Epic of Caterpillar
chapter-400

Morpheus was discussing with his siblings and Agatheina various things regarding the Realm of Vida, and as he served more tea to Levana, he sensed the message left in his 'Interdimensional Shop'.

"A buyer?" he thought.

Morpheus quickly opened a rift in space which revealed a place filled with yellow clouds, this was the 'Interdimensional Shop' separated space, where several Gods placed their shops, this space was run by the System itself, so Gods weren't able to enter directly, only place items or materials alongside messages and 'wills' to respond other messages. Such 'wills' were suppressed from doing anything else by the yellow cloud space which was controlled by the System.

Morpheus heard the message and released a small smile.

Merveim, the Wyvern God of Strength, and Hodhyl, the Wyvern Goddess of Nature, had requested a meeting with him and his siblings. They had recently escaped from the current Dragon Gods Pantheon which was serving directly to the Central Continent Pantheon and Supreme Gods due to them having blessed one of Kireina's allies, Titus and Eshne, both children of the Wyvern Overlord.

They seemed rather desperate and were willing to give away their Divine Realm Materials, their Divine Relics, and even their scales, blood, and horns, which were also precious materials if harvested from Dragon Gods such as themselves.

Morpheus detected the determination in their message, but decided to not make rash decisions, and asked everyone else in the meeting.

"Oh?! Could it be that more Gods are recognizing Kireina-sama greatness?! It seems that they are rather intelligent!" said Agatheina, her smile filled with pride.

"Well, it's more like they don't have nowhere to go. According to what Morpheus said, they feared their siblings because they were supporting a different faction of mortals, those who opposed Kireina and her Empire" said Maeralya.

"I've heard that Dragon Gods are rather scarce in the Realm of Vida," said Levana.

"Indeed, there are very few compared to the human gods, its because they have separated themselves in several groups, which slowly disintegrated. Some dragon gods became wicked with power or the desire of destruction and backstabbed their siblings… creating a lot of internal conflicts" answered Marnet.

"Well that's rather troublesome… couldn't they get along?" asked Levana.

"Well, it usually depends on their divinities, Levana" answered Morpheus.

"Divinities? Do they have to do anything with how we act aside from our powers?" asked Levana.

"Levana-chan, you're rather misinformed in these things… your grandmother had been doing a terrible work at educating you," said Maeralya, while waving her head.

"Levana, Divinities are both a curse and a blessing for us gods. They bring us the incredible power that can defy the laws of the world, but it also shapes our natures. Most of your siblings are pacifist because their Divinities are related to Life Attribute, which is often calm and 'good', they also have divinities related to the animals they represent, and often have some of their characteristics in their natures… for example, Morpheus is loyal to Kireina by now, because he's like a horse. And I feel naturally attracted to Kireina because of my Blood and Vampire Divinity, and Kireina's being a vampire, it instinctively forces me to follow her, even more, after the wound she provoked into my body" said Agatheina, completely self-aware of her strange obsession to Kireina.

"Just as she said, Divinities shape our natures, characteristics, and personalities… although we usually don't feel the change when we ascend to godhood, because we already were like that when we were mortals…" added Maeralya.

"But Gods that were often ruthless and a bit merciless as mortals, would often become worse when they obtain a Divinity, as it would sometimes be related to such personality, increasing its effects and making it more prominent than anything," said Morpheus.

"I-I see… so I am shy and timid because of my Divinity being related to Bats, whose hide in caves?" asked Levana, she was also self-aware of her issues.

"Yeah, that's quite right… but such effect is not really that prominent, you've been able to open yourself to us more freely" said Morpheus.

"Uwah, don't say that brother, it makes me flustered," said Levana, covering her face with her wings.

"Look, the most recent example could be Megusan! That bastard was cunning and evil to the core, he never intended to become our ally back then and backstabbed us the time he found an opportunity to do so. That's because his Divinity was that of 'Venomous and Long Critters'" said Marnet.

"Hm… I see. But wait, if Kireina got his Divinity, will she backstab us?!" said Levana.

