"And now," the dying god shifted his gaze toward the enemy goddess, his eyes narrowing as they blazed with boundless wrath. His tone remained eerily calm, yet Eren could sense the seething anger emanating from the dying god.
"Would you mind giving me some space?"
The enemy goddess grew alert as the dying god's wrathful gaze locked onto her. Instinctively, she took a few steps back, seemingly vanishing into thin air. In the blink of an eye, a cataclysmic elemental attack erupted from her previous location. It manifested as an Elemental Fusion, an amalgamation of various elements condensed into a tiny sphere no larger than a quail's egg.
Yet, the gravitational pull it exuded was unimaginably strong. Eren could sense that this minuscule sphere held the weight of a mini star, perhaps even equal to the entire mass of the world it originated from. The moment this devastating attack came into being, the very fabric of space surrounding it contorted and the ambient light distorted, as if the world itself teetered on the brink of annihilation.
There was something profoundly different about the way the dying god had unleashed this attack. With sheer intent alone, he had conjured a force capable of obliterating the world without directly wielding his already sealed powers. It was as if the forces of nature conspired to create this cataclysmic assault on his behalf.
The enemy goddess stared at the dying god with a mixture of anger, shock, and fear. She couldn't fathom how he retained such incredible power even as he stood on the precipice of death.
She had shattered his Divinity and distributed fragments of it among her allies, granting them a share of his formidable abilities. As she observed the dying god, she was once again reminded of why he was hailed as the Darling of the Elements.
"Let me clarify," the dying god remarked, an amused expression crossing his features. "I created that attack just to keep you at bay. I have no desire to be in your company during my final moments."
Spatial rifts tore open, and several entities emerged from them. One by one, the allies of the enemy goddess appeared behind her. It was evident that she had sent some form of distress signal to summon them.
"Hmm, so these are the instruments to whom you've imparted my Divinity?" the dying god observed the figures materializing behind the enemy goddess. They were all concealed in their appearances and enveloped in divine auras. Flames cloaked one of them, while another was shrouded in the elemental essence of water.
***
The divinity of the dying god stood as the most profound among the ancient deities, granting him unparalleled mastery over all the elements of the world. His dominion over nature's elements was absolute, a power so vast that it allowed him to stand beside his "Mother," despite not sharing her Divine Status. He had even managed to become the Demon Emperor with his grand Divinity alone.
No single god or goddess could harness his divinity to its fullest potential. By shattering his divinity and distributing its fragments among her allies, the enemy goddess had secured a significant advantage. She had summoned her allies to this confrontation, intending to thwart the dying god's actions with their newly acquired divine prowess.
"Hah! Just drop dead already. No need to pretend that you're as mighty as you once were," the enemy goddess spat out her curses while locking her gaze on the dying god. Her intent was clear: she would not leave until she was certain her foe was truly vanquished.
Yet… despite her bold and provoking words, it was evident that she harbored fear of him.
***
The allies of the enemy goddess stood behind her, their expressions vigilant. They could sense that the divinity they had recently assimilated could be reclaimed by the dying god with but a thought. However, the dying god himself recognized that retrieving his divinity from them would be a futile endeavor.
His impending demise was inevitable, and his divinity was destined to scatter anyway. "I'll allow you to hold onto those for now," the dying god declared with a composed demeanor. "My rightful heir will come to reclaim what you have stolen from me," he added.
At this juncture, only the head and neck of the dying god remained, the rest of his body having dissolved into nothingness. The head flew in the air and reached for the broken sky, drawing the gazes of the dying god's enemies and allies on him.
Despite his diminished state, he continued to manipulate the very fabric of the cause and effect spread across the boundless cosmos with his thoughts alone. A runic circle, spanning entire worlds, materialized as the dying god staked the remnants of his being to establish the criteria for his future heirs.
"I hope that my true successor will wield my Sins with absolute mastery," the dying god spoke casually, as if he were engaging in conversation with the cosmos itself, treating it as one of his close friends.
"I prefer an heir who is the opposite of me and yet similar in some ways. One who places self-interest above all. Someone capable of wielding my powers with a clear conscience, unburdened by the labels of 'evil' or 'heartless,' no matter how many deities and their followers they may vanquish. I desire an heir who will shake the very foundations of the Godly Realm," he concluded, his voice brimming with confidence and serenity.
The dying god's criteria were more like guiding lights for the whole of cosmos to select his heir for him. Since he had met his end despite doing the good deeds, he wanted his inheritor to be completely different from him. All so that they would not be schemed against by the other gods just like what had happened to him. The dying god had not harbored any intentions to harm anyone and yet he had still suffered. So he wanted his heir to choose a completely different path from him.
***
"My liege!"
