Power Overwhelming

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The group was just preparing to set off when a messenger entered the room where they were gathering. “I have an invitation for Princess Ynnead?” The messenger asked, not sure who was who as they were all in full armor.

“From whom?” Karna asked suspiciously. They would need to set off for their destination shortly, as they were going to meet their new teammates and travel to the world they were supposed to defend.

"I'm not entirely sure. A really official-looking guard handed it to me. I would assume someone quite important though. The guard seemed awfully powerful." The messenger admitted. He was just a young page, barely rank 3 as a Qi user.

“What kind of invitation?” Karna asked, not really sure if she liked where this was going.

“I was told to bring you somewhere. It’s not far. The next building over.” The boy explained. The Host had taken over several buildings as they investigated the events in the city. They didn’t exactly hide their presence either.

“Fine. Did they specify anything about my companions?”

“They were not mentioned.” The page replied simply.

“Right.” She turned to her allies. “Be ready to act if things go sideways, but I’ll take this meeting alone. Seems to be official.”

As she followed the page to a large stone building that used to be some sort of office but now housed Host personnel, Karna could sense the presence of someone very powerful inside. They were hiding that power extremely well, so even she had trouble getting an exact read, but she could tell the being was at rank 13, even if she couldn’t say if they were a mana user or something else. As the page continued to lead her inside, she quickly spotted a humanoid being wearing white armor that covered them from head to toes so that no skin or even their eyes were showing. The armor was made of a mix of metals and leather, making it lighter than full metal armor, hinting that this was a speed-focused fighter. The being was almost three meters tall and broad at the shoulders, and they were carrying a halberd that she could easily identify as a very high-ranked divine weapon.

Without saying a word, the white-armored being turned around and opened a door, beckoning her inside. The page turned around and left, as if getting a silent message to leave them alone. Now drawn by curiosity, the large white-clad being closed the door behind her once she entered, and made a gesture that expanded a magical formation around the room that would make eavesdropping all but impossible. Then the being stood behind a table in the center of the room and placed some sort of amulet on the table.

The amulet wasn’t the only item on the table, as there was also a magical chest of intricate design placed next to the amulet. The amulet suddenly lighted up with magical power, and the illusionary projection of a man stood above the amulet. The projection was life-sized, so the man was effectively standing on the table and looking down at Karna. The man was older with gray in his hair and a thin beard, but he was obviously not weakened by his age. He was also wearing golden phoenix robes, and his headdress also obscured his face with strings of hanging beads.

“Princess Ynnead. Before you say anything, I’m not here, officially or unofficially. I would also ask you to keep questions and comments to a minimum, though I’m certain some can’t be avoided. This meeting should’ve been under better circumstances, but unfortunately, we are all slaves to our roles and commitments. I wanted to give you a short explanation and a gift of sorts. I'm not sure if I should really call it a gift as you should've earned it naturally by now, so I'm only giving you something that's yours by right." The man, who Karna already suspected of being the emperor briefly explained. She didn't recognize the man, but she did recognize the garb, and the identity of the man would explain the presence of the white-clad powerhouse in front of her.

“You may have wondered why you and your allies haven’t yet triggered a spark of Divinity on your own. That’s because the perfect spark already exists for you, and I have stopped any…suboptimal…sparks from being born for you. That spark is in the chest in front of you. Why have I done this? For the same reason I named you Ynnead. We all have a role to play, and I need you to play yours. I know from experience, yes we’ve met before, that you dislike being used. That’s why I’ve given you plenty of leeway in how you fill your role.“ Now she knew why the man was using a hologram of sorts for this meeting, aside from a visit from the emperor drawing attention. She couldn’t determine his True Name when he wasn’t personally here.

“That spark is made up of two ingredients that you’re familiar with. More familiar than anyone. It combines the concepts of Soul and Karma. I see you understand what I mean. I don’t need to explain why you are more suitable than anyone for the concept of Karma, and as for Soul…well…I shan’t say more when there’s any possibility of being overheard. I’m sure you can see all the possibilities that combination provides even better than I can.” The man gestured towards the chest.

He was right. This was the optimal spark for her. Not the only optimal spark, but probably the best combination. It placed the least amount of potential limitations on her actions and opened a vast range of Divinities for her to claim in the future. Just the concept of a soul could take many forms. A God of Death was just the most obvious one, along with the related Divinities such as God of Afterlife and whatever god was responsible for punishment after death. On that note, one of the possible Divinities combined well with karma to form a sort of judge archetype. And the less obvious ones were even more numerous.

