Grey fell into his thoughts. The explanation was still a bit vague, but maybe that was because even this woman wasn’t able to predict with 100% certainty what the waters could do.
"... This place is controlled by the Old Ones, yes?" Grey asked.
The angel lady blinked. "Old Ones?"
Grey was taken aback. "You don’t know them?"
"Old Ones... what an arrogant name." The angel lady snorted. "The only ones who have the right to call themselves that are the Titans themselves, and even they did not take such a name."
Grey laughed. He understood the confusion now. It seemed that to the angel lady, her husband, and Prometheus, the Dark Kin weren’t all that ancient or sinister at all.
"Never mind, then. They must have taken over this place after there was no one left to look after it."
The angel lady didn’t seem to understand, but in the end, she shrugged.
"This maze was a proving ground for the Gods. It was a battle royale and the goal was to make it to the center here where one final battle would take place. The purpose of the battle royale was to purge yourself of weakness so that once you consumed the rebirth waters, it could only help you. But even then, there were some failures.
"I cheated to get here, as I assume you likely did as well. In its prime, it was impossible to fly over the maze, you had to go through it and suffer through its challenges.
"So, drinking the waters now is even more dangerous for you."
"Yeah... but have you ever considered the possibility that I’m him?" Grey looked at her with a very serious expression.
"... Who? Which him are you referring to?"
Grey sighed. "... Aliens, man... no culture at all."
The angel lady blinked.
"I’m definitely going to do it anyway." Grey said. "If something bad happens, I’ll just die."
The angel lady’s lip twitched. "This isn’t something you can just erase. I told you already how Prometheus worked. The same reason when you go back in time you keep your strength is the same reason that anything the rebirth waters do to you will be carried over too."
Grey nodded. "I already know that. When I said I’ll just die I meant literally."
"... What?"
Grey looked at the woman seriously. This time, he really was being as serious as he possibly could. All of his jokes were pushed to the back of his mind.
"I don’t need to go through a maze gauntlet, lady. I’ve been running through a gauntlet since I stepped into this place. I haven’t had a moment of rest and I can’t take a shit without it being broadcast through the universe. My dick feels like it’s going to explode but bitches with big tits and jiggly asses keep appearing around every corner, and the Genesis System has it out for me and is probably just foaming at the mouth waiting for the next time it gets to kill me.
"Did I mention that there’s a team of producers, sponsors, and a shit-eating host who want a bite out of me too? So, as respectfully as possible, I’m going to guzzle this water like it’s a Capri Sun on a hot summer’s day. Alright?"
Without another word, Grey appeared by the edge of the fountain again, looking down at it.
He understood the gist of what it did. Essentially, it was the breaking point he needed.
Thanks to the Mechanical Jaw Spirit and his Vampire Lord Frame, he had absorbed a ton of bloodlines and a ton of potential, but Prometheus had made it quite clear that even so, most of his potential came from the bloodline he was most compatible with. The human bloodline, and thus the imperial bloodline of the Holy City.
However... what Prometheus had never said was that he could reach the full potential of any one of those bloodlines, including that of the imperial bloodline.
He could take it, and with his talent he could bridge the gap by paying attention to what those bloodlines wanted, but what he couldn’t do was actually guarantee he could maximize them.
Every time he fought the aliens of the other Races, he confirmed that all the more. And the angel lady had only proven his point.
It was just like she said. Some people could be in the Dominus Class and yet weak as lambs, but others could be in the Proving Class and be as strong as Gods.
The aliens that came to fight him were the weakest of their races, and yet they pushed him so far.
Enough was enough.
He had over 6000 Free Stats and a soup of potential in his body that he wanted to make its debut. He had eaten from the Syrn, from the Old Ones, from the vampires, from the Dormaji, from the Volthari, from the Imperial Family...
Grey brought out his relentless hammers and took a huge bite out of them.
... From the Guardians, from the gnomes, from the witches, from the goblins.
Grey reached a hand forward and then stopped.
The angel lady breathed out a sigh of relief. "So you’ve come to your senses, there’s no need to take risks like this at all. You’ve gotten to Phase III faster than anyone could have expected. Your talent in mech crafting must be exceptional for Prometheus to reward you so early. If you just keep on this trajectory, you can—?!"
Grey forewent using his hand to dunk into the rebirth waters and dunked his entire head into the fountain instead. Holding onto the edge with his palms, he buried his mouth, nose, and face into the frigid waters. It felt like he had just splashed his cheeks with arctic waters, and they were somehow even below freezing. Even his teeth began to ache.
But he didn’t give a single damn.
Without even the slightest hesitation, he breathed in and a suction force pulled the water into his body.
All at once, Grey’s veins became a frigid blue and his soul froze to ice.
The angel lady stood in stunned silence. And then she broke.
"NO!"