Chapter 1460 - An Encounter of the Divine Kind (Patreon)

The gods of the multiverse were incredibly limited in the ways they could interact with the ninety-third universe, making it impossible for their energy to exist there. They couldn’t manifest bodies or avatars either, with even someone like Minaga unable to send clones even if they were low enough level.

Due to that, gods had to find other ways to reach out to those they wished to bless. Fortunately, dreams were a good way to contact those of lower grades, while at higher ones, meditation also opened a very slight pathway to communicate, should one know where to look.

However, the most effective way was definitely through a catalyst, often in the form of another person who already had a Blessing. It was why priests were needed, to spread the word and bring others into the fold. There were many restrictions, though, but fortunately, there was one method more effective than anything else. One that would allow gods and mortals to communicate more smoothly than any other:

Rather than having the god go to the mortals in the new universe... one simply had to have the mortals approach the god instead.

--

An endless desolate plain extended in all directions, a mist encompassing everything, starting just a few meters away from the three A-grades who had appeared in this vast endlessness. A faint barrier seemed to defend them from the mist, much to their fortune, as if not, none of them would be alive.

All of them were there as souls. All instinctively knew that should they die here, it would truly mean the end, and likely due to this, all three were horrified at feeling the mist that floated so closely to them.

Having grown up in Venus, the Grand Weaver, Venusian Oracle, and Horned Warlord had all encountered their fair share of toxins. They had seen the best their Minor World had to offer, explored some of the deepest depths of the lake, where only powerful A-grades dared venture, and they believed they had some understanding of poisons... but this mist entirely overturned that assumption.

“This is...” the Oracle muttered, not even daring to extend her hand towards it, in fear that it would float closer.

The Grand Weaver looked at it also, before surveying his surroundings. “Death would be instant.”

“Without a doubt,” the Horned Warlord agreed, having realized how foolish they had been to assume they knew anything about true toxins. This faint mist that was everywhere was powerful enough to kill them should they touch it for even a moment. There was no defense, no countermeasures, just instant death. It was power so far beyond their comprehension that it wasn’t even funny.

“Is this a mental realm of sorts?” the Oracle questioned, continuing to look around curiously. “A shared one?”

The Horned Warlord looked about to answer, but was stopped as someone else spoke first.

“It’s a Divine Realm,” a voice boomed throughout the entire world, bringing the three A-grades to their knees before they could even comprehend who or what had spoken. “My Divine Realm.”

A green sheen appeared in the sky, shining down upon them, yet none of the A-grades dared raise their heads. Without looking, they all knew what was up there as a familiar aura bore down on them. One similar to what they’d experienced back in their Minor World, but this time thousands, if not tens of thousands, of times stronger.

This was a level of power where resisting wasn’t even an option. It would take nothing more than a thought to erase them all from existence. The difference between them, the peak of their world, and this god was greater than the gap between themselves and newborn F-grades back home.

Truthfully, they had doubted the claims of this Chosen of the Malefic Viper and believed his words to primarily be blustering the first time he’d been to Venus. They thought that while there were certainly more powerful beings outside their world, the gap wouldn’t be that immense, and they should be able to establish themselves there, even if they did make enemies.

When they then learned that the world was still in a state of integration, it felt like this was the time to strike. The Chosen had become an Envoy to them instead, nothing more than a tool to help them leave and explore the outside world. He was only a B-grade, after all. How could he possibly be influential? And if he was, wouldn’t he have guardians or others around to protect him?

It made little sense for such an important character to be operating alone. Thus, they believed they had justification to call out his bluffing and use him as a tool. However, then the Great Sea Serpent had shown up and made a mess of everything, even going so far as to kidnap the B-grade they needed.

A promise of only keeping him for a year was made, and with little choice, the Arachnecs and Venusians accepted this. A year wasn’t a long time to them, and they couldn’t comprehend a scenario where the Great Sea Serpent would ever allow the Envoy to leave. In fact, the peak A-grade needed him more than they did, already sitting at the top of their world.

That’s why it came as such a surprise when the year expired, and the Envoy still was nowhere to be seen. Making matters worse, the Great Sea Serpent also started moving around at the same time, and shortly after, both factions knew the Envoy was already gone from their world. He had escaped, no, been allowed to leave by the Great Sea Serpent.