"My ignorant little granddaughter, Kireina-sama won't be easily influenced by such forces, this is because she ate and digested Megusan's soul, most likely!" said Agatheina.

"My theory is that it's because she is a mortal that she isn't affected, she has also developed a lot before, her personality and characteristics are already too strong to be affected by a weakened Pseudo-Divinity," said Marnet.

"Marnet theory can be further proven when we look at some Gods who have stolen Divinities from others, although it is a rare event, it had happened before. For example, there was a Shadow Attribute God who was always gloomy, he stole a Light Attribute God divinity, but didn't suddenly became brighter or happier or anything like that, his primary attribute quickly suppressed the new one, without creating any changes on his mind" added Morpheus.

The Gods were deeply knowledgeable, and Levana was getting a lot of new insights and a greater understanding of the situation.

"So because those two Wyvern Gods Divinities are Strength and Nature, they are less likely to backstab or treason us?" asked Levana.

"Oh, well, most likely. But it isn't confirmed that they won't, we need to be wary, now that we are all together, it is a nice time to receive them. I am confident that we are strong enough to at least fend them off with Agatheina's help. Even more when we put into account that this is Morpheus Divine Realm and he can control it as he pleases" analyzed Marnet.

"Ah! I got the perfect idea! How about we prove their loyalty by making them cut a chunk of their Souls for Kireina-sama to consume? Isn't that fair? If they do, they would be willing to anything else and their trust would be guaranteed, for the most part" said Agatheina.

"Hmm… well, although that sounds very ruthless, it is a nice idea," said Maeralya.

Agatheina was also quite cunning, but her loyalty to Kireina was the greatest of all the Gods in here. She was perhaps the only one who could have come out with such an idea, the other gods were mostly pacifist, and disliked making others suffer if possible. Unless they were to enrage them like Megusan.

The other gods nodded in agreement.

"It is very merciless to ask them that, though… but it could be the quickest way to trust them," said Morpheus, who had already given up in a part of his Divinity to feed it to Kireina, since he took that piece of his soul, he had weakened a little bit, losing some Divine Energy and strength.

"It's a good idea, if they deny, then we don't have to bother with them," said Marnet. He was like a wolf, and cared about his pack, but nothing else. If these Dragon Gods were not willing to sacrifice something to join the 'pack' then they were never worthy and shouldn't be looked upon.

"Well… it is quite frightening to ask about giving up a piece of their souls to join us… but just as all of you said, it is a good way, and we also end up strengthening Kireina" said Levana.

"If they want to join us, they should be willing to sacrifice their things for Kireina-sama to grow stronger," said Agatheina.

Morpheus nodded as he sent back a message to the Dragon Gods. He denied their materials or parts of their bodies but asked for two Elixirs made out of a chunk of their Soul, which contained their Divinity.

Merveim and Hodhyl looked at each other, they seemed concerned.

"This… they denied everything, but asked for a piece of our Divinity?" said Merveim, the Wyvern God of Strength, he had the body of a giant Wyvern with muscles all over, dark scales covered his muscles as he had large wings on his front legs, he had two golden eyes and three charcoal horns in the middle of its forehead.

"It's very strange. Perhaps it's a way to show our loyalty to them? They may be more paranoiac about enemies than we thought" said Hodhyl, the Wyvern Goddess of Nature, she had a slender body, with thin bright green scales, she was smaller than her brother, but had golden eyes just as he. She had plants of all types growing over her back, trees bearing delicious fruits, colorful flowers, and medicinal herbs. She only had one white horn in the middle of her forehead and a green orb in her chest.

"Heh, do we even have anywhere to go? We'll have to do it, and then ask what they will do with those pieces of our Divinity I suppose" said Merveim, he was quite rash on his decisions.

"Brother, you're rash as ever. But I agree… it's not like we have anywhere to go, we can't allow us to get cocky and ask why they are so wary of us, it may end up creating even more distrust" said Hodhyl.

"After all, we will be joining those who support the benefactor of our blessed children," said Merveim, referring to Titus and Eshne.

