Chapter 1514: Ruins of Divinity

The ruins seemed to be a fallen city. There were signs of battle, of destruction, and of death. Arthur strolled through the debris and rubble with Fenrir on his shoulder, advising him against venturing further.

"No God can be trusted," said Fenrir in worry. "We should leave this place at once, Master."

"If I understand correctly, a God’s real body is their weakness, no? An incarnation can be killed without consequences, but a god descending here... is unheard of, right?"

"That’s what makes me uneasy."

"It would be fine. I never had a bad impression of the God of Order. If anything, I think we were very alike... to a certain extent."

Fenrir protested more, but Arthur was determined about meeting the god in the flesh. Their conversations were interrupted when a creature emerged from behind one of the destroyed pillars.

It crawled around the pillar, looking like a hybrid-ethereal serpent. Arthur stopped and examined it with his Omniscient Eyes.

[Runic Three-Eyes Serpent]

Its stats were similar to his, but with more varied distribution. The most troubling abilities it had were its shapeshifting abilities and elemental masteries.

As soon as the two faced each other, the serpent hissed and began growing bigger. It morphed into a titan that towered over Arthur, who had nothing but the sword in his grip.

"Let me handle it, master," Fenrir offered.

"And how would I grow without fighting inside the Path?" Arthur asked with a smile. "I want to test myself, and what this reawakened Legacy can give me."

Arthur understood that his legacy gave him Ichor Points, but didn’t understand how to obtain them. However, he knew that there was something more to his new legacy than a simple recalibration of his stats.

The titan slammed down its fist. Arthur could have evaded, but chose to strike back using nothing but his sword.

A resounding explosion shook the ruins. Arthur felt his feet sinking into the ground, but his sword held true. This monster wasn’t a match to him in strength, but it had other tricks.

Numerous snakes burst out from the titan’s arm, coiling around Arthur. Their speed was almost twice that of the titan, and Arthur now understood the true strength of this creature.

It threw its opponents off by displaying varying stats and abilities. Half of its body was patched with runes, maybe through direct absorption of the concepts, while the other half was a mixture of its grey shimmering scales and green flesh.

"Oh?" Arthur muttered in surprise. The small snakes clinging to him were now pulsing with light. "These are devouring my spiritual energy. That’s amusing."

All abilities here in the Path were powered by Spirit, which referred to the amount of spiritual energy a creature had. This monster was deadly to anything else, but picked the wrong foe today.

Arthur’s reserve of spiritual energy was endless. Instead of freeing himself, he used this chance to infuse the creature with endless amounts of spiritual energy. At first, the creature cried in joy and began growing stronger, but then, it realized that something was amiss.

The snakes tried to retreat, but Arthur caught them. He infused spiritual energy into the snakes and they were helpless against stopping him. At a certain point, Arthur felt that his spiritual energy was not entering the monster anymore, but leaking into the surrounding.

Then, something strange occurred. Arthur watched as the creature staggered backward as golden mana erupted from cracks around its body. Then, it began to mutate without limit, turning into different creatures and substances until it crumbled into nothingness.

[You have learned a new ability: Spiritual Destruction (Level 1)]

[You have gained a shallow understanding of the Soul Logos.]

Arthur was stunned. The ability and logos came easily, but he was more surprised at the determinate effects of his golden energy on living things.

"I’ve seen even the gods wield the mana of creation, but why did this creature die because of it?" he muttered to himself, and turned to Fenrir on his shoulder.

"The Mana of Creation is indeed what let the creature thrive, but its higher form, the Spiritual Energy of Creation, has a different aspect called Intent. Your intent determines what would happen to a creature once they are infused with your spiritual energy."

The creature has turned into nothingness, and what used to be flesh was rotting at visible speed. Arthur was alarmed at the overpowered ability he obtained, but maybe this too was necessary for his Endpoint.

Fenrir was silent as well.

"You will see unimaginable growth here," it said. "Abilities are obtained through an understanding of creation and the spirit to train them."

"And I’m not lacking in either," Arthur replied with a smile. "Let’s go find another one."

