After many tireless days, Sett finally managed to finish what he had started. His blood veins had all been reinforced with essence. Though the effort he had made was great and painful, Sett would do it all again in a heartbeat if he were given the choice.
He felt many times greater than he had ever felt. Even from absorbing the tiny amount of latent arcane essence that laid dormant within his body, he had gained great power. He felt as if he could run a marathon, considering that he had never come close to such a feat, it was a great increase. His breath felt steadier, and his heartbeat undeniable vigour. Even his mind felt as if it had been altered for the better, if only slightly. It felt as if energy was flooding through his veins. If one were to compare the difference between before and now, it was like night and day.
As for the special essence that had assisted him earlier, he had not been able to find even the shadow of it. The moment he was out of direct danger, it had sunk into the depths of his body, never to be found again. It was a waste. Both Sett and especially Selt’Artek were quite interested in the vigilante essence. In the end, they simply had to give up on the idea of finding it. At least for now.
Although it felt like Sett had spent multiple days in this black space to his great horror, the ancient deity had informed him that the space was augmented, and that time passed much slower in here. His actual explanation had been much more advanced, but it had largely gone over Sett’s head. Sett had been rather peeved at the late revelation. He had, after all, been rather nervous about what was happening in the outside world.
“You have done well, mine kindred.” Selt’Artek, who had been silent for many days, began to praise Sett. “You have done what many would deem impossible. Many would spend countless months, if not years, preparing for their initial step into the arcane, yet you completed it without any prior guidance. Your will is admirable.”
“I couldn’t have done it without your guidance, Selt’Artek.”
Inwardly despite his best attempt at being humble, Sett yelled out in cheer. Damn right he deserved the praise.
“Perhaps.” Selt’Artek’s voice turned slightly more serious. “Remember, mine kindred. In the pursuit of the arcane, it is never advisable to advance your body without prior knowledge. Knowledge is of the greatest importance in the arcane, far surpassing that of talent.”
Sett nodded along with Selt’Artek’s words. He completely agreed with his words. During the relatively small time he had been cultivating his body, he had learned first-hand how much knowledge mattered. Even something as simple as refining the blood veins had a technique behind it. He had learned countless small secrets that had advanced the speed of his technique by leaps and bounds. What if someone had refined that technique for thousands of years? Would that not make the technique countless times more efficient? It was a beautiful thought, but one that Sett knew he unlikely to ever experience.
The blood vein reinforcement was a grand undertaking for Sett, but on the path of ascension, it was only the first step. How much time and effort would the latter steps require? The thought alone was staggering.
“Mine kindred. We stand at an important junction. All the work that we have done has led to this moment. Now is the time for unification. Your body is tempered, but I wonder if your mind will survive the ordeal…”
Sett simply stared blankly ahead hearing Selt’Artek’s words. If he to be completely honest, he was not sure that any kind of pain or strain would be above what he had already felt in the days he had been in this space. In his mind, the archaic god was surely overestimating.
“Let us commence.”
With Selt’Artek’s words, the space around Sett began to distort. As the god's last remaining powers transferred to Sett, the space that they inhabited would wither and die out. Wisps of pure darkness slowly emerged from the space around Sett. These small, insignificant-looking wisps were the last vestige of divinity that Selt’Artek had held on to, as well as his soul.
The moment the first of the small wisps touched Sett’s skin, an unimaginable pain erupted. It was not a physical pain, if it had only been that Sett would have been able to deal with it, but a purely mental one. It felt as if someone was tearing his mind apart and then gluing it together haphazardly, only to repeat the action again within moments.
Eat rip and tear of his mind took a piece of him with it. His memories were being ripped away, taking his identity with it. It was a hellish torment, that not even the greatest of masochistic would enjoy, and there was nothing Sett could do to ease the pain.
Even more terrifyingly was the fact that new memories were gradually replacing the old ones. Memories of places he had never been to or friends he had never seen. Could this be the memories of Selt’Artek? Was he trying to take over Sett’s mind?
Those harrowing thoughts were immediately sent to the back of his mind by a new tearing of his mind.
“Remember who you are.”
A faint whisper came from Selt’Artek, not from the space surrounding Sett, but rather from his own mind.
Sett forced himself to remember. He remembered his childhood in the orphanage, filled with joy and devoid of worry. He remembered the countless friends that had come and gone from its halls. He remembered the petty foes he had made in the mess hall. He remembered Jack and Jess. He remembered their foolish adventures outside the orphanage walls and their foolish attempts to help fund the orphanage.
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He thought back to his earliest memories. How he had yearned for a family. He had despised those who had what he wanted.
He remembered everything as clearly as if it had been yesterday. Both the good and the bad. The horrible and that which was great.
He gripped onto those memories as if they were a lifeline. In this case, they literally were. Should he forget those memories, would he not lose everything that he was leaving him only as an empty husk?
Surprisingly, Sett discovered that over time his mind became tempered. Like a piece of steel being struck countless times, Sett’s mind was growing more and more resistant. The tears, that had threatened to send him shivering to the ground only hours ago, became far less significant and the escaping memories completely ceased.
“Good, mine kindred.” Selt’Artek’s voice was far fainter than before, somehow becoming even more listless and devoid of energy. “You have done well in keeping your own identity. Any lesser man would surely have broken down many hours ago.”
