Chapter 645: The Path to Deification!
Silver-white fire burned across the sky, igniting the heavens and causing the ancient abomination to wail in agony, its cries distorting space itself. In an instant, the colossal entity vanished, reforming into a single, half-moon-shaped Eye that hovered high above, radiating thick, dark mists of sin.
From within the Eye came a furious, desperate roar:
"Damned Crawler! How dare you profane a Deity! Do you truly believe the mighty Orcish Deity will spare you? Red Dragon—perhaps you think yourself invincible. But that is only because you dwell in the Prime Material Plane! Soon, you shall learn—across the endless Multiverse, the name of Ghuush alone is enough to make all beings tremble!"
"Chaos Eye Ivennis, is it? A bold name indeed. But you've made one grave mistake,"
Kai Xiusu spread his vast Dragon Wings, gliding effortlessly into the sky. With a casual snap of his claw, he smiled—a fierce, predatory grin etched across his draconic face.
"This is my domain. What right do you have to threaten me?"
The silver-white fire surged forward, consuming the half-Eye with blinding intensity, as if seeking to purify it utterly.
"Red Dragon! You think you can burn me to ash? How laughable! I am an Immortality Existence born from the flesh of a God! Even after a thousand or ten thousand years, you cannot kill me!"
The Chaos Eye cackled wildly within the flames—but its laughter froze mid-sound. A chilling realization struck it.
—Ivennis was utterly panicked. The fire was no ordinary Dragon Flame. It was something else—Order Flame, akin to Holy Flame, and worse, it was devouring its very Immortal Essence!
And yet, the Chaos Eye’s Immortal Essence was born from Divine Corruption itself!
"This... this is the Fire of Zafkiel, that old wretch? How could a Red Dragon possess such power?!"
In Ivennis’s memory, such strength belonged only to the Heaven’s Sovereign!
"How... how is this possible?!"
"No! No—I was wrong! You are no ordinary Red Dragon! You are powerful! Stop! King Kai Xiusu! King Kai Xiusu, stop!"
The Eye writhed in agony, its cries now raw and pained. The black tendrils of influence that once lashed out with arrogance now flailed helplessly in the air, trembling.
But the silver-white fire burned on.
Kai Xiusu shook his head slowly, his voice calm.
"No. Not enough. You tried to kill me. I need a reason to spare you. A reason to not kill you."
"Red Dragon—no, King Kai Xiusu—even if you annihilate my Will, you still cannot withstand Ghuush’s Divinity! Killing me is meaningless!"
The Chaos Eye shrieked desperately, pleading for mercy.
Kai Xiusu shook his head again.
"Eliminating a potential threat—isn’t that meaningful?"
Under his control, the fire did not fade. It roared higher, burning hotter, as if determined to consume every last spark of the Eye’s Willpower.
The Chaos Eye felt it—the slow, relentless loss of its Immortal Essence. Though the drain was slow, it was enough. Its power waned. Its very existence began to fray.
For the first time in eons, the ancient abomination felt fear—the mortal fear of death.
It screamed into the fire, its voice cracking:
"No—King Kai Xiusu! I know the Secret of Ascension to Godhood! You... you wish to become a true Deity, don’t you?!"
Kai Xiusu tilted his head, studying the Eye with intense curiosity. His pale golden eyes glowed faintly, his breath growing sharper, more urgent.
"Ivennis… you mean… you know the Mystery of Ascension to Divinity?"
The secret of divinity—something even Kai Xiusu’s past life had never uncovered. In the eyes of Players, Divine Beings were hidden, formless entities—eternal, unyielding, standing at the peak of the Multiverse, separated from Mortals by an unbridgeable chasm.
Even the most elite Players who had broken the twenty-level barrier had failed to find the path to divinity.
To become a Deity, the "Sun Emperor" Aragon had sacrificed his empire, unraveling the once-great Holy Faedran Empire.
To become a Deity, the ambitious Arcane Scholar Calthas had crafted the only 12th-level spell in history—causing the floating city of Ile to crash to the ground, and the glorious nation of Nethersil to be erased.
These events—shaking the world, rewriting history—proved just how deeply Mortals desired ascension.
And Kai Xiusu, an Emperor with ambitions as vast as his predecessors, was no exception.
To him, the Chaos Eye, though dangerous, was worth far more than any mythic artifact. It was, quite simply, a living encyclopedia.
