Chapter 557 Before My Glory 'It was weird,' Rowan thought, 'to see the various bodies I have ever lived in. Perhaps it is a good thing that their memories were taken from me?' His serpentine eyes suddenly blazed with madness, that was ancient and malevolent, a madness even the gods would run away from, and the energy of Chaos rushed into his body with renewed intensity. 'No! Even if these existences were nothing but pain, it is still my own, all taken… all stolen. If I am to get my payback, it shall be in full. I have given too much, and committed great acts of atrocities, for my full recompense to not be paid.' Rowan was not aware, but the white of his eyes had turned black, and his golden serpentine pupils were like gemstones encased in obsidian. They were beyond cold, his gaze could be filled with something closer to… Evil. They watched his bodies pile up, etching by etching, as with every second that went by tens of thousands of bodies were drawn. Then when it felt like this was all there was to be, the etchings turned green and Rowan saw a youth, maybe seventeen years old with bright green eyes and green hair. His eyes were bright and filled with laughter, and there was a peace and contentment in his gaze that spoke of a simple sort of wisdom that was also incredibly profound. Rowan knew that this youth had lived a life filled with joy and happiness, he was a giver of life, and everything under his fingertips bloomed with such splendor, that given enough time and with the potential bequeathed by the Primordial Record, this youth would have changed the universe. He would have ushered in a time of peace and prosperity everlasting. His power would have been supreme yet tempered by fairness and love…. "Instead, you have me now." Rowan grinned, a look that surprisingly conveyed a profound sadness. The etchings did not end, the next scene showed the youth being held by the throat by the same shadowy figure of his father, the other hand of the father was plunged inside his chest and seemed to be tearing him apart, looking for something. The trail of green continued for a while, showing a plentiful scene of torture that would stagger the imagination of even the gods. He was beheaded, flayed, burned, drowned, corroded, crucified, grounded, eaten, torn apart in various ways possible, and the light of hope and love inside the eyes of this youth began to die… … but still, there was something there. A green light, that was hidden all along, held deeply inside his heart, that he kept burning, no matter how much was done to him, no matter the atrocities or the pain or depravity, he kept that light burning. 𝘧𝑟𝑒𝑒𝘸𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝓁.𝘤𝘰𝓂 The madness in Rowan's eyes slowly retreated as he saw how bravely this youth held on to… hope. "You have me…" This whisper from Rowan was different, almost like a cry of solace for this child. Who endured… who waited for his one chance. Rowan fully intended the sacrifice of this youth to never be in vain. Suddenly the Spirit Matrix Gate trembled and flashed twice with a bright white light, which turned out to be a small orb that shone like a star. Before now, Rowan would not have recognized that orb, but with the advancement in his bloodline, he knew what that orb was, and it was his own, intricately connected to him, more deeply than even his Soul. This was his Soul Origin. Not of Rowan Kuranes, no, this was the Soul Origin of Rowan Carter, and as it was etched on the gate, it began to merge everything. Linking both the future and the past. Rowan looked towards the bottom of the gates and understood the significance of white and golden etching… His Soul Origin was the bridge that made Rowan Kuranes complete, shattering the massive gap created by his father. Yet, the revelations did not end here, for the Spirit Matrix Gate called for more Mental Energy, and Rowan would have failed before, but with every god that was dying inside the universe, his resources grew. At this time, there were already fifteen dead gods, they not only gave him Soul Crystals, but they also gave him more Consciousness Pillars. He instantly recalled the process of acclimation outside the universe, he had needed more consciousness powers and more had appeared, seemingly out of nowhere. "Oh, Eva, what would I do without you?" Rowan grinned, his Consciousness Pillars were now greater than 50, and two new ones were beginning to appear, he hastily allocated his consciousness powers equally between maintaining his growing body and his Spirit Matrix Gate. Right now he was 200,000 thousand miles tall, and if he wanted he could easily hold five large planets in his hands, Rowan did not even want to imagine how powerful he was in this state, because this power was not just feeding only his Constitution, but it was now being channeled to his strength and Agility. On his arms and legs, scales began to appear, that were not golden but black like midnight, and an intense stench emanated from them, that reminded Rowan of his Chaos Blood. Wicked black claws appeared on his fingertips and feet that were bleeding darkness and leaving long trails in the air. The black scales were beginning to spread and soon they covered his chest and began traveling up his neck where they stopped just below his mouth. The scales on his chest were a deep midnight black, but soon tiny particles of light began to shine, in comparison to Rowan's current size, those 'tiny lights' were the size of massive continents… and those lights were stars. One by one they began to blaze up, their light was gathering into streams that were rising like a tide, and all of these swept towards Rowan's head. Rowan shuddered and stood up straighter, his back pointed like a spear, his expanding body a figure of horror and adoration, as a crown of starlight rested on his brows. "Let all of Creation kneel before my glory."