Chapter 705 True Deity
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Under the influence of his vigorous cultivation, as well as many techniques that he learnt specifically for this day to keep him in top shape, Pvarti looked fresh and seemed energetic as he went through one ceremony after another. For some ceremonies he was required to act, for example pledging his allegiance to the royal family, while for others he had to sit in the middle of a crowd while they used him as a prop. The situation was… less than ideal, but fortunately he would only have to go through this awkward procedure only once - hopefully, since if he had to go through it again it meant he was once again getting married.
Despite his appearance, however, the man was actually feeling quite nervous and uneasy. Although he was making the best decision for his future, and if all went well with the war, the resources at his disposal would be tremendous. His ascent to greatness would become but a matter of time. Yet he could not really claim to be… completely enamored by his intended. Her personality was slightly extreme, and even now he could not forget how she had used him so blatantly all in the efforts to test out his loyalty.
But… there wasn't much he could do about that anymore. He would have to learn how to get along with her. Hopefully things would work out for the best. For a moment he became weak in the knees, but there were too many techniques and medicine keeping him in top shape so he recovered instantly.
For some unknown and completely unrelated reason, Pvarti made a resolution to surpass the Earth Immortal realm and ascend from the Crystal realm as quickly as possible. He wasn't losing out if he didn't make it, but he had to at least try.
"Don't worry bro, just another hour of this before you get to see your lovely bride," teased his sister. How could she not know his thoughts? Would she really be his sister if she didn't tease him about exactly what scared him?
"As a special surprise gift for you, I've already made arrangements for you two to attend a special honeymoon vacation with a group of five other newly married couples. Love Island is highly recommended by all my friends."
Despite all eyes being on him, Pvarti couldn't help but groan. The day had started so beautifully with an amazing sight of a new flock on the horizon. But just as the flock disappeared and took the beautiful hues in painted in the sky with them, so too was Pvarti's confidence disappearing.
*****
Edward, who was sipping on a warm malt, paused and smiled as all eyes turned on him. As uncomfortable as he felt under Cornelius' scrutinizing gaze, it wasn't as if he was afraid. Much like Zagan, who had the title of Ocean King, he too had a title that had been passed down the ages.
His current gentle and mellow demeanor was a result of him gaining sentience and thus being able to suppress his urges, but that was not how history had described him. Back in his youth, when he was a little wild, due to his inborn hatred for light he hunted down and fought with many Sol birds. In fact, he had hunted them and managed to kill so many young ones that the divine energy flowing through their bodies had altered his own body, making him immune to heat, and giving him an aspect of divinity. Thus, he was called Edward, the Divine Retribution!
All of that was a way of saying that essentially, he was not a weakling. He just had new hobbies these days, and avoided fighting when possible.
"I don't know why you say we monsters are new players," he said between sips, the foam hanging on his upper lip like a mustache. "Monsters have been fighting Kraven from the very beginning. Their territories are laden with darkness since all the blasted birds left, and are like a safe haven for monsters. So many of the territories you have forsaken, we monsters have already reclaimed!"
This news came as a surprise to everyone except Lex, who had been receiving detailed briefs from Rick about his conversations with Edward.
"Free from the interference of your races, and with only the Kraven who are more focused on expansion than maintaining their lands, we have founded our own country! We thought it would be hard, but since the Kraven always focus on invading your lands, they can barely spare the power to fight us. In fact, the horde of immortal Kraven also bypassed our lands entirely, still only focusing on you! It was quite convenient. It won't be long before the realm is held by not only seven major races, but eight!"
A shocking silence filled the room as everyone tried to wrap their heads around what the monster was saying! They had never, not once, taken the monsters seriously. They had existed for millions, or even hundreds of millions of years but there had never been a precedent as such! Why were these unusual things happening now?
"Oh wait, if you count the Kraven, that makes nine races."
Lex was all too content to fade into the background and continue to listen to the conversation between rulers, but something unusual grabbed his attention. Two especially powerful immortals entered the Inn. Though they looked like normal humans, for some reason Lex could not focus on their appearance at all! He teleported away to address the situation.
"The Kraven will never be counted as a dominant race of this realm! They are not rulers, they are nothing but vile vermin! They are a plague, nothing but a virus that has infected this realm, spreading disease and absorbing its life force. A pest dedicated to being the biggest nuisance it can be. But in the end, that's all they'll ever be. It's only a matter of time before they're wiped out!" said Kritter, his voice absolutely dripping with hate and disgust.
