Chapter 118
Chapter 118
Divine Descent (2)
This wasn’t technically my first time coming into contact with a divine being.
I had met Karva before. But that was through a remnant, and she had merely performed a miracle from her side. It was closer to revealing her presence rather than truly manifesting.
There shouldn't be any conditions here that would allow such a sudden appearance—
‘…Ah, right.’
Wasn’t this the place where the God of Purification first contacted a human and bestowed divine authority?
Among the nations built around religion, this was the very heart of faith.
A place like this could be considered one where such a condition might somehow be fulfilled…
Still, even if the conditions were met, that didn’t fully explain why the god had suddenly revealed themself.
Aiden cautiously pulled Katya back and scanned the figure up and down.
Of course, if it came down to sheer durability, this person far outclassed him—but more importantly, the being before them was the very source that granted such power in the first place.
‘It doesn’t seem all that dangerous, but…’
Judging by various myths, Sia was said to be the most benevolent among all the gods.
After all, there was an official record that the Holy Crown Kingdom, once a barren land unfit for human life, had been cleansed once by divine fire and transformed into fertile territory.
Compared to other nations, the reason the Holy Crown Kingdom bore such intense religious and spiritual colors stemmed entirely from Sia’s compassionate nature.
‘…Though, given all that, I still don’t get why the succession ceremony has to be so damn brutal.’
Probably best to chalk that up to the dual nature of religion and move on.
Still, no matter how benevolent the god may be…
The very idea of trying to predict the actions of a being that transcended human consciousness was, in itself, a mistake.
Even a merciful god could be whimsical.
Sure, the gods in this world weren’t unruly thugs who smashed human skulls for fun like those in Greek or Roman mythology—but it wasn’t like there was any guarantee they wouldn’t.
So while I was filled with concern and carefully watching the god’s reaction, the first thing Sia did was—
–System Message
▶ Affection level with ‘God of Purification’, Sia, has increased.
▶ Bond level has risen!
▶ You may now copy 1 skill—
.
.
.
▶ The skill effect of ‘Weaver of Fate’ has changed.
▶ Sia likes you.
▶ Sia really, really likes you.
▶ Sia bestows a blessing upon you.
▶ ‘The First Vow’ has been updated to ‘The First Vow: Revised’!
“……”
What the hell?
Aiden stared blankly at the system window floating in front of him.
‘…No, wait.’
He had acquired skills through all sorts of bizarre methods up until now, but this was the first time someone had directly exerted their will to influence Weaver of Fate.
“……”
Then again, now that he thought about it, it didn’t seem that implausible.
When you considered it, it wasn’t strange for divine beings to be able to interfere in the acquisition of such skills.
After all, the very reason Aiden had been able to steadily amass so many skills was due to the foreign god clinging to him. There was a difference in magnitude, sure, but if they were beings on the same tier, then perhaps it was possible somehow.
‘…Still.’
Aiden narrowed his eyes as he scanned the lines written on the window.
He understood that such a being could wield that kind of divine authority.
…But the wording—things like “likes you” written in here—felt suspiciously like Sia had typed it in himself.
As if he were using the system window to say what he wanted directly to Aiden.
In that case, the same question resurfaced in his mind.
‘…Why?’
First Karva, and now Sia.
They were beings who had no special connection to him.
…No, rather than having no connection, the very idea that such connections could even exist was what seemed more absurd.
And yet, these beings—
‘—say they like me the moment we meet?’
And on top of that, they were all bursting with the urge to make that affection obvious.
“……”
Honestly.
It was starting to make him think he might want to ask the priestess about it when he next met her.
Being loved by divine beings… To be blunt, it was something so far beyond his frame of understanding that rather than thinking about risks or returns, all he could feel was flustered disbelief.
At least for now, it didn’t look like the god was trying to harm him. That was a relief.
Just as he was thinking that—
Sia—currently taking on the massive form of Katya—beamed brightly and spread his arms wide toward Aiden, and Aiden’s expression immediately twisted into something bizarre.
“…Huh?”
“W-what’s wrong…?”
Katya, who had been subtly pushed aside and was now standing behind him, swallowed dryly and asked.
Of course, from her perspective, Aiden had been staring at empty space, his expression morphing and mumbling strange things all by himself.
…Honestly, it was the sort of behavior that made it look like he was possessed.
So the way Katya mumbled nervously and clung even tighter to his arm wasn’t exactly an overreaction...
But Aiden didn’t have the room to pay her much attention right now.
Because he could feel something as he watched the aura billowing out from Sia’s outstretched arms.
‘Gold…’
Previously, when Karva had manifested, the supernatural power she had allowed him to use had looked exactly like this.
Seeing that same hue spread across the surroundings, Aiden blankly followed the trail of divine energy with his eyes.
A quiet yet fiercely spinning spiral.
The sound of droplets leaping between waves dyed in a dazzling shade of blue and frothy white foam.
It looked like he was swimming through the vast ocean, so deep it felt endless.
“……”
The important thing was, as mentioned, that it was visible.
Back when Karva had unleashed that golden power—
Now, having made contact for a second time, he felt like he was starting to understand it a little.
Just a little more.
If he just focused a little deeper, he felt like he’d see something more detailed.
–System Message
▶ Perceiving ‘Mystery’.
