Fleur's mind broke into a panic.
'This….'
'Iz he going to ask me for something in exchange for helping me!?'
There was a soft pause after Loki spoke before Dominic spoke up again.
"So we can ask you for anything?"
Loki looked at him and with a clear tone said, "Yes you may, but you will have to pay the appropriate price."
Everyone fell into silence once again.
'Why is the conversation in this place so dead!'
'Why don't I have a naive innocent lady like Miss Audrey to get everyone speaking.'
At that moment, since Loki was looking at Hermione she suddenly became very uncomfortable.
'Is he angry with me?'
'But what did I do?'
Hermione looked away and stared at her fingers which she was trying to use to clip the nails on due to bubbling nervousness.
"Can I become a Beyonder Mr. Error?" Hermione finally asked just to divert Loki's attention from whatever he was thinking.
'Ah! Mione! Good job!'
Loki however did not answer immediately he looked towards Dominic and the Mr. Devil instead. He wanted to see what they would say, knowing that Snape wouldn't say anything about it and neither would Fleur.
Sirius seemed to be lost in his own world.
Realising Loki was waiting for them to answer Dominic stepped up. He turned slightly to look at Hermione and evaluated her for a few seconds.
'She looks like a girl that's still studying in Hogwarts and is a little immature.'
So he *coughed* a little and explained.
"You could graduate from Hogwarts and become a Beyonder by joining the Unspeakables department in the Ministry of Magic. That's the safest and most trustworthy route."
As Dominic finished his sentence, the Mr. Devil snorted.
"Why add a leash to your neck by surrendering yourself to the Ministry? A true Beyonder is one that is free! Not one that is treated like a dog. You could go to the Beyonder gatherings in Knockturn Alley to gain a potion formulae and its corresponding ingredients."
"Potion?" Hermione asked cluelessly.
"Yes, you can become a Beyonder by drinking the potion corresponding to Sequence 9 of the selected pathway. But it is very unsafe to drink a potion made from a formula that has not been verified. So it is better you don't trust the black market with your life." Dominic said shooting a side-eye glare at Mr. Devil.
Ignoring the spat between the two other members Hermione asked patiently since she was getting interested in the conversation, "Sequence 9? That means there are multiple sequences?"
"Yes. There are nine Sequences in each pathway, from nine all the way to one. Each pathway that is complete is associated with a true god of that pathway." Dominic patiently explained.
"True God? Like there are real gods?" Hermione asked a little surprised.
"Yes. Each pathway has a True God that looks after the Beyonders of that particular pathway. There are several dangers one must cross to successfully become a Beyonder. And one of those is loss of control. The higher you climb the pathway, the harder it becomes to keep your sanity."
Hermione frowned.
'Is this what Professor McGonagall and Loki meant when they said it is dangerous to become a Beyonder? The danger of losing control?'
"How does a True God prevent you from losing control?"
"That…I do not know, I'm sorr-"
"'They' do it by accepting your prayers and shedding some of their divinity to keep you from losing control." the Mr. Devil said interrupting Dominic.
The statement got Loki's attention since it was clearly wrong.
"And how do you know that? You just happened to talk to a True God about it?" Dominic asked with annoyance.
Mr. Devil looked at Dominic and with a sneer on his face that was clearly visible to everyone else spoke snarkily, "I'm a demigod boy."
Dominic's hands clenched as his muscles tensed.
Hermione although a little scared was even more curious, "A demigod?"
"Yes. Beyonders from Sequence 4 attain qualitative change in their bodies which pushes them closer to godhood. For example, they acquire their mythical creature form." Mr. Devil explained impatiently.
"But I can't boast about being a Demigod now, after all you are in the presence of a True God." Mr. Devil said with a slight tremble as he nodded in Loki's direction.
Hermione's eyes widened as the information suddenly struck her mind.
'He's a true god!?'
'But! How!? Why!?'
Hermione suddenly felt like she had been rude to Loki all this time, she shivered a little and immediately ducked her head not daring to look at Loki directly. But once she saw him not taking any action she relaxed again, or tried to.
"Can I find out which pathway would be most suitable for me Mr. Devil?"
Mr. Devil looked at her for a few seconds as if he were analysing her.
"It is said that the pathway that finds you is the best one for you, but it might be fate that has caused our meeting. So I could share with you the formulae of my pathway-"
Mr. Devil looked at Dominic and then paused before speaking to Hermione again.
"-but you'll have to give me a way to contact you in the real world. I don't want unwanted listeners learning of what I'm offering you."
"Ah…" Hermione who was initially excited suddenly felt less happy.
'Can I give him my address?'
'No that just seems careless.'
'But it'll be rude to deny him blatantly. Isn't he a demigod? What if he curses me?'
"Can I look around for a while Mr. Devil? I want to keep my options open for a bit."
Mr. Devil looked at Hermione for a few seconds before nodding, "Just let me know when you want me to tell you about it. Each Beyonder group is always eager to gain more fresh blood…especially one as great as ours."
With that everyone became silent once again.
But Snape was panicking.
'Miss Granger!?'
Looking at them stopping talking, Loki spoke with a mental *sigh*.
'Are all these people introverts or something?'
'I can understand Mr. Devil not talking because he wants to hide his identity of being related to you-know-who but what about Dominic and Mione. Shouldn't they be ecstatic at being part of something so extraordinary!?'
'I guess I'm just unlucky that way.'
With everyone silent for a few more seconds Loki spoke up with clear disappointment in his tone.
"We can end this gathering here.", Loki said wrapping his fingers around the table.
Everyone became tense at the statement before Hermione brought into herself the courage to ask, "Erm…that…"
Loki looked at her with a deadpan expression.
'Out with it girl…I know you love to gossip…bring out at least one per cent of that gossip energy…what happened to that starting out by treating this as a class energy?'
'Did she really get so frightened by the information about me being a True God?'
'When she's already been under the influence of one and lived to tell the tale?'
'I thought what doesn't kill us, only makes us stronger.'
But Hermione only got more worried as she felt Loki's stare dig into her.
But Dominic helped her out.
"If I may, what she's probably wanting to ask you my lord is if there will be other gatherings like this one today?"
Hermione quickly nodded.
"Do you want me to stop pulling you up here?" Loki asked flatly.
But his tone came off as standoffish as if he was threatening everyone to see who'd reject.
And when no one spoke for a few minutes, Loki continued-
"There will be a gathering at midnight every first day of the month from now on. Make sure you're safely hidden away and aren't disturbed during this time. We will end the first gathering here." Loki said calmly.
Mr. Devil immediately stood up and bowed, "Thank you for letting us be in your presence Mr. Error."
The remaining followed and did the same but Snape remained silent even as he bowed.
Loki nodded and waved his hand, disconnecting Mr. Devil's connection to the sefirah castle.
Seeing their colleague suddenly vanish, everyone else was put on alert.
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A/N : You guys crossed a hundred powerstones!!!!! Now I have two extra chapters remaining....I'll upload one later today and another tomorrow....Let's goo!!!!!!
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