It was also a fact that she had an extremely strong connection with the two concepts. Just the fact that she had such a powerful soul made her uniquely suited for the soul half of the spark, and her maxed out karma did the same for the other half. A powerful connection like that would mean the spark and the subsequent Divinities would grant more power to her than they might some random other person. It was indeed the perfect spark for her. Which begged the question. "Why?"

“I already told you. You have a role to play in this charade. And that role doesn’t coincide with the Divinity of Mercy. Even in the way you interpret the concept. I’m also a slave to my role, and getting you to play your role is one of the things my role entails. That’s why I named you Ynnead as well. You don’t need to assume the role of the previous Ynnead of course. Thanatos and Hel would be quite vexed if you contested their claim to the Divinity. Like I also already said, I didn’t give you anything you haven’t already earned. I only held on to the spark so that someone else wouldn’t try and claim it. Now go. We both have much to do.” The man commanded.

Karna looked for a moment at the illusory image before grabbing the small chest and leaving. It was clear that she would not be getting anything more out of this person. As she left, the powerful being finally spoke to the illusory image. “Your majesty, will she use the spark?” The masculine voice asked.

“That’s a good question. From what I know of her, no. She dislikes being used and playing to the tune of others. Even a no-strings-attached gift from someone who frankly admitted to wanting to use her will be scrutinized. Interestingly, now that she has the perfect spark for her, she won’t bother going after other sparks, even if she doesn’t use that one. Why bother when you already have the perfect one? She’s the type that would rise to the apex without a scrap of Divinity, just to defy everyone and show that it can be done. Whether she chooses to use it or not is largely irrelevant. The important thing is that I’ve set things in motion.” The man said a little cryptically.

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As if in defiance of the man’s expectations, Karna had wasted no time in absorbing the spark. She’d of course first confirmed that the spark was exactly what the man had said it to be and had checked it for traps and any hidden curses, but once she was sure it was safe, she’d immediately absorbed it. The spark had eagerly jumped inside her and settled inside her core.

"You're much too young to play games with me," Karna muttered with a small smile. She had realized immediately the same thing the man had explained to the guard earlier. If she didn't absorb this spark, then she wouldn't absorb any. So why wait? The man was clearly trying to use her and push her in a direction he wanted, but unlike in the past, she no longer had to abide by such wishes. If she had enough power, she didn’t need to care what kind of games others tried to play. And this spark would go a long way to helping her gain that power. She didn’t consider herself owing anything to the man, likely the emperor, either because just like he had said, this spark was rightfully hers.

Divinity was a complicated thing. It could be many things. It could make you stronger, it could give you new powers, and it could help you become a god. At the end of the day, it was a power multiplier. It made strong mages even stronger, fast warriors even faster, and depending on the divinity, could by itself make you extremely powerful, although that usually required believers in your divinity. On the other hand, it also placed certain limitations on you. You had to act according to your divinity. A god of peace couldn’t be warlike, and a god of justice couldn’t be unjust.

That's why it was important to get a spark that suited both your abilities and nature. It was also why these particular concepts were so well suited for her. She suited the conditions they imposed just by existing. They didn't really impose behavioral limits on her, and instead required her to possess certain qualities instead. That didn't mean that there would not be any behavioral limits in the future in case her divinity developed into godhood, but as the man had said, she had plenty of choices in what sort of god she wanted to be, if she even chose to become one. Being the God of Death, for example, had very few limits. She could also somewhat mold the divinity around her own ideas, just like she'd done when she had been the Goddess of Mercy.

As the spark found its place inside her, she started to feel the difference immediately. As a godling, she was slightly divine from the beginning, but her cultivation was supposed to work with a spark from the beginning. It had been a very incomplete divinity until now, and it still was, but she could already feel it was much easier to use the divine power that filled the plane. And she had only just begun integrating the spark. Her affinity with the spark was so high though, that she could tell she was already at least 10% stronger just by possessing the spark.

She was pulled out of her contemplation as she entered the room with the rest of her team. “What just happened Wrath?” Envy asked excitedly.

“What do you mean?” Karna asked, though she could feel a difference immediately. She had not been the only one to gain a spark.

“Sparks of Divinity just suddenly appeared for all of us.” Valor explained curtly.

"All of you?" Karna confirmed and got nods in return. They had been expecting to gain sparks before this, as their affinities with certain concepts were so strong. And as reincarnators, they knew how to attract one. It had been a little odd that none of them had succeeded until now. “It seems someone was preventing the sparks from being created for us. No longer though.” She explained. Only the Emperor had the authority to do something like this. Well, the emperor and the mysterious figure behind everything.

Envy’s eyes narrowed. “Someone was preventing the sparks? Who cou- oh. Ohh! I see. And I see you got one too. What kind?”

