Opening my eyes, I found myself standing atop the mountain which had become the home of my World Host for the last several years. It didn’t take much to notice the ring around my body, a circle where the snow simply did not touch. At first, I thought it was simply that the snow was melting for some reason, before I noticed that the ground was not even damp.
Rather than melting, the snow was erased within this space. However, as I watched, the snow began to slowly fill this gap. In other words, this strange phenomenon was caused by something that my host had been doing.
Shaking my head, I put those thoughts out of my mind and focused inwards. The first thing that I wanted to do was to check on how the mission I had given my host was turning out. I could feel a slow, but steady influx of divine energy, so I knew that I had ‘obtained’ a number of followers, and could follow that faith back to its source.
Within my internal sky, I followed the trail of divinity to an otherwise unassuming world. At a glance, I could feel numerous streams of energy flowing from the planet which felt as if it would disappear if I blinked. I didn’t even dare to look too closely for fear that my power might disrupt the delicate balance holding the hazy planet together.
I see… he’s worked hard. The fact that this planet was producing divine energy for me confirmed that my clone had learned the secret of ‘creating life’ from an illusion. If I am able to study that power, I could use it to create loyal scouts linked to my power. Since they wouldn’t be avatars, I would not need to personally divide my mind to control them.
With a deep breath, I stood up, my body feeling stiff from sitting too long. This feeling was surprising, as my body was no longer that of flesh and blood. Perhaps it was simply because I thought that it would be normal to feel sore after sitting for so long? Either way, once my eyes scanned the horizon, I was able to confirm that nobody had approached my training area yet.
“Okay… first order of business.” I focused, and the air around me distorted as I moved to the citadel. Tsubaki and Dana had gone to such lengths to prepare their gifts for me, it would be rude not to visit them.
And sure enough, as soon as I appeared there was a flash of light. Tsubaki knelt before me, her head lowered. “My Keeper.” She greeted passionately, clearly happy to be able to see me here again.
I gave a small nod of my head, looking around the throne room. Nothing had truly changed about it since its original debut, and Tsubaki had made sure to keep it spotless. “How is your registry plan coming along?”
“My Keeper, all is proceeding well. We’ve almost finished producing the array points for Lorek and Spica, after which our coverage will be nearly complete.” I was surprised to hear that they had managed to find the method of creating a fourth tier array so easily, but then again… this was Tsubaki and Dana I was talking about.
“Very good.” I praised, bringing my hand down to lightly pat her head. Tsubaki positively glowed at that, her body shivering. No, really, she actually began glowing, a white light shining off of her. It was adorable how her emotions leaked through like that.
“My Keeper!” She suddenly stood up, her eyes fixated upon me. “We have prepared gifts to celebrate your return.”
I gave a small nod when I heard that. “The scepter and the tome. I witnessed you using them against the rogue half-god. They were very impressive.”
Tsubaki’s lips twitched, barely suppressing a smile. “I am glad that you approve, my Keeper.” Slowly, she brought her hands forward, her palms flashing as the two items appeared within them. The silver Archmage Scepter, and the leather bound Magus Tome. Both were items that could completely reshape the world’s view of magic, but their value truly came to light when utilized together.
Of course, I knew that these weren’t the ones that had been prepared for me, but rather were Tsubaki’s own. In her haste to present me with her gifts, she had chosen to give up her own rather than rush off to grab mine. Though, that didn’t matter as these two items were the same even when comparing them to the ones that had been specifically prepared for me.
“I trust that with your power, you will easily be able to identify the spells within.” Tsubaki offered a faint bow as I accepted the items. “We do have one other gift prepared, but Dana is currently working on improving it.”
While I knew that the item that they were talking about was the personalized storage space, I chose not to reveal that knowledge. If I showed that I knew what it was, they might be less inclined to continue working on it and simply pass it to me. Instead, I nodded my head again. “Very well. There is actually another reason that I have chosen to visit.”
When she heard that, Tsubaki looked at me curiously, prompting me to continue. “We will be facing another invasion within a few months’ time. I expect that our enemy this time will be more difficult than any other that we have faced before. To the extent that it would not be surprising if they possessed the power to kill gods such as you and I.”
Tsubaki’s eyes went wide in alarm at this news, and she hastily nodded her head. “Very well. If that is the case, would you like me to begin dissemination of the fourth tier magical knowledge? If it is made publicly available, it may be possible to dramatically increase the defensive abilities of our cities.”
I gave a small smile, approving of her suggestion. “That would likely be wise. However, I trust that you know that certain information should not be spread so casually.” Specifically, the information within the fourth tier that specialized in the killing of gods. Bolstering our defenses was all well and good, but we didn’t need to give the masses a way to easily kill gods. For that, Tsubaki’s ward setup would be the most effective method.
“Of course, my Keeper.” Tsubaki performed another bow. “I’ll begin the process at once. Is there anything else that you would have me do?”
“Not at the moment.” I considered asking Tsubaki to study the fourth tier of ki as well, which I purchased and studied just before descending. Using that knowledge, I had redesigned my own ki paths to better take advantage of my Saint of Five Lights ability. However, after observing Tsubaki myself, I felt that she no longer utilized ki to such an extent that she once did. Instead, it would be better to bestow that knowledge on someone who would more actively use that knowledge.
And of course, there was one person that immediately sprang to mind. “Please inform me whenever Dana finishes her work.” I told Tsubaki, turning and beginning to walk towards the door. “I have to make some preparations of my own.”
