Techxin leaned forward with a grin.
"Alright, the blood God just told me everything you need to know about your god. You wanna hear them?"
Maxi nodded, anticipation flickering in his eyes.
"Okay,"
Techxin started, holding up a finger.
"First, the Demon King who blessed you-he's called the Demon King of Pride. A very proud man, huge ego, loves to show off his power or just showing off in general in the most awesome way possible, and gets a thrill out of fighting and dominating anyone stronger than him. He's pretty famous, so you're lucky... and also unlucky."
Maxi sighed. Of course.
Techxin held up a second finger. "Next, the Demon Queen-the Demon Queen of Lust. Another famous one. She likes flirting, playing with people,-whatever that means. Making people hers and owning them, -whatever that means. Oh, and she gets jealous real quick, especially when it comes to couples who are deeply in love."
Maxi blinked. That... sounded concerning.
Techxin lifted a third finger.
"And finally, your Dreamer god-he's called the Outer God of Secretive Planning. He's all about planning ahead, studying the 'language of life and living'-whatever that means-and manipulating people and things to his liking. Apparently, he's one of the strongest Dreamers to ever ascend to godhood. He's even defeated something called the 'King of Kings' Nightmare Test,' which only the top Dreamers can even attempt."
Maxi exhaled sharply.
"So basically... I'm both really lucky and really unlucky at the same time?"
Techxin smirked.
"Bingo."
Maxi sighed and ran a hand through his hair.
"...Are you able to explain why?"
Techxin leaned back in his chair, crossing his arms. "Sure, I mean, we missed training, so we might as well do this instead." He took a breath, then began.
"Okay, listen up. Being blessed by a Demon King, Queen, or anything from the 1000 Spiraling Hells? That's not a blessing-it's a curse. First off, the 1000 Spiraling Hells is a genuinely terrible place. And second? When a Demon King or Queen punishes someone... they do it in the worst ways possible. We're talking torture, suffering, things you don't wanna imagine.
"The reason why Demon Kings, Queens, and other hellish beings become popular is because of the horrific ways they punish the people they bless. But if you ask me?"
Techxin smirked.
"I get it."
Maxi frowned.
"...Get what?"
Techxin shrugged.
"I respect everyone who made it through the 1000 Spiraling Hells Test. To me, life is simple-you fail or you succeed. And once you enter the 1000 Spiraling Hells, all your successes and failures are put to the test. How far can they take you? Will they break you, or will they push you past every trial?
"That's why I respect Dreamers, Angels, and Demons. Instead of living in peaceful Heaven, they choose to challenge themselves. They go to their gods and ask for a bigger, better change. They want to test their luck, to see if they can survive. And when they finally make it through all the trials and become gods?" Techxin smirked. "The satisfaction must be unbelievable."
Maxi's mouth hung open.
His perspective shifted.
He had always thought of blessings in simple terms-either good or bad. If it comes from an angle or one of the Earthly gods, it's good. If it comes from a demon lord or an Eldritch God, then it's evil. And if it comes from outer gods or the Dreamer, it was neutral. Well, his reasoning wasn't wrong; the gods did take the mentalities of those alignments, but only three gods, not their denomination of those Gods. A name Maxi had thought of on the spot. Do dreamers, angels, and demons have to conform to the rules that say they must be evil or good? They weren't. They were born monsters, but also human-like creatures with hopes, dreams, and goals, with different personalities that couldn't be simply labeled as good, evil, or neutral. People's actions weren't just one thing; they had to be described as many.
So who's to say their Gods were evil? They were humans or human-like creators who had emotions and feelings. They probably didn't want to die; they probably wanted to live forever but couldn't. So they probably chose this as a second chance at life instead of accepting that that's how their stories unfold and ends.
Techxin's words had not only made him reconsider or rethink his thoughts on God's and their denominations different. He had completely changed his view on them as a whole.
Maxi suddenly felt a hint of pride, at the fact that people who had passed the 1000 spiraling hells test. Had saw him as worthy of being blessed by them essentially seeing a part of themselves in him, maybe even seeing that he had the potential to pass the test just like them.
Then-Maxi felt it.
The lingering killing intent from the demonic divinities disappeared.
In its place?
Respect.
The presence he assumed to be the Demon King of Pride and Demon Queen of Lust smiled at Techxin.
Even fainter, he felt the Outer God of Secretive Planning nod in approval.
But he also somehow, felt a mysterious smile, forming on his lips. Which maxi assumed it reflected the outer God of Secretive Planning's, expression.
Maxi didn't know why but he felt this odd feeling, that the reason why this smile appeared on his lips, was because it was a silent acknowledgment of Maxi's thoughts.
A shiver went down Maxi's spine, at the thought of the God being able to read his mind, but recalling the bits and pieces he could remember from his first encounter with him.
Even the thought of the idea being false nearly made Maxi laugh, considering how much mind stuff, he pulled off from what he could, or was allowed.... to remember.
Techxin chuckled with a grin. He had felt it too-the gods' silent acknowledgment and respect for him.
Maxi couldn't help but uncontrollably grin too.
"Okay, okay. Thank you for calming down my gods, but I have two more questions for you."
Techxin smirked. "You're welcome. Alright, hit me with 'em."
Maxi took a deep breath. "First, what is this symbol on me?"
Maxi extended his right arm showing his 3-eyed symbol, with the top and now the right eye looking forward. Leaving the left looking stubbornly looking to the left.
With the sharp-tooth smile still planted on the bottom.
Techxin shrugged. "That's just a mark to show which gods you belong to. When gods bless you at birth, they come together and agree on a symbol to put on you-something to show that you're theirs and that you carry their power. It comes in different forms."
"Like me. You already know I was blessed by the Blood God everyone in the family is, well except for you and your mother. But because I am blessed by the blood God.. -"
Techxin grinned and opened his mouth wide.
Maxi's eyes widened.
Behind Techxin's normal teeth, an extra row of razor-sharp fangs gleamed. They seemed to be as sharp as steel blades.
"I get this bad boys."
Techxin snapped his mouth shut.
"See? And that's just one example. because temporary Blessings can also cause this kind of changes-like these."
Techxin casually tucked back his beautifully, wonderful pink hair, that flowed like freshly bloomed pink peach tree flowers, revealing...
Pig ears. Small, soft, adorable pig ears.
Maxi blinked.
His mind immediately pictured Techxin with a baby pig nose to match.
He snorted before bursting into laughter.
Techxin rolled his eyes.
"Yeah, yeah, laugh it up. I will double it in training. The Goddess of Pigs is blessing me temporarily until my mother dies-because she likes my mother that much."
Maxi chuckled but shook his head.
"Alright, last question."
His voice grew more serious. "What kind of god is the Blood God?"
Ever since Tengen had explained the divine hierarchy-how the Oldest Gods had divided the world into Order-Maxi had been wondering.
The Eldritch Gods ruled over Evil and Chaos.
The Outer Gods ruled over Neutrality.
The Earthly Gods ruled over Good.
Techxin smiled. "The Blood God? He's an Eldritch God."
Maxi's heart sank.
The realization hit him all at once.
His family-they weren't the good guys.
No matter how he framed it-no matter what angle he looked from-his family had never been on the side of "good."
Because Eldritch Gods were evil.
And they made their followers evil as well.
By turning them into demons if they wanted to Ascend and become something new by throwing their hands.
Maxi let out a heavy sigh, his gaze falling to his mother's feet. His voice came out quiet. "We're not the good guys, are we?"
Techxin chuckled.
He reached out, placing a firm hand on Maxi's head.
"Nope."