World Keeper

Chapter 247: The Evolution of Divinity

I couldn’t help but watch in surprise as I saw the body of the dead World Wolf. Just like the early incident with the chimera soul, a creature exceeding the strength of the world’s limits rampaging in the world set off an alarm, forcing the fast forward to stop. Originally, it had been a level twelve hundred, at the very limits of power.

However, I didn’t realize that this creature was one of those ‘anomalies’ that Terra had told me about a while back. I didn’t even know it was sleeping on that island until the alarms went off. After all, the world is large, so why would I bother to check every region of it for every possible threat? If I did that, the invasion from Savage would arrive before I even managed to finish.

I had actually been just about to go down and try to take care of it myself when Accalia had stopped me. She had said that she wanted to test out the new upgrade for her bow, and… well, wow. That’s really all I could say about that. Accalia’s divine will was contained in every shot fired by the bow, strengthening it far beyond their normal limits.

How did you manage to do that? I asked her after the fight was over. Isn’t divine energy not supposed to be able to merge with other energy types?

Hmm? Accalia’s response came a moment later, and I could tell that she sounded a bit exhausted. It didn’t merge with the energies. It was controlling them.

My original divinities were Wisdom and the Hunt. With Tubrock’s help, I’ve poured my power into that bow, which was further augmented by Ryone’s enchantments. Whenever an arrow is fired, it is given a shape based on the energy used, and then granted a modicum of wisdom to attack its targets.

Only when all five arrows are created can the Wild Hunt begin, but that also draws power directly from me to create the additional creatures. I wasn’t really expecting it to draw that much energy… good to know for the future.

I shook my head while I listened to her explanation. Do all of you have items like that? I knew about Irena’s pen, but that seemed to pale in comparison to what I just saw. At least, I suspect it would. I never used it for anything other than powering up Leowynn.

Well, most of us. Ashley’s still getting the hang of wielding divine power.

Once I heard that, I gave a small nod. Ashley was fundamentally different from the rest of the gods and goddesses in that she was born of a mortal mind, like myself. Though, that did beg the question… if I manage to become a False Divinity, will I be capable of creating my own godly relic like that?

Given that the path Balu gave me was to create genuine divine energy, I thought that it should be possible. It would just depend on the domain that I chose for myself. Part of my wondered if there was any chance that I would be able to reach that state before this next invasion, but then I immediately shook my head.

It had taken me forty days just to fully master the process of creating world sight. Balu had said that world sight would make the other steps easier, but I couldn’t underestimate the difficulty just because of that. At most, I could likely achieve the Perfect Soul, and perhaps the Divine Soul if I was lucky.

Perfect Soul and Divine Soul wouldn’t have much benefit to me in the coming invasion. If I had the chance to practice them without having other things to worry about, I could certainly do that. But if there was something that could be more immediately useful to me, it was better to push the path of divinity off until after this next invasion, when I will have more time to work.

If I thought it would be possible to reach all the way to the Divine Body in one go, then I’d be all for it. But, once the Divine Soul is created, it will likely require a fair bit of time to let the energies grow before evolving.

Shaking my head, I pulled myself back to the present. Only a couple of months had passed since the fifty year timeskip had begun, so I needed to get back to that. Thankfully, the remaining time passed without another alarm going off.

Once the fast forward had ended, I sent a mental message to Irena, asking if I could borrow her pen again. It was time to put some more work into training Leowynn… especially because of how excited I felt her become when she saw the world wolf. I don’t suppose you have any way to make this easier on her, right?

Not yet, Dale. Irena’s voice responded in my mind a few moments after my question was asked. The newest version of my pen will have something suitable… but they are still finishing up the enchantments on it. Given how they work, I imagine that it will be finished in time for your next trip, after Leowynn has digested the energies this time.

I gave a small nod at that, waiting for a few moments before I felt Irena’s pen appearing in my hand. “Ready to go out for a walk, Leowynn?” I asked with a small smile, navigating the map on the computer to an unoccupied region of the Underworld.

I am, Father. And I hope that the pen is ready in time. It is rather inconvenient to have you make special trips for my sake, though I do appreciate it.

Hearing Leowynn’s words, I simply shook my head, choosing to descend to the Underworld as a daeva. It took us about twenty minutes before we were back, the process going much like it had the last few times with Leowynn absorbing her limit in energy before entering my spiritual realm to rest.

After returning, I once again descended to the Sky Citadel. It was important to see first hand how the relationships were developing now that the elves had control of the fairy gate. As much as I didn’t wish to have to move it again, there was always the possibility that the elves would do something to make me do so. After all, they were the worshippers of the merchant goddess.

