Chapter 170: How to Make a God
Within the magnificent and breathtakingly beautiful jade palace, a colony of Awakened was moving around, doing various tasks and chores.
There was even some mundane servants, who had crossed over to Ravenheart thanks to the queen's dream gate.
They were not infected by the spell thanks to her authority, as well.
This was the main headquarters of the Song clan, Ravenheart, and one of the most beautiful places in the Dream realm, second to only Bastion.
It was ruled by the Queen of Worms, Ki Song... But her existence, much like all the supremes was still a secret to the rest of humanity.
Only the inner circle of trusted individuals within the Song clan can be trusted with the knowledge of her rank...
And in the recent months, a new member had joined that inner circle—one unlike any other—bringing change to the clan and becoming the queen's advisor.
***
[A few days before the start of the Antarctica campaign]
Ki Song's throne room was usually silent, as the queen usually preferred to keep to herself. So unless there was something important, or one of her daughters needed to speak with her, the throne room would be completely silent.
But today, the silence of that room was broken and none of her daughters were conversing with her...
Albedo sat across a breathtakingly beautiful woman in a regal crimson dress. Her skin was pale like that of a corpse, and a light smile played on her crimson lips. Her raven-black hair was like a lustrous waterfall of darkness, and there was something eerie and vaguely appalling about her beautiful, enchanting eyes.
On the table before them —an object Ki Song had manifested from her soul sea—sat a strange board game, alien to the waking world.
It was something Albedo had quickly fashioned for this occasion.
"So this is the death game... I must say, the one I know of is far more deadlier." Ki Song said, as she moved the piece of the tyrant to the Southern region of the board.
Albedo smiled and moved the piece of a devil to the other side of the board, avoiding the tyrant.
"That is only natural, Queen Song. The one we're playing is merely a replica made for us mortals. The original one is made and played by spirits and divine creatures."
The death game displayed a large valley that was meant to represent a mortal realm where creatures lived and fought against each other, guided by the gods.
Ki Song moved the forces of her tyrants, in hopes of ambushing and killing Albedo's devil.
She did not need too long to become a master at the game, after all her supreme mind could process things faster than most.
"How cruel... To think they would put living beings in there and make them kill each other..."
Despite her words, there was no hint of sympathy in her voice.
"Well, some of the 'benevolent' Gods choose to put creatures of profanity there, instead. Though the game was originally made to help newborn spirits in ruling over humans and other living beings... Which is why concepts like sacrifices, blessings and divine visions are present within the game."
Ki Song looked at Albedo with an almost puzzled expression.
"It still baffles me, you know."
Albedo raised an eyebrow, at the same time, he moved his tyrant and surrounded the minions of Ki Song's tyrant, brutally slaughtering them before they reached his devil.
"What does?"
"The fact that you are so knowledgeable and ancient, yet so weak."
Albedo chuckled at her words, at the same time Ki Song made another move, making her tyrant wipe out the minions of Albedo's tyrant, who had been left unprotected due to his earlier move.
"Ah, but that's the thing, daughter of beast. Not all creatures are born equal — that is a fact. The galvans were extraordinary creatures, however we had no affinity for the path of ascension. In fact, we are worse than humans at climbing it."
Ki Song made another move and looked at Albedo...
Despite everything she had seen in her life, she was still surprised that the creature standing before her was actually not human, but a living noble creature instead who was simply assuming the form of a human.
"And I suppose the fact that the nightmare spell wasn't available back then didn't help?"
"No, it did not. The most powerful and brightest of my species, the First Thinker, was the only one to reach the supreme rank so you can imagine how difficult ascension was for us. We walked the world alongside gods and demigods, and so in the grand calculus of the world, we were not even seen as people. Not by the gods or by the humans."
"Still, you managed to survive the doom war, something that even the great gods and daemons had failed to do. So your race doesn't really define you that much, does it now?"
Albedo chuckled at her words.
"You are giving me too much credit, your majesty. I merely imitated the First Thinker, and left before the war reached my realm." He moved his devil away and gave her a serious look. "By leaving, I meant I simply froze myself in a time capsule and shot it to space."
"And you did that twice apparently?" Ki Song moved her tyrant piece again.
Albedo nodded.
"When I did it the first time, I ended up skipping the majority of the age of heroes, the golden age and the war. Let me tell you, seeing the state of this new age for the first time gave me quite a fright. To see humans, who are so primitive, become so advanced technologically was unbelievable at first. Then I unfortunately came across a despicable fellow and ended up getting trapped in a plumber prison."
Ki Song killed one of Albedo's pieces, and removed it out of the board.
"But there's more to it, right?"