▶ The beings of the Pantheon are watching over you.
▶ Minimum condition for ‘race’ transformation has been met—
Words began appearing in front of him, but Aiden had no time to focus on them as he trudged forward toward Sia.
Then, as if entranced, he stepped into Sia’s arms—arms spread wide with a compassionate smile—and nestled himself into the god’s embrace.
‘…There’s something…’
It felt strangely nostalgic.
As if he’d done something like this many times before—
“…What the hell?”
…That thought was abruptly cut short as someone’s voice yanked his consciousness back.
It was Big… Katya.
But the problem was, this wasn’t the divine, giant, radiant Katya from moments before—whom anyone would’ve called sacred just by looking at her.
It was a Katya who just seemed a little taller and bulkier than usual.
…Abigail III was staring at him with a thoroughly bewildered expression.
Still held tightly in his arms, her face tinged with a faint blush—more confusion than anger filled her expression.
“……”
…In stark contrast, Aiden’s expression turned bitter as he realized he was hugging the Pontiff.
▣
“……”
“……”
“……”
A very strange scene unfolded—three people all grimacing as they stared each other down in silence.
Each of them had their own solid reason for pulling such a face.
And two of them, at least, had very obvious justifications.
Aiden – Deeply depressed by the fact that he had suddenly lost his senses and hugged this person.
Katya – She just didn't like the Pontiff. Period.
“……”
Reasonable, perhaps, but honestly rather petty.
The Pontiff, on the other hand, had reasons so serious that anyone hearing them would immediately understand why she wore such a look.
“…To be honest, I was the one who brought you two down here.”
Previously, the Pontiff had promised to grant him a reward for his performance during the Tournament, and as payment, the plan had been to conduct a ritual down here.
With that brief explanation, the Pontiff swept her hair back. Originally, the ritual was supposed to start here in this underground chamber…
The problem was, Aiden had already done what the ritual was meant to accomplish.
“…As you can see.”
The divine power Aiden held had already changed from what it was before.
He nodded grimly as he looked at his divine energy, which now contained multiple “colors” at once.
Where there had once been no color at all, now even in this dim cavern, his divine aura shone with distinct hues.
And the way he’d obtained this… was beyond ridiculous.
“You’re saying you made direct contact with a divinity?”
The Pontiff’s tone was one of disbelief, like she couldn’t accept what she was hearing—but someone of her stature had to know exactly what had just been in this cavern.
“…I’ve never seen him in person either. I don’t know why He descended so suddenly into a place like this…”
Her voice said one thing, but the fact that she wasn’t calling him a liar said plenty.
–Skill Info
◆ The First Vow: Revised
This divine energy was unlocked by receiving a direct blessing from the God of Purification at a holy altar.
Reflecting your unique traits, this divine power can freely invert its attributes. Its basic function grants the ‘Flame of Regeneration.’
Its growth direction has not yet been determined. This supernatural ability will evolve according to the ‘function’ you desire.
△ Flame of Regeneration: Inverts the basic attribute of divine fire, which is ‘burning heat.’ Your divine energy can now heal what it touches.
…From the description alone, it clearly confirmed that he had just made contact with Sia.
And reading through the description of this newly unlocked skill, a question naturally arose.
“Um, Your Holiness. Is divine energy something you have to develop after receiving its trait?”
There had been no mention of that in the game, and neither Katya nor the other humans had ever said anything about it either—
“You. Don’t you have something you want to become?”
“…Huh?”
He wouldn’t have been more confused if someone handed him a career survey out of the blue.
Aiden had never attended school, but if he had, he probably would’ve been the kind of boring, old-fashioned kid who wrote down “father” as his dream.
“Then that’s what you should decide first.”
“…Sorry?”
“All supernatural abilities follow the essence of the person. You just haven’t established a strong sense of self yet. That’s all.”
“……”
He felt like a teenage boy being told he hadn’t gone through puberty properly, but when it came to divine matters, this woman was the foremost expert. She probably wasn’t lying.
‘…Essence, huh.’
He recalled how the Warden of the Realm had instantly answered when asked that same question.
Aiden, on the other hand, didn’t feel like he had anything so firmly decided yet.
He had a clear goal—pastoral, peaceful living—but beyond that, he had never really envisioned anything more.
“…Anyway.”
As Aiden sank into thought, the Pontiff turned to Katya, standing nearby.
“What’s with that face? You wanna fight or something?”
Despite the remark, Katya simply tilted her head with a sulky expression.
“…You could’ve gotten out of it.”
“…What?”
“When he hugged you earlier—you could’ve pulled away anytime if you really wanted to. But you just stood there. You, specifically.”
“……”
“Pervert.”
“……”
“Degenerate.”
Katya glared with flat eyes as she shot out each insult, but the Pontiff just picked at her ear, unfazed.
“Hey, I liked it, honestly. Kid’s more toned than he looks. Good grip.”
“……”
“You haven’t done it yet, have you? Haven’t even stepped onto the first stair of adulthood, you dumb, naive little brat?”
Katya’s face went red, then pale, then red again as she kept listening.
“…As if you’ve done it either.”
“……”
“You’ve never even been in a real relationship.”
The Pontiff shut her mouth with an irritated expression.
…Caught between all this, Aiden could only wonder what the hell these two were even talking about.