With the experience Morax had given him,
Aether could finally begin trying to fly using his own divine power.
Since it was his first time, his movements were still rather clumsy.
Morax, however, watched from the side with clear interest.
Another interesting demon god, added to the count.
Aether could sense his divine power flowing from his core, located at his heart—the true body itself, which was that hexagonal, transparent pale-blue crystal he had bought online from online marketplace.
Aether referred to it as the Manifestation Crystal.
He drew divine power out from the Manifestation Crystal and, following the methods Morax had taught him, guided and shaped it.
"I… I think I can fly now."
Aether looked down at the ground in amazement. His feet had already left the earth.
Of course, this was only the most basic level of flight.
More advanced flight would be like Morax's—transforming into a streak of golden light and vanishing in a flash.
It felt a bit like pulling a gold drop in a gacha.
Hahaha!
"Mm. Keep it up," Morax said lightly.
This newly born demon god really was interesting. He hadn't encountered someone this amusing in a long time.
He didn't know the specifics of how the Authority of Manifestation worked.
But for a demon god to lack so much basic common knowledge—that alone made Morax find Aether quite intriguing.
Perhaps something had gone wrong during his birth?
Maybe that was why he had lost so much fundamental understanding.
Aether nodded and continued experimenting with his divine power.
By the time night fell, Aether had already mastered the ability to transform into a streak of white light and fly at high speed.
Morax waited patiently at his side until that moment arrived.
"Morax! I've learned it! Now I can go with you to your territory as a guest!" Aether said excitedly, looking at him.
Come to think of it, Morax's territory probably wasn't in the area that would later become Liyue Harbor yet, right?
Aether wasn't entirely sure.
But once they arrived, wouldn't he find out anyway?
Morax gave a slight nod.
"Very well. Since that's the case, let us depart."
"You've only just mastered flight, so I'll slow down a little for you to keep up."
"Thank you!" Aether replied.
A streak of golden light and a streak of white light shot into the sky one after the other. Under Morax's lead, they flew across an unknown distance.
When they finally stopped, Aether found himself in a human settlement.
This should be Morax's territory.
The humans gathered here were the people who believed in and followed Morax.
Demon gods cherished humanity—but each demon god had their own way of doing so.
"This is my territory. Those mortals are my people."
"Come, I'll introduce you."
Morax led Aether as they flew toward the settlement.
From above, the entire settlement was only about the size of a village, with roughly one or two thousand people.
All the houses were thatched huts, looking extremely primitive and underdeveloped.
But in such a dangerous world, being able to receive the protection of a powerful demon god—never having to worry about monsters or other demon gods threatening their survival—
For them, that alone was already a great blessing.
"It's the Lord of Geo!"
"The Lord of Geo is back!"
"Who's that young man beside the Lord of Geo? Is he the Lord's friend?"
"Welcome back, Lord of Geo!"
As Morax and Aether flew above the village,
the people immediately stopped what they were doing and gathered toward Morax, smiling as they greeted him enthusiastically.
From their expressions, Aether couldn't see any fear or apprehension—clearly, Morax usually treated them very well.
Morax looked at the crowd, nodded, and said,
"Mm. I have returned from visiting the adepti."
"This is my friend—Zennos, the Demon God of Manifestation."
Upon hearing Morax's introduction,
and learning that this young man was also a demon god—and even Morax's friend—the people immediately turned toward Aether and bowed in reverence.
"Lord Zennos!"
…This left Aether feeling a little at a loss.
He caught Morax's gaze and had the strange feeling that Morax might be quietly laughing at him…
"Uh, there's no need for that. Since it's our first meeting, I-I'll give everyone a small gift."
This was the first time Aether, a sixteen-year-old, had ever faced a scene like this.
He didn't really know what he was supposed to do.
But since it was their first meeting, giving a small gift didn't seem inappropriate.
As for what to give, Aether already had an idea.
When they heard that Lord Zennos was going to give them a gift, the people felt both nervous and excited.
A gift from a god had to be something special.
In this era, food was scarce.
Morax believed in letting his people be self-reliant. In other words, he would protect them from other demon gods, monsters, and beasts—but he wouldn't directly provide necessities like food.
If the people wanted to eat, they had to gather, hunt, and farm on their own.
Aether looked at the crowd before him and directly activated his Authority of Manifestation.
Although he had previously overdrawn his origin, he had recovered a fair amount of strength. As long as he didn't continue to overexert himself, there wouldn't be any serious problems.
As for wanting power on Morax's level before—that really had been wishful thinking.
He still didn't even know what his current body's true level of strength actually was…
In front of the crowd, a long strip of white light suddenly appeared, as if something were being formed within it.
Moments later, the white light condensed and solidified, finally becoming a long loaf of bread.
That's right—a baguette over a meter long.
Not only could it be used as a weapon, it could also be eaten.
For people of this era, baguette bread was already an exceptionally rare delicacy.
"This item is called bread. It is a kind of food. Everyone may enjoy it freely."
This hard, long thing…
It was called bread?
You could eat it?
Naturally, no one doubted Aether's words.
With the gift in hand, the people immediately began thanking him.
"Thank you, Lord Zennos!"
Aether smiled awkwardly, nodded, then looked toward Morax.
"I shall also thank you on behalf of my people."
"My residence is over there. Let us go and speak further."
Morax said to Aether.
Aether nodded, naturally agreeing.
From what Aether had just demonstrated, Morax seemed to have gained a clearer understanding of what the Authority of Manifestation meant.
The ability to create things?
That truly was an exceptionally powerful authority.
And Aether's current body was very likely something he had manifested using his own authority.
Morax could sense that the strength contained within this body was not insignificant.
He seemed to understand now why Aether's origin had been damaged.
…Head in hands.
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