[Vol. 7] Chapter 206: The Five Reversed Gods
"Nightmare? What's that?"
The day after the first event of the World Academy Joint Exchange Conference, the priestess, still bothered by certain things, met Lucine once more to discuss what had happened earlier.
Of course, after the vampire princess’ clever hint last time, Violet now knew that many eyes were watching Lucine, and it wasn’t wise to meet her too often. So this time, Violet used the [Simulated Kabbalah Tree of Life] to mimic the [Trace-less Place], a Semi-Divine artifact that completely hid her presence before showing up.
However, this also caused her sudden appearance to startle the little loli vampire so much that she almost got stabbed by her. Luckily, the priestess was quick and skilled enough to barely block the [Godslayer Spear], a signature weapon of the strongest vampire princess.
That was close!
Even though it was dangerous, it proved something important: as long as her methods were clever enough, even someone as strong as Lucine couldn’t detect her every time. That vampire might be unexpectedly powerful, but not to an impossible degree.
Victory!
In any case, after the chaotic start and some preparation to block any outside spying, the two girls finally sat down again for a proper talk at the First District private residence. The information exchange went smoothly. It was during the conversation about the “patients” Violet treated the day before that she heard a strange term from the little loli princess’s mouth.
"You’ve never even heard of [Nightmare]?"
Lucine gave Violet a strange look, the kind that said, “Are you a bit out of touch?”. But after a brief pause, the ancient loli, who had lived for who knows how many thousands of years, seemed to understand.
"Oh… right. Since I’ve never heard of you during the Age of the Gods, that means you’re likely a god from another world, or one who was born through special means within the last thousand years. That does make sense."
She cleared her throat gently, helping Violet save face, then began to explain on her own initiative.
"The full name of [Nightmare] is [Spirit of Nightmare]. As the name suggests, it's a type of conceptual spirit formed from a law or principle. But unlike the many spirits of law that naturally came into being when the world was created, the [Spirit of Nightmare] is an artificial being, it was created by an outside force, not born from the origin of creation."
After pausing for a moment, the vampire continued and said a name slowly, "The God of Subversion and Paradox."
"This god holds the power of Paradox, which means reversing truth and turning false things into real ones. Even among the gods, this is one of the strangest and most unbelievable laws. While this power can’t create things from nothing like the power of [Origin], it can still produce similar effects if used properly."
"I mentioned before that every god’s personality and actions are closely tied to the law they represent. The God of Subversion and Paradox is no different. He doesn't like to fight, he’s only interested in experiments. He enjoys using his powers to create reversed versions of things he finds interesting, kind of like a craftsman who loves to make strange tools."
"If he has enough time and the right conditions, he can even copy and reverse the powers of other gods, creating what are known as Reversed Laws. The [Spirit of Nightmare] is one of these, made using the law of [Dreams] as a template."
After explaining all that in one long breath, the vampire, who clearly knew a lot about this God of Subversion and Paradox, finally got to the main point.
"From what I know, the God of Subversion and Paradox has created many reversed laws. Most of them were eventually erased by the world’s natural correction force because they didn’t fit. But a few managed to survive and grow into stable powers."
"Actually, in terms of raw strength, the God of Subversion and Paradox isn’t the strongest among the gods. His concepts and powers aren’t the most powerful. But the thing is, he can keep making more and more reversed creations. A few of them are even more dangerous than he is. And when you stack them all together, even the Main Gods might not be able to stop them."
"Because of this, a long time ago, the other gods made a divine contract to strictly limit what he could create, especially banning any more experiments involving the core laws of the world. But since they didn’t want to push him too far, the creations he had already made were allowed to remain, as a kind of compromise."
"In the end, five reversed powers that had reached the level of laws were left under his control. These became known as the [Five Reversed Gods]. One of the most well-known among them is the [Spirit of Nightmare]."
"The power of [Nightmare] is to pull souls into dreams and control those dreams. Against things that don’t have souls, it’s almost useless. But if it works on a target, it becomes very difficult to counter and extremely troublesome power."
After talking non-stop for quite a while and noticing that the other person had no intention of replying, Lucine paused for a short break. She took a sip of her favorite tea, so sweet and thick it was almost like syrup, and seemed to be thinking about how to explain things in a simpler way.
“Miss Violet, I’m guessing you don’t know much about dreams, right? After all, dreams usually only happen to ordinary beings. For someone like you, a god who has already gone beyond the limits of normal creatures, it’s an area you almost never come into contact with. Hmm… have you ever dreamed before?”
“Dreams… heh~”
Also holding a smooth porcelain cup, warming her hands slightly, Violet lowered her eyes to the tea still filled to the brim. The reflection of the black-haired girl in the tea shimmered faintly as a subtle smile formed on her lips. She quietly nodded.
It was true, ever since she had crossed into this world and taken on the body of a god-like being, she had almost never dreamed again. But the memories of once being human hadn’t faded. Besides...
“I understand what you’re trying to say. Go on.”
“Alright then.”
Lucine put down her cup. Instantly, a maid standing nearby stepped forward and refilled it. Unlike Yulia and the other vampires, this maid was one of Lucine’s personal blood servants, a kind of human bound to her through a special contract. Not only was she completely loyal, but her senses and thoughts were fully under Lucine’s control. That meant she couldn’t hear the conversation or even clearly see Violet’s face.
Only under such strict conditions was she allowed to serve at the princess's side during a private meeting like this.
Violet seemed to be looking at the maid with slight curiosity, maybe recalling something from the past. Lucine noticed and used the moment to explain.
“Miss Violet, I’m sure you’re familiar with how blood servants are made. While this girl chose to sign a contract with me when she was close to death, our kind, the vampires, do have methods to forcefully create this kind of bond. It allows us to fully control our servants’ will. The power of [Nightmare] is somewhat similar… but it’s much deeper and more mysterious.”
“Dream studies is actually a very wide and complicated field. According to the current mainstream theories in Sainz, dreams are believed to be a reflection of the soul’s true essence. They show a creature’s most honest and hidden self. What appears in a dream is often the rawest form of a person’s desires.”