Realm Goddess Juno, an assumed relic of a time long past. Only a select few amongst those remaining even knew what she represented. Over a thousand years ago, most of the land was segmented in 'level zones.' The gods placed these restrictions to prevent situations where, say, a level 300 warrior would go into a level 10 area and utterly decimate the denizens. Humes needed time to grow from level 1 to the higher levels. In a world without level restrictions, the humes at higher levels could easily bring about extinction-level damage if they constantly killed off lower-leveled communities.
Managing the levels of the various zones was an important task that required constant monitoring and adjustment as populations rose and fell. However, due to the fact that whomever carried out this role was bound to the same restrictions, not even minor gods agreed to take on this responsibility.
Eventually, Ferulic and Aethir decided to grant Divine Authority to a chosen mortal, thus elevating them to a pseudo-god. The Divine Authority would prevent the pseudo-god from aging, but did not grant true immortality. The selection particulars are not important, but eventually Realm Goddess Juno was chosen from a group of qualified mortals to oversee this important task.
Juno's mortal kafu body put her at risk of death, but since she always retained the highest level in whatever realm she regulated, she never truly feared for her life – that was until she met Razznik.
Razznik Y'Terlow broke every conventional rule. Despite being level 500 like her, the demon completely crushed her after an arduous battle. From this moment, the epics diverged on what happened. Some stated that Razznik slaughtered her to take down the restriction, while other claimed that Razznik killed her and took her power for himself. These two explanations prevailed until a few hundred years ago, when level restrictions suddenly returned to the world.
The absence of gods strengthened the theory that Razznik stole her power for himself, but there was no way to confirm for sure. That was at least, until now. Realm Goddess Juno's presence seemed to confirm that Razznik did not in fact steal her power!
But was that truly the case?
"Mother?" "Mother!"
A pair of disbelieving sons called out in shock. However, where one's voice was laced with confusion and caution, the other held certainty and excitement – like he just confirmed something he already knew for a fact.
Bert did not miss his brother's strange tone. He flew down and stopped a few meters from the woman bore a striking resemblance to his mother. He then looked at Cathek who had flown a few meters away from him, so the trio formed a triangle of sorts. "You knew?"
"Can one really know anything?" Cathek revealed a gloating grin as he winked at his brother. The playful kafu was obviously elated, and intended to squeeze as much joy out of this moment as possible.
Bert, however, was not in the mood for his brother's games. His gaze turned extremely dark as he clenched his fist. "I do not have time for your games. Answer the question."
Cathek's smile faltered. Even he could sense his brother's rising rage. Bert was usually so quiet that most people took him for a doormat. However, of the seven, while Cathek would call Lucius the strongest, the scariest member was without a doubt, Bert!
On another day, Cathek might have egged his brother on, if only to see that stone-like expression crumble for once. Unfortunately, he knew time was not on his side. So, he sighed and admitted the truth. "I truly did not know. But I had my doubts concerning mother's death once I found out the reason Razznik hunted her down in the first place."
Bert frowned. "What are you talking about?"
"Razznik, a hitman for the gods." Cathek chuckled. "Do you really think that arrogant bastard would ever do anything for the gods?"
"...Just because of that?" Bert could not reconcile such irresponsible reasoning. Who would chase after something this big over such flimsy evidence? Wait, was personality even evidence?
Cathek laughed as he spread out his hands. "A few hundred years is enough to make anyone go mad. I needed something to keep me busy, so I dug a little further – at least to satisfy my curiosity." The kafu sighed as he glanced at the silent Juno. "The Calamity destroyed most records from the old world, but I did manage to find some clues sprinkled here and there. I eventually found a text buried in an old temple that changed everything."
Cathek's eyes widened, and his grin grew wider. He possessed the demeanor of an intoxicated storyteller as he continued, "You would not believe it... The texts covered some rules governing this world. There were some mind-splitting information there, but to me, the most important one was a small extension of something I already knew. Upon death, it is possible to capture a soul before it returns to the Circle. This much, a few people around the world know. However, what no one knows, is that with the deceased's blood, one can bring resurrect the dead after constructing their body."
On the ground, many people furrowed their brows.
"Did you hear that last part?" Syèl was just one of many who did not hear the last sentence. No, it was beyond that. Syèl was trained in lip-reading. Even if he did not hear, he should have been able to read Cathek's lips. However, try as he might, Syèl could not even remember what happened for about three to five seconds. It was like a moment of his life suddenly disappeared!