Hearing the Red Dragon’s question, Ivennis quickly lowered its half-lid, enduring the searing pain, and spoke with forced humility:
"Of course, King Kai Xiusu! I am the eye of the Orcish Deity. For ages beyond memory, the Orcish Deity has led the Ogres, waging war for dominion over the mountains. I hold all His knowledge, all His wisdom—every secret of the gods."
"Good."
Kai Xiusu slowly extended his wings, descending until he hovered directly before the Eye, his gaze locked onto the silver-white flames consuming it. His pupils flickered like embers.
"Tell me everything you know. Everything. Or I will make you taste the essence of Annihilation."
He raised his massive claw. Within it, Chaos Flame, Order Flame, and even the Radiance of the Sun wove together into a deadly weave.
"I will show you what it means to cease to exist."
"Yes, yes, King Kai Xiusu!"
Under the Eye’s panicked stare, Kai Xiusu grinned—a smile that was far from kind.
"Look at me. Do I look like a god... or like a dragon?"
The Chaos Eye blinked, its huge pupil wide with an almost innocent gaze.
Silence. Then, after a long pause, it cautiously replied:
"King Kai Xiusu… you are the most unique existence I have ever seen. Though you lack Divine Essence, the Divinity within you far exceeds that of any ordinary Semi-God. You possess multiple high-tier Strengths, and their essences are exceptionally potent—something I’ve only seen in the ancient ones. Add in your Dragon nature, and your power surpasses many Divine Avatars and Semi-Gods."
Kai Xiusu nodded slightly, his expression unreadable.
"And how do I ascend to Divinity?"
The Chaos Eye extended one of its many tendrils—its eye-socket pulsing with a sinister glint—and chuckled, its voice a rasping whisper:
"King Kai Xiusu, there are three primary paths for a Mortal to ascend to Divinity. The first is to obtain Primordial Divinity—the original divine essence born from the World Laws, aligned with the office of a new Deity as the universe evolves. But... after eons, the ancient Deities have already plundered every last shred of it."
The idea seemed impossible—so abstract, so unattainable.
Yet Kai Xiusu stroked his chin, deep in thought. If Players could reshape the world, could they not also reshape the Edict of the world itself, creating new Divine Offices?
What if there were gods of Stellarfallen, of Biology, of Steam and Machinery, of Gunpowder and Rifle?
If a Player left a mark large enough—as the Controller of the world, the Master of the Empire of Ashen, the Founder of the Industrial System of the An Su Continent—then Kai Xiusu was the most formidable rival any such Divine Position could have.
The Eye extended a second tendril, continuing:
"The second path is to receive Bestowal from a powerful Deity—becoming a subordinate deity, like the Three Gods of Death, who were once fortunate mortals."
It paused, then added with sudden excitement:
"King Kai Xiusu—if you bring me to the Orcish Deity, His generosity will surely grant you a Divine Position! Then you could become a Dragonized Orcish Deity, holding supreme honor and status within the Orcish pantheon, sharing Immortality with us! Just imagine—this could be yours!"
But then, in a flash, the Chaos Eye froze—its tendril recoiled instinctively.
"Ivennis… do you really think I’m a fool?"
Kai Xiusu stared coldly, silver-white flame dripping from his lips like molten ice—ready to unleash a fire that could purge all Chaos.
"Of course not! You are the most astute Red Dragon I’ve ever met!"
Trembling, the Eye extended a third tendril—its eye-socket filled with jagged teeth, constantly opening and closing, dripping thick, black ichor.
"Ah, King Kai Xiusu… I’ve noticed your body is filled with Divine Power. There’s even a fragment of a Deity’s Nature within you. Perhaps you could use that to ignite the Spark of Divinity… and become truly—"
Kai Xiusu laughed—a cold, sharp sound. His gaze turned icy, his pale golden eyes now blazing with real, deadly intent.
"Ivennis. This is your final chance."
The fire erupted in a torrent, engulfing the Eye. Kai Xiusu roared, his voice thunderous with fury:
"Try to deceive me again, and I will erase your Will entirely. You will become an Immutable Essence—without thought, without memory, without soul!"
The Eye screamed, writhing in agony, begging for mercy:
"No! King Kai Xiusu! I was wrong! I won’t lie to you again!"
Kai Xiusu stared coldly at the burning Eye, not yet withdrawing his Order Flame.
With ancient horrors like this, one could never be too careful. A single misstep could mean being deceived—every movement, every word, could be a disguise.
After the betrayal of the Revenant Demon, the Red Dragon still craved strength—but he no longer let greed blind him. He was cautious, vigilant.
Why did Kai Xiusu know the Chaos Eye was lying?
