"How dare you use words against me?" Aerialia asked, her eyes staring at Orion furiously.
Orion stared at Aerialia with a smile.
"Yes, I dare. What are you going to do about it? It's not my fault that you were tricked despite being an acclaimed goddess," Orion responded.
Aerialia felt her blood boil as she listened to Orion's words. Her whole body trembled uncontrollably, so it was extremely difficult to utter a complete sentence properly.
"How dare you…" Aerialia began.
However, she was quickly interrupted by Orion once more.
"Oh, and I don't plan on killing myself. I've already deduced that this mark connects me and the crimson greatsword. So, I plan on using the Vylkr energy, whose nature is to consume, to try and see if it could get rid of the mark or sever our connection before it tries to kill me," Orion said as he sat upright and stared at Aerialia.
"That is what you are betting hopes on?" Aerialia asked with a stunned expression.
Orion nodded in response.
"This…" Aerialia said, trying her best to understand what was currently going on in Orion's mind.
Orion closed his eyes and went into Vylkr warrior mode again, shrouding his whole figure with an aura of inky black threads.
Although the effect on his body wasn't as severe as before due to the Divine Lake Essence, the Vylkr energy retained the same essence, consuming all life around him.
Witnessing this sight, Aerialia stared for a moment, slightly dazed, that he was willing to go through with such a stupid plan, all because she had refused to give him the piece of information that he wanted.
This was beyond recklessness!
After a minute, Orion's condition soon showed signs of edging towards the situation that he was in previously. As Aerialia noticed this, she could no longer hold back any longer.
So, it was at this moment...
SWISSHH!
Aerialia flew towards the Princess of the Garden's body and immediately disappeared into it, partly taking control over her body. Without hesitation, a burst of beautiful incorporeal two large wings emerged from her back, increasing her speed several times more as they grabbed Orion and dragged him towards the Divine Lake Essence, instantly plunging their bodies into it.
Orion opened his eyes as he felt a thick, soothing liquid around him. However, he was also met with the Princess of the Garden's enraged stare.
Orion turned his eyes towards the two large incorporeal wings behind her and immediately understood that Aerialia had possessed the Princess of the Garden's body.
However, his thoughts were abruptly interrupted as the Princess of the Garden suddenly grabbed him and pulled him back to the surface.
Once his back gently touched the ground, Orion watched as she stared at him with a scowl and frustration etched deeply on her expression.
However, her grip suddenly loosened. She pulled back and hovered in the air near Orion, "What is it that you want to know about?" the Princess of the Garden asked, her voice sounding like a mixed vibration of two voices that resounded deeply in the air.
Orion could feel two different emotions coming from both sides of her eyes. "Well, you can start by first telling me what the white flame in my body is," Orion responded.
He winced in pain as he slowly straightened himself to sit back up.
He was beginning to feel the aftereffects of using the Vylkr warrior mode twice.
A sigh escaped her lips as she slowly descended. Once her feet touched the ground, she immediately released herself from the Princess of the Garden's body and stared at Orion.
"First, you have to swear that you'll never share the information I'm about to share with you with anyone else, not even a god," Aerialia responded seriously.
"I swear not to share this information with anyone else, not even with a god," Orion responded abruptly, without hesitation.
"Can you even be a little bit serious?" Aerialia said, her brows twitching.
However, seeing the serious expression on Orion's face, she sighed, not saying anything as she nodded at him before shifting her gaze towards the Princess of the Garden.
The Princess of the Garden furrowed her brows, noticing Aerialia's gaze. 'I'm you, aren't I? Besides, what will I gain from telling others about such information?' she thought.
Nonetheless, seeing as Orion and Aerialia both awaited her response, the Princess of the Garden sighed deeply and responded, "I also swear not to share this information with anyone else, not even with a god."
Aerialia nodded in satisfaction. She then explained, "The wisp of White Flame in your body is remnant energy from White Flame's ascension into becoming a true god. I guess he might have triggered the 'Divine mysteries' and attempted to transcend to become a true god; however, he failed, rendering his body into what you see today."
"So you are saying that the reason his body is covered his body with White Flame, and also in the same state that he is currently in, was because he had somehow failed to transcend to a true god after triggering the 'Divine mysteries'," Orion replied.
"Yes," Aerialia nodded in response.
Orion furrowed his brows, asking, "What are the 'Divine mysteries?"
Aerialia had already been expecting Orion to ask such a question, so she only released a sigh, "Do you remember what the Aegis of the Arctic Deity had told you before?" Aerialia asked.
Orion abruptly nodded in response. If he remembered vividly, Aegis of the Arctic Deity had explained how the Divine Mysteries were an unconscious plane of existence and non-existence from which the gods drew their power.
"For you to properly understand what I'm about to say, I'll first need to explain the beginning and how everything came to be," Aerialia explained. "In the beginning, the birth of primordial energy gave birth to the first heavens and universe. While the heavens were already full of life, the first universe was lifeless, devoid of anything except darkness. As you've already guessed, we gods occupied the heavens, and we observed everything below it."
