CHAPTER 529

DIVINITY

How long has it been? Too long, Lino realized while he stared at the scratched anvil and the slightly rusted hammer on top of it. All around him silence reigned, the peace that was so difficult to find these days. His gaze was heavy, distant, as he approached the anvil and reached out, gripping the hammer's handle. It was a strange sensation, eerily unfamiliar. His hand trembled for a moment as he pulled the hammer up. A long time ago, he remembered, he was too weak to hold it even with both hands. Yet, now, it weighed as much as a feather. No, even less.

He sighed, sitting down onto the wooden stool. A strange sensation of comfort overtook him. Despite having a massive throne, an array of comfortable chairs and sofas and beds he could sit on, nothing quite compared to this simple and old device. The sensation of familiarity slowly began returning to his fingers. He had sworn he’d become a forger, that he would imprint his name upon the world as a smith, yet the reality was too cruel. How many people really knew him as a smith? Perhaps only a few.

When had his story gone astray? He didn't know. At some point, the imperative changed. He wasn't alone. He kept losing too much and realized he couldn't afford to lose any more. He, deludedly, had forgone his dream. Now, sitting inside the dark, languid smithy, the old feelings poured in. How joyful was holding the hammer, tampering the materials known and unknown to the world, creating something that was never created before? He chuckled bitterly at the thought, realizing he had forgone this joy as well.

Though he very much enjoyed fighting, it was not the same; the procession of stabbing someone’s heart inspired vastly different feelings than breathing life into something new. He looked around, slowly getting up and walking over to the furnace, throwing in some firewood and setting it on fire. He didn’t use any special flames, but the most ordinary ones.

The crackling sounds soon replaced the silence as the coral flames arose within the stone-encased furnace. It was a warm sight, beyond the sensation of flames. Lino smiled gently, shoving his arm into the fire. It couldn’t hurt him; rather, there was likely nothing on Noterra that could hurt him now. Understanding this transcendental strength had given him a new insight into the reality of things. In truth, it was all too simple. Too mundane. There was no truth worth pursuing. Death? Life? Light? Darkness? Time? Chaos? Order? It didn’t matter. They were all uniformly the same.

“… it always happens, doesn’t it?” he mumbled to himself, withdrawing his hand that remained spotless. “That we forget the joy of the simple things.”

He took out a few ordinary iron ores and started melting them, purifying them. Draw them into the shape of a blade. Heat them up. Cool them. Hammer them. Rinse and repeat. Draw out the guard from the blade, make it a simple cross, extend the handle, make it slightly coarse so it doesn’t slip from the hand. He was done within an hour.

Holding the most ordinary sword in his hand, he felt a strange joy overcome him. There was nothing special about the sword – rather, it could even be considered a disgrace that someone on his level made it. However, he didn’t care. Status, honor, dignity… those things were fleeting.

[Iron Blade – Normal]

Level: 10

Damage: 7-10

He put the sword down gently and sat back down onto the stool. He had truly forgotten, the joy of creating. Did he regret his choice of becoming an Agent of Destruction? No. He would destroy to protect, and create to inspire. He didn't care about the cosmic balance, about the binary oppositions that seemed to exist everywhere. He didn't care about restoring the Edifice of Destruction so it may contend against its opposite once more. It has been a long time since he fought for himself, so it won't be any different than hundreds of other battles he had fought. It was regardless of his opponent – be it Ella, some other Agent, or the tens of thousands he had spotted with a brief glimpse.

The doors to the smithy opened and a familiar figure walked through; Hannah had changed into ordinary clothes, the likes of which she wore a long time ago when they were still youths learning the truths of the world. One-piece, white dress unfolded from her smooth, slightly exposed, shoulders and over her body. Her crimson hair fell freely to the side, her eyes the tranquil lakes that calmed the hottest of fires in him. Though many thought she had maintained her appearance through Qi, she hadn’t; this was how she truly looked at nearly sixty years of age. Lino couldn’t quite understand it, considering he looked through and through like an old man, but he didn’t care. She smiled at him gently, gingerly even, just like she always does in private.

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“What do you think?” she asked, spinning in place. “I dug out one of my old dresses. Still suits me, eh?”

