When I heard Arya’s request, I couldn’t help but give a small nod. Petra had long since returned to the first layer and activated all of the orbs that I had given her, so I was capable of opening the gates on my own now. That said, there was still the matter of the gate’s location…
Regardless, I had Aurivy send the pair of us back to her palace, at which point Arya immediately walked out of the throne room. “It’s this way.” She said, no longer seeming to mind the destination. It seemed that she really did believe me, but that wasn’t going to be enough in itself. After all, her request was for me to take her beyond the gate, which she could not walk through. The simplest answer would be to give her a system stone, but I was not inclined to do such.
Arya was a powerful god, but at the moment that was all she was. She wasn’t an overwhelming existence yet. If I gave her alone access to the system, she would rapidly become the overlord of the thirty-ninth floor. Instead, I sent a message to Aurivy in preparation. If we couldn’t get in through the front door, then Aurivy would open another path for her, once the way was clear.
After following Arya, I was brought to the bath in question, a wide room established at the lowest level of the palace. A natural spring fed water into the bath, which was positioned around the black stone slab. “I believe that this is what you are looking for.” Arya said with a surprisingly stoic face.
I gave a small nod, walking through the air over the water, and soon arrived at the black stone. When I reached out to put my hand on it, I saw the portal opening in front of me. Arya’s eyes went wide in surprise, but I simply walked through. “I’ll bring you along in a moment.” I spoke back to her, before completely disappearing into the gate.
On the other side of the portal, I was relieved to find that it still seemed to be habitable. There wasn’t a massive lava ocean, a frozen tundra, or anything like that. Rather, the gate opened atop a great hill, and I could see numerous figures moving in the distance. They had blue skin and four arms, with sharp spikes protruding from their elbows. Each figure had bright green eyes, walking upright and wearing only the most simple of clothing.
These creatures didn’t seem like feral monsters, but at the same time were not wholly civilized. From what I could tell, they moved in family groups or tribes. That’s another intelligent race… well, relatively speaking. I shook my head, before giving Aurivy the signal to bring Arya over.
There was a rush of golden mist beside me, and Arya appeared. She staggered for just a moment, the unfamiliar weight of the gravity here catching her by surprise. “Is this the next area?” She asked, looking behind her and seeing the black wall.
“That’s right.” I nodded my head. “Traditionally, the location of the portal leading down has always been known as Gate’s Rest in Fyor, whereas the portal leading up is known as Gate’s Rise. Our current location would be the fortieth floor’s Gate’s Rest.”
Arya had a somber expression as she accepted that knowledge. “And I assume you’ll be expecting me to change the name of my city, as well?” However, I simply shook my head at that.
“As long as the gate is somewhere accessible, you can name your city whatever you want. My purpose isn’t to hinder your people, but to try and integrate them with the rest of the world. That holds true for every race within the thirty-ninth layer.”
Arya hesitated, before giving a small nod. Judging by the lack of storm clouds gathering, she seemed to be suppressing her ability after I pushed it down in Deckan. Which reminded me… “I’m curious about something. Nowhere else in any world can gods be found in such abundance as your layer. What method do you use to cultivate your divinity?”
Arya looked over at me in surprise, as if not having expected a question like that. “Divinity is… something which comes natural to us, but also a gift from our forefathers. If I am to properly explain it, I must go into our past. If you must ask that question, I assume you do not know of our history.”
“That’s right.” I admitted readily. “My knowledge of your layer begins with the moment I set foot in it. I could take some time to retrieve the information myself, but it is more convenient to ask someone familiar with the subject.”
“I see… then let me explain. Perhaps some of your questions will be answered.” After she said that, she turned to fully face me, taking a deep breath.
“In the beginning, there was only one race, which we know as the Demi. They were the first, the only true race to be born in our world… sorry, our layer. That may take me some time…” She shook her head, forcing herself to continue. “The Demi were a tribal people, not unlike those seen in the distance. They spread out, harvesting the energy around them to slowly evolve.”
“That is, until one Demi found a golden stone with great power. When he absorbed the power of this stone for himself, he found a word branded in his subconscious. At the same time, his intelligence grew far more than ever before. He was the first of what came to be the gods. In truth, we don’t know which race most closely resembles the Demi.”
“As the first god, he quickly became king of the Demi, going by the name of Laratha. Laratha believed that his encounter with the golden stone was a fortuitous sign from the world that only he deserved to rule the land, and began to oppress his fellow Demi. At the same time, his greater intelligence brought forth many advances in mining, crafting, and culinary arts.”
“Unfortunately, it did not take long before other Demi began to find similar stones, each granting them their own divine power. These Demi had long been oppressed by Laratha, and felt that this was their chance to rise up. With the combined efforts of nearly two dozen gods, Laratha was eventually slain, but not before their battle killed over half of the Demi population.”
