Divine Apostasy Book 9 - Chapter 7 (OLD)

[Author's Note: I have significantly altered the storyline and this chapter is no longer valid. Please see more recent releases which will contain the information I plan on using. Thanks]

Chapter 7

Ruwen created a bowl like depression near the location that he’d transitioned from Gem to Divine not that long ago. The pit stretched forty-five feet across and fifteen feet deep, and he’d carefully placed the scooped-out rock in a neat pile in case Miranda thought he just wanted to destroy things again for no reason.

The area in front of the portal stone, which meant half the summit, lay covered in terium. Ruwen had a terrible thought and jumped from his Spirit bowl to the top of the portal stone, quickly searching the edge of the stone.

It only took a moment to find Archie, who sat in the same location as before. Ruwen had worried the flying terium might have crushed the strange creature. Archie’s single eyeball on the end of a short stalk looked up at Ruwen and blinked so Ruwen waved a greeting.

Relieved that the creature had survived, Ruwen leaned back, and after a moment, opened his wings. Just like his tests on Grave, they didn’t rip his shirt. He glanced back to peek at them, and once again, joy filled him.

The wings’ edges glowed softly with translucent crystals that reminded him of Fractal and the gems he collected. The crystals’ arrangements gave them a primal aura, like the teeth of a predator. Each wing spanned over six feet, and they responded to every muscle twitch. The wings didn’t have feathers or scales, but thousands of thin strings, arranged vertically like a harp. The shape of each wing resembled a vicious ax head, enhancing the wing’s threatening aura.

On top of the portal stone, without all the terium blocking the icy wind, it gusted across Ruwen’s body and wings. Like fingers, the breeze plucked the strings, enhancing and amplifying its melody and creating a new harmony that he felt as much as heard. He studied the vibrations while enjoying the tones.

They’re still there, Rami teased.

Ruwen’s cheeks burned, and he quickly turned his attention forward. Maybe he had looked at them a lot lately. Never hurts to check, he responded.

Stepping off the portal stone, Ruwen’s wings slowly beat, and he willed himself downward to the small bucket resting against the portal stone’s side. What felt like instantly, he landed in front of Archie, who rested inside a foot-high pot. His body, a two-foot stalk, swayed slowly, and the eyeball on the stalk’s top regarded Ruwen.

Ruwen sat cross-legged and bowed to the eyeball. “I wanted to thank you personally for saving,” he held up his right hand and displayed the Apocalypse Band, “this ring. It contained precious items, and your quick thinking and bravery might have literally saved the universe.”

Archie placed images of a forest in Ruwen’s mind, and he could smell the refreshing scent of a rainstorm, while the distant rumble of thunder created a soothing rhythm, calming his senses. Warm mist rose off the moss covered ground and wrapped him like a cozy blanket.

Ruwen guessed that meant something like you’re welcome. Only Hamma or Blapy would know for sure.

Rami jumped out from behind Ruwen’s ear and transformed into her human form. She kneeled in front of the pot and looked down at the eyeball, which had turned up to look at her. “You deserve more than a thanks though. I did a little snooping and I figured out where mom obtained the latest set of figurines you told me about, and I ordered you something special.”

Surprise swirled with guilt as it hadn’t even occurred to Ruwen that he could do something more for Archie than just a thank you. “I should have thought of that. Thank you, Rami. I’ll come with you and pay.”

Rami glanced up at Ruwen. “That might be a bad idea.”

“No, I insist. You figured out where to go, and paying is the least I can do.”

Rami gave a small smile and shrugged. “If you insist.”

Ruwen stood and bowed to Archie again. “Thanks again, Archie.”

Returning to the depression, Ruwen used Retrieve to yank the closest chunks of terium into the hole with him. Climbing on top of the largest piece, he sat cross-legged and channeled Melt. The terium under him immediately sublimated into a gas, and the Spirit surrounded him like fog.

As Ruwen continued the Melting process he reviewed his body Fortification forms and breathing techniques before finding he had a massive problem.

Uruziel, I discovered a small issue with my body Fortification plan.

I wondered how long that would take.

Spirit swirled around Ruwen as the terium changed state, but the Spirit hadn’t yet grown thick enough to hide his body. When he’d first started Fortifying, he had swamped a given area of his body with Spirit, then he’d become more sophisticated as he broke the Spirit down into its twelve essences and used that to Fortify his body.

The final stage of that progression had come in Shelly, when, tapping into Xavier’s intense energy, Ruwen had used the power to force all the cells of his body open. Once open, the cells absorbed Essence at an incredible pace. The pain had bordered on unbearable, but Last Breath had allowed him to manage, and it had taken him to peak Diamond before they’d reached Grave.

Ruwen had just realized his Divine body didn’t have cells in the traditional way anymore because, as Uruziel had explained during the conversation about Nak and the two semi-dead gods, Ruwen’s body had become soul energy.

Do you know what I’m supposed to do? Ruwen asked.

