Chapter 253 - An Honest Assessment

Nate was giving Lord Ankh’Aris’s offer a great deal of thought, among other things. The problem he was experiencing was that those other things kept jockeying for his attention. They had just been told that The System was basically handing out easy developments to the universes near the Source of Mana just so it could dump more mana into their Reality. 

Nate didn’t like the idea of it, but he also found it hard to hate The System. That wasn’t to say he didn’t desire to be free of it. In fact, he thought the desire for freedom was probably something intrinsic to most sentient life. Still, it was hard to hate something that had changed his life for the better. It had given him the power to choose most of his own direction, to- become an artist on a scale that he wouldn’t have dreamed of. 

The System and its nature however were not where his mind kept drifting to. Nor was it the fact that if Ankh’Aris was correct, a huge portion of sentients' lives were at stake. No, his mind kept going back to Arikanvil and the choice the True Divine appeared to be making.

“Would he know?” he asked.

Ankh’Aris, still leaning forward intently, focused his yellow, reptilian eyes on Nate.

“Would Arikanvil know the consequences of his plan? Almost certainly. He is a True Divine. More importantly, a True Divine who was known for breaking into secure locations and stealing everything, and I do mean everything. I heard, as a Greater Divine, he broke into the secured home of Everburning Lok, a True Divine of some note. Took everything, including the house. It was quite large, I am told. Someone capable of that has surely gained texts that detail Kali’Terra’s nature and its limitations.”

“Why?” Nate asked, his tone dripping with confusion.

To him it made no sense. Certainly, freedom was something worth striving for, but to do so at the cost of literally everyone else, his mind couldn’t fathom that level of selfishness. Nate didn’t consider himself a perfect person by any stretch of the imagination, but he tried to be kind to those who were at the very least indifferent to him. Beyond that he was generous with those who he was friendly with. For those he loved, there was nothing he wouldn't do. To him, there was no point in living a life isolated from almost everything and everyone, and in his limited experience selfishness ultimately led to loneliness. Maybe he was just being naive.

His mind drifted back to Prince Bordain, who had been ready to sacrifice most of his people and his own family just for power. That too, had been selfishness taken to the extreme. But where Bordain’s impact had been limited to a kingdom, Arikanvil’s impact would cover the sentients of almost half the universes within their Reality. To sacrifice so many just to get what you wanted was beyond Nate’s ability to understand. To him, it was pure madness.

Ankh’Aris snorted, “You are so young. Your experience of reality is that of a foundling who has barely left the nest. If a being would sacrifice ten sentients to get what they wanted, then why not a hundred? A thousand? A million? Billions? It’s only a matter of scale. When someone wants something strongly enough, the cost to acquire it ceases to matter. There is a Truth there, if you were capable of seeing it.”

“What about The Calikex?” demanded Kiri hotly. “You would just let them die?!”

The dragon-lord snorted again, this time not restraining the Concept of Destruction as it brushed against Nate’s barrier and ate at Kiri’s skin, her Soul Energy taking a moment to heal the damage.

“They wouldn’t die. I could, and would, save quite a few of them. I would free them from Kali’Terra right now if it did not constitute an attack against The System. You think I, Ankh’Aris’Kol’Deravian, Ancient Dragon of the Black Sun, Death’s Shadow, Destroyer of Ascendants, am incapable of removing Kali’Terra’s little toy constructs from a mortal's body and severing the connection to its spiritual energy? Kali’Terra could snuff me out if I did so now, but when that invasive Spirit is dying? Well, then I could act. Would I be able to save all of them? Probably not. But I would save enough. Enough that they could live on. Enough that they could live free. Don’t question my honour, child of a broken Path!”

Kiri looked like she had been physically slapped and Nate’s eyes narrowed into slits, his hurt turning to anger at the rebuke against his sister.

“We have done the best we could with what we have been given!” He ground out between clenched teeth.

Nate and Ankh’Aris glared at each other for a moment before the True Divine leaned back and sighed.

“You are right. I should not judge you for your ignorance. Truth knows The Calikex themselves are abhorrently ignorant and I do not judge them. You are not Seeds from the Heartlands. You lack the teachings to even begin to recognise your shortcomings.”

Ankh’Aris paused for a moment before continuing, “Or your strengths, I suppose. By The System’s standards you are both weak and strong for your level. Has anyone instructed you on the nature of The Heartlands?”

Nate was still bristling from the comment against Kiri but as she laid a hand on his arm he settled, finally shaking his head to the negative.

“It is an arguably thin layer of universes that exist just beyond the current limit of the Wild Realms, those universes close to the Source,” explained Ankh’Aris.

