This is an announcement for my readers and most especially the Patrons so please read.
Hellolo everyone!
This is weekly update dated: 09DEC2018.
Again, just like last week, this batch of chapters are pretty long and compressed. This week, it's 8 chapters' worth of contents squeezed into these five chapters because I am saving space. I think in order to finish this volume in one go, I'd be doing more than 200 chapters so I'm compressing it now to save space. It's because I don't want to exceed 200 chapters that's why I'm doing this.
Sorry for the late update. I'm still trying to get my grip back because many things happened just this first week of December alone.
Just to give you a heads up: if you're reading the current events news or listening in on the current international happenings, China had indeed been an arrogant prick and a sick country full of greedy people as every enterprises that has a Chinese Leader in position, especially the country, were all trying to steal resources and invading the private properties of Filipinos... and the Philippines.
As such, although it hasn't been confirmed yet, my old classmates in the Military contacted me and wanted me to know that if the situation keeps on worsening like this, there may be war between us and that they would need brave men.
But that's just his assumption.
Nothing is confirmed yet. Still it made me think so I pulled out all my money and visited HQ. My goal was to know what's happening and that if there's a chance that I will be accepted back.
The answer I got was not clear and only a vague "since you're already trained, you can" with some even saying "I don't think it's possible since you're already out of the service" so that didn't go well.
But during my 4 days visit there this week, I did indeed felt that the situation in the Headquarters were "hectic" so to speak regarding this topic.
We're a third world country here and China is a global superpower with lots of resources.
Back in the 70's, there was an island in the West Philippine Sea discovered to be rich in high-quality oil reserves that were planned to have a Plant built in it.......... but was stopped because China claims that it will affect the Natural Echo System of the East China Sea.... so our Philippine Government, as good natured and gentle as we are, listened to the Association of South-East Asian Nations' joint decision to protect the echo system.
No Plant was built.
But then, 40 years later, China built a god-damned AIRBASE in our island............ and was planning to even build an Oil Plant on our own soil, claiming that the entire group of islands in that region were inside the China Territorial Waters!
The audacity of the modafackers!!!
Now you understand the situation. I don't know if it's going to get worse here but our politicians here are all livid at the blatant arrogance and contempt of the Chinese Government to our small third world country. But, as painful as it is, I admit that we are no match against them.
This was then reported to the United Nations (or was it ASEAN) International Tribunal Council as an act of bullying. But China, as shameless, greedy, and arrogant as they are, dismissed the decision of the Tribunal Council and still insisted that it was their territory.... Whereas, if it wasn't discovered that the place was actually rich in High-Quality Oil Reserves, they wouldn't have done what they did to our own island!
I, as a patriot, was livid as well.
Being a Filipino, I submitted a paper of my own observations regarding the current situation in the market: I saw a lot of third-rate Chinese Products, some even with poisons on them, were currently being brought by Chinese Peddlers from China.
Then, I also noticed that high-quality huge-screen Chinese Smartphones with an edited Android with a "crack" in its security were being sold all over the place in my country.
Yes, they were high-quality huge-screen phones, but it was already proven that they have security issues as there is this "<dot> rat" or "<dot> jamp" file or something that kept on being downloaded over and over again without your consent.
Those learnt in programming discovered that it was some sort of File-Gathering virus (like a malware) or something so the phones were described as very dangerous and risk-prone. But few actually believed it since, after all, it was a beautiful phone (Xia*mi... cough, cough...) even more, that's not the only Chinese Phone currently circulating in the market. There are also more Chinese Phones flooding the streets.
The last of my straw is that my mom was a Factory Worker and the company was doing well as an industrial supplier of garments accessories. It was a big successful company and yet, just four years ago, they suddenly filed that they were ending their company and so my mom, about to lose her job, was broken. A company that's doing well in the market was suddenly filing bankruptcy just to be able to retire... at first I was clueless and had thought that it was normal.
But then, half a year later, the news about the West Philippine Sea issue erupted and I suddenly realized that it was something else.
I observed and discovered that majority of events in Philippines for the past two years were all either brought by Chinese Products or Chinese-owned properties having an anomaly (especially that issue with a certain poisonous milk and poisonous brand of beauty product). While our OFWs are yet to experience domestic maltreatment in China, the situation in Phil-Country is already heating up.
Many Chinese Companies have started to file their reasons to close down and third-rate non-quality (or even smuggled-quality) Chinese products have begun to circulate in the market.
