"This was 3 years after the Goddess of the otherworld had blessed me with the most ridiculous blessing in all existence."
"I was made into a prince consort by the Imperial Rule of Sullen."
"Wait, wait, wait. Hold up!"
"What is it? You're interrupting my story."
"Shut up! Did you say, prince consort?!"
"Um… yes?"
"You have some explaining to do, mister!"
"Eh?"
"What, 'eh?' you better explain yourself and be truthful or else!"
"Okay, okay. Geez!"
…
"As I said…"
"It was the time, 3 years after the Goddess blessed me. I became prince consort of the Imperial Rule of Sullen."
"Really? You're still starting there?"
"Let me continue first, will you?"
"Fine! Let me see how you'll worm your slippery hide from this!"
"Sigh."
"I became the prince consort to the most beautiful princess of the imperial host, Kathrin. She was 17 years old then, 3 years younger than me. We were scheduled to be wed, however, I vehemently refused the union, because I understood their intentions. They wanted to form a strong familial bond with me, a Nine Circle Magician. In fact, I was the Nine Hundred and Ninety Ninth Nine Circle Magician of the Sullen Empire."
"So, you refused?"
"When they found out about my refusal, they called for me, summoning me into their presence. They had power to do just that, however the threat of a Nine Circle Magician was no joke, so they cordially invited me.
"There, the Emperor at that time, Ulrich the Tenth, offered me an alternative. They gave me a position of great power and influence, one I couldn't refuse because I'd have to marry Kathrin if I did."
"The emperor ordered for a magician's Tower to be built for me at the center of the Empire. This was his first condition, 'Live within the Imperial Capital' and then he ordered for some of his knights to serve as garrisoned soldiers to watch my every step."
"I didn't agree immediately, I asked for servants, funds, and the best learning instruments, everything I needed, or at least it was what I thought at that time."
"There I was, crowned as the Nine Hundred and Ninety Ninth Nine Circle Magician of the Sullen Empire. Up in my tower on the very peak of it, I was doing research on what to do to transcend even the peak of the magician profession.
"After a while, all thanks to the goddess's blessing, I found a way. It was however, not meant for mortals to step into and disaster struck.
"It turned out that the universal laws had with them punishment for those who break the taboo. And I, the Nine Hundred and Ninety Ninth Nine Circle Magician had broken the world's taboo. Ascending further than Nine Circle, was one of this.
"Lightning, fire, brim stone, hail stone, blizzards, and even sand storms brewed, condensed, and aimed right towards the very empire that nourished me, all because my greed for power was insatiable.
"In a matter of minutes, screams of agony, of despair, of hurt and pain, all reached my ears. I, the Nine Hundred and Ninety Ninth Nine Circle Magician of the Sullen Empire was powerless before this divine retribution. And in my greed for power, instead of stopping, I pushed through while I heard the screams of agony and anguish. It became my fuel instead to push further and force my way into a realm unknown.
"I thought, if they would die from the evil god's designs anyway, let me have the power to protect those who are left! And so in the end, I did break through the confines of mortality towards the unknown.
"My hair turned red, eyes blue as an illuminated sapphire. My facial features became what you see currently minus the hair and eyes.
"I'd turned into a force of nature. In my magic practice, I focused on one aspect the most, as you know. And that was to manipulate the most fundamental element in that world, mana."
"And so, I became an embodiment of that which I sought. It came with a heavy price, bit I'd achieved it. I was proudly holding my head high. Not knowing that by what I did, the evil god would sense it and panic. In the end, it sent champion upon champion to overwhelm me and kill me.
"And they almost succeeded, after 2 years of being hunted not just by the champions but also by the human Empires allied to Sullen, I was cornered and on the brink.
"That was when I met my master. In order to help me, he killed me first. He killed my identity as the Nine Hundred and Ninety Ninth Nine Circle Magician, destroyed my circles and every trace of being a magician, except for what I embodied when I ascended.
"I died, and was reformed by my master. Let's just call him Oogway for better reference."
"Oogway?"
"Yes."
"And then? Well, my story for what comes next ends there. I only wanted you to know what happens when you try to reach beyond what should be. I need you to understand that your power, right now, is enough. Reach your peak and consolidate it, refine it with further study and control it like you do breathing.
"Don't seek for more until I open up the door for it. Okay? I don't want you to hold in your hand the lives of millions and their blood for a mistake that I've already gone through once. You see, my love. I am a man whose sins cannot be pardoned so simply.
"In fact, I am able to transcend my own Realm with but a thought as well, but I cannot for fear of another divine retribution for it. Bear this in mind."
"… I understand."
…
Gideon's story had made Rebecca think of the memories she received. How hard it was for Gideon to learn and reach his achievements in magic only for it to be destroyed in but a single breath.
She felt in pain for him, yet she also felt a repulsion in her deepest being. A repulsion to the fact that Gideon had taken lives, innocent ones for the greed of power.
