You're struck in amazement as you look at the object in Aatu's hand as he holds it out in front of you.
" A ring? "
You ask Aatu as you take it from his hand.
As you hold it in your palm, you feel an immense sense of power wash over you. You stare at the ring as it glows in a magnificent light. As you hold it, you feel like you're a god.
" Yes, mortal. Not just any ring, but a ring that's made from the light within me. It took about 69% of my light to craft something that could stabilize your existence, but in the end it was well worth it. "
Aatu says to you with a soft smile on his face as he admires what he's just given you.
You continue to stare at the glimmering ring and you notice that you're unable to avert your gaze from the ring's beauty. You try your hardest to look back up at Aatu, but you begin to feel addicted to the power rushing through you as you lock your gaze onto the ring.
" Mortal? "
Aatu says, trying to get your attention.
You want to respond, but you're so overcome with the magnificence of this ring that you're simply unable to. You try your best to muster up a sentence, but you're only able to say a couple of words to Aatu.
" Help… take… "
Aatu gives you a look of approval. He sees that you're having a hard time wielding the light of a god in your hand, then he reaches out to take the ring back from you. As his hand breaks the line of sight between your eyes and the ring, you instantly drop the ring into the dirt between the both of you. As the ring leaves your possession, the feeling of immense power subsides instantly. Because of this sudden change in how you're feeling, you drop to your hands and knees over the glowing ring in the dirt and take a deep breath. You feel Aatu's hand on your shoulder as he kneels down to check on you. Aatu speaks to you in an empathetic tone.
" It's burdensome. I know. Most mortals that feel such a level of power would be entirely consumed by it. Since I put 69% of my light into that ring, 69% of my power resides within it. As a God of Light, I am now only left with 31% of the power that my father gave me. "
" What? "
You look up at him, flabbergasted at what Aatu just told you.
" You sacrificed the majority of your power to create this for me? "
Aatu responds to you in a reassuring tone.
" I wouldn't necessarily say that my power was sacrificed. I'd think of it more as converting my power into a physical form. My power can only truly be lost if it is consumed by another being that's able to do so. Since the ring is made of my light, it will stabilize your existence and balance the darkness that you're made of until you can learn to control your power without it. Since the ring is a physical object, it will remain outside of your being so your body can handle it and not be overloaded by the light. The ring will act as a buffer to the light that you consume and throttle any light that is too much for you to handle. Any light that goes beyond what you can handle will be stored within the ring. You also will not be able to use the light within this ring since all light that's stored within it will merge with the 69% that I've put inside of it, and that amount of light is dangerous for even one of my siblings to consume. "
Aatu picks up the ring and you both stand up. Before Aatu gives you back the ring, he gives you a word of warning.
" In creating this ring, I have become weak. When my father created me, he made me more powerful than all 6 of my siblings combined. Now that I've expended over ⅔ of my power to make this ring, I am now only stronger than any one of my siblings. This means that if my siblings were to fight, I would need the help of a brother or sister to keep the balance. "
" Why? "
You ask Aatu.
" This makes no sense. Why would you give up this power when it's a necessary thing to have for you to fulfill your purpose? Couldn't you just teach me how to use my power without having to make a ring at all? "
As you look at Aatu, you feel as if he wants to tell you something but he's unable to. Aatu slides the ring onto your right index finger and answers you as if he's choosing his words very carefully while he holds your hand.
" My father has put you here for a very important reason. I am not the one to teach you how to use your power, for that duty belongs to another. I must give this to you because this is the only way. In the coming storm, you will face many tribulations. You will make many friends, you will meet many foes, and death will follow in your wake. Your mind, your heart, and your soul will all be mangled and torn as you endure what is to come. As you weather this storm, hold onto this ring as if you're holding my hand through it all; and when the time where all hope seems lost and you're on the verge of being broken comes, remember my gift. Once you do so, then you will break. "
" Then I will break? "
You ask Aatu as you stand there nervously.
" So I'm doomed to fail? "
Aatu looks at you again as if he's withholding something from you. He speaks to you very cautiously as he answers you.
" Many universes that my father has created have fallen to their doom from the calamity that soon approaches. I have already seen the signs of the oncoming cataclysm and I'm the only one that knows what truly awaits you in the future. When we witnessed the mortal who used my father's book, what we saw was more than just an anomaly within our universe. It was an omen of this universe's annihilation. "
" So The One brought me here because I'm the only one who has a chance at stopping this great threat to his universes. "
Aatu nods his head carefully while looking seriously into your eyes.
" Having a chance is an overstatement. You are The Holy Omniverse's last hope. A last-ditch effort because all other efforts from my father over the past 100 billion years have failed. "
There it is again. 100 billion years. What happened 100 billion years ago? Why did The One erase my memory? Who was I? There has to be something more to the reason why I was put into The Light.
Wait hold on.
You look at the ring on your hand to see that it's stopped glowing and you don't feel it having any effect on you. You look up at Aatu in confusion, but before you can ask, he answers you.
" When you first held the ring, it made you feel its power. While it was glowing, it was testing your character. Most mortals would've allowed the ring to consume them after getting a taste of the power that the ring possesses. What they wouldn't realize is that when the ring consumes them, it shines out all darkness within them, erasing them from existence. You passed the ring's test because you wanted me to take the ring from you after you felt its power and you dropped it. Your omniversal existence is pure, and therefore you may wield the ring without consequence. I created the ring this way to ensure that if it fell into the wrong hands, it could not be used. "
Aatu opens a white portal behind him and gestures for you to walk through first.
" Come, mortal. We have another meeting to attend. The other gods know not of the ring and believe me to still be at my full power. While we are in the presence of others, do not speak of the ring and stay close to me and Izael. Do you understand? "
You nod your head and ask Aatu a quick question before you step through the portal.
" Yes, but where's Mimi? After we came back to the village, she didn't come with us. "
Aatu smiles again. He tilts his head up while looking at you and answers you with another question.
" You're able to understand me as if I'm a mortal like you are, yes? "
" Yeah… "
You respond to him, following where he's going with his questions.
" So this means…? "
" We're still in an immortal realm. "
You say to him as you finally understand that you're not actually back at the village.
" That is correct. As the eldest God, my father has granted me this immortal realm to observe the conflicts between my siblings as if I was there. This realm allows me to go back and witness the truth in order to keep my judgment on each affair balanced. Right now the realm is frozen in the moment that Izael's angels turn the tide in the battle against Nahzgor's great dragon and his army to save Ishville from the oncoming disaster. Right now Mimi is with Noeh and Izael, and they'll be meeting us in an immortal realm that's neutral territory and belongs to none of us. From there, there will be no unfairness of power when we hold the meeting. "
You look around in amazement at the surrounding environment because you finally realize where you are. You look back at Aatu with a smile, then he smiles back and speaks to you in a playful tone.
" Look behind you. "
As you turn around, the colossal dragon instantly crashes to the ground on the horizon causing the surrounding environment to level completely and you see dust and debris shoot rapidly into the air. The surrounding environment around you is blown back by the crash, but you notice that you're unaffected as you just stand there while everything that's carried by the shockwave from the dragon's fall flies past you. Then from the dragon's corpse, you can see a holy blue beacon of light shoot straight into the heavens and pierce the smoky clouds like a mighty arrow. The angels cheer with morale as the cultists all run away from the dead dragon that's burning in blue flames.
" Immortal realms are badass. "
You turn back around and say to Aatu before you both step through the white portal that Aatu had summoned earlier. It's time to meet Nahzgor face to face.