He envisioned the primordial soup, the lightning strikes, the hydrothermal vents ��� not as physical objects he needed to create, but as processes he could initiate on a microscopic, chemical level.
He concentrated, a faint glow emanating from his ethereal form as he channeled his remaining Faith.
He directed the energy, not in a grand, visible spectacle, but in a precise, microscopic dance.
He stimulated the formation of complex organic molecules in the sunlit surface waters, encouraged the self-assembly of lipid membranes, and provided the subtle energetic nudges for the first self-replicating RNA strands to emerge.
It was like conducting an invisible orchestra of atoms and energy.
Divine Action: Primordial Spark Initiated. Cost: 5 Faith Points.
Current Faith: 5 -> Remaining Faith: 0
For a moment, nothing happened.
Then, a single, microscopic flicker of green light appeared deep within Veridia’s sunlit waters.
It was incredibly subtle, visible only to his divine sight, but it was there.
The first spark. Life. A single, self-replicating organism, the simplest form of algae, had begun its existence, not from a purchased packet, but from his direct, knowledgeable, and now Faith-depleted intervention.
A profound sense of accomplishment washed over him. He, Cosmos, had created life. It wasn’t grand, it wasn’t complex, but it was the beginning.
He checked his status again.
God Name: Cosmos
Planet Name: Veridia
LifeForms: 1
Talent: Skill-Resonance (SSS-Grade)
Faith: 0
-One,- he chuckled, a sense of quiet triumph filling him. It was a humble start, but a start nonetheless.
Now, the waiting game truly began, but this time, he understood the rules of the game far better.
His Faith was now at zero. He needed a way to generate more. Faith, he realized, was likely generated by the life forms on his planet, perhaps through their sheer existence, their evolution, or eventually, their worship.
More life, more Faith. It was a positive feedback loop, but a slow one, especially with only a single life form.
He spent the next few -hours- simply observing. He tried to nudge the single algae, to encourage faster multiplication, but found his remaining 0 Faith was insufficient for any meaningful direct intervention beyond the initial spark.
He needed to let nature take its course, for now.
-System, what is the time flow ratio of Veridia to my perception?-
Veridia Time Flow: 10000 hours (planetary) = 1 hour (god)
Sunny blinked. -So, 10,000 hours on Veridia pass for every hour I perceive,- he murmured, quickly calculating. -That means 100 planetary years for Skill-Resonance to activate is roughly 876,000 hours divided by 10,000 hours per hour, which is 87.6 hours of my perception.
That’s about 3.65 days.-
It was still a waiting game, but a far more manageable one than a literal century.
This was a crucial piece of information. He wouldn’t be waiting around for eons in his own time.
He could actively oversee Veridia’s evolution, even if it was a slow burn.
He focused on the single microscopic algae, watching it divide, then divide again.
Slowly, imperceptibly, the numbers began to climb.
-This is truly a healthy start,- Sunny said, a small smile gracing his lips.
His planet was water, clean and ready, with its hidden landmasses awaiting future revelation.
He had the most basic life, directly willed into existence. And he had a talent that, while dormant, promised ultimate power.
The race was on, and while he might be starting slow, Cosmos had a long game in mind.
The first seed had been planted. Now, he just had to wait for it to grow. And grow. And eventually, evolve.
Chapter 3: Ch 3 : The Weight of Eons
Chapter 3 - Ch 3 : The Weight of Eons
Sunny frowned, a subtle discord rippling through his cosmic awareness. Something felt off���the algae, though proliferating, weren’t evolving at the expected dizzying pace, not with a 10,000x time acceleration for his world.
He had envisioned rapid, explosive diversification, a biological kaleidoscope unfolding before his divine eyes. Instead, it was. leisurely.
-System, why isn’t time flowing at 10,000x speed?- he queried, a hint of impatience in his mental tone.
Time is flowing at 10,000x speed.
As a god, your consciousness synchronizes with the observed world. Your perception is also accelerated to match.
A slow, dawning comprehension spread across Sunny’s cosmic consciousness, chilling him with its implications.
-So that’s why my algae were not evolving 10,000 times faster,- he murmured, the realization settling like stardust.
-But slowly dividing, in what felt like real-time.- The System’s logic, once explained, was elegantly simple, yet profoundly disorienting.
To truly observe a world, to immerse oneself in its temporal flow, required a commensurate acceleration of one’s own perception.
His divine brain, a magnificent instrument, had simply synchronized with the accelerated reality he was witnessing.