Chapter 97: What is Divinity?
The Monochrome Library felt different now.
Lea sat in her usual seat, but her golden eyes kept drifting to the endless shelves of black and white books, the impossible architecture, the void-like sky with its black hole sun. Before, she'd thought this was just Lady Keter's domain.
Now she knew Charlotte the Heretic had created it. And she had no idea what that meant.
Were the books real? Fabricated? Some mixture of both? Charlotte had admitted to mixing in literature from Earth, but what about the rest? What was this place, fundamentally?
What exactly is this place?
The questions gnawed at her, but she pushed them aside as the others arrived.
Dawn appeared first, looking exhausted but functional. Then Jim, grinning and waving. Rasputin came through last, and Lea immediately noticed something was off. He looked... tense, on edge.
Charlotte sat at the head of the table, in the seat of honor as always, but now she held a book, 'The Polar Express,' the cover read.
"Welcome, one and all, to this end-of-the-week book club meeting.", Charlotte announced, looking at Rasputin in particular, "So, how is the Child of Prophecy doing?"
"The Child of the Goddess was born, the Saintess and the protectors of the New World are waiting for the divine messages of the Goddess.", he replied, his gaze directed at her.
"Wonderful! I'm sure that will have absolutely no unintended consequences whatsoever.", Charlotte turned a page with a small smile.
There was a moment of silence. Then Dawn took a breath.
She spoke cautiously, "Rasputin, we need to tell you something... about Lady Keter."
It was a brief explanation. Each word made his expression more tense than the last. Rasputin clenched his fist.
In front of him was the one who made the world the way it is. Someone who should be condemned and killed the moment he laid eyes upon. But every fiber of his body screamed she is someone who cannot be opposed.
A Monarch from another world, an alien.
Rasputin stared at Charlotte, who finally looked up from her book with that same calm, carefree expression.
"Surprise~", she said with a teasing smile, clearly enjoying this.
For a long moment, nobody spoke.
Then Rasputin took a slow, deliberate breath, "I see."
His voice was carefully controlled.
"And how long has this been... known?"
"I found out on the battlefield.", Lea said, remembering what she saw, "When she saved my life by annihilating an entire army with one shot."
"I found out shortly after, she revealed herself quite casually.", Dawn added.
"I witnessed some of her power in the New World, fighting the Heavenly Demon alongside the Sacred Flame." Jim said his part, "I didn't know the truth would be this mundane... yet absurd."
Rasputin processed this, his mind visibly working through implications. As a follower of the Goddess of Madness, he was used to uncomfortable truths, used to accepting that divinity operated beyond mortal morality.
"The Goddess hasn't commanded me to act against you.", he said firmly, looking at Charlotte, "And you've helped us. So I won't make any rash judgments... Though I reserve the right to be deeply unsettled."
But this is a singular existence that beats all conventional rules of this world.
"Pretty reasonable.", she stated with a nod.
Lea felt that the Goddess of Madness had other plans; she felt like she could judge the divines' intentions now, as a demigod.
Leaving Charlotte alone was a very bad idea, especially when the woman herself does not have morals when it comes to this world.
She moved the conversation to a different topic, "I will head to the Adventurer's Guild to become one, then somehow sneak my way near Australia."
And of course, she needed diving gear that could somehow withstand water pressure.
"I plan to go with her too, along with Solafant.", Jim added.
Lea turned to Dawn, her expression was complex. But it soon softened into a smile.
"Just... take care of yourself, Lea.", that was all she could offer.
"I will."
Besides, nothing is as good as a demigod at the Sixth Step... Lea thought.
"I am still curious about...", Rasputin spoke up, staring at Charlotte, "What is your relationship with the gods?"
Lea turned to Charlotte, who merely chuckled.
"Let me test this first... Forge of Sheng—"
In an instant, all of the Argonauts felt a piercing pain through their head, causing them all to tremble even before the true Chalk Princess finished her sentence. It was unbearable, as if something had punished them for daring to learn just a speck of it.
