Chapter 915: Understanding Leads to Contemplation.
Upon entering his inner world, Victor left his daughters in the care of Metis and disappeared once again, this time heading to an isolated location.
"Father... What do you think happened? He seemed quite hurried," Nero asked.
Metis sighed. "Many things have happened, Nero... Many things." Even though she hadn't returned to life long ago, she had still grasped the nuances of having an artifact with the energy of two opposing forces.
Nero looked puzzled at Metis. "What do you mean?"
As Metis was about to advise Nero not to dwell on it too much, she stopped before she could speak. 'They are Victor's daughters too... They need to understand.' Despite her initial thought, she had a doubt: why didn't they already know about this? After all, this was a lesson taught by Victor's wives, and this doubt lingered in Metis's mind for a moment, but she didn't dwell on it. Instead, she looked at Ophis and Nero and began to explain.
"Do you know why our father is called the Chaos Dragon God?"
"... Because he wields the opposing forces of the universe as power?" Nero replied.
"That's correct, and do you know what that means?"
"That he's powerful?" Ophis said.
"That's true, but it's not that simple."
"You both saw Diablo's battle with Victor, right?" Metis said.
"Mm." Both of them nodded.
"In the end, do you know what kind of existence Diablo became?"
"Our mothers were calling him a being that disrupted the balance," Nero said.
"Exactly. Here's the thing: it's strictly 'impossible' for a being to wield an opposite aspect of its energy, and those who manage to do so usually do it through artificial means, which is why they're called beings that disrupt the balance..." Metis paused for a moment as she thought about her own words.
'Could the reason Diablo became a hunted being be that he artificially disrupted the balance?' Metis thought, and the more she analyzed this scenario, the more she believed her theory was not incorrect, but it was hard to be 100% sure when she had only seen two examples.
'War doesn't count because he's not exactly a being with completely opposing energies like Diablo and Victor.' Finishing her thoughts, Metis continued to explain.
"Now, here's where your father is so feared. Usually, when a being reaches this state, the primordial beings, those who regulate existence, will hunt them down to eliminate them."
"... Primordial beings, are you talking about the seven primordial beings described in our lessons?" Nero asked.
Ophis just looked confused at Nero and Metis. 'Lessons? What lessons?' As she usually tuned out during these times, she was completely clueless about what they were talking about, but she pretended to understand to avoid embarrassment.
"Like the Universal Tree, responsible for life and the maintenance of life, and the Abyss Judges, responsible for souls and their judgment?"
"Mm." Ophis nodded in agreement with Nero's words, indicating her support for what Metis was saying, even though she thought it was nonsense.
"That's right..." Metis, being perceptive, realized that Ophis didn't know what they were talking about. She sighed internally. 'She wasn't paying attention in class, was she? It's so obvious... I'll have to give her a lesson later.' She thought.
"These beings would be the ones to hunt down the individual who disrupted the balance," Metis added.
"Yes, I've noticed that they highly value balance," Nero said.
"Mm." Ophis agreed.
"Indeed. Now comes the part of why our father is so feared. He is not only a progenitor of blood dragons, an entirely new race of dragons capable of interacting with a being's soul and controlling their existence, but he is also a god of Begin and Negativity."
"Of course, as a progenitor, he can create others of his kind."
"In terms of the positive balance, the divinity of Begin ranks just below Positivity in importance."
"In terms of the negative balance, Victor wields his influence as a supreme god. ALL deities related to the negative balance can be influenced by Victor in some way, and he can even use them to some degree if he wishes."
'Of course, for this to happen, he needs to make some progress in the concept of negativity, which is extremely complex.' Metis thought but didn't say it now, as it would only confuse the girls.
"That's why his influence is so significant now. He is the most important god in the world at the moment... This is where the important part comes in, that dagger had a possible explanation for why Victor's existence is allowed." Metis spoke, to be honest, she wanted to research that dagger as well, but she knew her father wouldn't allow it so easily.
Little did Metis know that if she asked, Victor would readily accept her request.
"Incredible..." Nero said.
"Umu. Father is amazing..." Ophis spoke, she didn't fully understand, but she knew her father was amazing! That wasn't news!
"... Haah... Girls, you need to pay more attention in lessons," Metis said with a deep sigh; everything she had just explained had been covered in Ophis and Nero's lessons.
Nero and Ophis blushed a bit, while Ophis usually tuned out and just nodded with an expressionless face.
Nero tried to learn, but eventually, she ended up doing the same as Ophis and tuning out. At least she tried to listen, right? Ophis hardly listened to anything!
"As Victor's daughters, you are at great risk of being targeted, so understanding what kind of power, what kind of influence, what kind of being our father is, is essential for both our survival and our future goals."
"Future goals...?" Nero and Ophis spoke in confusion.
'Do these girls have selective memories? They completely ignored the first part of what I said!' Metis grumbled internally.
It wasn't that Ophis and Nero were ignoring what Metis said; it's just that they had great confidence in their father. They knew that they would always be safe with him, so they didn't care about the first part of the statement.
