Infinite Paths: The Raging Phoenix

The group didn't look particularly worried when they saw Rain. They relaxed a bit, though. It looked like they knew exactly the reason why he stayed out of commission for two weeks, and it was mainly due to exhaustion. They saw the body of the machine god falling apart, and they could tell that it required a lot of him.

"Thanks for your hard work, Dad," Sealyn said. "Thanks for worrying us sick to death when you passed out like that, too."

"It is tough to be so popular," Rain shrugged.

"Seriously… you should have seen the way you passed down; we saw corpses that looked more alive than you," Sealyn said and then sighed. "Anyway, we heard a few things from Elisabetha, but she isn't a chatterbox. So, we need more details."

"All right, here it comes," Rain said. "Rain's Heroic Tales volume 01 of 550. I need to remind you that each volume has one thousand pages as well."

Rain stopped joking around and then told them what had happened. The encounter with the machine god, with the spirits, and how things ended… everything looked like a bloody mess, and the attacks used didn't make any sense; it was also pretty hard to imagine how things happened exactly.

"So… you really did kill one of the machine gods," Esmeralda said while studying Rain. "You don't look very different, though."

"They aren't strong to the point that they would give anyone massive amounts of experience," Rain explained. "Their power came from their knowledge. The machine gods spent an unholy amount of time obtaining general knowledge about the aspects of reality. Thanks to that, they could use them to perfection.

Besides, the aspect of space and the machine god that could control it probably was one of the weakest. Defeating that guy wasn't much of a real accomplishment. Even though it had been very difficult."

Everyone knew that pulling the same thing, even if they had the same level of strength as Rain, would be difficult. He pulled it off because his head worked in ways that few people could replicate.

In any case, Rain explained to them that even beyond the machine gods, there was the possibility that there was another enemy… that could be the being that the dragon god was after… no one knew what that being was… perhaps, it came from a civilization even more advanced than the machine gods who were trying to take control over the entire cosmos.

"This is all too complicated… but after this, it should be clear that the other machine gods won't underestimate us," Terra said. "We will need to be ready to face them… and the first step would be to use their knowledge against them. So, can we obtain a part of the aspect of space using the knowledge that you obtained?"

"It should be possible… a bit difficult since high levels of magic power and mana are necessary," Rain said while rubbing his chin thoughtfully. "The start will be rough, but it will become easier."

"This should be a good start," Regis said. "While we work on that, we should also plan ahead. Considering the fight that you have with the machine god, do you think that we are equipped enough to deal with the others while protecting Earth?"

"No," Rain said.

The silence that followed after Rain's statement was profound and heavy, hanging in the air like a palpable weight. It was a moment where words seemed insufficient to capture the gravity of the situation. Despite the victory over one of the machine gods, there was an unspoken understanding among everyone present that the battle was far from over.

The absence of celebration showed the looming threat that still lingered, casting a shadow over any momentary relief or triumph. It was a sobering reminder of the ongoing struggle and the sacrifices that lay ahead.

"However, I also think that they won't have an easier time wiping us out," Rain said. "The first dragons are the forces that they used to defeat most civilizations and stop their growth before they could become a problem to them. Alongside the dark sentinels, they are the machine gods' cannon fodder. We can handle them… as for the machine gods, they will only show their true power in their territory.

They can only do that in their territory, considering what we learned so far. That is why they keep expanding it instead of trying to kill us immediately. Unless they are absolutely forced to, they won't do anything that they don't deem efficient."

The machine god of space made his choice to fight them with all his might because they were in his territory… Rain wasn't sure of that, but he assumed that the closer they were to their real bodies, the more the machine gods would be able to use their power.

Something like the machine god of energy being able to use all the energy of a star should be possible as long as their real body is close to it… or something like the machine god of time being able to revert back time… that was a bit scary, but it made sense.

Feeling the weight of responsibility pressing down upon him, Rain realized the urgency of harnessing all the knowledge he had acquired. With the threat of the other machine gods looming large, there was no time to waste. Every ounce of information and every insight gained from their victory had to be swiftly employed in devising strategies to confront the remaining adversaries.

Rain knew that the power in the aspects he wielded could serve as a crucial starting point in this daunting task. These aspects held the potential to unlock new paths of understanding and power, to reveal weaknesses in the enemy's defenses, and to uncover previously unforeseen opportunities for success.

They represented not only his strength but also his best hope for unraveling the mysteries of the machine gods and finding a way to overcome them.