I gave a small nod as I listened to her story, expecting her to say that these gods eventually became the founders of each race, ushering in an era of peace. To my surprise, her brows furrowed. “That was only the beginning of their woes, however. In the process of this battle, many golden stones were unearthed, shattered by the shockwaves released. These stones released their divine power into the air, allowing every Demi to breathe it in.”
“Those that did so gradually began to develop ‘aspects’, weaker divine powers that would awaken over time to be full domains. At the same time, the original gods who had defeated Laratha began to fight for who should ultimately control the world. Their personalities were too different, brought together only because of a common threat. Once that threat was gone, their fangs turned towards each other.”
“Thus began the First Age of Gods, a terrible time in our history. The first ones who defeated Laratha split off, abducting numerous Demi to form their own nations, many of which still exist today. To differentiate themselves from one another, these gods changed their forms, and those of their followers. Then, whether it was an innocent bystander or an enemy nation, they declared war on everything that was different from themselves.”
“The strength of a million gods ravaged the land, reducing it to a barren husk. Countless veins of golden stone were found and shattered, strengthening the divinity within the air. Eventually, even the pillar that touched the heavens took on a golden hue after being shattered countless times. After that point, it was no longer vulnerable to the shockwaves of battle.”
“This war waged for so long… generations of rulers passed in every nation, until there were a scant few left of our people. No longer were we Demi. Instead, we were Archon, Angel, Azoth, Nuolana, Creon, and more. With barely a thousand people left under each banner, one man put an end to this conflict. He absorbed the divinity in the air, and declared ‘no more’.”
“No more would we fight and slaughter one another. No more would we cut at each other’s throats. The divine power he obtained from his parents was ‘Law’, and the one which he obtained from the air was ‘Penance’. With these two powers, he approached the pillar that touches the heavens, using it as a conduit to establish a ‘Law’ and matching ‘Penance’.”
“From that moment forward, murder was forbidden. To prevent one from being unable to defend themselves, there was a limit allowed on any kind of slaughter. Should one kill one hundred of the divine races for any reason, they would immediately perish. Should any king order the death of more than one thousand members of the divine races, their entire kingdom would be erased from the world. This law became a part of our world, something which the man gave his own life to instate.”
“We are permitted to fight the monsters of our world, but we must never seek to harm others of our kind, lest we face the full power of the world itself bearing down on us.”
Seeing that she was done with her story, I couldn’t help but furrow my brows. “When I arrived, a soldier of the Angels appeared before me, looking ready to strike me down. Is this law truly as powerful and unwavering as you say?”
Arya let out a light laugh at that. “Reyor believes himself clever. Any soldier in his personal forces is forbidden from slaying more than fifty individuals in their lifetime. Before that point, while they are not ordered to carry out violent acts, he has expressly stated that these actions will not be punished if justified.”
“As for whether or not the law is as powerful as I say… there used to be twenty-one nations.” Arya spoke, glancing back towards the gate. “Two of them vanished within the first years after the decree was passed. They sought to continue the fight, believing that no law could restrain them. As soon as the number of kills passed the threshold, they disappeared without a trace, scattering like dust in the wind. Even their buildings vanished from the world. The only proof they ever existed was in the memory passed down by others.”
“For the third nation, it was one thousand years ago. The king of the race went mad with his power, inflicted by a terrible curse. He directly ordered his men to go out and slaughter, and bring ruin to the Azoth. Before the first soldier could leave his castle, their entire empire vanished into nothing. We only know of this act because an Azoth captive had been held in the throne room, serving as an example for others of his kind. When the nation disappeared around him, he was all that was left.”
“The last nation to break this law happened only twelve years ago. In fact, this one was an accident caused by simply failing to keep control of their people. While murder was disallowed, theft and other crimes were not. And in some cases, it may seem that the only punishment befitting a crime is death. The queen of this nation was a friend of mine… but because of the rampant crime in her nation, she forgot the wording of the law. The law not only forbade war, but also execution. When the thousandth criminal was slain, the nation dissolved into nothing.”
After saying all of that, Arya turned to look at me again. “Bear this in mind, ‘Creator’. This is a law that exists in the air itself. Should your people go against this law, it is entirely likely that they will face the punishment.”
I gave a small nod as I listened to her words. This could indeed explain many things. “I… see. That’s quite surprising. In that case, you are naturally born as demigods due to divine heritage, but anyone that stays in the world for too long will eventually develop a divine domain, simply by breathing in the air?”
Arya simply shrugged her shoulders. “That is the gist of it. Our divinity is a gift of the world. When we die, we return it to the air. Until that time, we may use the power granted to us to better our world.”
“How do you die?” I glanced over, looking at her thoughtfully. “By my understanding, it should be extremely difficult for even a lesser god to be slain. Or, is it because of the monsters that have gained this power, as well?”
“Primarily the monsters, yes.” She confirmed. “With each one having a different power, there is no way that we can truly ensure the safety of our walls. It’s not uncommon for small creatures to slip in, possessing a poison or curse that can easily slay an Archon. That is why I maintain my storm, a show of force to keep the majority of such beasts at bay.”
