Village Head's Debauchery

Thinking about the time Drakar had betrayed the Village to flee, Zogar felt a mixture of sorrow and anger welling up in his chest. He hoped Drakar was still alive so he could be dragged back and receive the punishment he deserved.

Orion broke the silence and spoke.

"Listen attentively. I'm going to use a secret method to increase your strength," Orion said. "Although we are all one within Paradise, to avoid creating unnecessary commotion, you must keep this meeting a secret, regardless of whether you succeed in ascending or not.

"If anyone successfully ascends to divinity, they must also keep their powers hidden until you are given permission to reveal it from your superiors."

"In the future, you may no longer be able to call this place your home. It will become the cradle of a new generation of divines, both those born here and those from the Material Realm Cosmic Tree below. The White Flame Cosmic Tree will become your new home."

"This is because once you ascend to divinity, you will become one of the foundational pillars stabilizing Paradise and protecting it from external threats. However, if you have a family here, I won't stop you from leaving behind a clone, though it will be under many restrictions. If you become a true god, there will be various other restrictions."

His gaze swept across the group, observing their solemn and surprised expressions, except for Brane, Zara, Seth, and Zogar. He had already discussed these matters with them.

Though he could have instructed them to explain it beforehand to save time, Orion had chosen to do it himself to impress upon them the gravity of the situation.

"That said, you have nothing to fear. The place you're heading to is far more fruitful and wondrous than this. The White Flame Cosmic Tree is a paradise for divines, even for true gods. Even without my words, once you witness its majesty, you'll naturally prefer to stay there, returning here only to fulfil specific tasks."

As he finished speaking, he noticed a subtle shift in their demeanours as their expressions suddenly brightened with anticipation.

"Does anyone have any complaints?" Orion asked calmly. "If you do and wish to continue living as you currently are, free from this burden, I won't stop you. Thanks to the Iyria energy within you, your lifespan will likely double and, with the right opportunities, possibly even triple. This event will also be wiped away from your memories."

Orion fell silent, studying the resolved expressions on their faces. As expected, no one spoke up.

Many of them were stuck at the 4-star level. Having survived countless assaults from the relentless Vylkr vines despite overwhelming odds, none of them would give up such a chance to break through their limits, even if it came with a price.

Even divine beings would fight for an opportunity like this.

"Spread out and take a seat in any area where you feel most comfortable," Orion instructed.

They nodded and moved swiftly. Brane, Zara, Seth, and Zogar positioned themselves on the hilltop, spaced about 20 meters apart. Behind them, the other warriors spread out further, some at the base of the hill and others at a distance.

Brane and the others knew Orion had them spread out to help them concentrate and avoid disturbing one another.

Orion understood their thoughts and silently agreed. Even if the chance of someone ascending to true godhood right now was extremely slim, it wasn't impossible. If a true god did emerge, he intended to suppress them immediately without disturbing the others.

He raised his hand, and a 15-inch wisp of burning White Flame formed in his palm.

Brane and Zara exchanged solemn glances, then nodded. This was the moment they had waited for. They exchanged a brief look with Seth and Zogar before focusing on Orion.

The flame then split into 350 thin streams, each heading toward one of the warriors.

As the streams made contact, the flame in his palm dissipated, and Orion withdrew his hand. He had already suppressed the intensity of the flame to a level they could endure, so there was no need to continue supplying more unless he wanted to kill them.

At the same time, he used his control to guide their Iyria hearts into place within their chest area and removed their Vylkr fusion armlets. Those had served their purpose and were no longer needed.

The White Flame surged into their bodies, flooding every fibre before fully enveloping them.

"AHHHH!!"

"AHHHH!!"

"AHHHH!!"

Instantly, eleven individuals collapsed, unable to withstand the intensity and pain of the White Flame. The number quickly grew, to eighty-nine individuals were soon rendered unconscious by the overwhelming intensity of the White Flame.

Orion didn't blame them for failing so early. He had already anticipated this outcome from the beginning. Without hesitation, he retracted the White Flame from their bodies and immediately healed their injuries.

Rather than eliminating them from the process, he decided to wait until they awakened before offering them the choice to continue or withdraw. There was no fixed time limit for this process.

As long as their bodies could withstand the pressure, they could try again as many times as they wished.

Of course, due to their weaker physiques, this came with limitations. The White Flame was a characteristic of his Divine Archetype, and while it had been suppressed to a tolerable level, it would still leave behind residual strain.

They would need to manage their recovery on their own to preserve their well-being. In the meantime, Orion wasn't going anywhere.

Surprisingly, Brane, Zara, Seth, and Zogar endured the full intensity of the White Flame. Their auras fluctuated violently as the White Flame began reshaping and transforming their very essence.

Above all, Orion was most impressed by Zara. Though she was the weakest of the four in terms of raw power, she had managed to hold on longer than many others who were physically stronger.

He recalled her gift, which was the ability to see glimpses of one's future and realized her mental resilience might be even greater than Zogar's or the others'. She and Zogar were among the individuals whose ascension he anticipated most.

Zera had the potential to rival even Naka, while Zogar's gift could rival Derry's gift.

Their skin began to crack and reform, infused with glowing streams of White Flame. Orion could sense every shift occurring deep within their metaphysical being.

Five hours later, those who had been knocked unconscious finally awakened and immediately expressed their desire to undergo the process again. This time, only 29 individuals were rendered unconscious.

Among them were warriors at the 2nd, 3rd, and even 4th-star levels. Just as Orion had suspected, undergoing the ascension process wasn't dependent on strength alone.

Even those with high levels of power struggled. It became clear that one's overall constitution, including one's gifts and mental fortitude, played a far greater role.

Upon learning that they could retry the process as many times as they wished, the warriors became more relaxed. A stronger, more persistent determination began to burn in their eyes.

Meanwhile, Brane, Seth, Zogar, and several others had already stabilized their magical auras, surpassing their limits and steadily growing stronger. Orion kept a careful eye on Zara as her aura had also just begun to stabilize. He remained prepared to intervene at the slightest sign of danger.

...

Elsewhere,

On a vast rocky plain embedded with gems that sparkled across the bedrock, Orion stood before 280,000 Prismerions, each one enveloped by a wave of the White Flame.

This group represented the first batch of volunteers willing to undergo the White Flame ascension in hopes of attaining divinity.

Given the size of the Prismerion population, extracting such a large number of individuals all at once during this prosperous period could have caused stagnation.

So, they had chosen to proceed in batches. This way, those who felt fatigued could pause and resume later without disrupting the larger structure of their society.

Ilse and Avarielle stood at Orion's side. Their expressions were solemn, their eyes narrowing as they watched the agonized faces of the Prismerions enduring the flames.

The two had come to an agreement: they would both share ownership as the creators of the Prismerion race.

Ilse had retained her identity as the goddess of treasures thanks to a mysterious clone war safeguard that prevented any entity from claiming her vault without possessing her divine identity.

Now, having met another goddess, Avarielle, who not only resembled her perfectly but had willingly shed her previous identity to adopt a new one while still expressing the sincere desire to care for the Prismerions, Ilse found no reason to refuse.

In fact, she welcomed the partnership.

As such, as the creators of the Prismerion race, they had come to witness one of the most important events in their children's history.

Margona and Zera stood beside Avarielle. They had come along because they had been with her for a long time and understood how deeply she cared about the Prismerions.