When Supernova spoke her words, there was no response for so long. She looked up only to see Eon looking away, as if he had lost interest and forgotten about her existence. For a moment, Supernova considered drawing attention to herself, but finally gave up the idea and started down the staircase again.
She was disappointed that she hadn't gotten the answers she wanted, but she could assume that her desire might have been fulfilled. Eon probably found her words boring, so he lost interest in talking to her further. Caila could only agree with that judgment. Plus, all she had to do was look at all the gods around her that came from different parts of the universe. Coming back to her homeland was certainly not impossible.
Supernova descended the last step and looked around at the reveling gods, but she had no interest in them. After all, they were all her potential enemies and future food, so she didn't want to hang around lest anyone try to socialize with her.
But to her displeasure, apparently someone had already thought of it when she noticed a purple thing appear near her stomach. Both Supernova and Caila looked at the thing that was raising its head towards her. "Hello Comrade," the thing said hello, but Supernova didn't greet it and looked the thing over.
Caila herself had no idea what the thing was, but unlike Supernova's critical eye, Caila was curious. After all, there were plenty of strange creatures living in the End of the World, and while they could still surprise her with their strange appearance or behavior, she had no prejudice against them no matter what they looked like. As long as he was her person, she was fine with him looking even as a living sock.
This creature resembled an animal, if Caila had to compare it to anything it was probably a duck though not quite. Then an idea struck Supernova and Caila had to admit she was right.
It looked more like a platypus with a few different details. Its feathers were a smooth, sleek purple color that you could barely even tell they were feathers. It was decorated with intricate and beautiful patterns of blue, it almost looked like henna. Its eyes were pink and it had ears sticking out to the sides of its head, both pierced with golden semicircles. The beak was yellow topped with round nostrils, the figure was humanoid, dressed in a decent suit of blue with a vest with golden patterns and a large golden bow tie tied at its neck. Caila recognized that the creature had an eye for style and color, as this suited it perfectly.
Supernova was not kind to strangers. "What do you want?" she asked instead.
The creature raised its hands in the peace sign, which were purple and also covered in ornaments. Caila wondered if the underclothing was also adorned with ornaments. "Calm your fish, my friend. I come in peace," said the creature.
Supernova shook her head. "Again. What do you want?"
"Let me tell you, for a newbie, you're pretty aggressive, lady." Platypus grabbed the lapels of his jacket. "My name is Plelilanianus Kplanalin. Just Pleli will do." He paused and looked at Supernova, but she was staring at him in silence.
There was a rather awkward silence before Pleli spoke again. "And you?"
Supernova wished she could just leave, but as rude as she was already, she couldn't be so rude that she would just walk away. "Liege," she replied.
Pleli fixed her with his pink eyes. "Isn't that a title rather than a name?"
"It'll do the trick," Supernova replied.
"Well, okay. So I heard your conversation with Eon," Pleli began, and Supernova frowned. "What does that have to do with you?" She asked.
"'Lot, a lot, my good fella," Pleli replied and smiled. It was a little strange to see something with a beak smile, but it worked. "You want to get to your home world. This sort of thing isn't easy," Pleli spoke, finally getting the attention of Supernova, who had stopped thinking about leaving. Caila was understanding of Supernova's desire to distance herself from the strangers, but she felt that her attitude was quite bad.
"What do you know about this?" she asked.
Pleli's pink eyes twinkled as Supernova caught herself and thrust her chest forward. "Come with me. I'll show you."
Pleli turned and headed out of the building. Supernova hesitated for only a moment. This place had certain rules, and attacking or killing other gods was forbidden and heavily punished. She was only concerned for a moment before she looked back at the all-powerful Eon, who was still sitting in his elevated position with disinterest for everything around him.
She followed the strange Platypus.
*****
While Supernova followed Pleli, Caila focused on what she could gather from Supernova's thoughts. Today was the first time she'd ever been here. Basically, the moment the Lower Gods became the Greater Gods, they were drawn here whether they wanted to or not. From what Caila understood, they were given something of a training here in what they could and could not do.
Caila followed Supernova's thoughts, which were also hers, but still felt more like just a passenger. Supernova thought of home, then her second home, and Hellcage, who was waiting for her. So, according to her thoughts, the End of the World was still small, and despite Supernova having already become a Greater God, she didn't have thousands or even dozens of worshippers.