I was just about to descend to my normal spot in the throne room of the citadel when I noticed the map. Tsubaki was waiting there, looking as if she were expecting me. The idea of that gave me goosebumps, so I looked back through her past to see why she was there right now.

The answer? Well… apparently that was only one of her avatars, and it had been kneeling in that same position for over twenty years. Still, it was a bit unnerving to watch it just sitting there.

A small part of me wanted to just descend elsewhere in the citadel, just so I didn’t seem all that predictable, but that felt like more of a childish prank than anything else. As such, I chose to descend, this time in the body of… a demon? Yeah, let’s go with a demon.

Sure enough, after I allowed the warm blue light to envelop my body, found myself sitting on my throne again. As expected, Tsubaki was just at the bottom of the steps, still in that kneeling posture with her eyes glued to the throne. And now that I was here, she blinked slowly.

“You have returned, my Keeper.” She spoke softly, slowly rising to her feet and performing a deep bow.

“Yes.” I… wasn’t really sure how to respond to that, knowing that she had already been here for so long. So, to use the oldest trick in the book… change the subject! “How has everything been proceeding with the elves?”

Tsubaki didn’t seem to mind the question, offering a small nod. “I am here to report that the mission you gave me is a success. Although it took the time of two descents to accomplish instead of one, the three worlds have established trade agreements and a mostly peaceful coexistence.”

I felt one of my eyebrows raise up, having to focus on controlling my wings to stop them from fidgeting. “That was actually quite a bit faster than I had expected. However, when you say ‘mostly peaceful’, I take it that there is still some resistance?”

She seemed to hesitate for a moment, before nodding her head again. “It can be seen as such, yes. The political disputes have largely been settled. No world has any claim on any but the one that they were born on. If citizens of one world wish to migrate to another, they subject themselves to the laws of their new home.”

“This point has been regularly contested, mostly by the residents of Desbar. Their world is far smaller than either of the others, so not having the ability to claim land on the other worlds has left them feeling bitter. As if to retaliate on this point, they are inflating the prices of exported goods from their world, citing that the limited space they possess also means far fewer resources. A valid point, however the degree to which they inflate the prices makes it difficult for the other worlds to pay.”

I let out a sigh as I heard that, shaking my head. “Are there any plans in the work to fix this?”

“There is, my Keeper. However, I was asked by the representative of the demons to request you speak with him about it. It appears that there were matters concerning this plan that he wished to discuss with you personally.”

I couldn’t help but wince slightly at that. “Is… that same representative still in ‘office’?” Given that I had been gone for fifty years, it would not be impossible for whoever made that request to have either died or retired at this point.

However, it appears that my worries were for naught. “He is, my Keeper. This request was posed just over three years ago. My last communication with Desbar was yesterday evening, and at that point he was still healthy.”

“He is living in Desbar? I suppose it would be best to move to the communication room so that we could contact him, then.” Tsubaki nodded to that, turning and beginning to walk towards the door before I stopped her. “Wait, Tsubaki… did you manage to recover after your battle fifty years ago? I believe you lost some levels, didn’t you?”

Tsubaki’s footsteps froze at that, before she turned to face me. “You are referring to the Wild Hunt?” She asked, to which I blinked in confusion. “That is the name the locals gave the battle, after hearing about the bow. Yes, I lost sixteen levels in that battle. It was quite distressing, as I found that I had misplaced over a hundred years of memories. Thankfully, there was an alchemist in Zoriark who had developed a remedy for lost levels. After a few months of taking his medicine, my memory fully returned.”

I had to think back in order to remember Zoriark, recalling that it was the kingdom that I had technically helped the beastkin to establish in the elven lands. I hadn’t taken a look at it in a while, so it was a bit surprising to hear that they were still doing well. “That’s good. It was quite the beast, though.”

Tsubaki gave a sharp nod in agreement apparently recalling the event herself. “I believe that it was the first time I had ever personally encountered a creature which was able to interfere with your laws. It was… most troubling.”

“They’ve been around for a while.” I explained, walking past her and towards the door. “It is only natural for creatures to adapt to their surroundings as they evolve, and sometimes that results in beings able to manipulate the system. The ingredients used in the alchemist’s medicine you spoke of should be herbs that evolved in a similar manner.”

“Yes, there are legends of creatures and people who have in some way existed outside the normal laws. However, most believed them to be simple rumors blown out of proportion. Now that I know they exist, I can better prepare for them.” As Tsubaki spoke, she hastily opened the door for me, before following along behind. It was time to see what the demon’s plan was.