The Venusian and Arachnec leaders had so many questions and only got more when the change in the Nomads really started becoming obvious. They started acting far more like a cohesive faction than ever before. The Great Sea Serpent also played more of an active role leading them, no longer just someone known to have a positive affiliation.

There was also talk of this Order of the Malefic Viper. About the Envoy, who was now called a Chosen instead. This started to make them doubt. Had the Great Sea Serpent somehow been fooled by this B-grade? Had they made some kind of hidden deal? Clearly, the Nomads were also on their side, united in ways they’d never been before.

Something was going on. Something they didn’t fully understand. Just then, as information was lacking, an invitation arrived. A ceremony was to be held, hosted by the Envoy who would return to their world. The Nomads were excited, talking openly about it, and the Great Sea Serpent was clearly busy with preparations, acting incredibly serious about the entire thing.

In the end, the Venusian and Arachnec leaders had both concluded that there were only two good explanations for everything that had been going on in their world: the recent religious actions of the Nomads and the Great Sea Serpent.

Either they had all been successfully fooled by the Envoy and shared some sort of common insane delusion, or, maybe, just maybe, the Envoy had been truthful with his claims.

The best way to get an answer was to attend this ceremony, prepared for either outcome. Should it all be confirmed to be a lie, they could take things from there and handle matters. Fighting that day wouldn’t be wise, seeing as all the tribe leaders of the Nomads as well as the Great Sea Serpent were present. Perhaps they would attempt to claim ownership of the Envoy once more, but there was a greater chance they would have to return and evaluate, deciding upon their next steps from there.

In the event that this Envoy was instead a Chosen of a so-called god, they would also have to act accordingly. Apparently, he wanted soldiers for some battlefield, early and mid-tier B-grades only, so as a precaution, they brought those. Turns out that had indeed been a great choice, as from the very beginning, the Venusians and Arachnecs had realized that they’d severely underestimated this Chosen and the influence of his god.

The Nomads were stronger than expected, all of their tribe leaders having grown significantly in such a short time. Then, the Great Sea Serpent showed himself, his aura spiking to new heights as all hope of even attempting to fight disappeared. Not that they’d have dared trying anyway after everything else they saw and heard during the ceremony.

Finally, there was that display with the statue... after that, there was no denying that they’d fucked up majorly the first time they interacted with the Envoy, no, Chosen of the Malefic Viper. Not bringing the Horned Slayer or any of the other aggressors during that first encounter was definitely also a good choice, as that wouldn’t have ended well for them. Even then, it was unclear they would escape some sort of punishment for their actions.

Gods were real, and they had offended one. A horrifying thought. Feeling the presence of his god as an eye the size of their entire world flickered above, all doubt disappeared, and their only choice was now to seek forgiveness. Perhaps even still find some sort of way to negotiate...

Needless to say, such thoughts also disappeared the second they appeared within this Divine realm. When the voice of the Malefic One then echoed, and they felt the true presence of the Malefic Viper, all thoughts, period, were gone, as all they could do was submit and silently beg for forgiveness.

“You have sinned. Acted against my Chosen. Threatened him. For that, not just you three, but your entire world deserves to be destroyed. Your Records and existence erased.”

The voice continued pressing them into the ground, as no proper thoughts could form within their heads. The ones that did could only agree with the words of the Malefic One. They had done something unforgivable. Acted against someone carrying out the will of this god was the same as having acted against them directly... even death wouldn’t make up for their sins.

“But you are fortunate. You sinned against my Chosen, but that very same Chosen now has need of you. Given that you are to be under his dominion in the first place, I shall leave your fates in his hands.”

A wave of relief washed over them, as the Horned Warlord and Oracle shared a quick look, both on the same page. The Grand Weaver also lowered his head even further, seemingly trying to gather his thoughts. Chances were, they were all very much in agreement, though.

They had become able to think somewhat, which only allowed them to truly realize how little choice they had. All plans and plots to make use of the Chosen were gone, and now all that mattered was survival and finding a way forward for their factions, no, entire world.

