CH1017 Thera's Perspective
Added 2026-02-01 18:19:06 +0000 UTCComments
I never considered this, but newly ascended gods also have the power to eventually uplift animals to sentient species, don't they? Strange to think that Thera and Ben could create a new race some time in the future.
Luboš Hemala
2026-02-02 02:06:00 +0000 UTCHe can't do jack about that till he gets T3 enchanting though which is what hes been tryna do. He wants connect and enchanting to merge when one goes T3.
Emily Gurnavage
2026-02-01 23:57:44 +0000 UTCI honestly can’t remember if anyone has discussed how gods grew in power outside of Faith on their native planets. Was there enough Faith then that they -could-, and now they’re double blocked by the minute number of believers and no System? Did they not grow, just have access to significantly more power then so it wasn’t an issue? Or did they get linked to the System (partially to make it -function-), and this has resulted in all gods on the world being stagnated upon linking/ascending?
Mare Matthews
2026-02-01 22:29:34 +0000 UTC“This is my son-in-law. If any of you try anything funny against him, I’m not going to retaliate. “I’m just going to stand here in the corner, watch, and laugh as he decimates you.” 🍿
Mare Matthews
2026-02-01 22:25:54 +0000 UTCI love that Anailia was all "in a few days when we have a proper meeting about it, well, I think I’ll make sure your partner is involved. He does have a charming way of trying to make sure things go in his direction.” She wants to protect her "child" and knows that the coming God of Sacrilege, Evil, and Destruction will absolutely help.
Kallisti _
2026-02-01 22:20:19 +0000 UTCYuzu: “Ben just sent me a message. Jack, I’m not familiar with the way this word is being used, is a ‘union’ something special on your world?”
Mare Matthews
2026-02-01 21:16:53 +0000 UTCNow, this interpretation is based off of my own (untranscribed) epic which has a similar soul-based magic system… But I think Faith and Mana are different forms of the same thing? Mana would be the sum of the soul (well, a specific significant segment of it). It is bound to and used by the soul like blood (although not like blood in any other sense). Faith is a - cycling of the energy. The best metaphor here would be the way plants break down CO2 into what animals breathe, and then animals create CO2 from the oxygen. Faith requires a base of mana to be generated, but can only be used by a rarified soul - a god. We know that Blessings are gods granting a piece of themselves, so the Faith merges into their Soul. But to create more Faith, they need to send parts of themselves down to nurture their base mortals.
Mare Matthews
2026-02-01 21:03:56 +0000 UTC"ok now that you have soul magic we need you working in these places 25 hours a day, here's a schedule, here's 4 Five-Hour Energy drinks to unlock that forbidden 25th hour, and--" *Mini-Realm doors slam open* "Objection! She is an equal and you will be negotiating for access to her talents with fair compensation you greedy little ticks!" *Ben enters shouting while manifesting a few billion pages of contract* "And THAT is just the opening contractual obligations in order to enter into negotiations." *A certain deity begins a millennia long aneurysm looking at his upcoming diplomatic "job".*
Mechanist Grimm
2026-02-01 20:59:51 +0000 UTCI thought that fun fact was already pretty heavily implied, but thanks for confirming it
Popsleo
2026-02-01 20:52:12 +0000 UTCTurnip, Ben isn't going to leave the Talos hanging is he ?, he's doing a lot of stuff just because he thinks he is going to die, the Talos should be part of that, no?
Charles Hughes
2026-02-01 20:35:40 +0000 UTCI feel like that tidbit opened up a can of worms. If mana-based lifeforms are the birth of gods gone wrong what does that mean for what mana is vs faith? Living beings naturally create mana and faith but gods only use faith. What does dying and ascending do to the soul to give it the ability to use faith and block anymore growth? Can Ben enchant his own soul to act like that ascension and steal that ability before his time? If like explicitly stated in the author's notes that gods don't have the potential for growth then what power does Ouan gain for absorbing his demon third tiers? If he gets their domains isn't that a form of growth? Soul magic is basically stated as the highest form of power at that point so it isn't effected by the rules???
Enxes
2026-02-01 20:27:10 +0000 UTCI was always of the assumption that the system is the cause of the gods no longer being able to grow.
Metool
2026-02-01 19:59:23 +0000 UTCInteresting possible side twist, the lesser spirits love their great spirit so dearly because of the divine compulsion that would normally cause obeisance in mortals dealing with gods which replaces the Faith element of their existence.
Carl Mason
2026-02-01 19:16:19 +0000 UTCI hate the fact of that little "fun" fact, but i am glad you shared it and broadened our view of your world that little bit further so we could witness the edge of the dark void that fills your soul as an author. Keep up the good work!
Carl Mason
2026-02-01 19:13:01 +0000 UTCIts a super interesting tidbit. Worldbuilding stuff like the author's note here is why I myself love worldbuilding. All the little details in the background are so cool to make and/or learn about
Gwendolyn Simmons-LaRose
2026-02-01 19:11:58 +0000 UTCThe mana given to spirits that let's them duplicate themselves is a sort of power growth. If you consider all elemental spirits of one element as the fragments of one god, the whole would grow stronger. The individual would still be as strong as before, but the species grows overtime. That way is already there.
