The Innkeeper

Chapter 1322  How to kill a Deity for dummies

Up above, in the air, there seemed to be a sun illuminating the sanctuary, though Lex could tell it was artificial.

The bridge they were on had statues of various birds on both sides facing each other every twenty feet, all leading up to a large, ancient temple that seemed to be covered in some kind of ivy.

The air in this place was thick with divine energy, so much so that there was no spiritual energy present at all.

”This is a unique place within the Crystal realm. The only way to enter here is to be brought in by one of the original Deities, such as myself,” Vinei said, walking down the bridge.

Lex followed quietly, observing everything. Just as Vinei said, this place felt special, as if it were some kind of divine kingdom.

”In truth, I also have a motive of my own to bring you here,” Vinei said, in a matter-of-fact way. ”You see, when the Crystal realm was created, five beings were born, and held supreme power over all living beings, attaining their eternal worship, and so four of those five became Divine. Only one disdained such power. At the time, young and ignorant, we mocked the one that refused. The power of Deities is vast and versatile, and so for a time we rejoiced in our capabilities. It is only with time, exposure and experience we learned of how limiting Divinity can be.”

The bird opened the massive double doors of the temple, revealing that the building consisted of only a single hall, a massive skylight letting in the light from the sky.

Spread around the hall, in equal distances, were five statues of birds, each one distinct and incredibly lifelike, not to mention filled with incredible power.

At a glance, Lex easily recognized the statues representing Firin, the progenitor of the Sol birds, Aizel the progenitor of the Frio birds, and that of Vinei. Instead of statues, they looked like a perfect replica of the real thing, even radiating a bit of their elements.

The remaining two statues caught his eye because of how unique and interesting they were. One of the birds was made entirely of Crystal, and gave off an aura that vaguely reminded Lex of the Crystal race.

The last one, however, was a multicolored bird which was mostly brown, but had feathers containing each color in the rainbow.

”Fortunately, even in our youthful ignorance, we left some contingencies. Stored here is the source of our power - the one we were born with - before we became Deities.”

Vinei walked up to his own statue, but before he approached near it a hidden staircase revealed itself, leading to a hidden chamber beneath the statue.

Lex followed, and saw a small room filled with numerous black feathers, and a bowl containing a heart, soaking in black blood.

Suddenly Mary appeared on Lexʼs shoulder, looking stunned. ”Lex, if you can get me one of those feathers, that would greatly help my chances of being reborn and creating a new body for me!” she said, her voice containing palpable excitement, which confused Lex a bit. Even the Amber Chaos Resin did not get such a reaction from her.

”What is so special about the feather?” he asked her, trying to sense what was so special about them. Oddly enough, for once, the feedback he got from the Glyph used to find treasure gave him contradictory information from his own instincts as well as Marys reaction. It was as if the Glyphs did not want to recognize that the feathers had any value at all!

”Those are phoenix feathers!” Mary exclaimed. ”Not just Phoenix feathers. Theyʼre the first feathers shed by a Mythical Phoenix!”

Lexʼs eyes gleamed with recognition, and finally understood why Mary cared about them so much.

”Youʼre a phoenix?” Lex asked, almost in a whisper, looking at the feathers.

Vinei shook his head in disappointment.

”Unfortunately, I lost my status as a Phoenix when I became a Deity. Now, though I seemingly have more power than before, the price I paid was truly too tremendous. I am now looking for a way to turn back.”

Lex could understand why Vinei was willing to give up his status as a Deity to become a Phoenix, as well as why Mary was so excited to see them.