The next creature they encountered was an ancient guardian that acted as the gatekeeper to the inner ruins. It commanded several specters, but they were vulnerable to Arthur’s new method of attacking.

After empowering his sword with spiritual energy, the fight ended quickly as he worked to destroy the links that were letting the guardian move.

Its soul was destroyed as well, and Arthur received a strange message following that.

[Your actions have caught the attention of the Path.]

The message dissolved afterward, and Fenrir said that such a thing was unusual indeed. Arthur’s method of destroying the souls might be causing some disorder, so he decided to stop using it until he met Astraeus.

Their venture into the ruins was becoming harder the closer they got to the altar. Monsters were more numerous, attacking in packs, and they were also more resilient and intelligent.

Arthur began feeling what Fenrir referred to as Divine Energy. It was similar to his own Spiritual Energy, but somehow different. It allowed the creatures within the ruins to evolve past their limits, and Arthur began experimenting with the Intent that Fenrir mentioned.

After tens of experiments, he succeeded in delivering his intent through the spiritual energy he used. A small creature that looked like a hunched over goblin was slamming bells to deliver sonic attacks when Arthur forced it to evolve.

The creature began to evolve, beginning with his soul. Arthur watched in intrigue as it grew out wings and giant ears before dropping its bells. Then, it flapped its wings to release a wave of sound that disrupted the surrounding.

Arthur thought it would attack him, but instead, it simply flew away from the ruins. Maybe it knew that Arthur helped it somehow, but he couldn’t be sure.

The altar was situated atop a pyramid. At the base, and populating the stairs, were strange creatures that made Arthur feel a resonance.

[Minions of Nameless (Level —)]

"I guess even Astraeus is using the Nameless," Arthur said with a grin, before beginning his transformation. His body shifted from human to jet black, with a white circle emerging on his chest. His hair became fully white, but his golden eyes remained.

[You are now a Veyl.]

His new form allowed him to see the world in reverse. Creation was no longer what he focused upon, but the things that had been erased. He saw what this city once was, and how it fell, and what remained of its people.

The wrath came to him like a gentle river, but never ending. He could feel the rage against the culprits behind their misery. Arthur found himself at ease that his rage was no longer the maddening curse, but a reminder of his tasks to bring down the gods.

Arthur walked through the minions of the nameless. They did not react to his presence, for he was neither seen nor heard. He used his ability to hide himself, and destroy the minions with ease until he reached the top of the altar.

[You have obtained a new ability: Void Traveler (Level 1)]

This ability came from his usage of wrath on his movement and presence, allowing him to hide himself from everything. He reached the top of the altar, and found the man he has been eager to meet.

Astraeus looked the same as Arthur remembered: heroic, dignified, and mighty. However, hidden in his gaze, which was still not directed at Arthur, was a sliver of confusion.

He turned his gaze toward Arthur.

"You are here, creator," Astraeus said. "It has been long overdue that you arrive to the Path."

"You have been waiting for me, Astraeus?" he asked with a smile.

"Ever since you have declared your endpoint, the gods have been in turmoil," the god said with a haggard smile. "And I have been... conflicted."

"I never understood one thing, Astraeus," Arthur said as he approached, and stopped before stepping into the altar. "If the gods loathe me so much, then what stops them from killing me?"

Astraeus looked at him in silence for a few minutes. Arthur could see the god debating whether to tell him or not, and the chain reaction that would create.

"Hah," Astraeus sighed. "How can they kill the one creature that feeds them power?"

Arthur paused, and frowned. Then, his body began changing. It seems that this god was not here to fight, so he instead returned to his form of creation.

[You are now a Solari.]

"You mean this?" Arthur said as he raised a hand and golden spiritual energy leaked out. "Devaheim uses the same power of creation that I use?"

"It’s all connected, but all a secret that I cannot reveal," Astraeus said. "The one sitting atop Yggdrasil would know when I reveal the one truth the gods fear."

"You mean this hole in my soul," Arthur said with a frown as he clenched his chest. "What is it?"

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