Chapter 52: Umbra And Estrella
-----
“I don’t want to force you to cooperate.” I sighed. "Nor will I be taking any slaves. However, keep in mind that your existence is brought about by me, and it is constantly fueled by my energies. I don’t want to do this the hard way. You might look like a young child right now, but I am fairly sure you’re hundreds of thousands of years old, so please act like your age.”
“What…?” The goddess stepped back. “You dare…! Ah…”
However, she suddenly fell silent, realizing, at long last, her own situation.
“…”
She fell silent and looked down.
“My throne is gone, my powers are mostly all gone, my authority, my church, everything... What do I do now?” She wondered. “What is my purpose?”
“Did you even have a purpose before?” I asked her. “Aside from gathering Faith and growing stronger to climb the tower with your whole world?”
“Before everything, I was simply trying to be a good goddess on my own accord. I wanted to protect this world, you know? At least, that’s what... I originally wanted.” She muttered.
“I guess I wasn’t so different myself,” Umbra said.
“But then, the surge of power, the addicting sensation of growing stronger... Maybe killing my own world’s people wasn’t something I would do, but... the other people of other worlds looked like nothing like mine. So I… I just went and did it. I gained more and more power until I was completely desensitized from it.” She ended up speaking from the heart. "Wait, wait a second, why am I talking about all of this?!”
“I used my authority to make you say what you truly felt, to open yourself to us.” I smiled. “See? How does it feel to finally let us know what you truly feel?”
“That’s not fair!” She complained.
“Estrella, that will be your name,” I said.
“Estre… what?” She asked.
“It means Star in Spanish, my father used to talk in Spanish a lot. He was born in Chile, a country in South America.” I sighed. “Although my name was registered as Katherine, my father used to call me Catalina, like his grandma.”
“Why are you telling me this?” She asked, raising an eyebrow.
“I don’t know, maybe just to do so?” I wondered. “Sometimes there isn’t any need to speak about the things we do. Sometimes we just want to talk, and sometimes we just want to open up a bit. I told you about a precious memory of mine, of my father, who passed away many years ago. You told me how you felt inside. Now we’re even, right?”
“Ah…” She muttered. “I guess! Well, whatever… So what is my purpose now? What are you going to tell me to do?”
“For now, I want you to get along. You must respect your brother; he’s probably the only person in the entire world who genuinely cares about you and cares for you.” I told her. “Estrella, you must value what you never did now. He died, but you now have the opportunity to meet him again. Grow your relationship; learn to appreciate your bond as a family.”
“What? That’s not a purpose; that’s a bunch of weird human stuff! Only humans care so much about family and... And…” The goddess then fell silent again. “Hahh…” She looked into her brother’s eyes. “Not like I got another option.”
“I don’t want to bother my sister; I would prefer if…” Umbra stuttered. “If she was happy... It’s okay if she doesn’t want to talk with me…”
“…” Estrella looked at her brother and furrowed her eyebrows. “Ugh, why do you have to be like this? Always act like you’re so innocent and a baby! Hmph, this is why I didn’t like you! Just act more like a god once in a while; stop being so... I don’t know, so condescending?”
“I-I’m sorry…” Umbra cried, hiding behind me.
“Hey, why are you running away now? Come here!” His sister chased him and grabbed his arm.
“Uwaah! D-don’t touch me, sister; I am cold and creepy!” He cried.
“I-It’s fine, you idiot. Not like it even matters anyway!” She said angrily. “Okay, here.”
And then she gave him a head pat out of nowhere, taking out his shadow-made hoodie and revealing his skull-shaped face.
“You’re weird, but you’re my brother, I guess... Fine, fine… Do you feel better now, my idiot brother?”
“S-Sister…”
The god suddenly started crying liquid nether from his empty eyes, creeping out his sister.
“Ueegh! What the hell are you crying about now? Haha, you’re so weird!”
