to Hel. Hel didn't hesitate. She had already bound herself to Michael by transforming into one of his Core Soultrait Symbols. There was no going back anymore!
[Squeeze your buttocks and endure the pain, kiddo.] Hel commented as she consumed the curse power in one swoop. Nothing happened for a moment, but the first Seal formed shortly. It was etched on his right side and shoulder, covering a large portion of it. It showed a small skull that expanded as more details were added. More Seals formed on his right side, replicating the dead side of Hel. Skeletal fingers were formed on top of Michael's hand, and it didn't take long before the seals expanded. Only a few seals, Death Seals, formed, but Michael quickly understood what kind of image Hel would form. Her Death seals replicated her dead right side in its entirety. Once all Death Seals were formed, Michael's right side would look eerily similar to Hel and her dead right side.
Michael smiled through the pain. Etching the Death Seals on his bare skin and seemingly into his flesh and bones alongside didn't feel great, but the Death Seals were active, demonstrating the power he could gain from every single one of them.
The Death Seals were connected to Hel's Soultrait Symbol like in her brothers' cases. [If not for my brothers, I would have unsealed more of my power, but you cannot handle more than my power at 8-Star at this point. You must use more SoulStar Fragments to strengthen your soul and unseal Death Call's dormant power. Your soul will naturally expand, and you might feel a flood of soul power sweeping through you soon. The monsters of the Untamed Jungle are now for you to command. They're your source of Soul Power. Use them wisely.]
Death Call was what Hel's Soultrait was called. It was simple, yet not. Its main power was to devour a portion of power from the dead. That was something Michael had already felt similarly during the first trial of the Temple of the Forgotten. Michael would now gain much more power from every death in the Untamed Jungle and its surroundings than any energy influx or energy share could provide. That was the power and authority he had gained from acquiring both the Nature Heart and Death Call. Alone, they were already incredibly powerful, but together, they were an ungodly overpowered combination. The strongest perks of the Nature Heart and Death Call were in perfect sync, perfectly reflecting the cycle of life and death.
But Death Call was also the Soultrait Symbol that had occupied the empty Soul Socket…which Michael had sealed as it was connected straight to the Soul Grimoire. 8-Star Death Call and 7-Star Soul Grimoire were still connected, and it felt like their compatibility wasn't much worse than the Nature Heart and Death Call. To be precise, it was almost like Soul Grimoire had been created to support and augment one of Death Call's weaker authorities. Michael had yet to test the combined power of Death Call and Soul Grimoire, but he wasn't in a hurry to do so. However, there were other things he had to do in a hurry. He closed his eyes and accessed the Nature Heart to feel everything happening in the Untamed Jungle.
Everything was revealed to his mindeyes, revealed to him in memories, senses, and emotions. Michael felt like a God watching over his creation as he inspected everything happening all across the Grand Region.
However, he stopped when a flood of Soul Power impacted. It was just like Hel said. The Soul Power of the monsters who had been forced into submission when he acquired Nature Heart flooded him, nourishing every Soultrait Symbol, further strengthening them. All Soultrait Symbols acquired several times the amount of Soul Power they had accumulated until now.
That was good, but it was also necessary.
Michael nodded slowly, his eyes turning ice-cold. He had gained a lot from the Temple of the Forgotten. He was now a Tier-6 Lord with a Divine Shell, a Divinity Fragment, and three God Curses. He had four 8-Star Soultraits and was powerful enough to fight the Dragys head-on.
Michael had to. If he wasn't strong enough, everything would be over.