"Right... Or do you plan to be just Victor's daughters forever? Don't you want to achieve your own accomplishments?" Metis prodded the two girls, but their reaction was quite mild.
"...Oh." They both reacted at the same time.
"I wouldn't mind being my father's daughter forever," Nero said.
"Mm, Father. Best Father," Ophis agreed.
Metis felt a slight headache coming on with the girls' reaction. Weren't they a bit too unambitious? They had someone with incredible influence like their father, and they weren't taking advantage of it.
Victor not only had contacts with the best teachers, but he also had the best resources and an entire dimension for them to train in! Literally, anyone near him who didn't become strong was just plain lazy!
"I'm not talking about that... I mean, do you not plan to become something more than just 'daughters'?... Think about it, is it okay to just live in Victor's shadow?"
When these words came out of Metis's mouth, silence fell around them. Metis internally nodded in satisfaction when she saw this silence; they were finally thinking!
For Metis, it was simply a waste for Ophis and Nero not to take advantage of Victor's immense influence. They needed to strive for more!
Nero and Ophis's cheeks turned slightly red as various thoughts passed through their minds. "You're right," they both said at the same time.
'Wait a second... Something's not right.' Metis began to sweat when she saw the expressions on the two girls' faces. As she thought about the words she had just spoken, she realized that her words had a VERY suggestive tone!
"We need to train, Ophis!"
"Mm! Let's train!"
Nero and Ophis quickly dashed off to the training ground.
"Wait, wait, wait! What were you two thinking just now? Explain to me in detail!" Metis ran after them; she needed to clear up any misunderstandings quickly!
...
In an isolated location, underground on the planet, a place Victor had made for Ruby.
Three beings looked at the dagger on the table with a serious look.
"Incredible... Such balance..." Roxanne spoke.
"This dagger was not just bathed in Lucifer's energy... The Heavenly Father also put his energy into it, which is why the positive side is in balance," Victor deduced.
"Bathed in the light of the brightest angel, the creator of angels himself, and tainted by the first sin of murder," Amara murmured.
"Because of these natural events, the dagger has become an artifact of both sides of the balance."
"...Do you think it was born 'naturally'?" Roxanne asked.
"It's a good chance... Just look at Victor; he was naturally heading down this path, which is why he didn't disrupt the balance," Amara replied.
As a World Tree connected to Victor, she had seen all of Victor's essential memories, so she had some authority to speak on the matter.
"It's hard to say, Sister. We only have two examples that are extremely opposite each other," Roxanne said.
"Not exactly..." Amara looked at the dagger and then at Roxanne. "We are also an example."
"We?"
"Yes, the World Tree."
Roxanne touched her chin and thought about it. "The cycle of a World Tree begins when our father plants a seed in a location that will become a new planet."
"From that seed, the positive tree grows and nurtures the planet for nature and the process of evolution to begin," Metis added.
"After thousands of years, when sentient beings start being born and dying in conflicts with each other or dying with intense negative emotions... the World Tree of Negativity will be born," Roxanne said. "And it will be responsible for the spiritual side of the planet."
"Then the positive tree will create paradise for souls to be filtered," Amara said.
"Just as the World Tree of Negativity will create hell for the same purpose," Roxanne concluded.
"During this process, various other supernatural beings may be born, as well as divine beings from both sides of the balance that will occupy these created spaces and establish their pantheons," they both said at the same time.
This whole process was something that happened quite naturally and took thousands of years, a cycle that repeated on every planet... Except for Nightingale, who, due to Victor's interference, fused with her soul at its early stages of existence, rather than merging with the planet as Roxanne should have.
In a way, the way World Trees work could be considered a disruption of balance, and at the same time not, as both World Trees constantly merge their energies to do their work.
"I sense my divinity of assassination reacting to the artifact," Victor spoke neutrally, catching the women's attention.
"Not only was the first sin recorded in this dagger, but also a part of Cain's soul... When committing the first sin of murder, a part of himself remained in this dagger."
Roxanne and Amara narrowed their eyes and looked at the dagger with more scrutinizing gazes.
At that moment, Victor looked at the two women, and he saw Roxanne's red energy and Amara's white energy merging into a single energy, and then both of them could see deeper into the dagger.
"A part of Cain's soul is in that dagger," Amara said.
"As well as his repressed emotions," Roxanne added.
"... I see, that's why," Victor murmured with wide-open eyes as he witnessed this vision.
Feeling Victor's shock, the two looked to him for answers, but all they heard was:
"Damn primordials... Their obsession makes sense now."
"Darling? What are you talking about?"
"It's not that beings with opposing natures within them are prohibited... If that were the case, neutral deities like Nature wouldn't exist."
Can nature be categorized as good or evil? And if it can, which aspect would such a deity fall into? In fact, who decides if a deity is good or not?
Take the deity of assassination, for example; is assassination inherently bad? Many would say yes, but what if the assassination is done to protect loved ones? Would it still be considered bad?
Just like the perspectives of beings, the concept of good and evil is relative depending on ideology, society, and how beings are raised.
"Everything was wrong from the beginning!" Victor facepalmed for not realizing this earlier; the answer had been right in front of him all along, and he burst into laughter at the ridiculousness of the situation.
