Echidna was the first primordial monster in the Mortal Realm. In terms of seniority, she was not inferior to any of the Second Generation divine beasts. In terms of Power she was only inferior to the likes of Tiamat and Lucifer or Michael when she was at her peak.

Echidna was not born weak. She was born perfect and indeed because of this, the way she saw the world was very different from how mere mortals might have seen it.

This current situation of weakness was something she never encountered. This feeling of helplessness was not something she was used to and the fact that her life would be outside of her own control would have never even been considered by her.

Even so, there was one thing he was wrong about,

“Let’s make things clear first, “ Echidna released a calm sigh and looked straight at Sol, “I have never looked down on mortals. Much less despised them.”

Only the aura of a Duke came out of her but at this moment even Sol had to put a little more of his guard. The pressure coming out of her was not a matter of pure power but more the simple power of her Truth. The aura of someone who was born strong and who terrorized the entire era with her lonesome — One of the first three Demigods of the Mortal Realm.

She could accept Sol insulting her. The strong had the right to control the weak after all. She could accept Sol making sure she could hurt no one and she could even accept Sol using her for his own goal.

But! She would never accept anyone insulting her aspirations,

“I have long since understood that direct creation of the Goddesses could never cross the threshold. It is nearly impossible for Me or even the other divine beasts to become God. Only mortals can! Only by studying the mystery of their bodies can one reach this fabled level and I believe I have reached a higher level of understanding than anyone else in this world. No one and I mean absolutely no one! Understand mortals more than me.”

Her speech finished, Echidna stood up and advanced toward Sol, “You. You wish to become a God, right? There is no other reason for you to keep me alive.” Echidna grinned, “I see it in your eyes. A great thirst for power. You may hide it behind a mask of indifference but you cannot fool me. You who have crawled from a normal human to what you are know more than anyone just how important power is and you wish for more. Far more.”

Sol frowned at Echidna who was so close to him their face could nearly touch. He did not like seeing this expression of pure madness on Nuwa’s cute face. This was not something that suited the cute girl and absent-minded girl that she was.

At the same time, he could not ignore Echidna’s words. Placing a finger on her forehead, he pushed her away and spoke quietly, “You are right. I want to become a god and though you failed. I believe you have precious information.”

His voice was calm and he ignored the worried look Isis was giving him. Lately, he had been more and more aware of his own weakness in the grand scheme of things. He could terrorize weak Dukes in the Mortal realm but this brought no joy to him.

Sol already had plans to snatch the mortal world and protect all those he cared about there but there was one thing he did not want to and this was to become a prisoner in a prison of his own making.

Taking the mortal world would make him mortal enemies with the goddesses without a doubt and while this pun was totally intended, the situation at hand was in no way funny nor amusing. Even Anubis, for all his power, did not dare to steal the entire Afterlife realm and in a way, the Mortal realm was vastly more important for the goddesses.

“I do not think I can become a god on my own.”

Sol was hundreds of percent sure that he could become a powerful demigod. Even a false god in fact. As long as his plans did not fail and he obtained the Name he was gunning for, he might truly become the strongest demigod to have ever existed. This was his pride and his confidence. But it was necessary to remember that even his alternate self, despite obtaining divinity and being strong enough to erase all timelines, still  did not become a true god.

Becoming a god was clearly not just a question of power. It needed something more. Something he might never find if he fumbled alone. But why did he have to fumble alone?

Even his alternate self only managed to find the secret of absolute time rewind by getting the help of Anubis and Ambrosia as well as Skuld and her sisters. What if he managed to get Echidna's help as well?

“I want your help. Not just yours. Ambrosia, Anubis, and many others. I do not think I can walk this road on my own.” He hides nothing. He knew trying would be useless and nothing but an insult to Echidna.

“Heh and what do I get from helping you? You said it yourself, right? You will kill me if those lovers of you decide for my death. Why should I help you sincerely when I know I can die at any moment?”

“Oh. You will help me. Of that, I have no doubt.” Sol smirked which Irked Echidna somewhat. “What makes you so sure?”

This time, it was Sol's turn to stand up and advance toward Echidna. As she was in Nuwa’s body, she was quite petite so he could easily look down on her, “Earlier, you acted as if you could understand me and perhaps you understood some part of me indeed. But you see, I can do the same for you.”

He held her gaze with his and enunciated slowly, “You will help me. Because you are Echidna. Your madness knows no limits and your desire to create a True God is as deep as the abyss.  You care not for death or life. Your greatest reward will be my ascension to godhood. To realize this dream of yours, even selling your soul is not impossible. Am I wrong?”

The two of them looked at each other. Their gazes filled with their own brand of madness but in the end, the first one to wield was Echidna. A large smile formed on her face and soon she exploded in laughter.

It was a beautiful laugh. One filled with amusement and joy as if she relished this feeling of being understood and when she finished laughing, she nodded, “You are right. Creating a god is my life purpose and for it, I would sacrifice my life gladly.”

“Then  do we have a deal ?”

He brought his hand forward and, after looking at it for a short while, she quietly looked up at Sol before nodding and shook his hand in response, “We do.”

No sooner were those words pronounced than thousands of strings appeared all around them before covering their hands.

This was not just a light agreement. But a full vow. One that was extremely unfair to Echidna but one she accepted nonetheless.

How cunning.

Echidna had a great understanding of the soul even if it was to a lesser extent than Anubis and she could feel a new binding coiling around it. One that was even more powerful than the self-destruction node that had been added recently.

But she did not care.

“Since you have Anubis' child with you then you should have a certain understanding of what kind of things we did.”

“The G.O.D project.”

“Indeed. This was a project made with our own masteries fused all together. Soul, Magic, and Body. We may have failed but I have managed to create something more. Something different and I would have used this something had I the full control of this body.”

“What did you create?”

Echidna tapped her head, “Anubis once gave me an idea while speaking to me about the principles of cultivation in the fictions of his world and I realized one thing. The current way of reaching the level of demigod is through the evolution of the soul. Firstly finding one Truth. Then sublimating the soul by obtaining a name and only then do you try to ascend by evolving the body and the soul together. But — What if it was wrong? What if…One should also cultivate the body properly. Once I reached this thought. I began wondering about many things as well. Was it possible to ascend through the body alone? Could an individual reach a level so high they could stand toe to toe with even a God? Without being naturally born with such a body like a dragon?”

Sol was listening to her, his breath slowly accelerating as he was beginning to understand what she was implying.

She tapped her chest this time, “I found a way to strengthen the body through Devouring. But what I wanted was different. Just having a strong body was not enough. After all, mortals are the key and chances are none of them would be able to use the power of Devouring. So I needed to create a new way and finally, after centuries of studying I reached an answer.”

Her smile became so large it seemed as if it would split, “Yes it was possible!”

“You created a way for body cultivation.” This was something Sol would have never imagined and he once again realized how much of a treasure trove this crazy woman was.

“Indeed and I call it — Seven Chakra Opening.”