"Celestial Spirit?"
Before Athena could ask, Jibril tilted her head and inquired with a puzzled expression, "What's that?"
If she hadn't been following Su Mo this whole time, she would have thought it was a concept from the Star Rail world. But as far as she knew, while the Star Rail world had Aeons—who were sometimes called celestial beings with spirits—they weren't actually related to stars themselves. Weren't their structures more akin to gods?
Where did this "Celestial Spirit" idea come from?
"It's the will of a planet itself. Rin's world has a similar type of existence," Su Mo explained casually. Seeing Athena's confused look, he elaborated.
"If early nature gods were the masters of natural elements like wind, rain, and thunder, then Celestial Spirits are the spiritual embodiments of the celestial bodies themselves."
"As the potential of humanity continues to expand into the not-so-distant spacefaring age, the worship of Celestial Spirits will easily replace the worship of indigenous deities. The difference in scale alone makes the gap between them obvious."
"Concepts like wind, rain, thunder, lightning, earthquakes, floods, volcanic eruptions... all these pre-technological revolution ideas will become nothing more than insignificant parts of planetary geological activity once the space age arrives. Across the entire universe, only the celestial bodies themselves will be worthy of study."
"At that time, the worship of anthropomorphized gods will be swept into the dustbin of history. Only concepts that symbolize a primordial cosmology will have a chance of being elevated to the status of Celestial Spirits."
As he spoke, Su Mo looked at Athena and gave an example.
"Take, for instance, the faith in a primordial Earth Mother. Only when it embodies a concept equivalent to the 'world' as perceived by primitive humanity does it gain the qualification to become a candidate for Earth's Celestial Spirit."
As human civilization developed, humanity's understanding of the world gradually broadened.
In the beginning, the "world" in people's eyes was just a tribe, a forest, a country, or at most a continent.
It wasn't until the dawn of the modern scientific era that people realized they lived on a planet, and that what they once considered the entire world was merely a thin biosphere on a tiny celestial body.
Therefore, to vie for the concept of Earth's Celestial Spirit, one needed a spiritual rank at least equivalent to the concept of the "world" as understood by prehistoric humans.
And it was only after Athena had mastered the [Sword of Origin] and truly grasped the Primordial Mother Creation that she barely obtained the qualifications to be a candidate for Earth's Celestial Spirit.
"Is it that complicated? So, is this so-called Celestial Spirit strong?" Jibril asked curiously.
"It's not a question of 'strong' or 'not strong'," Su Mo said, shaking his head.
"The very nature of a Celestial Spirit is different from that of a god. Simply put, their structure is not composed of Type-III stellar particles, but of Type-II stellar particles, like the Aeons. This means they almost never have to worry about energy consumption."
"Furthermore, Celestial Spirits possess an immortality on the same scale as their celestial body. Unless you destroy every star in their corresponding world, it's nearly impossible to kill the Celestial Spirit itself."
"Most importantly, the faith required for a Celestial Spirit's existence doesn't even need a complex worldview. It only requires that humanity can perceive that celestial body."
One point Su Mo didn't mention, as it was the least important, was that Celestial Spirits were, at a minimum, Tier 5, star-destroying powerhouses.
"It certainly sounds a bit more impressive than an ordinary god," Jibril said thoughtfully after hearing Su Mo's explanation.
Whether it was their physical composition, their immortality, or the foundation of their existence, the requirements seemed less restrictive than those for a typical god.
"But compared to an Aeon, there's no qualitative difference."
In terms of composition, both were Type-II stellar particle beings. In terms of faith, both were rooted in basic human perception. Their immortality was also quite similar.
If an Aeon was one evolutionary path for a god in the space age, then a Celestial Spirit seemed like another possible path of divine evolution.
"More or less," Su Mo nodded, agreeing with Jibril's assessment.
"The existence of an Aeon is based on epistemology, while the existence of a Celestial Spirit is based on observation itself. Both observation and epistemology are complementary—it's merely a difference between form and matter. There is no matter without form in this world, nor is there form without matter."
"...Master, could you say that in a way that I can understand?" Jibril started to feel a bit dizzy.
"Do you mean I can be promoted to a Celestial Spirit? And become stronger?" Athena, the Goddess of Wisdom, grasped Su Mo's meaning.
"If so, will I be able to keep up with you, Master?" she asked, her face full of anticipation.
"You'll be closer than you are now, at least," Su Mo nodded. "In a multiverse centered around humanity, Earth's Celestial Spirit will inevitably hold a dominant position. In some worlds, you might even reach a level equal to my own, perhaps even approaching the power of a single-universe-level being."
A single-universe-level being, even in the chat group's ranking system, was a lofty Tier 7.
Among the Aeons of the Star Rail world, very few had reached such a level.
"Then I'm willing to become a Celestial Spirit!"
Athena's heart was instantly won over.
If she obtained single-universe-level power, wouldn't she be the one traveling everywhere with Su Mo?
At that point, the likes of Jibril would only be qualified to miserably push her from behind.
"Mm."
Naturally, Su Mo wasn't going to refuse her request.
However, even for him, creating a Celestial Spirit wasn't something that could be done with a snap of his fingers.
"Converting her composition to Type-II stellar particles is one thing, but altering her interference with parallel—or even multiple—universes is a bit more troublesome. Let me do some research first."
Athena had no objections.
And so, upon the ravaged land of Japan, the good news that the apocalypse had been overcome spread across the globe.
