Divine Representation

After devouring the essence of that female Vampire during the raid on Kismet, Endyr realized she could take the Bloodlines of others and use them herself. She hadn't really put any thought into it though, since Bloodlines powerful enough for them to be worth taking were far out of her reach, and she could also purchase them directly from the System, according to it. But now, things had changed. There were two relatively strong Bloodlines helplessly trapped in front of her, and most importantly...she was hungry.

[To answer your question Host, then yes. Host can extract their Bloodlines by consuming their Cores and a dosage of their blood, an act which will kill the two. Does Host wish to take this course of action?]

'Hmmm...What benefits are there if I do?'

[There will be several consequences to Host's action, both positive and negative. Host will gain the {Frostwhisperer} Lineage, which will grant Host advanced control over Ice Mana and increased Stats, but will also negatively impact Host's Karma.]

'Karma?'

[Much like the Main Universe, Karma plays an important role in the life of the powerful. The higher one's standing, the more precious their Karma, and the more vulnerable they are to it.]

'Oh right, there was that feature. Those like Gods would be restricted and discriminated against based on their Karma, with those in the heavy negatives being plagued by bad luck. The System didn't want a bunch of reality-bending existences running amok with no repercussions after all. So you're saying I'll be affected by this too?'

[Gorging on those two Demihumans will be classified as an act of {Gluttony} by the Universal Karma Scale and Host will be marked. As a former {Denizen of Infinity} Host is under greater restraints than most. At the same time however, repeated actions of such caliber will allow the System to bestow Host with a related Title and Skills.]

"So I can commit a score of sins or virtues and receive the corresponding Titles? I didn't think that was possible on Orvonia" she muttered, deep in thought.

[While this may be a new universe, at the end of the day it still emerged from the old and thus used it as a blueprint. The Sin and Virtue Authorities of this world have been handed out several times, mainly to existences such as {Allmer}, {Abaddon} and the Almighty. The Authorities currently held by entities in Orvonia are Pride, Wrath, Diligence and Sacrifice. Who has what cannot be seen, but all four are held by Gods.]

'How far along will consuming those two bring me on the Path of Gluttony?'

[Not very far, but it will definitely be a step. The higher your level of existence, the easier it is to qualify for the Titles, so at Host's level it only needs to be done a dozen or so times, not counting this occasion.]

After thinking it over a bit, Endyr relaxed her predatory posture and turned away. The benefits of eating those two were quite tempting, but embedding herself any deeper into the Laws of this world more than she already had was a bad idea. It would likely allow the Gods to more accurately track her down, which definitely wasn't worth the trade off for strength. Mere power wasn't enough to combat the Divine after all. If it came down to it, Endyr's only chance at killing one of "Them" would be to completely dissolve her mortal shell and devour them with Infinity. It would destroy her own ego too though, making it no different from a suicide attack. 'Being reduced to atoms, just floating around with a fleeting awareness, struggling to even formulate thoughts...I'll never go back to that state.'

Endyr turned away from the siblings and went back to her actual mission: to find those three pieces of merchandise and get out of here before security arrived. She would feel slightly bad about killing those who were just doing their jobs in the case she was in the wrong, but it was only a smidge of reluctance and nothing more. Making her way closer to the three pedestals, Endyr touched the blue Mana barrier protecting their contents and let out a hum. Behind her, the two children let out shaky sighs of relief and watched with fear and curiosity as Endyr pondered on what to do. 'Should I just shatter them?' she though, stroking her chin. 'With my control, it should be fine, right?'

After a few more seconds of thought though, Endyr instead put her palm against the barrier and began to channel Mana into it. After several seconds, the barrier flickered precariously and then went out without any flair. The rolled up scroll was her first target, and she unfurled it on the spot. In an instant, the Mana in the air became frenzied and viscous around Endyr, and she heard distant ravings murmuring in her ears. Spots of multicolored light occupied her vision as she seemed to fall away from her body, but Endyr snapped out of it after several seconds. Rubbing the bridge of her nose, she dispelled the last of the effects and focused on the painting in her hands.

