The white space reset again.
Goddess Liora looked at the hero standing before her, whole and restored.
Her eyes were full of gentle pity. She had no mory of his previous wishes. No mory of the long list of divine gifts that had transford him into sothing beyond mortal.
All those mories had been erased from her mind like wiping words from a page.
She was a god trapped in a ten-minute loop. And Dante was the one controlling it.
Her mind was confused now. Fuzzy. She only rembered the tiline where Dante had just asked for healing magic. Nothing before that. Nothing after.
"Your spirit is the brightest I have ever witnessed, Dante," she said warmly. She had no idea she was speaking to the man who had just played her perfectly. "To ask for such a noble power... you are truly the greatest of heroes. Very well. I will grant it."
She raised her hand. Golden light began forming in her palm.
The ga continued.
His body was already divine. His mana was limitless. His skills were god-like. Now it was ti to build his fortress. Ti to beco truly immortal.
"I have changed my mind, Goddess," he said, his voice carefully pained.
She paused, looking at him with concern.
"The power to heal is noble," he continued. "But it only fixes wounds that have already been made. I wish for sothing better. Sothing that prevents the wound in the first place."
He looked troubled. "In the new world, my team will face treacherous humans. n like Lucien who will stop at nothing to destroy us."
"I must be their unshakeable shield," he said with fake determination. "I wish for the power to be immune to their blades."
He t her eyes. "Grant this, Goddess. Make it so I cannot be killed by any human."
Her eyes widened. Not with suspicion, but with awe.
"You wish not for a sword to kill your enemies," she said with wonder, "but for a shield to endure their hatred for the sake of your friends. Your selflessness is beautiful, hero. It shall be done."
She gave him this because she knew it wasnt immortality, Just surviving against the lowest pest-- the humans. While the real threats can be anyone apart from just human race.
The golden light flowed into him. This ti it wasn’t a surge of power. It was quieter. A fundantal rewriting of his existence. A single unbreakable law was etched into his soul.
Humans cannot kill .
Perfect.
"Thank you, Goddess," he breathed gratefully.
And then he reset the board.
"Lethe’s Veil."
---
[Ten Minutes Earlier]
A faint flicker. A brief sense of déjà vu, gone before it could be examined.
Liora looked at the hero with deep admiration. He had endured so much, yet asked for so little.
"Your compassion is a beacon in the darkness, Dante," she said with respect. "To wish for a power of peace shows your true character. Very well. I will grant it."
"I have changed my mind, Goddess," he said, his voice now grim. "Humans are not the only threat. The new world will be filled with savage beasts and terrible monsters."
"I must be able to stand before them," he said firmly. "To draw their rage. To be the unbreakable wall behind which my friends can fight safely."
He looked at her with false conviction. "Grant this, Goddess. Make it so I cannot be killed by any beast or monster."
"Your courage knows no bounds," she breathed with reverence. "To willingly make yourself the target of the world’s horrors... your dedication is absolute. It shall be done."
Another law was written into his soul. Another layer of invulnerability added to his fortress.
The plundering continued. Each selfish desire perfectly frad as selfless sacrifice.
"Lethe’s Veil."
---
"Your selflessness outshines the stars, hero..."
"The new world may have gods and demons," he said seriously. "Beings of imnse power. I must be able to stand before them. To negotiate for my people’s safety. To be their unwavering diplomat, unafraid of any divine or infernal wrath."
He bowed his head humbly. "Grant this, Goddess. Make it so I cannot be killed by any god or demon."
She granted it without hesitation.
"Lethe’s Veil."
---
"Your concern for your team is bottomless..."
"Spirits, curses, insidious magic," he listed carefully. "These are the unseen daggers that can strike a leader down and leave his army in chaos. I must be immune to these ethereal threats. To be a constant, uncorruptible beacon for my team."
He looked up at her. "Grant this, Goddess. Make it so I cannot be killed by any spirit. And make immune to death from any curse, poison, disease, or magic."
She wept at his nobility. Granted it imdiately.
"Lethe’s Veil."
---
With each loop, her admiration grew into sothing like worship. She no longer saw him as just a hero. He was a saint. A ssiah. The perfect selfless protector she’d always dread of finding.
And with every loop, he added another layer of invulnerability. Another unbreakable law.
He wove a web of complete invincibility, leaving no gaps, no weaknesses.
He had asked for the partial invinsibility in every loop.
For example he asked that he should not be killed during day
And then in next loop he asked for the night then not to be killed indoors on next loop it was outdoors, This went on until he secured the below:
He made it so he could not be killed during the day or during the night.
He made it so he could not be killed indoors or outdoors.
