Armed with the new Archmage Scepters, the progress of completing the Anti-Divinity Ward sped up many times over. Wardstones were created with a casual wave of the scepter, and it took less than a week for Dana and Tsubaki to receive the total amount that they needed for every world.
From there, they created the control devices for the wards. After spending an additional month with Dana’s assistance, they had also designed the wards that would be placed on the control facilities. At this point, it was merely a matter of building the facilities themselves.
Thankfully, they were able to ask help from each of the local world spirits to help with the construction efforts. As much as possible, they did not want anyone within these worlds to know where the controls of the wards were held. I could see that Tsubaki planned to release this information to myself, and nobody else.
This was simply an additional security measure, one which I fully understood. Regardless of how powerful the wards were, the security was in no way perfect. Unexpected variables existed everywhere, and it was best to simply keep this information as close to the chest as possible.
Closing my eyes, I focused on fast forwarding the world just a little bit further, bringing this plan to its fruition.
Tsubaki held tight a leather bag in one hand, the storage device small and unassuming. She offered a small smile to Dana, who held a stone tablet. “I’m going, then.” She said, receiving a nod before vanishing in a flash of light.
Watching the tablet before her, Dana waited. She knew that Tsubaki was carefully placing each of the wardstones in orbit, and that she had to do so quickly in order to make them stabilize themselves rather than falling back to the planet.
Dana counted the seconds, and when she reached ten, there was a change in the tablet. ‘Divinity detected. Domain – Light. Unregistered entity. Location…’
Dana’s eyes went wide as a pleased smile rose across her face, reading the shifting location on the tablet. Okay, Tsuba! It’s got you on its radar. Activate your registry stone! They knew, naturally, that the first divinity that would register with the ward was the person using their own divinity in order to establish the ward in the first place.
Soon, the words vanished from the tablet, replaced instead by something else. ‘Registered Divinity, Light Goddess Tsubaki.’ It no longer showed her position, as she was not an ‘illegal’ divinity. The purpose of this ward was merely to suppress hostile gods, not to monitor those who were friendly to them.
“Huh, wonder where Jonas went to.” Dana curiously asked herself, seeing as his name didn’t appear on the ward. They had purposely chosen Earth as it was the known home of two gods, with a third suspected of living there.
Of the four known mortal gods, both Jonas and Tsubaki typically resided on Earth. Blank existed as a digital being when he wasn’t within Deckan directly, so he could appear at any time. Finally, Tower was suspected of living on Earth due to it being his original home. However, he had not been seen since the meteor incident.
As she was wondering that, two new lines appeared on the tablet, indicating that two more divinities had been found. One of them had the domain of ‘Games’, signifying that it was Blank. Meanwhile, the other divinity was ‘unassigned’. That caused some confusion in Dana, but she nonetheless reported the information back to Tsubaki.
Tsubaki’s answer was quite simple. It is likely that it is a mortal in the process of ascending. A half-god wouldn’t have their domain yet.
Dana nodded her head as she heard that, before her eyes nearly popped out of their sockets. The scope of the ward was growing, and with it were the number of these ‘half-gods’ that were being detected. Although the process was hard, and unspeakably painful, there was no shortage of brave fools within the vast world.
“One, two, three…” Dana counted the lines as they appeared, waiting for Tsubaki to complete the ward. Tsuba… I’m reading thirteen of those ‘half-gods’ within this world. Thirteen, while only the tiniest fraction of the world’s population, was no small number. Most would likely never take the next step after experiencing the true terror of advancing, but it was likely that they could expect at least one or two more gods from this batch.
Understood. Send me their locations, and I’ll start the registration process.
A human woman sat before her mirror, staring at her beautiful golden hair. She wore a white and blue dress, an amulet in the shape of a trident around her neck. Her figure was slim, the dress hiding any of the slight curves she possessed, yet her face was beautiful. Even without the use of any special techniques or treatments, she had an appeal that many yearned for.
Yet now, that very face gazed at the mirror in frustration and loss. “My Goddess, have you forsaken me?” She asked herself, feeling the power within her being suppressed. The same power that she had endured horrendous pain to acquire in the name of the goddess Bihena.
There was a heavy knock on the door, the rapping against the wood sounding rather urgent. However, the woman simply let out a low sigh, rising to her feet and walking to open it. She controlled her expression to put on a brilliant smile when the door opened, seeing the High Priestess of the church standing there with a flushed face.
“Mother Catarina, what troubles you at this time?” She asked in a pleasant tone.
“Y-you have a visitor.” Catarina spoke, her voice stuttering despite her usually stern personality. Immediately, the woman knew that something was off, as no normal visitor could elicit such a reaction from the High Priestess. However, before she could ask who it was, the answer was given to her. “It is the lady Tsubaki.”
The woman’s smile shifted, her mouth agape with a gasp. There wasn’t a person in this world that did not know that name. “I see… please, by all means, I will see her.” She nodded her head quickly.
With the timing of this meeting, she suspected that it had something to do with her disappearing divine power. Was Tsubaki here to deliver the verdict of the gods, or merely to comfort her and explain things? She did not know, but knew that she would soon discover the answer.
The two of them moved towards a large conference room, where the priests and priestesses of the church would gather for regular meetings. Sitting at one end of the large table was, sure enough, a kitsune radiating a golden light. Her body was dressed in the attire of a Servant, and her divine power was something that could not be faked by any means known to them.