Seeing Victor laugh as if he had just heard the funniest joke of his life, Roxanne and Amara were left speechless. Roxanne was already used to this, but it was the first time Amara had seen him like this.
"Just as Merlin said... Energy is energy... The only difference is that each deity feeds on different energy. We followed the primordial beings' perspective so much that we misunderstood things."
Harnessing Roxanne's Negative energy and Amara's Positive energy, two energy spheres appeared in the palm of Victor's hand.
One energy sphere was completely black, and the other was entirely white. "Duality exists to protect creation. Balance is preserved so that this duality may exist. That's why the primordial beings are so protective of balance..."
Slowly, the two spheres began to merge, the white merging with the black, but they never completely overlapped.
Amara and Roxanne widened their eyes when they saw their energies perfectly synchronized, forming the Yin and Yang symbol.
"Vic-."
"Shhh..." Roxanne covered Amara's mouth; she realized that Victor was in a state of discovery, and he couldn't be interrupted.
"Because without it, everything will collapse," Victor added a bit of negative energy, and soon, the black part began to engulf the white part.
But the white part didn't go down without a fight; it struggled too, and from this confrontation, the entire structure began to crumble until it collapsed entirely.
Without balance, one side would consume the other, leading to the eventual collapse of everything.
'This doesn't mean that beings who can embody both sides of the balance are strictly forbidden; they are prohibited because their power threatens the balance... But if that were the case, I couldn't exist... So the only explanation is that it's not just power that's evaluated, but also the individual's personality,' Victor thought.
"Because of this, the system exists... It watches over everything that could threaten this balance, while also recording everything... It records everything for what purpose? Why does the Akashic Record exist?... But what about me? This doesn't entirely explain my existence... Another thing, is creation so fragile that it needs to be protected so desperately?"
Victor doubted that creation was so fragile that it needed such extensive protection; there must be a reason why the primordial beings were so committed to preserving balance, aside from the purpose of maintaining balance.
One question was answered, but several others arose from the same question.
"Hmm?" Victor squinted his eyes slightly when he felt the proficiency of the divinities of Begin and Negativity grow a bit.
He snapped out of his stupor and reflected, "I understand... The more I comprehend creation, the more these divinities gain proficiency... No wonder it's so difficult to progress in it."
His eyes went to the system. Even in his personal dimension, the system existed, encompassing all of creation as if someone were observing everything and everyone omnisciently.
Victor began to rack his brain; he felt like he was on the verge of understanding something, yet not quite. It was a feeling as if you had the answer you were looking for right in front of you but couldn't see or grasp it.
Victor growled slightly in frustration, but when he remembered the words of the heavenly father about his own journey, he became calmer.
"...There's no point in thinking about it now. Forcing understanding will only lead to frustration... Enjoy the journey, huh."
Victor made a hand gesture, and a divine metal emerged from the ground in the shape of a display case. Victor took the dagger and placed it inside the display, sealing it.
"Only those authorized by me can take this item," he spoke in Draconic.
"Come on, girls. We need to go to the grand event," Victor turned around.
"Mm," Amara nodded as she followed Victor.
Roxanne shook her head and followed suit. She briefly glanced at the dagger but then shrugged and ignored it.
"Victor, what was that just now?" Amara asked as she held onto Victor's arm.
"Nothing. I just learned a little more about creation."
"Hmm, could you explain your thought process better?" Amara inquired.
Roxanne narrowed her eyes when she saw her sister being so 'affectionate' with Victor. She disappeared in a red smoke and reappeared behind Amara.
Slap!
"Ughh! My head!" Amara crouched down, holding her head. "What was that, Sis?" She flinched slightly as she saw Roxanne's gaze.
"I've told you... Be respectful."
"But-."
The gleam in Roxanne's eyes intensified several times, and her fist started to glow with pure power.
Amara pouted, then stood up, crossed her arms, and huffed. "Fine."
Roxanne nodded satisfied and floated toward Victor, wrapping her arms around him from behind while hovering.
Seeing this, Amara got irritated, but she didn't throw a tantrum. She knew that in terms of importance, Roxanne held a higher position since she had been there from the beginning. Nonetheless, it was still annoying to see her host being monopolized. 'I'm nourishing your body too, you know? Selfish sister!' she grumbled internally.
While Roxanne nurtured Victor's soul and provided negative power, Amara nurtured his body and provided positive power, making Victor's diachronic body even stronger than before.
"Victor, what was that earlier?" Roxanne asked while lovingly embracing him.
Victor, who was contemplating his own steps for a moment, replied, "It's easier if I simply show you both."
Victor's eyes gleamed, and the entire thought process and discoveries passed through the eyes of Roxanne and Amara.
For a moment, the two sisters had eyes of the same violet-crimson color as Victor's.
"This... this..." Roxanne was incredulous.
"And to think that such a thing was right in front of us the whole time..." Amara murmured as she stood up from the ground and walked alongside Victor.
"Sometimes, the answer is right in front of us the whole time; we just don't have the perception to see it," Victor said, and the two sisters couldn't help but agree with him.