The place reached using the authority Divine Space of Beltesia was an even vaster space than expected.
Hio walked for a long time, passing through the fairytale-like scenery where he had previously met Liphyue, yet the space continued to stretch on. Since it was a space without even a handful of light, it reached a point where he could barely see the ground right beneath his feet.
It was not the Abyssal Depths, however; it was just purely dark.
‘I’ve already passed the stage of relying solely on my vision, but…’
Even with his eyes closed, his expanded senses allowed him to see his surroundings clearly, but strangely, that did not work here. Nevertheless, instead of feeling anxious, he felt a sense of comfort as if he had come home.
“Airlights. Can you stay here for a moment? I’m going to look around.”
Hio tried to put down Airlights, who was practically hanging off his back, but she showed no intention of letting go. Perhaps sensing his intent, she clung to him even tighter.
“…Fine. Do as you wish.”
How much longer did he walk? Suddenly, a massive structure appeared before his eyes. At first, he thought it was a fortress wall. Because of the heavy darkness, he could not guess its shape or size. But as he walked along it, touching the surface, he realized the truth. This was not a wall, but merely a pillar. It was just one pillar of a building so vast he could not even begin to imagine its scale.
Moving diligently, he found a path he assumed to be an entrance and headed toward it. The reason it had been difficult to find the entrance was that each step of the stairs was twice Hio’s height. As it turned out, there were other stairs of a more appropriate size off to the side.
‘Were most of the ancient gods giants?’
He climbed the stairs for a long time. Just as he began to feel Airlights tossing and turning on his back, he was finally able to enter the building. Or rather, he could only guess that he had entered. It felt like a temple, but because of the darkness and the sheer size of the pillars and stairs, he couldn’t tell if the ceiling was open or closed.
*Thud—*
Only the sound of Hio’s footsteps walking on the smooth stone echoed. He entered through what he believed to be the entrance of the building—suspected to be a temple—and walked down a path he assumed was the central aisle. Even though there was nothing he could discern, his mind remained peaceful.
After walking for a while, those giant stairs appeared before Hio once again. He walked alongside them, but this time, there were no stairs suited to Hio’s size. Only the massive stairs, seemingly meant for giants, existed.
“…”
He had no choice. He began to climb the stairs, which were twice his height, while carrying Airlights on his back. Since his vision was obscured, he didn’t know how many there were, but fortunately, the number of steps was not great.
What he saw upon reaching the end of the stairs was…
“……This is.”
It was a throne. A massive chair of a height and size that a giant might sit upon. And at both ends of that chair, holy flames flickered faintly. They certainly hadn’t been visible before he climbed the stairs, but once he reached the top, they began to show.
‘I have to go there.’
In the dark and silent Divine Space, it was the only place where a light, however faint, flickered. How could he not go?
Like he was scaling a cliff, he leaped onto the chair. Stepping onto the armrest, which felt like a stone mountain, he climbed onto the backrest. The flames felt even more vivid from both sides. What had looked small from below was indeed massive up close. It felt as if he had suddenly shrunk in size.
“Ugh…”
Surveying his surroundings, he cautiously approached the flames. He felt no heat or warmth; the only thing he sensed from the faint light was divinity. It was a weak light of holiness burning in white.
It was intuition and instinct. He thrust his hand into the flames. He did it without much thought because the feeling that he must do so surged within him.
And then.
**[‘Seeking memories of the Divine Space of Beltesia.’]**
Suddenly, his vision brightened. Dazzling light poured in, and when he habitually closed and then opened his eyes, he was not in a dark and silent space but inside a bright and massive temple.
The temple was taller and larger than Hio had imagined. The sight of the ancient gods walking through it was even more grand and intimidating than he had thought, and their numbers were so vast they were reminiscent of human society.
The difference was the tranquility evident on everyone’s faces. As the memories of the space moved past the temple toward more distant places, that phenomenon became even more distinct.
He saw Liphyue enjoying leisure alone within her fairytale-like space. He saw the form of a beautiful goddess looking down upon the earth and spreading love. There was a god enjoying the coolness while soaking in a trickling brook, and a giant laughing heartily while blocking a waterfall with his massive body. Although each individual had a distinct personality, what was fundamentally ingrained in them was peace.
The memories, having completed a circuit of the space, returned to the temple. Passing the stairs at the entrance and the central holy path, they reached the throne at the very center.
The owner of the throne met the eyes of Hio, who was scanning the memories. Mysterious five-colored pupils—two incredibly massive eyes—stared straight at Hio, who existed in the far future.
It was no illusion. Crossing thousands, perhaps tens of thousands of years, the owner of the throne was looking at Hio. A heavy mouth slowly opened. The Celestial moved with it.
**[Relight the extinguished star.]**
With that distant resonance as the last…
“……Haa!”
Reality returned. The silent Divine Space of Beltesia, its lights extinguished. Even the flickering flames on the throne had gone out at some point, leaving the space submerged in complete darkness.
However, he knew clearly what he had to do. Hio possessed a milestone created through the joint efforts of all the gods.