It truly opened her eyes to the truth. And the frightening reality that results did not always justify the means nor did the means justify the results.
In the end, even Gideon, someone so gentle and kind had become a fiend for the sake of power with the motivation to protect those that needed to be protected.
"Truly, each hero is a villain in someone else's stories." Rebecca truly opened her eyes to this.
"That's why, don't try to reach heights not meant to be ascended to currently. Stay grounded."
It was at this moment that Rebecca's epiphany started and Gideon's Divinity surged as if a tide was going to flood his soul.
{Gained Supreme Divinity}
{Ten Orders of Magnitude in Gains activated.}
{Gained 10 Supreme Divinity equivalence.}
{Supreme Divinity duplicate detected.}
{Enhancing Supreme Divinity by consuming duplicate skills.}
{Enhancement Complete. Divine Territory, Absolute Will, and Creation skill added to Supreme Divinity as a sub-skill.}
{Divine Authority upgraded to Absolute Will, consuming 8 duplicate skills.}
"Creation skill?"
{Creation allows the deity to create out of nothing using immense energy.}
"Ah, cool." Gideon has never encountered this skill before and intrigued him as well.
"Creation must have been added because of Absolute Will. After all, the latter can only work within existence not outside it."
Gideon knew Absolute Will from his previous development. It was given to him as a skill developed on the later stages of cultivation beyond Transcendence Realm.
"Never expected to get it so soon. With just this alone, nothing in existence can stop my will… supposed to be. But I know that there are those immune to even this skill or may even have means to cancel its effects."
Gideon was contemplating hard. Rebecca was already regaining her consciousness after she fell unconscious when she entered epiphany.
"Have you come to your senses?"
"Sigh. Yes. I feel much more at ease with the power in my hands. Is this a breakthrough?"
"No, you have been enlightened. I hope you now understand how critical having power is and how corrupting it would be the more you have of it."
"Yes. I… I feel that if I do not control it properly, I would lose myself."
"That's a good start. Unlike me who had be taught the lesson the hard way, I hope you'll not make the same mistakes I did.
"I lost myself in the greed for power. I did acquire greater power but at the cost of my soul. Having power, and knowing how to use said power is the basic principle that needs to be imposed on one's self constantly. When to use it and when not to use it."
"I understand, Deon."
"Alright. Shall I see how much progress you made already?"
"Okay."
Gideon extended his hand towards the training field. A box the size of five football fields. This was how big the training field. At the center of it, sprung up numerous training dummies made of earth. This was Gideon utilizing his Absolute Will. With Divine Authority, he was far from being able to do this and was more of just commanding beings and lesser laws to follow his will. The advanced version of Divine Authority, being Divine Will, was able to command the world and nature using immense divinity.
However, Absolute Will needed no energy as the universe and all in existence does it for him. A single inaudible command would be translated by the change in the universe. However, the range is clearly restricted to his perception only.
If he was someone who did not cultivate a Spiritual Art, then his perception would only be as good as any mortal, unless he ascended to the Divine Realm. However, with his cultivation, his divine sense could cover not only Earth but the entire solar system almost towards the half-point of the Milky Way.
That was his divine sense's range. If he combine it with his divinity, he could go beyond that and cover the entire Milky Way.
Anyone able to do this, would most probably be considered a true god. Even the deities residing in the Divine Realm of Earth, would not be able to reach this far unless they used special tools.
And by special tools, they could be like the Eye of Horus, and the likes.
Rebecca saw this and was not surprised. Gideon held within himself secrets that shouldn't be taken lightly. So, she kept herself from excessive interest towards these secrets.
"Becca, go ahead and use the most powerful flame you can conjure and blast those dummies."
"Okay."
Rebecca also extended her hand and an immense amount of energy was drawn from inside her Nine Circles. That's right, Rebecca had already created her ninth circle. In but five seconds, the energy she gathered, its affinity changed to fire through a process Gideon knew as transmutation. The fire energy Rebecca conjured then intensified and was already turning to different colors. Flashing each color that signified intensity. In ordinary life, blue would have been the hottest any flame would burn. As the amount of oxygen, or fuel, for it to burn was highest. However, If Rebecca was floating in the void of space and did this, even without oxygen, this fire she conjured would burn without being hindered.
How was this possible? It's magic.
Rebecca then hurled the ball of flame, the size of small boulder, condensed to this size, the explosive value would skyrocket, towards the group of dummies Gideon created.
Then, the ball of flame collided with the dummies, and an unbelievable scene played out. Instead of exploding on contact, the ball of flame seemed to have been swallowed by the Earth. Like putting a heavy object into a water basin.
Then… rumble, rumble, rumble.
The earth beneath erratically trembled as if the earth was having a gag reflex before regurgitating the ball of flame. And that was when a roar so overbearing appeared.
Roar!
