Chapter 330: Meeting Theron

Leaving the manor behind, Arthur stepped back into the peaceful garden where the evening breeze gently stirred the flowers surrounding the estate. The comforting sounds of nature contrasted sharply with the storm still raging inside his heart. 

He had barely crossed the stone pathway when he noticed Steve already standing near the open gate, his hands resting behind his back while quietly looking toward the distant mountains. Without turning around, Steve spoke first. "You're really going there aren't you." 

It wasn't really a question, Arthur stopped several steps behind him before replying without hesitation. "Yes." 

Steve slowly turned to face him. "It will be difficult." 

Arthur met his gaze calmly. "If I allow this to end here, they'll return." His voice grew colder with every word. "And next time it won't be just five Minor Gods, it'll be an army." His fists gradually tightened. "I won't wait for them to bring another war to Avalon. If I have to burn the Divine Realm itself to prevent that..." His eyes hardened. "...then I'll burn it." 

Steve remained silent for several moments. He could clearly hear the hatred buried beneath Arthur's composed tone. It wasn't blind rage, if anything, that made it even more dangerous. Arthur had already accepted the possibility of waging war against an entire realm. Finally Steve sighed quietly. "You know..." he began, "...if you actually kill every god you encounter, you'll create a problem even greater than the one you're trying to solve." 

Arthur frowned slightly but remained silent. Steve continued, "The gods don't merely rule the Divine Realm. Whether we like them or not, they form one of the barriers preventing large scale demonic invasions into the lower world. Removing too many of them..." He looked directly into Arthur's eyes. "...will have dire consequences, and the demons won't waste the opportunity." 

Arthur's expression remained unchanged, yet Steve noticed a subtle shift. The overwhelming hatred clouding his judgment receded ever so slightly, allowing reason to reassert itself. Steve smiled faintly. "I know what you're thinking. And honestly..." he shrugged, "...some of those bastards probably deserve it. But don't destroy the foundation while trying to eliminate the termites." 

Arthur slowly exhaled. "...I'll kill only those responsible." The hatred still lingered inside his eyes, but it had become focused rather than indiscriminate. Steve nodded approvingly before speaking again. "Then I'm coming with you." 

Arthur immediately shook his head. "No." 

Steve raised an eyebrow. "No?" 

"It's too dangerous." Arthur answered without hesitation. "This isn't Thyrandel, once we enter the Divine Realm, we'll be surrounded by enemies. I don't know how many Major Gods we'll face." 

Steve couldn't help chuckling. "Lad... are you forgetting who they're after?" Arthur remained silent. Steve's smile gradually disappeared. "Those five came because of me. They attacked Avalon because they wanted to capture me." His expression grew unusually serious. "Your friends died because my existence drew the attention of the Pantheons." 

Arthur immediately opened his mouth to object, but Steve raised one hand, interrupting him. "Don't." His voice remained calm, yet carried unmistakable resolve. "I'm not saying it's my fault. I'm saying it's my responsibility." He looked toward the manor where Selene rested peacefully inside. "Your friends paid the price for something connected to my past." His eyes narrowed slightly. "I'll help make sure justice is delivered." 

Arthur studied Steve for several long moments before finally releasing a sigh of resignation. He knew that trying to persuade him otherwise would accomplish nothing. Steve had already made his decision. "...Fine." 

Steve grinned. "Much better." Without another word, the two stepped several meters apart before simultaneously raising one hand. Complex runic circles immediately appeared beneath their feet as divine and spatial energy intertwined together. He had already memorized the spell he learned from Steve during their previous discussions, while Steve naturally knew the ritual due to ascending to Godhood. 

The surrounding air gradually distorted as countless silver symbols rose into the sky before disappearing into empty space. A deep vibration echoed across reality itself. Arthur felt the fabric separating dimensions beginning to weaken. Then an irresistible pulling force descended upon both of them. Space folded as the garden, the manor, the mountains and even the sky rapidly dissolved into streaks of distorted light and their surroundings disappeared entirely.

The sensation lasted only a few seconds before solid ground returned beneath Arthur's feet. He slowly opened his eyes and immediately discovered they stood upon what appeared to be a floating island suspended within an endless sea of clouds. Countless other islands drifted throughout the distant heavens, connected by enormous bridges formed entirely from roots. 

Rivers flowed impossibly upward toward waterfalls hanging in the sky, while mountains floated freely among layers of white mist. The energy permeating the Divine Realm exceeded anything Arthur had ever experienced in Thyrandel and every breath felt incomparably richer. 

Yet despite its beauty, Arthur sensed an unmistakable heaviness hidden beneath the realm itself, as though a powerful consciousness silently observed everything occurring within their territory. Steve quietly surveyed the surroundings before speaking in a low voice. "It’s likely we're in the territory of one of the Godkings." 

Arthur nodded while spreading his divine sense. As Steve spoke, “Get ready, the Major god this territory belongs to might have already sensed our arrival. They will be coming any minute…"  He stopped midway through the sentence before looking toward the distant horizon. "...Looks like we won't have to wait." 

Arthur followed his gaze and saw two brilliant streaks of light rapidly cross the heavens, moving faster than a Hollow Immortal. Within moments they descended before the floating island, revealing two figures clad in identical silver armor decorated with intricate golden patterns. Each carried an ornate spear nearly three meters long, while immense divine energy flowed naturally around their bodies, they were undoubtedly Minor Gods. 

One of them stepped forward, planting the butt of his spear firmly against the air as if it was the ground. His sharp gaze moved from Steve to Arthur before he spoke with practiced authority. "You have entered the territory governed by Lord Theron." His voice echoed calmly across the floating island. "State the purpose of your visit." 