"Well, when I made the Omnitrix replica, my watch and the original Omnitrix linked together, which made me and the despicable bastard turn into identical twins, both in body and soul. That wretch was a mere Awakened at the time, so I unfortunately ended up falling in ranks."
"There must've been a reason why you've been imprisoned, right?"
Albedo coughed awkwardly.
"I really wanted the original Omnitrix, you see. A mere child could not be entrusted with it, but alas it doesn't matter anymore. Shortly after I was imprisoned, I escaped and thanks to my intelligence and some espionage, I ended up foreseeing the end that would befall the children of beast, which led me to change my plans and abandon my lust for the Omnitrix."
"Your love for the relic disappeared that fast? Really?"
Albedo sighed.
"No, not really. Before freezing myself again and escaping the beast realm, I managed to build something called the Ultimatrix. A device that was far more powerful and potent than the Omnitrix and with it, I tried to kill Tennyson. I almost succeeded but I was shortly defeated by his grandfather who proceeded to take my Ultimatrix away and also leaving me crippled in this human form."
"How cruel... Is what I would have said if you didn't deserve that. Quite frankly, I'm surprised they didn't just kill you."
Ki Song knew that she would have done that in a heartbeat if Albedo had done the same to one of her daughters.
Albedo shrugged.
"Fair point, but my grasp on human mortality was a bit twisted at that point, I'm sure you'll understand. Anyway, I was left with nothing for the first time since my birth. Trapped once again, with no one to free me... But alas, fate deemed it that I survive. You see, this is the thing about us noble creatures, lady Song. We are adaptable by nature much like you humans, and so thanks to the prolonged exposure of omni energy, my body and soul ended up imprinting the abilities of the Omnitrix."
Albedo moved his devil to battle Ki Song's devil.
"And thanks to me and the Ultimatrix being separated, I managed to be free from Ben Tennyson which allowed me to regain my original Rank and Transcend shortly after."
Ki Song crossed her arms and looked at Albedo's wrist, at the same time, she moved her tyrant and destroyed Albedo's devil once and for all, leaving him with only his tyrant left.
"And that thing on your arm is not an Omnitrix?"
Albedo shook his head.
"No, it's merely a stabilizer I made to lock my transformations and preserve my soul. I'm planning on upgrading it soon, though." Albedo looked at the queen and smiled. "But enough about me, how about we discuss the matter of our deal?"
With nowhere left to hide, Albedo's tyrant ended up confronting Ki Song's tyrant and devil, ending the game with her win.
Ki Song stared at the young man before her, who was, in truth, thousands of years old.
A being that walked the earth alongside spirits and gods, and survived to tell the tale.
Making a deal with such a being was no different from making a deal with the devil, but alas, a deal with the devil would probably be safer.
She did not know his motivations, and from what he had said, he was not exactly a righteous man.
'But I suppose I'm not so righteous myself...'
She had betrayed her closest friends after all, and now she was going to war with another one.
She was the last one who should judge.
But still, that doesn't eliminate her suspicion. From everything Albedo had shared, it seems like he was either trying to trick her, or he is really desperate to gain the help of a supreme.
Either way, she knew that she needs to be vigilant with him, after all from his words, he was a being of great intelligence.
"You're proposing a way to make me a god... In exchange for protection? Really? You expect me to believe it?"
Someone like Albedo, who survived the end of the world—Twice—could definitely survive on his own, even in this deadly realm.
But the queen had long realized that survival was not Albedo's goal.
"What is so hard to believe about that, daughter of beast? You are a powerful supreme, and there are plenty of powerful individuals in this world. There's no short of terrifying nightmare creatures, as well. I'll need all the help I could get to achieve my goals."
"And what might those goals be?"
"I have already told you, have I not? I seek supremacy and to reach as far as I can in the path of ascension."
"That is not the real reason, though. People like me and my companions avoided apotheosis due to its dangers, but previously, we ascended this far because we had the goal of saving humanity. You, on the other hand, don't give a damn about humanity. So, I ask you again, Albedo what is your goal? And you better answer honestly this time, my patience is running thin."
The air in the throne room suddenly became much more oppressive as the terrifying will of Ki Song spread through it.
Albedo remained silent for a few moments, then sighed.
He could abort his mission and escape Ki Song before it's too late, however he would much prefer to have Ki Song, a being who shares ties to beast god, as his ally instead.
"My goal is to reunite with someone who is important to me, is that enough of an answer for you?"
Ki Song looked at him for a long while, contemplating his answer.
This was not a clear answer but it seemed to be Genuine. Whatever this creature was planning, he was doing it all for the sake of meeting someone.
'How ironic... A noble creature displaying such human emotions...'
