Blacksmith of the Apocalypse

The winning band was a rock band from Urth and all five people received the right to choose an instrument and 1000 silver as prize money. The second day of the Band Battle went by without trouble.

The third day was a short one, housing the competition of Poets. It was a way to give people a day of break, as the speeches of poets were much calmer and ... verbose compared to the musical competitions. People would either spend the day recuperating by listening to high prose, or simply stay at their inn, or look at the city. Poetics was not for everyone the the audience for it was a special one

Seth also wasn't present to listen to the literary effusions of the contestants. While the stadium was half-filled with a great number of poetry enjoyers and those who pretended to be as such, Seth used the chance to visit Python and see whether the Pythian Games already affected her.

The great snake golem deity was currently hibernating in a secret chamber right below the guardian tree, among its thickest roots. The blacksmith had a slight suspicion that they were moving in the wrong mythology, by putting a giant snake into the roots of a world tree, but he could have been wrong.

Mina, Fin, and many of the other core members of Minas Mar who were not needed to guard the venue, accompanied him on the descent. To get to Python, they entered a secret tunnel that started in the basement of Minas Mar's local branch.

The staircase and tunnel, completely hewn from wood and illuminated by bright crystal lights, inhibited the mystical potential this could have had, as a secret passage, covered in dark roots and forgotten to the world, only dimly lit by ancient torches.

But what could they do? they were a modern business and people needed to see where they stepped. There were workplace regulations and safety measures to abide by. They wouldn't want one of the maintenance staff to hurt themselves by stumbling over a random root in the twilight.

As such, they were walking down a very elegant and pricey-looking wooden staircase that led down to the depth of the earth in a wide spiral.

“Vathon really did a great job with the wood paneling, “ Bulko complimented the detailed and polished wooden panels that covered the walls of the staircase. They showed various fantastic scenes of Trees, beasts, and battles. Mixed in were depictions of many of Minas Mar's members.

When they finally reached their destination at the end of the staircase, the place of Python fully delivered on its mystic potential, unlike the very modern and clean-looking staircase. The chamber of the giant snake was like a cocoon of interwoven roots.

While the floors were barren earth, the root ceiling and room were illuminated by the shine of eery greenish blue magic lantern, that resembled the souls of the victims, captured by the hangingtree.

Only meters after leaving the exit of the staircase they face a massive curved wall, as if there was a maze built into this cavern deep underground.

Except, this was, of course, not a wall, but Python's body. The great deity was rolled together, slumbering in her den down here. There was also emitting a slight glow from her body, but it was barely noticeable in the dim twilight.

“Is this... divine power?” Fin asked incredulously. As somewhat of a priestess herself, she was still able to recognize the special power, even if she didn't serve any specific god.

“Yes, it should be. To think it would be so concentrated that it became visible to the naked eye,” Bulko agreed, as she stepped closer in wonder.

From the looks of it and taking into account what the priests were saying, it seemed that the Pythian games were working as intended. Seth was not too prone to the process of apotheosis, but he knew it was a little similar to how they were able to become legends.

Python and Angelique, the two deities he knew, were no real help, so what Seth knew came from the various gods like Nas'Korn, Samhach, and Senior White. However, their experiences could not be compared 1:1 to how it worked under the system, since they were gods, long before the System god entered their world.

From what he could infer, the title of deity could be seen to correspond with stepping on the Path to Legends. While players, or normal people in general, collected Power of Existence to grow after stepping past the boundary of mortals, deities collected divine power to improve themselves.

The difference was the method of acquisition. While players, or mortals, were dependent on their own deeds and the acknowledgment of these deeds by the masses to gather Power of Existence, deities, and gods needed to collect faith to generate Divine Power.

This happened either through prayers, or sacrifices made in their name. It was best if they came from true believers, but it seemed that deities were not picky in that regard. In this sense, the Pythian Game, organized in her honor, was a massive sacrifice and prayer at the same time, getting her name, likeness, and power out there to billions of people.

Of course, they also got Seth's name and standing out there, and the blacksmith had already registered a stead incline of Power of Existence, but Python's conditions were more important to them at this point.

Currently, Python was hibernating to properly absorb all of the energy generated through the Pythian games, in preparation for her ascension. Whether this would actually be enough to get Python over the threshold in one go, or not was inconclusive. Having another, bonafide god guard a Tree Station with a massive populace would alleviate much of their worries.

If Python managed to ascend, they would have 4 local gods protecting people in Minas Mar.. Python would guard TS2 or Little Gamma, Samhach was guarding TS 3, Nas'Korn guarded Mount Agra and Senior White had taken residence in TS7, which was now called Spring City.

There was also Angelique in TS4, but she was still far from ascending to godhood, mostly because she was held back by Seth's skill. As his revived subordinate she could not outgrow the blacksmith's level.

~How is it, Python?~ the bard asked the snake using telepathy.

~ Shh! I'm concentrating... Fine, if that makes you leave again: At the current rate, it won't be enough to get me over the edge, but the influx will probably rise once the physical competitions and the tournament starts. So it could be just enough, or fall just short of being enough. Happy?~ the deity quickly summed up the situation, to make her visitors leave again.

It was safe to say, it didn't work. The team didn't come here to quickly leave. They stayed for a pick nick under the magical root ceiling.

...

---Cinema Dimension---

Seth felt a sudden minuscule change in the room and turned around. There was a new god in the third row behind them. A certain god with a cold, wet nose and a preference for dark, moody behavior.

“Ankle-biter, what brought you here?” the god of chaos asked without looking directly at the god in question.

“I'm sure you know why I'm here, Uncle,” Anubis said in a deep, emotionless voice.

Hades watched the newcomer with interest. As gods of the underworld, there was a certain rivalry, but no hostility to mention.

“I have no idea what you are talking about, “ Seth answered with a mischievous smile.

“Uncle, you know exactly what this is about. You should have contacted me when there were signs of my holy relic appearing again. You know how long I have been looking for it,” the jackal-headed god said strained.

“It's not like we have that kind of relationship,” the god of desert storms answered with a shrug.

“Your holy relic?” Hermes asked interested.

“Now the things we heard about Arget Nore make sense,” Hephaestus commented with a nod. He had already put the puzzle pieces together.

“Yes, a copy of my book that was stolen a century ago,” Anubis answered Hermes. Now the messenger god also understood. All of the disruption they had heard about through their people in Minas Mar was caused by the holy relic of Anubis, the Book of Death!