Chapter 1452 A Slim Passage Rowan might only have the body of a mortal, restricting much of his immortal wisdom, since a mortal's mind could barely hold a fraction of all the knowledge he had gathered in his lifetime, but he could recognize what was hanging over this doomed continent, and if he was correct then the trial before him was insane, there was no way in hell he should be able to achieve the goal of this fracture. 'Is there a possibility that I hate myself? How else do such impossible challenges fall on my path? This could be too much, even for me.' He observed what was before him, even as the strength left his legs and he collapsed to his knees, this was purely an involuntary action, his body simply responding to the menace before him. 'Surely this could not be it; he could not end his journey here; how was it possible for a mortal to kill a being that was on the verge of godhood?!' It was not as if Rowan had not achieved this feat before, many times in the past, that even such an activity became mundane for him before he became a true immortal, however, no matter how strong this body was, it was nothing in comparison to the power that Rowan originally controlled with his Empyrean bloodline fuelled by containing multiple Ouroboros Serpents. If he had his previous body at the Legendary state that had ten times the strength of this body in addition to his regenerative factor, insane energy stores, and powerful Sin weapon, even then the chance of victory would be fifty-fifty, but now, even a slight sneeze from this emerging god would turn him to ash. He was now inside the sort of body that Rowan had once despised due to their innate weakness and poor potential, and it was all he had to work with; there were no allies, no great weapon, just a frail mortal body standing before a godlike being. 'So, this is it, this is where it ends; after all my bluster and talent, when taken to the limits, I have finally seen something that I cannot conquer.' The screams emerged from the ball of flesh once more, seemingly taunting Rowan who was on his knees, upon hearing this sound, Rowan unexpectedly stood up and began to walk towards the ball of flesh, his pace was shockingly calm as if the mental torment of a moment before was nothing but a dream, 'If I'm to die in this trial, if this is my last day, then it would not be on my knees. I have accepted this truth, in life, there are challenges that you are never meant to win.' With this thought in his heart, Rowan's disposition changed, even as a mortal, with no vast immortal power supporting his spirit, Rowan was at peace, true peace. His heart beat slower until it was stable, his limbs steadied and his mind began to work with his fear, which was a new and unique sensation for him. Rowan was still afraid, the kind of fear that should freeze his limbs as his fight or flight responses had collapsed under the impossible weight of standing before an impossible existence like an emerging god, but he was able to function despite this fear, his mind overriding his instincts in a manner that should be impossible, and Rowan Knew that if he left this fracture, he would be able to function in his now mortal body despite the pain. From walking towards the screaming half-god, Rowan began to jog, his body familiarizing with this process once more, and from that light jog, he began to run. His speed ten times that of a normal man left him a blur in the eyes of anyone who would have observed him, his feet did not pound the ground as he seemed to glide over the earth, untouched by gravity, the supernatural grace of Rowan that had left other immortals in awe slowly seeping into the bones of this mortal. Hopping and skipping over obstacles in his path, he traversed past mountains of bodies and terrains that had been crushed by a great power, leaving large craters that extended for miles, some so great that the continent had nearly been torn apart and so deep that there was a hint of red at the bottom. This was the power he was supposed to fight against when his strongest blow could hardly collapse a building, he was a mortal that was about to go up against a force of nature, and Rowan discovered that he simply pushed forward even faster because after admitting his shortcomings, his stubborn personality still showed him a path towards victory. It was because his mind was beginning to fire on all cylinders, almost as if his fear was fueling this process, and he discovered that all might not be lost as he had once thought. In a million roads that all led towards death, there was a slim passage by the side that he could use to find life. The first sign that all was not lost was the unceasing cry from the ball of flesh, Rowan knew that for a mortal to become an immortal, in this case, a god, they would have to go through Tribulation, this step was slightly different from universe to universe but the process was always the same, a calamity would be imposed on the god candidate and if they could overcome it, then their souls would become immortal. At least immortal in the sense of a god and a universe, since a god's lifespan was the same as a universe, which was a single minor era, but that was such a long number of years; for many,, it was widely regarded as immortality. A billion trillion years was a long time by any stretch of the imagination. If he followed the normal cultivation process of a mortal to a god, then the person inside the ball of flesh was an Earth god on the verge of becoming a deity. The lifespan of an Earth god depended on the powers of their bloodline and their technique; some Earth gods could live for a few tens of thousands of years, while others could live for millions. Rowan did not know the reason why this Earth god had slaughtered everyone in this land and devastated the continent, perhaps he had failed his tribulation and had gone mad, but Rowan soon dismissed this line of thought, he had gone through the field of bodies, the mind that did all of that was mad, but it was a different sort of madness, it was one that glorified in slaughter and suffering, and even this shattered continent was a tale of someone lost in a blood frenzy. No, killing everyone here and destroying the continent was not related to the Tribulation or madness, enduring whatever was happening inside that ball of flesh was the true Tribulation, and all of these factors were the reason Rowan believed that he had a chance. Unlike a true immortal like a fully realized god, an Earth god could be killed if their energy stores could be depleted, and unlike a god that could be resurrected inside their Divine Kingdom endlessly unless the Divine Kingdom was destroyed, an Earth god would not be resurrected from death. An Earth god could recover from any wound, decapitation, fire, poison, or total eradication of their body, as long as they still had energy inside of their Mental Space or Core, and from what Rowan had been observing from the moment he took this body, this Earth god had been rather liberal with his powers before he began his ascension. Shattering a continent was within the purview of an Earth god, but such an act would be costly in terms of energy, and unlike him, who could endlessly regenerate his energy, an average Earth god without a proper source of Aether might spend months even decades regaining back the Aether they spent on such an activity, and he wondered why this Earth god, after consuming so much of his strength had still chosen to become a god shortly after. Perhaps he did not choose, Rowan thought; he should have had no choice, as the Tribulation should have been unexpected. Rowan had a bad habit of judging other immortals using his standard. It was very likely that after this Earth god had slaughtered everyone here, his mental state had been in an abnormal position and this might have triggered his Tribulation. Rowan had gone through the bodies and had seen a megalomaniac enjoying themselves to the fullest, and as he was running towards the ball of flesh he could see evidence of great torture, he could as well imagine this Earth god, standing over this shattered continent, seeing all the terrible works of their hands, and feeling like a god, this could be enough to trigger the Tribulation, as their hubris became a trap for them. The Tribulation was the deciding factor that Rowan considered to be the deciding factor that would ensure his victory.