Divine Apostasy Book 8 - Chapter 55
Added 2023-06-24 08:20:28 +0000 UTCThis book is now published on KU. KU has rules requiring no more than 10% of a book be available by other means. Due to this restriction, I have removed this chapter.
If you wish to continue reading, please email me and I will send you the *.epub file for you to add to your Amazon device.
I'm sorry if this inconveniences you in any way. I am only doing this so I can remain in the KU program.
Thanks for your understanding.
AFK
Comments
No need to feel regret--you do a fantastic job of capturing these scenes. In truth, I rather enjoy some of the thought experiments that come with trying to understand the motivations of some of the characters. For instance, in the above case, I went through several possibilities. I ended up with Ruwen not wanting to sit in Miranda's realm addressing his own needs after he 1) almost blew up the Black Pyramid, and 2) seriously damaged her Divine realm--especially since she was struggling to handle the adverse affects of the first. That sort of selfish inconsideration seems like a decent way to tick her off, which can't be a good idea. Shade's First Rule: "Never tick off Blapy."
Jonathan Barnett
2023-06-28 23:36:48 +0000 UTCI appreciate the feedback! It is too late now, but it probably wouldn't have hurt for Ruwen to think about the dangers of Blapy and spell it out a little so people understand the motivation. But this is on my radar now so I will keep it in mind for book 9. Thanks again!
A. F. Kay
2023-06-28 05:10:57 +0000 UTCYou all have great points and I regret not making it more obvious for just going through. I'm not sure if I saw these comments in time for that scene but there is another one coming soon where he does think to do this. Thanks again for the feedback everyone. I try so hard to cover all the motivations and common sense things, but its impossible to catch everything when I'm forced to move faster than I want. Thanks again!
A. F. Kay
2023-06-28 05:09:23 +0000 UTCI agree with you Ruwen's reason for leaving is for Sift but he could take a little extra time after Sift walks out it would give him an extra week or month to get his abilities sorted out
Jake Schmitt
2023-06-26 15:26:48 +0000 UTCI thought the same thing. Ruwen mentioned that he was leaving because Sift was likely homesick, but that's really more of a justification for Sift leaving--not Ruwen. Ruwen could have spent additional time perfecting control of his new body, new skills, harvesting Spirit to replenish depleted resources, etc. and still returned to Grave mere minutes after Sift. You'd need some time delay between the two entering the portal anyway, to allow Sift time to clear the exit (again, due to the time differential).
Jonathan Barnett
2023-06-25 17:29:56 +0000 UTCHe could still spend years there and oniy minutes go by outside. Leaving now isn't smart. He should have tried to powerup and perfect some skills... oh well
Pannath
2023-06-25 11:08:26 +0000 UTCO wow cool! AFK answered :D That ability of Miranda sounds reasonable if it has some kind of drawback - maybe some kind of soul power drawback on clones or something. If she could make 5000 clones of her with full power then the entire series would be problematic. Especially something like someone being able to go into her vaults or do basically anything that she doesn't like. Just plop a few hundred clones, teleport in (as far as I understood she can go anywhere in the universe quite quickly) and solve the problem. I understand that her true body is in Pan's world, that also seems to limit her power I guess... Anyway tnx for the answer :)
Tomislav Fistrić
2023-06-25 09:20:53 +0000 UTCThanks for everyone's fantastic replies! I ended up adding a couple of sentences to address this in case you aren't alone. Thanks for the feedback!!! Basically what makes Miranda/Blapy so different is her unlimited access to Spirit coupled with the ability to create as many clones of herself as necessary. So while maybe Ruwen could hold his own against one Miranda...what about 5? Or 5,000?
A. F. Kay
2023-06-25 09:08:26 +0000 UTCAlso, the author seems intentional in avoiding an "over-powered protagonist" plot. In my view, this creates an opportunity for greater character development for both the protagonist and his friends. In the author's FAQ, he states the following (link provided below): 4) Overpowered Protag? Initially no, this is not an overpowered protagonist story. Ruwen has been focused on his life taking a certain path, and when that path is taken from him during his disastrous Ascendancy he has to work hard to recover. He scales up in power as the series goes on, but always has limitations. https://afkauthor.com/faq
Jonathan Barnett
2023-06-24 14:54:41 +0000 UTCMy read is as follows, although it relies heavily on speculation... The epilogue of Book 5 indicates that Miranda has 11 of 12 meridians connected, so she is likely much more powerful than the other deities (Izac with 10 connected meridians may approach her strength, especially since she has to operate via clones). Also, recall that even Pen did not enter the Darkness when they went to investigate. Instead, Miranda went in alone because she possesses natural defenses that do not rely on Spirit. Miranda's constraints are likely largely imposed from a sense of duty/responsibility, not from a lack of brute force. So, Miranda could likely defeat Lalquinrial, but such conflict always has repercussions (even outside of the Pact). Also, Miranda seems disgusted by the wars that were fought among the disciples, so she is likely repulsed by resorting to such broad conflict, possibly viewing it as a sign of weakness or incompetence. She seems like a deity that would prefer a more sophisticated approach to solving problems. Not every problem is a nail, and not every solution is a hammer. I can't recall off the top of my head how much power Lalquinrial wields, but I do recall a character mentioning that "nibbling on souls" isn't a path to power. He also is very interested in improving his access to Grave's terium. As is always the case with me, I'm probably reading more between the lines than is actually there...
Jonathan Barnett
2023-06-24 14:33:52 +0000 UTCPossibly that is because he HAS, maybe not fully defeated, but at least fought to a standstill, Lalquinrial. Blappy is kind of a mentor figure and also his friend which makes fighting her even harder for him. I don't think he's really afraid of blappy, I think he's afraid of having to fight her.
Suzette Johnson
2023-06-24 12:10:42 +0000 UTCThis story is great don't get me wrong but what grinds my gears :D all the time here is this disbalance of power that keeps happening. Let me explain, so Ruwen could fight against Lalquinrial to a standstill or at least escape when he was Diamond and now when he is Divine he plans to fight him yet this "threat" of Blapy killing Ruwen keeps repeating like it is non-issue but then Blapy is afraid of fighting Lalquinrial because of various reasons. How can all this be logical? I think Ruwen should have more cojones, this entire thing is a glaring issue (at least for me for) for quite a lot of chapters now. I thought that it will be minimized (or at least explained) but this s*it keeps happening... Can someone explain to me why is Ruwen so terribly afraid of Blapy yet he intends to fight Lalquinrial so easily?
Tomislav Fistrić
2023-06-24 11:45:07 +0000 UTC
