Chapter 260 - Heart to Heart

Nate could understand Ankh’Aris’s disappointment. The ancient dragon could almost certainly sense the Divine Energy Nate had been accruing over the last month or so. Between Nate’s slowly growing understanding of the Concepts of Reality and their relationships, coupled with his creative pursuits, he had been glutting on Divine Energy at a truly astounding rate. 

In addition, and it was just a guess, but Nate suspected the dragon could also to some extent assess Nate’s development in terms of his Divine Vessel. With that in mind, it was easy to see why Ankh’Aris would be disappointed, after all, Nate hadn’t improved his Divine Vessel at all in that time.

Nate felt differently though. His time hadn’t been wasted. It had been firmly spent in preparation. That preparation was almost done now and he’d see if Ankh’Aris was still disappointed after Nate had completed his plan. But before he did so, there were things Nate wanted to ask the ancient dragon.

“Can you tell me more about what to expect in The Heartlands?” Nate asked.

Kiri must have heard him as she appeared within his sphere of awareness, sitting down to listen to Ankh’Aris, assuming the dragon deigned to respond.

“The Heartlands?” muttered the dragon. “Very well. Though I prefer a trial by destruction approach, I suppose I can acknowledge that your Paths are not my own. I will tell you a little about The Heartlands and what to expect.”

“You know that the Wild Realms are those universes that are incredibly close to the Source of Mana. In such places, it is difficult for the sapient populations to thrive under Kali’Terra. The mana itself is strong enough to kill creatures without a Class Core who have not adapted, and because of this, Kali’Terra gifts them Class Cores basically at birth, meaning those that might have survived the ambient mana never evolve or adapt to it. As Kali’Terra puts an emphasis on Achievements for determining investment, these sapients start with lower-tier Classes and so struggle to ascend. Beasts and the like are often far more numerous and also far quicker to adapt. More importantly, many of them are considered to possess Achievements simply due to their nature. However, that is not the reason they tend to develop more quickly and more powerfully.”

“Mana empowers Reality, which means the Wild Realms are more likely to naturally form artifacts based on Truths. And you already know how they can be used. In worlds where the sapient population is a fraction of a percentage, is it any surprise then that the beasts are more likely to find, hoard and use these artifacts? You’ve met a few such beasts yourselves.”

Nate nodded along with Kiri, recognising that the Lesser Divines that attacked them while he was making his Regalia were such beasts.

“Beyond the Wild Realms, in what you could argue is the ideal layer, exist The Heartlands. Universes close enough to the Source to experience heightened mana, but not so high that it becomes difficult to utilise or control. But still high enough to produce artifacts at a notably higher rate. To the surprise of no one, this is where the majority of the factions of our Reality call home.”

“Majority?” asked Nate.

“There are noteworthy factions within the Light and Dark Realms as well. There are none in the Spiritual Realms however, unless you count Kali’Terra’s own.”

Nate nodded, noting the old terminology for the Heavens and the Hells.

“Now, as for what the factions of The Heartlands do, well, they can be likened to farmers.”

“Farmers?” Kiri said with a laugh.

“Angry farmers,” continued Ankh’Aris. “Sure, they call themselves many fancy names. Sects, Empires, Guilds and the like. But what they are, is a bunch of angry farmers. In The Heartlands, only one planet in a hundred is populated with sapients. The rest are left to accumulate energy and naturally form Divine artifacts. They do have beast populations as well, but they are basically glorified hunting grounds. Do you understand what I am saying?”

Nate thought about his Regalia and compared it to Ankh’Aris’s cultivation realm. The dragon had pointed out how the cultivation realm would be useless for a few years at the minimum, due to Nate drinking in the Truths within. When Nate compared his Regalia with those artifacts, he could see the difference. Sure, he could make Divine artifacts that resonated with the Concepts that made up Reality, but it wasn’t like he could just constantly drain those creations to increase his own Divine Energy. They needed time. Time to accumulate power. His Regalia would need to be left alone for years potentially if he ever wanted to use it as a source of Divine Energy for improving his Divine Vessel, or the unlikely scenario of feeding it to his Class Core.

With that understanding, he could see why Ankh’Aris called the factions of The Heartlands farmers. They set up planets, then left them alone to accumulate mana and Truths, before going in and farming them. A planetary cultivation realm effectively.