He made it so he could not be killed on land, in the air, or in the water.
Each request carefully worded. Each one granted with tears of pride and the least susceptibility due to break down of the desired gifts.
His final request in this series was the capstone.
"Goddess," he said quietly, his voice weary. "I am still a mortal man. My body will age. I will grow weak. I cannot protect them forever."
He looked at her with sad eyes. "Grant this, so I may be their eternal guardian."
"Make it so I shall not die from age, hunger, thirst, or fatigue. And make my wounds heal before death can claim ."
When the final blessing settled into his soul, he felt it completely.
A profound, fundantal shift in his very being.
He was no longer a man. He was a concept. A self-sustaining, self-repairing, utterly unkillable law of nature.
He was immortal. Completely and absolutely immortal.
Inside, he was smiling. But he wasn’t done yet.
"Lethe’s Veil."
---
"...a trifle. A piece of trash, compared to what I could grant you."
"I have changed my mind, Goddess," he said, his face showing deep grief. "This small immortality is a lonely gift if I am destined to watch my friends fall around ."
"I wish for the power to deny death its prize," he said passionately. "Grant the ability to bring my comrades back, should the worst happen."
"To have dominion over death is a power I cannot grant," she said sadly.
"I do not ask for dominion," he countered gently. "Only for a reprieve. A single chance. A spell that can bring the dead back to life, but only if cast within one minute of their death."
He looked desperate. "A small window of hope in a world of despair. Is that not a worthy wish for a hero?"
His logic was flawless. It was a request born of love and protection. How could she refuse?
"A spell of Fleeting Restoration," she mused, eyes full of respect. "A heavy burden, to hold the power of life and death, even for a mont. But your heart is pure. I will grant it."
Perfect.
Now his pawns were immortal too. As long as he was there to resurrect them within sixty seconds.
His final preparations were strategic. He needed to be a ghost. A god moving unseen among mortals.
"Lethe’s Veil."
---
"Your heart is truly that of a hero, Dante..."
"Goddess," he began with humble curiosity. "You are a being of imnse power. Can you see us, your chosen heroes, even when we are in the new world? Can you watch over us from your celestial realm?"
"I can," she confird with a gentle smile. "I am always watching over my children."
Good. That’s what he needed to know.
"Lethe’s Veil."
---
"Your heart is truly that of a hero, Dante..."
"Goddess," he said with false humility. "I am not worthy of a god’s constant gaze. My path will be difficult. I may have to make hard choices. Choices that may seem cruel to a being of pure light like yourself. And just like I can feel that you are kind but other god you ntioned those who are part of this ga may see as anomaly of their gas and try to force to the hero they want "
"I wish for privacy," he said carefully. "I wish for the freedom to do what must be done without fear of divine judgnt. I wish for a blessing of absolute obscurity."
"Make it so no god shall see , in this world or any other. Not even through the eyes of another. Let be a ghost, a shadow working in darkness for the sake of light."
His request, frad as humble self-awareness, was perfect manipulation.
"To willingly cloak yourself from heaven’s sight," she whispered with awe. "To choose a lonely, thankless path... your humility is boundless. It shall be done."
A final shimring blessing washed over him. He felt himself being wrapped in a veil of absolute divine silence.
He was invisible to all gods now. A ghost in the machine.
Everything was in place.
He was unkillable. Unknowable. With an army of the dead, a team of loyal pawns, and the ability to resurrect them at will.
The new world wasn’t a challenge. It was a playground.
Inside his mind, he thought coldly: ’And being a king would be too boring. After so ti, I’ll beco every character that pleases . A master puppeteer in a play of my own design.’
And then a final delicious thought ca to him. The original offer. The truth.
"Lethe’s Veil."
---
"...a trifle. A piece of trash, compared to what I could grant you."
He took a deep breath, looking like a man who’d finally found peace.
"You offered a truth," he said calmly. "A truth that would co with a curse of silence."
"I have all the power I need to protect my friends. Now, all I desire is a sliver of understanding for my own weary soul. I will take your offer."
He looked at her with noble sacrifice in his eyes. "I will forsake any further power. I choose the truth."
His final performance was his greatest.
He was sacrificing his last wish, the ultimate prize for a piece of knowledge. Fully accepting the curse that ca with it. It was the most selfless, noble, heroic act imaginable.
Liora’s galactic eyes shone with pure pride.
"You have surpassed every expectation, Dante," she said, voice full of reverence. "To choose knowledge over power, understanding over strength... you are the wisest of heroes."
A faint smile touched his lips.
Inside, he was laughing. He’d already wished for immunity to all curses. Her final terrible price was, to him, completely aningless.
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