There was no race that hated the Kraven quite as much as the Poloids, and even among them Kritter was especially hateful. Even now, he was restraining himself because of the company he was in.
"It is not up to a loser to define the place of a winner," said a soft yet firm voice, startling not only Kritter, but everyone in the room!
Until they heard the voice, no one even noticed the arrival of the two new guests who had joined them. A handsome man stood next to a beautiful woman, both radiating an aura of power and peace. They stood casually yet it was as if they demanded absolute worship and obedience. Moreover, none of them could recall the appearance of these two!
"It is an honor to meet you, Lord Firin," Cornelius said looking at the man, his voice both humble and solemn. "Likewise, Lady Aizel, I am extremely honored. I have always wanted to meet you both."I think you should take a look at
The rest of the leaders also all extended their greeting - all except Edward who only looked at the two with a mix of aggression and fear!
Lex, who had already met the two, did not say much but he completely understood the feeling these leaders were experiencing. After all, to ensure there were no problems, Lex had scanned these two guests as soon as he went to them. The results had surprised him.
Name: Firin
Age: 1,430,000,001
Sex: Male
Cultivation Details: Earthen Deity (Earth Immortal Equivalent)
Species: Sol Bird
Midnight Inn Prestige Level: 1
Remarks: A true worshiped deity! No mortal may gaze upon the face of a deity - in case they are ugly and not worthy of worship!
Name: Aizel
Age: 1,430,000,001
Sex: Female
Cultivation Details: Earthen Deity (Earth Immortal Equivalent)
Species: Frio bird
Midnight Inn Prestige Level: 1
Remarks: A true worshiped deity! No mortal may gaze upon the face of a deity - in case she is too beautiful and you fall in love with a grandma that predates your entire ancestry!
He had no idea how they knew about this meeting, considering he never sent them an invite, but the primogenitors of the Sol and Frio bird had arrived to attend the meeting. Moreover, their arrival had confirmed a suspicion Lex had which was that the Sol and Frio birds were deities.
But based on that logic, weren't there… too many deities in the Crystal realm? He was under the impression that deities were rare and powerful, but it seemed not. To be fair, he had drawn conclusions without doing much research on the matter, something he would remedy soon.
But now, looking at them, another suspicion formed in Lex's mind. Once, long ago, he found a seemingly ordinary rock which produced the divine essence, something he had used on himself and even sold at the Inn. Now he had confirmed that the realm was teeming deities in the form of Sol and Frio birds, though he suspected the original two were the only ones that counted as 'true deities'. Considering the very limited time he had spent here, there was a very real possibility that there were many more deities here as well. Maybe the Crystal realm… was especially suited to giving birth to deities.
Depending on how easy or hard that was in other realms, that may be a significant feature someone from a stronger realm might covet.
Chapter 706 Glow
"There is no reason to focus so much on unnecessary etiquette," Firin said in response to everyone greeting him and expressing how honored they were to meet him. For too long neither he nor Aizel left their abode within the Crystal nation, so only the most privileged of the Crystal race had the opportunity to meet them.
"Instead our time would be better served focusing on the purpose of this meeting."
No one took offense to the bluntness displayed by Aizel. All the races in the entire realm depended on the Sol and Frio birds, so no one was about to pick a fight with the first ever Sol bird. Besides, there was one simple truth in life that no one could deny, which was that might was right. Firin was the oldest living, and one of the most powerful, if not the most powerful being in their realm.
With both the power to forcefully suppress them, and the influence to damn their entire race to the darkness, not to mention the fact that he was literally a deity, he could walk into any room and take complete command, and no one would object. Well, almost no one since Lex was more intrigued than intimidated by him.
"Indeed, now that all the relevant parties are here, we should officially begin," said Cornelius.
Lex twitched his lips. He was enjoying their previous discussions as he was learning so much without putting in any effort. Nevertheless, there was no point in delaying the matter.
"Very well, since you're all here, we should delve right into it and stop wasting time," said Lex as he took control of the conversation.
From within his pocket he took out the invitation that had been sent out, attracting everyone's attention to the latent aura contained within.