Even if the Chosen was only a B-grade who was no threat to them right now, if he didn’t decide to spare them, their world would one day disappear, and not a single one of the three thought that they could escape death should the Malefic Viper decide to end them in the future. Offending the Chosen further would only ensure their eventual demise.

“Prove yourselves, and in the future, you might be worthy of more than just mercy. Not today, though. Begone.”

Without any further warning, all three of them were violently thrown out of the Divine Realm, their souls reeling as they forcefully returned to their bodies within Venus. Yet, despite the violent send-off, all they could feel was relief from having survived the encounter, and a resolve to survive this disaster they had invited upon themselves.

--

Jake stood patiently beside the statue as the Venusian and Arachnec leaders were having their very first true divine encounter. He had no way of knowing what would happen in the Viper’s Divine Realm, but knowing the god, he was fairly sure that the demeanor of the three would change a lot once they returned. Meeting a Primordial tended to have that effect.

He could sense the nervousness in his surroundings as the members of the frog and undead spider factions looked on as their leaders knelt while touching the statue. Time passed as everyone remained silent, most of the Nomads and Great Sea Serpent looking to be in prayer, with more and more Venusians and Arachnecs joining them as the glimpse of the Viper remained fresh in their minds.

After not that long, Jake saw the three leaders stir. At once, the three of them shook as their eyes shot open, their entire bodies shivering for several seconds, definitely confirming that their encounter had been quite impactful.

For an A-grade to show such big involuntary movements was not exactly common and proved how affected they were. They looked absolutely full of terror, yet hidden beneath that terror was something else that quickly surfaced. As one, they turned toward Jake, their demeanors indeed far different as they lowered their heads.

“We greet the Chosen of the Malefic Viper.” “I greet the Chosen of the Malefic Viper.”

A significant shift from before, serving as quite a shock to many of the surrounding observers, while the Nomads and Great Sea Serpent nodded in approval at the Venusian and Arachnec leaders finally seeing sense.

Jake simply nodded in acknowledgment while using Identify on the three of them, finding himself a bit surprised when he didn’t see any Blessings. He’d fully expected Villy to give them all at least some lower-level Blessings, just to keep them in line and make it easier to communicate, but none of them had gained anything.

“Hey, Villy, I thought the plan was to bless them and get the Venusians and Arachnecs to become loyal to the Order?” Jake asked the snake god.

“These three aren’t worthy. Let’s not reward bad behavior, alright? I’ll choose some others from their races to invest in, ones who are also easier to shape into proper Order members. Quite honestly, these three would never be good candidates, and unlike the serpent who has a Path similar to mine, these three are different, especially the undead. Neither side would benefit much,” Villy explained.

“But they do have members of their races who are better fits. What’s more, giving them Blessings in earlier grades makes it easier to shape them into more useful members of the Order in the future. Finally, it will allow you to bring some of them outside of this world and to the Order of the Malefic Viper for some proper education. Turn them into missionaries, if you will. Gotta play the long game with things like this. Ruling through terror is all well and good, but one needs a bit of carrot with the stick once in a while.”

A pretty fair answer that once more showed that the Viper had given this entire scenario more thought than Jake ever did. In Jake’s defense, though, the Viper did have at least a few trillion years of experience more than him.

“Probably the smart play. Anyway, now that we’ve definitely won this entire thing, I gotta ask: did you ever see a scenario where this didn’t end well for us? Well, me, more specifically.”

“Sure. Theoretically. In practice, with the groundwork I’d laid, the chances of success were overwhelming. Wouldn’t have been fun to tell you that, though, so I didn’t.”

“Great, thanks, appreciate it,” Jake sent back sarcastically as he returned his attention to the three leaders who were still kneeling deeply, waiting for a response.

“The Malefic One has agreed to give you a chance, it seems,” Jake said in a rather cold tone, looking down on them. “Do not waste his grace.”

All three of them nodded gravely, definitely understanding that things would be very different from now on. Having met an actual Primordial, they had to have understood that the future of Venus was no longer in their hands, and all they could do now was make the best of the situation.

Something Jake would definitely do, as it was time to bolster the forces of the Milky Way Galaxy’s Territory.

That’s right.

The turtle-riding frog cavalry was inbound, and he just knew that Miranda would also appreciate such awesomeness.