"Feelings are something you have; not something you are."

--Shannon L. Alder

*****

Emotions. They were what makes someone 'alive'. It was the medium with which anyone could connect and resonate on a deeper level with someone more than even through the power of language.

Essentially, emotions were what made someone more 'human', even if they themselves were not.

Then, to Gods, what exactly were emotions? After all, they were transcendental existences who were already above mundane things.

'Emotions, to a God, are nothing but imperfections that needed to be eliminated, oh foolish fellow Earth Dweller.'

The Innate God mocked inside his mind as he watched Rihan's face being crumpled with immense fury; there was also a strong sense of desolation mixed in his Spirit.

"... What do you mean by I can't kill a weakling like you?" Rihan asked with gritted teeth.

'Insolent as well.'

"That's what it is. An existence like you, who was born under my rule, has already lost the right to kill me." The Innate God smiled like a dependable elder who was teaching his junior the ways of the world.

"Is it because of my Karma of Birth?"

"Indeed. You catch on quick. Of course, I can't kill you either, you know that."

"What is your purpose in telling me this?" Rihan asked without any energy in his voice.

𝘚𝘮𝘪𝘳𝘬.

"Become my subordinate and sword."

There was a brief silence between them.

"Why should I? If you know so much, you should know that you can't force me either."

'Still resisting, huh. Let's see how much you can persist before I break your Spirit completely.'

The smirk on the Innate God's face widened even more.

"You're right. Now that you have lost your mother, there is no need to stay on Earth. But you are wrong about one thing."

"What is?"

"You still have a family on Earth remaining, you know."

"... What are you saying? I don't have any other family–"

𝘚𝘩𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘳!

"Oh, now you do remember?"

Visible shock appeared on Rihan's face as it was just that much of a great revelation.

All his life, he thought his mother was his only family. He did not even remember his father being there in his life after he started to form his own thoughts as a child.

He died in a car, or so he was told, but personally, he didn't care much. His mother was his all.

Even when all other children boasted about their father being their hero or something, he always proudly declared that his mother was the best mother in the world.

He never felt that he ever needed a father in his life to feel secure; his mother was his greatest strength. Even when tough times came in their life, his mother was the one who remained ever strong, never showing any weakness for h̶i̶s their sake.

But, now that he was a God, he could remember all his memories, even forgotten ones. And, among those memories, a particular one was now being unearthed.

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"I had a sister..."

Right, he used to have a sister. How could he forget? The time when his mother was so devastated and heartbroken when they lost his sister. Even now, he could not fathom the agony his mother was going through at that time. Or she ever recovered from that.

It was the only time when he saw his strong mother falter in life.

"Wrong, fellow Earth Dweller. You 'have' a sister."

"But..."

...wasn't she reported lost and dead? Is she still alive? How? Why?

"Is that important? The most important thing is that you still have a family on Earth. Or, are you still in denial because you have forgotten about her?"

𝘎𝘭𝘢𝘳𝘦.

'Hehe. Keep glaring, because it is only you can do.'

"You...! Where is she? Don't you dare try to hold her hostage against me! You won't like the consequences!"

'Yes, this is it.'

"Haha, you must be jocking. Why would I do such a thing to my soon-to-be subordinate?"

Rihan did not say anything but only glared at him. It looked like he was already going mad.

'Hmm, I should lower things down from now on. I shouldn't push such a willy-nilly God that much.'

"Moreover, she is not on Earth."

"What?"

"She is not on Earth, but in that Tower."

"..."

Rihan fell into silence as if to say he was all ears.

"You have to enter that tower to find your sister."

"..."

"But there is a slight problem with that."

"..."

"You can't enter Earth where the Tower is because of the barrier surrounding it."

"..."

"And, as a God, you also do not have the qualifications to enter it. But you know what?"

"..."

"I have the solutions to all of these. That's why, become my subordinate and sword, and I will grant your wish of living with your family. That's the duty of a God, isn't it?"

"Is that so?"

'Hm?'

"So, that's what you were plotting this whole time."

'What's happening? What is he trying to do?'

"Giving me despair and then hope. Coaxing me into becoming your lackey by making use of my emotions. That's some brilliant plan."

"What are you trying to say?"

"What am I trying to say? It's just that, when you are on your wits end, losing power constantly because of something, you have no choice but to take some extreme measures. You know what I am saying, right?"

There was a knowing smile on Rihan's face, as if he had already figured out something.

'He has noticed my situation. But, so what? You can't do anything.'

"...Do you think this will end well for you? In the end, no matter what you do, you will need my permission and help to achieve your dream."

𝘐𝘨𝘯𝘰𝘳𝘦𝘥.

