I was momentarily startled by the sudden appearance of a dark void, resembling a black hole, manifest right before my eyes. However, I quickly regained my composure and stepped into the obsidian vortex. Just as when God first cast me into this world, the suction was relentless, swallowing my form whole. When I finally emerged, what stood before me was a young boy.
"And you are?" I asked, narrowing my eyes.
"I am God."
"Your appearance has changed."
"Appearance is of no consequence to a deity."
When I had met him before, he took the form of a man. This time, he was a mere child. Witnessing such mutability only solidified my realization that this being truly was a god. On another note, I wondered if I would ever reach such a lofty stage. It was then that God looked toward me and grinned.
"Now then! I have summoned you here to grant a gift in honor of your evolution into a Vasto Lorde. What is it you desire, oh human who became a Hollow?"
Only then did I understand why I was being summoned. He had mentioned long before my reincarnation that he would eventually provide a direct gift, but I hadn't expected it to be now. Regardless, the timing was perfect.
"Will you grant anything at all?"
"Indeed. At your current level, nearly anything is within your reach. However! Do not ask to be made into a god. That doesn't work. Divinity is a status one must ascend to through their own power."
"Does that mean... I could eventually become a god too?"
"Mmhmm. There have been many. Those who reincarnated and eventually reached the realm of gods."
God answered after a brief moment of contemplation, as if searching through old memories. I nodded, accepting the answer. Looking back on the web novels and parodies I'd read in my past life, there were certainly plenty of protagonists who ascended to divinity.
"Then, my wish is..."
A smirk pulled at my mask. If anything was truly possible, then what I needed most right now was 'that.' The specific burden that came with reaching the rank of Vasto Lorde.
"Eliminate my weakness. No... remove my flaw."
"Hahahaha! I knew you would want that! The power of death is truly formidable. But there is no way to wield such absolute strength without a price. Your flaw is undoubtedly your own lifespan—your very Reiatsu."
God laughed, as if he had anticipated my request from the start. His insight reminded me once more that the child standing before me was an all-knowing deity. As he said, the power of death—my Aspect of Death—carried a fatal defect. Whenever I activated it, my own lifespan, or rather, my spiritual energy, was rapidly consumed.
This was exactly why my Life Absorption ability was naturally attached to me from the beginning. Life Absorption existed purely to replenish the spiritual pressure bled out when using the power of death. If I were to use that power without successfully harvesting souls, I would reach the end of my life in an instant. This was my sole, glaring flaw. It was the same logic that applied to Baraggan Louisenbairn. His flesh is stripped because of his power of Senescence, and if he were to succumb to his own decay, he would die. For me, the power of death was a double-edged sword. But if this flaw were erased, I would be able to absorb spirit particles indefinitely while growing exponentially stronger. God likely summoned me now precisely because he knew I'd reached this crossroads.
"Very well. I shall grant your wish."
God pointed a single finger at me. In the next instant, a sensation of dizzying vastness washed over me, and the defect within my soul vanished.
"Your wish is fulfilled. Now go back and play to your heart's content. Hahahaha."
As God finished speaking, the dark black hole reappeared behind me. Unlike the day of my reincarnation, I walked into the void by my own will, offering a parting word.
"Farewell, then."
"Go on, human-turned-Hollow... or should I say, Lucifer La El."
With that, the conversation with God concluded. I was spat back out into the endless sands of Hueco Mundo.
The gift from God was exactly what I needed. While the power of death is immense, the penalty was too high—just like Baraggan's Senescence. I prepared this encounter specifically to remove that defect from the start. Since my death powers act as a double-edged sword that damages the user, Life Absorption was a necessity to mitigate the self-inflicted harm. But now that the flaw is gone, my Reiatsu won't be drained. I can simply keep filling my reserves. Kehehe, with this, I've moved one step closer to becoming a true Munchkin.