But that was the thing, even gods felt emotions. So, emotions as a whole are not exclusive to humans.
In truth, she was also hesitant about this whole apotheosis ordeal. She did not want to become a god, but having the option was certainly an advantage.
It would put her in a far better position than Anvil and the Dreamspawn, at least.
Not to mention, Ki Song's goal of defending humanity as a mere supreme was naive at its core. Even she could recognize that.
At one point in the future, new gods must be born... She had just hoped it wouldn't be her, but alas things have never gone her way in life and this was no different.
"Alright, I'll entertain your mad ideas for now. So, tell me. How do you make a god without the help of the nightmare spell?"
Albedo smiled at her words.
"It's quite simple actually. We build a god device."
Ki Song stared at him with a deadpan expression.
At that moment, she was torn between letting him explain himself, or simply killing him and taking his body as a puppet.
Having a body that could change forms would certainly be helpful.
"You expect me to believe that a mere device could transform a supreme into a god?"
Albedo nodded.
"I get why it might seem outrageous to you. After all, you lived in an age where the nightmare spell is the only path to apotheosis, unlike me who lived at the peak of the age of heroes and witnessed various methods to become sacred."
That was not a lie, after all no matter how many nightmares she conquered, Ki Song's view on reality could not be changed.
Natural ascension was a thing of the past, an ineffective path that took far too long and had no future in this era.
"Still, that doesn't explain how a mere device can produce a god."
"To answer your question, I must tell you about a certain problem supremes who pursued apotheosis faced in the past. It was the fact that they could not bond with a realm due to foreign influences, circumstances, or simply their nature. Currently, no supreme could ever hope to become a spirit naturally, as the war realm absolutely denies anything related to the path of ascension — and the dream realm... Well, you can guess what would happen if you tried to bond with it during ascension."
Indeed... The dream realm was the realm of corruption, the realm of the forgotten god. Any who tries to attain apotheosis here would end up becoming an abomination.
Perhaps if Ki Song had been born in the past realms, then she would've had a chance, but she was a child of war, in the end.
"Telling me something I already know doesn't solve anything, you know."
Ki Song had lived for a long time and so, she slowly amassed knowledge about apotheosis and the fifth nightmare. Not to mention, she has faced and slain cursed nightmare creatures and knew of their nature.
"I was getting to it. Luckily for us, there is a way to bypass our little problem. Apotheosis doesn't require you to bond with a divine realm, it only requires bonding with a Realm. Meaning any mortal realm could suffice."
Ki Song looked at him with an expression of doubt.
"There are no mortal realms left. All of them had been long consumed by the dream realm and I'm sure you know that."
"But that's the thing, all mortal realms have been consumed by the dream realm, yes, but that doesn't mean new mortal realms can't be born. What I'm suggesting is very simple, yet also very outrageous even by the standards of my era."
"... You're planning to make an artificial mortal realm and make me bond with it, aren't you?"
"Precisely. The god device would have a myriad of functions, but the most important ones are the birth of a realm, empowering you with enough divinity to expand your soul and lastly, a trial similar to that of the fifth nightmare, which would change your mind and make it capable of surviving apotheosis. And yes, I said change, not unmake. Which, believe me, are extremely different."
Ki Song's doubts had not been extinguished, after all everything that Albedo has said so far was purely theoretical.
He had not shown any proof of his capabilities yet and so, Ki Song was barely taking him seriously.
For all she knew, he could be some fool who had fallen into the third nightmare and managed to survive it.
Still, his knowledge was profound and so, she was willing to go along with it for now.
"... Let's say you somehow managed to make this device and I succeed in apotheosis. Then what? wouldn't the dream realm simply consume me and my realm?"
"Not exactly. You see, the dream realm only consumed mortal realms because the dream realm itself, its very core, manifested itself in a mortal realm one day and started growing from there like a cancer. There were no spirits left by then, and so there was no authority to protect the realms. With you as a god, you'll be able to shield your realm from the maw of the dream realm."
"I see..."
Ki Song saw no reason to refuse his offer.
Even if she didn't want to become a god, having a god device at the side would always be handy as a last ditch effort.
She had thought about it deeply, apotheosis....the process of shedding your mortal skin and becoming a god. It had a great price to pay, and a great reward as well.
"Very well then, we shouldn't stall. Let's get to work on this god device of yours."
Albedo was suddenly left speechless, shocked by how fast she had agreed to his proposal.
"Really? You want to start right now?"
"Of course. In case you haven't noticed, I rule half of humanity, I have a war to wage soon and there's plenty of powerful abominations that I'm dealing with right now as we're speaking, so there's really no point in delaying it."
Albedo coughed a little then added.
"Alright, so to make the device, we'll need..."