Ignoring the egoistical words of the Innate God, Rihan condescendingly asked the Innate God.

"But you know what? You do not know who I am."

"Hmph. What's that got to do with your current insolence?"

"It is important. You can't ignore the crucial details before you hatch a plan, right?

"And you don't even understand me; how can you subjugate me when I am the Conqueror of Adversities, the Asura of Victory itself?"

"What– Argghhhhh."

𝘚𝘮𝘪𝘳𝘬!

"So even Innate Gods feel pain, huh. But that much is nothing to how I am feeling right now."

*****

Rihan always wondered what was so different about the Innate Gods that they acted so high and mighty. Sure, they might be Gods the moment they were born, but he couldn't find anything that remarkable about them.

But gradually, ever since becoming a God himself, things started to make sense.

Innate Gods were masters of Karma and Fortune, and held the Divine Seat of the World they were born in. This gave them immense strength and potential of the world itself, but given special conditions, it also became their greatest weakness, which he was seeing with relish right now.

Ultimately, the majority of their power came from the beliefs of the mortals living on their World. But if these beliefs ever started to distort or wane past a certain degree, an Innate God could literally lose his Identity, and fall from its Divine Position and be damned for eternity.

"That's what exactly is happening right now, isn't it, oh my dear Innate God?"

"Y-You!!! Arghh! What have you done?"

"And if I were to guess, the culprit is that Tower which you are so desperately trying to help me enter."

"Ahhh, don't think that Earth will be safe if something happens to me. Then you will forget about your sister, arghhhhh."

"You are truly shameless. Anyway, don't worry; nothing will happen to you. I am just making our earlier deal a little fair, that's all."

"What do you mean?"

"You have not noticed? Well, I think this is the first time you have experienced pain, so you are just a little overwhelmed. See, you are taking it so well after some time. Aha, Innate Gods are amazing, after all."

Nobody would think that his words were true. Even at this point, the Innate God was clutching his chest so tightly and spasming so much that it looked like he would die from heart attack any moment.

"Well, since we are going to be partners for a while, I will tell you a little so you don't have any funny ideas later on."

The Innate God hatefully looked at Rihan. There was defiance in his eyes, as if to say that he would tear him apart mercilessly. Even the realm was shaking incessantly to show his state.

"I am just taking over the Ruling Authority of this world a little bit from you."

Shock and horror replaced the pain as the Innate God exclaimed in disbelief.

"W-What?! H-How can you! Urgh."

"Nah, don't ask me that. You just mess with the wrong guy."

Actually, what he said was true. He was encroaching over the Ruling Authority of this World. It was possible only because of three reasons.

First, he belonged to this world and held a unique connection to it. Second, he was stronger than the weakened Innate God, who was gradually losing his Identity, and the third and most important was his Divine Position of Adversity Conqueror and Authority of Surmounting and Challenges.

"W-When did y-you..."

"Hmm? Are you asking me when I started all of this? Well, when you said I still have my sister in my life. Ah, you know? I was thinking of simply killing you, but I changed my mind. Now, I want to cooperate."

The Innate God painfully realized that he had never had a chance. He could now only yield; otherwise, he understood that he could lose his Divine Seat of Earth completely.

"O-okay. I will cooperate! Please, stop this!"

"Hmm, okay."

The unfamiliar feeling of pain and fear soon subsided, but the shadow of these feelings strongly remained in him.

Unknowingly, the Innate God 'feel' something for the first time in his life. Though it could not be said to be a good experience for him in any way.

*****

It has been twenty years on Earth after Rihan's disappearance.

At the time of his disappearance, a massive earthquake shook the whole globe, followed by mass panic among the people. It was literally a scene out of a sci-fi movie about the world's end.

When the people's worry and confusion was at its peak, out of nowhere, an enormous tower appeared as if tearing apart the ground. No matter where anyone was, everyone could see the pitch-black tower as it took anyone by surprise by its appearance.

Unfortunately, this did not last long. Spatial Cracks formed everywhere on the world, and from across these spatial cracks came vicious and powerful monsters.

The world was not prepared for this.

More than ten percent of the population perished. This number could have been bigger if not for the smaller number of monsters and the swift disappearance of the spatial cracks where they came from.

But this was not all; after this massive incident, which was known later as the Tower Initiation, a message popped before everyone.

['Earth' has been selected as the nurturing planet by the Tower of Trials.]

[The First Initiation has been completed.]

['Status Window' has been granted to every being.]

[The dormant energy of the planet has started to wake up.]

[The Second Initiation will start in one month.]

[Please level up and be prepared to climb the Tower of Trials.]

[If you conquer the Tower of Trials, your every wish will be fulfilled.]

[Best of Luck.]

The world turned upside down completely.