CHAPTER 223: DIVINE

"Everyone is born with a Divine Spark. No one can take it away from them."

"However, when certain conditions are met, the divine spark can be claimed, stolen or borrowed."

"For me, the Divine Dragon of Justice, the condition was enforcing justice. Whenever I use my power to enforce justice, I can steal the Divine Spark of the other. And whenever I am worshipped as a deity, I can also accumulate fragments of Divine Spark."

"Last time, you used my power to enforce justice. The Demon King killed humans, tens of thousands of them, to grow in strength. So, you killing it was justified."

"Thus, through the law of Justice, the Divine Spark came to you."

"You became the owner of the demon’s divine spark." The dragon said softly.

"Hm..."

Oliver nodded.

However, a new question sprouted in his heart.

"Why did it transfer to me instead of you?" He asked the dragon without waiting for a second.

"That..."

The dragon hesitated.

It didn’t want to say it.

However, sensing Oliver’s growing caution, the dragon decided to share the information, even though it could be detrimental to it.

"The divine spark merged with you because I merged with you to survive."

"Although I was a god, time had taken a toll on my consciousness. To survive, I initially escaped into the coin, going into a deep slumber. However, you awakened me through your crooked, but rightful practice of justice."

"This consumed my remaining divinity. To preserve my soul, I merged with you."

"For some reason, I had no choice but to merge with your mindscape to survive."

"That is why I am here, within your mindscape."

"If I hadn’t taken desperate measures, I would have disappeared forever."

"A Dragon Deity that survived the God Fall Era, dying... I would have become a joke."

As the dragon immersed itself in its thoughts, a bolt of pain struck through its mind.

Suddenly, it paused with its eyes glossed over. The restrictions applied to it were once again stopping it from thinking deeply.

Something or someone doesn’t want it to learn about its past.

’What happened to me?’ The dragon wondered again.

’Why am I restricted?’

It winced in pain and quickly shook its head.

Thinking more would only inflict pain. It was much more productive trying to convince Oliver.

"Anyway, the coin was the divine armament that housed my consciousness. Now, after you fully awakened me, you are housing my consciousness." The dragon said and waited.

The blood blob, Oliver nodded again.

The pieces were finally fitting together, giving him a view of the entire situation. And from the looks of it, the dragon was not lying. Although not entirely believable, at least half of what the dragon said is true, Oliver concluded.

And the reason for doing so was the restrictions that prevented it from harming him, and a fact he just verified.

As the dragon said, his thoughts were indeed the invisible currents he was feeling in his mindscape. His excitement was churning the current, making it difficult to navigate. When he calmed down, the current went back to being normal again, verifying this hypothesis.

Unless the dragon lied about the restrictions themselves, he could believe some of the information it gave.

’I have to consider the information as both true and false at the same time and think along the two pathways until I verify all of it.’ Oliver decided.

"So, something called the law of justice can help me capture the Divine Spark of others, right?" Oliver focused on the information he most needed and asked.

"Yes, as long as I remain merged with you, it is possible." The dragon nodded with a smile.

"Is there another way?"

"If you are a deity, a god or the user of some other law, you could use it to gain Divine Spark."

"How can I be a god?"

The dragon smiled.

"You are ambitious." It chuckled.

Oliver didn’t like that, so he frowned and asked, "If you want to speak outside my mindscape, answer."

He simply gave the dragon a choice, threatening to leave.

"Okay, let me give you a blueprint to reach godhood."

The dragon said and began his explanation.

According to the dragon, the universe was split into different segments, all joined together with the all-encompassing mana roots.

A planet can be considered a world. Then, a couple of worlds connected through the mana roots are a world cluster, otherwise known as a realm.

Each world would have a ruler called a King, and it was supposedly the strongest being in the world. Only by being a King could one take their first step into becoming a god.

After the King comes the ruler of a realm, the strongest being there, and the pseudo-god who can dictate whatever happens there. This person would be known as a deity. And in the case of deities, there can be more than one occupying the same realm, each governing over different laws, sometimes even conflicting ones.

The Golden Dragon was a deity who was gathering the divine spark of multiple realms in the hope of becoming a true God during the God Fall Era.

That’s where its memory ended.

Even the Golden Dragon was not sure if it had really become a god.

Whenever it tried to think about the God Fall Era, the excruciating headache would resume, making it squirm in pain. So, it didn’t manage to give any more information to Oliver.

Still, Oliver was satisfied with what he heard.

From the looks of it, the simplest way to godhood was by being an annoying pest that interfered in anything and everything while being a total show-off.

Only through the Divine Spark gathered by practising specific laws, gaining enlightenment and gathering fame would one reach godhood.

It was a bothersome, tiresome process.

Oliver didn’t want to do anything of the sort. But the power promised was far too great to be ignored.

After all, only someone with a Divine Spark can resist the changes in fate due to other Divine Sparks.

"Ah..."

Oliver sighed.

"Fuck gods..." He said again in his mind.

Then he turned to the Dragon and asked.

"Do you think this world has a god?"

The dragon thought stood still for a moment, thinking deeply.

"Not here, not at the moment." The golden dragon said with slight hesitation. It seemed unsure.

Oliver noticed this, but paid no attention to it.

"That’s nice to hear. Or else, I would have had to find a way to kill a god. It would have been troublesome." Oliver said and turned around.

The dragon panicked.

"Are you leaving?"

"Yes." Oliver calmed his mind and his thoughts. "I will be back in a few days."

Oliver had an inkling that he could return to the mindscape without dying once he learned about its truth. So, he wanted to test it out before meeting the dragon again.

"Would you consider letting me speak with you?" This time, the dragon politely asked.

"Let me think about it."

Oliver replied and disappeared from view.

With his mind now calm. Oliver could easily move through the dark space. There was no turbulent current pushing him away from his destination.