"Understood." Doflamingo nodded helplessly.
"That will be all for now. If there are further instructions later, I will contact you again. Farewell for now."
With that, Shadow Spirit's form twisted and morphed, instantly dissolving into a wisp of black smoke that drifted away and vanished.
Meanwhile, above the Sabaody Archipelago.
Gilgamesh sat atop the Golden Ark, leisurely savoring fine wine.
Suddenly, a wisp of black smoke drifted toward him from ahead, swiftly condensing into the shape of Shadow Spirit.
"Let us go."
Glancing at the King of Heroes, Shadow Spirit reached out and tore open the fabric of space. The entrance to the Shadow World materialized before them.
Without hesitation, Gilgamesh stood up and followed Shadow Spirit into the realm of shadows.
...
Within the Shadow World.
Vladimir looked forward as Shadow Spirit and the King of Heroes walked side by side toward him.
They needed no words, nor even a glance or gesture. Even if separated by millions of miles, a single thought was enough for them to understand each other completely.
"Illusion… how many fruits are required to upgrade Gilgamesh from Four Stars to Five Stars?"
"Thirty-five."
"Thirty-five?"
Vladimir was slightly taken aback. "Are you certain? If I recall correctly, it only took twenty-six fruits to upgrade Aizen from Four Stars to Five Stars."
The Illusion Gene replied bluntly and mechanically: "The further you progress, the greater the consumption becomes. Aizen is the Tenth Transformation, whereas Gilgamesh is the Twelfth Transformation. For Phantom Avatars of equal strength, the later they appear in the sequence, the more resources are required to advance them."
Simply put, if Aizen had been the Thirteenth Transformation, the cost of upgrading him would have exceeded that of Gilgamesh.
After a brief pause, the Illusion Gene added: "Furthermore, the higher the star rank of your main Phantom God form, the greater the consumption will be whenever you unlock a new Transformation ability in the future."
Hearing this, Vladimir remained silent for a moment. "It seems the fruits I acquired this time won't last me very long either."
"They will sustain you for quite some time," the Illusion Gene stated. "However, you need to seek out new sources of mystical power. The reason the consumption has become so immense is precisely because you have been relying on the same type of power all this time."
"I am aware of that. My concern now is… even if I were to empty this entire world of every Devil Fruit it possesses, I might still not have enough to unlock a Phantom Avatar capable of Space-Time Travel."
"You need not worry about that. All the fruits you have absorbed do not vanish from existence. They are merely removed from circulation and will eventually be reborn. Just as when a person consumes a Devil Fruit and then dies — the power within it does not disappear, but reincarnates elsewhere in the world in the form of a new fruit."
In other words… Devil Fruits are an inexhaustible, endless resource?
Vladimir was surprised by this revelation, though he realized there was no reason to get too excited. After all, the cost of advancement would only keep rising; eventually, he would still have no choice but to find entirely new sources of mystical power.
"In any case… let us proceed with the upgrade first. Afterwards, I will go and absorb the mystical power contained within the Sunlight Tree Eve. I have a premonition… it might just bring me a pleasant surprise."
Chuckling softly, Vladimir waved his hand, gathering the thirty-five fruits from the ground and tossing them to Gilgamesh.
Both were currently at Four-Star level. The reason Vladimir chose to prioritize Gilgamesh over Aizen was simple: Phantom intended to lie low and disappear from the public eye for a while, yet Gilgamesh could continue acting independently in the world. Therefore, upgrading the King of Heroes first made the most sense.
Aizen, on the other hand, could be upgraded at any time.
"I shall begin."
Gilgamesh extended his hand and placed it upon the pile of fruits. Instantly, the first fruit disintegrated into fine ash.
He repeated this process thirty-four more times until every single fruit had been absorbed.
Immediately, an immense stream of mystical power nourished his entire body. A unique aura of divinity began to emanate from the King of Heroes.
It was not complete, absolute divinity — only a trace of it. Yet even this single trace elevated Gilgamesh's very essence of life to a higher plane.
At the same time, the data regarding the Twelfth Transformation updated itself.
Twelfth Transformation: Gilgamesh (The King of Heroes)
Rank: ★★★★★ (Five Stars)
- Ability 1: Gate of Babylon
- Ability 2: Golden Armor
- Ability 3: Golden Ark
- Ability 4: All-Knowing and All-Powerful Star
- Ability 5: Enuma Elish — The Star of Creation That Split Heaven and Earth
Just as Vladimir had expected, the ability unlocked upon reaching Five Stars was indeed the Sword of Rupture, Enuma Elish.
However, he had no interest in focusing on that right now. As his true form — the Phantom God — the moment the Twelfth Transformation reached Five Stars, his own power began to surge and evolve as well.
Imperceptibly, his Phantom God form advanced from Three Stars to Four Stars.
Zeroth Transformation: Phantom God
Rank: ★★★★☆☆ (Four Stars)
"The new ability is…"
Vladimir closed his eyes, silently sensing the change within him. "What a truly unique ability!"
The power granted at Four-Star level fit the name Phantom God perfectly. Illusory, dreamlike, yet present everywhere at once.
The new ability granted by the Four-Star Phantom God form was something truly extraordinary.
Unlike Illusion Erasure or Manifest Illusion, this power bore a certain resemblance to Phantom Avatar Control.
Its name was: Phantom Projection.
As long as anyone in the world spoke or uttered the name 'Emperor Vladimir', Vladimir himself would sense it instantly. With a single thought, he could manifest a projection of himself at that exact location.
This projection possessed one-third of the combat power of his true body. If the projection were destroyed, it would be nothing more than the loss of a single thought to Vladimir himself — a trivial matter, perhaps resulting in a mild headache, but causing no real damage or harm to his actual being.
Of course, that was merely his initial understanding of the power. After deeper exploration, he realized its potential was far greater than that.
"It is not limited to just this world… I can manifest projections across dimensions and realities as well…" Vladimir realized silently.
"However, it is still necessary for someone to speak the name 'Emperor Vladimir' and clearly refer specifically to me in order for it to work."
There might be others in different worlds who also bore the title 'Emperor Vladimir'. If someone were to speak that name while referring to someone else, Vladimir might sense a faint disturbance, but he would be unable to manifest a projection there.
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