While Syèl experienced this most acutely due to his perfect memory, everyone else also realized they missed the final part of the sentence. Only in their case, they simply thought something muted the words.
Kashi glanced at Syèl and the others. He quickly figured out what happened. It seemed he was one of the few people who heard that sentence. "Genesis." The draconian muttered a single word, his voice tinged with equal parts frustration and wariness. Despite his wariness, he looked at Cathek with a puzzled gaze. 'Did he really figure it out?'
Bert once again glanced at Realm Goddess Juno. He wanted to believe Cathek, but as someone who spent ninety-percent of his life in dreams, he was more averse to things that looked too good to be true. He quickly looked back at his brother. "Assuming the texts you read were true, that still does not explain why you thought Razznik would do anything to resurrect our mother."
Cathek smiled as he raised a finger. "First, we all know that Razznik was a Summoned mortal who lived under mother's level-restriction." He raised a second finger. "We also know that he was the first to break through the level-restriction after defeating mother. Without the level restriction some others began breaking that level cap too." He then raised a third. "We also know that Razznik challenged and defeated several gods." Cathek grinned as he raised a fourth. "But we know that a mortal can never harm a god." Cathek finally raised his thumb and then balled his hand into a fist. "In conclusion, Razznik must have been a god to fight and kill other gods."
"Yes, and?"
Cathek let out an exasperated sigh. He looked like a teacher who was disappointed that his student could not arrive at a solution despite laying out all the clues. "Ah, the curse of the intelligent." The kafu jokingly shook his head and then continued, "Haven't you ever wondered how exactly Razznik crossed that threshold into becoming a god?"
Bert frowned. "Razznik was taken to Elysium after his death. Wasn't that how he became a god?"
"Wrong." "Wrong." Cathek proudly pronounced while Kashi softly whispered.
Kashi looked at Cathek with complicated emotions. Well, it looked like the cat was about to be let out of the bag. If Cathek had worked things out his far, then he definitely knew the truth.
"Wrong?" It wasn't just Bert who was shocked. The remaining Five of the Broken Swords were equally stunned. Cathek just casually dropped a terrifying bombshell!
"Yes." Cathek affirmed with a grin. "The gods are not stupid. Entering Elysium does not grand godhood. Mortals who enter Elysium are given great powers and allowed to live out their fantasies until they eventually choose to reincarnate... but they never attain Godhood!"
"But then—"
"For Razznik to have fought the gods, he needed to have been a god." Cathek wagged his fingers. "In fact the creatures in Elysium are minor gods, so he needed to have been a god to so much as leave a scratch on any creature during his training."
Bert's frown deepened even further as he squinted his eyes in confusion. "Hold on. This does not make any sense. If what you theorize is true, then Razznik had to have been a god before he got to Elysium. But, that is impossible! There were no avenues to godhood the—" Bert paused, and his eyes widened in shock as realization slowly swept through his face. "—Mother?"
"Hehe, you're finally beginning to see it too." Cathek clapped his hands in jubilee. "Indeed, following the epochs of Razznik's final years in the mortal plane, there was only one opportunity for him to come across godhood." The kafu looked at his mother with pride in his eyes, "His fight against Realm Goddess Juno. Our mother, and the only god on the planet."
Bert rubbed his forehead. "Hold on. I understand what you are trying to imply, but that makes even less sense. You can't steal godhood. It's not something that can be transferred."
"Yes. You cannot steal godhood," Cathek affirmed, but then with a confident smirk, he added, "but you forget one thing: our mother was not a true god. She was only a mortal who was granted Divine Authority, making her more of a minor god, or a demi-god if you will. Godhood cannot be transferred, yes, but the existence of our mother proves that Divine Authority can!"
BOOM!
Fireworks exploded in the Broken Swords' minds as the pieces rapidly fell into place!
Divine Authority could be passed on. There was a 99.9% chance that Razznik acquired Divine Authority from Divine Goddess Juno! Finally, the greatest puzzle surrounding Razznik's ability to launch a war against the gods had finally been solved.
"That's not all." Sayen muttered under her breath. "To protect their vessels, Divine Authority cannot be stolen. When its weilder perished, the Authority returns to the gods. So, if Razznik acquired Divine Authority..."
"Exactly!" Cathek clapped with a boisterous laugh. "Divine Goddess Juno willingly transferred the Divine Authority to Razznik." The kafu's eyes twinkled like a child who was about to place the final pieces of a puzzle. "So, I asked myself: What would make Divine Goddess Juno give the Divine Authority to Razznik. What promise could he have made to her? Spare her bratty sons? No, for all his madness, Razznik was never known to attack the innocent. We were never in any danger. Train us for a while? That is good, but not enough to willingly transfer the Divine Authority."
