Chapter 367: Heights of Divinity

Chapter 367: Heights of Divinity

"Karaskan..." Garuda mumbled with a frown. "I see. I did hear about the convoluted conflict that just broke out with the Téra... it's quite interesting, honestly."

"What is?" Lucrecia was the one to raise the question.

"I came to the System after the birth of Pandora's Spawn," the Eagle God replied. "Though I'm one of the more powerful Celestials here, as far as my stay goes, I'm new. So, I can say for certain after having witnessed the birth of the Téra; they did not have that kind of ego."

"Oh, but don't misunderstand," he added hastily. "They were intelligent, without a doubt. They had a hivemind that connected them all, some could lead the rest, and a few could talk. But this... acute sense of self that the Abyss Téra seem to possess is unlike their original design."

"Do you know anything about Meuro?" Rakna asked back after a bit of thought.

"Well, of course."

"The Abyss Empress is supposedly a Téras who survived within it, adapted, and wielded its power which she passed down to others of her kind," the therian recounted.

Garuda fell silent for a moment, deep in thought. Aquila sent his Patron God a puzzled look; it was rare for him to be this contemplative about something.

"...I'm afraid my knowledge is not enough," the Eagle God eventually admitted. "Despite my Quasi-Ancient nomenclature, I'm not strong enough to survive in Meuro for long, much less understand its intricacies. You would need to refer to a full-fledged Ancient or Mythical God at least. All I know is that the Téra are species with the concept of mutation replacing any sort of evolution process."

"No worries, I didn't expect to get all the answers right away anyway," Rakna reassured him and looked around. "Though, do you know where Karaskan's territory would be?"

"Again, I'm sorry to say that I don't. However, if you wish so, I can fly you on my back to search for him. I can ask my neighbors; they might know where he is."

"That would be—" Rakna paused. "Wait, actually, give me a moment," he lifted his hand and closed his eyes. At the same time, purple flames crept under his skin and trickled down in a symmetrical pattern over his body. Black smoke began to be released at the same time; indicating the activation of Founding Instinct.

Everyone stepped away from him in surprise, sensing a wave of soul power that felt both cold and warm on a physical level. Only Garuda opened his eyes wide in fascination, "Oh, oh... a Monarch."

Meanwhile, Rakna strained his senses to the limit, and following his instincts, he turned toward a certain direction and activated Crystal Sight as he began to hear voices. Like fireflies, flickers of light appeared all around him and they all spoke to him, from near and afar.

They giggled, sang, chanted, cried, laughed, and talked.

⠀

"Hehehe, the wind dances!"

"Lalalala~"

"Ah! Look, look! He can hear us!"

"Smoldered like molten steel!"

"He can hear us; he can hear us~"

"Hahaha, Ruin!"

"The revelation of clouds shines from above."

"Ah, the ice woes the lightning..."

...

"Plunge the world into eternal madness!"

"{Yes, Lady Ahura offered me advice during those times. Word for word, she told me this; 'Some do not even notice the barrier between those two stages. They break through unbothered. There is no particular reason. Neither talent, effort, time, nor luck. Ascending to the ranks of Mythical Gods is indicative of one thing; to sever yourself from fate. It's about becoming a living myth that even mortals that see you with their own eyes will never believe it. But...'}"

Nyx gazed at Rakna, who tilted his head, and smiled. "{'Some people simply refuse fate's hand from birth',}" she finished and the therian blinked in realization. "{Sadly, I was tethered. No matter how much I tried, I had reached my limit. Honestly... I'm thankful to have lost my powers. Lately, I have come to realize that I have a second chance to succeed where I previously failed. And I know I can do it this time,}" she declared to herself, but her eyes were locked onto Rakna's.

He gazed back at her and laughed lightly. His connection with her was stronger than ever, so there was no way he wouldn't grasp the feelings she was directing at him. Her last sentence was spoken as if she was thankful for his help.

'You're welcome,' he answered silently, not through telepathy but through their bond.