“We know that part,” interjected Kiri. “But you mentioned their ‘nature’?”

“Yes, so not completely ignorant, only mostly ignorant. The Heartlands are populated with hundreds of organisations. They go by many names. Sects, founded by those who took up Kali’Terra’s original offer. Empires and their vassal Kingdoms. Companies, Clans, the list goes on. What they all have in common is enough mana to search for Seeds among their populace, and raise them up, funnelling enough resources into them to turn them into powerhouses. That means their Seeds have access to materials, methods and knowledge to perfectly utilise their Class Cores and the Skills provided. Yet, they almost never raise any to Lesser Divine before the third evolution. Tell me why?”

“Because of their lower Stats?” Kiri ventured, receiving a negative response from the lecturing True Divine.

Nate gave it a moment's thought, “It’s because of how much Divine Energy they can hold isn’t it?”

Ankh’Aris nodded, “For two reasons. The reason their leadership gives, and the real reason. The earlier you evolve, the less of Kali’Terra’s Divine Energy you carry and the more room there is for your own within the Class Core. But that increase is not linear. You would have a maximum pool of one-hundred-and-sixty.”

“How can you know this without having a Class Core of your own?” Nate asked.

“I speak with my own kind, on occasion, and The Calikex occasionally give rise to an Ascendant. I have also… questioned… members of powerful organisations from The Heartlands.”

“Okay, yeah, you know how much we can hold, what about if they evolve to Divine at the third evolution?” Kiri pressed.

“Sixty,” answered Ankh’Aris. “Thirty at the fourth evolution. By the sixth and last evolution it is down to ten. That alone wouldn’t be bad, but it also triples at every evolution. A True Divine who began at the third evolution would end up with a maximum Divine Energy storage capacity of only five-hundred-and-forty. The two of you, if you survive, would manage one-thousand-four-hundred-and-forty. You begin to see some of the issues I assume?”

“We’d be potentially as powerful as three other True Divines, roughly,” whispered Kiri in surprise.

“And do you think the old monsters who control these organisations want that kind of competition? Not only would these powerhouses become threats to their organisations, with that kind of Divine Energy, you become a threat to entire worlds. You are no longer someone they can consider crossing, and crossing others is all those old bastards want to do,” hissed Ankh’Aris in derision.

“Is that what happened when The Eternium invaded here?” Nate asked curiously.

“Hmm, you’re referring to the little Dungeon I put nearby? Quite proud of my work on that one. A previous exchange with Kali’Terra got me that particular treasure, though the rendition isn’t entirely accurate. I didn’t want to scare The Calikex beyond what was necessary. While the invasion is mostly accurate, their Ascendants and I did battle above, beyond the world's atmosphere. I didn’t want The Calikex getting caught in the mix and they didn’t want to violate Reciprocity by accidentally killing mortals. Shame they kept me busy for so long. They took more from The Calikex on that day than I thought possible.”

“And how many of them escaped your wrath? The Ascendants, I mean?” Nate wondered, hoping for an answer.

“Of the five they sent, only one returned. Ban’Jin was always wily, even when he was a youngster learning to take in a Truth at my feet.”

Nate’s eyes widened slightly, noting the action mirrored on Kiri’s face.

“That sounds like a Calikex name,” ventured Kiri.

“It is,” huffed Ankh’Aris. “How do you think they found this world? Ungrateful little whelp led them back here after he had taken on enough of Kali’Terra’s gifts to be a challenge, albeit a small one.”

“They came for you… not the Calikex artifacts,” Nate commented, thinking out loud.

“They came for both,” corrected Ankh’Aris. “Artifacts to help them raise up their Seeds, and what better artifact for their leadership than my corpse? I assume Ban’Jin talked them into it. I honestly hoped they would destroy that little betrayer when he failed and cost them four Ascendants, but I suppose with four of their number dead they couldn’t afford to lose another and start losing territory. Old history now,” muttered Ankh’Aris, but Nate could hear the banked anger in the old dragon's tone. He clearly hated Ban'Jin.

“Why not go kill him?” asked Frick, joining the conversation for the first time. His question got a vehement nod from Kiri who Nate could recognise felt similarly about letting enemies live.

“And what? Risk myself for a vendetta? Would that bring back the dead? If I failed, The Calikex would be undefended. They lost much, but not everything, and only my presence prevents a repeat. The newer True Divines are not like those who were around when The System arrived. Weak is the best way to describe them, when compared to someone like me, but there are more than enough of them and I am a treasure trove to them. Even a dragon can fall if you throw enough ants at them. I have seen it.”