Cathek wrung his fingers. "You have to understand. At the time, Divine Goddess Juno knew that her time was up. Even if Razznik spared her, Aethir would only send other emissaries to ensure her demise to prevent Razznik from ever breaking the level restriction. She needed to secure a way to survive." Cathek turned to look at Razznik. "That was when she made the deal. She would give you Divine Authority. In return, you would prevent her soul from returning to the Circle. Only someone with Divine Authority has a 100% guarantee of holding back a soul." He then grinned as he looked at Lucius. "That is also how he saved Zeno. He killed her, yes. But he also prevented both her and her child's souls from returning to the Circle. Only then could he resurrect them after some time had passed."
"Wait!" Lucius raised his hand, begging Cathek to pause. All this information was coming in too fast. He almost could not breathe. "You are saying Zeno was pregnant when she died?"
"Yes."
Lucius' heart tightened as he suffered a pain beyond anything he'd ever experienced. But amidst the pain and tears that clouded his vision, glimmers of hope and joy lit up the hybrid's eyes. "But... But that would mean—"
"Yes, foolish wolf." Razznik interrupted with a snort. He pointed at the dragonling who cowered behind Hektor's hair. "That child, Rex, is your son. I wondered how long it would take you to figure out."
"My so—"
"Yes, so, back to us." Cathek mercilessly interrupted Lucius before the man could process his bombshell of emotions. "So, Razznik had Divine Authority, and destroyed the gods, yada yada... we all know this part. What comes next is what is important. At some point, the level restrictions returned to the world, but if you recall, the Realm God needs to be in the mortal plane. Unless Razznik decided to return to our world, there had to have been a new Realm God with the Divine Authority, which Razznik would have handed to them."
Cathek chuckled as he said with a self-deprecating smile, "I could not be certain that the new Realm God was our resurrected mother. For all I knew, the promise could have been something else entirely. Or, maybe Razznik was not as honorable as I heard, and instead, appointed a new Realm God." The kafu shrugged and spread his arms. "There was only one way to find out."
"You—" Bert's brows shot up in disbelief. "You did all this. Caused all this death and destruction, just so you could meet Razznik and ask if he resurrected our mother!?"
"See? There, that judgment. That's why I didn't tell any of you about my findings." Cathek let out a despondent sigh. He felt like a wizened philosopher, shunned and abused by the masses for not understanding his genius. "If you knew what I was trying to do, you would have interfered several hundred years ago. No, it was better for you all to believe I went crazy and wholeheartedly worshipped Razznik with all my heart. That was much easier to explain than saying I wanted to confirm if my mother was alive."
Bert's brows furrowed even deeper after hearing Cathek's confession. "Was it worth it? The thousands of lives you condemned!? Were they worth it!?" Bert turned to look at Alia, who had been watching the entire exchange with glazed eyes. It was not everyday one learned so much about the godly domain. "You! Was the cost worth it? How many of your people perished so that he could satisfy his curiosity? Do you realize he used you?"
Alia swallowed hard as she faced the kafu's immense pressure. But, the daeben queen was no simple woman. It took only a few breaths for her to collect her emotions and confidently match Bert's gaze. "My apologies, but you must be mistaken. Every member of the Chaos Order has their own goal and aspirations. We assist each other to accomplish these goals, with priority given to those who have contributed the most. It is impossible for any one person to use the Chaos Order... That is because we are all using each other. We know the risks, and are preapared to lose our lives on the path. That is what it means to follow and abide Chaos. No one can control or predict Chaos, so it would be stupid to regret loss as it, just like gain are both mere byproducts of Chaos."
"..."
A speechless Bert stared at the proud daeben queen. Only then did he realize something. He was dealing with psychopaths. Whether it was Cathek, Alia, Razznik, or even Kashi... these people were all psychopaths! Their perception of, and meaning ascribed to reality was so out of whack that he could not begin to understand them.
"Brother, do not sweat the small details." Cathek mercilessly chuckled as he observed his brother. "What's done is done. Are you going to greet our mother, or do you want her to re-die to assuage your guilt?"
"That's enough, Cathek." Fortunately, Razznik interrupted before Bert could respond. "I let you talk for so long to answer everyone's questions, but that does not mean you can speak with your mother."
For the first time, Cathek frowned. "What are you talking about?"
