"World Lord?" This was the first time Muria had heard of such a title, and it sounded impressive.
"In the Seraph way, you must first become the World Lord of a chosen world. Then, by guiding the world through ascension, you can gain source power and ascend to become a Seraph," explained Archimonde.
"How does one become the World Lord of a world? By completely conquering it?" Muria asked, puzzled.
"Becoming a World Lord is both simple and difficult. The first step is to ascend to godhood within that world and ensure you are the only god there. After that, you must spread your faith, control all the important divine roles, and gradually dominate the world's laws. Once you control over half of the world's laws, you will officially be its World Lord. Not even the world itself can constrain you. Then, you can guide the world's evolution and gain source power during its ascension."
"So the Seraph title is well-deserved—they are gods, but gods that the world cannot restrain," Muria said with newfound understanding. This method of obtaining source power from a world while avoiding its restrictions truly made them worthy of being called Epics.
Epics are essentially beings with divine power, but without any of the limitations that bind regular gods. In a world like Erathia, gods mean little to the world itself. If one dies, they can simply be replaced without affecting the world's functioning. Most gods are like this—they could barely be considered the world's "children" since they can be revived if they die. However, the first step in becoming a Seraph involves finding a world and becoming its "father," making it obey you, and sharing its source power during its ascension.
"How long does it take for a Seraph descendant to become a full-fledged Seraph?" Muria asked, already guessing that it would be a long process—after all, even Epic Titans considered it lengthy.
"What do you think? How long does it take for a world to ascend?" Archimonde asked.
"It must take tens of thousands of years!" Muria scratched his nose. Only such time scales would seem long to a long-lived species.
"Exactly. Additionally, do you think becoming a World Lord is easy? To claim that title, you must convert at least half of the world's intelligent beings into devout believers. Do you know how difficult that is?"
"Hiss!" Muria winced at the sheer enormity of the task. He glanced at Mikaela, his expression tinged with worry. Knowing her personality, she would never be able to tolerate such a slow, farming-like method of becoming an Epic. Spending millennia to accomplish it didn't seem like her style.
"Grandfather, I want to become an Epic through the Titan method, not the Seraph method," Mikaela quickly confirmed Muria's suspicions. After learning about the Titan path to Epic status, she immediately decided to reject the Seraph method, which leaned toward comfort and security, in favor of the more dangerous but direct Titan way.
"Are you sure? While the Seraph method may take a long time, it's incredibly safe. The Titan path, however, is far more dangerous. Even though saving a world doesn't always mean confronting evil gods, sometimes you only need to deal with threats caused by the world's own inhabitants. But with the Titan method, you'll inevitably face evil gods sooner or later."
"I've made up my mind, Grandfather. The Seraph method of becoming an Epic doesn't suit me. I can't endure spending tens of thousands of years to achieve it." Mikaela's face was resolute. "Besides, my race's method isn't completely safe either. If you take on a world's fate and something goes wrong, you'll fall just the same. If both methods involve risk, why not choose the Titan way to obtain source power?"
"Mikaela..." Muria opened his mouth to dissuade her, but found no words. Suddenly, a key thought came to him.
"Grandfather, Mikaela's grandfather has already become a Seraph, but given his age, he seems far too young. How did Arudiba manage to ascend so quickly?" Muria asked.
"He was fortunate. When selecting a world to become the Lord of, he discovered a small world attempting to merge with another. He took control of the smaller world just before the merger and became its World Lord. In just a few hundred years, he became a Seraph."
"What..." Muria was stunned. While most Seraphs took tens of thousands of years to ascend, his grandfather-in-law managed it in just a few centuries.
"Luck plays a crucial role in becoming an Epic, sometimes even the most important factor," Archimonde said with a smile, noticing Muria's shock. "When I became an Epic, I, too, stumbled upon a great opportunity. I heard the cries of a world in distress, so I went to investigate with the mindset of possibly giving up if it proved too dangerous. To my surprise, it wasn't an evil god invasion but an internal imbalance in the world's ecosystem. I helped restore balance and was rewarded with source power."
"You can gain source power just by restoring a world's balance?" Muria was astonished. He still remembered the drop of source power that the Lord of the Abyss had obtained—seemingly simple, but with extremely difficult prerequisites.
"As I said, it was a large world. Helping a medium-sized world wouldn't have had such rewards. For large worlds, one drop of source power is valuable, but it won't harm the world's foundation."
"Can I understand it this way? Large, medium, and small worlds can be compared to nobles, wealthy families, and commoners in human society. Taking one drop of source power is like asking them for a gold coin. For a noble, it's no big deal. For a wealthy family, it would cause some discomfort for a while. But for a commoner, it might be impossible, even if it meant death."
"That analogy works," Archimonde chuckled, approving of Muria's comparison. "But source power is even more important to worlds than gold is to humans."
"Mikaela, you're still young. You have plenty of time to think this over. Don't rush into a decision," Archimonde said, attempting to comfort Mikaela, who still seemed set on the dangerous Titan path. He couldn't help but feel that the Titan method might not be suitable for her.
"Grandfather," Muria called out just as Archimonde was about to leave, a lingering doubt on his mind.
"Hmm?" Archimonde turned back to his grandson.
"Are these really the only two ways to become an Epic?" Muria asked, with a glimmer of hope. Both the Titan and Seraph paths seemed too extreme. The Titan method involved a high risk of encountering evil gods, while the Seraph method required a long, almost passive wait. Spending tens of thousands of years might not be surprising for Seraphs, but it felt unbearably stagnant to Muria.
"Of course, there are other ways."
"Really?" Muria's eyes lit up.
"But as far as we know, these are the only two. You'll have to choose between them."
"Ah!" Muria's face fell in disappointment. The thought of spending thousands of years on the Seraph path seemed unbearable, and he didn't relish the idea of encountering a group of evil gods through the Titan method.
In his mind, he pictured himself wandering the void, using the Titan method to hear the cry of a world. He rushes in, only to find that three evil gods are already there, ready to destroy the world. They gang up on him, and in the end...
Imagining himself being killed by a higher-ranked or outnumbering group of evil gods, Muria quickly dismissed the thought, realizing how grim it was. Many Titans who ventured into the void and never returned probably met this fate—unable to resist the evil gods they encountered while attempting to save a world.
"Muria, do you think obtaining the secret to becoming an Epic is easy? Such secrets are only passed down by races like the Titans or Seraphs, accumulated over countless generations through the sacrifices of our ancestors."
"The core of the Titan method lies in listening to the cries of worlds in distress, unlike wandering Epics, who rely on luck to find worlds in need of saving.
"The core of the Seraph method, on the other hand, is to become the Lord of a world and, through guiding its ascension, obtain source power.
"Do you know how most evil gods wandering the void came to be? They were individuals who ascended to Epic status by chance but lacked the secret techniques to obtain source power. With no stable method, they turned to destroying worlds instead."
_________________________
[Check out my Patreon for +200 additional chapters in all my fanfics! $5 for all!!]
[w w w . p a t r e o n .com / INNIT]
[+50 PowerStones = +1 Chapter] [+5 Reviews = +1 Chapter]