004 - The Divinity of Adversity, Progression and Recompense

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How did things come to be this way? I asked myself, bewildered by what I saw. However, before I could delve further into it, Sirius stepped beside me, looking over my shoulder.

“What’s this? How can you only be level 1? Not even children remain at that level for long. What have you been doing with your life?”

My neck snapped to my right as my eyes widened, and my heart rate suddenly accelerated.

“You can see this? How?”

This information wasn't shown physically. It was but a visual representation of that Divine Blessing. It should have been for my eyes alone. It made no sense that someone else could peek at it unless they possessed some sort of special privilege enabling them to bypass whatever security the Divinity of Games had put onto it.

“It’s nothing special. [Analyze] is quite a common skill for the scout branch,” Sirius shrugged.

“Skills? What are you talking about?”

I infer it had something to do with the God of Games' Blessing, but its intricacies eluded me as of yet. I'd never put much effort into learning about some of the more obscure Divinities out there, especially the more recent ones.

"You're pulling my leg, aren't you? How can you not have heard of the Divinity of Adversity, Progression and Recompense? Everybody in a radius of thousands of miles around here has, at least, heard the name."

The Divinity of Adversity, Progression and Recompense? The name did ring a bell. Wasn’t that the God of Games’ official name? It was such a mouthful that not even he wanted to use it. As I recall, he even said that Games was more appropriate, something about an obscure form of entertainment from where he came from.

“I don’t remember things being this way,” I replied. “Since when did this Blessing of Adversity, Progression and Recompense start appearing?”

"You really don't know?" Stella asked, looking quite confused. "It's been about a hundred years—give or take. It's quite the recent Blessing, but what's strange about it is that it's not awarded on an individual basis like all other Blessing, but based on location."

I frowned. This was weird indeed. What could the Divinity of Games possibly be thinking? Blessings were granted sparingly, only to those deemed worthy of it. It wasn't done consciously by divinities—although it could be—but through the essence itself.

Usually, only one Blessing at a time would be awarded to an individual. If said individual were found more worthy of another, the first would be overwritten by the more recent one.

Sometimes, individuals worthy of two simultaneous blessings would be born, but those individuals were few and far between, almost mythical. All were destined for greatness, for they had received the world’s recognition.

And yet, the Divinity of Games distributed his Blessing as he would cabbages. No divinity in their right mind would be inclined to do so, as it would only cheapen its value. Yet, according to the twins, that man had already done so for a hundred years to an uncountable number of people.

What was he up to?

How come I never heard about it?

Was The Divine complicit in all this. Surely, the Divinity of Games couldn’t have hidden something of this scale from his knowledge.

“What’s this about skills?” I asked. “Is it like the abilities granted through a blessing?”

“Kind of—but not really,” Stella began explaining. “The Blessing of Recompense—that's what we call—allows for something similar to blessings, but more widespread and with fewer requirements. Obviously, the power obtained is always much lower but much easier to acquire. As one of the Scout Classes, my brother has acquired the [Analyze] skill, allowing him to peak at other people’s status. Oh, [Status] is what we call the information you just saw.”

“So this... [Status]. That skill allows you to see it all?”

"Not everything, no," Sirius said. "Just the bare minimum—like your level and class. If I were to evolve to an advanced class, I might be able to see more, but [Analyze] is currently enough to give me an edge when it comes to battle.

I stared at my own status, only to see my current class seemed to be [Warrior]. While extremely basic in its description, it appeared somewhat apt to describe my fighting style. While I could have once done much more using my Divinity, I preferred using weapons over spells, and this [Status] seemed to reflect that.

But to see my [Level] as 1—the value of my current prowess visually and numerically represented by the Blessing of Recompense—left a bad taste in my mouth. My strength was the testimony of the hardships I endured in my quest for Divinity. To see it all gone as if it had never existed left me bitter. If not for the fires raging within my heart, I might have wallowed into despair, thinking of what I had lost.

And yet, this Blessing of Recompense seemed to be an opportunity. If what I saw was real, this Blessing allowed individuals to grow systematically, regardless of talent or opportunity. Its name alone was enough proof, for the name was the essence of that Divinity itself. It was hardly chosen at random.

Hence why Divinity of Adversity, Progression and Recompense, and not Divinity of Games or Divinity of Recompense. The name was more important than people believed.

Still, this [Blessing of Slaughter (Partial)] caught my eye.

Now that I had fallen, there should have been no more Divinity of Slaughter. All the blessings I once imparted should have become dormant, having lost the essence of their powers. At worst, they should have disappeared entirely. Yet, this [Status] clearly showed a part of it remained. Even though Divinity was reduced to Blessing, it still meant something.

“How does one... [Level Up], so to say?" I asked, trying to wrap my brain around this new Blessing.

“That depends on the individual, really,” Sirius said. “Take my sister. Her class is [Acolyte], of the Cleric line. With her [Blessing of Mercy], she's able to heal others through her skill. Didn't you ever wonder—looking at this devastation—how you could have possibly survived that fall? You'd better show your gratitude. She expended a lot of her Blessing to keep you alive!"