“I think so,” Nate answered, explaining what he thought he understood to the powerful Ascendant.

“Precisely. However, they take it a step further. The number of planets a faction can control is based on how powerful they are. Having their highest stratas battle it out is something they did away with a long time ago. I am not saying the True Divine’s of The System never fight. I am saying it is rare. Instead, they use the lower generations to fight, betting on the outcomes or making deals with each other. Bunch of old vultures if you ask me. It’s like a sport to them, or maybe entertainment. They conduct various competitions, the factions competing for resources, or even planets. The faction that owns a planet always gets a cut of the harvest, but there is more than enough to go round, and what better way to cut your enemies off at the knees, then by destroying their young. That is the nest of vipers you will be venturing into, so I have only one thing to say to you.”

Ankh’Aris stared at them with his huge slitted yellow eyes, “As my Disciples, you two better not embarrass me.”

Nate and Kiri both nodded their heads in understanding. 

“Speaking of being your Disciples, will they be able to tell that our bodies are Divine Vessels?” asked Kiri.

“If they know what to look for, yes. Most won’t. Only the old monsters in The Heartlands would even know that it is possible, I assume. And those bastards have no desire to share power. I doubt they even tell their offspring that it is possible, lest their own blood challenge them in the future. Having said that, it was something I had considered. Arikanvil may know enough to look, and given his mastery of space, he would undoubtedly discover that change within you. So I have prepared a parting gift for the pair of you. The final thing for my newest Disciples. Something that will let you hide amongst Kali’Terra’s puppets.”

Ankh’Aris produced two vials from nowhere. Each small vial swirled with a black sediment within a deep blue liquid. The sediment instantly caught Nate’s attention, after all, he had seen it before.

“This is your sand of Erosion,” Nate whispered.

“Some of it,” acknowledged Ankh’Aris. “Coupled with my own knowledge, a drop of my blood and some Depths Water. It will suffuse your own blood easily enough, though I expect it will hurt. The effect however is that it should erode the senses of those who try to peer beyond your skin. Do not think it will last forever. I give it a year before the effect wears off. After that you will be on your own.”

Nate debated asking about why it would bind to them, but he had enough on his plate without adding alchemy lessons. Something to investigate in the future he decided, when he had the time, if such a mythical thing even existed.

“If there is nothing else, you should go make your final preparations for leaving.”

Nate stood slowly. There was something else. And now seemed like the right time, rather than waiting for tomorrow before they left.

“There was one last thing, Ankh’Aris.”

Ankh’Aris had been a harsh teacher, but ultimately fair. That was ignoring how oddly generous the dragon had been. Nate was fully aware that The System would pay the debt it owed to Ankh’Aris. Even so, much like their own agreement with Arikanvil, it was unlikely that the debt would be repaid quickly. That hadn’t stopped the ancient dragon from providing Nate with the Path to freeing himself from The System, from the Law of Reciprocity, while at the same time opening up a new realm of possibilities for him.

A glance at Kiri and he added her to the list of those Ankh’Aris had helped. She’d been walking a broken Path by her own words. A Path that didn’t align with who she was. Ankh’Aris had rectified her issues, and for that Nate was also thankful. So it seemed to Nate that since he could do whatever he wanted for the dragon, unbound by Reciprocity in this case, then he should offer his own gift to the Ascendant. But what could one give an ancient dragon who was thousands of years old and predated The System?

Nate closed his eyes so that he could more easily direct his focus into his spatial zone and into the warehouse Frick had created to store his growing collection of paintings. One painting waited in the back. Nate had spent multiple days on the painting, making sure everything about it was just right. The proportions of the subject had been more challenging than expected and it was paramount that Nate get them right. He was fortunate enough to have had a real life example, but even so, he had debated getting outside feedback before discarding the idea. He didn’t want to ruin the surprise.

Ankh’Aris had been disappointed in how Nate had spent his time, but that was largely driven by one single factor. Nate had been accumulating Divine Energy at a truly prodigious rate. With the amount he had accumulated in such a short time he surely should’ve been able to improve his Divine Vessel. Or at least he could have experimented with converting mana into processed mana using that same Divine Energy. Or created another Divine Artifact. 

