(Nephelont's PoV)
'Where am I?'
As soon as I closed my eyes, I felt myself slip out of the world of the living.
'Is this oblivion? Purgatory? What is it that I see right now?'
But those thoughts weren't at the forefront of my mind. What was there was the question of whether Eucleia and the others got home safely or not.
"Mother, how sorry I am to not return to you" I said, thinking that there was no one to hear me.
"Nephelont Cranel" I heard a booming voice coming over from the surrounding darkness.
"Who?" I freaked out, turning in every direction I could, attempting to find the one who called my name.
"Don't waste your time. You won't be able to see me" I heard the voice coming from everywhere around me. "As for who I am, I am a higher being. I am here to help you pass along to your next life"
"I don't care about that. Tell me how to go back if that's possible! My family and my friends are all there!" I said, feeling anxiety spreading through my "body."
"That is possible, but only after gaining a certain set of abilities and achieving more than one ascension to godhood in a different world each" Said the supposed higher being.
"Why? Can't I just go back now?" I asked. It displeased me how it was possible yet will take so long to do so.
"Since you died, the link that anchored your soul to the lower realm was severed. You might wonder, "Why doesn't my soul go through reincarnation through the same world or get resurrected by Uncle Henryk, then?". That is because your soul did not belong to that world to begin with" The self-proclaimed higher being said.
"Then let's get started. Can I start by keeping my memories?" I said seriously. If I lose my memories, like other souls that go through reincarnation, then this is all meaningless.
"That was already guaranteed" Said the supposed higher being.
"What about the abilities I need to gather? Can you tell me about them? Also, how would I archive godhood in a mortal's body?" I asked.
"For the abilities, you need to be able to travel through space and manipulate time to a degree. Depending on how long you take and what worlds you visit, you may not need the time manipulation, as time dilation between separate worlds is going to help you. As for achieving godhood, that depends on the world you achieve it in. Each world has its unique set of rules. Some allow mortals to ascend, while some don't. Your ichor that you inherited from Aeolus, no matter how diluted, is going to absorb the divinity and settle it in your soul properly. However, precisely because you have a diluted ichor, it would take multiple ascensions to purify enough divinity to be able to go back" Ranted the supposed higher being.
"I need to acquire the ability to travel through space once, but how many godhoods do I need to go through?" I asked, now desperate to cling to this new hope.
"That I cannot tell you" I heard an apologetic tone in the higher being's voice.
"Well, then, how do I acquire the ability to travel through space?" I asked, hoping so dearly to know how.
"You either need to sacrifice your memories for it or get it through a method in one of the worlds you visit" I heard him say, now sounding urgent. "We have little time left. What challenge do you set for yourself? Know that you will be sent to a world where that challenge is possible, even if barely"
"To fight the very sun and win" If I was given the chance, then I would grab it. I both want to acquire this ability to travel through space but also want to be the only sun, childish as my reasons are.
"What for?" The higher being wanted to confirm it.
But why? I thought about it for a few seconds. Then, I reached a conclusion. I have more than this one life to acquire this one ability. I need something that will help me should I fail when I aim for it.
"I wish to keep my falna and its progress through reincarnations" I said. If there was anything that would help, it was this.
"That requires you to talk to the true self of the god who gave you your falna" I heard as space itself twisted around me.
What I saw next was a vast hall with a fire at its center, burning brightly, brilliantly, without any fuel, nestled in a decorated brazier. It was an impressive hall, intricately designed with marble floors and pillars. In fact, it was made of marble in its entirety. It was simply painted to look pretty.
"Who are you?" I heard a voice behind me, and with it came a heat that threatened to erase me. The voice, however, was one I recognized. It was a voice that disarmed my caution.
"Grandmother Hestia, you could have welcomed me a bit warmer" I spoke out of turn, it seems, as I found myself on my back before I even noticed, my body aching.
"Never call me grandmother again. Forget being a grandmother, I have never given birth to anyone to be a mother in the first place" I heard her warm voice lecturing me as if what she did before talking was totally normal as a response. To be fair, it resulted in no real harm to me.
