The Healing Solaris Cleric-Chapter 424: Rule Breaker (1)

Kai quickly came to his senses. He calmed his pounding heart and cooled his head.

After clearing his throat, he slowly asked, “Are you saying you will grant me your divinity, God of Insight?”

“That’s right,” Eos nodded.

At that, Kai quickly ran calculations in his mind and cautiously asked, “Before I answer, I would like to ask a few questions.”

“Ask as much as you wish.”

“Currently, you are a dragon. Doesn’t that mean your divinity was stolen...?”

“Hmm. I think I understand your concern.” Eos heavily groaned. “How should I explain this... Ah, right. In the world of humans, noble families manage something called a family register, don’t they?”

“They do.”

A family register was a book organized to clearly show the lineage and blood relations of a noble family. It was a convenient book that confirmed whether a person had roots in that family or not. Because of that, a noble family’s register was far more valuable than any treasure, and there were merchants who paid huge sums to obtain registers of fallen noble families.

“Even fallen noble families still have registers, and those registers hold great value.”

“To be from a noble family is certainly a great merit in this world.”

“The same goes for divinity. Even if I can no longer use holy power, I can still pass on my conviction and divinity. Just like writing a child’s name into the family register, I simply need to designate you as my successor.”

“Divinity can be gained that easily...?”

When Kai asked with a doubtful look, Eos sighed softly. “To be honest, that’s not the whole story.”

“Please explain in detail.”

“Hmm, I’m not sure if you know, but the concept of ‘two’ is vague in this world. There is only one sun, one moon. Morning, noon, and night are each singular as well.”

When Kai tilted his head in confusion, Eos explained more simply, “Only after I designate you as my successor and naturally vanish will the divinity be passed on.”

In short, he was saying he would offer his own life to pass the divinity to Kai.

At this, Kai’s expression hardened. “You mean you intend to end your own life.”

“There’s no need to take it so sorrowfully.”

Eos smiled bitterly. Then he looked at his two hands resting on the table.

“Kai, do you know how many gods exist in this world?”

“I’m not sure...”

He had seen more than seventy gods at the banquet, but it was said they weren’t all the residents of the heavens.

“333,” Eos said. “The Supreme God created the gods of light and darkness at the beginning, then made 331 more gods and assigned each a role.”

“Hmm. 333... Wait, then...” Kai looked at Eos.

Catching the meaning in that gaze, Eos nodded. “If you exclude the 42 gods who were exiled with me, there would be 290. However... that’s not all.”

“You mean there are more?”

“Quite the opposite.”

Kai tilted his head again. “You mean there are fewer gods than that?”

“That’s right.” Eos spoke gently, like a grandfather telling a story to his grandchild. “This world is becoming more complete as time passes. The reason the Supreme God created gods in the first place was because this world needed administrators. But the more complete the world becomes, the less necessary the gods become.”

“But despite that, the influence of the Solarian Church is overwhelmingly strong...”

“That’s right. However, only the power of the Solarian Church is strong.”

Kai’s expression turned as if he had been struck on the back of the head with a hammer.

“How many types of temples do you think exist on this land now?”

“Uh... maybe forty, no, around fifty...?” Kai answered in an unsure voice.

“Twenty-one.”

Twenty-one gods. That was the number of gods worshipped by all humans, demi-humans, and monsters on this land.

“I realized this ten thousand years ago. At that time there were no temples, but all beings in the middle realm each held a god in their hearts. There were tribes who worshipped rain, tribes who worshipped lightning. Some believed in the wind, and others honored the stones rolling on the ground.”

“Animism...”

That had certainly been the case on Earth as well. In the past, all sorts of objects were worshipped, but few religions remained now.

“Eventually only two or three temples will likely remain on this land.” Eos said as calmly as he could, “That too must be the will of the Supreme God. So I have no more regrets about my life...”

Then he shook his head. “I take that back. Muldine. Getting revenge on that one. That is my only remaining regret.”

“Shouldn’t you take that revenge yourself?”

“That is impossible in my case,” Eos smiled bitterly. “In my past life I was just a low-tier god. It’s impossible for me to face Muldine, a top-tier god. And now that I’ve become a dragon, returning to the Heavenly Realm is nearly impossible.”

“Even something you can’t do... What is it about me that makes you want to give me your divinity?” Kai asked with a tilted head.

“Do you not see it yourself?" Eos asked, his eyes amused. "The power you possess is nearly beyond the limits of your species. If you acquire a proper divine rank... then a match with Muldine might be possible.”

“Nearly beyond the limits of my species...?”

“If you, who possesses such power, were to obtain my divinity, even if it is just a low-tier, wouldn’t that slightly increase your chances of standing against Muldine?”