Yes, the first thing Uru gave me after we first met included detailed steps to finish your training. They were the items she meant to pass on to you via A Worker’s Guide to Harvesting.

Ruwen had discovered that book very early during his time in the Black Pyramid’s library. The book had turned out to be a sketcher, an item linked to one or more others, which allowed information written on one to appear on the connected devices. Uru had used it to guide him through the initial Condensing, Fortifying, and Refining forms.

How do I Fortify a body made of soul energy? Ruwen asked.

The Divine tiers—Angel, Archangel, Demigod, and Deity—represent different densities of soul energy.

Uruziel paused and Ruwen considered the implications. So, I condense my current body somehow and then what happens?

The energy naturally generated by your soul fills the space created by the compression, and the process repeats.

Ruwen’s brow furrowed. But souls only contain a set amount of energy. Either this process doesn’t take much soul energy, or it does, and is quickly consumed, either way, that method appears painfully slow.

It is.

Ruwen’s hope of quickly reaching Peak Deity dimmed. Are there any ways to speed up the process?

No efficient ones. Using the soul energy from others is almost useless as the energy becomes, Uruziel paused before continuing, I guess “contaminated” is the best word, as the soul energy passes out of their body.

That explains why reaching Deity takes so long. It’s gated by your soul’s power. Ruwen looked down at his chest, but the Spirit had thickened enough to cut visibility to an inch. Instead, he placed a hand on his chest, visualizing the shape of his soul.

When Ruwen had transitioned from Peak Diamond into the Divine tier of Angel, the process had dissolved his entire body, including the container Ascendancy had placed around his soul. When his soul burst free, it had turned from a sphere to a cone with a flat base, giving it an extra side, just like Sift’s.

A thought struck Ruwen. Blapy had thought my transition from Gem to Divine would take hundreds of years, but it took less than one hundred. That’s because my wrapped soul had an incredible amount of soul energy trapped inside. The immense release of energy sped up my progress.

Almost certainly the case, Uruziel replied.

Ruwen hadn’t told anyone that his soul had leveled, but Overlord and Uruziel obviously knew. My level two soul generates far more energy than before, does that mean my Fortification will occur quicker as well?

Yes, and for this first transition from Angel to Archangel the energy requirements are far less than the upper levels, which means pain will become your limiting factor. Mitigating that pain with Last Breath will allow significant progress toward Archangel in the next thirty years.

Ruwen’s shoulders slumped. I really thought I’d have enough time to reach Archangel.

The pain of body compression is unique, and quite unbearable. I think for once, you’ve struck a hurdle you can’t get around.

Hope faded and Ruwen’s stomach twisted. How does the compression work? Ruwen remembered the Condensing technique he’d learned to make his Core denser. He eventually used Harden instead to speed up the process. Can I use Harden?

Harden is useful to create battering rams but is useless on your body.

Battering rams? Ruwen asked uncertainly.

Yes. The process of Fortifying your Divine body is simple and painful. No need for special breathing techniques or secret forms.

I don’t like where this seems headed but give me the bad news.

You’ll take Spirit and condense it until it almost turns solid. Then, form it into a short pillar, increase your Core Velocity to the speed that matches your pain tolerance, and pull the pillar toward your Core. Terium would act like a projectile and harm you physically, but the almost-terium moves through your body pulling it inward and compressing it.

That seems unnecessarily brutal. What happens to the Spirit?

The violent impact, resistance, and friction consumes most of it.

Why not just use the Gravity Role to do the compression?

Compression like that would make using the Role impossible due to the pain. Not safely anyway.

So the constraint on my progress is pain, which is a factor of how much area I compress at once, and how forceful I make the compression.

Exactly.

Ruwen had tolerated pain for the sake of advancement before and had even developed skills like Last Breath to dampen the harmful effects. What about blocking the pain messages flowing to my brain?

Useless, Uruziel said. The pain is as much spiritual as physical. Why not give it a try and see for yourself.

Rami, you might want to wait above, as I don’t want to accidentally smash you with this terium paste.

You have the weirdest hobbies. I’ll go sit by Archie and catch-up with him while I analyze all of Pen’s journals. Call me when it’s safe.

Ruwen didn’t see Rami’s departure because the swirling Spirit completely clouded his view. Any advice on the Core Velocity? He asked Uruziel.

Anything under three hundred should be bearable.

Three hundred? Ruwen blurted, surprised by the tiny value. Thank Uru he’d asked, as he would have certainly tried something much higher. His Core Velocity went to twelve thousand after all.

Ruwen did as Uruziel suggested though and slowed his Core Velocity to three hundred. Then, using Harden, he created a fist sized blob of what looked like liquid terium, and the surrounding Spirit disappeared as Harden pulled it into the sphere.

That sphere seems a little large, Uruziel warned.

Ruwen didn’t change it, but respecting Uruziel’s warning, he entered Last Breath and suppressed as much pain as possible. Then he separated a thread of Spirit from his spinning Core, just like he would if he meant to Refine it for essence. Instead of inserting the thread into a pathway, though, he wrapped it around the liquid blob of super condensed Spirit. The thread took on the same semi-solid state and his Core instantly yanked it inward.