"Alright.", Charlotte smiled, "Let's see... Serpents of Vor—"
Another violent reaction, lesser than before but still unbearable. This time, Charlotte frowned.
"Voidborn."
There was still a reaction, just from using the nickname of the 42 Cosmic Laws. But it was significantly less intense than the two previous attempts...
"The protection of this place only comes to a certain level...", she smiled, having grasped something, "Mashhith, you should do better."
Lea, still in pain, stares at Charlotte with fear. Titles— no, incomplete titles, with just that sent their mind near the breaking point.
A chill ran down her spine at Charlotte's experimentation, and what kind of entity didn't want itself to be known?
"Let me ask you this.", the true Chalk Princess' eyes glaze over them, "What is Divinity?"
The question hung in the air.
Lea spoke first, "The power to alter the world as the divine sees fit."
That was what the church taught her.
Rasputin nodded, "I agree. Divinity is the authority to reshape existence according to one's domain."
Dawn's answer was more technical, "Powers that can't be explained yet, or phenomena that exist outside our current understanding."
Jim stayed silent, clearly uncomfortable with philosophical discussions.
Charlotte smiled, "All interesting answers. All partially correct. But here's mine, vastness. Or more specifically, sphere of influence."
Once again, the pain came. Significantly more than the third time, yet not the same as the first or second.
Seeing that, Charlotte could only sigh.
"Well... I'll leave it at that.", she closed her book as it vanished, "I think it is all the time we have now."
"So rest up, I have things to do."
With a snap of her finger, Lea and the others were sent back.
Sitting in front of her desk, the Demigod of Unconscious let out a sigh of relief... some memories were forgotten, even she cannot dive deep into her mind to look for them.
They were just removed... Lea thought, a chill ran down her spine.
She headed over to Dawn's workshop, seeing the princess was working on another schematic.
"I can't forget it... not now...", her eyes are as crazy as usual, "Fuck... Memory can't hold onto it, I can't create a Legacy with so little time..."
Silently, Lea approached and grabbed her moving hand, "Dawn... stop. I can see the pain in your eyes. You will crash if you keep going."
"No!! I'm so close!!", she stares at her friend with manic, crazed eyes.
"You are not close!! The war just ended, you just retreated from politics to make space for finding the unknown god's pieces and the church business!!"
Lea realized that, from reading Dawn's surface thoughts, nothing would get to her. So she decided to switch tactics.
"Look, it is obvious that Charlotte is a more pressing matter. Although I don't know what she really wants, it is related to the gods in this world..."
Changing the target of Dawn's obsession to Charlotte.
"So the most reasonable thing right now is preparing for whatever Charlotte is looking for."
Only after a few seconds, Dawn's eyes changed. She had switched to Charlotte, completely forgetting the mysteries the Chalk Princess spoke.
"Yes... that is right...", Dawn nodded, "The True Chalk Princess... I obviously can't beat her right away, so I'll..."
She shut her mouth, looking around, not knowing if Charlotte or "Miss Mashhith" were listening.
"Anyway, Lea.", Dawn shook her head, staring at Lea with an unwavering gaze, "I wish you good luck."
Lea smiled, nodding, "You too, Dawn."
And they hugged each other, feeling each other's warmth and comfort...
=0=0=
The Land of Crimson Tree fell silent.
Saintess Olivier and Eric, after awakening from the meeting, stood at a respectful distance, watching as the massive cocoon at the tree's heart split open completely. Flesh and divine energy peeled away like petals, revealing what lay within.
A boy stepped out.
He looked no older than fourteen, though something in his bearing suggested that age was meaningless for what he was.
Red hair, slightly curly, caught the light like living flame. Crimson eyes burned with a depth that shouldn't exist in such a young face, ancient and new all at once, holding knowledge and madness in equal measure.
He wore no clothes in the traditional sense. Instead, crimson flesh-like vines wrapped around his body, growing from his skin itself, forming a covering that gave him dignity while making clear he was something other than human.