"But that was how I always called your shard? Not to mention, Grandmother Aeolus never corrected me on it" I said, earning a concerned look from her.
"Aeolus is a male god, child. He could not have been your grandmother either" She said, before realization hit her. "Unless, the lower realm with the dungeon city Oratoria is where you come from?"
"It is called Orario, now that over a thousand years have passed..." I wanted to call her grandmother like I was used to calling the goddess back home, but I could not. She did tell me not to call her that just a moment ago.
She sighed.
"You can call me grandmother, but Aeolus should be kept in the dark about your existence. His wife wouldn't be much too pleased knowing he had a child not of hers" Grandmother Hestia told me as she stretched a hand to help me up.
"This is Olympus. How did a demi-god get in here without permission?" Grandma asked as she pulled me up.
"Someone brought me here" I said, only now noticing the weird clothes I am wearing. Those were clothes that I had never seen before, and they somehow felt very comfortable to wear. "I was brought here to ask for your permission to keep the falna upon my back, no matter how many times I go through reincarnation"
"That is not a problem, seeing as my shard judged that you are worthy" I did not notice her moving behind me, checking my back for the falna. "How did they engrave it again?" I heard her mumble in a low voice.
Before long, I felt something trickle down my back, something warm and viscus. It was grandma's blood, her golden ichor.
"There you go, my child. Your falna shall last you for as long as your soul isn't destroyed in its entirety" She said before hugging me, giving me a warmth I would not come to feel for a long time coming. "After seeing your story through your falna, I could see why my shard loved you. Take care in your journey, my child, and remember that death will reset your 'parameters' as you call them but would not affect your skills. Those are part of your identity"
I was pushed through a portal I did not realize she had created behind me. She pushed me through it with a smile, a grin only grandma Hestia could give me. After taking a closer, final look at her, she seems to have assumed grandma's form from back in the lower realm.
"I hope to see you again, Nephelont!" Grandma Hestia said as the portal closed in on me.
'It seems that no matter what version, the goddess known as Hestia is always going to be warmth given form' I thought as I was brought back to the dark space where he awaited.
"My final words to you are a reminder, Nephelont Cranel!" I heard the higher being's voice booming from all around me. "Your falna will be locked away until you have fulfilled this trial you have set for yourself. Should you fail, you will need to set another, different trial in its place until you succeed!"
Before I was given a chance, I started plummeting down. I felt myself stretch and twist in really wrong ways before I woke up with a slight headache.
Looking around me, I saw what looked like giant snail shells with rough ridges all over them. I spread my winds all around me to get a feel for any signs of life. There were none but one stationary life a few ways away from me.
'This could either be good or bad. I should see if I'm presentable, in case that makes a difference'
I took a quick look over my appearance in this life. In comparison to what I felt the other life's shape to look like, I looked very much the same. A creature with what felt like an exposed skull, a tattered cloak, and a worn, wide and thick blade as long as I am tall strung on my back. I had short, stubby limbs that looked like they were made of pure darkness and had no fingers or toes.
'Brilliant. I have no mouth or nose, nor do I seem to have a need for either, or breathing in general'
I tried to squeeze my eyebrows together but lamented the fact I had none to squeeze.
'Let's move on. Lingering on it any longer would only serve to drive me crazy'
I flew my way over to the entity I felt. As I thought, it has the same appearance and lack of need to breathe.
I approached from the front, my nearly broken weapon ready but not held up. The creature held its own weapon, the same as mine and in the same state, but did not attack me yet. When I put my weapon back on my back, it did the same.
'Good. A non-aggressive native'
Due to the lack of mouth, I assumed that it also lacked the ability to talk. I gave up the thought and simply spread my wind and senses as wide as possible. There was a steep cliff somewhere behind this creature close to me and another creature at the edge of my perception, a breathing one, with a cloak that did not feel as tattered as ours.
'This one should be able to talk'
I started walking, noting that the creature was walking behind me. We share a destination for now.