"You're right, I would like to meet Eshne-kun," said Hodhyl, as if she were recalling the green wyvern as her son.

Without any more words, the two Wyvern Gods revealed their large divinities and using their claws and certain techniques, chopped off a piece each.

Merveim divinity resembled red and dark smoke, while Hodhyl resembled a piece of green-colored wood, covered in moss and flowers.

The two dissolved the pieces into flasks, creating Elixirs within seconds.

"This should do"

The two Wyvern God Siblings placed the Elixirs in the 'Interdimensional Shop' space, made out of yellow clouds. Some of the gods that were active in that space detected the powerful presence of divinities inside and became alarmed.

"Huh? Who is exchanging Divinities?!"

"Isn't that illegal?"

"Are they out of their minds? Did they create an Elixir out of their divinities?"

"Or they did with the divinities of a god they killed?!"

"Who are they?!"

"They appear as anonymous…"

The voices of several Lone Gods were heard across the yellow cloud space, but after the transaction was done, their voices disappeared.

"Haah… we did quite a ruckus" lamented Merveim.

"I'm thankful that we registered ourselves as anonymous. Anyways, with these Elixirs, it will be guaranteed that we are the ones we say we are, while also proving our loyalty" said Hodhyl.

Morpheus and the rest of the gods on his Divine Realm were surprised by the quick response that they received, two brilliant Elixirs made out of the Divinities of Strength and Nature appeared in front of them.

"They are to be trusted; it seems," said Agatheina.

"Uwah… they actually did it, and so fast," said Levana, who had taken some time to cut a piece of her soul, as she wasn't able to bear the pain like her siblings or grandmother.

Agatheina analyzed the flask's contents and confirmed that they were made out of authentic divinities, they had a salty scent, as they were made out of Dragon gods, whose divinities had different components than Humanoid Gods and Beast Gods.

A black, cola-like substance was the Elixir of Strength, while the green, dew-like substance was the Elixir of Nature. As every god confirmed what they were, Agatheina quickly transferred the Elixirs to Kireina's Item Box, leaving a note in them.

"Very well then, let's invite them inside," said Marnet.

"Morpheus," said Maeralya.

"Alright," said Morpheus as he waved his hand, opening a drift in the space of his Divine Realm, easily finding the location of the Wyvern Gods, who they had previously stated to him in the message they sent through the 'Interdimensional Shop'.

Two giant Wyverns began to enter the Divine Realm, their sizes incomparable to the gods present.

Although they were intimidating, their natures were well-behaved and humble.

"Thank you very much for trusting us, Morpheus-san," said Hodhyl.

"Phew… We finally made it… can the other guys enter?" said Merveim.

"Welcome! And what do you mean by other guys?!" said Morpheus as he saw a large group of wyverns, who were Living Deity species flying through the sky of his Divine Realm.

"Our children, they are still growing, and some are close to demigods, but they need a lot of training until then," said Hodhyl.

"I see… well, we have some of them in here as well, but please, tell them to not be so noisy," said Morpheus.

"Oh, we'll try… sorry in advance, haha" apologized Merveim.

Were Hodhyl sat down, nature flourished, the flowers that surrounded the gods grew larger and wilder, and a small forest appeared out of nowhere in a matter of seconds.

"Wow… so that's a Goddess of Nature!" said Levana, admiring Hodhyl.

"You must be Levana-chan; it is nice to meet you. The Nature Attribute originates from the Life Attribute, it should be possible for you to do the same if you grow stronger" said Hodhyl, with a gentle voice, as if she Levana's mother.

Merveim also rested in the flower beds, sighing in relief.

"Phew… there is a lot to talk about but let me rest for a while…" he said, as he fell asleep.

Before the other Gods could speak with Hodhyl, she had also fallen asleep.

"To be expected of Dragon Gods, they are lazy," said Agatheina.

"How long will they take to wake up?" asked Levana.

"Well, a few hundred years" answered a Living Deity Wyvern, someone close to demigodhood.

"What?!"

"Sigh… we'll let them rest for a few days, then we'll wake them up even if by force," said Marnet.