The various law powers hidden within Xiao's body also began to stir.
They seemed to sense a summons, pouring out of Xiao's body and converging toward the death rune.
These law powers rapidly integrated into the death rune like swallows returning to their nest.
The immense power of faith absorbed by Xiao ignited the power of the death rune.
At this moment, the interior of the death rune had transformed into a massive furnace, forging the various law powers Xiao had obtained.
Countless laws began to intertwine, and with the power of the death furnace, they gradually condensed into forms of their own.
More power of faith surged into the death rune from countless believers.
That power of faith acted like a catalyst, accelerating the forging process of the Great Runes.
At the same time, crimson flames blazed fiercely on Xiao's body, as if they were about to engulf him entirely.
The temperature of the flames grew higher and higher, and Xiao's body was gradually enveloped by the intense heat, yet he showed no sign of pain, appearing remarkably calm instead.
As time passed, Xiao's life level continuously ascended, and his aura grew increasingly powerful.
Finally, when the flames extinguished, the various laws within Xiao's body were successfully forged into three Great Runes of distinct forms.
Among them, the Great Rune condensed primarily from laws such as gravity, devouring, and assimilation presented a dark color, like a black sun, emanating an aura of endless darkness and destruction.
Secondly, a Great Rune shimmering with dazzling golden light was formed primarily from laws such as thunder, sun, strong winds, and torrential rain; it contained endless power and majesty.
Lastly, a Great Rune full of cyber-tech aesthetics was condensed from laws such as data, steel, wisdom, and genes; it represented the cyber future and infinite wisdom.
In the Lands Between, Great Runes symbolize fragments of the Elden Ring, embodying power.
Each Great Rune contains unparalleled power, capable of bestowing immense ability and authority upon its holder.
With the help of a Great Rune, one's life level will undergo a qualitative leap, transcending ordinary humans and entering the realm of a Demigod.
Demigods possess nearly eternal lifespans, robust physiques, and resilient souls; they are themselves symbols of power.
Great Runes are like the divinity of deities in traditional fantasy worlds; they are not only the precursor to a divine core but also an important bridge to the throne of a deity.
Such treasures are extremely rare and coveted by countless lower lifeforms.
Even an ordinary cat or dog, if it could fuse with a trace of divinity, could transform into a divine beast.
If a mortal could fuse with it, they could ascend to the heavens in one step, becoming a Demigod.
Moreover, whether divine beasts or Demigods, they can attract believers, draw upon the power of faith, and ultimately ignite the divine flame, temper their divinity, transform it into a divine core, ascend to the divine throne, and become true Deities.
Because of this, every trace of divinity that appears is priceless.
Even the true gods in myths possess a very scarce amount of divinity; once a true god loses too much divinity, it is very likely to lead to a demotion of their divine core, or even its rupture.
The existence of Great Runes even directly surpasses divinity; the power they contain is even stronger than divinity!
Because in this special place, the Lands Between, divinity has surprisingly transformed directly into tangible, formless Great Runes!
There is no longer a need for long years to slowly accumulate divinity, nor the risk of burning out one's soul to ignite the divine flame; instead, a semi-physical divine core is directly condensed in one step, thereby exerting several times the power of divinity!
However, it is precisely this hasty method that also caused Great Runes to lose the most important ability of a divine core: Great Runes cannot grow by absorbing faith.
The growth of Great Runes inherits power from the law itself and can only be strengthened through cultivation, plunder, and accumulation.
Thus, a system of Demigod and Empyrean advancement entirely different from the orthodox divine system emerged in the Lands Between.
Because the Great Runes possessed by Demigods are all in a state of congenital deficiency, they do not have their own laws and can only perfect their Runes through postnatal cultivation and plundering of laws.
Just like the Demigods in the original work, the Great Runes of Mohg, Lord of Blood, and Praetor Rykard were only made complete by fusing the laws of other divine beings.
Therefore, their Great Runes carry obvious external law powers, such as vampiric and necromantic powers, which are not their own powers but those of other laws.
From then on, they can only act according to those external divine laws and strive for the external gods' laws.
In contrast, Morgott and Radahn chose to compensate for the flaws in their Runes through self-cultivation.
In this way, their Runes would only enhance their own fundamental strength, increasing their power from the ground up, unaffected by any external divine law and needing only to remain themselves.
Compared to Demigods without their own laws, the Great Runes of Miquella, Malenia, and Ranni are naturally complete; they were born carrying unique laws and do not need to rely on external divine power to perfect themselves.
As long as they continuously uphold the fundamental principles of their laws, they can achieve growth, and once they forge the Elden Ring, they can even directly become gods.
Currently, Xiao possesses three Great Runes with complete laws and half of a Great Rune of Death, which means he can be considered the strongest Empyrean in the Lands Between.
But even after becoming the strongest Empyrean in the Lands Between, the Great Runes within his body have not undergone a qualitative change, preventing him from truly becoming a Deity.
At this, Xiao suddenly realized an important question: in the world of Elden Ring, how exactly can an Empyrean become a Deity?
It seems that in all endings, there is no plotline of the Tarnished protagonist becoming a Deity, no matter which Great Rune the Tarnished uses to become Elden Lord.
Marika is still a Deity, and the Tarnished can only be a Lord; clearly, the Tarnished can only become a Lord, not a Deity.
The only storyline where Marika is replaced by a Deity is Ranni, the mastermind behind the Night of the Black Knives.
This is clearly something worth pondering: was the Night of the Black Knives a power struggle between Ranni and Marika?
Ranni wanted to replace Marika, and Marika was also pursuing the advancement of law.
However, what Xiao couldn't understand was why Ranni, after becoming a Deity,
directly abandoned everything and ran off to the stars with the Tarnished to play battle royale, completely disregarding power in the Lands Between.
This does not align with everything she sacrificed to become a Deity.
But no matter what conspiracy exists between them, reforging the Elden Ring is like a piece of honey-covered dog shit for an Empyrean—it looks sweet but smells foul.
After all, to become Elden Lord, an Empyrean must abandon their own law and uphold Marika's Golden Order.
This is simply like exchanging gold for dog shit; anyone who does it is a fool, and only those Demigods without their own laws would eagerly rush to commit such a foolish act of patricide and incest.
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