The prophesied child, The Savior, The Goddess of Madness's gift to the world.
He took a breath, and the Land of Crimson Tree responded. The oppressive atmosphere that had hung over the place for weeks simply... vanished.
Replaced by something else. Something that felt like purpose.
Olivier fell to her knees immediately, tears streaming down her face.
"My Lady's child...", she whispered, "The Savior walks."
Then her eyes went white.
Divine revelation. An Oracle directly from the Goddess.
Eric knew better than to interrupt. He stood silently, watching as Olivier's body went rigid, her mouth opening to speak words that weren't her own.
"My Child is my Proxy on the mortal realm.", the Saintess said, her voice layered with something vast and terrible, "Bring him to the Fog Wall at the end of the world, and he shall open the gates of the final battle."
The Oracle ended. Olivier gasped, collapsing forward, catching herself on her hands.
The boy looked at her with those burning crimson eyes but said nothing, merely waiting.
Then the crimson tree moved.
Branches reached out, dozens of them, stretching toward the expedition team members who had maintained vigil nearby. Those from the Church of Sacrifice, and the warriors of the New World.
One branch reached for Eric.
He didn't flinch. Something told him this was meant to happen.
The branch touched his forehead, and the world exploded with sensation.
He heard Her voice directly in his mind. The Goddess of Madness spoke to him, and her voice was pure yet contained undeniable insanity.
"I shall open your true self.", the Goddess said, "For higher might and mind."
Power flooded through Eric. His Paths expanded. The Fourth Step limitations that had defined him crumbled away like paper in fire.
He was ascending right here and now. Through the ancient method of being blessed by the gods, bypassing the need for rituals.
The Goddess of Madness had simply decided he was ready, and reality accommodated.
But there was more.
A message meant only for him.
"Do not trust the Argent Monarch of Another World.", the Goddess whispered directly into his mind, her voice carrying weight that made his newly-ascended consciousness strain.
"Respect her, for her goal is noble for this world. But do not trust her. She is not what she seems, and her presence here serves purposes beyond your comprehension."
The Goddess was warning him about Charlotte.
The branch withdrew. Eric gasped, falling to one knee as the transformation completed.
He could feel his understanding of Madness itself expanded to levels he couldn't have imagined hours ago.
Fifth Step. He'd reached Fifth Step.
Around him, other expedition members were experiencing similar ascensions. The Goddess had blessed them all for their service, for their faith, for surviving the journey to witness her child's birth.
Olivier stood slowly, her legs shaking. She approached the boy, who still stood silently among the roots of the crimson tree.
"My Lady's child.", she said softly, "What is your name?"
The boy looked at her with those burning eyes. When he spoke, his voice was young but carried echoes of something far older.
"I am Krima", he said simply, "And I am here to save this world."
He looked past Olivier, past the expedition team, toward something distant only he could see.
"The final battle approaches.", Krima continued. "The Fog Fall awaits. And when we reach it..."
His crimson eyes burned brighter.
"Everything will change."
Eric, still kneeling, processed the Goddess's warning in his newly expanded mind.
Do not trust the Argent Monarch.
But Charlotte had helped them, had worked alongside the Argonauts.
Why would the Goddess warn him against her?
What did Charlotte want that even the gods found concerning?
He didn't know...
=0=0=
Yet in the monochrome library, Charlotte merely smiled like always. Reading the book with the great tree cover, 17 glowing orb dots around, making their presence known.
"For outsiders like us, it seems like it is a good time to move.", she was reading a chapter titled 'Law of Sentience', "So, it's time for you to bend fate and luck to this world's favor..."
"Kahelzar, Shepherd of After."
On the opposite seat from Charlotte sat a child wearing a hood, holding a lantern that glowed red even in this world devoid of color. She tilted her head upward, showing a childlike face, but half of it was a burning red skull...
"It is merely a Shepherd's job to guide the wayward...", Kahelzar spoke, hollow and grand at the same time, "For the continuation of Life."
Kahelzar, or by the name this world had given her, the Goddess of Fortune.