The unification of Authorities was no simple matter in Little Garden. It meant completely shattering the Omnipotence Paradox and seizing absolute control over a concept.
Among the three-digit beings in the Almighty Domain, many possessed similar divinities and Authorities.
For example, sky gods, thunder gods, and war gods all presided over similar domains, yet they could coexist without issue.
But the Authorities unified by a two-digit being in the Full-Authority Domain, much like a Cosmic Truth, could never be duplicated.
For instance, Shiroyasha presided over the concept of mass for the entire universe. Unifying this Authority meant that all Gifts related to mass originated from her.
She was the absolute master of mass, and there was no other.
Similarly, the Queen Halloween had achieved unification over the Authority of Boundaries, but she hadn't fully met the conditions to ascend to the Full-Authority Domain.
Now, since Su Mo had successfully ascended to the two-digit rank, it meant he too had completed the unification of Authorities.
In their brief exchange, the Son of God had already confirmed that one of the unified Authorities was "Purification."
Despite its innocuous-sounding name, this was an incredibly destructive Authority.
Kalki was the savior who would descend at the end of the Kali Yuga to eradicate all evil, end the corrupt old world, and build a perfect new one.
In other words, the "Purification" he wielded meant burning the entire old world to ashes with apocalyptic fire.
Though he did this as a savior, it didn't change the fact that this unified Authority contained a Gift of world-destroying magnitude.
It was a power in no way inferior to Eschatology!
"If your first unified Authority is the 'Purification of the Old World,' then your second should be the 'Rebooting of the New World,' and your third... there is no third?!"
As a fellow savior, the Son of God keenly discerned the true nature of the Kalki divinity.
He was slightly surprised.
"Rebooting" meant re-creation. This Authority was excellent; though not purely for offense, it was a superb support Authority.
But that wasn't the issue. The issue was—
"Like the White Night Demon Lord, to complete the entire unification with just two Authorities... a spiritual essence like yours should not have been born at this time!"
The Son of God frowned deeply, his eyes filled with profound caution and, above all, confusion.
Based on past experience, to ascend to the Full-Authority Domain in Little Garden, one had to unify at least two Authorities.
Generally speaking, the fewer Authorities needed for ascension, the stronger the being.
The reason the Queen Halloween was only a special-rank three-digit and hadn't ascended was that she had only completed the unification of one Authority, "Boundary." She had one foot over the threshold, but the other had yet to cross.
The reason the former White Night Demon Lord had been the strongest in the Full-Authority Domain below the Demon Lord of Decadence was that she was the only one to have ascended by unifying just two Authorities.
Relying on the simple yet pure Geocentric Theory and Primordial Star, Shiroyasha had become incredibly powerful.
And now, Shiroyasha's record had been matched.
If the Son of God's judgment was correct, the Kalki that Su Mo had become had also completed the unification with just the two Authorities of "Purification" and "Rebooting."
This meant that Su Mo's current strength was on par with the former White Night Demon Lord, making him at least a top-three power among all beings in the Full-Authority Domain.
"Indeed. This spiritual essence is destined to transcend the apocalypse and should only have been born on its eve," Su Mo said, not refuting the assessment. "However, we are not too far from the apocalypse now. A slight advance is not a major issue. You, of all people, should know this!"
In the original story, Kalki was supposed to have been created two hundred years later, at which point Little Garden and the infinite multiverse would indeed face a devastating catastrophe.
But that was the delayed result of the Church's unilateral interference.
If the Church hadn't suddenly intervened and interfered with the subjugation of the soon-to-appear Absolute Evil Demon Lord, the apocalypse of Little Garden, the advent of Eschatology, and the manifestation of the Demon Lord of Decadence would have all begun in this era.
With Su Mo's arrival, the emergence of Kalki's spiritual essence at this time was actually more in line with mythological prophecy.
"Hmph!"
The Son of God completely ignored Su Mo's taunt.
Su Mo's explanation did nothing to ease his confusion; it only deepened it.
"Putting aside the timing... if you possess the divinity of Kalki, how can you wield the Zoroastrian cosmology to such a degree? Who are you?"
Finally, the Son of God asked the question on the minds of all the gods and buddhas.
Given the level of mastery over the Zoroastrian cosmology Su Mo had previously displayed, forget Verethragna—if he had claimed to be the Zoroastrian savior Saoshyant or even the supreme good god Ahura Mazda, people would have believed him.
