Against The True Gods

"What's the highest realm there is?" Caine suddenly asked.

For a moment, Zao was taken aback. But he answered nonetheless.

"Godhood. To be a God."

"Have you ever met one?"

Zao caressed his chin, considering the question. Discover stories at My Virtual Library Empire

"Your father and I once went into this legacy realm that apparently belonged to an entity calling itself a God. I think it referred to itself as the White Scaled True God."

"Anyway, we went in, and it truly was one of the most dangerous outings we've ever partaken in. We were mere Ascendants at the time, facing beast summons with Quasi-God prowess. It was terrifying."

Caine's eyes widened. "You could fight Quasi-Gods as Ascendants? What?! How?" he asked, genuine disbelief coursing through him.

Even he, with his terrifying foundation and abilities, knew he'd be vaporized by even the slightest intention from such entities.

Zao laughed. "Yes, we could, but for different reasons. You aren't the only one who managed to form a terrifying foundation while young."

"Your father was an extremely crafty person. I don't know how, but he somehow managed to devour an entire World Will Eye and fuse its essence into his heart. After that, since he was also a summoner, he created summons based around World Will Eyes."

"Using them, he set a sort of trap to devour more and more of those eyes. It made him extremely powerful in no time, and the worst part? That was only his first attempt at breaking limits. The things he went on to do later were truly special."

He sighed as he continued. "As for me, it was all because of the sword. My swordsmanship blurred the lines so much that cultivation stopped mattering. God or not, my blade could sever all things."

Caine was in shock hearing this. To think this humble man before him was capable of such things.

'If he has such power, then why doesn't he…' Caine's eyes narrowed. 'He's either injured or… crippled.'

"Anyway, when we cleared the legacy ground, the big prize was actually the corpse of that so-called God—which, as it turned out, really was a God. I used its bones to make a set of sword and armor, while your father used its flesh to create his first God summon."

Caine whistled in amazement. "Gods can die?"

"It's a bit complicated, but yes, they can. Just not in the way mortals understand it."

"But even then, that entity wasn't really a God born through cultivation. It was a beast from a strange race that ascended naturally as they aged, without any effort on their part. A terrifying race, to say the least."

"It probably killed itself in its own sleep or something of the sort. Or perhaps it was the mount of an even stronger entity and died from the strain. I'm not sure."

Aunt Tania exited her kitchen, her hands full of plates and glasses she skillfully placed in front of the two.

Delicacies of all kinds and types littered their table, drawing warm smiles from the two.

From thin air, Tania pulled out a bottle of wine, which she used to serve Zao. She then served Caine a simple glass of cold water.

She smiled. "Alright, boys, have a good meal and don't hesitate to let me know if you need anything, yes?"

The two nodded. "Thank you, Aunt Tania."

With a smile, she returned to her kitchen, and the two began to eat.

"But enough about me," Zao said as he served himself three slabs of meat. "How close to recovery are you?"

Caine passed the mashed potatoes over to him as he took the greens and began serving himself. "Mostly healed. Just a few of my veins are still a bit swollen, but that's nothing serious."

"My eyes do hurt a lot, though. Not sure why. My vision has been becoming a bit blurry. But again, I'm not worried."

Zao nodded. "Alright. If you're not worried, then I won't worry either."

Using a small container, he drizzled thick mushroom gravy onto his steaks and mashed potatoes. A smile bloomed across his face as he shook his head in anticipation.

Caine chuckled, seeing this. They sat across from one another, eating in silence and peace.

The air suddenly became colder as rain began to pour outside, but instead of ruining the mood, it elevated it, setting a calm and relaxing atmosphere.

The faint ripple of raindrops splattering across the streets and the clatter of rushing carriages filled the silence.

"Hm, I almost forgot." Zao wiped his mouth.

"It's your eighteenth birthday, is it not?"

From thin air, Zao pulled out a thick tome.

"Oh, you don't have to—"

"Here. A gift. Adulthood is something to celebrate, you know? Plus, I missed your last birthday, so I ought to make up for it."

Caine smiled and reluctantly accepted the tome. He glanced at its title for a moment before his smile deepened, and he stored it away.

"Thanks."

Just as Caine was about to continue eating, Zao spoke once more.

"Alright, let's address the elephant in the room—The Millennium Auction."

Caine grimaced at this, a deep and weary sigh escaping his lips.

"I really don't wanna go, Zao. I really don't."

Zao shrugged and continued eating. "You're obligated to go. It's one of the only outings you're forced to attend as a Scion."

"It'd also be badly seen if you didn't go after spending the last few months traveling around the world."

'Fuuuuuckk,' Caine lamented in his mind. He really didn't want to go.

"Why don't you want to go, anyway? It'll be a fun outing, no? You may even find something you're looking for—whatever nonsense you do these days."

Caine sighed again. "I'm so tired. Barely had any time to rest. A year isn't enough for me to fully recover mentally. I think I cultivated too fast, especially after learning about the paths of Will."

Zao nodded, unsurprised that Caine had touched upon the True Defiant Forgery Path.

He could feel it, so Caine knew he knew.

"Oh, then that makes sense. Your Will most likely hasn't fully settled down. My advice is to take a bit of a break from cultivating until you feel you've passed that mental bottleneck."

"Does that mean I can—"

"Nope. You still have to go."