Nate suppressed his knee-jerk reaction to immediately deny Arikanvil. The tall, purple Divine watched them passively waiting for an answer and Nate used the moment to review everything he had deduced since their last meeting. Arikanvil was bound by the Law of Reciprocity. Everything he had done had been to balance his side of the equation, and when given the chance to broker a deal with Nate to save him from the Fourth Hell, he’d said no. In short, Arikanvil was not a friend, not an ally, he was a Divine being capable of wiping them from the face of existence and the only thing keeping him from coercing or forcing their acceptance of an offer was the Law of Reciprocity.

  Nate could tell Kiri felt similarly. He was an old hand at reading his best friend's body language by now and she had the look of someone who knew the situation was hopeless but was ready to go down fighting anyway.

  “You are unsure,” commented Arikanvil. “You’ve seen the nasty undertone of existence and come out of it a little less naive. This can be less cordial then and more the business transaction it is. My offer is this, I will answer any questions you have to ask. About the nature of the Divine, The System, anything I know for fact I will answer. When you have asked all the questions you desire, you will fulfil a number of tasks for me, equivalent in exchange according to the Law of Reciprocity. Let The System I despise be the judge of our transaction. That is my offer.”

  Nate’s heart went to war with his mind. Answers. Answers to all the questions he had. His curiosity was one of the cornerstones of who he was and his heart demanded he accept. His mind, however, was wary. He knew he valued answers. How much did he value them? The System would have a way to gauge such a thing but he didn’t beyond a vague feeling. That vague feeling was enough, though, to tell him the price would not be cheap and the kinds of tasks Arikanvil might ask of them were unlikely to be simple or safe. There was a question in the back of his thoughts that asked why did a Divine being like Arikanvil even need them? Why couldn’t he just do the tasks himself? Another part offered a suggestion. The Law of Reciprocity might prevent Arikanvil from doing so. Which led to the first potential conclusion. Would agreeing to Arikanvil’s offer mean arresting his own growth to meet the requirements lest he also find himself in violation of the Law.

  “If we said yes, would we need to stop our Class Core development?” he asked.

  Kiri shot him a look of concern before focusing back on the giant form of Arikanvil.

  “No,” replied the God of Space. “In fact, unless you advance, you are not qualified or strong enough to accomplish the tasks I have in mind.”

  Nate thought over the response, satisfied at least that agreement wouldn’t mean stopping their levelling or their touching upon Divine Energy. That didn’t change his misgivings about agreeing to the offer though. Arikanvil, he felt, was not to be trusted and as he slowly reached a sense of agreement across the disparate thoughts running rampant through his head, he glanced at his sister. In her eyes, he saw her resolve and agreement. She trusted him to know what was best for them and would follow his lead. He smiled and turned to face Arikanvil, ready to deny his offer. Before he could open his mouth a notification flashed in front of his eyes, the full text coming completely unbidden.

  Accept Arikanvils’ offer and I will assist you.

  Only with an effort of will did Nate keep the look of shock from touching his face. The message was clearly from The System, but it had never addressed him directly. Every message had felt automated, merely an acknowledgement of an action already taken or in response to something he was doing. This was neither of those things. This was a request to take an action, an action he had been about to deny, an action he still wanted to deny but was now having second thoughts about. He immediately thought of his response to The System. If it didn’t include Kiri, the answer was going to be an emphatic no.

  Kiri Beaufoy will be included in our agreement.

  Nate paused, his thoughts working incredibly quickly as he pulled together all the separate parts of his mind to make the decision that he recognised would be binding. It would bind him to Arikanvil’s tasks and The System’s own machinations and he was very cognizant of the fact that he understood the motives of neither. He could say no, walk away, and live at his own pace. A quiet life filled with art and touching upon the Divine after settling things in Etrua. He had options. Asmuisil would accept him. The Artist’s Emporium would fund all his desires. He could make a positive impact on the people around him and with his Skills and his knowledge, perhaps a positive impact on the countries themselves. And who knew, maybe with access to Divine energy he could even find a way back to Earth, to take Kiri to the Dead Realm where he had been born. Just for a visit, as after years of using mana and runes, he had no desire to exist in a world where they did not.

