novelCelestial Hall
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Celestial Hall
"The Celestial Hall, once ruled by the Overgod, was where all conflicts would end. It was known as the palace of a thousand gods, a place where all the deities would meet and discuss issues with other gods before presenting their case to the Overgod for judgement. The god in question would then be promoted or removed. Under the radiance of the Overgod, the many smaller worlds in the World of Gods had been operating smoothly.
However, the Overgod has now fallen into a slumber now. This place has lost its original purpose and prestige, instead turning into a place for gods to converse."
Umberlee seemed to be reminiscing about the past.
"The gods are now divided into different camps, each taking up laborious schemes and plots as they wildly amass wealth and power. They eye the seat of the Overgod." Her voice grew fainter the more she spoke, and became ever more distant.
The doors of the Celestial Hall seemed to buzz with the hymns of the gods and the law of spacetime. Umberlee motioned like she was unlocking them when she arrived, and they sensed her and opened up.
Holy light radiated out of the Celestial Hall in an instant, shining brightly with the dignity that came with power.
'The World Will of the World of Gods, their Overgod... So it's been sleeping within the Celestial Hall... ' Leylin immediately recognised this aura, it was similar to the one he'd experienced back in the Magus World.
It was like the Overgod was the entirety of the World of Gods. Even if he'd only come into contact with the World Will of the Magus World and that too when it was in deep slumber, he couldn't be wrong about this. Leylin seemed to feel an affinity to the World Will, wanting to submit himself to it.
'It really is an overgod, so frightening in spite of being deep asleep. If not for that baptism I experienced in my transmigration, and my essence being that of a Magus, this influence would've been even greater... '
"Pass the doors, and the Celestial Hall will affirm your position as a deity."
Umberlee entered the hall first, and when Leylin went in he felt numerous piercing gazes on his body. The gazes of the divine beings within contained hostility, hatred, curiosity, apathy, and a myriad of other emotions. The gazes of the greater gods in particular could even annihilate someone with legendary might instantly.
However, Leylin was one of them now, and he was only here with his avatar. He had nothing to fear. Thus, he entered the Celestial Hall with extremely light footsteps.
*Boom!* At this instant, a will that that carried the changes of time peered into his soul. If not for him being reborn once into the World of Gods, his identity would have been exposed. Even then, Leylin had to frantically protect his secrets, the A. I. Chip's light flashing continuously in his eyes.
'A final confirmation of my identity, huh? So strong... ' Leylin smirked deep down, but he put on an expression of comfort. The Celestial Hall rumbled as a new divine pedestal rose from the ground. Leylin had passed the inspection, confirmed to be native to the World of Gods before he ascended.
Only after the terrifying inspection was over did Leylin look around the Celestial Hall in peace. Powerful energy waves were radiating from the pedestals with golden seats on them, carrying an imprint of origin force. Leylin could tell the identities of each with just a glance.
Greater gods, intermediate gods, lesser gods... Good gods, neutral gods, the wicked and the chaotic... The seats were arranged irregularly, but it was a picturesque sight that seemed to hold some order to it. The greater gods held the seats up front, their pedestals more than tenfold as large as those of the lesser gods. As well, the gods of the same alignment were seated together.
As a mere lesser god, Leylin's pedestal rose up at the back of those with the evil alignment. Umberlee's own seat was a fair distance away, close to those of the chaotic alignment as well. Her strength as an intermediate god radiated out, pushing the seats of lesser gods away from her.
She sent Leylin a message just as he took his seat."You can see the laws the Overgod set up here. Even the greater gods cannot do anything about it... Also, we usually leave an avatar in this place to make it easy to contact each other."
Leylin nodded in understanding. He shot a casual glance at Tyr and Mystra in the good and neutral camps, their gazes upon him carrying great hostility.
Of course, Leylin wasn't afraid at all. After all, the Overgod itself had set up the laws in this place, and even if an avatar died it was no big deal.
'So the Celestial Hall lost its original purpose once the Overgod entered its slumber, turning into a place for conversation and arguments, huh?' Leylin stroked his chin, as he felt the obvious glances of the gods around him.
