Chapter 125: The Heroes Walk the Path of Legend
"The power of imagination is infinite. If you can dream it, you can do it," Rhodes said, patting the 'Light of Ersten' at his waist with a look of triumph.
Ever since he had come face to face with the goddess, he had been racking his brain for a way to defeat her. Ordinary magic was useless against her. And even if he could invent a spell that could destroy the very heavens and earth, it would be meaningless if it couldn't touch her true body. Org could harm her, yes, but he hadn't yet figured out how to get a clean shot. She wouldn't just stand there and let him attack her. If she were to summon another barrage of destructive light beams, as she had before, he wouldn't even be able to get close. And his 'light cannon'... he had already used it once against the Sky-Winged. She would be prepared for it. If his one and only trump card was neutralized, it would be over.
He had to find a more reliable way.
And then, in a moment of inspiration, as he had been looking at Athos, an idea had come to him. He would hijack the elves' faith and use it to pull the goddess's true body down from the world beyond. To be precise, he would transform their faith into a special kind of anti-god magic, a chain that could bind her. He would call it... 'God's Chain'.
Once her power was bound, she would be unable to destroy the world, even if she were to descend in her true form. And then, he and his party would engage her in a rather unfair, but just, battle of god-slaying.
The pieces were now in place. All he had to do was wait for his opponent to take the stage.
"No, I think you're the only one in this world who could do such a thing," Serie said with a cool, deadpan delivery. "No one else has the talent or the ability, even if they wanted to."
His talent for creation was just too monstrous. It was as if he had no limits at all. To be able to create magic from pure imagination... to be able to create a spell that could even hijack the power of faith... it was terrifying.
"But the power I have now is not enough," he continued. "That's why I asked the Elven King to have the elves offer a grand prayer at a certain time. The resulting power of faith will be immense. And that will be the key to our victory."
Though the Elven King had been a little confused by his sudden request, he had promised to do it.
Olivia was quietly looking at Athos. She had suspected as much. The elves' excess faith from the past thousand years... it must have been stored in some kind of vessel. And Rhodes had found it. That was why he was so confident. And the only vessel she could think of was the holy sword, Athos, the sword that only a true saint could draw. Only a holy sword that had once been wielded by a god could possibly contain such a vast amount of faith.
"So, young Rhodes," Somme said, "you're going to use the power of faith to attack the goddess?"
He couldn't imagine any other use for it.
Rhodes just smiled, a mysterious look on his face in the light of Org. He raised a finger to his lips. "Shh. A surprise should be a surprise. This power... it's a gift I have prepared for the goddess. And the 'Light of Ersten' is the key."
"'A key'?" Norne repeated, his brow furrowed.
"Yes. A key," he said with a firm nod, but did not elaborate. "A key that will open the door to the final chapter. But now is not the time to use it. Our first priority is to find the goddess's projected form."
According to Olivia, after the true Goddess of Life had been awakened, she had been locked in a struggle with the Goddess of Procreation for control of her own body. But she had been suppressed for too long and was no match for her. And so, with her last shred of will, she had managed to drag the usurper's projected form to the Godfall Land and had imprisoned it there, to await his arrival.
Rhodes tightened his grip on Org, and its light seemed to grow a little brighter.
"Come, my partners," he said. "You are an indispensable part of my plan. And the answers you seek are at the end of this dark mist."
And with that, he turned and led the way, leaving his five companions to look at each other in bewilderment.
Serie's gaze lingered on his back. The once-naive human was now a being that even she could not fully comprehend. Was this what he had meant, when he had told her to believe in humanity?
She now understood what he had been planning, all that time in the Elven Kingdom. He had not just been studying the 'false Divine Strike', but had been setting in motion a grand, audacious plan to steal the very power of a god. She didn't know what this 'key' would ultimately unlock, but his obsession with victory... it moved her.
And she, herself... she lacked that obsession. Perhaps that was something she could learn from him. But the proud elven miss would never admit such a thing.
"Young Rhodes is being all mysterious," Somme mumbled, "but he does have a certain... air about him."
"What kind of air?" Olivia asked.
"The air of a hero, the kind you only ever read about in legends, a name that will be sung for generations to come." The young dwarf's eyes were filled with an adoring reverence. His greatest dream was to become a hero of great renown, to make all the dwarves in his village proud. And now, he was walking with such a hero.
Norne and Eirik exchanged a look, their own eyes filled with a mixture of shock and solemnity. No matter how incredible, how unbelievable his plan was, they would trust him.
The party continued in silence, Org's light like a small, wavering boat, leading them through the dark ocean, towards an unknown end. And at Rhodes's waist, the 'Light of Ersten' hung silently, the power of faith within it like a slumbering dragon, waiting for the chosen one to pull the trigger, to use this special "key" to unlock the final chapter of their god-slaying saga.
The heroes were walking the path of legend.
(End of chapter)
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