At this pivotal moment, another deity-like entity materialized, just as the dying god's form teetered on the brink of dissolution. She appeared next to Alephee, her voice laced with desperation and on the verge of tears. Following her arrival, a wisp of demonic flame, having assumed the form of a fly, materialized beside the dying god.
The female goddess who joined Alephee possessed an appearance vastly distinct from that of a human. She featured an alluring visage and a well-proportioned, feminine figure. With voluminous, waist-length hair that melded shades of black and blue, she bore an arresting presence.
Her dark blue skin and two prominent horns adorning her head were defining characteristics. Her red-golden eyes radiated a brilliant luminance, akin to twin stars. Her aura exuded the essence of a primordial monster queen, capable of devastating continents with a mere flick of her fingers.
The human-sized demonic fly that appeared beside this monstrous queen-like entity did not utter words. Nevertheless, its sorrowful demeanor upon witnessing the dying god's current condition mirrored the sentiments of the other allies.
"Echidna, you came!" The dying god greeted the horned goddess with a smile. She had come to meet him, despite the injuries she had sustained at the hands of the enemy goddess.
***
Echidna was the chief goddess of all the monster gods. She had been leading the monster gods' pantheon with her absolute might ever since she was birthed into existence by the dying god.
Echidna shared a very close relationship with the dying god. She had been created with the dying god's drop of blood as well. But after she inherited the bloodline of the Elder Ichor from him, the Elder Ichor had mutated to match her Divinity.
If the White Raven's Existential Concept was not created, she would have eventually died as well. The divine curse cast by the enemy goddess was that powerful. The monster gods' pantheon would have lost their leader if that had happened. The White Raven had basically become the anchor which supported the existence of all those who were related to the Elder Ichor in some way.
The horned goddess and the demonic fly were taken aback by the dying god's smile and his interaction with them. They swiftly surmised that, somehow, against the odds imposed by the Seven Planes of Sins he had created, the dying god had managed to rekindle his emotions.
The dying god conversed with his allies for a while before his entire existence was dissolved into nothingness. During that time, his allies decided to do something to help his inheritors as well.
Alephee decided to split herself into seven parts. She had already harmed her Divinity earlier in order to secure the dying god's Echo. So after splitting herself, most of her divine powers were sealed before the seven fragments of her disappeared into seven different directions across the boundless cosmos.
The mighty demonic fly decided to interfere with the cause and effect fabric too. But this was not something he could do on the fly. Instead, he needed to harness more souls for himself and spread the influence of the Sin of Gluttony to more worlds. All so that he could finally be able to meet with the true Inheritor of the Elder Ichor.
The omnipotent being who was referred to as the dying god's mother gave a boon to the dying god's future inheritor as well, granting the heirs an affinity with the World Wills of the worlds they were born in. As long as the inheritors proved themselves worthy of inheriting the dying god's throne, this boon would show its effects in some way or form. She wasn't interfering with the boundless cosmos or the fabric of the cause and effect. Not really. Instead, she was helping the dying god pass some of his traits to his future inheritors.
The enemy goddess didn't stay silent as well. She disappeared from the world after confirming the dying god had truly died, taking a momentary breath of relief from the fact that the biggest threat to her existence was gone. However, she knew that she couldn't stay put. She was bound to slumber once the repercussions of her deeds started to weigh down on her. Before that happened, she needed to make some preparations.
The enemy goddess decided to split herself as well. She decided to invade various worlds using her incarnations in order to suppress and get rid of the potential true inheritors of the Elder Ichor. She had decided to take care of these potential enemies before they even had a chance to grow.
The enemy goddess also told her allies to be on the lookout. They were supposed to hunt down all the Elder Seeds they could find before they managed to claim the dying god's throne. They were told to use Prophets and gather the clues regarding these Elder Seeds.
One had to say that the enemy goddess was cruel and cunning. These aspects of her had allowed her to score a victory against the dying god despite the difference in the Divine Status they shared. This was why the dying god wanted someone to be his heir who could deal with the enemy goddess using her own ways. Someone who could surpass her when it came to cruelty and cunning.
***
Eren observed the dying god's final moments with an impartial gaze. In his mind, numerous connections were forming as he processed the dying god's memories. It became evident that the curses and blessings bestowed upon the dying god's future inheritors by both his enemies and allies had played a significant role in his life.
However, Eren understood that this wasn't the mere work of fate or destiny that had brought him to this juncture. Instead, it was the culmination of his own choices and actions that had unintentionally molded him into the true inheritor of the Elder Ichor.
The formidable guests that had once graced the dying world eventually vanished without a trace. The sky above this realm had been torn asunder, and the very ground beneath had fractured, creating colossal rifts. Before long, the world, teetering on the edge of destruction, succumbed to its inevitable fate.