  Or he could roll the dice. Could accept Arikanvil’s, and by association, The System’s offer, and reach for something more. He knew what Kiri would choose. She would risk anything to ascend towards the stars. Anything, he acknowledged, except perhaps him. Was that why she left the decision to him? This was an important moment for him. A moment where he would decide how far he was willing to go. Certainly, he could likely achieve the heights on his own given time, as he slowly figured out the truths of reality and how everything fit together. A slow process of asking questions, making hypotheses, testing with experiments until arriving at something that would resemble the truth. Or he could say yes, and have those questions answered for him, all for the price of doing the tasks set out by a Divine. Kiri would accept his decision either way and not even question it. He knew that in his heart and loved her for it.

  In the end, though, he made the decision for himself. He wanted more. To see more. To do more. To be more. He could wait, but he didn’t want to. He wanted to know the shape of reality now. So, with some lingering uncertainty, he gave his answer.

  “We agree. You will answer the questions we ask, to the best of your ability, and when we have asked our fill, The System will judge the exchange and decide based on the Law of Reciprocity how many acts of service we owe you. With the provision that these acts can’t violate our morals or put us at risk of certain death. We’re not about to die for you or kill children for you.”

  Arikanvil smiled like he had been victorious and the visage made Nate’s stomach twist.

  “Agreed. Ask your questions.”

  Nate considered the most important question he had in mind. The piece of information that defined everything else, in his view.

  “What is The System?”

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  “The System is our gaoler,” replied Arikanvil with ice in his voice.

  Nate was about to demand more when Arikanvil continued.

  “The System is a Divine existence from another Reality. A Familiar, in fact. It governs the distribution of mana throughout our Reality as more pours in from its own Reality.”

  Nate’s mind froze at the implications and insinuation. Multiple questions were already rising in response. Was mana not a native energy? Why did Arikanvil emphasise the word Reality?

  “What do you mean by another Reality?” he asked.

  “There are multiple Realities. Each Reality contains its own multiverse, within which many universes can exist like the one we are currently standing in. The System comes from another Reality.”

  Nate could see how Arikanvil was being careful to only answer the questions asked, or reiterate on previous questions. Nate considered for a moment if he could trick the God into volunteering information, but he doubted it and so stuck to the questions he had in mind.

  “What is the Law of Reciprocity then?” Nate asked.

  “It is the Embodiment of The System.”

  When Nate raised an eyebrow in response to the short answer Arikanvil remained stoically quiet.

  “What is an Embodiment?” Nate pressed in annoyance. He had his own thoughts on the matter and hoped that those ideas would be factored into the value The System placed on the question.

  “An Embodiment is a representation of how an individual connects with Reality.”

  “So, that would mean Divine Energy is the energy of Reality itself and we can draw on that energy when we align ourselves closely with our Embodiment.”

  Nate had tried to phrase his idea as a statement, rather than a question, in an attempt to limit the amount of reciprocity that might be considered appropriate by The System.

  “Yes,” answered Arikanvil simply.

  Kiri stood next to Nate and he could sense her rapt with attention, drinking in the exchange like the parched drinking from an offered glass of water. Still, his sister remained silent. Nate considered what he had just learned and how all the answers came together. Something immediately stood out to him. The System’s Embodiment was Reciprocity, but why did that bind the rest of them? He answered his own question as his eyes drifted to his chest.

  “Too clever,” remarked Arikanvil in annoyance.

  “I’m right, aren’t I? The Class Core. It’s why we are bound by The System’s Embodiment?”

  Arikanvil ground his teeth and Nate recognised that he didn’t know all the things he needed to ask in relation to the Class Core and The System. He also realised that while he was curious, he didn’t value that information as highly. He had enough answers already to make logical deductions about how they all interacted. If he didn’t value them as much, then Arikanvil couldn’t ask as much, so he took a risk.

  “Explain the interactions to us. Why does the Class Core matter? I’ll tell you when to stop.”