“That’s why they don’t come back, isn’t it? The Eternium I mean. Not enough True Divines with the requisite Divine Energy to threaten you,” commented Nate.

“Not on their own, anyway,” agreed Ankh’Aris. “And they’d never work with another organisation. To be seen doing so is a good way to paint a target on their backs. Heartlands politics are cutthroat. And that, children, is where you seem to be bound, so I will ask once again, do you wish me to teach you? Do you wish to follow a true Path? Do you wish to become an Ascendant, and not these paper tigers produced by The System?”

“I do,” agreed Kiri, surprising Nate in her quick response.

His sister turned to him, a serious expression on her face, “I want to stop Arikanvil. If he succeeds, then Galle dies. Maybe we could save a few. My parents, our friends, but what’s the point living in an empty world? I want to see you paint strange, older women who are inexplicably drawn to you like flies to honey! I want to make the world a better place, or the universe, whatever we can do. I want to be heroic! Not a hero, because those only exist in stories, but that doesn’t mean I don’t want to strive for that ideal. And I want to be strong. Strong enough to protect you and everyone else I care about. He… he called my Path broken, just like that Seed of Eternity did in the Dungeon and… and it’s hard for me to say they're wrong.”

Nate opened his mouth but Kiri gently tapped his feet that were half-tucked underneath him to make him stop.

“I’m not like you. Not when it comes to our Paths. Even the Classes given to me by The System don’t seem to perfectly line up with what I want to do, because I am just fumbling blindly and grasping at whatever comes out. I’m not calling myself weak.”

A snort interrupted them but Kiri rolled her eyes which elicited a chuckle from the ancient dragon.

“Weak compared to him maybe, but not weak. I’m strong, and I am really hard to kill, but the other parts of my Path just feel like I have just tacked them on. Like adding Ligan meat to a fish dish just because I had it on hand and it tastes good. It’s not…”

“Cohesive?” suggested Nate.

“Exactly! It’s not cohesive. If he can help, I want that. I want to fix my mistakes. I want to stop fumbling in the dark.”

Nate nodded, then smiled at Kiri, green eyes staring into blue. 

“You could’ve just said you wanted to stop Arikanvil,” he teased.

Kiri’s punch almost knocked him off the couch, only his barrier saving him from an unfortunate spill.

“Arse,” she laughed, but he could see the tension bleeding out of her.

“She’s not the only one with issues,” added Ankh’Aris. “She lacks understanding. Something that can be remedied. You lack experience and depth.”

Nate’s eyebrows rose in surprise.

“What? You think I can’t see the Paths of youngsters like yourself? I was teaching children like you ten thousand years ago. She is like a blind fish swimming in a deep pool, unable to understand what surrounds her. You are like a child who saw the ocean and decided to try and drink it. What did Kali’Terra call your Embodiment? Truthseeker? Something to do with Knowledge?”

Nate debated not answering, but in the end, if he wanted the help of this being, he needed to be honest with them. And he did want their help, because as he was, he had no idea how he would go about stopping Arikanvil.

“It’s Conceptual Artist,” he answered.

“Conceptual? So not an ocean then, no, you decided you would try and swallow an entire Reality. Bold, but arrogant. What about you, girl?”

“Reborn,” huffed Kiri.

“Stupid,” muttered Ankh’Aris. “No wonder you’re struggling. Still, I can help you. Do you desire it?”

“Can you help Frick as well?” asked Nate.

Ankh’Aris eyed the little blue goblin, who rather than flashing a toothy smile, looked about ready to hide behind Nate’s body, as if his feeble form would even slow the dragon down.

“I suppose I could offer some assistance. I have never particularly liked the Concept of Chaos but putting you on par with a Seed would amuse me.”

“Then yes,” Nate agreed. “We desire your help.”

“Good. Explain to me what you’re trying to achieve. What you want to be.”

“Not what we most align with?” asked Kiri in confusion.

“Ascending is a choice. You can choose to align yourself with whatever you want. The System merely pushes you towards the cheapest and easiest method to ascend. But, if you could choose, what would you choose?”

Nate explained what he wanted to achieve. Kiri had heard it all before, but Ankh’Aris started laughing, his voice booming throughout the room.

“That I can help with. Alright, child, for now, you have one job.”

“What’s that?” Nate asked eagerly, only for Ankh’Aris to appear in front of him as though he had teleported, finger poised in front of Nate’s forehead.

“Survive.”

Then he felt the dragon flick him in the forehead. Tumbling back into a void his last sight was of the pearl that housed his Divine Artifact held tightly in the hand of Ankh’Aris.