The parchment was old and worn, but the ink was still legible and the paint wasn't smudged. The painting was of a man with long golden hair, wearing a gold and white robe standing in a pavilion. The scenery seemed to be a celebration or feast, as groups were talking to each other. While the colors remained vivid even after all this time, the man's face was conspicuously blurred. 'Must be the Almighty then' Endyr decided. 'Showing "His" face directly would be blasphemy, so it makes sense they had to cover it. Heh, I wonder if Jester and Daemon would dare to paint "Him" in full...'

Endyr was slightly disappointed though, since she hadn't actually gotten the chance to see the Almighty's face in the City of Hope. "He" had covered "Himself" in light, and Serapis was also blocked by shadows. Speaking of the God of Death, "He" stood at the Almighty's right in the picture. A woman in a blue and green dress was to the left, presumably Tamir. Several other figures Endyr recognized stood around the Almighty to various degrees of closeness. Directly after Tamir and Serapis were Jester, dressed in a vibrant purple robe but without "His" makeup. Standing beside "Him" was a tall figure covered in head to toe in a dull grey robe, but patches seemed to bulge out in places and a faint fog could be seen gathering at their feet.

'So Fallacy was commonly depicted as close to the Almighty in the Third Era? Hmm, it seems the liars were indeed the Orthodox Gods in this case.'

The next group depicted was large, six men and women each wearing a different color. There was a female elf in verdant green, a male elf in ochre, a man with bright yellow hair and sporting the same for his robe, a towering man with hair like flames in armor, a woman with blue hair and an ocean-teal dress and a woman dressed in black with violet highlights. Everyone's faces were blurry and vague, but the sense of beauty remained clear and Endyr had no trouble identifying the Orthodox Gods.

In the background, angels were flying around and throwing flowers into the crowds, and a gold cross that seemed to pierce the sky was erected behind the Almighty. The sky itself was lit ablaze with soft gold as the sun shimmered, positioned in line with the Almighty's head. Curling her lip at the blatant symbolism, Endyr scanned the rest of the painting for the traces of Aenrys and Navruavati the host claimed was present. And sure enough, she noticed two robed figures standing in the bottom left corner, isolated from the rest of the crowd.

The one on the left wore a crimson robe, like the deepest blood while the other wore black. Unlike Serapis and Nyx however, Aernys' black was purer and seemed to draw in all the light around it. Endyr admired the skill of the artist to be able to represent this so well as she pondered over why "They" were included in a picture celebrating the Almighty Primordial.

'Don't tell me "They" worshipped the Almighty too? No, neither the Orthodox Gods nor Seraphic have ever said anything like that. And the two actively claim credit for the downfall of the Almighty...so why would "They" be drawn as part of the crowd of worshippers? Wait a second...where's Seraphic?'

Endyr looked over the entire painting but saw no trace of the infamous Lord of Light. Perplexed, she took a closer look at the men and women standing near the Almighty, but none could be mistaken for "Him". "He" wasn't amongst the crowds either and wasn't an angel in the background. For some reason, Seraphic was absent from the painting entirely. 'Was "He" not born at this time? The Orthodox Bibles claim that the three Evil Gods were born one after the either with Seraphic being first...Then again I did just prove the Churches lied about Fallacy and the Almighty. But Seraphic was also absent from the mural in the tomb...? Wait, what tomb? What mural?'

Endyr nearly dropped the painting as she clutched her head, wincing as a sudden pain pierced through her mind. She felt something was just beyond her reach, at the very tip of her consciousness but unable to be touched. When Endyr's eyes randomly settled on Aenrys and Navruavati in the painting though, the pain abruptly vanished. Her eyes were glazed for a second before focusing again. 'What was I-oh right, these two.'

Endyr studied Aenrys and Navruavati but found nothing out of the ordinary aside from "Their" very presence, but Navruavati had a smirk visible under "His" hood while Aenrys wasn't looking at the Almighty, but rather Tamir by "His" side. That was all the painting had to offer though, so Endyr rolled it up and turned to the chalice and journal which were still waiting on their pedestals. 'Let's hope these two are more useful.'