“Sniff… My sister gave me a head pat… Sniff, sniff…”
I guess they were trying to get along. I couldn’t tell if Estrella was either treating him badly and mocking him or actually trying. At least it seemed better than before. Her brother had a lot of resistance against bad words, so she didn’t hurt him as much while being mean.
“Now, now. If you want another purpose, just help me out. I’ll let you roam my Inner Realm and then come outside. I hope you two can behave there. I can’t just tell them you’re the Gods… Or should I? Ah, but my family might panic a bit; what do I do?” I wondered.
“Maybe we could pretend to be your contracted spirits?” Wondered Umbra.
“Yeah, I guess that would work,” Estrella said.
“Contracted Spirits… No, I don’t want to lie to my family. I will simply tell them the truth.” I said. “I’ll bear with it myself. Ah, talking about that, you’re supposed to be Undead, right? But you don’t seem Undead at all. Maybe it was in terms of abilities? We’ll have to see how far you can go later as well.”
“Fine by me, but how is my world?” Asked the goddess. “Don’t tell me you became the goddess now?”
“No, I gave that job to Leviathan; he seemed very happy.” I smiled.
“Leviathan?! That huge and ancient monster that existed before us?!” The god screamed. “I-I can’t believe it!”
“What’s wrong with that?” I laughed. “He has proven to be better than you two below my commands. For now, let’s leave it at that. Now… Ugh, to the more important matter. I’ve been trying to cultivate Void Essence to comprehend the Void Dao. Umbra, you were able to use Void Energy, right?”
“I… Yes, it came out naturally from my own Darkness.” He spoke. “It was minuscule compared to true Void Wielders, though, but it was my only attack capable of hurting you.”
“I see… Void is indeed a very hard element to assimilate. But it might help me reach Rank 22.” I said while rubbing my chin. “Now, can you channel that very power and help me regulate it within my body?”
“I… Maybe? I can try.” He said.
“Good.” I nodded. “Then let’s begin.”
While Kirby rested over my legs and imbued me with his pure Void Essence, Umbra sat behind me, placing his skeletal palms behind my back and using his powers to control the essence of the void.
With both of their help, it suddenly became much easier to assimilate than before. The process was rather simple and not fancy at all, although still incredibly slow.
I had to assimilate Void Essence, and let it flow through every inch of my physique and psyche. Slowly, I let it seep through my internal structure, becoming a part of myself.
However, such a process was not only painful but agonizing and constantly damaged and hurt me at the same level as the Heavenly Will.
I could feel the Void spreading through, further flaring across my entire being.
As I did, my mind slowly started to drift away. I tried to ignore the pain I felt as I submerged my subconscious into an endless, dark void.
A sea of darkness and nothingness engulfed me.
For a second, I thought I could see visions.
Of the cosmos and its endlessness.
The vast darkness, the stars, planets, galaxies, universes...
Everything existed within the vast and dark void.
To comprehend the Dao of the Void was to comprehend everything in between.
This is why... It was so important to assimilate and refine Cosmic Energy.
And probably also the reason why I was unable to reach Rank 22 without having fully comprehended this Dao before.
It felt like I drifted across the endless void for thousands of years, my body slowly beginning to dissolve itself.
I was slowly becoming one with the void.
…
These visions continued for a long time, as we ended up spending much more time than we imagined meditating.
I used the maximum amount of accelerated time inside my Inner Realm to get as much cultivation as possible.
However, when more than three hours passed in the outside world, I decided to open my eyes again.
“Ah... Hahhh… W-Well, that was at least something.” I sighed. “We’ve been here for at least three months; they went by in a blink.”
“Three months of time is not much for us,” Umbra said.
“Huh? That much time has passed already?” Estrella had been snacking on the fruit of the garden and exploring the skies in the meantime. “I guess we are similar to you in the regard that our perception of time is rather slow.”