“Eh, I’m still of opinion that no-clothes suits you the best.” Lino grinned, stroking his chin thoughtfully.

“Haah, how can someone so old still be so perverted…” Hannah sighed playfully, shaking her head as she walked over, sitting onto the wooden table next to the stool. “You’re a disgrace to all men out there, you know?”

“It’s this strange succubus that I married that is to blame, I’m afraid.”

“Ah, blame the beauty not the beast, eh?”

“The beauty should stop taunting and teasing the beast, then.” Lino smiled.

“Aah, you are really terrible; the beast should understand it’s undeserving of the beauty and step back, no?”

“… he really should.” Lino said. “He would have. But, it turned out, the beauty loved him too.”

“… aah, that smooth tongue of yours is really a problem,” Hannah chuckled, her barefoot legs rocking back and forth. “What now?” she asked with a slightly more serious expression.

“Astrum—no, Reli also managed to free herself?” Lino asked instead.

“Hm.” Hannah nodded.

“… now we prepare for the war.”

“Are you sure she will fail?” Hannah asked. She didn’t want to fight Ella. Not because of fear, but because of simple respect and care.

“… I’m sure she cares for us from the depths of her heart, Hannah,” Lino said, sighing. “But, we are just the fleeting faces in her life. She’ll try and convince me, no doubt. But, in the end, we’ll fight.”

“Can you handle her?” she asked with care.

“I can,” Lino replied confidently. “I can even defeat her, perhaps even kill her, if I go all-out.”

“… if?” Hannah quizzed.

“I’m worried about the second Agent,” Lino said. “Or perhaps even Third and Fourth. If there are more than Three, we’ll get trampled on without putting up a fight.”

“… I can deal with one with Reli’s help. Ataxia can form a band and fight another. We have many powerful people that can stand their ground, Lino.”

"I don't doubt that," Lino said. "But, it's not enough that they stand their ground, Hannah. How long can they stand is the question. An hour? Two? Three? In the end, we are just humans. There are limits that are hard to break at the moment.”

“… at the moment?” Hannah caught the implications and asked.

“If given time, naturally, it’s easy to break the barriers,” Lino said, sighing. “That’s why this war seems so urgent and imminent. However, they will only expect me to be able to stand up to them. That might be the sole advantage we have. I’ll start crafting again,” Lino said. “Eggor’s in no state of mind to help, so it might take some time. Meanwhile, I won’t be able to leave this place for a while, so the burden on you will grow. I’m sorry.”

“… what are you apologizing for?” she looked at him gently, jumping off the table and walking over, kissing his forehead. “My burdens are comparatively cheap.”

“… ah, your talent to undersell yourself and your pain is beyond anyone’s,” Lino said, sighing. “I’ll craft you a set beyond their imagination. If we can’t fight with our strength, I’ll create that strength out of nowhere.”

“… ha ha, I’m kind of looking forward to it, to be honest,” Hannah said. “It’s been too long since I’ve seen you at your best. We’re gonna win Lino. Right?”

“… of course,” he said, glancing up at her eyes that were a few inches away, smiling widely. “I don’t care who comes. This is our home, and I’ll kill the Creator itself before I let him touch this place.”

“… I know you will.” She mumbled, pressing her lips against his tenderly.

Lino’s confidence wasn’t baseless. It wasn’t only Ataxia that had filled his mind with knowledge, but also Edifice. It was a relentless onslaught of information that he was still having trouble processing, but it didn’t matter. All he cared for was this small corner that seemed so insignificant in the grand scheme of things. However, to him, it was everything. Worth more than all the rest of Everything combined.

[Lyonel Qa’yi – Divinity]

World-eater

The Empyrean Blacksmith of Destruction

Titles: Agent of Destruction, Guardian of the World, The Destroyer, The Divine Traveler, The Reborn, The Unbent, Destroyer of Life, Beholder of Madness, Beholder of Divinity, The Deified, The Untouched, Creator of Destruction, The Ineffable

Occupations: Beggar (Level 311), Blacksmith (Tier 3: Divine), Cultivator (World-eater), The World Guardian (Tier 0 – tier increased each time Homeworld is defended), Prime Agent of Destruction (World-eater)

Divinities: , , , , , , , , , ….

The One who touched the Heart of Everything