With the intervention of the Copper Black Cross, Su Mo's reputation soared. His title changed from the Devil King of the Shattered Moon to the Savior.
As for the magical cabals that had not yet submitted to him, they completely lost their nerve after every other Godslayer had been defeated, bowing their heads to the one and only King.
Su Mo, of course, cared little for these worldly affairs.
After agreeing to Athena's request, he entered the chat group.
Su Mo: "Rin Tohsaka, when are you free? There's something I need to take care of over in your world."
At that moment, the chat group was already active, with members betting on how long it would take Su Mo to quell the so-called apocalyptic disaster.
Seeing Su Mo's message, the twintailed little girl's expression became one of flattered surprise.
Rin Tohsaka: "N-no, wait, sorry, I'm in the bath right now. It might take me a little while to get out. I'll dry off and get ready right away—Of course, if you're in a hurry to come over, I can send the invitation now."
After casually agreeing to Su Mo's request, Rin looked at the bubbles in her bathtub and realized she wasn't as readily available as she had claimed, quickly adding a few more lines.
Embarrassed, yet worried about delaying Su Mo's important business, her reply came out a bit incoherent.
Jibril: "Is this some new seduction technique? Making a note of this to use when I invite the Master next time!"
The Flügel girl's eyes lit up. Useful knowledge acquired.
March 7th: "Ahem! As far as I know, Rin is only seven years old. I don't think you could call that a seduction technique, could you?"
The pink-haired girl looked completely exasperated.
Erica: "Exactly! Rin's too young to handle that kind of thing. Let a big sister like me handle it!"
Rin Tohsaka: "I don't need your fake concern!"
March 7th: "..."
The pink-haired girl began to wonder if she was a little too traditional for this group.
Fortunately, there was someone in the chat who was on her wavelength.
Su Mo: "There's no need to rush. I'm just interested in the Second Magic from your world. It's not urgent."
Seeing Su Mo's reply, Rin Tohsaka finally breathed a sigh of relief. After a moment's thought, she sank back into the bathtub and asked curiously.
Rin Tohsaka: "The Second Magic? The Jeweled Wizard Zelretch has already mastered that. I heard there can only be one master of a True Magic at a time."
Su Mo: "It's fine. Don't worry about it."
Rin Tohsaka: "...You're not going to... attack the Second Magician, are you?"
The twintailed girl's eyes widened. Although she had no personal feelings for the grandmaster of the magical arts whom she had never met, she couldn't think of any other way to take his Magic besides eliminating the current user.
Although Zelretch was practically immortal as a Dead Apostle, she was confident that his level of immortality was no match for Su Mo.
Su Mo: "Don't worry. I will use peaceful means."
Su Mo quickly dispelled her concerns.
The True Magics of the Nasuverse certainly had a high upper limit, their origins even tracing back to the creation of its parallel universes.
However, the so-called Magicians themselves were not overwhelmingly powerful—at least, not to Su Mo. In his eyes, they had only grasped insignificant fragments of True Magic.
He didn't need to resort to annihilation to deal with them.
Rin Tohsaka: "...Actually, it wouldn't be a big deal if you didn't use peaceful means. It's not like I know him well, anyway. By the way, Lord Su Mo, why are you suddenly interested in the Second Magic? You're already Tier 6. Is there anything in my world that could still be useful to you?"
At least in Rin's understanding, no being in the Nasuverse was capable of destroying a galaxy.
Su Mo: "I have an idea I want to test, and I need the Second Magic for it."
Su Mo: "As for the effectiveness of True Magic, if we're talking about the complete Five Magics, they would be significant even to Tier 7 or Tier 8 beings."
Jibril: "Tier 7?! Or even Tier 8?!"
Kanae: "So Rin's world is that amazing?"
Madoka: "So..."
Everyone present was stunned by his words.
After a moment of silence, Madoka looked like she wanted to say something but held her tongue.
Erica, however, had no such reservations.
Erica: "So if your world is so strong, why are you such a scrub, Rin Tohsaka?"
Faced with Erica's soul-crushing question, Rin was momentarily speechless.
After a moment, she clenched her small fists and protested indignantly.
Rin Tohsaka: "How should I know?! The Magicians in my world are only a bit stronger than the average god. Who knew the upper limit of the Five Magics was so high?! Besides, my family is just an ordinary magecraft family. You think I'm not jealous of people who can use True Magic?! TAT"
Even if the Five Magics were incredible, she had no way of accessing them!
Forget her, even her ancestor, Tohsaka Nagato, was just an insignificant student of Zelretch, a connection that was tenuous at best.
Never mind that Zelretch was basically immortal—even if he could die, the succession would never fall to her!
Seeing the twintailed girl's outburst, Erica and the others began to console her.
After the commotion died down, the group grew curious about Su Mo's plans.
Su Mo had no intention of hiding it and explained everything directly.
It was only then that they all understood the concept of a Celestial Spirit.
[A new member has joined the chat group.]
Rin Tohsaka: "So, Lord Su Mo, you want the Second Magic in order to create a Celestial Spirit?"
Su Mo: "Correct."
Madoka: "As expected of Lord Su Mo. I don't really get it, but it sounds amazing."
Kanae: "+1."
Rin Tohsaka: "I'm done with my bath. Sending the invitation now."
Just as the twintailed girl was drying herself off, putting on her yukata, and preparing to send the invitation, a glaring message suddenly appeared in the chat.
Shiroyasha: "Creating a Celestial Spirit? What kind of charlatan is this, trying to pull a fast one on me? You got a death wish or something?"