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Luthor had no idea what he was witnessing. Was this something a human could take? Bolt after bolt of black lightning rained from the sky, striking a bloody figure as it climbed up the side of a massive hole in the ground. The figure was shrieking in pain but also in retaliation towards the lightning bolts. Blood covered the figure, and black lightning danced along the surface of its body, emitting flashes of darkness. It was impossible to know what the figure had looked like; every surface was covered by blood as if all of his or her skin had been melted off. Where the person’s eyes should’ve been, there were melted chunks of solidifying goop, and Luthor was surprised the person could even scream with how damaged their throat was.

“Do you see, Mr. President?” the head of homeland security asked with a pale face. “This is why it’s so difficult for our officers to become false immortals. Ascending is an act going against the heavens. Only the mightiest can even hope to withstand the tribulation that follows.”

Luthor gulped. The destructive aura coming off the lightning was sending shivers down his spine. If even a single spark were to touch him, he knew he’d turn to ashes upon contact. However, he had still braved the risk and came down to witness the tribulation. If the federation wanted to recruit this unknown master, they had to show their sincerity. If the president refused to show up, wouldn’t that be an insult to the false immortal’s status? The federation was asking for something that would preserve its life; no one was too important to have the false immortal come to them instead of the other way around.

A sigh escaped from the head of homeland security’s mouth. Looking at the tribulation-taker’s state made him feel helpless. It was obvious the person couldn’t last much longer. Once he or she failed, the federation’s hopes and wishes would turn to dust. It wouldn’t be inappropriate to say the fate of hundreds of billions of lives rested on this person succeeding, and right now, the head of homeland security could see those lives slipping away like grains of sand through his fingers. “It’s a shame there’s no way to help someone when they’re undergoing a tribulation.”

“We can pray,” Luthor said.

The head of homeland security nodded. He supposed that was the only thing that could help the person survive, but would a god really listen to their prayers?

***

Pravos’ brow furrowed. How long had it been since she was last in a dilemma? She couldn’t let Rachel die; if Rachel died, Vremya’s avatar wouldn’t have someone to hold up the sky for him. The empire and coalition would invade, and there was no way Grandpa Vremya could survive against two false immortals. It wouldn’t be possible to trick them into undergoing their tribulation of the mind like he did to Maximillius. If Grandpa Vremya perished, then Karta, Vremya, and Pravos would be stuck in the black hole for even longer. However, if Rachel passed the tribulation because of Pravos’ interference, would Pravos be able to live herself?

Rachel was inherently an evil person. Her personality was twisted, and her mind worked in demonic ways. The karma coming from her tribulation was enough to prove Pravos’ judgment of the ex-sect leader. If she was supposed to die naturally on her way to becoming a false immortal, saving her would be similar to unleashing a great evil in the lower dimension. An evil person survived despite being in a sure-death situation, where was the justice in a situation like that? It was absent, that was where. Pravos bit her lower lip. However, if justice chose not to leave the black hole through all means necessary, wasn’t that the same as letting evil take over outside of the black hole?

“Hey, woman!” Karta said. “If you don’t save her, everything we’ve been doing will turn to crap! What are you waiting for?” After spending so much time accompanying Emily and the seventy-two remaining users on the Moon Lotus World, she was starting to get attached to them. Her users had never gotten this far before, which just went to show how strong the power of money was. If their hard work was ruined by Pravos’ indecision, Karta would feel the heartache too. What kind of god wanted bad things to happen to their users? Maybe the god of sadism, but that was it! “Well? Are you going to say anything?”

Pravos clutched her hair with both her hands. “I don’t know! Tribulations are the greatest form of justice! If someone isn’t meant to survive through one, then helping her is an act against justice. How can you ask me to do something that goes against myself!?”

“Alright, that settles it,” Karta said and leapt off the couch, trotting to the corner Pravos was sitting in. With a wave of her hip, Karta used her hindlegs and her butt to knock Pravos away. Then, the god of the marketplace and potato chips placed her paws on Pravos’ personal computer. “If you can’t do it, then I’ll do it.” She bared her teeth when Pravos sat up and made eye contact with the dog. “And don’t try to stop me because not stopping me is injustice or something, okay?”

Vremya sighed. “Pravos,” he said, causing the nearly crying god to look at him despite the room being covered in darkness. “Delayed justice is still justice. There’s nothing wrong with letting Rachel succeed for now, but don’t forget, in the end, she has to fail. The dimension in my bellybutton is only big enough for one god to be born.”

“Yeah,” Karta said, rolling her eyes to the side to look at Pravos. “Or, you can even make Rachel your apostle and have her dole out justice for you.” Karta hummed to herself and rubbed her chin with her hind paw. “How should I save her? Material ways are too risky. What if a heavenly item ends up in Grandpa Vremya’s hands? Everything we worked for would be ruined.”

“Move,” Pravos said, pushing Karta away, causing the dog to fall onto its side and yelp. There was no light within the black hole, so it was impossible to see the determination burning in the god of justice’s eyes. “I’ll do it.”

***

Rachel could tell she was dying. Instead of relying on a useless emotion like fear or anxiety, both of which she had severed long ago, she relied on cold hard numbers. She didn’t know how long the tribulation would go on for, but she knew the spiritual energy within her body would only preserve her life for seven more lightning strikes. If the lightning stopped within seven strikes, then she won, but if it continued, then she lost. No matter how much more determined she was, there wasn’t any way for her to last much longer.

[The Lottery System has been unlocked! The user will be given a free draw to tempt them into using the system.]
[Ding!]
[Lottery Reward: Lightning and Frost Tribulation Body Technique]
[Due to the user’s precarious situation, this reward will be directly injected the user’s brain without needing the user to retrieve the manual herself. Remember, you owe the system a great debt for this!]

Information flooded Rachel’s mind. Thanks to the constant pain in her soul due to her past selves killing her over and over, the technique was engraved deeply into her mind. Such a traumatic experience, how could she forget it? However, the reward she had just been given out of nowhere was bound to be even more traumatic. The technique required her to absorb the tribulation lightning directly into her body, fusing it with her spiritual energy, somehow mixing the elements of lightning and frost together without exploding all whilst under the constant pain in her soul. It would require all her concentration, and if she failed, it was a guaranteed death. If she succeeded, then not only would she last past seven lightning bolts, but she’d also become even stronger than if she passed normally. The choice was obvious. Strength was everything! Risk meant nothing!

Rachel opened up her meridians, allowing the black lightning dancing on her body to collide with her frost-based spiritual energy. Like amoebas engulfing their food, Rachel’s spiritual energy wrapped around the black sparks, dragging them back inside her body. Pain so blinding that her vision went white assaulted Rachel all at once, but she still managed to follow the technique she had been given. Never had she wanted to kick her younger self in the ass more than she did now, but it was a shame she wasn’t given any opportunity to do so. Despite continuously dying and being in horrific agony, Rachel circulated the Lightning and Frost Tribulation Body Technique multiple times without exploding. Since the start of the tribulation, her determination had never wavered. There was no way in hell she was going to fall here, not to the heavens and most certainly not to her younger self!

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