The two of them had enough experience and strength to understand that Kayden wasn't bluffing—he truly believed in what he had said. Lucius didn't know it, but Kayden was a mortal; no god could touch him freely, and no mortal had the strength to attack him. That made him practically untouchable in Atherion.
"The information you requested will be delivered into my hands in a few days," Lucius said, abandoning his previous idea. His instincts told him that Kayden was not a common god—he shouldn't, under any circumstances, test his luck.
Kayden smiled. Lucius's communication with his organization was extremely strong, but he didn't sell the information directly; instead, he purchased what Kayden wanted with a few favors and would resell what he gained for a much higher value.
Celestial water and earth were far superior to any mortal tower, but… not to an organization. While the former might be used to prepare high-level treasures to benefit a single person, for a god, the water held more value. For an organization, however, the mortal tower was worth more.
Kayden tossed a book to Lucius—he had everything planned from the very beginning. Every small step had been documented and analyzed by him. Lucius hadn't expected anything like that but was quite satisfied.
"What exactly is this place?" Kayden asked after the two had come to an agreement.
"It's just a place for gods to fight and make bets. Besides that, this place generates many business opportunities," Lucius replied as the bubble around them dissipated and the other gods were able to resume their conversations.
Kayden spent a few days just talking and watching the battles that took place. Some were of decent quality, but most were between weaker gods. There weren't any truly powerful gods fighting in that environment.
After a few days, Kayden decided to participate in some of the battles. Most were brutally crushed by him, but a few gods were able to face him head-on. These were excellent battles that added significantly to his overall knowledge.
A few gods even managed to surpass Kayden's strength in that environment. He didn't even know how he lost those fights—one moment he was standing, and the next he was destroyed on the ground. It was insane. These were gods at the peak of the second level or the beginning of the third.
Kayden's strength and the number of battles he fought in succession drew the attention of other gods. His strength was relatively ordinary, but his ability to endure several consecutive battles was something quite special. Few gods could do something like that.
After a few more days, Kayden grew tired of the environment and decided to do something different—he went to explore the ocean. The depth they were at reached billions of kilometers—it was insane. There was enough water to fill entire galaxies.
Kayden began to grow increasingly surprised by the tower. The deeper he descended, the more astonished he became. The tower extended downward without limits. Its structure spanned billions of kilometers, which was strange considering it supposedly had only ten floors. Something was definitely wrong.
It took him only a few hours to find a special point in space where the laws were slightly blurred. It was a minimal change, capable of going unnoticed by most mortal mages and even by gods.
After descending far enough, Kayden entered a bubble that would prevent any god from entering. He immediately noticed that around the tower, there was no more water—it was completely dry. Furthermore, he was unable to look outside or sense anything beyond.
"A visitor?" Kayden heard a voice and saw a mermaid looking at him through a kind of window in the tower. It was one of those medieval-style windows made of rough stone with fabric blinds—you couldn't see anything inside.
"Hello. Where am I?" Kayden asked politely. The mermaid in front of him was a god—and not just any god. Her strength was terrifyingly evident.
"The Tower of the Mad, the Infinite Tower, the Divine Tower, the Tower of the End," the woman sighed. "We've had many names throughout the river of time." Kayden didn't receive any meaningful information from that statement.
"What separates this lower part from the upper?" Kayden raised an eyebrow.
"This is the special part—any mortal can enter, but no god is able to see its entrance." Now it made sense to Kayden why the major organizations had no knowledge of this place.
"What's in here?" Kayden was starting to get a little impatient with the mermaid's delay in conveying information.
"There is only a single floor. Conquer your three challenges and receive the inheritance of the tower's master," the woman smiled, and a door opened for Kayden in the tower. He had come this far, so he simply walked in without fear.
The inside was one of the most perfect masterpieces Kayden had ever seen in his entire life. He had literally entered another universe—it wasn't just a few dozen trillion kilometers of space. It was literally an entire universe, with dozens of planets and whole societies.
Kayden stood still for a moment, contemplating the vastness of the space and how perfect its spatial laws were. For a few seconds, he even thought it might be a portal to another universe, but he dismissed the hypothesis after thinking about it more.
Leaving and entering Atherion was extremely difficult. Thoth had made that very clear to Kayden. Even gods with that capability couldn't do it easily. The heavens didn't want Atherion to be corrupted—this was the final destination of the gods.
"Beautiful, isn't it?" Kayden looked to the side and saw a kind of golem. Its body was enormous, dozens of meters tall, with purple crystals every few meters, each one emanating an absurd level of divine energy.
It became clear to Kayden that this was a high-level god—far greater than anyone he had encountered before. Lucius didn't even come close to this aura. Could this be a fourth-level god? Kayden didn't know.
"A true masterpiece," Kayden replied sincerely. He genuinely believed in his words.