Ch.970Sacred and Mortal

Astraea, who had been quietly listening to my hollow laughter, spoke again once I finally stopped, as if asking if I was done laughing.

【 You҈̨͊̏͊͡ have wasted҈̨͚̭̱̖̑̂̀͠ divine power҉̛̙̦̀̒̔̀͢, I see҉̡̘̰҇̈́͋̉. 】

Her voice was calm, but the content itself was closer to an accusatory tone.

Was she criticizing me for infusing divine power into the Karma Sun and burning it away at the end of the last battle? Honestly, I thought it was ridiculous that she would even bring this up.

【 A҈̢̾̀̎̓͝ foolish҉̨͞ and҈̈́̏͜͠ misguided method҉.̸͡ Divine power҉̘͚̆̍̏̆̆̕͢ is a force to be nurtured and cultivated҈̧̈́̅͝. Not҈҈́̿͂͢͠ to be burned away҈̡̆͌͂͠ like kindling҈͍̂́͜͠. 】

‘Well, I couldn’t think of any other tactics at the time… and since some time has passed, it’s recovering anyway, so isn’t that fine?’

I formed these words of protest in my mind, infusing them with enough mental energy for the goddess to hear without me speaking aloud.

Honestly, it felt like an unfair rebuke. No, rather than unfair, it was absurd.

She hadn’t even helped in the fight, and now she was lecturing me like some old fogey saying “that’s not how you use divine power.” What was the point?

Besides, why shouldn’t I use it that way? It’s a power that naturally recovers over time like Karma, even if I burn it away.

Considering the impressive display of the Karma Sun enhanced with divine power, using divine power as fuel was a method worth employing, not avoiding.

At least that’s what I thought.

【 That is҉̡̛̙̱́̇͑ a misconception҈̨̛͔͍̘̤̭̃̇̒. Consumed҈̢̫̙͊̊͠ divine power҈̥͙̏̿͜͠ does not҉̢̮̟͔͍̌̌͛̎͗͝ recover҉̨̛̤̩̀͑. 】

Until Astraea taught me that my assumption was fundamentally flawed.

Divine power does not recover.

Her answer contained a meaning completely opposite to what I was physically experiencing right now. That’s why it was hard to believe.

‘That can’t be… Right now, even at this moment…’

I could clearly feel, even at this very moment, that the void of divine power I had consumed was gradually being filled.

【 That҈̡̃͝ is not҈̧͙҇̈́̉̓ recovery҉͐̔̂͜͞ but҉͜͠ refilling҉. According to the shape҈̛̎͢ of your vessel҉̢͠ that has changed by containing divine power҈̧҇̾, new power is being drawn up and poured in҉͢͝. 】

Astraea denied it once more, with a tone suggesting that divine power wasn’t something to be taken so lightly.

‘…New power?’

I quietly asked what she meant by drawing up and pouring in new power.

【 The foundation of҉̧̕ all living beings. The root҈ and source҉͆̀͢͠ of҈ all concepts called power. The principle҉͖̭̥͈͢ that no one can escape҈̳̯͢, the basis of mortality for all living beings҉̨̜͓͔. 】

‘Wait, wait a minute. Are you saying…?’

I broke into a cold sweat. I had an inkling of what the goddess was trying to say.

【 Yes҈̗̦҇̇̾̏̀͜ͅ, you҉̨̍͡ finally҉͝ understand҉̨̛͋? 】

Astraea confirmed.

Contrary to my assumption, divine power wasn’t something that naturally recovered over time like Karma, but rather a force that forcibly collected payment for its recovery.

And that payment was…

【 Your divine power҈̡̎̀̑͞ has not҈ recovered҈͞. Rather, a portion҈́̈́͜͠ of your allotted҈̛̠̬̔͜ lifespan҈̪͚̠͛̽̕͜ has filled҉̢̮̣҇̆̒ the void҉͞ left by the divine power you consumed҈. 】

None other than my lifespan.

—-

Consumed divine power is replenished at the cost of lifespan.

The truth that Astraea taught me as a warning caused me a bit of shock and dismay.

If the goddess’s warning was true, it meant that if I continued to recklessly use the Karma Sun, I might suddenly collapse and die prematurely someday.

Um… how should I put this? Should I say I’m screwed? My feelings were complicated. While my mind recognized the severity, emotionally, it didn’t quite sink in.

It felt like being a twenty-something who went for their first health checkup only to be handed a diagnosis of terminal lung cancer.

‘Um… Goddess, about my lifespan… specifically, how much was cut off…?’