Tsubaki looked towards me, clearly wanting to come with me. However, she had her own duties to take care of here, and realized that. Reluctantly, she backed down as I shifted once again. This time, the scenery around me turned blood red. I was within another throne room, but… this time it wasn’t my own.
“Father.” A voice flowed down from the throne behind me, the guards reacting a moment later. At first, the red-haired humanoids looked as if they wanted to capture the intruder. However, there was only one individual that the First Blood would address as ‘Father’.
His aura is… so much stronger. Scarlet thought to herself as she looked at the Keeper. As the Demigoddess of Ki, she was capable of sensing the strength of any ki source within a vast distance from herself. So naturally, she was able to sense the drastic difference within the Keeper’s power, compared to the last time that they had spoken.
However, that was not the only thing that had changed about how she saw him. After focusing for a moment, she found a faint white light emanating off of his body, and nodded to herself in satisfaction. “To what do I owe the pleasure?”
Scarlet was even more well-developed now than the last time Dale saw her, filling out her body while keeping to her sense of personal beauty. With how much energy she had accumulated over the years, it was hard to find somewhere to put it all.
“I’m surprised you haven’t stepped on the path to ascension.” The Keeper directed a kind look towards the Empress of Blood as he spoke. “You’d make an excellent Goddess of Ki, you know.”
Scarlet let out a faint laugh, the sound echoing in the throne room. “If only I could. However, I have heard that mana is a rather strict requirement along that path. As a being born with none, that path is closed to me.”
That was what she genuinely believed. She was not greedy for power, but at the same time she knew that she needed to grow stronger in order to protect her people in this era where gods were beginning to emerge. Although she had considered attempting the path, it would not be possible for someone that did not possess all of the basic energy types.
Yet, the Keeper gave a strange smile. “I can take care of that, if you want.”
Shocked, Scarlet stood up from her throne, her eyes shaking. “Those words… do you mean them?” So far, there had yet to be a god that was hostile to her people, but that was bound to change as more and more arose. While she was confident in dealing with any number of half-gods, a true ascended was a different matter.
The Keeper offered a small nod, holding up a leather bound tome in his left hand that seemed to manifest from nothing. As it opened, it began flipping through the pages one by one. “I hold here something known as an Uplifting spell. I believe that it was designed with people like yourself in mind, and is able to gently bestow mana upon individuals that have none.”
As he finished speaking, the book stopped near the end, a complex shape appearing above it. Scarlet tried to make out its details, but found that doing so caused a sharp pain to appear in her head. This wasn’t any kind of supernatural reaction, merely a case of the spell appearing far too jumbled for her to discern anything.
“Would you like me to begin?” He asked, his right hand lifting to hold a scepter that had not been there a moment ago.
Scarlet thought about that, slowly sitting back in her throne and nodding. Even though he said that this would be gentle, she did not want to show an embarrassing sight if it were to be far more painful than either of them expected. “Please, father. And, even if this does not work, I thank you for the attempt.”
There was a look of hesitation that appeared within the Keeper’s eyes when Scarlet said that, as if he was starting to worry that this might actually fail. However, he shook his head, and brushed the scepter’s tip along the holographic shape.
Scarlet closed her eyes, preparing to simply accept whatever happened. As the oldest of all Martial Spirits, she was more than familiar with the concept of death. If she were to die here, she would hold no ill will against the Keeper, as he had given her such a long life already. She merely wished to devote herself to protecting her people.
And so, she waited. Seconds ticked by, and then minutes, before she heard the sound of someone clearing their throat. When she opened her eyes, the Keeper was simply looking at her, having already put away the tools he used to cast his spell. “… is that it?” She asked, confused. He had said it would be gentle, but she truly didn’t feel a thing while her thoughts were elsewhere.
When he nodded, she focused. Although it wasn’t strong, she truly could feel a seed of a new energy within her body. “I see… thank you, father.” Scarlet replied with a genuine smile. Although her mana was currently weak, that was something that could easily be solved through training. After all, she had never had a reason to train any class that would bolster her mana before this.
“That’s not what I truly came here for, so don’t thank me yet.” The Keeper said, slowly walking towards the steps that led to Scarlet’s throne. She could feel the pulse of power within him seeming to grow stronger with every step he took, and realized that his true power had been disguised even from her perception.
Scarlet cleared her throat, doing her best not to show her shaking nerves. “I see. May I ask what else you need of me?”
“I want to grant you something.” The Keeper told her, stretching one hand out towards her. “In the coming months, we will need to bolster our power. As such, there is a need to bestow greater power on those most capable of understanding it.”
Within the Keeper’s hand, there was a gentle glow of divine light, a book gradually taking shape. When Scarlet read the title, she was struck speechless. The Keeper was bestowing a guidebook on how to use ki to her, the Demigoddess of Ki? He seemed to be able to read her expression, and chuckled. “This is more advanced than anything you’ve seen before, trust me. Once you master this knowledge, you will possess the power to shift and shatter space without needing to rely on your spiritual energy.”
As soon as his words ended, Scarlet’s hands whipped out to grab the book, holding it close to her chest. “Thank you.” She spoke softly, as if afraid he’d want to take the book back due to her previous expression. Now that she understood the gift that she was being given, she no longer wished to part with it. Between this and the potential to further evolve, her strength was bound to increase.