Steve smiled flatly as he said. "We seek an audience with your Godking." The two sentinels immediately frowned. To request an audience so casually with one of the Godkings bordered on disrespect. The second sentinel took half a step forward, divine energy already gathering around his spear. "Mind your tone," he warned coldly. "You stand within the dominion of…" His words stopped abruptly. 

Both sentinels froze simultaneously. Their eyes widened before instantly turning toward the distant center of their territory. Neither Arthur nor Steve sensed any fluctuation, yet the two guards immediately dropped to one knee in midair as though responding to an unseen command. They remained motionless for several long seconds before slowly rising once again. 

This time, every trace of hostility had vanished from their expressions. The first sentinel respectfully lowered his head toward Steve and Arthur. "His Excellency has granted your request." He extended one arm toward the distant horizon. "Please follow us." Arthur exchanged a brief glance with Steve. Neither spoke. Instead, both quietly followed behind the two divine guards as they accelerated across the endless sky. 

Countless floating islands passed beneath them until, several moments later, an enormous silhouette gradually emerged from the sea of clouds ahead. Arthur's eyes narrowed involuntarily, rising from the center of the territory stood an unimaginably colossal tree. Its trunk alone dwarfed entire mountain ranges, while its canopy stretched across the heavens like a second sky, casting an immense shadow over everything below. 

It stood at least twenty kilometers tall, perhaps even higher, its countless emerald leaves glinting under light coming from an unknown source as there was no sun in the divine realm as far as Arthur could see. Entire rivers flowed between its branches, while dozens of floating islands naturally orbited its crown. 

As they drew closer, Arthur realized that what he had initially mistaken for strange bark formations were actually buildings. An enormous wooden castle had grown directly from one of the upper branches, its walls, towers and bridges perfectly fused with the tree itself as though both had always existed together and it wasn't constructed upon the tree, it had become part of it. 

The sentinels landed gracefully upon one of the gigantic branches before continuing toward the entrance. Arthur and Steve followed silently, stepping into the living palace of the Godking whose territory they had just entered.

…

Arthur and Steve quietly looked toward the figure seated upon the throne that had grown naturally from the colossal tree itself. The ruler of this territory scarcely resembled a human, his body retained a humanoid outline, yet instead of flesh there was bark across his frame while thick roots intertwined around his limbs like taut muscles. 

His eyes were deep emerald in color, ancient beyond imagination, and carried the calmness of someone who had watched civilizations rise and fall. Those eyes slowly examined the two visitors before a faint smile appeared on the Godking's weathered face. "Welcome to the Divine Realm," he said in a calm, steady voice that carried neither arrogance nor hostility. 

His gaze then shifted away from Arthur and rested upon Steve, lingering there for several moments before he continued, "Long time no see, Augustus... and congratulations on your ascension." Steve remained silent for a brief moment before giving nothing more than a stiff nod. "...Thank you." His response was short, almost emotionless, making no attempt to continue the conversation. 

The distance between them was obvious, yet Theron didn't appear offended by the cold reception. If anything, he seemed to have expected it. Instead, his attention gradually returned to Arthur, and the curiosity hidden within his emerald eyes became increasingly apparent. Unlike Steve, Arthur was an existence completely outside his understanding. 

No matter how carefully he observed him, he couldn't perceive even the faintest trace of divinity. Yet every instinct sharpened throughout hundreds of thousands of years continuously warned him that the young man standing before him possessed a vitality that rivaled the Godkings themselves. Such a contradiction simply shouldn't exist. After silently studying Arthur for several long seconds, Theron finally voiced the question that had been occupying his thoughts since the moment the two entered the audience chamber. "What are you?" he asked, genuine curiosity replacing the formal courtesy from moments earlier. "I don't sense any divinity from you... but your life force is as strong as ours."

Arthur didn't answer immediately, his expression remained completely composed as he calmly returned the Godking's gaze. A familiar translucent panel had materialized within his vision the moment he stepped inside the throne hall, streams of information rapidly compiling before stabilizing into a complete status screen.

//--------------------//

Name: Theron

Race: Human

Power Tier: 5C - Moon Level

Soul Tier: Lord Soul

Age: 947,351 Years

Abilities: Chlorokinesis, Lifeforce Manipulation, Breath of Life....

Note: Theron is a human Godking who had ascended more than 900,000 years ago. To become a Godking he had fused with his domain, thus his current appearance. Your Origin Flame possesses a great threat to him and he can faintly sense the threat from you, he is wary of you.

//--------------------//

Arthur's eyes lingered on the final line for a brief instant before the System window quietly disappeared. A human... The answer was honestly unexpected. Before coming to the Divine Realm, he had subconsciously assumed the Godkings belonged to some ancient divine race beyond ordinary mortals, yet the System had revealed something entirely different. 

At least this Godking had once been nothing more than a human who had eventually reached the summit of his path before fusing with his own Divine Domain, transforming himself into the existence now seated upon the throne. At the same time, the final note also pointed out his weakness. 

Theron couldn't identify the Origin Flame hidden within his Sea of Consciousness, but his instincts had already recognized him as someone capable of threatening his very existence. Arthur wasn't surprised, the Origin Flame existed beyond ordinary concepts of fire. Whether it was curses, corruption, souls or even higher laws, everything eventually became fuel before its terrifying nature. Someone who had merged completely with life itself naturally possessed instincts keen enough to sense such danger, even if he couldn't understand what he was sensing.

Steve remained completely silent throughout the exchange, allowing the two to quietly evaluate one another without interruption. After several moments, the corner of Arthur's mouth slowly lifted into a faint smirk. Looking directly into the Godking's emerald eyes, he finally broke the silence. "If you answer a few of my questions..." he said calmly, his voice carrying neither respect nor provocation, "...I might fulfil your curiosity."

***

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