Chapter 2: Divine Spark

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Lydia stopped radiating her malicious intimidating aura, finally adorning her gentle aura again.

Undaunted, Orion opened his mouth. "Were you watching me all this time?"

He had played Genshin Impact after her death. Either Lydia read his memories with her powers or she watched him from an entirely different universe.

"Yeah. I'm forbidden from leaving Celestia in any form. The mortals who ascend have lesser authority than others," she said with a deep sigh. "It's complicated."

If she could, she would have rushed to meet him without sparing another glance at the divine powers. She was far happier in taking care of her nephew than dancing on the palms of the unreasonable gods and the Sustainer of Heavenly Principles.

Lydia rose from her seat, and the table between them disappeared. Orion finally paid attention to the room they were in. The room had pristine white walls, worthy of being a goddess' domain. Lydia waved her hand, summoning a couch out of thin air. The dark leather couch stuck out like a sore thumb in the pure white-colored divine room. They used to have a similar couch back in their home.

Lydia plopped down with a light thump and patted the couch, motioning for him to sit beside her. "Come on. Let's catch up on the lost time…"

Orion picked up Makoto and approached, his steps slow and steady. As he sat down, Lydia pulled him into her bosom and gently brushed his hair.

"I missed you…" she said, her voice shaking like her trembling body.

"...Me too."

Orion still couldn't decide if this was real or not. Maybe he was sinking in the depths of the ocean at this very moment. His growing doubts came to a stop when Lydia cleared her throat and hummed. The soft melodies coming out of her mouth and her warmth filled him with a much-needed nostalgia. Even though Lydia attained godhood, her voice hadn't changed. It just felt like he was back in the old days, where she would hum a song for him.

'Reality or dream, I don't care anymore.'

With a change of mind, he wrapped his arms around her and buried his face deeper in her chest, a smile of peace and contentment adorning his lips.

Lydia paused and chuckled at her spoiled nephew. In her magical voice, Orion found the comfort he hadn't felt for years. He grew so relaxed that he ended up falling asleep.

Lydia sighed as she looked at her nephew. She lightly waved her hand. A rift opened; it seemed to be connected to a starry galaxy. She inserted her hand and pulled out an hourglass. Grains of sand trickled down from the upper portion into the lower portion, indicating the duration of this sealed dimension.

Holding the hourglass swept her with a wave of nostalgia.

'Ashta, is it the right thing to do?'

Her immense knowledge over every domain seemed meager in comparison to her current problem—Orion couldn't stay here. If the Supreme Ones or the Heavenly Sustainer discovered a human in Celestia, they both were as good as dead. She had yearned to meet him, hold him like this in her arms. But this meeting couldn't go on much longer. For she was powerless against other gods. Powerless against two aspects of the universe known as 'Fate' and 'Destiny.'

With another swipe of her hand, she fractured the space and pulled out a black crystal. A crystal that passively discharged black, ominous lightning. The near-infinite amount of raw energy inside the crystal made her frown.

'Will this Divine Spark be compatible with his soul?'

A Divine Spark was the root of a god's power as well as the foundation of every human soul. A Divine Spark created a connection between a god, Celestia, and the world. Although limited, a god could influence the laws of the world. Essentially, a Divine Spark dictated their authority over the world. Lydia was in the dark in regards to the Divine Spark in her hand. An old friend gave it to her without giving a word on its abilities or its origin. It was the only one she had seen with her own eyes.

'Mine was like David before this Goliath.'

She summoned a table and gently lowered Orion on it. Seeing the cat made her nostalgic.

"Makoto…"

She had brought the cat home over a decade ago. Makoto's shiny black fur hadn't aged at all. She placed the sleeping cat on the couch and brought the black crystal near Orion's chest. An unknown force yanked the Divine Spark from her hand, and it disappeared in Orion.

'It's compatible!'

Excitement flooded her chest as she watched the Divine Spark fuse with his soul. Her heart throbbed crazily in her chest. She pumped her fists.

'Go go, fast! Go go, fast!'

The exact time this process took was unknown.

Orion's eyelids fluttered as he gently revealed his now black eyes. The luster in his eyes was darker than the void itself. As he turned his head, a sparkling iridescent figure appeared in his vision. He could discern the figure's gender as female because of her physique.

"Orion?"

"Aunt?"

Orion couldn't wrap his head around the changes that happened in his eyesight. Did the hours of gaming come back to haunt him?

"Do you feel any change?"

Orion told her about his lost eyesight and her glowing figure.

"It seems to be an elemental sight… imagine turning off this sight. Like you turn off a switch."

Orion nodded and gathered his thoughts in one direction. His eyesight returned to normal soon, though another problem arose as a blue floating window.

[Rejecting Order from Celestia.]

[Chaos in the Sea of Quanta is unknown.]

[Connection to the Imaginary Tree is in place.]

[Connection to the Spiritual Body is complete.]

The game-like text puzzled him no less than the time he died.

'Celestia is this place, but what is this Sea of Quanta and Imaginary Tree? I'm lost.'

[Analysis of Dreams complete.]

[Finding compatible roots to achieve the Vision.]

Orion felt a head-splitting pain, worse than any hangover he ever had. Pale violet embers enveloped his arms. The sleeves of his shirt melted and revealed violet vein-like marks pulsating on his arms.

[Connected to the Void root.]

[Completed synchronization with the Voice of the Void God.]

Orion had no clue what was happening anymore. One thing was as clear as day to him, everything was his aunt's doing.

'Did she feed me some divine elixir… or worse, some experimental drug.'

Lydia put a hand over her gaping mouth. "It's… It's void."

Her former friend had given her a Divine Spark related to the Abyss.

"Void?" Orion questioned as he got up, only to suffer agony in his chest. As if someone drowned him in a pool of honey instead of water. The sweet taste on his tongue was just that strange.

[Connected to the Heart root.]

[Completed synchronization with the Song of the Crimson Heart.]

'Song of the Crimson Heart?'

As his confusion grew, Lydia spotted a crimson streak in his hair. A single streak of flaming hair just above his bangs.

"What in the heavenly world?" Lydia muttered. "How did I not feel anything from that before?"

Orion closed his eyes. Another change was coming. He could somehow feel it. This one washed him with a cold feeling as if he was meditating under a waterfall. He only tried this once on the earth but that feeling lingered within his chest to this day.

[Connected to the Wisdom root.]

[Completed synchronization with the Odyssey of the Wise King.]

The strange feelings vanished as soon as the window came up, leaving him with an oddly calm expression. He swept his gaze over the violet tattoo on his arms before he turned to his aunt and sharpened his gaze.

"Aunt, what did you do?"

Orion grew doubtful of Lydia. If she wanted to do something, she should have asked for his consent.