“Soul and Karma.” Karna smiled wryly.

“Of course.” Envy muttered loud enough for everyone to hear.

“I got Hope and Life, Valor got Courage and Leadership, and Wisdom got his namesake as well.” Hope summarized. “Kensei got Space and Battle, and Envy refuses to tell us.”

“None of your business!” Envy exclaimed, a little embarrassed.

“Come on. It can’t be that bad.” Wisdom prodded her verbally. The man was just curious by nature.

"Shut it bookworm!" Envy made a rather uninspired jibe back. Apparently, this little argument had been going on for several minutes.

“Moving on, have we heard anything of our new teammates?” Karna moved things right along. If Envy wanted to keep hers a secret, then she certainly wasn’t going to push. “We were supposed to hear about them before we left.”

“Yes. We got word just after you were taken away. Arjuna and the others will meet us at the destination. They’re being moved there directly instead of wasting time moving back and forth. Apparently, they assigned us some people already near the front. Probably thought someone with battle experience against the Netherworld would be necessary.” Valor responded. He’d become the de facto official communication point between the team and the Host, likely because he was the most stable of them all.

“Yes, because none of us has experience fighting the undead.” Envy scoffed.

"As far as they know, that's true. Although we could've gotten a lot of experience before Ascending, I don't think they consider that real experience. As for any other experience…they don’t know about that.” Valor countered briefly. “Strategically it makes sense to mix experienced soldiers with the newbies to help institutional knowledge to be passed along.”

"Besides, it would be a bit wrong to think of the Netherworld as simply undead," Karna added. "Yes, the undead do make up the majority of their lower ranking forces, but if you're expecting their higher ranking forces to be shuffling corpses, then you'll be in for a rude awakening."

“You sound like you have a fair bit of knowledge about them.” Hope pointed out.

"It also sounds like you have a special hatred for them." Envy pointed out. Without even knowing, Karna's tone had turned sour when she had spoken of the Netherworld.

“I do. Both. For the latter, I might tell you at some point, as for the former, I have lived here before if you recall. And while many things change, the Netherworld remains largely the same. They might learn new tricks, but the core is the same.”

"I know some of the main points, but I'd still like to have my knowledge confirmed." Wisdom requested. “General information about the Scourges is easily available, but practical experience is practical experience.”

“Well, the first main point I already mentioned. The true legions of the Netherworld aren’t simple undead. The necromancers and liches might raise all the dead of their enemies to work as cannon fodder, but the true legions are closer to constructs animated by the energy of death than what would normally be considered undead in other universes. They do share some similarities in that they are almost impossible to beat in a battle of attrition, as they will just keep getting up as long as the leaders are around. They also never get tired or need to eat. The only thing they need is the negative energy that sustains them, which radiates out from the leaders and heals all their wounds given a bit of time. They also become stronger the more negative energy there is, and the more they kill, the more these beings can evolve into higher forms." Karna explained.

She tapped her chin for a moment. “Their types are numerous, but they can be divided into roughly five general types depending on the vessel the energy inhabits. The first type is the standard undead, which means shambling corpses. While they are common in the lower planes, don’t expect to get off so easy here. The next type are the wraiths and ghosts that are just ethereal clumps of negative energy without a body to inhabit. Then there are the abominations, which are twisted forms of flesh brought together and molded by the negative energy. Do note that flesh in this case can be vegetation as well. The fourth type is the one you'll see most often, which are bodies made of a sort of living metal. They roughly resemble skeletons, but these warriors are much tougher and more intelligent. The last type are actual constructs of metal and stone that resemble moving statues. In all cases, the higher the concentration of negative energy, the more powerful the being, and usually their form reflects that.

“The Netherworld is divided into dynasties, led by Phaerons. Most commonly the Phaerons are the metal soldier type, or at least they used to be, but they could be any of the other types as well. All dynasties at least used to have all types of beings in their ranks, but a dynasty led by a construct, for example, usually has a larger concentration of constructs when compared to other dynasties.” Karna finished her brief explanation.

“Who makes these metal soldiers and constructs? I can sort of understand naturally occurring undead as I’ve seen them in other universes, but these two types sound purposefully created.” Hope asked.

“The Dynasties of course. They make more in the Netherworld. And before you ask, I don’t know where the first ones came from. They pre-date even my first life.” Karna shrugged.

“Doesn’t much matter. They will die just the same to overwhelming power. Just aim for the leaders by the sound of it.” Envy summarized.

"Essentially yes, though they of course have developed defenses against such an obvious weakness. You'll find out soon enough." Karna grinned.