Chapter 146: Ballad of Lightning and Darkness

"Divinity, in essence, has many meanings."

Qaeidat began, holding up a hard-light slate.

"Vastness, the 42 Voidborns, the Cosmic Laws that upheld the universe."

A room made completely of gold, gaudy yet bearing an overwhelming pressure.

"Flawless Operational, that is us Celestial Objects, we live and exist because of our Attributes, our drive of existence."

A translucent panel appeared beside Qaeidat; she glanced at it for a moment, then continued.

"And below that... it is complicated."

In the center of the room was a man without a name, without memory, without identity. A shadow of a man robbed of everything.

"Kalock, one of the worlds under my eternal watch, divinity means being the wealthiest and most cunning person alive."

"The True Gods of Earth are Dragons, having partial authority over Nature. Because the Ego was too unstable and lazy to do anything properly. On that planet, power equates to divinity."

"So, my experimental subject, I want to try and see what happens when a person from another world obtains the divinity of a different world. Are you cool with that?"

The man did not respond.

"I'll take your silence as approval!!", she clapped her hands, "Welt Ealam, it's time to work on a new product!!"

The floating digital screen appeared in front of her again.

=0=0=

"Thank you for coming all the way here, Envoy.", the head priest bowed.

"It's nothing, really. I just stopped by due to an incident.", Lea smiled back, taking a sip of the tea offered.

They were currently in the head priest's office, his private praying room. The taste of reverence wasn't to her liking, too mild and creamy for her.

"I was meant to travel to Empire's Edge to deliver the Message.", she spoke calmly, "It should reach you pretty soon, if not later in the day."

"Oh, what happened on your journey?", he asked with worry.

"A foreign noble was discovered dead going up the stairs. Quite unfortunate; due to his old age and the moving train, it is more of an accident. It would've concluded as such, if not for a thief stealing something from the corpse.", said the murderer and looter.

"That is quite an unfortunate turn of events.", he sympathized.

"I might catch another train later in the evening if things don't progress.", Lea sighed.

She might need to catch another train with how things are looking. No doubt the churches would stay on alert when the MSSH Detective give the information. Being a "reawakened" god, who knows how it would fit in this era.

Hm?

Something interrupted Lea's train of thought.

"Of course, you are free to go—"

Lea jumped over the table and grabbed the head priest, pulling him down.

BOOOM!!!

A beam of violent lightning crashed through the building. Piercing it from one side to the other.

"We are under attack!!", Lea shouted, "Go, evacuate, I'll deal with this!!"

"But—", he tried to protest, but met with her determined gaze; he backed down, "I'm on it!"

With a part of him bursting into flame, the head priest rushed out of the room. Leaving Lea to stare into the destroyed wall through which the lightning entered.

That attack came outside of her perception range, which is more than 11 kilometers. Using lightning means it was Surge or something related to it.

Who is it?

Lea was sure that she had no enemy. Very few people knew her face, and even fewer would want to mess with her.

Darkness began to manifest around her, pulling out her white bow. Due to this being in broad daylight, she couldn't risk other people coming up to her mid-transformation or wondering where she went. Using The Faceless Twilight was a no-go.

Lea wasn't sure if she could control a fake version of her through the ring while fighting. So, the only option left is...

"I pray to The Faceless Twilight, the Wandering Terror of the Night.", she prayed to herself.

And under her breath she whispered.

"I Invoke Saga of Ancient and Forgotten."

The dark spirit carrying the Saga came out of her, answering her call. And the story came to her, clearer and more graphic...

And a revelation... this Saga belongs to a bigger collection.

"Sanguine Decree - Right to Slaughter."

Red tendrils came out from the dark spirits, connecting them to Lea. Unlike the bone armor, red cracks began to appear on her clothes, and her golden eyes gained a red glow. The first thing Lea felt was an instinctive murderous drive. She caught onto it and Silenced that emotion, not letting the Saga have any influence on her.

Letting out a breath, with darkness coiling around her, she jumped forward. A trail of black smoke was all she left behind.

With light footwork, she jumped from building to building in the direction of the attacker. And she made sure to cover her track with Veil and Cloak.

But it seemed like the attacker knew of her radar, backing away... out of the city, and into the plains. She used her stealth to maximum efficiency, blending into the shadow of a tree.

Who... is that?

She could see a youthful man wearing a toga, exposing half of his chest. Pale silver eyes and short, curly pale yellow hair, something with a bored expression. And what made Lea curious was the floating broken ring behind him, crackling with the familiar electricity that almost hit her.

"You don't need to hide from me, Jester.", he spoke with a reverb in his voice, "Ahon Vee, Kasker of The Festival Storm, will hunt you."

