Godslayer Lysette: Chapter 281

Chapter 281: Parallel Worlds

Zarielle smiled.  But rather than a warm, welcoming smile, it was the sort of toothy, gleeful, sadistic smile of a predator staring down its next meal, knowing that she was in complete control of the situation.  That nothing transpired without her leave, and that all existed by her mercy or amusement or because they had yet more roles to play in her grand game.

The pressure in the room again built, and Lysette was grateful for having the foresight not to have her main body present.  Not because the distance would save her from Zarielle’s wrath should she want her dead.  But because the distance would hopefully buy her enough time to share a final hug and goodbye with Mirae before annihilation.

The building pressure leveled out.  Perhaps ominously, Zarielle looked almost in pain, between the panting and the clutching of her chest.  Despite her fatigue and strain, or more likely because of the same, she seemed a bit realer.  A bit closer to herself, a deity with a tangible, physical form and body made of flesh rather than one comprised of Essence.

Slowly, far too slowly for comfort, Zarielle regained her calm demeanor and the pressure subsided.  She smiled again, this one only slightly less bloodthirsty than the last.  And then she stood, rolling her shoulders and stretching her neck back and forth several times.

“Ah, I forgot just how painful truly manifesting an avatar into another realm was.”

“What about before?” Lysette asked.

“Hmm.  The easiest way to explain is that the form I’ve been previously using has been closer to a projection.  Like the shadow that my real self leaves upon the world.  It is both ephemeral and unstable.  Useful for a temporary task, issuing orders to my subordinates and making my will known to all, but not exactly useful for what comes next.”

“I was under the impression that the gods couldn’t manifest on or directly interfere with Aimarion.  Or well, any of the Aimarions except for the central one.  The one you call Aimarion Prime.”

“Hmm.”  Zarielle furrowed her brows.  “How best to explain?  Imagine a fishing net, if you will.  Lots of pieces of braided cord with large or perhaps not so large holes between them.  The smaller the holes, the more fish you trap.  But the more drag gets introduced.  The more you pick up things that shouldn’t be picked up.  You want the little fish to swim freely through it all, so they might grow and reproduce and ensure more fish for future hauls.”

“I don’t understand the connection.”

“I and the others who fancy themselves my peers are like the colossal titans of the sea.  And your world is coated in a sort of patchwork net, designed to ban out anyone with more than a certain amount of Essence within them.  As well as to constrain those inside to that same level.  I suppose less a net in three dimensions and more a giant… soulspace lattice in five.”

“I follow.  But what did you do?”

“This form is rather like an arm…  or maybe a finger.  I force a small portion of my true self into this lattice, embedding myself within your world.  Of course, forcing even that small portion of my true self into your world is an exercise in frustration and pain.  I’m sure you can understand the unpleasantness of trying to fit a large object inside a small hole.”

“Mirae and I both have plenty of experience with such sensations.”

“Crass.  In any case, what you are seeing before you is about one percent of the true me which exists in what you would call the Celestial realm.”

In other words, Zarielle was about a hundred and twenty or so times stronger than Lysette or any of the other demigods she’d encountered over the last half a year.  And that discrepancy was only compounded by the millions of additional years Zarielle had had to hone her fighting senses, refine her Cultivation to and beyond any natural limits, and jockey for both power and influence on this and every other parallel Aimarion.

“Incredible.”  Lysette could say nothing else.

“I must commend you as well, my dear.  Despite my misgivings in the beginning, you have progressed absolutely remarkably.  In truth, I wasn’t expecting you to reach this point for another year and a half.  But you are now very near the point of your own ascension.  You should start making preparations for that.”

“Before we start speaking of preparations, I still want an answer from earlier.”  At Zarielle’s beckoning, Lysette continued.  “You said that the most important priority that a deity has is protecting her worshipers.  I agree with that assessment.  Or more accurately, something within me compels me to do so, even though I don’t consciously understand the impulse.”

“Because a deity’s strength is directly tied to the quantity and fervency of her flock.  When we gain converts, our power increases.  And when they defect to other factions, our power diminishes.  All in accordance with the governing system of Aimarion.”

“I was under the impression that I alone was different.”

“Indeed.  You are the one exception.  The one wildcard in the position.  The piece that shouldn’t be, that has the ability to throw Aimarion’s current position outside of millions of years of established theory and precedent and into completely new territory.”

Lysette smiled out of a mix of nervousness and maybe the barest hint of pride.  She quickly subdued both sensations as she averted her gaze from the divine manifestation before her.  “If I may.  The first time we conversed— after our first battle, that is— you mentioned that you had been attacked by a certain moon deity whose name I won’t disgrace my lips with.  I had, at the time, thought that there was a physical confrontation between the two of you.  But that’s not what actually happened, now is it?”

“Of course not.  Raiders sailed to Ereill from the northern shores of Elithria.”  Zarielle scowled.  “Pirates would be a more accurate term.  Flash raids on some of my southern villages under cover of the full moon, when my power is weakest and that bastard’s is strongest.  Killed hundreds, captured hundreds more.”  Zarielle slammed her hand on the table, sending pieces flying in every direction.  As she raised her hand, the pieces returned to their previous positions as though the game had never been interrupted at all.