"I'm sure everyone is quite concerned about the 'darkness that ripples through the lands'," he said quoting the invite, while simultaneously opening the invitation so that Firin and Aizel could read the content, "while you're also no doubt wondering about why the invite claims that the Crystal race is complicit in the conspiracy. No doubt, based on the timing of the invitation, alongside the Crystal race's long history of noninterference in the Kraven war, it is easy to assume that this meeting is regarding the Kraven."
Lex paused and looked at all the various leaders who were simply and silently looking at him, waiting for him to reveal the key information. Firin and Aizel, on the other hand, were silently reading the letter without any outward display of shock or concern over the strength contained within.
In a manner of speaking, Lex's purpose in calling them here was already complete, for the importance and relevance of this wedding had already surpassed any other simple wedding. But, if an important alliance or decision could be made today, the quest rating was no doubt going to shoot up so Lex was still going to try his best and manipulate the situation to his advantage. And, if in the meantime, he somehow learned about the anomaly then it would be like getting two birds with one stone.
"The truth is, the most pressing matter for us to face is not the Kraven, but something else."
He suddenly summoned in Toro, thus diverting everyone's attention to the Trelop.
"Some time ago, I felt an unusual aura…" slowly and in great detail, Lex began to explain how he ended up discovering the Cosmic Erosion Elixir. Before he explained what it was, he described the behavior of the liquid in great detail, and then had Toro corroborate everything he said. He even allowed Toro to be questioned by the leaders.
The only thing they could not do was produce the elixir for them to see for themselves, as it had by now evaporated.
"Intrigued by the strange liquid, I sought the advice of my senior… the one who wrote the invitations, and learnt what the liquid was. It's called Cosmic Erosion Elixir…" Lex continued on to explain in detail what the elixir was, and what its presence meant.
While he was speaking, he paid extra attention to the actions and reactions of each of the leaders. Despite their stoic expressions initially, he was able to pick out growing solemnity on their faces while he spoke. Well, for all except the birds, whose faces he could not see, and Kritter, since he did not know how to determine the expressions of an insect.
There was a reason why he expressly revealed that he himself did not write the invitations, and instead gave the credit to his mysterious 'senior'. First of all, Cornelius would know his history in the Crystal realm quite well so it was impossible to pretend as such in front of him. Secondly, he wanted to reveal the backing of the Midnight Inn, which could transport him across realms.
Sure the drawback was that they were likely to treat him with great suspicion, but since he was telling the truth - mostly - everything he said was verifiable.
Once he was finished, silence pervaded the room. Everyone was having a tough time wrapping their heads around the news that their realm itself was facing destruction. As if the Kraven invasion was not enough.
"To say that the Crystal race is complicit or even aware of this is a grave accusation," Cornelius said finally, his voice low and solemn. "How can you be sure that they are involved in this matter?"
"Of course, I cannot say for certain," said Lex while shrugging. "All I can say is that my luck must be horrible if they aren't. When I entered the Crystal realm, at the border I met Lord Belmont. Considering my limited connection in the Crystal race, I revealed this information to him, he immediately tried to assassinate me. All I can say is that if they aren't involved in this collectively, then I must have some kind of luck to run into the one Crystal who is."
Cornelius pursed his lips for a moment before speaking once again. "Still, that's not enough information to condemn the whole race. Further investigation is needed."
Lex shrugged and said, "The realm itself is on the path to destruction because of some anomaly. I've already explained that the Elixir doesn't form under normal circumstances. For the entire realm to be suffering from some issue would require a very powerful force, or perhaps a very powerful race, to be pulling the strings from behind the scene. Think about it. I've already told you of the great benefits that the elixir can give, and that's just an accidental product formed from the situation. Imagine the kind of benefits one can possibly get if they're willing to compromise the entire realm!
"I'm not saying it necessarily is the Crystal race. After all, how so many immortal Kraven suddenly came to be is also a mystery not yet resolved."
Sabr looked absolutely horrified, as Lex's possible explanation for the immortal Kraven was the most plausible theory he had heard yet. The others, though, did not seem to give it too much thought.
"If you do not mind, I would like to verify this myself," said Firin, his voice still calm and level though he had suddenly become polite. "If you could remove the spatial formation around your tavern for a short while, I can communicate with the realm to investigate its health. Now that I know there might be some issue, it'll be easier to detect."