Lea immediately realized she was in danger. She leaped out from her shadow, just in time to avoid a massive electrical discharge.

Lea doesn't know what a Herald is, but from how he introduced himself, she can piece together, especially "The Festival Storm", that sounds like a Star God title more than anything. A Herald... like the title, is an envoy of a Star God. Someone who represents the authority and might of said Star God. And Ahon Vee wasn't looking for Lea, but The Shapeless Comedy in her possession.

Lea threw out a Hex at him. He stared at her, looking at the dark blob in the sky with wide eyes— her sleep curse hit him.

She acted quickly, using Sinking—

BZZT!!!

He shocked himself awake!! Shrugging off her curse instantly.

"So, you want to play like that, huh...", she muttered.

She drew Houyi, creating a white energy arrow that turned a deep golden color. Lea fired the arrow, intercepting another lightning bolt from Ahon.

Boom!!

The two opposing forces lit up the sky, blinding Ahon. But not Lea; she doesn't need eyes.

Using the opportunity, she cast a Branding wrap in Cloak and Silence, throwing it at Ahon—

Hit!

She felt the connection. And Lea immediately withdrew from the area.

"COWARD!!!"

A burst of electricity came after Lea. Too fast for her to react to this time, she had to block with her left arm.

Due to her body being made out of Cursed Constructs, physical attacks don't hurt her. But the kinetic force knocked her off balance.

But that is fine.

He is far enough for her.

Lea landed far from Ahon, regenerating her missing arm. She drew her bow, creating another arrow lighting up in golden light. Aiming at the sky, she let go.

And pull back. Let go. Pull back. Let go. Pull back. Let go. Pull back. Let go. Pull back. Let go. Pull back. Let go. Pull back. Let go. Pull back. Let go. Pull back. Let go. Pull back. Let go. Pull back. Let go. Pull back. Let go. Pull back. Let go. Pull back. Let go.

Until she felt the slightest hint of tiredness, she kept on firing and taking steps back, further and further away from the Herald.

A rain of golden arrows came down from the sky, homing on Ahon. It would be impossible to dodge against her.

Then again, Lea was fighting a Herald.

BOOOOM!!

Another electrical discharge erupted, detonating all of the arrows. It seemed like Lea could not take him from afar.

But she kept firing anyway; she had stored up a lot of energy for reasons like this.

And she still has Right to Slaughter...

She tapped the bowstring lightly, letting the sharp string cut her soul... and dark red liquid began to pour out of her finger. She felt a part of her soul going with this "blood", but this is what she wants.

Right to Slaughter has two Attributes, Carnage and Exchange. For how much value her blood has, the more damage she can deal.

Especially if the target is humanoid.

Her Judgement Arrows can be detonated by the electricity. But what about something it cannot affect? Lea created a Cursed Construct in the shape of a spiral arrow; she knocked it on her bow and drew back—

A faint hue of gold emitted from the arrow, giving it the homing ability. Along with that, she crammed hundreds of curses into it. Not even Lea knew what she put in there.

With how much destruction her Judgement Arrows and Ahon's lightning had caused. She could get a clear shot of him... from four kilometers away.

"By the Darkness of The Faceless Twilight...", she chanted, rousing strength to herself while drawing her bow, "I hereby Sentence you to Death."

And she let go.

BOOM!!!

The speed was noticeably faster than before, creating a sonic boom. Lea could see another burst of light trying to intercept the arrow. But it was useless; it passed through the spiraling arrow without harm.

Pak— Boom!!

The two of them exchanged hits; the kinetic energy shattered more than half of her body. Lea felt the pain this time, with only her legs still and her right arm holding the bow still intact.

It only took her a few seconds to regroup her consciousness to the bigger mass and regenerate. But victory was hers... she could feel the curses rampaging inside Ahon, making him weaker and more fragile. She could hear his internal screams of agony as blood bled out of every orifice, grasping for air.

Then she noticed something chilling.

'W-Where am I?! W-What is happening to me?! Someone heeelp!!!'

It was indeed Ahon's voice, but without the reverb.

And silence.

What was that...? She wondered, feeling the curses fading as they accelerated his decay.

!!!

She rolled over to the side, avoiding a lightning strike from the sky, raising her bow to ready to shoot.

What...? She widened her eyes.

She saw that broken ring floating high in the air. She could not sense its thoughts, but she knew malice when she saw it...

Ahon Vee... wasn't the man, but the ring. It was controlling him like a puppet!!

She had murdered a potential innocent, making Lea go against her creed of protecting the innocent and hunting the wicked.

"What are you...", Lea asked.