“And you didn’t respond in kind?” Lysette looked away from the pacing goddess in front of her.

“The attack had been well-coordinated.  And moreover, it had been done stealthily, across an ocean no less.  You should know that naval attacks of such size do not happen without Thosse’s leave.  I only suspected it at the time, but I know now that Thosse is currently observing an alliance of sorts with our enemy.  Although, after your recent handiwork, she is starting to gain her just comeuppance.

“No, I had to seek alternative ways to get back at her.  At both of those ingrates.”

“And said ‘alternative way’ is currently sitting across from you playing a game of chess while you continue to plan…  Well, whatever it is you’re planning.”  Even more than before, Lysette dared not assume she could even comprehend the full extent of Zarielle’s machinations.

Zarielle sat back down over the chess board.  “I told you this before, but to make sure my lesson took: what is the most important part of your strategy in a game of chess?”

“Ensuring the safety of your king.”

“Exactly, my dear Lysette.”

“I’m guessing this is relevant to our current conversation.”

“Like everything else we’ve been discussing.”  Zarielle smiled.  “And–”

“Wait.  There’s something I don’t understand.”  Zarielle frowned at Lysette’s interjection, but eventually relented.  “You told me that the gods weren’t allowed to directly interfere in the world.  Er, the worlds of mortals.  But manifesting an avatar with an Essence coefficient of thirty thousand, by Domaria’s measuring system, is hardly noninterference.  There would be no shortage of world-events that even this tiny fraction of you could absolutely shatter.”

“There are two problems with that assessment, Lysette.  First is that the others could as well.  We are all affected evenly by the Ban.  Then it would come down to the strength of our seconds, thirds, and so forth, only with far more collateral damage.  A win for no one.

“The more important problem is that I simply can’t do so.  None of us can.  Here, in the core of my primary temple, I can manifest a mere percentage of my true power.  Above, half a percent.  At midnight on the night of a new moon, when my power is at its zenith, a third of a percent, and only then for a few moments.  In broad daylight, on enemy territory, I would be no stronger than you were on the night you were reborn.  The difference between manifesting my entire hand versus just a finger versus a mere fingernail.”

“I see.”  Lysette made another move on the chess board, bringing another knight into her desperation attack.  She saw no avenue for success in the game, but carried on to humor her hostess.

“In any case, do you know why each of us has a grand temple somewhere on one of the worlds?”

“I’m guessing it has to do with being able to manifest yourself into that world?  I do recall you mentioning something to the effect of a temple being the literal house of a god on Aimarion.  Or something similar in slightly different words.

“It is.  But it is more than that. Each temple contains a nexus, a point in multi-dimensional spacetime that connects the various parallel planes together.”

“So, am I in all of the Aimarions right now?”

“Not quite.  All of the Aimarions touch here, yes, but you are still in your own world.  Completely.  If your main body and your Scrying Stone were still here, you could get a better idea of exactly what I mean.

“As for moving between the different worlds, that too is impossible for you.  Even now, despite your strength, you are merely a demigoddess, not a full deity.  And that means you are still tied to your physical body and therefore can only exist in your own world.”

“I’m guessing there’s a certain… well, something that I would have to do in order to release my…  Well, release my physical self from my body, I suppose?”

“What I am trying to get at, my dear, is that you need a temple of your own.  A castle, a home.”  Zarielle paused.  “Your own nexus where your Essence can gather and eventually punch a hole through your world and into the world of the gods.”

“I don’t understand how the two are related.  Or how a temple is supposed to make me a full goddess”

“Well, of course they are related.”  Zarielle rolled her eyes.  “Were you not listening to my explanation earlier?”  She paused.  “When prayers are directed to you, whether to you yourself or through your Domain, those prayers and the accompanying Divine Essence normally want to manifest within you directly.  Which is great for a time, as you want to build your strength to its limit.

“But now that you’ve reached the level where you are, that strength goes to waste.  Like squeezing on a ball or a fruit, sending all the juices— Essence, in this case— flowing back out into the world. Instead, you use a temple and its Sanctum as a holding space of sorts, binding Essence to the physical object as an extension of your will.”

“So a temple is… like an avatar, in a sense?”

“A little bit, yes.  In an abstract sense, at least.  Like all acts of Creation, a bit of yourself manifests within your temple.  More importantly, however, the Essence accumulated within doesn’t dissipate the way it does for a Spark.  Larger metaphysical space, more capacity.”  Zarielle paused.  “Maybe the metaphor doesn’t make a lot of sense.  But the method works, and that’s what’s important here.”

“So you sent me all this way here to tell me to build a temple for myself?”  Lysette stared with incredulity.  “Could a temple be built for multiple deities?”

“You want Mirae to join you?”

Lysette nodded.

“It can be done.  Everyone who shares a temple must share in the construction and design.  From start to finish.  And each will be bonded to an extent, and share their divinities, again, to an extent.”

“Thank you Zarielle.  We might not see eye-to-eye, but I do appreciate it.”

“Oh?”  Zarielle raised an eyebrow as she focused her gaze upon the demigoddess.  “Please.  Stay a bit.  I do insist.”

Chapter 280: https://www.patreon.com/posts/116618353

Table of Contents: https://www.patreon.com/posts/101896170

Chapter 282: https://www.patreon.com/posts/116749814