As she stepped into the room, she noticed the High Priestess did not join her, instead closing the door behind her to allow the two their privacy. “Greetings, Lady Tsubaki.” She said with a polite smile towards the Keeper’s Servant.
“You are the Holy Sister, Bella Wayver?” Tsubaki asked, her eyes focused, yet not seeming upset.
“That’s correct.” In fact, Holy Sister had been a title invented for her, a rank showing that one was a member of the church that had stepped onto the path of godhood themselves. It had been decided that, should she succeed and still serve Bihena, she would be regarded as a Holy Mother.
“I see… It is a pleasure to meet you.” Tsubaki’s expression seemed to soften, and a faint relief spread through Bella’s body. “I’m sure you’ve noticed your divine energy has been suppressed for several minutes now?”
“That’s correct, Lady Tsubaki. I feared that my Goddess had lost her faith in me, and that I was being punished. Seeing you here, I hope that you may offer guidance.”
The kitsune goddess gave a faint nod. “It’s nothing of that sort, do not worry. In the Keeper’s name, I have established the Divine Registry. With the appearance of ascended beings such as myself, and what you may well become in the future, I felt this a necessary step. Before registering, any divine or half-divine individuals like yourself will find their divinity suppressed.”
Confusion appeared on Bella’s face, before being replaced by joy. “My Goddess has not given up on me.” She did not know how Tsubaki had created such a registry in the first place, as magic was not her forte. All she knew was that this was not the workings of Bihena, and that her power could return to her upon being registered.
“That’s right.” Tsubaki gave a comforting smile, standing from her seat and walking over towards Bella. There was a gentleness to her light that Bella had never expected, as if a mother caring for her children. “Once you register yourself with our Divine Registry, your power will return to you. So long as you do not step on an evil path, your power will not be restricted or monitored. This measure is only being taken to prevent the rising of an evil god.”
Bella brought her hands up, crossing them over her chest as if in prayer, and nodded her head. “I understand. Thank you, Lady Tsubaki. Then, please, whatever you need to do. So long as it means I may continue to serve my Goddess, I will have no fear.”
“You’re a good child, Bella Wayver.” Tsubaki said, retrieving a stone from a storage item hidden on her purpose. Its oval surface was smooth, with no identifying marks. It appeared to simply be a rock you could pick up on the shore of a river, yet its significance here could not be underestimated.
This unassuming stone lit up with a faint blow glow, strands of light leaving its surface to wrap around Bella. She remained still, her smile becoming warmer as the energy pierced her body. Suddenly, she could feel the suppressive power on her divinity vanish, and her golden hair became as blue as the ocean waves.
“Thank you for this guidance, Lady Tsubaki.” Bella spoke in a sincere tone. Were such a registry established by one with ill intent, they may have never notified the ‘half-gods’ such as Bella. They would have simply waited until the ascension was complete before forcing them to register. Even if that wasn’t the case, they could force the affected people to seek out the registry on their own power.
Instead, Tsubaki had paid a personal visit. One of the highest powers within any known world was personally attending to each registration without any of the arrogance that would normally match her position. In Bella’s eyes, this showed the true nature of a person. She now understood why Tsubaki alone was fit to be the Keeper’s Servant. It was not simply due to her power, but also her compassion.
“It’s not a bother.” Tsubaki replied with that same smile. “If you decide to advance further, please let me know. I’ll watch the registry, in case I need to return. If it works as intended, that shouldn’t be the case, but I’d rather be prepared.”
“I understand.” Bella nodded, offering a grateful bow.
“Now, I’m sorry that I have to cut this short… But there are a dozen more half-ascended that I need to register, before I implement this on the other worlds as well.”
“Oh, by all means!” Bella’s head quickly nodded, stepping aside to allow Tsubaki to leave the room first. “Don’t let me keep you if you have important matters to attend, Lady Tsubaki. If you are ever in the area, please stop by again.”
“I may just do that.” Tsubaki replied as she walked towards the door. When the door opened, the High Priestess was standing there in wait, prepared to guide Tsubaki back out. When Catarina saw that Bella’s hair had returned to its blue color, her expression brightened.
The two left, leaving Bella alone within the conference room. Once again, she clasped her hands in prayer. “Thank you, my Goddess, for not abandoning me at this time. Please forgive me my lack of faith.”
Really, I didn’t even get the chance to tell you what was happening. Bihena’s voice spoke up in Bella’s mind, sounding only slightly upset at the ‘accusation’ of abandoning Bella. Next time, give a Goddess the time to explain matters before you assume you’ve been thrown away, won’t you?
Bella’s smile turned softer as she heard the voice of her goddess in her mind. “I shall strive to do my best, my Goddess.”
You know, the offer still stands, if you want to become my subordinate goddess. Bihena spoke up after Bella’s prayer was over.
“Thank you for your kindness. However, I wish to walk this path with my own strength. Only in doing so may I truly serve you with all my being.” While Bella did not want to take the ‘shortcut’ that was becoming a subordinate goddess, that did not mean that she intended to break free of Bihena’s church. She was entirely devoted to serving Bihena, but wished to accept the hardships that came with such a decision as a show of her faith.
