The Monarch

The number of mortals killed in that place was countless. It wasn't just a few dozen or hundreds of thousands; it was billions. But… none of them were truly relevant. Most were mages who couldn't even summon any real retaliation from the karmic bolts.

The bolts fell like liquid lances of pure energy, tearing through air and space as if there were no resistance. Each impact distorted the reality around it. The sound wasn't just a rumble but a vibration that made space itself tremble, as if the universe screamed in agony. The discharges spread in green fractals, burning matter and unraveling laws at a mere touch.

Orpheus raised his hands and, with a fluid gesture, molded a translucent wall of divine energy that absorbed part of the wrath of the heavens. His mastery was undeniable; every movement seemed natural, as if he had been born to face that cosmic judgment. Still, with every bolt that pierced his defense, fragments of his essence were corroded, and his body resonated with deep pain, forcing him to endure while his aura wavered.

After several long minutes of that frantic battle, Orpheus emerged completely victorious. There hadn't been any real difficulty for the god to do so. It seemed as if he had faced the karmic bolts dozens of times before, as if there was a certain pleasure in challenging something so overwhelmingly powerful.

"I wonder how great the Celestials' retaliation would be if I tried to do something against you," Orpheus looked at the boy suggestively, but even just having similar thoughts, he could feel the energy around him being directed at him. One thing was certain…

"You'd probably die before you could even cast an attack," Kayden replied to the god without any fear. He was right, and Orpheus knew it.

"It's funny, but I'm a very old god, Kayden, and my only fun now is facing the wrath of the Celestials. I'm already used to the burning of their green bolts, the omnipotence of their attacks."

Kayden noticed the old man was just rambling.

"Can't you fight other gods?" Kayden asked, doubtful.

"It would just be a waste of time. I could hardly kill one of them, nor could they kill me. We've sort of reached a point where we can't be killed—at least not easily," the god grumbled and began to float, pulling Kayden along in his presence.

Kayden could barely feel anything as he was teleported through insane space in just a few minutes. They crossed hundreds of trillions of kilometers, traveled millions of light-years in mere moments, and Kayden couldn't even comprehend what was happening.

Jordan had been with them the whole time during the journey. He was even less able to understand anything about that trip. In truth, he was still recovering from the mess that waiter had made in his mind, but it wouldn't take long for him to be fully recovered.

"We've arrived," Orpheus stopped in…

A field stretched endlessly, covered in blue grass that rippled softly like a calm sea under an ethereal wind. The air had a subtle glow, as if every particle were made of stardust, making the atmosphere silent and reverent. On the horizon, the expanse curved toward the center, drawn to the singular presence of that colossal tree.

The golden tree rose like a pillar piercing through worlds. Its branches held entire constellations, and its trunk seemed fused to the fabric of reality itself. Each leaf shone like a miniature sun, radiating an aura that transcended the gods, as if it were the embodiment of a supreme law. At the center of the trunk, embedded naturally and inevitably, a portal pulsed with infinite energy—a threshold beyond the very concept of divinity.

There were countless realms within that tree; it practically contained dozens of organizations as large as Orpheus's. One thing quickly became clear to Kayden as they approached: this place was much closer to the noble area of Atherion. He had no idea if this was the center or some border.

"It depends on the era. In my glory days, Atherion's high class was in the southern edge, but it changes depending on the current divine king," Jarvis answered Kayden's question in a rare lapse of consciousness.

"Jordan," Kayden explained quickly what was happening, "the decision to enter is yours, but I think you're going to completely waste your life in that place." Kayden was anything but humble in his words, making the boy's lack of strength crystal clear.

"I'm going in," Jordan said arrogantly. Kayden didn't interfere in his affairs any further. In the end, each person had to be responsible for their own path. Orpheus and the two of them weren't stopped at any point.

Near the portal, there was an insane number of people. Billions gathered to bid farewell to family members who had decided to risk their lives. These were the most common ones—mortals who just wanted to seek a better future. They were the overwhelming majority.

The other kind of mage were those backed by major organizations. These were direct bets, as those organizations were sending them straight into an unknown world in exchange for some form of reward from the Celestials. Ironically, none of them received anything. It had been an immensely long time since the Celestials had gifted anyone.

It looked like a scene of war where families said goodbye to their loved ones. Faces holding back tears, promises to return—everything added up to make it seem like they were leaving for an endless war.

Most of the people here would never return. An absolute minority would come back as powerful gods, shortening their development by many years. But that was a fraction smaller than one in a billion. Most would die without ever reaching the mortal peak of their potential. They were nothing but cannon fodder.

No one knew what would happen in there. No one knew what was in there, because every time a god came out, the things inside could have changed. And usually, the time difference was absurd. It took tens of billions of years for a god to be able to exit from inside.

"What do we have to do?" Kayden asked Orpheus, and the answer was simple.

"You just need to enter," Orpheus pointed to the enormous spinning portal. Its appearance was obscured by the insane number of people entering it without a hint of hesitation.