Supernova continued to hide and only had about ten worshippers, and all she did so far was devour the dead gods in the Abyss and occasionally take on the weak gods on the planet she lived on. The whole process had only taken her a few decades, and Caila was impressed by it. From what she knew so far, normally such a process took several millennia.
Caila stopped rummaging through Supernova's mental junk and focused on Pleli, who had led her to the place. It was a surprisingly small building with a sign that read "Bourse" above the double entrance. One of the arched entrances was for entry while the other was for exit. Crowds of gods flowed in both directions, never stopping for a second, so there were no lines. Pleli and Supernova shuffled into the stream for entry and went inside.
The building was small from the outside, but inside, it looked completely different. Caila understood that it must be some sort of curved space because there was no way that so many gods could be crammed into such a small building. Inside was an open, giant space. The footprint and even the walls were basically nonexistent.
The only things there were decorative, massive columns of gilded marble at which stood elongated tables with comfortable-looking chairs. Holographic kiosks hovered above each table with images of planets projected on them. Supernova was immediately intrigued, as this was the first time she had seen anything that closely resembled the technology from her home.
But for now, she averted her gaze and continued to look around. The place had a polished floor that reflected her figure in the floor; there was a golden fountain in the front, but what was most mesmerizing was the view outside. Out into space. A multitude of planets floated across the sky, moving lazily before disappearing from view only for others to appear. The Bourse also provided a close-up view of the planets' surfaces, but these changed every few minutes, so no one ever tired of the view.
"What is it?" asked Supernova, and Caila wanted to know too.
Pleli smiled and waved his hand. "It's the Bourse."
Supernova looked calmly at Pleli. "Can you tell me something less obvious? I saw the sign outside."
Pleli sighed. "My depressed and negative friend. This is the place of your future. This is where you will get what you desire." Pleli tried to be dramatic but was only met with a calm look from Supernova, who waited silently for an explanation. "Such a boring response..." Pleli muttered, throwing something at Supernova. She easily caught it and looked at it. It looked like a greenish button.
She looked up at Pleli in confusion. "Swallow it. With this, you can then connect to the Bourse Network. Normally you'd have to arrange this yourself, but consider it a reward for deciding to listen to me."
Supernova frowned and watched the green button for a moment, but then carefully placed the thing on her tongue before swallowing it. She blinked. "Prana?"
"Modified as needed."
Supernova shook her head. "Who wastes Prana on something like that?"
"Eon, of course. Time and Prana are plenty of what he has to waste." Pleli replied with an expression that said it was obvious. After all, Eon was the one who was the ultimate being and couldn't advance any further, so what about Prana, who he didn't need so badly anymore? Caila wondered if that was probably the reason for his disinterest. If someone achieves everything he wanted, then what could keep anyone's attention?
Pleli waved his hand. "Now you can open the kiosk whenever you want. Just think about it." He prodded her, and Supernova did. A screen appeared before her eyes. Supernova's eyes darkened a little because she found it nostalgic. It was like having her cybernetic implant back.
Caila looked at the screen, ignoring Supernova's nostalgic thoughts. She already knew that Supernova came from a world that was very modern. She was more interested in Kiosk. The screen flashed images of planets with short descriptions and amounts underneath. They were very long numbers. All the planets were also labeled from one green star to four, and the more stars a planet had, the longer the number.
Supernova was also finally focused, moving her eyes to scroll the screen and move from one planet to the next. She was amused to even find menus something like "Starter Pack." When three one-star planets were priced at one two-star planet and advertised as a "Special Offer."
"What does that mean? What is this Bourse all about? It's just trading planets? Nothing else?" Supernova wanted to know, and Caila nodded her head mentally. Right question. She wanted to know too.
Pleli grabbed the lapels of his jacket again.
"In fact, many gods are born on lowly planets. Only a small handful are born on a three-star or even a four-star planet," he started to explain, but Supernova interrupted him.
"What makes them different? What's the difference between a one-star planet and a four-star planet?" she wanted to know.
Pleli looked at Supernova as if she were something bizarre. "Prana purity, of course. What cave have you been living in that you don't know?"
