Zera bit her lip and suddenly vanished into thin air.
...
Within the room, as Orion felt Aurora slowly regaining her composure and resting quietly on him, he drifted asleep, feeling a slight tug from within. He closed his eyes, and when he opened them, he found himself standing on a vast crimson plain shaped like a greatsword within a void expanse.
Aerialia stood before him. She imdiately wrapped her arms tightly around him, embracing him. His stature looked small against her tall figure, and his head was buried in her bosom.
"I feared sothing bad had happened to you under my watch, but thankfully, you weren't hard. When I saw how much your soul had strengthened, I knew you'd be okay," Aerialia said, sighing in relief.
"My soul has strengthened?" Orion asked, his voice filled with surprise. He raised his head and looked at her curiously.
Aerialia nodded. "You'll be able to sense the increase if you practice soul-based techniques or arts or when you begin your journey to attain godhood," she explained.
Orion nodded in understanding. "Can you tell how much it has strengthened?" he asked.
"Your soul had been strengthened once due to White Fla's previous interference. Now, after this event, I'd say it's comparable to that of a five-star warrior," Aerialia responded thoughtfully.
Only when one's soul reached a certain level of strength could one survive outside one's body for long periods, wander the universe untethered, or live without a physical form, just like Aerialia. Such feats were impossible unless one attained godhood or beca a divine apostle. "My soul is as powerful as Seth's and Zogar's?" Orion said, surprised.
Aerialia nodded. "When you reach the threshold of being a four-star warrior and prepare to beco a five-star warrior, I have no doubt your soul will strengthen again to the level of a six-star warrior. I wonder how much more powerful your gift will beco at that ti," Aerialia mused.
"The Omnithriallins truly sired powerful seeds," she sighed.
Although Vylkr energy had played a part in it, humans had always been formidable. Since their arrival in this universe, they had fought against beings more powerful than themselves, including divine entities.
Orion absorbed the information. "Does that an the number of artefacts I can contract has increased?" he asked.
"Yes, but be cautious when contracting divine artefacts. After all, you're still a mortal," Aerialia warned.
Orion took her words seriously. Nonetheless, after eting with the Will of the Divine Mysteries, he was pleased with the unexpected improvent and relieved he could contract more artefacts.
Depending on their quality, he could store weaker ones within Miniature Mountain and use them when employing the Divine Spectral Blade Arts for an attack.
"Okay, now that it's just the two of us, can you tell what happened? I've already told you that it's easy for divine beings like us to tell when a mortal is lying. Aurora hasn't said anything because she trusts you have a reason for hiding it. Zera remained silent because she felt responsible for your unconsciousness."
"But I am neither of them, and I possess no such restraints, especially since I felt your soul strengthening after the event. You glowed strangely before any of this transpired, so tell everything," Aerialia said, releasing Orion from her embrace.
She created a wide crimson cushion on the plane and sat down, gesturing for him to join her. Orion sat down on the other side. He t Aerialia's stern yet determined expression. It was clear she wasn't taking no for an answer. Fortunately, Orion hadn't planned to hide the truth from her. He had simply been waiting for the perfect mont when they could be alone to discuss it.
He recounted his encounter with the Will of the Divine Mysteries, telling her everything from the beginning to the mont he fainted.
When he finished speaking, a sudden silence enveloped the surroundings.
"I had doubts about the entity capable of attacking you right under my nose, but I never expected it to be the Will of the Divine Mysteries. Why would the Will of the Divine Mysteries go so far as to communicate with a mortal?" Aerialia said, furrowing her brow in confusion. Even though Orion hadn't directly seen who he was speaking to, unlike Aurora, the fact that he had communicated with the Divine Mysteries was a phenonal event.
Things weren't so similar in her ti. The Will of the Divine Mysteries didn't need to reveal itself, as most gods were already familiar with its sequences and understood how events would unfold.
Even newly ascended gods were rarely granted the privilege of direct communication unless they had done sothing truly extraordinary. Yet, both Orion and Aurora had spoken with and, in Aurora's case, seen the Will of the Divine Mysteries, making it seem like a recurring
occurrence.
Aerialia searched her mories for anything related to the term
'Anomalies' but could only recall its connection to various divine beings who had dared to challenge the Divine Mysteries. Associating with them was seen as supporting their rebellion against them.
At the ti, she had gathered various pieces of information about these beings, believing that the Divine Mysteries were rely guiding them back to heaven.
Nonetheless, the only way to rid oneself of the status of an anomaly was to undergo a cleansing, which could an many things. If they refused, they would face the sa fate as the two goddesses who had earned the ire of the Divine Mysteries, causing heaven to turn against them. For a divine being, this fate was equivalent to death.
Aerialia could find a suitable reason for Aurora's gain of the status of an Anomaly. However, she could not understand why Aurora hadn't been allowed to be cleansed. Instead, she was granted an ascension trial to help rid her of her imperfections and gain better control of her abilities.
She was also confused about how soone like Orion could beco an Anomaly. Was it because he had killed a god? That was the most likely answer!
But it didn't make sense at the sa ti-she had witnessed several demigods doing the sa with support, gaining recognition to ascend without earning the ire of the Divine
Mysteries.
Orion had even received a blessing from the Divine Mysteries, strengthening his soul. Even
gods hardly experienced such a phenonon.
Both of their cases left Aerialia in a state of confusion.
Aerialia's eyes widened as another thought crossed her mind.
Could it be the Vylkr energy? She suspected it might also be part of the reason, but there had to be other specific requirents, or else everyone, including the residents of the Runaway Cities, would be considered Anomalies.
Aerialia didn't believe the Divine Mysteries would allow them to remain alive to this point, even as mortals, if they were indeed Anomalies.
Orion hadn't inford her of the valid reason, which might be because of his transmigration, a secret he was determined to keep. So no matter how much Aerialia raced her mind, searching for answers, she couldn't co up with a suitable explanation for why Orion had beco an
Anomaly.
Pushing the thoughts to the back of her mind, Aerialia refocused on Orion and asked, "And after that encounter, you would still choose to remain here?"
After hearing the reasons for the constant attacks on the realm, which exceeded what the goddesses had initially revealed, Aerialia wasn't surprised. She hadn't expected them to be entirely truthful in their first eting.
Orion nodded silently, his expression filled with determination.
"Alright, so what's your plan?" Aerialia asked, sensing that he had sothing in mind after encountering the Will of the Divine Mysteries.
"I don't plan on confronting Zera about this because the two goddesses can experience whatever she does. Instead, I will speak directly with one of the goddesses-Margona, the Goddess of Malevolence and Witches. This way, they'll be able to keep each other in check," Orion responded, then explained his plan to Aerialia.
He had yet to speak with the Goddess of Malevolence and Witches, so he didn't know what she was like. He could only bet his plans on her because he knew they wouldn't work on the Goddess of the Twilight Chorus and Fortune. Zera might as well be a puppet in her own body so that he couldn't inform her about it either.
After Orion was done speaking, he observed Aerialia's pensive expression. Aerialia was familiar with the Goddess of Malevolence and Witches, so he valued her input regarding the
plan.
"If she's anything like I rember, then it might work. But we can't be too certain as much about her could have changed since then. After what you've experienced, don't approach her with restraint. They should fear our retaliation after hiding such important information from
us."
"As my student and soone very close to this goddess, show them you're not afraid of their presence. If they want to retaliate, I don't mind fighting back. We'll simply watch them deal with the consequences of their actions," Aerialia said, agreeing with his plan. Her eyes carried
a terrifying glint.
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