Tsorov
2026-02-01 19:05:53 +0000 UTCShe’s probably at the point where she can birth new spirits entirely by herself (at least the magics she has affinity for). She should never need to, hopefully, but she probably has the capacity.
Mare Matthews
2026-02-01 19:00:02 +0000 UTCActually, he’s the prosecution. God of Evil and Destruction not in that he endorses them (necessarily), but because he understands them to a depth others can’t conceive, and therefore judge them better.
Mare Matthews
2026-02-01 18:58:17 +0000 UTCIt might also be another reason the spirits can’t interface with the System? Being closer to “gods” than “mortals,” and so under the same restriction? (based on my pure headcanon that gods are locked out of the System because of resentment from the protogods used to make it)
Mare Matthews
2026-02-01 18:56:39 +0000 UTCYou know, now that Thera has soul magic, it's entirely possible that she will be the second mage to materialize souls. Mana makes up for knowledge when it comes to materialization, and no mortal mage has more than her. And after the initial achievement, it only becomes easier, especially with the system helping things along.
Vorquel
2026-02-01 18:46:10 +0000 UTCA way to put the way spirits work into the story, would be to describe them as a sort of side evolution of divine beings (that's the type of lore Nare would talk about). Because they are weaker AND stronger at the same time. In a very real way they are simply different. Great spirits are de facto MORE immortal than gods, the moment one dies a new one takes it's place. All of them have large amounts of lesser spirits at their sides, all highly proficient in their form of magic. And as we have already gotten teased a bit about: small spirits can use a form of ritual magic instinctually, get enough of them in one place and their power goes BONKERS! They don't have divine realms, but in exchange for it they can influence the mortal world on a large scale without any restrictions or need to fear much. And their most distinct difference to Gods: they don't need faith. They can keep going all on their own, no believers needed.
Michigo
2026-02-01 18:46:09 +0000 UTCThanks for the chapter! Thats an interesting tidbit about the spirits.
blucube 14
2026-02-01 18:44:54 +0000 UTCAh, yes, me joking a few chapters ago that Thera’s going to have to deal with the pressures of being a goddess in about… 20 more hours, once the spirits spread the news far enough. 😂 At least she has the bestest mother goddess to help her every step of the way, Anailia for life!! 🥰🥰
Mare Matthews
2026-02-01 18:43:29 +0000 UTCI can already see Ben putting some of the entitled gods in their place. Interesting idea that the spirits are like nascent god's or adjacent , never fully withing the reach of the title. It does put in perspective of how the gods are actually born though.
SacredSteel
2026-02-01 18:40:07 +0000 UTCYep, the Tolkien route. If I ever write up my own behemoth of insanity, it’ll be web-exclusive because of all the hyperlinks to the random minutiae no one but me cares about. 😂😂😂
Mare Matthews
2026-02-01 18:40:06 +0000 UTCThe mana-based lifeforms being fragments of proto-gods makes complete sense, though, given how we’ve learned every planet that develops sentient life SHOULD have gods. 👍 for consistent world building, I personally love all the thought you put into every detail on this multiverse spanning behemoth!!
Mare Matthews
2026-02-01 18:39:03 +0000 UTCAs someone who’s been building my own fantasy epic world for a decade and a half, I completely get the “Here’s a really cool world detail that is totally necessary for how the world functions, but the characters will never know! 😊” 😂
Mare Matthews
2026-02-01 18:36:39 +0000 UTCUltimately, growth comes from the soul. Surely there is a way to induce it even when there are no natural ways for it.
Luboš Hemala
2026-02-01 18:36:15 +0000 UTCI like that the spirits and great spirits have their own path separate from godhood. Adds another depth to your worldbuilding.
John Vistica
2026-02-01 18:34:41 +0000 UTCBen is starting to feel like a divine defense attorney at this point
PigmyOcelot
2026-02-01 18:33:46 +0000 UTCTurnip, that would be something that could go in an appendix of other interesting facts and history related to the story but not anything that goes in the books. Some people dive into the appendices and learn everything and others are okay just reading the story. With this story being released as a serial, there's no place to put an appendix besides notes like that one. The haters can go fuck themselves
Krae Z Hand
2026-02-01 18:30:11 +0000 UTCTyftc
ex7999999999999
2026-02-01 18:30:04 +0000 UTCthat's neat lore! hope we get another thera chapter and see her take the soul mage job
funktorial
2026-02-01 18:29:17 +0000 UTCThis'll be good >:) Thank you for the chapter :D
Napalm078
2026-02-01 18:27:42 +0000 UTCMe too, I think that's a nifty bit of backstory. ....I hadn't even taken that thought to your logical conclusion, but that's a good question.
Kallisti _
2026-02-01 18:27:22 +0000 UTCI actually like the idea for those mana based But what about the other species like the energy being and else?
ShyviaAngel
2026-02-01 18:25:03 +0000 UTC