The pain hit Ruwen so hard and fast, even through Last Breath, that his mind shuddered and blacked out.

He’s coming around, Overlord said.

“Ouch,” Ruwen muttered out loud, touching his chest. “That hurt.”

Glad you’re back, Rami said. Uruziel assured me you’d be okay, so I came back to Archie.

The comment confused Ruwen as it felt like only a second had passed. He’d collapsed from his sitting position and lay draped over a half-melted chunk of terium.

Twenty-three seconds, Overlord said, guessing Ruwen’s thoughts. Everything went black in here.

Ruwen pushed himself into a sitting position and rubbed his chest as the pain continued to radiate outward into his arms and legs. Uruziel didn’t say anything, passing up the chance at a huge I-told-you-so.

I should have listened to you, Ruwen told Uruziel. What size should the compression pillars be?

No bigger than the tip of your pinky.

That explained why the fist-sized one Ruwen had started with hurt so bad. That will take forever.

Some things can’t be rushed.

Ruwen reluctantly agreed, but his mind still raced. He understood now what Uruziel had meant by Spiritual pain. In fact, it had been so long since he’d experienced such intense agony, he’d been completely unprepared for it.

Ruwen’s chest throbbed, and he instinctively entered the third meditation to escape, and to his surprise, the pain disappeared. Hope flared and the third meditation immediately ripped it away. He dropped the meditation and focused on Uruziel.

I can use the third meditation to escape the pain, Ruwen said.

That level separates you from your physical body, and you’ll lose all control of the process.

Ruwen frowned. What if I jumped in and out?

Possibly a little faster, but you risk a blackout every time you exit, and the pain hits you.

Ruwen’s successes at finding shortcuts had spoiled him, and he hated the idea of how long this would take. It also depressed him that Last Breath didn’t work better. He’d come to depend on it for managing pain and knowing it didn’t work for everything created some worry. Only the third mediation worked against the pain, but he couldn’t perform the compression technique while meditating, making the combination a non-starter.

An idea occurred to Ruwen, and part of him wanted to instantly discard it as too dangerous. He thought about it for another ten seconds, weighing the pros and cons, and examining the trust issues he didn’t realize he still possessed.

While Ruwen had given vast control over his body to a few—Rami, Overlord, and Uruziel specifically—he had always had the ability to stop anything he didn’t like. This latest idea, however, made him incredibly vulnerable.

Finally, Ruwen focused on Uruziel. I’d like to try something that I think might speed me through this Fortification level faster than should be possible.

Okay.

Ruwen swallowed his fear and need for control and told her the idea. I don’t know if this will work, but I want to give it a shot. It’s true I can’t control any of this body compression while I’m in deep meditation, Ruwen paused a moment, but what if you can?

Uruziel didn’t speak, and Ruwen continued. Think about it. You already have access to my Core and have the memories to perform this compression exactly.

It might work.

That’s only half of it. If this works, I’m safe from the pain, which gave me another idea.

Uruziel remained silent so Ruwen continued. The whole process of hardening Spirit and yanking it into the body seems clumsy. I understand why it’s done, as it allows precise control over the process and thereby the pain. But I won’t have pain. So instead, what if we did this? We skip the Spirit and use the Gravity Role for the compression. You could match the compression rate to the output of my soul energy exactly, making it perfectly efficient.

Before Uruziel could comment, Ruwen rushed to finish. Not only that, since we don’t need the Spirit for compression, I can start Harvesting and Refining before we start and let it run by itself while the compression occurs.

Ruwen stopped, and Uruziel didn’t respond for a few seconds.

I’m shocked, Uruziel said, by your ability to turn situations to your advantage. Even if this doesn’t work, the fact you pieced this plan together within minutes of learning the traditional process is stunning.

Ruwen blushed although Uruziel wouldn’t be able to see that. He slowed his Core Velocity to five hundred, peeled away a thin Spirit thread from his Core, and used the Refinement form Uru had given him to thread the strand through his pathways and Meridians. Once the thread was reattached to his spinning Core, he felt the familiar flow of Spirit circulating through his body. He enjoyed the sensation, as not that long ago, he’d thought everything inside him was ruined.

Thanks, but let’s see if it works before celebrating. Ruwen sat again. I’m Harvesting, but slowly, so it shouldn’t cause any problems with the compression.

I’ll keep the depression filled with terium and help with Melting, Overlord said.

Thanks, brother, Ruwen responded. He closed his eyes, praying this would work. Okay, Uruziel, I’m headed to the third meditation. If it works, and you think it’s faster than the traditional way, just keep going until we find a problem.

I understand.

Ruwen focused on Rami. I’m trying something with the third meditation. We can talk when I get out.

Sounds good.

Ruwen let out a deep breath, closed his eyes, and fell into the blissful calmness of the third meditation.