"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!"
⠀
Rakna snapped his eyes open and locked onto that last voice. Without him even thinking about it, his Ardent Flames erupted from his feet and formed a straight line in a certain direction.
His Crystal Sight similarly expanded his vision to untold distances until he found himself looking at a dark figure's back. He blinked his eyes back to normal and opened his mouth. "There," he said calmly whilst waving at the trail of flames and Garuda grinned.
"All right then, young ones. Hop on," he declared and unfurled his wings, lowering his body ever so slightly for them to jump on his back. "It's going to get shaky, so hold on tight," he declared after they climbed and readied himself to take off. "Aquila, wait for us here."
His Avatar nodded respectfully. "Understood."
"Is it fine to cross the territories of other Gods?" Higure asked curiously as the group felt a bubble of wind gather around the Eagle God, most likely meant to protect them from the force they were about to confront while flying.
"Fret not, this Plateau has a pact of non-aggression," Garuda explained and struck the ground with one of his claws. Promptly, as if lifted by an invisible force, he ascended at a rather slow pace and with his wings deployed high.
"Ready?" He chuckled and before they could answer, he flapped his wings.
From an outside perspective, it was as if he had teleported away without a sound. However, the truth of the matter was highlighted by a perfect tunnel of swiveling air left behind him.
He had been so fast that the sound barrier didn't even have the time to be broken. Instead, all there was left on the God's path was a vacuum that was naturally filled up by the atmosphere.
Rakna could barely look at the passing scenery without feeling light-headed. In fact, it could barely be defined as such since he couldn't make out what the scenery was in the first place. Even if he tried to accelerate his thoughts with Eye of Symphony, the only thing he could envision happening was him frying his brain.
And again, the girls were relatively fine in comparison. A Dusk Lion, a former Goddess, a Matriarch of the Nine-Tailed Clan, and an AI in a half-homunculus body who probably had better processing speed than all of them combined. Only Pronos seemed to be in the same boat as him this time.
"{We are flying over one of the neutral zones if you are curious,}" Garuda spoke in everyone's mind through telepathy. "{They are extremely vast, so if it wasn't for me… you would probably require about a day of continuous voyage to completely cross one from start to finish. These places can be used by visiting Hosts to await an audience with any of us Gods, and we can also use these grounds to hunt for our meals if we feel like it.}"
"{It's in these zones as well that we occasionally spar. This normally leads to the destruction of the entire zone until the next Reset,}" the eagle added with a laugh.
Rakna huffed. "{Talk about collateral damage…}"
"{Hahaha, it's inevitable. There's a proverb that goes like this among us Celestials; a Heavenly God will obliterate continents in a battle, an Ancient God will shatter planets, a Mythical God will erase a galaxy in its wake, and a Primordial God will end the world.}"
Nyx giggled softly at his words. "{I haven't heard that in a while,}" she commented and glanced at the others staring at her. "{Also, for clarification, even a mere Heavenly God can easily bring down planets. It's only the scale of their power's full brunt that is lower. That applies to all the above.}"
"{Exactly!}"
'How damn overpowered would a Primordial God be then…?' Rakna couldn't help but think.
"{By the way, Nyx,}" Higure interjected. "{I don't think we ever asked you; what stage of divinity were you before losing your powers?}"
"{I'm also intrigued,}" Garuda added. "{Aquila told me about you long ago already. And now that I meet you in person, I can tell you were stronger than me. Your divinity is that pure.}"
The Night Goddess smiled bitterly. "{I was stuck at Quasi-Mythical. As you might know, outside of here, Ancient Gods, and beings at that level of power, are commonly labeled Transcendentals. It is named so because it requires transcending an aspect of yourself, elements, or the world, to reach it. But then, the next step… becomes vague and elusive.}"
Nyx lowered her head and squinted softly as if reminiscing. "{After perfecting my transcendence and reaching a bottleneck in my spiritual energies, I never managed to rise up to the ranks of the Mythical Ones. The woman whom I served under at the time was one such being.}"
"{The one you said is my old man's sister?}" Rakna inquired curiously and she nodded.
On the side, Garuda almost messed up his flight at the implications of that question and Lucrecia gaped at the therian, which he casually ignored.
"{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...'