The Netherfire Attuned are unable to ascend to the imperial-level; their cultivation forever halts at the level of royal. When these Netherfire Attuneds, through countless hardships and relentless efforts, transcend numerous obstacles to finally comprehend their own souls and step into the imperial-level, the machinations of the Underworld Deity are set in motion. Though Yann smiled faintly, his heart was actually gripped with fear at the machinations of the Underworld Deity.
"What... machinations?" Euénie's intuition told her—she shouldn't, wouldn't, and couldn't know what the machinations of the Underworld Deity were, but the innermost craving drove her to seek out the truth of it all.
"The Underworld Deity is not a benevolent deity who enjoys altruistically aiding others. Since he has expended some effort to assist the denizens of lower planes in refining their physiques, allowing them to live superior lives, a certain price must be paid. That price is their lives," Yann gazed into Euénie's eyes, "All those who have just attained enlightenment of the soul, the Netherfire Attuneds, are yet to bask in their elation, yet the call of the Underworld Deity from the depths will strip them of everything—power, life, and more. For every unit of energy the Underworld Deity expends in refining your bodies, he reclaims a thousandfold from you! It's not just the Underworld Deity; deities from various planes shower their power onto lower realms, scattering seeds of their power to create one exceptional physique after another, blessed by the gods."
Yann's words left Euénie ice-cold, unable to refute him, unsure of the veracity of his words, yet her intuition urged her, told her that all of this was likely true.
As Yann had said, the Underworld Deity was not a benevolent deity; in fact, no deity was merely a fool who only knew how to give without taking. Whether it was the realm of the dead, hell, or even heaven, it was all the same. Since the Underworld Deity had altered their bodies, he surely intended to reap interest, reclaiming not only the principal but also the interest!
"No, this cannot be... Hmph!" Loli Euénie suddenly snorted, "Don't try to deceive me with such groundless words. There's no benefit in deceiving me for you anyway. After all, I'm already a prisoner, so do whatever you want with me."
Yet now, this imprisoned maiden sat in bed with a very proud demeanor, looking down at Yann, her captor.
"I knew you wouldn't believe it, nor did I intend for you to. I just don't want you to aimlessly pursue power and end up making clothes for someone else," Yann remarked.
The Underworld Deity had scattered seeds across countless planes, and each day saw countless seeds grow vigorously. Relying on the blessings of the Underworld Deity, they transformed into geniuses in the eyes of the world, accepting the praise of the world with peace of mind, only to ultimately become nourishment for the Underworld Deity.
From the first seed scattered into lower planes to now, countless years had passed, far beyond measurement in millennia; perhaps tens of millions of years? Billions of years? Or even longer...
"Every individual's soul is different, and what deities most enjoy is perfecting their own souls by experiencing the souls of others, perfecting their Rules, perfecting their worlds. Only then can they possibly break through the godly-level."
The Underworld Deity, by absorbing different souls, experienced the lives of different people, absorbed their thoughts, let themselves merge with others' souls, and tempered themselves with others' souls, in order to achieve the supreme realm.
"..." Euénie fell silent, and Niya also fell silent.
Yann's words weighed heavily; in the eyes of the deities, what were they, denizens of these lower planes, really? Not even ants could be considered; although ants could be wiped out with a single finger in the eyes of humans, when the number of ants reached a certain point, humans would also furrow their brows and avoid places where ants gathered.
It wasn't fear but concern for soiling their own shoes.
Yet, in the eyes of the deities, humans didn't even have the right to be observed. Were all beings mere pawns? Even a chess player would at least glance at the pieces, but humans couldn't even be considered pieces...
The three fell into a strange silence.
"I'm going to sleep!" Euénie grabbed a cup and covered her head.
"So am I," Niya said likewise.
Elsewhere, in a pitch-black hall.
This was a magnificent palace complex, winding for millions of miles, towering into the clouds, although the barriers between planes in the realm of the dead were very strong, the tip of this palace might have already pierced through the barriers between planes!
Silent figures in black robes moved to and fro, under the cloaks were no eyes, only crimson orbs flickering with a deep blue flame.
They held lanterns emitting a faint blue light.
And in a certain part of this majestic palace complex, a young man rode a sturdy wolf and played chess with an old man.
"Dis, it seems like my heart just skipped a beat, it seems like something interesting has happened in a lower realm." The young man suddenly said, "Having lived for so long, the concept of time has long been dulled for me, so-called 'just now' could be months or years, or even thousands of years."
"..." The old man raised an eyebrow and didn't say anything. Osiris, familiar with Dis Pater's character, just smiled. He understood that Dis was tacitly agreeing.
"Let me calculate which plane it is. Huh, it's rare for disturbances from the lower planes to affect us..." Osiris closed his eyes and began to calculate.
A majestic psychic power suddenly emanated from the young man, powerful enough to destroy tens of thousands of low-level planes, yet the nearest blade of grass to the young man didn't even sway!
Being able to manipulate psychic power to this extent was truly astonishing, unheard of!
"It's your turn, Osiris." The old man stepped forward and made a move.
"Oh, come on, I was just about to deduce something, but you interrupted me. Forget it, I won't calculate it for now." Osiris opened his eyes and stared at the chess piece Dis had just moved.
"Truly worthy of Dis Pater, the god of the underworld. This move kills a thousand enemies but damages yourself eight hundred, advancing without hesitation, such boldness..."
Saying that, Osiris picked up a chess piece and suddenly struck out from the side of the chessboard, destroying Dis's piece!
"Clang clang! This is the wisdom of the god of death!" Osiris's lips curled slightly upward.
At the same time, with the disappearance of one of Dis's chess pieces, a plane containing tens of trillions of intelligent life suddenly exploded from within, and all life perished in the storm between planes.
"You've lost," Underworld Deity said expressionlessly, then suddenly a chess piece captured the general commanding Death, "General."
"Tch." Death clicked his tongue.
"Boom boom boom!!!" The remaining pieces on the chessboard of Death exploded, and at the same time, an equal number of planes also exploded.
An unforeseen, unreasonable divine game.