Like a dragon, breathing its most potent flames to destroy the world!
Rebecca's flame had three phases, an effect she thought of originally after studying Gideon's memories. First was to enter the target, second to implode, third to scorch.
The field had been devastated beyond recognition. However, with a single wave of Gideon's hand, it was restored.
It was already like this with the training dummies. Imagine if this flame was directed towards a living being. This three phase attach of Rebecca wasn't effective only towards earth and inorganic matter. It was even more invasive on organic beings.
Once it enters its target's body… one can only imagine what happens. Shivers would cover anyone most likely.
"Good. It's vicious, but it should be enough to handle low level elite soldiers we've been receiving from the enemies outside our world."
"You mean…?"
"That's right, those 'champions' we've been facing were simply foot soldiers in front of the stronger evil gods. So, taking them out is no great feat. To the current world though, it would be an achievement of the highest order. Soon, they'll also realize how insignificant these achievements are.
"Becca. I want you to take for yourself a disciple to teach magic to. Not Alice. Someone you can leave your back to. This way, when you do achieve divinity, you'll be able to grow more."
"But you said, divinity is a double-edged sword. You still want me to achieve that?"
"I naturally have the means to defend against the inward blade."
"Okay. I trust you."
"Hm."
…
Hades, that is the name of one of the most powerful deities of the Greek Pantheon. He has been granted the power to rule the underworld, an afterlife created by the Supreme Divinity who adopted three brothers called Cronos.
The brothers Hades, Zeus and Poseidon were granted Divinity over the Underworld, the Sky and the Waters. Each of them possess artifacts that enhance their rule made by none other than the smith, Hephaestus.
Hades possessed the Helm of Darkness. Poseidon his Trident, and Zeus his Lightning Bolt.
In the era when no gods interfere with the mortal world, all of the gods hid in the Divine Realm. However, other gods played some tricks and left their artifacts in the world.
One such gods was Hades. Since his Helm of Darkness was indestructible, he did not care whether someone 'borrowed' it or not. Sooner or later, he'd be able to retrieve it anyway.
A herald of the gods held that very same Helm in his hands and used it. He became invisible from that moment on. Even the gods could not pry into his whereabouts and exploits.
Not even Gideon.
With the Helm of Darkness' inherent ability to make its wearer invisible, it also had the ability to extend this invisibility towards an area.
Thus, Dylan Ross, became the head of the shadow organization, Darkest Night. Their aim, to become the strongest heralds on Earth by sacrificing innocents despite Gideon's warnings. Even their own patron gods couldn't detect them thinking they'd died by Gideon's hands already.
In but 6 months, they had killed off more than 20 million individuals via sacrificial ceremonies from the remotest regions of the world where modern civilization has yet to bastardize.
In fact, their leader, Dylan Ross had already stepped into the realm of the divine and was paving the way for the members to do so as well.
News about these people rarely reach the major cities and regions so the Darkest Night thrived until this state.
Dylan Ross felt that he was even stronger than this random Gideon guy who claims punishment for those who practice it.
"Since he's the biggest threat to our organization, we must eliminate him and oppose their guild. Thoroughly!"
"Yes, sir!"
"To do this…" Dylan Ross explained his plan and the schemes behind them. In a bid for supremacy, Dylan Ross understood that information was king.
He set out to gather information. Went to the villa that the Johnsons resided in publicly. Stayed there to gather information from the gossiping servants. He began to consider the parents and their schedules. Kane who sometimes comes to have breakfast when Gideon and Rebecca visits with their now 2-year-old Alice. Deborah was too busy, but she always found time to join breakfast and dinner when Gideon cooked.
Then, Dylan Ross also followed Rebecca and Alice and found numerous opportunities to harm them, but he showed great control over his desires to destroy Gideon.
His fear, he turned into motivation to accomplish great things under pressure.
He also tailed Gideon around, however, even though he was invisible, somehow, Gideon would show signs of detecting something in the air whenever he was around him. Dylan Ross felt so afraid more than he bargained for that he just gave up tailing Gideon around.
In truth, Gideon couldn't really detect him at all normally. However, Gideon had exceptional perception and divine sense. But even these two could not help him detect anything wrong. What made him puzzled was the hint of bloodlust out of nowhere sometimes directed at him. Although it was so thin that it was negligible, Gideon believed it was from one of the gods looking down at him from above. So he would gaze towards that bloodlust's direction and do so for a good few seconds before ignoring it.
Gideon trusted in his perception as well. It was not pride, but the sheer confidence that nothing in this world would be able to hide from him. After all, Gideon hadn't been exposed to the other side of Earth until he came back from the otherworld. Which means, his knowledge of legends and myths on Earth was limited. And then compared to the evil god he faced in the otherworld; Earth's was puny.
He never considered anything that could surpass the otherworld's magic technology. Thus, he was unaware of Hade's Helm of Darkness.