Chapter 160: Four Stages

Two hours flew by as Rachel explained nearly everything she’d learned from the Legend Quest and how it connected to everything else she’d already disclosed to the four-star general. President Capell was less of a voice than Rachel expected him to be, letting Tom guide most of the questioning and clarifications; he also had to leave the room occasionally to oversee critical decisions, which put a pin in the discussion until he returned.

On a positive note, she actually started to feel better overall as time went on. Yes, she wasn’t getting any stronger, and her body was a complete mess, but not being on the verge of passing out or feeling sick to her stomach was a welcome blessing. She suspected it was due to purging the last of her unique Lunar Energy, but that was only a correlation.

Just like her body, her mood continued to improve during the occasional respites, which gave her time to collect her thoughts when the two leaders digested specific information and plotted out their own details. The Scarlet Hand had gone underground since Ms. Peck had exposed a weakness in their network that was obviously meant to stay hidden; her misfortune had certainly come down like a hammer on the organization, buying them time.

Even by the halfway point, General Dallas had the whiteboard covered in names, linking lines, and speculations, all color-coordinated. With everything laid out in this manner, she was able to organize much of it herself, giving rise to new speculations.

By the end of the second hour, the room fell silent as the three of them pondered the wealth of sides, dangers, and speculations they’d shared with each other. Surprisingly, the barest section was that of the crystal gateways, which Dionysus claimed brought some kind of trouble to the higher dimensional beings in his opening speech.

Rachel leaned against the side of one of the quite comfortable armchairs around the mahogany table, having transferred with some effort near the start of the meeting.

After a few minutes of study, Leo released a heavy sigh and stood up to move between topics. "I was informed in advance about the existence of these ’gods’ that were coming into the picture...but nothing like this," he said in his deep, Kansas accent while passing over to the section.

"So...let me get this straight: you went to Hell, where it wasn’t a lake of molten lava, and fought the daughters of Cerberus, who made a contract with you to jail some demon or devil that is weaseling out of the rules?"

Forcing a laugh, Rachel rubbed her temple as Nia informed her that she had some new clothing options whenever she was up for it. "Well, to be fair, it was a lake of boiling blood and molten sky before we descended into Izanami’s personal domain of Yomi. At least, that’s how I understood it."

"Hmm." The man’s deep-set brown eyes drifted to Tom before returning to her. "We’re talking about four divided stages of conflict that you’re telling me we need to deal with, and not just the United States, but the world."

He pointed at an area marked as Stage 1. "The mortal conflict, where we have the Scarlet Hand, government bodies, Crystals, Legend Quests, and a massive array of immediate and unknown threats. The higher powers don’t have an iron grip over us due to a barrier that sections us off... A barrier that, if it fails, could spell disaster, but their influence and guidance could prove pivotal in the conflicts ahead. Alliances will form.

"Stage 2, where the lesser deities reign, and many lower ’Divine’ or...’Infernal’ entities live as we live in this world. You saw angels and creatures of imagination, totally beyond comprehension. These stronger gods and goddesses have the ability to empower or control the Legend Quests...if they are allowed to, which means it is a choice."

Tom tapped a particular note over the area. "Apparently, they only need initial access. As Rachel indicated, none of them—including Conner—had control once Dionysus had access. It is the same for increasing the Challenge Rating. A very risky thing. However, Rachel’s experience with Cerridwen proves blessings can be given with minimal access."

Rachel lowered the backrest a tad and took a more comfortable posture. "I highly doubt Eostre would be able to provide the kind of blessings the higher entities can, but clearly, I have to select one of their offered blessed Feats in order to have that kind of communication with them. It could be a trap, but Cerridwen made sure the ones she offered would be too good for me to pass up."

Tom snorted and rotated his arm, sore from all the writing, no doubt. "You still haven’t told us your Feats, but I can see your reluctance. Hmm. I don’t like this section here," he grumbled, motioning to a timeline he’d drawn out.

President Campell nodded. "These deities were aware of The Oscillation happening nearly a century before the event took place, potentially causing great conflicts during the 1900s. Their preparation is evident through the Scarlet Hand, and we can’t rule out other organizations working in the background. The question is..."

The general moved to another area to tap it. "If they had so much time, who are planted in what positions? Could one of us be working for one such organization? It stands to reason that, at the very least, several influential figures in the government and financing fields are working for or with such parties...such as Astra."

Leo cupped his chin as he centered on one name. "A century... And the people you mentioned that the Scarlet Hand worshiped—Revilla and Twilight? They’re not mentioned anywhere in recorded history. Is that by design, or are they totally foreign figures? And, if I understand correctly, these deities fought an infinite number of themselves until only one remained?"

Rachel scratched her folded-over left ear and gave a weak shrug. "That, I’m not wholly sure of yet—and the relationship with who the Scarlet Hand are contacting is also unclear. Scarlet mentioned them summoning their ’Scarlet Apostle,’ Revilla, but at that point, she thought it was just a crazy game, and Scarlet seemed to think they wanted to seal Twilight, so I’m unsure there, too.

"For the rest of the deities, I’m positive it was like that for those of the 5th-dimensional tier and above, but on second thought, I don’t believe Eostre mentioned going through that hardship in the 4th."

"Troubling..." Tom mumbled, rubbing his throat while examining the pantheons she’d been able to identify. "You were right, Mr. President, sending an invitation to the White House to all the Native American chiefs was the right play. The issue is how many spirits and gods the many tribes had. We could be looking at a conflict between tribal deities more than the people themselves. It’ll be good to get ahead of it since...a lot of unrest is happening in most of the world."

He placed a finger on the next level. "Stage 3, where Chang’e, Cerridwen, Izanami, and many other high deities are...but you don’t want to call them high deities?" he asked, looking at her for clarification.