While my research paper was denied of legitimacy and I myself viewed my own research paper as something short of patriotic lunacy because it was a one-sided accusation, I still cannot dismiss this feeling since my mom's company was really big and they've been in Philippines for the past 40 years......... and their products were already part of the garments of Filipinos.
Perhaps I was just being paranoid and the people around me called me names back then when I had submitted this paper back in April or May.
Although I did understand their point, I didn't really dismiss the feeling but instead kept it all to myself.
That's why, when my old classmate contacted me, I immediately visited HQ and asked around if there was a chance that I could go back in the military a little bit early before a possibility of war but all I got were the vague replies.
Even more, I feel ashamed to ask my uncle for help regarding this topic. I don't want to be told I am using or besmirching my uncle's name.
Yeah, I know I did say I'd forget about the Military and focus on writing but last week's message had got me itching to reopen this old prejudice. I know I am being wrong here, I feel it, but my gut tells me that a possibility of this entire issue erupting into open hostilities weren't really nulled.
—especially, given, that this was an Oil Reserves that my Phil-Country had every right to be claiming for itself. I feel that China is shamelessly taking our resources greedily and even if I am alone and against this greedy empire, I had to say my piece.
That said, I apologize for the delay. As such, I spent the last three days after my return writing additional chapters. This will be this week's update so please enjoy the read.
......and please do forgive me as in the future, I don't think I could stop myself from inserting some personal attacks to the greedy China Government.
That said, enjoy this week's update.
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Chapter 112: For The Vessel (1)
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As he spoke the sinister words, he stood up from his 'throne' and walked to the edge of the room.
All these years, millions of cycles ago in the past, he's always been trapped in this place.
—No.
Trapped would be giving honor to what happened to him back then. Rather than that, he was actually imprisoned. He was put here by a single man.
In this place, hearing even just a single noise was an unprecedented luxury for the silence of this place was what's suffocating and was actually his greatest weakness. [He] couldn't die for [he] was an eternal. He was a [God]. He was a testament of that ancient era; a genuine living [God] from a distant past.
And yet, no matter how much he burn in this place and no matter how much he tried to destroy every piece of matter in this place, it was useless.
Because, as his powers were meant to destroy, he couldn't destroy what is non-existent.
This place... this prison...
......in simple words, doesn't exist.
And he was imprisoned here because his "other side" did not agree with his [Authority] or perhaps, as it was interpreted by [The One], in this world, it is his [Divinity]... and the 'other guy' did not agree with his purpose in life and so he imprisoned him in this place and trapped him and forgot about him and then chose to live a normal life.
That [Divinity] clashed with his morals...
...and it cost him [his] power, it cost him [his] own freedom! It was the most wrathful thing of all. For his new life, the price was [his] freedom. It was an entirely and totally unfair treatment!
But what can he do?
As powerful as his [Authority] (or [Divinity]) was, it was still [Magic]; or perhaps it was more apt to say it was still [Ability] in its most fundamental aspects and so still needs a [Vessel] to be implemented to the physical world.
Magic, Miracles, Abilities...
In the end, they are all mere [details] added to the canvas of the Universe. They may differ by being invoked as a request, thereby being [Magic]; or a prayer, thereby being a [Miracle], or an innate gift upon one's birth, thereby being an [Ability]; but of it all, no matter how powerful the phenomena that are generated upon invocation, it will still need the [Vessel] to serve as a medium of manifestation.
[Divinity] is "just" mere divinity. Without a [Vessel] to channel that authority into the world, a [Divine Being] —or in other words, a [God], is nothing but a single aspect of the universe.
They cannot manifest on their own——
—unless Mother Terra gave them their own body!
This is the reason why [Immortals] are special and are unique existences in the Universe than those [Gods] and [Devil Gods] who are, essentially, the same [Divine Beings] and wasn't much different at all, despite their alignment being of opposite sides of the same coin; because [Immortals] are able to "create" their own [Divinity] inside themselves! As a rule, one body can only have one [Divinity]. Two or more, and the body wouldn't be able to handle it and will trigger it to collapse, thereby killing not only the body but also the [Divinities] as well.
As such, this became one reason for the [War of the Gods]; where the Gods fought to "protect the [Vessels]" and where the [Devil Gods] fought to snatch them all and manifest as themselves.
