CHAPTER 68: EATING THE ZOAN.

Nero’s gaze was transfixed on the sapling, particularly on a small fruit hanging off of it.

The moment he has reached the bottom of the hollow, a succulent, gracious aroma had filled his nose.

It was like perfume of the sweetest flowers. Like the morning sun and the evening rain.

Just the smell of it invigorated him, washing away the fatigue and residual damage from the battle the night before.

Nero was speechless for a moment. Then he walked forward. Stooping down right in front the plant, he gently reached out with his fingers and caressed its leaves,

’Oracle, what is this thing?’

{The Demon Generals chose the corpse of the godtree as their resting spot due to its high reserves of Ein Sof at the time. Most of the Ein Sof was plundered by them, but a little portion of it managed to accumulate at the bottom here. Combined with a seed from the previous tree, it seems it will be growing into a new tree within the next century}.

Felt a wave of warmth wash over him.

As the sun broke through the morning sky, its light seemed to drive the residual darkness away.

In the end, living was not meaningless. It never could be.

Regardless of how much it seemed he had suffered, compared to those that were dead, he was in a much better state.

Nero let out a sigh,

’Then, I can’t take the sapling.’

Originally, he had planned to take the sprouting sapling to see if there would be a way to absorb the Ein Sof from it. If he could, he had no doubts that his reserves would practically double. Such a huge boost would undoubtedly be very well received.

But he was not some soulless fiend.

And from the looks of it, luck was on his side today;

{It is important for the Heretic to know that while devouring the sapling isn’t advice, that fruit of perfectly fine to eat}.

Nero froze and glanced at the gem-like thing hanging from the sapling.

"A fruit?"

{Yes. It is called the fruit of Zoan, or the first fruit. Coming from a godtree’s sapling, it is sure to contain a lot of energy and unique surprises if it is consumed properly}.

"There is a proper way to eat fruits?" Nero’s eyes widened, a bit skeptical.

{To digest the Fruit of Zoan completely, the Heretic must first completely align with the nature of the Ein Sof contained within the fruit}.

Nero grimaced, "Align... What does that mean?"

{Alignment is resonance. The Heretic will have to resonate with the energy properly}.

Nero clicked his tongue, "That still doesn’t make any sense."

He was silent as he contemplated.

Compared to the energy within his Relics, this one was far more subdued. It was cleaner too, and seemed to radiate an aura of life itself.

But he was still suspicious.

’If this sapling was born from the corpse of the godtree, then does that mean it has been corrupted already?’

He shook his head,

’No. That doesn’t seem to be the case.’

In reality, it was rather easy to tell the difference between something brimming with corruption, and another filled with the Divine energy.

Although they were quite similar, they were also distinct.

Ein Sof was not inherently good or bad. However, it did take on those characteristics once affected by wills and egos.

Depending on the nature of the change, the Ein Sof would be changed as well.

His eyes widened,

’Resonance, huh...’

’I have to align myself with the nature of the energy. Alignment. Resonance... I see. So that’s it.’

Nero plopped down onto the moist wood.

Making sure to be extra delicate and careful, his gnarly fingers plucked the Fruit of Zoan right off the sapling.

In an instant, the aroma intensified, forcing his mouth to water...

He shook his head, ’Calm down.’

Then he closed his eyes.

Everything around had energy.

Most things had it faint. Some were more corrupted than others.

However, it did all exist. Everywhere and anywhere.

In his palm, Nero felt the streams of energy wafting up and around, filling the air with a coarse vitality that was completely unmatched by anything he had ever seen.

Without any more hesitation, he plopped it into his mouth.

Instantly, an explosion of flavors...

Then an explosion of colors.

Tears streamed down Nero’s face as he shed tears of happiness,

’It’s delicious.’

It had been quite a long time since he had ever tasted anything this good. Having been in the wilderness for a few weeks now, he was more than exhausted of only having to eat the rotten flesh of Abominations.

He continued to chew, careful to savor the taste completely.

So much so, he almost forgot what he was meant to do.

As he swallowed the contents of his mouth, he activated the Heretic Eyes.

The eyes that could peer through and into the truest nature of everything and anything.

His perspective flipped on its head and changed drastically.

His mind seemed to stretch out into the clouds and into the depths of the earth as he observed his body from on high.

Or rather, the outline of his body.

He was shocked to see that his body was completely covered in dark, viscous energy— very similar to the way corrupted energy appeared. However, beneath the corruption, there was a blazing light so bright, it nearly outshone the stream of light travelling down his gullet.

Nero shifted his focus away from himself and onto that stream of light. He didn’t have a lot of time, after all.

The energy was a pale green, with wisps of blueish silver swirling about it.

In this formless form of consciousness, Nero reached out.

To achieve resonance, he has to completely and utterly understand what this thing was.

His illusory fingertips touched upon the energy.

And the moment it did, a whole new world was opened up to him as a torrent of information gushed into his brain.