I was once A Berus. Now, I am Erondi. Why?.
The words were like a cannon in his head. One that struck true. Erizos frowned after a second his eye locked on Erondi.
"KEEP YOUR MOUTH SHUT". He roared as he dashed forward. Erondi drew a semicircle with his right leg as he leaned forward to block the strike.
Erizos smirked as he let go of Vailex the blade clashing with the sword of his opponent while he quickly formed mana.
Yet he realized again that even mana was harder to form here. But he pushed on a strain forming in his mind that pressed against his attempt. Still, he ignored the pounding in his head, and soon the mana surged out creating a blueish glow of light that stretched out into the form of a long staff.
Vailex held Erondi's attention, the entity clashing on and on with it as both swords made sparks. Erizos was too busy to focus on them as he pulled at his almost spent divinity.
'Its barely regenerating'.
Yes, for the first time, Damas was suppressed. But not totally. It was regenerating his divinity at half the time it normally did.
The god frowned his forehead creasing as he poured in iotas of divinity into the mana's interior. The subtle glow of gold caught Erondi's attention just as the mana holding onto the divinity was launched at him.
Erondi quickly slashed down on Vailex knocking the sword back before turning to strike the spell away.
But what was Vailex?
The divine sword of an All-father, the one weapon forged of his core bearing its sentience, the sole blade that held back a horde of anti-life fragments at the beginning of time.
If the weapon could scoff at this deemed stupidity then it would have given off peals of laughter. Like a judgment from its master, it shot forward.
Of course, Erondi's attention hadn't left it which was what both master and blade banked on. Aggrieved the Erizos lookalike spun his lusterless blade striking the spell coming at him while his left hand gripped at the luminous blade that was Vailex.
His sword split through the mana without pressure but the divine energy burned. His blade heated up, the lusterless sword and his palm igniting in divine fire.
Erondi didn't have the time to feel the pain as Vailex entered his palm. A sizzle entered his ear even as his teeth gritted from the searing cut. Then a blast of light slammed into his side and threw him far into the distance.
[Erondi The First harmed]
[Requirements met]
[Authorities awakened]
[Phase II Commencing]
[Slay the Authorities]
From all over the place several screeches echoed and reverberated, some more humane roars, others eldritch sounds and animalistic utterances that could make any normal god shiver.
He frowned as he listened and his eyes landed on Erondi who smiled at him as he stood.
"We'll see soon enough #&¶∆°¶∆∆∆¶" whatever the last words were Erizos didn't know. Yet his blood boiled at the term almost like a message telling him it was important.
As he moved to give chase ignoring the incoming sounds that were aimed at him the voice came once again.
[Calculating rewards...]
[Rewards Confirmed]
[Secret of Creation given]
It was like a hidden room within his head suddenly made itself known to Erizos. He gasped as his four eyes glazed over and his brain shook from the information flowing into it. Like a statue he stood, his fingers twitching while Vailex floated around him.
For a few seconds, rulerunes appeared in his eyes and mind. A language the voice had chosen to communicate with him through since it was one he had made himself.
Finally, he gasped out and fell to his knees.
"That's... wow. " he panted as he glanced down at his hands.
There was a hoard of things he had learned in that period. Several things that he had already done, made errors with and also things he was yet to do but couldn't due to his low authority.
"Seems I never needed to leave to get my divinity eh". he stated yet again. " Still it was something unknown so it didn't matter. " his eyes went up as several things now made sense to him.
For the first time since he got dragged in here, he relaxed and looked around.
"The Dawn of Creation eh". his voice still low hummed around him like a sound filter.
His eyes took in the scenery around him.
Huge pillars numerous in number towered up into the black skies and above while simultaneously descending to the sky under.
"There's an up and down here." he noted. While he looked at the pillars seemingly holding the sky below and above from moving closer and clashing he knew it had nothing to do with any of the pillars that the skies remained in their positions.
It was simply for the aesthetic view. The skies to the sides were spread out along the expanse that formed a sea of nothingness.
In this sea floated the very empty city on which he stood. Calling it a city was too much credit though. Apart from the huge structure to the center of the city where he guessed Erondi had fled, there was nothing but the flat black stone ground in all directions. A few huge pillars rose here and there. Giving off the feel of ruin. They were nothing compared to those in between the skies above and below
The city itself while large beyond belief was nothing compared to the large expanse. It was like a drop in an ocean.
Yet as he reviewed everything, he realized that he knew what everything meant and stood for. A sigh and also an anguished look appeared on his face.
"If Berus wasn't around. I definitely would have died making it here to awaken more of my authority". he muttered." if I would have even known about finding here".
While All-fathers could use their divinity to create it was more efficient to use their authority something he would have only had one level of back then from creating his true body.
In a way, Berus had saved him and also kept him from his true power.
Yet he didn't feel anything bad about it. Just sad that there was no voice to yap at him in his head.
But at the same time his anger for Berus' death while still there felt wrong. The voice had just done what it was meant to. Clear off anything not an All-father from its vicinity. Atleast that's what he felt after seeing the tons of info in his head.
"One reward and I know a lot already. What more can I get if I pass the second phase." Erizos pondered.
On cue, a figure appeared in his sight. This one looked nothing like him. Hunched on four feet, a long pink tongue, and eight upper limbs that made the god wonder how its movement was possible. The thing climbed up a pillar before locking its purple eyes on him.
Then like a harbinger of calamity, it raised its snout to the sky above uttering a howl that spread like a wave. He could see the waves created by the howl spreading like an echo in all directions.
Erizos though quite level-headed pulled at his divinity and with a bit of new intelligence he unraveled it before sending it to invade the entity's body.
The divinity struggled for a bit before succeeding and then he felt it. Without Berus to arrange information for him he was left to just sense the answers he wished for.
Fortunately, the voice once more came to his aid.
[NAME - Ugarkti ]
[LEVEL - 5]
[RANK - ALL-FATHER HUSK]
[TIER - 0]
While he understood the secrets of creation he didn't know what it meant to be a level 5. Of course not knowing he was a level 12 himself he hesitated. Long enough to note the arriving horde of several shaped beings.
As he struggled with his divinity mixing it into his Deific sense he spread it out as the entities surrounded him.
"They're all classified as husks. I didn't get to see Erondi's classification though. Is he like them or not? Wait, am I like them?"
Unsure the All-father stood his ground while Vailex floated behind him.
" Doesn't matter. They're here to kill me or something. I feel like failing is a bad thing. " His eyes crossed over the still-amassing horde that ranged from levels one to seven. The highest being at eight.
"Of course failing is bad. Especially if failing is dying" Erizos shook his head at his stupidity.
Finally, Ugarkti howled once more and pounced. Its mouth-frothing, its eyes filled with unbridled desire. Yet at that moment the desire dimmed as its head rolled to his feet.
Vailex floated back to Erizos rear, the incandescent blade earning a slight increase in its glow. The entire crowd looked hesitant crossing off any thoughts of them being mindless.
'That is good and bad. Good as they can be taunted. Bad if they're smart enough to think. Shrugging he tilted his lip up in the most arrogant way he could think of while his eyes locked on the first creature in the group.
"I don't have all day. I've battled fragments more sensible and courageous than you lot" he sneered.
Like a broken dam, the horde spilled out and charged him from all sides. While his smile remained Erizos shrieked in his head panicking.
"Too much, too much. Wrong taunting!!!".