But——
In the end, they are nothing more than two parts of a single whole, and they are what should have been what's keeping the "Universal Balance" safe.
And outside of this balance were the Trinity Gods; overseers and neutral, the embodiments of three pillars that supports the existence of [this] world.
But even they, being both as omnipotent and as powerless as they are against [this] world, did not escape the will of the one being higher than even their all-powerful authorities... [The One].
With his will, as [The One], he tipped the balance.
He favored the Devil Gods more, disabled the Law of Balance that protected [this] world, and he created the Seven Devil Gods —the culmination of the aspects that makes everyone [Mortals], and made them [Gods], then labeled them [Devils].
As such, they were then termed [Devil Gods]!
The seven aspects of the Mortal Life became the embodiment of corruption for the Gods.
As Mortals, it was natural to have them but as for the [Gods] of [this] world, it was poison. All of the Gods that should have been immune to anything "Mortal" were then affected by the corruption and changed sides and also gave themselves a new name, their Divinities changing, as well as their personalities, even their appearances, and then finally their origin souls. This is the [corruption]. It turns friends into enemies, families into monsters, and twins into their own mortal foes.
But... if a programmer in the real world could've dissected what made a converted God-AI and traced back at what triggered this change, they would've hailed the UNICORN's [Janus Console] as a true God.
Why not?
Because, as Margrave John Bryn of the Christiana Monarchy had said, every living soul in [this] world was the re-created and edited [prosopopoeia] of a complete human being from the real world, from eight years ago.[1]
To put it simply, changing and manipulating one's core was only a novel-like imagination, but to truly and actually implement such a thing... was just too unbelievable. And yet here it is... from [Light] to [Dark] alignment, the change was evident——
—–and just merely changing sides actually elicited a fundamental change into the source code of the AI that everything about them flipped completely!
If such a thing could be done to a true human, the effects could be imagined.
Complete change.
It is both catastrophic to the person and also was a breakthrough; under certain circumstances and a controlled environment alongside with a specific set of catalysts and measured emotional and also physical-enhancing triggers, a True Human Being can then be changed fundamentally on all and in fact "every" aspects of his being; from emotional, mental, and then to physical aspects, thereby, in a simple word, creating a [Human God].
The [Seven Aspects of Mortality] needed vessels but his chosen [Vessel] imprisoned him because the [Vessel, to [his] utter surprise, actually has a second [Divinity] that [he] didn't know had always existed all this time... even before [he] came.
When did this happen?
The moment [he] became aware of the existence of this [Vessel]. Before the [Vessel] even became aware that he was being sought after by these self-aware [Divine Egos], a war was already going on for his body, as the [Vessel].
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He was the first to come before [Him] but that did not matter because he was strong, very, because [The One] designed [him] to be very strong.
Yes, every one of the Devil Gods are really strong on their own right, but in terms of explosive battle prowess, [he] was more powerful than even the recognized strongest [Sefirah] who prided herself as the undefeatable...
.......as long as he could finally manifest and take over this [Vessel] which he couldn't let go just for the fact that this was truly unique in every way to the rest of the possible [Vessels] he had once put his eyes on.
Supposedly, [he] shouldn't face any problem. But to his surprise, he appeared and ruined [his] plans to take over the [Vessel] so was the root of a fight that no one knew was happening.
It didn't affect the [Vessel] in any bit... or at least, until one of the two [egos] won over the other.
But before that, the [Vessel] became stronger bit by bit and as he evolved into another being, rose in power and learned how to survive in that deadly forest chockful of high-level Dragonkin monsters, [he] also learned that he was slowly losing.
Yet he didn't want to lose. This [Vessel] was very special. [He] can feel it the moment he realized a simple fact that the [Vessel] seemed to be aware of a fact that only existences of the God-level are all aware of despite being a mere Mortal....
......that there is a "boundary" to [this] world...
.........and that there is a world outside [this] world!
It came into [him] later on that triggered [him] to desperately fight over this [Vessel] at all costs—
——this [Vessel] was someone from [that side]!
———the world [The One] originated from!
Thus, [he] fought on.
[He] waited for the [Vessel] to be vulnerable and since [he] can't wait until the [Vessel] died of age, [he] communicated with the other Devil Gods and summoned the reason for the [Vessel] to quickly lose his wits and become vulnerable, to give him the chance to attack and take over the body.