Sett simply stared straight ahead, still coping with the pain that would occasionally flash within his mind. He had gotten to know Selt’Artek over the course of these last few days and he knew that his praise was often followed by more suffering. Thus, Sett dared not get too excited about the nice words and instead prepared himself for more pain.
“To inherit my divinity, you must know of my story.”
‘And there it is.’
Or so Sett wanted to say. Selt’Artek was getting predictable with his methods.
“Let me show you.”
The world changed around Sett. It was still dark beyond belief, but it felt different. It was as if the space had suddenly become infinite.
“I was there at the beginning. At the event that I believe your kind calls ‘The Big Bang’.”
As Selt’Artek spoke a singular point in space erupted with an incomparable light. Sett realized that he had just observed The Big Bang up close, seen through the eyes of a younger Selt’Artek. It was incredible and terrifying at the same time.
“From that small point, the largest arcane natural disaster that the galaxy has ever known came into existence. Even the god-king would be hard-pressed to produce a spell with such power even if he spent a thousand years on it.”
Along with the explosion, Sett’s viewpoint shifted. He was sent hurdling through space at an unbelievable speed.
“The Big Bang did not only manifest the innumerable materials that exist in the galaxy, but it also birthed the gods of the galaxy. Hundreds of thousands of gods came into existence in the same breath but were scattered before they could even recognize what they were.”
Even traveling for millions of kilometres, the world was chaotic. The superheated gasses spread everywhere around the god’s vision, creating quite the dangerous but also spectacular view.
“Whether through sheer luck or a play by fate, this tumultuous time was also the time where I met my twin sister. Aslena, a goddess of light. We were sent flying through space with nothing but each other’s company for hundreds of thousands of years.”
Sett saw the image of two brightly glowing dots dancing across the budding universe. One was glowing brightly white, possibly even brighter than the newly forming suns, and the other was made out of a dense darkness that threatened to blot out any sun in existence.
“We, two rouge gods, travelled for thousands of years more, hoping to find our home. Over the millions of years in space, the both of us had begun to pull material matter onto us, letting us become comets soaring through the skies. One day, we arrived in a budding planetary system that you have come to call Gliese.”
Sett saw the planetary system that he was calling home come into view. It was far different from how it was right now. The planets were newly formed slabs of molten rocks. It would be millions of years before any living being would set foot on these planets.
“Drawn in by her majesty, we arrived at the planet that your kin calls Gliese Prime. We were sent hurdling into its surface, creating vast catastrophic damage to the planet. Alas, a goddess dwelled within this young planet.”
Sett observed in interested horror as the two moon-sized objects fell heavily upon Gliese Prime. It was untold destruction. The told moons scraped countless materials from the planet and later settled into orbit around the planet. The two iconic moons of Gliese Prime had come from Selt’Artek and his twin sister, Aslena.”
“We were quite lucky. If it had been any other god we had angered, they would likely have snuffed out our divinity right then and there. But our goddess was a merciful one. One whose domain was nature and life. Ephy, as was her name, allowed us to stay in her orbit and made us her subordinate gods.”
A memory of a pleasant warmth came upon Sett. It was how Selt’Artek saw the goddess of life and nature.
“Over millions of years, my sister and I would assist our goddess with stabilising her planet. We saw the miracle of life, as the fiery hell turned into a land of nature. We saw countless creatures develop under the guiding light of our goddess. Finally, the Ill’Artyri came into being. It was her first sentient race.”
Sett saw how the planet changed greatly. From a land where one would only find death, to a green planet filled with life. Finally, it would then be turned into a land dominated by the Ill’Artyri. It was strange. The government had told the people that they had found traces of life on the planet, but they had never mentioned that there had been a former civilization on the planet.
“This period of time was the proudest I have ever been. The civilization was flourishing, and all was good. A religion sprung up with Ephy at its centre and my sister and I behind her. It was a time where my abilities were being put to good use. To challenge the demons of the heart, instead of the horrors that are being committed in my name now.”
Another picture surfaced in Sett’s mind. It was one of Selt’Artek in his garden from earlier, only that the garden was filled with life and colours.
“Everything was well. But nothing good lasts forever. My goddess, despite her low profile, attracted the attention of other gods.”
Sett could vaguely feel the rage that Selt’Artek felt.
“Xieus, the destroyer, arrived at our most holiest of places. He demanded Ephy as his own, threatening her that he would challenge her divinity if she did not comply.”
Selt’Artek’s rage was barely contained.
“My sister pleaded with me to fight the destroyer, but the laws of gods bound us. While it is heavily frowned upon, he was fully within his right to challenge her divinity. Alas, I could not interfere in their affairs. It is a decision that still haunts me to this day.”
The anger in Selt’Artek’s voice was replaced with grief.
“Though I cannot say that I would have changed anything, I still regret not helping my goddess. It had been over far too quickly. The god of fire had all the advantages over our goddess.”
An image of destruction appeared before Sett. The entire planet being ravaged by enormous flames.
“My sister, in her rage, decided that it was my fault that we had come to this and condemned me as a traitor to our goddess. She struck me down, causing me to become greatly weaking and eventually leading me spiralling to my current state.”
A battered Selt’Artek with an enormous cut on his body was the last image that Sett saw from the memories. Then there was only silence and darkness.
Then it was all over. The seed had been sown. Sett was half a god.