“Well, enough time has passed anyway; time to go back with everyone else.” I quickly stood back up. “The Dao of Void… I’ve at least comprehended 3% out of 100%. It is a big step already. One percent per month is incredible. However, I believe it might become slower as the percentage increases.”
Three percent.
Maybe some would say it was absolutely nothing, but to me, it was an incredible step in the right direction.
I had comprehended less than 0.1% of it before, so a whole 3% was an immense achievement.
Kirby and Umbra had become the keys to slowly and fully comprehending the Dao of Void.
Two helpers I would have never met inside Murim.
I looked into my two hands, and without the assistance of anybody, small droplets of Void Essence started coming out.
If I combined them with Primordial Venerable Essence, I could create something even more powerful.
Perhaps I should create some new Primordial Technique.
Even if the amount of Void Essence is not that big, I am sure I can make a lot out of this!
“Now, we should head back.”
I stepped outside of my Inner Realm; the outside world had changed a bit as the night had arrived. I joined back with my family, feeling refreshed.
I presented my two new summons to my family without any shame. And explained to them their circumstances.
My mother was shocked to learn I was somehow able to bring them back, and I told her that it wasn’t something I originally wanted but something possible through a Skill, so I gave it a shot.
Due to how “chill” both were and how they were capable of hiding most of their divine essence, it was easy for them to walk around.
Although much older than everyone here, they got along surprisingly well with Hekita… and Kirby.
“Were you really the Gods of this world? Hey, can you do this?” Hekita asked them as she gave a jump out of the ground and spun in midair, falling onto the grass floor with her four limbs. “Like this? Can you jump like that?”
“I-I can try…” Umbra attempted to do the same but ended up crumbling into a pile of bones on the ground. “Ouch, I can’t… it is difficult for me to do physical activities.”
“Hahaha! You became a pile of bones.” Laughed Estrella.
“Don’t mock him! He did his best!” Hekita said, helping Umbra recover his body. "Okay, let’s play something now!”
I was surprised Hekita saw them as children because of their appearance. But both weren’t really menacing beings either, simply going along with her whims.
Maybe because I told them to be nice beforehand, be that an order or not.
The rest of the day was spent relaxing and then having dinner with everyone. The twins and my mother and sister practiced their new abilities and have begun getting the hang of it much better.
Once the night arrived, the gods, without the need to sleep, decided to remain watching over the village from the skies in silence.
Maybe that’ll give us some time to connect and talk with one another in private too.
And, well, with Urbosa and Merkite here, I didn’t have a particularly calm night either.
Both had been wagging their tails for a while now, so once we were back to bed, we had a lot of fun.
I kind of like this relaxing life, to be honest.
Even if momentarily, I want to enjoy and embrace these moments.
.
.
.
The skies across Earth trembled.
Foreign Time Essence was being injected into their atmosphere.
The world’s own Time Essence, faint yet still existing, started to overflow.
Rivers of gray energy flowed through the skies, creating a strange and alluring spectacle that many people could see across the world.
But then that beautiful spectacle was interrupted by a sudden sound.
Crack, crack…
The sound of glass breaking.
A huge crack appeared across the skies of many areas around the world.
CRACK!
Ancient primal beasts of time immemorial, mighty warriors of ancient times, and the legendary monuments and places where they all once originated slowly started to materialize out of the cracks.
Some places saw giant buildings appear from the skies of ancient civilizations. But other places, such as North America, saw the cracks spread into the underground.
Enormous pits opened, revealing a portal to another time. Giant, scaled monstrosities surged, roaring mightily.
And accompanying them came the savage men who hunted them.
Primal, barbaric, yet at the same time, humane.
And curious about the future world they’ve been brought into.
The Grandfather of Time controls the Essence of Time itself to an even deeper level.
To bring ancient warriors and beasts from the forgotten times of the world was not something hard to do.
Even less when he prepared to devour as many souls as he could from the world where the one that suddenly stole one of his eyes had gone and where the one that had killed his precious avatar lived.
-----