So why was the divinity he revealed that of the Hindu savior?
Even if the two were both of Indo-European origin and had some connection, this was too much of a leap, wasn't it?
Who in the world was this Su Mo?
Faced with the Son of God's question, Su Mo casually gave an answer that no one would believe, but was, as always, his standard reply.
"Just a passing-by poet."
"..."
Naturally, no one believed him.
In the eyes of the gods, even if poets were touted as the fourth Strongest Species, they were merely vassals of the pantheons. How could such a terrifying being emerge from their ranks?
"If you do not wish to communicate, then let us begin!"
Hearing such an insincere answer, the Son of God emotionlessly withdrew his gaze and began to activate his Authorities.
"I am the Son of God, the bearer of Original Sin, the redeemer of the Lambs."
"The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit! I am the Trinity, God in three persons!"
"I will show mercy unto thousands of them that love me!"
"And visit the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third generation of them that hate me!"
"I am the Lord of Original Sin, Judgment, and Redemption!"
"Blasphemer who has committed a great sin, your time has come!"
His voice thundered, and under the proclamation of the divine word, the Son of God's presence began to expand infinitely.
Original Sin, Judgment, Redemption—having unified three Authorities to ascend to the Full-Authority Domain, his spiritual essence was originally inferior to the Kalki essence Su Mo now possessed.
In Su Mo's eyes, the Son of God's presence swelled to the size of the sky, seated in the clouds like the Lord judging all of creation.
He himself, meanwhile, felt as if he had sunk into an abyss of mire, his presence and spiritual essence reduced to a level below the Son of God.
"This is... Original Sin?"
Su Mo quickly noticed the degrading phenomenon attached to his spiritual essence.
The Authority of Original Sin that the Son of God had unified must be a collection of concepts like the Thaumaturgic of Fey Transformation, the Thaumaturgic of Demon God Transformation, and the Thaumaturgic of Original Sin—a law that unconditionally degraded the enemy, making them inferior.
If Shiroyasha controlled the mass of the universe, then the Son of God controlled the Original Sin of the universe.
And now, the Original Sin of the universe was being applied entirely to Su Mo.
At the same time, the holy light in the Son of God's hand became incredibly blinding, its danger level increasing more than tenfold.
After forcibly applying the Original Sin debuff to Su Mo, the special attack of the Judgment Authority became a fatal force.
It had to be said that even a being in the Full-Authority Domain might not be able to withstand this smooth little combo.
"Su Mo!"
Outside the battlefield, the Queen Halloween's expression turned worried. Her mind raced, and it seemed she might open a Boundary Gate to provide support at any moment.
In contrast, Shiroyasha, who had been worried before, now looked completely relaxed.
"Relax, it's fine!"
The reason for her relaxation wasn't that she knew Su Mo could escape to another world at any time.
It was because—
"You've never been in the Full-Authority Domain, so you don't understand! Su Mo is just like Us, someone who ascended with only two Authorities. How could he lose to a mere Son of God?" Shiroyasha explained, half-boasting.
Only she knew just how terrifying the spiritual essence Su Mo now possessed was.
And things were indeed as she had predicted.
"Original Sin is but a part of the old world."
Facing his degraded spiritual essence, facing the universal-scale sin he now bore, a flicker of fire appeared in Su Mo's eyes, and the white apocalyptic flames of the end times burned away the curse of Original Sin that wreathed him.
The power of the Purification Authority was specifically designed to target the old world, and the concept of Original Sin was not beyond its scope.
"And you, who forcibly imposes Original Sin on humanity and judges them as you please... are but a remnant of the old world!"
With this declaration, white apocalyptic flames surged upward, burning straight toward the Son of God in the sky.
The apocalyptic flames, symbolizing Purification, clashed head-on with the holy light, symbolizing Judgment.
The clash of the Full-Authority Domain had finally, unavoidably, begun.
The gods and buddhas of all the heavens held their breath, their eyes wide as they watched this battle that could very well decide the future course of all of Little Garden.
Full-Authority Domain versus Full-Authority Domain—this was a level of conflict where they could no longer predict the outcome. Most of them could only watch and wait for the result.
In that instant, as the apocalyptic flames and holy light swelled, in that moment of utter silence and extreme tension...
Suddenly, a golden Buddhist light flashed.
Like an unbreakable fortress wall, it intervened in a battlefield that only those in the Full-Authority Domain had the right to enter.