Most of the gods in the evil alignment looked at him gleefully, as if they were dying to know what would become of Leylin after facing the wrath of two greater gods. It was basic instinct for them to plot and scheme against each other, and they were giving Leylin some respect by not participating in the battle. It was extremely normal for them to look at him in schadenfreude.
There was a gaze of fear amongst the many that contained mockery, and it was especially familiar to Leylin. He turned to the source of this gaze, finding the avatar of Kurtulmak the Kobold God. His divine radiance seemed rather dim, likely the after-effects of having to move his divine kingdom.
With both of them in the same camp, Kurtulmak was seated close to Leylin. However, his seat was behind Leylin's own, seemingly because his divine rank was lower than his.
Leylin smiled as he met the respectful and fawning gaze of this Kobold God, but deep down he was contemptuous. The Kobold God was now scared of his prowess, but if there was a day that Leylin met his demise, this god would be the first to jump out manically and rip off a huge chunk of flesh from his body.
However, Leylin would never give him this chance. Kurtulmak was destined to live under his shadow his entire life.
With fights banned and only avatars present, the atmosphere in the Celestial Hall was extremely relaxed. There were even many gods conversing in groups at the corners of the hall.
"It is indeed a good place to talk..." Leylin's gaze swept past the gods, and he immediately noticed the centre of the hall. A massive throne was erected in that place, to be used by the leader of the gods. It seemed to unify all the deities, as if it was the core of the world.
Leylin's astuteness told him that a powerful being was currently deep in slumber on that throne. The radiation of laws from the place was evident, similar to what happened in the Magus World. There was a layer of origin force crystals sealed around the throne of the Overgod, forming a mountain of origin force.
'This is... world crystal!' Leylin immediately recognised this crystal. However, it seemed even more useful than in Shar's case, able to protect and not just seal. The throne was sealed within the world crystal, and the Overgod was within, deep in slumber.
World crystals were tens of thousands of times more powerful than origin force, and even the greater gods would not be able to break it apart even if they joined forces. It was this layer of protection that allowed the Overgod to unify the gods, and remain safe up to this day.
'However... ' Leylin looked at the seats of the greater gods in front, his face filled with ridicule, 'The World Will obviously sealed itself to protect itself from these greater gods... It seems like it already detected that it was at a disadvantage when it entered its sleep... '
This was a matter of course. Now that the greater gods stood at the apex of the World of Gods, a few would definitely want to take that last step to become the new Overgod. This desire would only be amplified by the World Will's current slumber. The only reasons the Overgod had survived to this day were that the world crystal was protecting it, and the greater gods were being suppressed by each other.
'In fact, the World Wills of the World of Gods and Magus World were the most powerful in the Final War. Looking at the setup here, it seems like the World Wills were either completely in the realm of rank 9 or quite nearby, incomparably close to immortality... '
Even with his divine gaze Leylin could only see a shroud of light within the world crystal, unable to view the original appearance of the Overgod. The laws around the crystal seemed to be greatly beneficial to all deities, so they would leave their avatars here.
It was just like Magi observing the laws in the origin force sea. The affinity the gods had for origin force would increase in the Celestial Hall, making it easier for them to generate more divine force.
Leylin saw several avatars sitting quietly in the area, some even turned to stone. They were apparently in the middle of comprehending some laws, and were possibly only a step away from ranking up.
'I should think of a way to launch a devastating attack on it before the Final War commences... ' Leylin looked at the overgod's royal seat, his eyes seemingly filled with reverence. Even greater gods who excelled in prophecies would never discover his true intentions.
'I should probably use the ambitions of these greater gods. It won't be such a bad idea... ' Leylin's thoughts were as fast as lightning, and he immediately came up with a plan that was likely to succeed.
The greater gods wanted the throne for themselves, so he could just fan the flames at the side and reap the greatest benefits with minimum effort. Pitting the gods against each other before the Final War was the best way to wear them down.
'No matter how high and mighty you are, when the overgod returns, what will you guys become? One that does not become eternal is just an ant... ' Leylin's eyes held a chilly apathy as his gaze swept across the Celestial Hall. When the Final War resumed, how many of these deities would fall?
With just a thought, Leylin's interest was piqued. He left his avatar in the Celestial Hall, shifting most of his attention to his main body in his divine kingdom.
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