Lex raised an eyebrow, but then acquiesced, and temporarily disabled the formation around the tavern. A moment later, the building began to glow.
*****
Unable to take the pressure from the ceremonies, Pvarti sped through them and began the journey portion of the day's activities. Yet the moment he stepped out of his home, hundreds of people following behind, a warm glow engulfed the town, originating from the tavern itself.
"An omen!" someone cried. "It's a good omen! The union of the lord and lady will bring light to the land! Their child will be the savior of the realm!"
As if taken by the yell, the crowd of guests turned to look at Pvarti with heated eyes. Pvarti himself, however, was cursing his stupid sister. He could always easily identify her antics!
"Just you wait," he murmured under his breath, and began thinking of potential suitors for his sister.
*****
In the distance, a Crystal was flying towards Babylon leisurely. Since Lex had already revealed the location of his tavern, it was only a matter of time before Ezio arrived with his clone. After all, he still owed the young lad a secret. Suddenly, the horizon began to glow, and an overwhelming aura spread out from the distance.
Ezio frowned, and sped up.
*****
A small Kraven, the size of an average lion, walked calmly through the streets of Babylon. No one had detected him so far, not to the citizens he was passing by, nor the hordes of immortals gathered for the wedding or even the many leaders from different countries.
The two deity birds might have possibly noticed him, but they could not be bothered to care about a random Kraven. As a result it was taking its time and enjoying itself while it waited for its reinforcements. Since he had already arrived here, might as well make a mess of things.
Then, incidentally, the building he was passing by began to glow.
Chapter 707 Try to be vague
Lex disabled the spatial formation which allowed the two deities to reconnect to the space of the entire realm. As they felt their connections reestablish, the two held hands and began channeling their powers.
At this proximity, Lex had to bear the full brunt of their power, which was far from easy. The only reason he didn't have to use Harden, and other abilities to resist the pressure was because he was a projection. If his clothes were normal, they would have been shredded under the weight of the two birds oppressive aura, yet since he was merely a projection, his clothes rippled softly as if they really were being buffed by the aura.
This close, other than the overwhelming oppressiveness of their aura, Lex could also distinctly feel how the divine power they channeled differed from spiritual energy. It was remarkably uniform, unlike spiritual energy which was actually a generic name for a broad range of energies that could be used for cultivation. He also felt like it would be difficult because it was about as pure as it could be, and it was also unlikely that the concentration could be increased either.
In fact, likely the only metric that changed in divine energy as one went from a certain level to a higher one was quantity. Of course, that was just Lex's guess. He could not confirm anything, as his experience with divinity was still too limited. He vaguely remembered that in the Origin realm there was a religion dedicated to the Butter Knife deity, a.k.a. Lex himself, and that the Inn was collecting accumulated divine energy on his behalf. Maybe he should try taking control of it back and see if he was able to use it.
The two birds began to emit a glow which combined together to form a white, holy light that seemed to encompass the world. The light suddenly grew in brightness, and passed through the walls of the tavern as if they were glass. Soon the entire building began to glow as the birds 'communicated with the realm', whatever that meant.
He turned to look at the others and found that each one was observing the birds with great intrigue, except for Edward whose skin seemed to be sparkling for some reason. He had a grimace on his face like he was constipated or something. Well, you couldn't ask a monster to be comfortable in so much light.
The light kept glowing for a few minutes, but just as it began to dim, another considerably powerful person entered the tavern. This should not have been a concern since many immortals would be attending the wedding, save for the fact that Lex recognized the person. It was Ezio, the Crystal race member who Lex visited in prison. Or, more likely his clone.
Lex frowned, then he sighed and teleported to him. Since he was here, he might as well be brought to the meeting as well.
By the time Lex returned, the birds had stopped glowing. But before getting into the matter, everyone looked at Lex who was now bringing a Crystal race member into the room.
"Everyone, this is Ezio. He happened to be there when Belmont tried to assassinate me. He also heard my revelation at the time. Since everyone wants to investigate thoroughly, we can ask Ezio what the crystal race has done about this issue in the time since they've learnt about it."
From his tone Ezio could tell that Lex's regard for him, as well as the Crystal race had dropped drastically, but all he could do was look smile wryly.