In the end, even obtaining Eos’s divinity didn’t guarantee everything would go smoothly.

“So even if I gain your divinity, you’re not certain that my power would work against Muldine, right?”

Eos nodded at Kai’s rather heavy question. “That is correct. But the increase in possibility is undeniable.”

That made sense. The gap between a human and top-tier god would be greater than between a low-tier god and high-tier god.

But would that really be enough...?

Eos had already lost to Muldine once, and it had been a humiliating defeat where he was unable to even lift a finger.

It really was a true difference in rank.

Even if he obtained a low-tier divinity, could he really stand against Muldine? Still doubtful, Kai asked an additional question.

“I’m currently affiliated with the Solarian Church. If I inherit your divinity, what happens with that part?”

“Hmm, unfortunately, your ties with the Solarian Church would be severed.”

After hearing the answer, Kai remained silent and fell into deep thought. Eos also didn’t rush him and waited patiently. After a moment, Kai slowly bowed his head.

“I’m sorry. Please consider the matter of divinity as if it never happened.”

Eos stared in shock, clearly unable to understand

“You... This is a chance to receive divinity. You could become a resident of the heavens. Ah, of course, as an adventurer you wouldn’t be able to use the power of insight but...”

The power of insight meant the ability to see through all things.

NPCs might be able to use it, but players cannot.

This was a game. Even if a player obtained a rare ability, reading another’s inner thoughts or seeing truths that couldn’t be known before was nearly impossible.

If it were the divinity of the God of Strength or Knowledge, at least my stats would greatly increase.

It was unfortunate that it wasn’t one of those.

“Judging by your face, your decision seems firm...” Eos said with a slightly disappointed voice and asked, “Then how exactly do you plan to get revenge on Muldine? It would be impossible for a human.”

“In fact, that’s the very reason I came to see you.”

“To see me?”

“Yes. I already knew that dragons were beings exiled from the heavens. So I wondered how that was even possible. That was what I wanted to know.”

“I see... So you mean to use Muldine’s method against him?” Eos smirked in admiration.

“Yes. Do you remember?”

“Of course I do. It was so simple it left me speechless.”

At the same time, a massive amount of mana began to resonate in the air. Eos had decided to summon his full power.

This is the power of the Dragon Lord...!

It wasn’t quite on Angol Moa’s level, but overwhelming enough to be a catastrophe for an average player. Kai narrowed his eyes and looked at him, but Eos didn’t seem to have any intention of threatening him.

“This is it. The reason I and my kin fell from the heavens.”

“This... But this is just mana... huh?!”

Kai's jaw dropped as he stared at Eos with shocked eyes, at the same time, a sentence flashed through his mind.

[Holy power is a sacred force that exists in perfect isolation. Holy power is the very conviction of its bearer. Under no circumstance will it be altered...]

[In other words, if conviction becomes distorted, then the divine... its nature...]

That was a phrase from a torn papyrus, but it somehow felt like the puzzle pieces clicked perfectly into place.

Right... Not even Muldine could forcibly change someone else’s conviction.

However, in this world, the formula conviction = holy power held true, which meant...

Even if conviction cannot be changed...

Kai stared intently through the mana resonating before his eyes.

It should still be possible to contaminate holy power.

The reason the gods of the heavens lost their ranks and fell.

“It was because mana was infused into a body where only holy power should have existed.”

“That’s right. The moment mana penetrated my body, I felt something within me begin to distort.”

“My condolences,” Kai offered his sympathy with sincerity.

Eos lightly waved his hand. “It’s fine. Anyway, what do you think? Do you think this method can work?”

“Yes. I believe it can.”

“I see.”

When Kai showed his confidence, Eos revealed a spark of interest. “If you don’t mind, may I observe you for a moment?”

“Gladly.”

Once permission was given, Eos stared deeply at Kai. After a short moment, he let out a cry of admiration.

“As expected!”

“How was it? What did you see in my future?”

“This can work. I’m certain it can! But what happens after that is the problem.”

“What do you mean by that?” Kai tilted his head.

“I can’t see what happens to Muldine afterward.”

“Won’t he be stripped of his divinity and exiled from the heavens like you were?”

“You must not think of him as being on the same level as me,” Eos shook his head. “He is a top-tier god. Depending on the situation, he even has the authority to alter the laws of the heavens themselves. He might even withstand the intrusion of foreign energy.”

“Hmm. That would be troublesome.”

“But don’t worry too much,” Eos said with a smile.

When Kai asked why, he simply laughed and said one thing, “If I say anything now, I fear the future will become distorted, so I cannot speak. But truly, don’t worry. You will do well.”

He didn’t know the reason, but Kai could feel that Eos’s trust in him had suddenly risen.