yasinovel Chapter 560: Goddess Freyja
Chapter 560: Goddess Freyja
Chapter 560: Goddess Freyja
"Davey."
"Ah, Lady Rho Aias."
"Hehe... Don't be so formal with me. I'm not someone worthy of such respect."
Back then, Davey didn't know. He had only heard that she was an exceptional dark magician, never imagining she possessed monstrous power, capable of distorting planets with a flick of her finger or evaporating nuclei. A demigod.
[So, who's the strongest?]
With those audacious words, the ensuing apocalypse revealed a side of her she had never shown before, completely overturning Davey's previous assessment of her.
[I can't break this with my hands.]
She handed him a brooch laden with remnants symbolizing herself. The brooch she gave was an authentic piece, with no duplicates. Similar items might exist, but one imbued with her remnants had been with her until the vortex. She equated her existence to one of four stages: a composition of will forms. Davey would rank them as Mundane, Transcendent, Ascended, and Omnipotent.
All humans, elves, dwarves, beasts, monsters, plants, and animals fell into the Mundane category, the lowest tier. Even the so-called superior beings, dragons, belonged here. However, as these beings evolved and underwent multiple transformations, they ascended to the Transcendent phase.
This was where Davey and most heroes resided a mere second out of four stages. While it might seem insignificant, the reality was not so simple. The majority could only achieve the Mundane or Transcendent stages.
These four stages were not just determined by power, but also by the realms their souls and bodies could interfere with. The third stage, which Davey often referred to as the Ascended or Demigod tier, only had two beings that he knew of: Rho Aias, the unparalleled dark magician, the unique Death Lord, and the root of the World Tree. Not the Yggdrasil of Davey's knowledge, or the current World Tree, which was a predecessor to Yggdrasil, but the literal root essence of the World Tree.
If this essence faltered, the world shook, risking annihilation. The essence represented a part of the world that held it aloft. Their influence could range from birthing stars to their demise. However, with great power came constraints.
Interestingly, the safest and most liberated stage might be the Transcendent. If the World Tree collapsed, the supporting force of the world vanished. If the physical body of the Death Lord was destroyed, the boundary of the deceased warped. The Demigod realm was such. Though their creation intents differed, their mere existence, or their remnants, significantly influenced the world.
Davey believed that the reason she obliterated her very existence was linked to this realm. As a result, she had to invest immense effort even to die. Ultimately, she managed to cease existing, yet her remnants remained, binding her to the vortex, which she handed to Davey. One day, she asked him to erase even the last trace of her. A seemingly impossible task, but the opportunity eventually arose.
"Sorry, but I was fooled again."
Through divine intervention, the tremendous power, no, the entire world's will, the grand intent, Goddess Freyja, descended upon Davey. Through the original scripture, her will touched Davey's flesh. Davey, who had humorously been connected to her as God's bride, had a body designed to be more receptive to a god's spirit than any other.
A goddess possessing a man's body? What could that possibly mean? The deity, manifested as a bright sphere of light, merely gazed silently at Davey.
"We must now release the departed."
As long as remnants remained in the brooch, Rho Aias would never find eternal rest. Her power would persistently remain, tethering her soul to this world. Some heroes of the vortex would voluntarily vanish after shedding their own regrets or fulfilling promises. At least the heroes who had guided Davey did not do so, but some among those who had not guided him chose that path of self-extinction.
"You've become a pillar of the world due to the restraints you've created and have become the king of the departed. It's unfathomable for a mere being of will to bear that, isn't it?" In response to Davey's inquiry, Goddess Freyja remained silent, ever consistent in her quietude.
As the figure of light gradually approached him, Davey's body began to undergo transformations. His robust muscles started to diminish, becoming slender, and his height reduced. His black hair transformed into familiar long azure strands, and his eyes began turning blue.
"A living person should never attain such a state."
Despite his words, the transformation did not halt.
"One should know to provide salvation to the pitiable soul that has lived for you."
Rho Aias had always admonished Davey never to exceed the transcendent level. It was something he instinctively understood. The moment one ascended from transcendence, they could not meet a peaceful end. In reality, Odin, a wizard from the continent of Atrellia who had taught him magic, was a figure who had retreated from the boundary of that realm. Excluding Hercules, the oldest hero in the vortex was this very pea-sized one-eyed woman.
"Alright. I'll surrender my body as you wish. But you must honor our promise."
Upon saying this, Davey's body completely transformed. And then...
Do all gods, whether Thanatos or Neltarid, possess this level of power?
Davey, with only his will remaining, observed the situation. There was so much he wanted to ask. Why had the other gods remained silent amidst the chaos? And why did Goddess Freyja resemble Rinne?
Though he had countless questions, Goddess Freyja did not converse with him. Or more precisely, communicating as a being of pure will was truly peculiar.
"What... What's happening... What is this?"
Seeing his power instantly nullified, Descent's face turned pale. His power had escalated to an immense level due to his successful rituals. Though it was the remnant power of the Death Lord and not his own, since he could wield it freely, it essentially became a part of him. But now, with all that power, he could do nothing but be swept away. Davey thought that if it were not for the Baby-Headed Serpent, Yorgan, Descent might not have crumbled so despairingly.
"No... Stay back... Stay away!"
He tried several spells to kill whatever he could. Killing the earth beneath him, the clouds, and stars above. But within the frozen time, Goddess Freyja continued to recreate what he destroyed.
And when she was very close to Descent, the lips of the Goddess Freyja, with her blue eyes, moved slightly. Although no sound was heard, her intent was conveyed.
[Davey.]
At the sound of his name, Davey, with only his spirit remaining, watched her body with a look of bewilderment.
Whoom
Simultaneously, she raised the original scripture she held and slapped it across Descent's cheek.
Craaack!
The colors of the world shifted several times. Descent froze in place. Goddess Freyja, expressionless, began to furiously beat him with the scripture.
Bang! Thwack! Thwack!
With the sounds of something breaking, cracks began to form on the brooch attached to Descent's clothing. Shattering it would distort the boundary between the living and the dead, but with Goddess Freyja's intervention, it became a meaningless act.
As if relieving stress, Goddess Freyja crazily hit Descent, her lips twitched once. They twitched again. Although her face was expressionless, Davey felt she seemed incredibly annoyed. Then, with each twitch of her lips, her intent was precisely conveyed. But this time, it was sent exclusively to Davey. The intent, shaped in a language most empathetic to a human, grazed his mind.
[Davey.]
Why did she keep calling out to Davey while hitting Descent with the scripture?
[Davey.]
It echoed again.
Craaack!
With such force that it distorted the world's boundaries and caused fractures, the scripture, filled with immense power, was slammed into Descent's skull. Such overwhelming and superior force distorted the firmness of space, creating cracks that shattered it.
This aggressive destruction was uncharacteristic of Goddess Freyja, who had been restoring whatever Descent destroyed. Perhaps she was shocked by her inability to control her power, which damaged a part of the world; her motions briefly paused.
[Davey.]
Yet, as if the intent from the scripture-slapping Goddess Freyja had not fully faded, a fragment of her will flowed into him. Of course...
[Davey.]
Calling out to him again, it felt as if her slapping hand grew even stronger. An illusion... or was it not?