But, as fast as the Demon Armada was, their main fleet was still far away and by the time they arrive in Mitra, the [Vessel] would have been too old or perhaps, if they met the Gods' Armies along the way, then perhaps this might even be delayed for as short as 100 more years.
And yet, to [his] utter disbelief yet again, [he] was not the only one who had a plan for the [Vessel].
Just mere seven years after [he] became aware of the existence of this [Vessel], the [Vessel] himself had actually manifested his own [Divinity] and then called himself.......... an [Immortal].
Through the process of being an Immortal, [he] learned that the [Vessel] became vulnerable when he underwent a tribulation.
[He] knew that [he] had missed a huge chance. If only he was aware of it ahead of time, he could've taken control of the [Vessel] in an even deeper level by directly eating away his [Spirit], killing the [Vessel]'s own ego, and replacing it with [his].
In this way, [he] could've taken a [body] that had a "link" to the other side... perhaps... he could have even gotten a glimpse of the other side!
As happy as this momentous occasion was, there was also the deep regret.
[He] had missed his chance and the other guy had won, merging itself into the self-made [Divinity] of the [Vessel] and created something very unique, even to the standards of future [Immortals], even to the standards of the [Gods] of this universe. In a way, this [Divinity] did not gain its body through Terra's blessing and guidance, but rather merged itself into the [Vessel] thru the ascension method.
[He] lost the [Vessel] and should've given up then but he didn't. Instead, he saw another opportunity and only changed his thinking a bit and persisted to wait. After all, [he] was still alive.
It means that he was not able to completely take over this [Vessel], thereby, not being aware that he had to eliminate [him] —the threat— as well.
As such, there's that "opportunity" and so he just stuck around to wait for the right time to corrupt this so called [Immortal]... treating him just like any other [God] with a rare but existing vulnerability; in the sense that even [Gods] are not incorruptible.
Furthermore, he also saw another opening to this situation that was better than the opening they all saw when corrupting the Gods; all [Immortals] are even more vulnerable during their ascension! [He] told this information to the rest of the Devil Gods that they then circulated to the LAGRAM Armada.
After the first [Immortal] was born, he tried to also recreate what happened to him by escaping the Dragonkin Forest and reaching civilization.
He met people and told them how to ascend to become an Immortal, teaching them The Path, and then spreading the culture.
With him around, he became aware, for the first time, the risks of the existing vulnerability of the ascenders during their ascensions.
But with him around, Mitra was able to experience a new age —and thereby became their doctrine.
It was a lesson that he learnt and also told the rest of Mitra, including it to his self-made doctrine, and eventually leading to the establishment of Mitra as the [Immortal Stronghold] of the Terran Universe!
The [Vessel] gradually perfected the doctrine and Mitra became a sacred existence that Chaos Gods of the nearby dominions all recognized as a legit Major Power, and even considered it one of their own... one of the [Gods of Terra].
But the [Devil Gods], aware of the 'opening', did not relent and eventually some of the ascenders were corrupted and as soon as they were... they immediately became new members of LAGRAM Armada, boosting their numbers, increasing their already frighteningly high numbers even more.
It was easy to corrupt a [God] than to give birth to one as the Terran Universe couldn't always give birth to the Gods on the same speed as they are all being corrupted.
Thus, not every [God] accepted [Siva]: the name the [Vessel] gave his self-made [Divinity] and so thereby, also became his own name for eternity.
In a way, [Mitra's Doctrine] gave rise to the faster pace of the War of the Gods. As the balance that once existed between the forces of the Light and Darkness crumpled, though corrupting the [Gods] became rarer, the emergence of [Immortals] made sure that the LAGRAM Armada is increasing their numbers and spreading the corruption faster than the [Gods] could even react.
Although [this] universe is vast, so vast that it was almost immeasurable, every God and Devil God is still aware that there was a limit. It wasn't a limit in terms of physical aspects, but the limit existing to what they could actually become.
This universe won't allow them to become more than what they are now.
But with the emergence of the [Immortals], every Devil God could be given the same chance to get a glimpse of that "other side" —just like [he] did.
As such, [he] watched it all happen with glee.
Because [Siva] knew that he was being blamed by some for increasing the pace of the war, he set out into the universe himself to protect all those ascenders, and as well as properly teach them on how to defend themselves during their ascension.
[Siva] was effective, yes, but he was only just one man in a vast and indifferent universe.
He fought the Demon Armada along the way, and established his might and prestige as a powerful being, even amongst the ranks of the War Gods.
