This realization was utterly insane. Kayden had never considered anything remotely similar. How many times had Toth reached the divine level only to start over again? How many lives had this man lived? How many universes had he stepped into? These were questions Kayden would probably never find answers to in his lifetime.
"What should I do next?" Kayden asked this question without expecting a concrete answer, and he knew it. He just wanted as much information as possible.
"You’re already on a completely new path. Even I can’t say exactly what you should do. The laws of chaos are very strong in people like you, making the future uncertain. However, I recommend elevating your soul to a related law. Considering you already know the answer to this question, I’ll let you ask another."
The god was extremely benevolent. Kayden had asked, hoping for something different from his current goals, but in the end, he received the same answer he already knew. This was his objective from the beginning, and the god’s response didn’t help him. At that moment, Kayden became pensive. He didn’t know exactly what to ask; there were so many options and, at the same time, none.
Kayden could ask to see the future easily. He could request legendary techniques or the locations of mythical resources, but all of that seemed like a waste. They were things he could find in time with effort. He needed to ask something he would never be able to discover on his own or that was far beyond the knowledge available in his universe.
"What are the heavens?" Kayden believed in himself with absurd confidence and knew that one day he would probably challenge the heavens for the last time. It would be a battle where only one would remain at the top, and having such information would be completely insane.
"That is beyond your comprehension. Ask another question." The god refused him directly without hesitation.
Kayden didn’t know what to ask. There were many questions, but none that would truly make a difference in his life. He already had a goal, and outside of that, he cared about absolutely nothing.
"How can I become a god? What is the process? What are the requirements?" Kayden chose to invest in himself rather than uncover the truths of the universe.
"Divinity is an extremely difficult process to achieve. There are a few methods in your universe. The most well-known is through the energy of worship or soul mana. When many mortals worship your presence, a tiny fragment of their souls is lent to you. It’s up to each mage to figure out how to incorporate these fragments into their abilities and their soul." Kayden had never heard directly about this process before.
"Why is it so difficult, then?"
"Soul manipulation is already difficult, but not to such an absurd degree. The main challenge for most people is harmonizing the soul fragments with their laws and their soul. Most have to do this blindly because they don’t know how to manipulate their soul correctly."
Kayden understood a bit of this. Manipulating souls was ridiculously difficult. He himself had taken billions of years to learn, even in the best possible environment for it. A mage who had never interacted with souls wouldn’t even be able to perceive their soul. That’s why it took so long for a ninth-realm mage to ascend to divinity—they needed to learn a lot before even thinking about such a feat.
"And the other method?" The god had mentioned there were two ways to achieve divinity.
"This one is not very common, and you’ll rarely see gods opting for it. You must elevate your law to a perfect grade and incorporate it into your path. After that, you need to merge your path and your law into something unique, something only you can do. When that’s achieved, the heavens will test you in the same way as with the other method. If you succeed in withstanding the same number of rays, you’ll be elevated to the divine level."
Kayden furrowed his brows. So there was yet another test to reach the divine level. Not only that but the changes to his body and soul would be carried out by the heavens again. No god would reach divinity without the touch of the heavens. Kayden hated this. He didn’t want anything from another being; all his progress had to come solely from him and no one else.
"I understand. Thank you for the information," Kayden said, growing reflective. The god gave him a few minutes to think before continuing.
"As a ten-ray mage, you’ve reached an exclusive level that few beings have ever attained. This grants you certain rights and obligations beyond those of normal beings. First, you are no longer capable of dying from time. Additionally, no god can kill you unless you initiate the attack." Kayden received some additional benefits he hadn’t expected.
"What are my obligations?" Kayden didn’t understand this part.
"It’s not something you need to worry about, but if you become stagnant and choose to live peacefully without striving for improvement, the heavens will kill you for your lack of will." Kayden didn’t quite understand why the heavens placed such pressure on ten-ray mages, but he didn’t care. This wasn’t a problem for his way of living.
"That won’t be an issue, Lord God," Kayden assured the god.
"Additionally, you are bound to fulfill any promise you make to the heavens with your life. There’s no chance of breaking them or resisting the heavens’ attacks. However, your promises are only valid against other ten-ray mages. Any being below that is irrelevant."
Kayden found this last benefit perfect for his manipulations and was amused by how the heavens viewed any being with less than ten rays as insignificant and undeserving of real consideration. He had already concluded that this man was the same being who conducted the ten-ray test—or at least he had an intuition about it.
The god smiled, and Kayden felt his consciousness descending into darkness.