I cautiously asked, mentally preparing myself to faint immediately if the answer was something like “eighty years.”

【 Hmm҈̨̐̌̑̈͠, twenty years… no, about҉̈͢͠ five years҈̨͎̰҇̈͊. You broke҈҇͜ one҉̨̛̽͑ Oath Sword and҈ stole҉̡̞̜̾̋̒͛͞ the divine power contained҈͉͚͉͓̆̀͜͝ͅ within it. 】

Five years.

It wasn’t the dreaded eighty years I feared, but it wasn’t short enough to laugh off either.

Moreover, if I hadn’t managed to shatter the greatsword of that old man who claimed to be one of the Great’s Twelve Knights, I would have lost a whopping twenty years of my lifespan.

Ha, this Karma Sun turned out to be a garbage technique.

While its power is immense, it causes serious collateral damage and costs twenty years of lifespan each time it’s used.

Who would use such an insane technique?

I won’t use it anymore either. If the cost is twenty years, I’d be dead after using it roughly six times. I’d have to be crazy to use it.

【 It’s҉̨̛̖̱͚̚̚ not҈̧̛̦̟͔̉͐ quite that bad҉҇̀̎͜ͅ… no, I shouldn’t҈ say… rather, a sense of caution҈̨҇… 】

Astraea, who was about to say something, suddenly quieted down and mumbled to herself, letting her words trail off.

【 Do you understand҉̨̛͋? 】

Then, as if wanting to engrave it in my mind, she raised her voice and addressed me again.

Warning me not to do foolish things if I didn’t want to die prematurely.

【 To consume҉͢͡ divine power҉̧͐͞ is to consume lifespan҈̾̈́̕͜. Excessive use҉ will only҉ bring premature death҉̨́̍̍͡, so for your own sake҈̨͞, be cautious҉̛̈́͢ and avoid it҉ as much as possible҈̓͢͞. 】

Yes, I think so too, but…

Hmm… how should I put this? Now that I’ve been explicitly told not to use it, I somehow feel a bit defiant.

It’s human nature to want to do something even more when it’s forbidden, right? That’s kind of how I felt.

‘I’ve been thinking… since my lifespan was reduced by twenty years but increased by fifteen, resulting in a net loss of five years, what if…’

So, I directly asked the goddess about a solution that suddenly came to mind.

‘If I reduce the output to about 70% and melt down one Oath Sword along with it, wouldn’t that be plus-minus zero?’

Suggesting that this way, I could use the Karma Sun freely without consuming my lifespan.

【 …I҉ understand҈ the suffering҉̨͊́͠ of those who stay҉̧̖̰̃̌̆͝ by your side. Their situation҉ is truly pitiful. 】

…Is she telling me to stop talking nonsense?

I honestly thought it was a useful idea, but all I got in return was a sophisticated sneer and a sigh.

Why does everyone around me sigh whenever I come up with an idea? Even a goddess does it now.

I thought it was my situation that was pitiful, not those around me.

—-

Astraea was truly scathing in her assessment of my idea.

However, her harshness was limited to discussions about divine power.

Regarding the grand strategy of directly targeting the World Tree in Alvheim, even the goddess gave quite a favorable evaluation.

Impossibly difficult but the most certain method? Her tone suggested I should try it if I could.

Her desire for the complete downfall of the elves was truly befitting of a goddess of “humans.” There was even a chilling sense of grudge in her voice.

I did ask if she could help instead of just cheering me on, but that was unfortunately impossible.

She said she had also consumed a considerable amount of divine power? Since she had poured all of that divine power into strengthening me, I couldn’t really ask for more in good conscience.

If it was true that consuming divine power was directly linked to lifespan, it meant that the goddess Astraea had also sacrificed a significant portion of her lifespan to help me.

This is a side note, but she also explained why Elpinel, unlike the actively involved Astraea, doesn’t even speak to Lacy.

Apparently, Elpinel has consumed an incomparably larger amount of divine power than Astraea, and any further consumption might end her lifespan?

So unless it’s a truly important matter, she remains silent and observes. She also told me not to breathe a word of this celestial secret to others.

Why do gods have lifespans?

Well, this world was always like that. A world where true immortality is merely a fiction. A world where even celestial gods cannot overcome death.

That was the fundamental setting of the original game I remembered, and the source of all problems.

Well, the death of gods is somewhat different from the death of created beings… but death is still death. Wouldn’t you want to avoid it if possible?

So, I couldn’t expect Astraea’s help in this battle. I couldn’t make one of humanity’s gods terminally ill just so I could fight more comfortably.