He was a little surprised by the dignitaries in the room, and did not need an introduction to recognize them all. After all, since his real body was stuck in prison, it had nothing better to do than keep up with current events.
"Although your argument was evidence based, the Crystal race cannot simply act on unverified information. Since then, they have begun investigating the phenomenon that you have claimed. It is only a matter of time before its veracity is verified."
"No need to bother," Firin said, his voice just barely more solemn than before. "I have already checked. The stability of the realm is greatly compromised. Due to the young nature of the realm, before the state of affairs reaches a level where the instability is obvious to the general public, the barrier on the edges of the realm will collapse and unfiltered chaos energy will destroy everything. I have never witnessed such a thing, so my calculations may be wrong, or may have overlooked certain important factors. Nonetheless, I estimate, within 70 years, the barriers will break and all life will end. The collapse of the realm itself should follow soon after."
Overwhelming shock gripped almost everyone in the room, followed quickly by extreme horror. Yet they did not exhibit their feelings in silence, as Sabr stumbled back until he hit the wall, mostly because Elena had lost control of herself and her size increased massively! The glass slipped out of Edwards hands and fell onto the floor, but no one other than Lex paid any attention to that.
70 years before the realm is destroyed! That's nothing!
"Lex, since your senior was able to identify the elixir, and explained the problem, he may have some knowledge on the matter. Is it possible to have him identify what is causing this problem?"
"My senior is busy opening up a new realm of his own," Lex said while shaking his head. "He won't be able to spare the time."
Everyone, Ezio especially, were startled upon hearing Lex's claim. Opening up his own realm? Did he mean a Minor realm and forget to say Minor? If not, they could not even imagine what level this senior was on.
Silence pervaded in the room once again. Based on what Lex could determine, many of them already seemed to have some idea of what caused the issue, but for whatever reason seemed hesitant to mention it. Even the all mighty and noble dive birds were silent.
It was Ezio, instead, who recovered the quickest from the news.
"Lex, I once told you that for every secret you share with me, I'll share one with you as well. Since the secret you shared was a big one, I'll likewise enlighten you with something significant. Many years ago, I decided that I wanted to erase from history all traces of a relationship the Crystal realm had with a certain entity."
Many in the room shivered, Cornelius included, as Ezio said those words.
"There are certain things… even I cannot say. But, to make a long story short, all my efforts were to erase reminders of a very shameful truth. The Crystal realm… is nothing but a big farm. How are farms taken care of? The soil is prepared with fertilizers and is tilled, and once the season is right, the crops are planted and the produce is allowed to grow."
For a moment he paused, as if he was having a tough time speaking, yet no one interrupted or corrected him.
"I've heard that a massive war has broken out. It seems the produce of the realm was lacking, and so special measures were taken for an especially ripe harvest this time around. Since the Kraven have arrived with countless immortals, and none of the nations seem fit to fight them off, it should soon be time for our 'heroes' to show up and save the day. Surely we will be extremely grateful for their efforts and build monuments to their achievements."
His last sentence was ripe with sarcasm, but his eyes only depicted pain and despondence.
"You know, if you tried really hard, you could manage to be even more vague than that," said Lex in a rare display of irritation. If he had crossed the entire realm to reach the Crystal nation, and all Ezio was going to reveal to him was the badly written blurb of a random fiction novel then his irritation was justified.
Before Ezio could answer, Sabr burst out in anger, "what the hell are you talking about? Don't spout nonsense about farming and harvesting. This is the fate of the realm we're talking about, so focus. Or are you Crystal race too noble to concern yourselves with this matter too? All anyone in the Crystal realm has done for the past few hundred years is fight with the Kraven! It's only the mortals who have time for things like farming!"
Many in the room exchanged looks, but no one answered Sabr.
"I think we should focus on the matter at hand instead of getting sidetracked," said Firin, suppressing the agitated Sabr with his aura. "Lex, you managed to bring everyone here, and spread this important news. Your merits are unquestionable. Still, since you were aware of such a problem already, you must have already spent some time looking for a solution, right? The time for exchanging and discussing secrets will come later."
"Naturally, I have already looked into how this problem can be fixed," said Lex. After all, he had to ensure he remained relevant to the meeting, or once he revealed the information, the various leaders might decide to continue the meeting elsewhere.