There was a litany of things Nate could have done with all that Divine Energy, yet all he had to show for it was Kiri’s Regalia. Regalia that had been significantly cheaper in terms of Divine Energy than his own Regalia, since the material itself, Ankh’Aris’s dragonscales, were already Divine. And then there was the cost of creating the Divine Sigil required. This time only one was needed, making the cost to create the Divine Artifact was less than half what it had cost to create his own. By the Heartlands standards, that was still apparently a small fortune in terms of Divine Energy, but was less than half the Divine Energy Nate had accumulated in the month since starting his body on the Path of Ascendancy.

Instead, Nate had been accumulating all that Divine Energy in his Class Core and Divine Vessel. And now was the time to put it to use. In his heart, he recognised this act was as much for himself as it was for Ankh’Aris. A recognition of his Path of Living Art.

Divine Energy started flowing out of him in a flood, the golden liquid resonating with the Concepts of Creation, Destruction and Space. Where they met, twinkles of light appeared, vanishing in and out of existence like the fleeting realities they were. He smiled as he watched those sparkling moments, because that feeling was exactly what he intended. He was going to make his belief, his reality, become the truth of their Reality.

Accumulating Divine Energy had only been part of the problem he needed to solve. The other had been learning the ins and outs of his new Skill, Life Imitates Art. In the future he was going to get rid of his Class Core, and so he needed to understand the dynamic runic arrays that made his Skills work. It had taken a little Divine Energy used by Conceptual Eyes of The Runic Artist but he had finally understood the complex nature of the Skill. Understood it, and created his own changed version of it. He still considered the Skills the same, but he’d made one change to his own version.

The complex runic array spun around him, enveloping him in a sphere of blue light as he drew in mana from the Wild Realm itself to fuel his working. Pieces of runes shifted within the overall runic array as his mind was forced to use every single one of his mental focuses to contain the complicated rune. Finally, with everything in place, he let the Divine Energy begin to fuse with the runic array. Instantly the room lit up in gold as his runic array, filled with Divine and Grandmaster Tier Sigils, locked into place.

Golden light spilled over the room and finally Ankh’Aris stood up, giving Nate his full attention. The narrowed yellow eyes of the Ascendant were filled with a warning, that if Nate dared attack, he would cease to exist. But the ancient dragon made no move to stop Nate and Nate knew why. The dragon could sense the Divine Energies within the rune, and they were one of Creation, not Destruction.

Nate finally brought forth the penultimate piece that would complete his grand working. A single painting. The artworked showed Ankh’Aris’s throne room in all its dark glory. Obsidian pillars climbing into the darkness of the ceiling far above. Shadows hugged the walls and the bases of those pillars. Shadows created by the blinding light at the heart of the painting, where a small yellow dragon roared, her serpentine body and wings chasing away the darkness. The details were exquisite and had taken Nate days to get right despite his superhuman attributes and capability. But for this, he demanded perfection.

The final piece hovered into the centre of the rune, the fossilised egg slowly rotating within the golden light. 

“Life Imitates Art,” Nate whispered as he activated the rune.

The golden runic array collapsed inward, the artwork being consumed in the process as Destruction took its due. Then, with a final burst of shining light, the runic array expended itself disappearing into the egg. A light bloomed from within as the fossilised egg shifted, turning from stone into an eggshell, which then immediately cracked open, the shell turning to dust.

From the centre of that cloud of dust, a tiny dragon with white and gold scales strode forth, rearing up on her hind legs to preen before them.

A notification was buzzing in the corner of his vision but Nate ignored it as he felt a powerful presence descend upon them. Kali’Terra had come.

“NO!” roared Ankh’Aris and at his words mana fled the room, along with Kali’Terra’s presence.

Nate blinked tiredly, staring at the little solar dragon before glancing up at Ankh’Aris only to witness a tear fall from one of the dragons gargantuan eyes.

“Thank you,” whispered the Ascendant, holding out a clawed hand for the solar dragon to climb onto. “You shall be named Luci’Nil’Fai’Deravian.”

The baby solar dragon curled up in Ankh’Aris’s hand and nuzzled against it and Nate couldn’t help but smile. He had brought a little light into the universe, and perhaps a little hope into Ankh’Aris’s heart. Reality agreed as Divine Energy flowed into him for his act of Creation.