Simple. He knew exactly where his own Divinity came from—the very source of his endless torment: Karex’s Heart.
That power was so wild, so chaotic, that even Kai Xiusu—so powerful—had been tainted by it, losing his reason on multiple occasions.
Only after slaying Jelrazaks and obtaining the Primordial Source of Order Flame had he dared to fully unleash the Chaos Flame.
If merely using such power caused such corruption… what would happen if he used Karex’s remaining Divinity to ignite a Divine Fire?
He could already imagine the outcome.
Kai Xiusu’s voice was colder than ice:
"Ivennis. If I did what you said—what would happen?"
"King Kai Xiusu! I’m sorry! I really can’t!"
The Eye didn’t answer directly. It only shrieked.
Seeing this reaction, Kai Xiusu intensified the fire. The silver-white flame surged into the Eye’s True Form, corroding its Immutable Essence.
"No! No—King Kai Xiusu, please! I’ll tell you! I’ll tell you!"
As the fire consumed its core, the Eye’s cries began to sound almost human—frightened, pleading.
"Once you ignite the Divine Fire using another Divine Nature… the one with greater Divinity can influence the weaker one’s Will, slowly transforming it into its own."
Kai Xiusu exhaled slowly, a bitter smile on his face.
"Of course. So these ancient abominations speak half-truths. Never trust them blindly."
He burned the Eye longer, until even its tendrils could no longer move, before finally withdrawing the fire.
"Continue," he ordered, voice calm. "Or I won’t spare you."
The Eye raised one charred, trembling tendril, its voice a broken whisper:
"But the third path to Divinity is built on the same principle. Divinity can take a material form—whether in the Prime Material Plane or the Outer Planes. For example, the Goddess of Magic’s Divinity is woven into her Cloak of Magic."
It shuddered.
"Of course, Deities guard their Divine Symbols with extreme care—using deadly traps, and powerful entities, most of which exist in their True Forms within the Divine Realm."
Kai Xiusu paused, reflecting.
"So you’re saying I could seize a Deity’s Divine Symbol, use it to ignite my own Divine Fire, and ascend to Divinity… then consume the original Deity?"
The Chaos Eye trembled—internally marveling at the Dragon’s greed and arrogance. To even consider invading a Deity’s Divine Realm? Even Ghuush, its own Father, had never dared such a thing.
But then—if this Red Dragon dared such a thing, wouldn’t it be the perfect opportunity to escape?
A slow, wicked smile spread across the Eye’s face—under the threat of Order Flame, it dared to whisper:
"Of course, King Kai Xiusu. That is the third path. A bold Mortal can steal a Deity’s Divine Symbol, ignite the Divine Fire, and become a new God—overthrowing the old."
It didn’t mention the most well-known path—Divine Ascension through Faith. In the era when it was sealed, Faith had not yet become fuel for Divine Power.
"Very well. That’s enough for today. Remember—never deceive me again."
Kai Xiusu nodded slightly, then extended his claw, spreading his wings.
In the Chaos Eye’s terrified gaze, he unleashed [Empire Domain] in full.
A massive force of energy enveloped the Eye, slamming it deep into the ground. It struggled, screaming:
"King Kai Xiusu! I’m innocent! I told you the truth! What are you doing?! You promised!"
"Ivennis," Kai Xiusu said calmly, "your threat level is too high. I lack safety."
With a sudden, brutal squeeze, he clenched his claw.
[Imperial Domain: Sealing]
In an instant, a surge of Law Force erupted. The Elemental Energy, Space, even Time itself froze in place.
Then, Kai Xiusu muttered an ancient Dragon incantation. Glowing runes burst from the ground, forming chains that twisted and locked around the Eye’s prison.
Not satisfied, he hooked his claws. The earth groaned. Rocks crushed together. The ground heaved violently—rising into a towering hill, burying the sealed Chaos Eye beneath.
When the dust settled, Kai Xiusu wiped his claw and nodded approvingly.
"From now on, this place is an Imperial Forbidden Zone. Security Clearance Level: Maximum. Anyone who trespasses… dies."
With the Chaos Eye sealed beneath the earth, Kai Xiusu turned his thoughts to the secrets it had spilled.
Though the words of such ancient evils could never be trusted completely, Kai Xiusu could test them—through action, through trial.
Obtain Primordial Divinity. Become a Subordinate Deity. Steal a Divine Symbol. Ascend through Faith.
"So many paths…," Kai Xiusu murmured, his pale golden eyes flickering with a fierce, hungry light.
"I suppose… my path to Deification is far from narrow."
(End of Chapter)
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