“Enough, Sirius!" Stella snapped. "I do not help others for something like gratitude. I just hope to make the world a slightly better place. If even one person can learn to be kind to another without expecting anything, my life would have meaning."

This struck me to my core. How could this mortal woman be so similar to her? While I barely knew her, and words were just that—words, I couldn't help but see her reflected in that woman.

"This selfless mentality of yours makes me sick sometimes," her brother replied. "Get off your high horse! You're not some Messiah able to change the course of history. You're just as powerless as the rest of us humans. Don't bite off more than you can chew—or you'll be the one taken advantage of next."

With that said, the young man stormed off, leaving the both of us behind inside this small, isolated clearing.

"Please forgive him," she finally said. "He's not usually this opinionated. Ever since our parents left..."

However, she didn't finish her sentence. Instead, she stared off into the distance, and I noticed a tear forming at the corner of her eye, which she clumsily tried to hide in embarrassment. No matter how mature she might seem from her attitude—physically and mentally—she was barely an adult, no more than eighteen.

“That’s fine,” I said. “At least, this outburst proves that he cares. When it comes to family, anything is better than apathy.”

Images of my former life flashed into my mind, memories of when I was still mortal before my first ascension. Still, I quickly banished them back to where they belonged, in the abyss I had created for them. I had no more use of them.

“What was it you said about this location? What’s special about it.”

“The fall must have scrambled your memories if you have to ask that,” she said half-jokingly. “Do you really not know?”

She looked concerned for the first time, almost as if this information was widely known, as if not knowing was seen as strange or impossible. Still, I could only shake my head, for I had no idea. Ever since my ascension, I barely took interest in the mortal world. It was no wonder I hadn't known what had occurred within the last measly century.

"About—what... A millennia, now? A Divinity was born on this land, the first in eons. No one knows how he did it, only that he left fields of blood in his wake."

This story felt strangely familiar, yet I couldn’t quite place it. Still, if I couldn’t remember, then it meant it wasn’t that important, so I put it out of my mind and let her continue as I remained silent, listening closely.

"The following years after his ascent, many people tried to emulate his methods—from Kings and Emperors to the lowest of peasants—yet none achieved anything. Only the land became even bloodier, filled with corpses as far as the eye could see. Ironically, the land's vitality dried up buried under this ocean of blood and corpses, leaving this place barren for generations."

“Something obviously changed,” I interrupted, looking around me at the lush vegetation of this forest.

“Yes—a century ago—when a divinity descended from the sky. From the records left behind, it wasn't just an Avatar, but the Divinity itself!"

Somebody descended to the mortal world? The Divine allowed for that? How come I’ve never heard of it? How bored must he have been to do so? Most Pure Ones wouldn't even conceive of it, for the mortal world was much too filthy with life for their tastes, and those like me—who ascended from that world—had no intentions of ever setting foot on the ground again.

Still—here I was.

“I assumed it was the Divinity responsible for that strange Blessing. Any idea why he descended?" I asked.

“He never said," she shook her head. "However, he must have been pained by the state of this land, for after his return to the Divine Land, this place began to be filled with vitality once again. It was a miracle! After a thousand years of strife, the land again became alive!"

How did he do it? I asked myself.

He may be a Divinity, but the God of Games shouldn't possess the power to overturn the sky and the earth. As a Pure One, the Divinity of Nature or the Goddess of Mercy might have the means, but the Divinity of Games should be far below them, entirely incomparable.

Even myself—when I was the Divinity of Slaughter—filling the land with unending blood was beyond my powers. At most, I could influence others into bloodshed, but I never found the point of it.

“So—these blessings just appeared out of nowhere after that?”

“Not only that, but also something else—something mysterious and magnificent—”

—but before she could elaborate, she was interrupted by a loud noise creeping up from behind me—many of them, in fact. Mostly, there were sounds of branches breaking like something was stepping on them, but there was also something resembling a low growl.

We both turned to observe as three individuals emerged from the thickets, and I couldn't help but be stunned momentarily by how different those three looked.

These three weren't humans. They possessed humanoid shapes—sure. They were bipedal, standing upright on their hind legs, but their bodies were covered by thick furs—just like animals. Their mouths were filled with long, sharp fangs protruding from their lips, while their hands were like paws, with sharp claws concealed within.

What was genuinely jarring was that they weren't merely animals, for they wore clothes no different from the twins. If anything, it seemed to be of even better quality. The sight of them took me so aback that it took a moment for me to realize that I knew what they were. I had only forgotten.

One of the Five Tribes—Therians.

While much less common than the Divine Tribe—which humans were affiliated with—Therians weren’t so uncommon as to be surprised by their existence.

And yet, Stella's expression wasn't one of surprise. It seemed closer to reluctance or fear—disgust, even. It seemed really odd, considering her personality.

This didn’t bode well. With Sirius missing, I sensed trouble afoot.

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