  Arikanvil looked even more displeased at Nate’s final statement, but the god spoke anyway. Clearly whatever he desired was more important to him than his pride.

  “The Class Core is the agreement you never got to make. The System gifts every sentient being in a universe that contains mana with a Class Core, and along with it, a tiny fraction of its own Divine Energy. Divine Energy that is capable of processing mana into a more concentrated form which is then used by the Class Core to enhance and change itself. Processed mana that over time improves the runic imprints that are Skills. This can improve your physical existence and even create new organs for you that didn’t exist before.”

  “The Mana Reserve,” Nate commented.

  “Precisely. Mana is not natural for our Reality. The ability to store, use and direct it has to be added. The Class Core does that. By containing a fraction of a fraction of the Divine Energy of The System, you are bound by its own Embodiment. As are we all.”

  “Then why can we act against each other at all?” asked Nate, his confusion taking the lead before his mind could stop him.

  “Because it is an Embodiment. There is no truth to Reality. Perception matters. The System perceives the world in stratas of Divine Energy. Those who have none are their own strata. Mortals, we would call them, though we are all mortal for we can all die. Then the Lesser Divines, those who have gained their first Divine Class and can store Divine Energy. Then Greater Divines who have two Divine Classes and finally those like me, True Divines, possessing three Divine Classes.”

  “Levels don’t matter?” asked Nate.

  “Not to The System,” replied Arikanvil, and Nate could see the amusement in his eyes.

  “But they would matter in battle,” stated Nate, looking at Kiri for a moment.

  They spoke for a moment without words, in gestures, eye movements and body language. Finally, she nodded her approval.

  “Why would you advance to Divine earlier, then? Wouldn’t it be better to hold off as long as possible? To gain as many Stats as you could and raise your Skills as high as possible to make you as powerful as possible within your…strata.”

  “You both have evolved a Skill to Divine,” Arikanvil stated. “So you know how powerful those improvements are, and what they cost to use. Divine Energy. For every step in a Divine Class, for every level, you must spend Divine Energy. The limiting step becomes Divine Energy and it increases with levels, both for your Skills and your Classes. I told you before, you already contain a fragment of Divine Energy from The System that performs the mana processing. However, with each new level you gain in a Class, you need a little more Divine Energy from The System. When you evolve a Class to Divine, The System creates a storage space within your Class Core for that Divine Energy. A way to contain it so it doesn’t simply bleed back into Reality like it wants to. The amount of Divine Energy from The System already within you influences the size of that container. More Divine Energy from The System means less space for your own Divine Energy. So every level you gain is reducing the amount of Divine Energy you can use, to fight, level, craft or anything else. In addition, Divine Energies based on different Concepts make it harder to align with your Embodiment. So, having more Divine Energy from The System will make it harder to generate Divine Energy aligned to your own Embodiment.”

  “And most Lesser Divines, they start at what level?” asked Kiri, joining the conversation.

  “In the more developed universes, one-hundred and twenty or one-hundred and eighty.”

  Nate tried to think through the implications but Arikanvil spoke again before he could.

  “I will volunteer this, as it will impact your usefulness to me. The amount of Divine Energy a level sixty-one Lesser Divine can contain compared with a level one-hundred and twenty-one is almost threefold. Many low level Lesser Divines are killed in the cradle, so to speak, because if they are given time to level even slightly, they can become monsters on the Divine battlefields due to their excessive access to Divine Energy. Their Skills level faster, they have Divine Energy to spare for Divine equipment, which is rare even at the heights. Giving away Divine Energy is not common after all, and the easiest way to get it, is by taking it from other Divines. It is a risk, but my being here should be proof that I think you have what it takes to achieve my desires.”

  Up until now, Nate had assumed that the reason Arikanvil knew they were close to achieving a Divine Class was because he had been directly keeping an eye on them. But what if that wasn’t the case?

  “How did you know we achieved a Divine Skill?” Nate asked, dreading the answer.

  “Because I sensed the use of Divine Energy, and I am not the only Divine on this backwater planet,” replied Arikanvil, showing pure white teeth in a vicious smile that told them in no uncertain terms that the god knew he had them.

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