Chapter 450: Clouds of Worms [T30 Bonus - s 4/7]

Chapter 450: Chapter 450: Clouds of Worms [T30 Bonus Chapters 4/7]

Chapter 450 – Clouds of Worms

[The Birth of Aphrodite! Oh my. This is just so rich!] Marvela said with a cackle, stealing the words right out of Cassius’s mouth.

’So it’s really her?’ Cassius asked inwardly, but then realized that Isolde, Meadow and Sarah were staring at him, waiting to know what he had actually discovered.

He thought about it for a moment, only a heartbeat, and decided to share the information with everyone.

At some point, he needed his own sect members to have a wider knowledge of the world they were living in.

Only then would they be able to grow properly.

Besides, it was the perfect moment to introduce Marvela and Tysche to them, presenting them as the new Patrons of their Sect.

So, after giving them a brief summary of what he had discovered in the letter, he asked Marvela to speak for all to hear.

[There is not a single doubt about this.] Marvela said, her voice echoing through those gentle, breezy meadows. [This is the Foundation Myth of Aphrodite. As much as it pains me to accept it, there is no woman as beautiful as Aphrodite. And that, even among the gods.]

[I truly didn’t expect to find her Foundation Myth here, and in such a way.] Tysche added, chuckling. [This is so unexpected.]

"What is a Foundation Myth, though?" Isolde asked, raising an eyebrow. "I am still lost on that part."

Meadow and Sarah nodded, confirming Isolde’s words. Cassius just listened.

[There are Three Generations of gods in this world, dear Isolde.] Ananke replied. [Each generation is born in its own unique way, according to the Holder who ushered in that generation.]

She paused, then, in a teaching tone, [Are you following me so far?]

Sarah replied first, and she did it with fervor. "We are, Queen. We are listening to your blessed words."

The Queen chuckled, pleased, then continued. [The Third Generation Gods were born after the birth of the Third Holder, and her power was related to Myth.]

"Myth?"

[Yes.] Tysche replied this time. [The Third Holder controlled Myths, and could make these Myths as real as anything else. But for the Myths to exist and be fully realized by her power, they needed what we came to call a Foundation Myth.]

Marvela continued in her swift, dreamy tone. [And that Foundation Myth can be anything. You can see it as the very Core of Existence of any Third Generation God.]

Cassius frowned at those words, his mind immediately jumping to one important question after all this information. "Wait. If these gods all have Foundation Myths on which they are built... what if those very foundations... crumbled?"

All three goddesses smiled, and Ananke replied, [They die.] she said in a matter-of-fact tone. [It’s as simple as that, Cassius. It’s a very obvious weakness, and that’s something they know extremely well.]

[And knowing it has made them harder to kill.] Tysche said. [Because just as they die when their Foundation Myth is forgotten or destroyed, they will never die as long as those Myths live in people’s minds. And you know these gods, Cassius. Some of them have places entirely dedicated to having people renew these Myths. Killing them is... annoyingly hard.]

[That’s why most people don’t try to kill them. They try to usurp their Myths.] Ananke said. [It’s also extremely hard, but at least we have a precedent of someone succeeding in usurping a Myth and claiming the Authority that came with it.]

"Who?" Meadow asked, her pink eyes wide as all this knowledge flooded her mind. "Who is the god who succeeded in that feat?"

[A god you all know rather well.] Ananke said. [We are talking about Vorn, Lord of Death.]

All of them, even Cassius, widened their eyes.

[In the divine worlds, he is better known as Vorn, the Usurper.] Marvela added. [He has quite the reputation. Few Third Generation gods dare to cross his path, and even some Second Generation gods want nothing to do with him. Vorn is a sneaky fellow.]

"Queen’s skirt, don’t tell me he took the Authority of Hades?"

[He did. And swallowed Hades inside of him.]

’Queen’s soft hands! Why? Hades was my favorite god in Greek Myths back on Earth!’

Cassius’s heart ached, but that thought immediately made him realize something chilling.

If the Third Holder, Desdemona herself, had the power of Myths... then did that mean all the Myths that existed on Earth were created by Her?

And that all of them existed here, in this world, as gods or other kinds of supernatural entities?

How strong was She?

’She controls Myths, and her husband, the First Snake, is the Father of Legends. Hah. What a fitting couple, but a scary one. Still, I have the blood of Myths and Legends inside me. Wow.’

How deep did this bloodline run?

[Do you understand now?] Ananke continued. [Knowing a god’s Foundation Myth can be very useful, because it can potentially show you how to take it over and usurp the Authority.]

