New Eden: Live to Play, Play to Live

Astaroth was still processing what Aravelle had told him and taking a moment to decide if it was a truth he would accept. After all, even if he had finally integrated with the rest of the fragment of divinity inside him, he was far from feeling godly.

At best, he felt stronger than before. At worst, he felt it had taken something he couldn't take back from him.

His humanity.

Astaroth could tell he had deviated from that which bound him to the human race for a while. But he thought that wouldn't be for long, given the rest of humanity was also changing.

However, now that he had consumed that fragment, he could feel the souls of the people around him when focusing, and he could tell that wasn't something just anyone could do. And it scared him.

'I don't want to be a god. They are the exact opposite of what I want to become. Gods do nothing for us. They stand by the sidelines and watch as the world goes to shit. Gods don't care. I want to save humankind…' Astaroth thought. Novel Fire - novelfire.net

He was getting lost in those thoughts when a jolt of mana from Aravelle brought him back to reality.

"Don't fall off the deep end just yet, young man. There is still much to discuss and do before you are allowed to fall into thoughts. Stay focused, young man."

Astaroth looked at him almost in a daze.

"What did I do wrong?" he asked, feeling like the world was crumbling around him.

If he walked that path, the path to godhood, he would lose everything. First, he would lose everyone he cared about to the dangers of having them around him.

And even if he managed to protect them, what would that change in the end? If he followed this path through, wouldn't he lose his ability to see them?

Gods rarely came to the mortal realm, and he had an inkling of a thought to the reason why.

The mortal realm wasn't strong enough to support their presence.

Minor gods may have a bit more leeway since they were much weaker. But Gaius had razed a small part of the western Elven forest just by appearing there.

And since Astaroth was highly attuned to Aether, he could tell the repercussions didn't stop there.

He could still feel Gaius' presence in the distance like the god was still standing there. Like he had left a permanent imprint on the land.

And what that would lead to, he would rather not think about.

From that alone, he imagined it wasn't that simple for the gods even to lay foot in the mortal realm.

He didn't want this. Not in a thousand years.

"Aravelle. I don't want this. Is there a way to stop the process? A way for me to step off that path?"

Aravelle looked at him with a complicated look.

"Normally, I would say yes. In the regular process, you would have reached Legendary grade first, then started on the path to Mythical, which puts you on that path. But… Your circumstance is a bit… Irregular…"

Astaroth became confused.

"What do you mean by irregular?"

Aravelle sighed.

"I didn't want to have to explain the entire process in front of two beings who can technically embark on it. But, oh well. I don't have much of a choice now."

Selena's ears perked, as did Leon's, and suddenly, they became curious.

Leon knew he had something to do to become stronger that didn't entail training, but he couldn't put his hand on it. And now, Aravelle was going to explain it.

As for Selena, she had just become a Legendary grade, and her power was far from cemented. But if she could come about this knowledge, the sooner, the better, right?

"Sit down, all of you. This will take a while."

Aravelle materialized enough chairs for everyone and sat down, rubbing his eyes tiredly.

"You had to cause something like this on a day like today, of all days. When something already disturbed the world's Aether twice, in a single day…"

Astaroth's face scrunched up, and he grimaced.

"Ahh… Yeah, about that…"

Aravelle's head snapped toward him. Then he looked at Selena, and the dots connected in his mind.

"It was you! You little—We'll talk about that later. Messing with the Ley lines is stupid, but this matter takes priority. But make no mistake. There will be punishment, you little idiot…"

Astaroth gulped, thinking about what Aravelle would do. This helped take his mind off the dark future ahead, but not for long.

With a deep sigh, Aravelle continued with his planned explanation.

"Let me start from the beginning. The process usually begins when a being becomes Legendary grade. They start feeling that power is no longer enough. It takes a while since their powers are still cementing into place.

"But once they have finally stabilized, all Legendary grade beings realize that getting stronger no longer goes through training. Leon, you should have started feeling this, even though you skipped an entire grade of life."

Leon nodded, feeling like Aravelle knew precisely what the next step was.

"The next step is much more complicated, but not impossible. All the Progenitors of Magic, including myself, learned this through trial and error. But we never went through with the last step. But that is for later.

"Before that, let me explain the first step on the path to godhood. The step that it usually takes to reach the Mythical grade and the step that the kitten will need to take if it wishes to become a new god. A step I advise against taking."

Selena frowned at his words.

"Why would you advise against becoming stronger? Power is what you protect what you love with. Why would becoming more powerful be bad?" she asked, confused.

"Because beings who aren't tied to a god already are usually wiped off the board before they reach Mythical grade. Gods are not only fickle. They are also very possessive and territorial. Stepping into godhood means stepping on someone's toes, up there, and they don't like that."

Selena's frown deepened.

"How would they even do that? Are gods allowed to act on mortals?"

Aravelle sighed again.

"I don't think you understand what becoming Legendary grade entails…"

Leon cut him.

"Selena, your power isn't stabilized yet, but you'll understand when it is. You can't die anymore. You've entered the realm of immortality."

Selena's face went blank, as did her mind.

"I beg your pardon?"

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