Treasure of a Thief (2)

Angels were the progeny born between two origin gods. They were not born as gods like the origin gods, but they held a lower degree of authority over the domains of both parents. They could also become gods, but only by exploring a new law on their own.

Starting with the first Angel born between the God of Life and the Goddess of Sound, the trend of creating angels swept through the origin gods. Even the Prime Gods were no exception. While the other Prime Gods were more reserved and harder to become intimate with for different reasons, the God of Space spread his influence with seemingly no regard. The origin gods had no concept of marriage so they were free to conceive with several different partners, but those who procreated with the God of Space generally stayed by his side.

Among the many children born from the God of Space was the Angel of Shadows, whose other parent was the Goddess of Darkness. He had been an unremarkable angel during his youth, and frequently went into the mortal world to explore. It was said that the start of his tales of thievery, was when he came upon a man whose family heirloom had been taken by the strongest man in the village, and decided to help. As an angel, he had no need to fear the wrath of a mortal, but he didn't want news of this reaching the gods so he snuck into the strongest man's house and stole the heirloom. He brought it back to the victim without incident, but more than the grateful tears that came from his eyes before he departed the village, it was the enraged roar of the strongest man who discovered the theft that pleased Calus.

The Angel of Shadows went on to practice all the skills necessary for theft and purposefully lowered himself to the level of mortals so that he could face a challenge. Though he was scorned as unfit for his divinity, even the gods had a hard time stopping the angel from stealing their items. There was even an anecdote about how he once stole something from the God of Space. He was found and punished soon after, but the feat still earned him the title of 'Greatest Thief Ever Known'. 

Shui didn't think that his feats weren't worthy of admiration, but the records always depicted him as a mischievous rascal, so it was hard for Shui to feel much admiration for the god themself. Still, it would only be right to treat him as a respected senior in this case. This was especially true since he couldn't be sure if this voice was recorded or coming from some sentient remnant of the god without activating his Sage God Eyes. He believed he was strong enough to see that much, but he didn't want to accidentally offend Calus.

"So this is the treasury of the legendary God of Plunder?! The one that no treasure was said to be safe from?! Am I really allowed to be here?"

"Fufufu, I see that you've heard of my name. To be honest, I made this treasury when I was still a mere hatchling on this path, but I'm glad to hear that my future self has not disappointed me. As for your qualification to enter this space, let it be considered fate since you were able to find it. On top of that, I'll even give you a chance to take the treasure stored here."

After hearing that this treasury was created when Calus was relatively young, Shui felt slightly relieved. A playful god he may be, if this was the real treasury of the mature Angel of Shadows, Shui would have to be more worried about leaving alive than getting any treasure.

"God of Plunder, will you really give your treasure to me?"

"Fufu, since your character pleases me, I'll repeat myself this once. I will only allow you a chance at having my treasure. Whether or not you can actually take it will depend on your skills."

Shui wasn't too surprised that there would be a test. He would be more wary than glad if the Angel of Shadows gave him the treasure without any fuss.

"Very well. What must I do?"

"Using my experience from intruding on countless treasuries, I have designed a security system that surpasses them all. I could still get through it without my divine power, so I believe an exceptional mortal should be able to reach that possibility as well. I wish you good luck; you'll certainly need it."

After this was said, the space descended into silence. Even if these words were true, Shui knew that a god couldn't be compared to a mortal even without relying on their divinity. Nevertheless, Shui had hope that he could pass this test. 

Before he moved forward, Shui focused on his Sage God Eyes. He was able to see some structure that covered the hallway for three and a half cales from the treasure chest, stopping a few steps away from him. However, that was it. He could see what was likely the security system Calus mentioned, but it was so complicated that he couldn't understand anything more.

"It looks like I was underestimating the Angel of Shadows."

There might have been no records of Calus being proficient in this sort of task, but for a moment, Shui had forgotten that runes were the basic language of the gods, so it shouldn't be surprising that the Angel of Shadows could create something that surpassed his understanding.

Shui didn't bother trying to use his spiritual sense or martial intent, instead he summoned Sui and threw it towards the treasure chest. There was a chance that the system wouldn't respond to inanimate objects, but Shui doubted the angel would leave such a flaw, and even if that was the case, Sui could be considered part of himself, so it possessed the presence of life.

As he expected, the security system responded to Sui's presence, but Shui could only see the result of its action. Sui was as hard as his own body, but it had been vaporized the instant it entered the range of the security system, which meant that he would have faced the same fate had he been impulsive. Fortunately, Sui was still a part of him, so even if it got vaporized he would only lose the flesh he removed to form it, and his regeneration could cover such a deficiency almost instantly.

As a bit of fear entered his heart, Shui took a quick look around to see if he could find an exit, but the hallway behind him seemed to go on for eternity, and he couldn't spot anywhere else that could be a match. This meant he had no choice but to reach the treasure chest if he wanted at least a clue on how to leave. Calus hadn't mentioned that death would be the consequence of failure in this test, but at the end of the day, he was an intruder, so it wasn't unreasonable.

Shui wanted to believe that like Calus said, a mortal would be capable of reaching the treasure chest, but a part of him was worried that he hadn't reached the level of power that Calus was labelling as an exceptional mortal. Even so, for the time being he could only try all of his means and hope for the best.