**[You have encountered ‘Beltesia,’ the Master of the Celestial.]**
**[Qualifications verified.]**
**[You can use all your Divinity Points to relight the Divine Space of Beltesia.]**
**[Would you like to relight it?]**
The system message asked if he would relight it. That surely didn’t just mean producing light. It was clear that a much deeper, different meaning was hidden within.
“……Of course I have to.”
Besides, having come all this way, how could he back down now?
**[Relighting the Divine Space of Beltesia.]**
**[Consuming all owned Divinity Points.]**
**[Consuming 412,904 Divinity Points.]**
The extinguished flames of the throne flared up once again. Starting from there, holy flames began to bloom one by one on the temple walls, the incredibly high ceiling, and the base of the pillars.
Divinity spread. As the darkness receded, the brightly lit temple was identical to the one in the memories. The only thing that had changed was the static silence. Because Hio was the only one there, the space felt desolate.
**[Light shines once again upon the extinguished Star of Beltesia.]**
**[All transcendent beings will perceive this.]**
**[The power of the Star of Beltesia returns.]**
Sure enough, ominous messages rose one after another.
**[While in the Divine Space of Beltesia, you can receive various beneficial effects.]**
**[In proportion to the time spent here, stats ‘Strength,’ ‘Health,’ ‘Agility,’ and ‘Magic Power’ will permanently increase.]**
**[In proportion to the time spent here, stats ‘Spirit’ and ‘Holy Power’ will permanently increase.]**
**[In proportion to the time spent here, the grade of your soul will increase.]**
**[The soul feels extreme stability.]**
**[The recovery speed of Holy Power increases.]**
**[You have become the owner of the Forgotten Throne.]**
**[Inheriting Beltesia’s will.]**
**[The consumption cost of Divinity Points is reduced.]**
**[Henceforth, transcendents who obtain divinity will not be able to defy you within the Divine Space of Beltesia.]**
The brightly lit Divine Space of Beltesia. Sitting upon the throne of the giant temple located within, he could feel it if he closed his eyes. He felt the divinity wrapping around his body and the divinity spreading far and wide.
This space itself was meticulously designed to be activated with even a small amount of holy power. It was the authority of Beltesia.
He felt his soul becoming calmly stabilized. It was the kind of stability that any transcendent who had obtained divinity would naturally feel.
Perhaps because of that…
“……Hio?”
Even though Hio hadn’t called out, a voice calling his name reached him first. Turning his head, he saw crimson eyes rounded in surprise.
“Airlights.”
The second god had finally regained consciousness. The Divine Space of Beltesia was an authority and a space that explained a god’s immense power in its own right.
The fact that the longer one stayed, the more one’s physical strength, soul rank, and the power of one’s energy increased… meant it was a structure where ancient gods could only become stronger.
Of course, even for such gods, there must have been a beginning. Since there was an end, there must have been a start. And even for them, wouldn’t the beginning have been clumsy? Just as Hio was now.
“Hmm…… what should I do?”
Hio sat at the painted tea table where he had previously sat across from Liphyue. And Airlights sat right next to him, clinging close.
“About what?”
“What else? I’m talking about you.”
“Hehehe.”
What should he do with her? Hio had the reliable organization of the Heavenly Demon Cult, and he had planted seeds of his own in Verdan by appointing Irina as his apostle, but Airlights had no such foundation at all. Despite the fact that she was a god who had obtained divinity.
“No, first of all…… how did you even get your divinity?”
In truth, that was the biggest mystery. If divinity was something that could be snatched up just because one wanted it, why would Kreutzvalt have made such a fuss?
“Well, you see……”
Airlights’s answer to that question was rather unexpected. Before Hio entered the World’s End, she had been looking for clues regarding the holy magic of love. Following that trail, she said she eventually arrived at the sanctuary of the ancient god Venus.
As if it had been meant to be—as if it had been prepared in advance—everything fell perfectly into place. She said that when she found the final Seventh Record, even her own name was written there.
“I guess those ancient gods or whatever knew we would end up like this?”
At Airlights’s words, Hio shook his head slightly.
“They probably didn’t.”
They likely didn’t see it with certainty. It might have just been one of many paths, and while they might have thought it the most probable, they certainly wouldn’t have been sure. Liphyue had said as much. No matter how ancient a god might be, they do not know everything.
Therefore, what Airlights discovered was also just one of countless preparations. It was certain that there were countless arrangements left in the world that Hio and Airlights had not yet found.
“Still, it’s clear things turned out quite well.”
Since Hio was no longer the only one who had obtained divinity. Could there be any better situation than this? Therefore, from now on, he had to set a thorough plan. From this point forward, he had to look into the future himself and make his own arrangements.
“Airlights.”
“Yeah?”
“You and I, let’s start making a plan from now on.”
“I love you.”
They would target Kreutzvalt, who would be waiting for an opportunity at the end of the world.
“We are going to end the master of the Abyssal Depths with our own hands.”
A plan to personally finish the master of the deep Abyssal Depths. To do that, the first thing they had to find out was how to walk into the Abyssal Depths on their own feet.