Everything was not as simple as it seemed.
Often Max had wondered what was the reason behind Angakok taking personal interest in his training to the point where he agreed to babysit Max while he did level training on an unknown planet.
He was a god, every second of his divine time was extremely valuable, which meant that the reasons behind him training Max the way he did were also massive.
Max was not dumb, he understood that since Angakok was investing so much into him, the moment where he would extract his pound of flesh would come sooner or later.
While if it was a request like the one Drax had given him to avenge the wrongdoer of Lord Agni, Max would have no qualms in trying his best to help Angakok, but what Max worried was that Angakok had something more sinister in mind.
From the deepest corners of his gut, he felt that Angakok was aiming to permanently take over his body.
That after everything Max went through, when it would be his moment to step into the domain of the gods and reach that divine realm of power.
The old shaman god would ditch his own old body and take over Max's which he had carefully nurtured ever since he was tier3.
This fear often kept Max up at nights as there was nothing more scary than the thought of being a conscious puppet in one's own body.
His dearest friend Sebastian had undergone that experience once in his lifetime and according to his accounts, Max knew he could not let something similar happen to himself.
The second fear that Max had was that Angakok was raising him as a weapon.
Blood Shaman's could manifest, it was one of their inherent basic skills and Max did not understand the clear extents to which this skill applied, however, when Angakok explained this portion to him there was an uncanny shine in his eyes that might look the same to even his wife, but it was a subtle change that Max had caught onto.
Max had seen that look often, it was one of the give-aways of his brother when he was luring his opponents knowingly into a trap, which was exactly how Max felt as he debated the consequences of relinquishing control of his body as Angakok had planned.
' I don't have a good feeling about this grandpa Drax, what do you think I should do? ' Max questioned the old A.I. in his mind.
' There's nothing you can do Max, I'm sorry boy, despite everything you have achieved so far, in front of those purple eyes you are nothing but an ant.
There is no plan to be made, there is no decision to be had.
Angakok has spoken, it's either compliance or death.
Either way, if he wants to use your body and skills he would have ways to extract them from your corpse as well.
So you have to comply boy, no doubt you have to ' Drax said as he reminded Max that despite the glaring red flags and his personal overthinking on the matter, in the end there was nothing to be done even if Angakok did want to toy with his body.
" O holy one, the progenitor of all shamans
Your descendants call for your help.
In exchange for my vitality, my mana and my vigour grant me your immense powers,for my enemy's need to be destroyed.
Heed my call for I know your name ' Angakok ' the shaman god, the enslaver of the' Kraken ' and the slayer of the sea god Poseidon.
Heed my call! "
Max said the incantation to summon Angakok as instantly half his HP, MP and SP bar was sacrificed to Angakok.
His consciousness felt like it was pulled into another dimension as he saw Angakok's gigantic form once again.
Max always had his doubts as to whether or not this small body of the Shaman God was his real body, but after today's experience he could tell that it was not.
Although it was a fleeting moment of time when their eyes met, with his heightened understanding of the element of fire, Max could feel the heat emanating from Angakok's real form.
The god was as big as a city and was probably 1/10th the temperature of the sun.
After that fleeting moment, Max found himself back in the familiar white space of nothingness as he waited for 5 minutes to pass peacefully.
*********
( Angakok's POV )
Max's fears were right. Angakok did have ulterior motives that were by no means noble.
As Max seceded the control of his body, Angakok focused on the delicate task he had been preparing for so long: planting an undetectable spell within Max's very soul.
The spell, carefully crafted and woven into the fabric of Max's essence, would remain dormant and hidden, only to be triggered when Angakok deemed the time to be right.
To accomplish this, Angakok had spent countless years studying and perfecting the art of soul manipulation. It was a dangerous and forbidden practice, one that even the most daring gods dared not dabble in. But for his grand plan, Angakok was willing to take the risk. He knew that if he could successfully plant the spell within Max, he would have the perfect vessel to fulfil his ambitions.
That he would be able to overcome his limitations and one day become a Celestial.
Nobody guided him while he was a young mortal and by the time he discovered the truth about the celestials and the only pathway to break past tier8, it was already too late.
His foundations had long stabilised and it was impossible to deviate from his path.
Even Though he wielded the time-stone, a tier 10 treasure, it was not possible for him to reverse time itself even with its help, which left Angakok with no means to step past his boundaries.
This was why he went into hibernation for thousands of years, trying to come up with a way to step past his limits as he created this spell.
When he was eventually woken up by Max, he coincidentally also found the perfect candidate to complete his plans as it seemed like destiny had hand-picked him to be a doll for his purpose.
Angakok focused his divine energies and channelled them into the depths of Max's soul, meticulously weaving the spell, ensuring it was flawlessly integrated into Max's essence.
He had confidence that Beniogre herself would not be able to detect its presence.
The spell was designed to activate when Max reached his peak potential. At that moment, he would be able to assume control over Max's body and mind, effectively becoming the puppet master, while Max's consciousness would be relegated to a mere spectator, trapped within his own body.
Angakok knew that the boy did not fully trust him, he knew that the boy was wary of him, but it did not matter.
By the time he would realise that Angakok meant him harm, it would all be too late.
Once the spell was successfully planted, Angakok withdrew his divine energies from Max, leaving no trace of his manipulation as he continued his dexterity training as promised and created hundreds of exploding dolls that were the shaman substitute of bombs.
By the time Max woke up, his dexterity stat had increased by +5 points and his arms and legs felt extremely sore, however, he was none the wiser about the trickery performed by Angakok on his soul.
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/// A/N - This bonus sponsored by patron Allcat_gaming, please thank him in the comments for this one ///