"{I'm enjoying this day more and more,}" Garuda stated happily. "{It's not every day that I get to meet such a fascinating group of people. And as a mere Quasi-Ancient myself, I have to give my respects to you, Miss.}"

Nyx shook her head. "{No need for such thing.}"

"{Hahaha, I imagine you don't need it, indeed.}"

"{Hey, I have a quick question,}" Rakna suddenly raised his voice. "{If you had to convert the power of Gods into the levels of the System, what would they be?}"

"{Hm... interesting question,}" Garuda mused for a short moment. "{The lines between Divinities and Demi-Gods are a bit blurred; they sometimes can blend in, so I will skip them. So, first, Earthen Gods; I would say... about Level 800 to 1000. I will give you averages. Keep in mind that they can be lower or much higher. And I will also follow the logic of exponentially steeper growth.}"

Rakna nodded in understanding.

"{For Heavenly Gods, 2000 seems appropriate, and Ancient Gods; 4000 sounds like a good entry value. Personally, I am beyond the peak of Heavenly but not quite Ancient. I am somewhere around 3500 most likely. Aquila is a Divinity tied to me and his full strength is at about 700.}"

"{Then... we have Mythical Gods. That is a hard one to answer. In the first place, there is only one person in the Celestial Plateau at that stage, and he's the only one I've met. Normally, beings of his power should even be able to leave the System on their own, but he's a strange one, staying silent and isolated. Regardless, from what I've seen, a decent level to assign him would be 10 000.}"

Rakna's eye twitched. "{That's quite the jump...}"

"{Naturally. Keep in mind though, by association, Ancient Gods are located on a large spectrum of power. And finally, Primordials are... immeasurable,}" Garuda shook his head. "{The numbers I'm giving you are theoretical, to begin with. The System, last I heard, is barely capable of raising the power of Hosts that are above Level 1000. It would never grasp the power of Primordials. But as a conservative estimate... 50 000.}"

The therian snorted. "{Conservative?}"

"{Haha, what can I say?}" the Eagle God smiled. "{Ah, but don't sell yourselves short. This is purely an estimate based on life force; the direct parallel to the Levels you are talking about. Hosts of the System have more potential than you may realize. For example, your fellow wolf here...}"

"{Um... me?}" Lucrecia spoke up hesitantly.

"{Yes, I can feel it. I would say you're around Level 800, but you're definitely capable of defeating even Heavenly Gods. That is due to your 'skills'. A marvelous endorsement of sorts by the makers of this System. You can reach heights far beyond what you exude.}"

"{This is something I personally witnessed some years ago,}" Garuda added. "{Your Top Host, what was his name again...? Cain Unsworth, I believe?}" He wondered out loud. "{He came to this place and got into a fight with Kamiria, one of the few Ancient Gods in here. Her level would be near the figure of 7 000 following my pattern. What do you think happened?}"

Rakna raised an eyebrow. "{Well, if you're mentioning this... did he win?}"

"{Hahaha! Aye, that, he did,}" the Eagle God seemed to find it extremely amusing. "{It couldn't be considered an easy fight at all, but he still won by a certain margin. But that's not the best thing he did,}" he grinned as he recalled the memory. "{I'll let you guess. Kamiria does not reside on this Plateau anymore. What do you think happened to her?}"

Furrowing his eyebrows, Rakna pondered. "{Well... assuming she wasn't killed, did he somehow destroy her divinity or had her kicked out of the System?}"

"{Even better! He forced her to Descend; willingly discarding her Divinity and becoming mortal so that the System would let her leave this Plateau. At the same time, he made her pledge a contract of servitude with him like some lowly familiar. Hahaha! And what's even better, I heard she's been sighted to act jealous around her master nowadays!}"

Garuda's laugh echoed in everyone's mind as he told the story. He could barely resist the urge to give in to the hilarity of his words. On the other hand, his listeners sweatdropped. No matter how you look at it, that woman's path to godhood had suffered an awfully tragic end.

'...no, more importantly, she developed Stockholm Syndrome...? That's just sad...'