Supernova didn't answer, and this time Caila agreed with her silence. Supernova didn't socialize with other gods; she only killed them, and Hellcage only explained when he's questioned. Naturally, the subject never came up because it wasn't something Supernova had any idea about.
"Why are the Prana's purities different?" Supernova asked instead.
Pleli frowned, perhaps beginning to regret approaching this newbie. But he'd already invested in this little god, so he should finish the business.
"It seems I have to explain things like a newborn," he muttered and sighed. "Prana is what makes everything alive. Life energy if you will. Prana is in absolutely everything. And the stronger something is, the purer Prana is. And the more pure Prana is, the more powerful and nourishing it is for the Gods." He held up his fingers. "The planets are like maturing cheese. The older, the better."
Caila had to laugh inwardly. Comparing planets to maturing cheese was funny.
Pleli held up another finger. "Another factor is also the power and impact of the Abyss on the planet. The miasma that the Abyss releases pollutes Prana. Not every planet is affected by the Abyss in the same way," he explained, and Supernova had to raise an eyebrow.
"The Abyss does that?" She wondered, because it seemed untrue. She herself moved around a lot in the Abyss and even got Prana there. Honestly, Prana from the Abyss was much better than from a living god.
"The Abyss is pure negative energy. Prana is positive energy. Life and death. Good and evil. Black and white. Mix them together and you get a grey goo that can fill you up but makes you sick," Pleli explained as simply as he could and then pointed to the image of the kiosk.
"One-star planets are young planets that barely have any intelligent life or primitive life forms. They aren't very powerful, so the Prana they then provide to the gods is few and not the most readily available. These planets are suitable for the likes of you. New gods. Usually, new gods leave their original planets because competing with other gods is challenging and deadly. So they buy a one-star planet where they become the absolute authority and cultivate their planet for a few thousand years. As the only god on the planet, they will harvest all the Prana, and if a Newborn God is born there, they will quickly destroy it. They never have to share Prana with anyone. Once they have enough Prana, they usually come back here to sell their Planet and get a better quality Planet."
Caila was stunned, is this how it works? The entire deity is like some galactic trading corporation! Supernova wasn't that surprised, after all, she had experienced the modern world and the cruelties of life firsthand. "So those amounts? Is that Prana?" She pointed to the green amounts under the pictures of the planets.
Pleli nodded. "Converted to liters."
Supernova took another moment to look at the planets, but the amounts were unreal. A single one-star planet was worth more than she ever imagined. She pulled her gaze away and looked at Pleli. "I see. But what's the reason for bringing me here?"
Pleli smiled. "Isn't it obvious? Look at the price of your home planet."
Supernova froze for a moment before shifting her gaze back to the kiosk. She found the search option at the top and started typing in the name of her homeworld.
Name: New Earth
It found several planets with that name, but there were only about fifty. She flipped through them before she paused and her eyes began to blaze intensely with blue fire.
Name: New Earth 32
Rate: ☆☆☆
Seller: Radiant - God of Salvation
Price: 5,500,000,000L
Caila was shocked, and so was Supernova. "Radiant..." She whispered.
Thoughts raced through Caila's head. Unfortunately, it made sense. According to her second memory, Radiant had become a celebrated hero, a legend who had saved an entire planet from an uncontrollable wormhole. People certainly admired, loved, and worshipped him. The likelihood of him becoming a god as a result was high. Now from what Caila could see, Radiant had indeed become a god, but also the fact that he was offering Supernova's home for sale could mean he was going to move or had already done so. And that means he's already a powerful god.
Pleli saw that the newcomer had found his planet and looked himself. He whistled softly. "Three stars. It'll take you at least a million years to save up for that," he commented, oblivious to Supernova's upset. "Well, with my help, we might be able to shorten it a bit. How about making a deal with me?" he suggested, and Supernova looked at him absently.
Closing her eyes for a moment and suppressing her feelings, she exhaled. "What kind of deal?" Supernova knew from the start that Pleli was onto something with this. Now she wanted to see his game.
"Make me your manager, for a small fee of course," Pleli smiled.
Supernova stared, and so did Caila. Gods can have managers?
