All of Vitalium felt it. Even those far away stopped moving, children stopped crying, birds ceased to fly, adults stopped speaking and even thinking. All of Vitalium and every being within it focused entirely on that power.
When Uriel descended onto the balcony, deactivating his abilities, the world remained silent.
—Aahhhhhh… I did something wrong… Why isn't anyone saying anything? Someone? Please…?
Then...
"That's him!"
"Our true god!"
"That power… it's freedom!"
"I want to be strong too!"
"Uriel! Uriel! Uriel!"
The voices merged into a single celestial roar.
Aeris spoke, tears in her eyes:
"That… that is the magnificent power of our Lord. He didn't need words. He is a true god. He spoke to us through his mere presence. He showed us what it means to be strong just by existing."
"Vitalium will not be weak!"
"We will train, we will fight!"
"For our god!"
Aeris took a deep breath, raised her hands to the sky, and proclaimed:
"Vitalium will become the most majestic place, the strongest, the most worthy of our Lord. The World Tree that governs all…"
And so, under a clear sky and thousands of burning hearts, the ceremony came to an end.
♦ ♦ ♦
(Hall of the Gods)
"I must admit, I did not expect that."
"What was that ability?"
"Does anyone here possess it? No, I don't think so, it would be an abomination."
"Where did such a power come from? Something capable of stealing even the soul of a god and their essence itself."
"It was granted to him by the one they call 'The One'. Perhaps most of you have only heard of him since the moment he intervened with that low-level being, because he had never manifested before… until now."
"What is he, Master? He's clearly not a god."
"He is not. From what I know, he is a being known as a Narx, though he has many other names… Yurophin, Ketharin, Exocrono, or Interpreter. He is not a god, nor a demon. His powers rival the primordial gods, but he is still subject to absolute forces such as Karma and Chaos. His role is to embody the most fundamental concepts of the cosmic narrative. He is the one who created that ability and gave it to the being who is now a lesser deity."
"It seems you know quite a lot… Not surprising, since you're the god of knowledge. But… do you know his objective in helping him?"
"It's difficult to know. The One does not have a physical body, so perhaps he needs some kind of servant for a plan we do not yet understand. I'm intrigued by what could be so important that he allowed himself to be sealed by Karma."
"Do you think it's possible that if we destroyed him, the ability would disappear along with its source? I mean that The One fellow."
"Impossible. Even though he is lesser than Karma or Chaos, he is an entity that predates us, born at the beginning of the story itself. According to the most advanced knowledge, he is the reason everything exists aside from the two primordial forces. He could erase any of us if not for the consequences of Karma."
All the deities in the hall lowered their heads, their faces filled with disgust and even anger.
"I understand."
"However, as I mentioned before, he usually does not intervene in our affairs. He only manifests occasionally to ensure the course of the cosmic narrative does not deviate... to prevent everything from ending by accident."
"Then what can we do about that ability?… No... about Uriel himself."
"For now, nothing. We must wait for the next cycle of Chaos. Until then, we cannot act without consequences."
"Still… it is unthinkable that someone could grow so powerful, even ascend to a lesser god, in such a short time... and a mortal, no less."
"Indeed. If we do not control him, he may slip out of our hands."
"But that was Chrom's problem, since Uriel was his direct subordinate. He was the one who allowed him to reincarnate in his world. Now he is a god equal to us. How do we intervene?"
"The responsibility falls on our ruling Lord in this case."
"Insolent… How dare you?"
"I am the god of truth. I merely speak what must be spoken, even if I must apologize to you, my Lord."
It seemed there had always been an additional entity observing them all, listening. The same one who had stopped time during Uriel's battle against Chrom—the same dark shadow with nothing visible but a pair of white eyes with blue irises.
"You speak of truth? What truth do you mean? A god incapable of defeating a mortal is nothing but a miserable lie. In that sense, Chrom was never a god, just one among you who existed because I did not care that he existed… although, who would've thought he would reach such levels of incompetence. He was useless... just like most of you. I wonder if I should dispose of all of you before you cause me greater embarrassment."
"It's clear that this time I must act myself, but I will not allow another failure like Chrom's in the future."
The voice of this deity made every present tremble, creating an immeasurable pressure. All the gods were affected upon hearing his true voice.
"My Lord, you do not need to act yourself. There's no reason for you to trouble yourself with this matter. If you allow me… I, your servant, will finish him. I can resolve this."
"Should I entrust this to you, Sun God Tonatiuh?"
"Yes, my Lord. You can trust me with this task."
"In that case, I hope you are up to the task. I don't need to explain what will happen if you fail. Besides, there is something that interests me… that demon accompanying him. I do not recognize his essence, yet his abilities resemble my own."
"What? The abilities of an Ancient God?"
"I am curious about where his power comes from. So when the time comes, bring him to me. It has been a long time since I found an Avatar capable of containing me."
♦ ♦ ♦
(Vitalium)
Festivities were being held all across Vitalium. People celebrated Uriel as the World Deity. A scythe crossed diagonally with a wing had become the symbol of affiliation to the Cult of Uriel. Aeris became the highest authority of the Church, regarded as its Saint, while Erika and Netel became important Priestesses of Uriel's worship. The cult had spread worldwide; only a few fools still worshipped Chrom and the other seven primordial gods in secret—yet little by little, they were being discovered and judged.
At the main Temple—formerly the castle of a King who followed Chrom of his own free will and which Zerothiel had taken to transform into the primary temple: the House of God.