[I say we usurp this bitch’s Authority.] Marvela said with venom. [Not only hers. Let’s find Persephone’s and Freyja’s Foundation Myths too. I need them dead!]

"You seem to hold deep grudges, Marvela," Isolde commented.

[And for good reason! And you will certainly hate them even more than I do if you ever allow them to meet our darling!]

"Our?" Isolde cocked her head, and Cassius’s lips twitched.

[Don’t mind the little things.] Marvela said lazily. [We have common enemies, dear Isolde.]

"I do not doubt that."

"Alright. Alright," Cassius cut in, bringing the topic back to the current situation. "We just discovered some important information about the Third Generation gods, and about Vorn himself. Honestly, this makes me more cautious about the Lord of Death."

"Vorn is the Hoods’ Patron god. I don’t think you have anything to worry about," Sarah said.

"We never know. But I hope so," Cassius said. "It would be very... delicate if I ever had to go against him."

All of them understood the reasons, and so didn’t ask any more questions.

They took a couple of beats of silence to fully grasp what they had just learned and how this information could be used going forward.

Cassius read the First Witch’s letter again, and couldn’t help but feel a kind of respect for this woman.

To be the one who created Alchemy and literally be the reason Aphrodite was born was something truly... mythic.

’What a power. To literally create gods. How dare these motherfuckers hunt us, then?’ he thought, only to realize that maybe it was exactly because of that.

If Desdemona had created them, she could kill them as well.

That realization made Cassius understand why his family were godkillers.

Shaking his head to put those thoughts aside, Cassius then brought up the matter of the Dead God’s Characteristic and the key, which was Meadow’s pen.

He explained quickly, and in a matter of minutes, Meadow and Sarah understood, the former particularly happy that the Pen had chosen her.

Cassius did his best not to show his unfounded jealousy.

He then asked Ananke to give them back the artifact, and she did, wrapping it in her power to keep others from divining it.

The nefarious, sinister-looking artifact appeared in the middle of the four sect members.

The wind turned icy and howled softly, as if suddenly nervous.

Meadow summoned the pen, and instantly her eyes widened, along with everyone else’s, as the pen and the artifact began to glow with the same murky green and black light.

"Oh." The Young Tycoon’s pink eyes flared wide. "This... I am receiving new information in my mind."

"Information?" Cassius inquired. "About how to get... the Characteristic?"

"Yes," she replied, her lips trembling with awe. "I can unlock this artifact. I can do it easily with this pen. All it needs is my consent, and then I can drag it out. This is incredible. How could someone create things like these? Just how... how could a human take a part of a dead god’s corpse and make it into a Characteristic?"

Even Cassius was amazed. MasterOfPaths was becoming an ever more illustrious figure, but also a frightening one.

"And I can control who gets the Characteristic too," she said, looking at them. "I think that’s a real relief. I don’t believe anyone can handle more than one of the Seven Characteristics sealed in MasterOfPaths’s artifacts."

"I am relieved, then. That was actually my main concern."

"Now we just need to decide who will get this Characteristic," Isolde said, cocking her head. "Do you know what kind of powers it will give?"

"No, I don’t," Meadow replied. "The only thing I know is that the dead god was named the Worm of the WorldTree."

Cassius already knew that.

"I think Meadow should have it," Sarah suddenly said, looking at Meadow. "I will get stronger once my Aspect evolves, and we will have other opportunities. But Meadow doesn’t have any attack power of her own. It will help her more."

"I agree," Isolde said.

"Same," Cassius added, looking at Meadow. "You can take it, if you are comfortable with it. If not—!"

"I want it!" Meadow cut him off, smiling brightly, excited. "I want it, and thank you for giving it to me. I was starting to worry about how much longer I would survive with only Truth. I realized that Truth without power is dangerous, and, I daresay, useless."

She took a deep breath. "So thank you for giving me this."

They smiled, saying it was no big deal, even though it was. It came from a dead god, after all.

Before Meadow absorbed the Characteristic, though, Cassius asked his goddesses whether it was safe.

They replied that it was as safe as taking a part of a dead god inside you could be.

Which didn’t really reassure them, but Meadow was determined.

So she used the pen to unlock the artifact, and a small worm-like creature emerged from it, moving so fluidly that it was impossible to truly see its body.

The strange creature let out a loud screech that rattled their minds, Sarah even teetering on the verge of losing consciousness, and immediately flew towards Meadow, before entering her mouth, which hung open in shock.

The world around them paused, and Cassius and the others felt power trembling in the air.

They watched Meadow intently, and their eyes widened in horror when Meadow’s own body exploded into clouds of worms.

—End of Chapter 450—