"The gods once tried to create a vessel for the Naless," Arthur said after so pondering. "At the ti, the Naless couldn't descend to our world. He used his four horsen by creating vessels that had a portion of my soul."
"Creation is the best way to keep a vessel from collapsing," the Sovereign said. "But I don't understand why they are targeting my lilies now."
"I have rged the two worlds, and it's the best ti for them to unleash the Naless there," Arthur said. "It seems that when I return, another battle awaits ."
"It seems your destiny is to fight against Devaheim at every possible chance," she said with a smile. "But this battle… is necessary to hinder their plans."
"What's the third use for the Death Lilies?" Arthur asked.
"They are the most potent poison in the universe," she said. "It cannot kill a divine being, but if extracted, concentrated, and processed… it can seal their powers for a short period of ti."
"You think the gods are turning against each other?" Arthur asked with surprise. "How did you co to this conclusion?"
"One of them visited a while ago," she said. "I believe you have t him before, for he has spoken about you. He is the God of Order, Astraeus."
"I've t him," Arthur said with a frown. "What did he want?"
"He seems to believe that there is so corruption within the kingdom of gods, outsiders who do not wish to preserve the world's tree, but consu it."
"Why did he co to ask you?"
"Because I was once a god myself," she said. "But after a certain incident, I was banished from the kingdom of gods. I created this realm to escape. And ever since then, I have grown weaker, hence why I ask for your help."
"You lived in Devaheim?" Arthur asked with surprise. "Then, you must know—"
"I will tell you what I told Astraeus," the Sovereign interrupted him, knowing his line of thought, "when I was banished from the kingdom of gods, everything I knew or rembered about it was erased."
"That makes sense," Arthur said with a sigh. "But do you rember the incident that caused your banishnt?"
"That… I do," she said while silent. "I slew a god, but I don't rember the reason, only that I don't regret it."
"Why did they banish you instead of…?" Arthur didn't finish his words, because the rest was obvious.
"Because I am death," she said. "I am the one they cannot kill, and the one they rely upon. Death is a crucial step in the cycle of life."
"That's not the real reason, right?" Arthur asked with a frown. "You send the departing souls to the Astral Stream, which the gods have used to grow stronger by consuming souls."
"…I didn't think you knew about that secret," she said and turned toward him for the first ti. Instead of amazent or panic, Arthur saw sha and regret on her face. "I am indeed one of the reasons that great tragedy is happening."
"What's the alternative?" Arthur asked before judging her.
"If the Astral Stream ceases to exist, then souls will not find a new vessel to inhabit. The cycle of life will be broken, and the universe will collapse. Death will beco a lake of souls that will bring imbalance to the entire universe and cause its collapse."
"What about the other tilines?"
"All of existence," she confird. "That's why they need to keep alive."
"I'm starting to feel that it wasn't a coincidence that the Path sent here," Arthur said. "It seems that I need to be here, to learn all of this, and stop the gods' corrupted plan."
"Yggdrasil cannot interfere directly, but it can nudge you in the right direction that would benefit it. I believe that it brought you here to understand what the Lower Realms are suffering from, and what the Higher Realms are planning."
"I heard it," Arthur said. "The first ti I witnessed Yggdrasil, I heard its dying voice. I could tell that it was at the end of its life."
"That's what the gods are doing to this world. It sickens ," she said in disgust. "That we call them gods, when all they do is grow stronger at the expense of their worshippers."
"Is that their plan? To be worshiped?"
"One of their most urgent needs," she answered. "It feeds them with power. If a god is forgotten or rejected, then they lose a large portion of their power. That's why being worshiped is necessary to ascend."
Arthur chuckled.
"That amuses you sohow?" she asked in bewildernt.
"My father," Arthur said, "wanted to be worshiped. I thought it was stupid. But now, I think he was just hiding the truth behind what was happening. He knew that it would make powerful enough to stand against the gods."
"I feel like you hate him for it."
"He beca the villain in my world, just so that I could beco the hero," Arthur said. "It worked, because he used my mother as a tool to achieve that. I'll never forgive him."
"He seems… like a troubled man," she said, "burdened with a truth that only he could bear."
"He could have just told ," Arthur said. "I would've understood."
"Would you?" she raised the question. "I t you for just a day, but I can tell that you aren't soone who would obey. It's your very nature to oppose and question. That's what makes you the enemy of the gods."
Arthur was rendered speechless.
She made an excellent point.
It was his nature to oppose anything forced upon him. If his father threw around words like destiny, duty, or fate… then Arthur would have felt chained, and opposed him just the sa.
His father had sohow succeeded in making Arthur a hero of sorts in their world. It made Arthur have a sudden realization.
"Tell ," Arthur said. "If soone is worshiped, do they gain an imnse source of spiritual energy?"
"They do," she answered. "A portion of whoever worships them becos a part of their strength. You think it's the source behind your earlier surge of spiritual power?"
"I've always had this feeling… that there is a hole in my soul, one that would spew spiritual energy as long as I demand it. I never considered it the reason behind being worshiped."
"That's not how it works for the gods. The spiritual energy simply attaches to their soul. It exists within them, not in an outside reservoir like you described."
"You felt it too. What do you think?"
"A god's spiritual energy doesn't feel like their own. It feels like a hybrid of nurous ones. You fought against the God of Lost Souls, right?"
"I did."
"Then you know what I an. Rember the feeling you had when you fought against him."
"Is it different than what you felt earlier?"
"Your spiritual energy was all-encompassing, but I didn't feel like it originated from different souls. It belonged to you, and you alone."
"That's a sha," Arthur said with a sigh. "I thought I could solve this mystery and be done with it. It has been nagging for a while."
"I'm sorry that I don't know enough to give you an answer," she said. "But I'm sure that this will be your greatest mystery, and its answer will co to you when you need it the most."
"Thank you," Arthur said, and then was quiet as he stared at the lake. "I just realized that you know a lot about , but I don't even know your na."
"My na," she muttered, as if she had forgotten it for a mont. After a short pause, she turned toward him with a smile. "My na is Ozyrae."
"A pleasure to et you," Arthur said. "Thanks for the earlier help. I hope it didn't damage your ethereal form."
"It was indeed overwhelming, but nonetheless… manageable," Ozyrae said. "I can see that you have either defeated or won over my generals."
"I did kill one of them. Sorry."
"Don't be. Calvaran has been waiting for this mont. I wanted to apologize every day for bringing him back, but it was necessary at the ti."
"You cannot release their souls once you summon them?"
"It's another curse, as you have called it," Ozyrae said. "Whoever chooses to beco an undead cannot join the Astral Stream again. It rejects them."
"They would be further bound to this world," Arthur muttered. "If that's the case, why did Calvaran choose to co back?"
"In the beginning, he wanted to participate in the next war against the gods, but he witnessed the destruction that wars bring. He knew it was necessary, no matter what he said to you, but he just didn't want to be a part of it anymore."
"I see. Where did he go now?"
"He returned to the cosmos, never to reincarnate and forever dormant. That's what he wanted — eternal rest."
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