Chapter 154: Ch 154 : Taking away the Divinity
In the obsidian fortress of Ashgar, the Demon Lords reviewed their grand strategy.
"I asked the Demon God of corruption to corrupt the particles of that new system," Deimos said, tapping a long, elegant finger on the bone table.
"So? What happened?" Ichor asked, leaning forward with eager curiosity.
"A partial success," Deimos admitted. "We infiltrated their network and broadcast the locations of the SSS-Grade treasures our scouts found in the Realm of Advancement."
"As always, a brilliant plan" Maledictus purred, as she praised Deimos cleverness.
"Yes, it was," Deimos conceded, "until that demigod of a system self-destructed all the corrupted particles. Now, any attempt at infiltration is met with instant annihilation."
"These new Gods are smarter than the old ones," Ichor chuckled. "But a clever chicken is still just a chicken for us to feast upon."
"I tried to sever the particles from her main consciousness," Deimos continued, "but it seems she is connected to them through some kind of thought-sharing ability. It doesn’t matter. The information is out. The seeds of greed have been planted. Now, we just need to wait for the rats to dive into the trap and offer us those SSS-Grade items on a silver platter."
"I heard a Legion-Born has already killed one of their demigods," Beelzebub rumbled, his voice a low growl of hunger.
"Yes, he did," Phobos, the Lord of Fear, confirmed with a rasping laugh. "He secured the True Beauty Pill. Maledictus, if you desire it, it is yours." He then let out a sigh of disappointment. "But why are these Gods so slow? I thought billions of them would be dead by now. I don’t even feel the delicious waves of fear from them. It’s as if someone is protecting them, making them fearless."
"It’s only a matter of time," Deimos said, a slow, confident smile spreading across his face. "These rats cannot escape the trap I have laid. I will simply let a few of them escape with the cheese, to give the others a false sense of hope." The other Demon Lords joined him in a chorus of cruel, knowing laughter.
In the grand, virtual assembly of the Pantheon, the atmosphere was anything but quite, everyone tried to comprehend what could be the thing worse than death for a God.
"I don’t want to solve your puzzles, God Cosmos! Just tell us what you plan to do with them!" a God shouted in the chat, his impatience echoing the sentiments of billions.
The 420 accused Gods on the platform trembled, their hearts beating like war drums. The sheer, collective weight of six billion hateful gazes was a pressure so immense it threatened to shatter their very souls. For one of them, the terror and humiliation finally broke him.
"Cosmos, don’t go too far!" he roared, his voice cracking with a final, desperate act of defiance. "Whatever I do with my own creations is none of your business! Do not meddle in the affairs of other Gods!"
A profound silence fell over the assembly. Sunny didn’t raise his voice. He simply said, "Shut up."
And the universe obeyed. The defiant God’s mouth snapped closed. His throat locked.
The very concept of speech was stolen from him, leaving him making silent, panicked gasps, his eyes wide with a new, more personal terror.
"Now it’s not so noisy," Sunny said calmly. The act itself was a thunderclap, and the fear and respect for Sunny in the hearts of every God deepened into absolute, unshakeable awe, he even recieved faith from the Gods in his pantheon because of this show of strength.
"Boss! Boss! What was that? How did you do that?!" Zir’s voice was an excited squeal.
Sunny just smiled and said, "Trivial tricks."
"Big Boss Cosmos," Nyx’s smooth, beautiful voice cut through the awe, her face a picture of pure curiosity. "Please, share what is on your mind. We are all dying to know."
"I suppose I will pop the bubble now," Sunny said, his voice taking on a dramatic pause that stretched the tension to its breaking point. He looked down at the 420 trembling souls. "So, what do you all think of... taking away their divinity and making them mortal beings?"
The entire chat fell silent again, this time in sheer, dumbfounded shock.
"Boss... taking away a God’s divinity? Is that really possible?" Zir asked, his mind reeling. If it was, then the members of the Pantheon had truly picked up a thick thighs early on.
"If I say it is, then it is," Sunny replied, his authority absolute. "But an act of this magnitude requires a truly colossal amount of faith. Ten trillion per God. This means every God in the multiverse will need to donate 76,000 faith points to fund this judgment."
He saw the hesitation in some of their eyes. "Do not worry about me taking this faith for myself," he continued. "I will personally contribute ten trillion of my own, specifically to handle this loud one here." He gestured to the silenced, terrified God. "The entire expenditure will be broadcast live for all to see, you can check if I take a single faith for myself"
"I have no objection," a God with a smirk in his voice typed. "But surely, we should get something in return for our investment, no?"
Sunny knew exactly what they wanted. "Yes, there will be benefits. The now Godless worlds of these 420 fallen Gods will be forfeit to all the Gods. We will decide how to divide the territories later."
That was the final trigger.
"Alright then! I will be the first to send the faith!" the same God declared.
"Heh, you think you can be first in front of me? I’ve already transferred!" Zir shot back, chuckling.
"Zir, don’t think you are alone! We have all transferred!" The collective voice of 5.5 billion Gods from Pantheon echoed as a golden tide, a river of pure belief and power from billions of souls, began to pour into Thea’s network and, from there, directly into Sunny.
He felt it as a physical force, a feeling like a star being born in the center of his being. The trillions of faith points were a fuel, igniting a divine forge within his soul.
His body heated up, not with a fever, but with the pure, clean fire of creation. His consciousness, once a single point of view, expanded exponentially, and for a breathtaking moment, he could feel the collective heartbeat of 5.5 billion worlds as if they were his own.
He used his God’s eye on himself as he sensed a familiar feeling of gaining a new talent.