*****
Supernova stood beneath the staircase of her palace, staring into the darkness of the Abyss. After killing Otterclaw and taking his territory, the new territory needed to be connected to the End of the World, and that took time. They had to rebuild the palace and used the black rock from the Abyss to create a permanent connection. Currently, the palace was going through a fusion process.
She had thought and planned for a long time after returning from the upper layer. Caila, who witnessed it all, could only follow the direction of Supernova's thoughts and felt terrified. Supernova had a plan, a plan that was crazy, scary, but also brilliant.
How much time passed, Caila didn't know, but at one point Hellcage appeared. He slowly walked up to her god and bowed. "My Liege. Preparations are almost complete," he announced.
"Hm," Supernova replied without looking at him.
"Once the process of connecting the Palace to the Abyss is complete, everything can be set in motion," Hellcage continued, looking at his Liege from the side.
"I see. Good work. Are the selected locations isolated?" Supernova asked.
"Yes, my Liege."
"Good. Bring the children to the throne room," she said and turned, walking back to her palace. Hellcage bowed and looked after her before disappearing into the shadows.
Supernova sat down on the high throne and propped her head up with her hand, a little reminiscent of Eon in that way.
However, Hellcage soon appeared, bringing with him two children who were around ten years old—a boy and a girl. They shouldn't have been related by appearance, but they were actually brother and sister. Supernova had picked them up off the street where they were living. Supernova knew through her past that such cases happened, albeit rarely, for twins to be born and not only look different but not even resemble their parents much.
Apparently, the father of the children had banished the mother and her children because he thought she had cheated on him. Then, after a few years, their mother died, and they were the only ones left. The boy had pale skin, but in contrast, he had deep red hair, while the girl had brown skin and hair as white as snow. Supernova knew just by looking at them that their DNA must be unique. Caila now also understood what Supernova was doing.
In the beginning, she thought Supernova was protecting those who were being hurt and giving them new life. And while that was one reason, it wasn't the main reason. Because she could manipulate DNA with her flames and create things, she picked out unique individuals. In most cases, they were ones who were ostracized, tossed aside, hated, whether because of their looks, their odd way of thinking, their unusual abilities, their intelligence, or their handicaps. So Supernova took advantage of their situation to win them over. Then it reshaped them, strengthened them, and created bonds. And in doing so, she gained not only worshippers but also vessels for the purest Prana.
After learning about things from a higher plane, she began to have new ideas. How strong will Prana be if other gods worship her? Supernova smiled at the two children. "I will make you the new Moon and Sun of the new world I will create," she said.
Caila shuddered inwardly. "After you destroy the current one," she thought to herself. Supernova may have created something great, but now it was showing that she had built everything on the corpse of the original world.
She watched with concern as Supernova wrapped the two children in flames and opened their DNA helix in front of her. There were even more golden parts than Caila had seen the first time. Supernova quickly moved and joined these golden parts together; the golden color then expanded a bit, but no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't get the DNA helix to be all golden. There were still a lot of parts that remained green. When she was done, Caila felt that Supernova had been hit by the force again, and quite significantly.
When the flames died down, it revealed the form of the children who now lay unconscious on the ground. They looked similar but different than before.
Caila was shocked and didn't know what to think. Supernova was proving to be even more radical than she thought. After a moment, Caila knew the end of the memory was near, and she was literally relieved. This was getting to be a bit much even for her.
*****
Caila blinked as the memory faded from her eyes, and she reappeared in the present as she stared at the young man with purple hair looking up at her from the ground.
"Haaa..." She gasped as the young man evoked a sense of familiarity in her, and now that she saw the boy and girl at the end of the memories, she understood why this young man had evoked memories in her. It wasn't a matter of appearance similarity, though.
The memories she had acquired were still fresh in Caila's mind, and she felt somewhat suffocated. She closed her eyes for a moment and processed her feelings before looking at the man again. Caila felt nostalgic, happy, but she also felt worried. It felt like finding something important that she had lost a long time ago. But what worried her was the form in which it came back.
"Welcome home, Moon," Caila said softly.
"Huh?" came from Archie in surprise.
And he wasn't alone. Everyone who had been displaying some degree of hostility earlier froze in surprise and stared at their Liege in amazement before looking at Archie again and staring even harder.