Was it sentient at all?

"Holder of a Jester's power, state your name.", the ring spoke, "The Masquerade in Oblivion congratulates the defeat of a Jester."

Lea didn't say anything, just letting her mind work through the information.

Like the Jester of Light, the Masquerade in Oblivion must be another faction of Star Gods. And they seem to be in opposition to each other.

"Bashie... what is going on?", Lea asked the ring inside her.

And the voice of the Jester came to offer help.

"We Jesters are given power by the First to give laughter and hope to the universe. To convince The Original One to not destroy the universe. Yet there are those who seek complete annihilation."

"The Equinox Rollers seek to oppose the 42 Scions of the Universe. The Lords of Annihilation want only destruction for their own joy."

"And to bring misery upon worlds, to make laughters quiet down, and ultimately for the destruction of the universe... the Masquerade in Oblivion wants to get rid of all Jesters of Light, they will laugh while being consumed by absolute oblivion."

"Then... what should I do?", she asked, staring at the broken ring in the sky.

The ring in her hand glowed brightly.

"Let's give them a show!!", the Jester answered, "Will you let me lend you a hand?"

"Of course... any time.", she whispered.

And she could feel a connection stronger than before; it was as if The Shapeless Comedy was guiding her hands. Her domain of Order expands, and... what do I do now?

"Raise your bow, little girl."

Invisible hands lifted her arms gently; Lea drew the bow, creating a golden arrow. But there was more, five spinning circles made of diamond patterns. Lea felt power generating from them, some sort of strange power...

"Now!!", Bashie Mahzala's voice came up again, "Shout after me like you mean it!! Obliterate!!"

"Obliterate!!!", she shouted, letting the arrow loose.

"Ob— WHAT?!", Ahon Vee was startled.

The arrow passed through the broken ring. Then a beam of destruction consumed the ring entirely...

Lea could sense Ahon no more, completely destroyed by that light. That was just the gap between a Herald, someone blessed by a Star God, and a Jester of Light, a jester blessed by the Lofty Clown. What is a divine's chosen compared to a divine chosen by the First Law?

,,,

Perhaps a Great Old One can contend.

Now, two of them are staring at each other.

The waves and water clash against the growing ice pillar. Yet the water was abnormal; it did not freeze upon contact.

Flying around the ice pillar was its creator... The Still Fantasy. A sprite-like creature, no taller than a chair, made of blue ice and cold air, with a white scarf around its neck.

"Mazal Khyalan the Still Fantasy, greets you.", it introduced itself, speaking in a dramatic tone, "What honor do I have to have an audience with the First Reborn?"

It was addressing one specific Star God from The Flood. From the surface of the ocean, a swirling ball of blue light formed. Then a body made of water.

The Flood, with The Nuclear Reign as the front, said nothing.

"No use talking, huh.", The Still Fantasy let out a dramatic sigh, "Are you going to stop... me...?"

The Flood said nothing, only opened up a blue panel and calmly scrolled through it. The Still Fantasy got curious and flew down next to them, even though it couldn't read The Flood's native language, not the Universal Language, which was used on the list... of something.

"What are you looking for?", it asked.

Still no reply; they just kept browsing. Then they landed on one line from the list.

[Radiance Blind]

And blinding blue light shone from the vortex, directly at the skyward ice pillar— reflecting its light like a beacon. So that everyone in the world can see it.

The Still Fantasy stared hard at its work becoming unveiled in such an unfinished state. But it was not angry or furious. If it could smile, it would stretch its lips very wide.

"Thank you, thank you~ now my work will be more beautiful and dramatic!!", it threw its icy arms up, "For another beautiful still fantasy for the Gallery of Infinity!!"

"Let this world RAGE against me!!"

=0=0=

Lea took the ring out of her body, staring at it then at the parting clouds caused by the blast.

"Bashie... what was that?", she asked carefully.

The ring responded, "It was a lie!! Anything created by Veil is real as long as you don't get exposed!!"

So because that ring thought I wielded the power of a Jester, combined with the lack of information... it can cause destruction to this level.

"Ah!! Please turn your head around!!", Bashie said.

"Hmm?", Lea turned around and froze, "What the hell is that?"

She saw a glowing dome of ice slowly, very slowly growing. It was a structure impossible to miss... why did nobody noticed it?

"The Great Old One who conquered Time, the Eternally Cold Star, Gallery of Infinity's very Leader!! Mazal Khyalan the Still Fantasy!!", the Jester announced cheerfully, "Well, in your words. Ehem, excuse my language. Your world is royally fucked if that dome is finished, becoming a decorative piece for the Gallery of Infinity!!"