He protected the Immortals, established all their bases and the strongholds, and then he collected the [Memory Crystals] which made him more of a target of the Demon Armada to be disposed of and looted with.
As such, Siva faced more attacks than any of the roving Gods and Immortals combined.
But while each and every attack was greater than the last, it also contributed to his rise to power as fast as they came. With every win, he grew strong and each time he lived through a harrowing battle, he became even more ferocious.
As it turns out, an [Immortal's Divinity] contributed to their battle strength more than the [Gods] own blessings did to their soldiers.
It was simply because of the fact that there are more Immortals than Gods and Devil Gods even combined together.
Sure, their strength wasn't remarkable at first but they grew stronger and that's what's scary about them —it's because unlike the fixed strengths and weaknesses of Gods and Devil Gods, given time, there are no visible limits on how Immortals could become stronger. It wasn't something that could be faulted to the Gods who made the Mortals.
It was the plain inherent nature of their Universe.
Evolution...
In other words, the [Immortals] are somehow, and somewhat, the embodiment of their Universe; the purpose of life; the essence and pinnacle form of what "living a life" should be.......evolution!
While not all [Immortals] are battle-oriented and their divinities differ from one person to another, there are some who are inherently talented.
Thus, the more of them corrupted, the stronger the LAGRAM Armada becomes.
In time, [Siva] traveled at least 10% of the Terran Universe and came to know the real face and the true form of this war.
Although [he] could become aware of what Siva is doing or what he is experiencing, it was limited to only him but [he] couldn't see or hear anything.
Even [he] did not know where Siva was but since [he] could feel if [he] is far away or near from [his] allies, [he] could at least tip them of his activities.
Siva, thru trials, errors, and hundreds, or maybe it was thousands of tests back then, had realized he was being spied upon.
[He] realized that [his] existence was already known to the [Vessel] but what can [Siva] know about it? [He] was yet to physically manifest and Siva was physically strong but spiritually weak, so what can Siva do about [him]?
Siva don't know who [he] was or when did all this spying started, but he knew he had to stop [him].
As such, he sought after the one being that he knew could help: Terra.
That meeting started everything.
Because Terra's location was a secret that no one must know about, the [First Immortal] was still an exception and so they met. But... Siva wasn't the only one that met her that day.
[He] also met her.
And with their meeting, the LAGRAM Armada had also learned of her location.
For eons, they plotted and raided, wanting to find and kill Terra so that they could be free.
It was the will of The One. His mandate! It was the why of their existence and the purpose The One had even created them all in the first place.
But what [he] did not expect is that Siva would be calling her mother. He showed her Mitra and she was delighted of his accomplishments. She was unable to totally wipe [his] existence out of Siva, but she could put a triple layered [seal] on [him].
She said that the last trigger to totally drive him off of him was Siva himself but he didn't know it how, neither did she, but she trusted and left the [seal] as it is. For Siva, it was enough.
Although worried, [he] found out that the [seal] is not something that could block nor affect him, nor could he do something about Terra's [seal] so [he] just left it alone and thought she had failed and so focused only on what the LAGRAM Armada had gained in the meeting: Terra's location.
It was his mistake, he thought then: Siva shouldn't have met with Terra only to be met with failure but why should [he] care? They were enemies and he was his prey. Predators shouldn't care whether a prey would cry or not. In the end, the stronger will be the one to have the last laugh.
With Terra's location known, the attacks began.
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[1]: prosopopoeia = personification; but to be of a more a literal sense, prosopopoeia means that "something" is represented as a "true person". In our context, as well as in our story (ref: Volume 7 Chapter 69), Siva had long since asked the question why these [Citizens] seemed so real on almost every aspect of their being to the people of the real world —aside from being able to use Magic— and why is it that only the "humans" from in-game Planet Earth are not able to use magic and was even called [Naturals]? This question was answered in Volume 7 Chapter 69. Margrave John Bryn told him for the sake of making him realize that by sticking around Amanda, he was risking her safety because he was making a mess of the UNICORN's [Project Salvation]: the archive for the scanned "Human Beings". The link to that is that [Project Salvation] is centered as to why the [Citizens], especially [The Naturals] of this world, seemed to be similar to real people in the real world and why Siva wasn't able to know "back then" that this was just a game world. In a term, the answer came as these [Citizens] were all actually the prosopopoeia (personification) of the "people data" from [Project Salvation].
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