Razznik waved his hand at Juno. "I made a promise with your mother that I would protect and one day reunite her with her children—I have. You wanted proof that your mother is alive—you have it. But, I will not permit any further interaction until a condition of mine is fulfilled."
"Condition?" "Condition" Both Bert and Cathek repeated in confusion. What the hell was this madman talking about this time!?
"Do not fret. You will find out if the brat passes his test." Razznik replied. "But if he doesn't, well..."
On the ground, Kashi's expression turned extremely ugly as both Bert and Cathek turned to stare at him. This Fucking Bastard! What was with all this pressure!? At this rate, wasn't he carrying the hopes of at least five of the seven Broken Swords!? Who could bear that kind of unreasonable responsibility!?
Razznik did not care for Kashi's silent protest. Instead, he looked at Juno and said, "Please, increase the Realm Restriction to 300."
Juno smiled warmly at Cathek and Bert, and then softly clapped her hands.
Kacha!
Everyone heard strange sounds, like chains shattering enmasse, but no one saw or felt anything. That is, except the Transcendents who had maintained a respectful distance from Oni Hill.
"I... I can feel it." Damah Dumm exclaimed in shock as he clenched his fist. "This feeling. This is growth potential. The wall. It's no longer there."
The mertian merchant was not the only one who felt this way. Every Transcendent fought back tears as they once again felt the potential for improvement that had long since eluded them.
As far as the Chaos Transcendents were concerned, they had achieved their primary objective!
Razznik glanced at the overjoyed Transcendents and then turned his gaze back to Kashi. By this point the 'tears' had begun to worsen, so he knew he could not procrastinate much longer.
Razznik raised his hand and plucked two strands of hair from his head. He then softly blew onto the follicles and watched as they danced off his palm before erupting into beautiful lights.
Within a second, the lights rapidly expanded in size, quickly assuming a man's form. They then receded shortly, revealing two clones of Razznik.
Razznik ignored the stunned gazes and instead, pointed at Jade who was sprawled on the ground. "The scroll. Pass it." He then looked at Lucius and said, "You too, LuLu. I do not have much time left."
Neither Jade nor Lucius could even pretend to deny when faced with Razznik's fiery-cold gaze. They meekly took out a pair of scrolls and watched as Razznik sent one each into the hands of his clones.
The first clone directed the scroll at Kashi and then tore it, while the second clone pointed his scroll at Lucius before tearing it. A thick beam of holy light shot out of the scroll, connected both Razzniks to Kashi and Lucius.
The Divine Power within the scrolls rapidly regulated both Razzniks' powers until they identically matched the levels of their targets.
Razznik watched as the holy light receded and the clones began getting used to their severely weakened states. He then looked at Kashi and said, "Your test is very simple. Defeat this clone." The Chaos God raised his hand as he added, "Old rules apply. You have until sunrise."
Kashi initially felt relief. Sunrise? That was still five to six hours away. He had time!
Unfortunately, Razznik was just plain unreasonable!
"Do not worry. I will not keep you waiting for five whole hours," said Razznik as he slowly twised his hand. "Let's speed things up a bit."
What happened next would go down in history books for thousands of years! It was a phenomenon that even gods did not dare pull off!
But Razznik did.
The madman Razznik sped up the planet's rotation, proven by the stars that rapidly flashed by in a few moments. No one knew how he prevented all the crazy environmental side-effects that should have accomplished such a cosmic anomaly (GENESIS), but he did.
Razznik sped up the earth's rotation just so that Kashi would not have too much time on his test!
By the time Razznik put his hand down, Every Summoned paled when they looked at their system clock.
04:53.
This son of a bitch! During this climate, sunrise officially began at 05:30. Razznik advanced time by just under five hours, so that Kashi only had thirty minutes to pass the test.
No, that wasn't quite accurate. Not even Razznik could manipulate time. Putting it more accurately, Razznik rotated the earth, such that its new orientation only had thirty minutes until sunrise.
Razznik, meanwhile, remained expressionless as he put his hand down. "That's all. If you can't even do that, then you do not deserve to live. I'll do everyone a favor and end you." The former Demon Lord, absolutely refusing to even acknowledge the stunned expressions sighed as he looked at the crack-filled sky. "I cannot stay any longer, but I will be watching. Do not disappoint me too much."
Razznik then snorted as his legs burst into flames. The flames quickly consumed him, leaving behind a single strand of hair floating in the wind, which subsequently burned into minute scattered ash.
Before anyone could comprehend the fact that they had been dealing with a clone this entire time, the first Razznik cracked his fist just as the pressure lifted, and then charged at Kashi!