Capítulo 117: 27.3 Wight Heritage
"Obvious question here but is there a reason why she's the goddess of life and death instead of just death?"
"From what I've recently read on the website Hel is described as half living and half dead."
"Do you think that's true?"
"I cannot confirm validity of this however this unique description lends credence to her title and thus her nature. Even before she became an ally to mother Hel was described as somewhat of an anomaly especially for a god who presides over death. Of all the gods I've heard of, Hel is one that is particularly active in the lives of her followers.
"How so?"
"Well…"
…
After Lucius' ascension as king of the newly formed Necropolis, Hades made it possible for undead monsters of a superior quality similar to his to be created by whispering the means into the ears of his followers. Hades also gave this new race of superior undead the designation Wight, named in honor of Lucius Wight, the first true undead king."
The Wights created after Lucius were born from the corpses of once powerful humans such as Heroes, knights created through powerful advanced necromancy or his devout worshippers who received his favor. Through them Wights were seen as the equivalent of a 'Heroes' and the chosen champions of death acting out Hades' will on the mortal plane.
Under Hades reign, there would be at best one or two created every century or so but after Hel's ascension, however, there would be an increase in the Wight population as the goddess enacted several changes that would make the Wight transformation more accessible to her worshippers. As more time passed their overall culture would change and evolve as the Hel made more changes behind the scenes.
As a result of these changes over time, Wights were no longer necessarily seen as 'champions' of the death goddess but rather as royalty among the undead that were given the divine right to rule over them.
By the time Lilith became Overlord, the role of Wights became more defined, and their culture had dramatically shifted to mimic highborn human society with all the grandeur, posturing and political intrigue it entailed. At this point Hel had defected from the Chief Goddess' pantheon and would enact another parameter change dictating that all married lesser undead would be able to become Wights with enough time and a steady flow of their husband's spirit energy.
As more Wights appeared, so too did budding Demon Realm Necropolises, which further cemented the mythos of their 'nobility' and 'highborn status' into standard cultural practices. A thousand years later and the nuances of these aspects have thoroughly ingrained themselves as personality quirks inherent to some degree in all Wights.
…
As Ezraphel finished explaining Natalie couldn't help but ask "so what does that mean for me? Am I going to develop snooty aristocratic tendencies?"
"In a manner of speaking though it is not as if the quirks themselves are all encompassing. Not all Wights I encountered are highborn nobles or aspire to be one. Since all lesser undead types from different paths of life have the opportunity to evolve, Wights have become quite diverse as a race."
Technically she was already told this when she initially chose to become a Wight but it was good to have context behind the reason why that is.
"Do you have any more queries?" Ezraphel questioned interrupting her thoughts.
"Yeah, what happened to Hades?"
"He was dethroned from his position. If you were to ask the Chief Goddess, then they would say he grew discontent with his position and, through said discontent and jealousy of her, sought to challenge her for the position of leader of the pantheon, forcing her to strike him down in order to maintain order."
"Ah" Natalie nodded before adding "so that's a fucking lie, right?"
Natalie blinked as her response came out a bit harsher than she meant it to 'what the…?'
"I imagine so" Ezraphel broke her thoughts "it is quite foolish to trust the words of a self-righteous warmonger who has manipulated the world for eons for her own personal gain at the cost of an untold number of lives."
Natalie almost recoiled at the sneer on Lilim's face. Natalie had no context for the hate the Lilim held for this goddess yet she couldn't say that it wasn't unwarranted. For some reason the Wight felt a distinct dislike towards this Chief Goddess despite knowing nothing about her outside the fact that she hated Mamono.
That's…actually kind of unnerving.
"You know, I know nothing about this person but just from the few things you've said just now she sounds like a total bitch."
"She really is," Ezraphel concurred "and you'll find that natural distaste for that particular entity to be the work of Eons of hatred and malice felt by the collective monster/mamono race who have been used and abused as pawns and scapegoats in her bid to maintain control of the world through humanity."
'Note to self: read up on the Chief Goddess.'
If she's going to hate someone then she might as well have a reason for it and while she might be able to get answers from the woman standing before her Natalie felt the conversation might get derailed even further since Ezraphel seemed to be a really passionate hater of this goddess.
Now was about the time to switch topics but luckily Ezraphel seemed to understand the tangent she went on and corrected this herself.
"Ahem, so as we've concluded, your personality changing is less of a concern than the possibility of the other effects your transformation may have in the long term."
"What other effect?"
"Due to the circumstances of their creation, all Wights, regardless of their origin, have a connection to the goddess Hel and the Realm of the Dead. This connection is what gives them the ability to control lesser undead and spirits, as well as the authority to command the greater undead and spirits."
Natalie let that information sink in for a moment with furrowed brows before realization dawned.
"Now when you say connection...you don't think she'll notice me, do you?"
"As a goddess beloved and revered by many I am sure that she has more than enough on her plate to notice a singular Wight in another dimension mostly devoid of mana and magic to support her existence. I dare say it would be akin to, how do you say, spotting a needle in a haystack the size of a city?"
"That's reassuring, I think."
Natalie didn't know if Hel noticing her would be bad per se since, from what she's been told, Hel is by all intents and purposes a most benevolent goddess, and if she were honest, there is something deep within that wouldn't mind being acknowledged by her.
Before the words could get filtered through her mind, Natalie ended up asking, "would it be so bad if Hel noticed me?"
"I suppose Hel being aware of Earth wouldn't be the worst thing by itself" Ezraphel hazarded.
"You sound a little unsure there."
"I don't know enough about her to gauge what her response would be with knowledge of this world's existence. She certainly doesn't seem the type to facilitate an invasion, if that's what you're worried about. Not to mention her existence as a deity adds another layer to the ambiguity of what actions she would take. The gods have rules, and while Hel is very much one of the more active ones within the sphere of her religion, it's just within that sphere. Gods tend to not bother with things outside that sphere."
"That tracks," Natalie mused "there are a lot of myths floating around about gods having rules and taking a hands-off approach with us mere mortals."
"With that said, considering you are the only undead in this world and a Wight of all things, she may just be curious enough about your existence to reach out if she ever notices."
"Is that an actual 'if' or is it inevitable?"
"Eh," Ezraphel said, making a so-so gesture "like I mentioned before, she won't notice so long as you don't do anything to stand out and it would take a lot for you to stand out."
"Right, needle in a haystack," the Wight muttered.
"The size of a city" Ezraphel added.
Natalie huffed at that "would I even be able to get her attention then?"
"Theoretically there are a few ways to do it, unlikely as those are to be."
"Well what are they?"
"Why do you want to know?" she asked curiously.
"Curiosity."
Ezraphel narrowed her gaze "you're not planning to actually try contacting Hel are you?"
"N-no" Natalie stuttered more at the Lilim's pointed gaze than the accusation "unless you think I'd be able to do it with the information you give me."
Ezraphel's frown became more pronounced but she acquiesced to the question "the easiest method to gain Hel's notice involves leading religious ceremony."
That confused Natalie for a moment "so if I pray hard enough then she might notice?"
"She is a goddess you know. But of course you wouldn't be able to get her attention alone in that aspect. You'd need to establish a religion based around her and gather a significant following."
"So basically start a cult?"
"More or less" the Lilim confirmed "and to ensure maximum efficiency you will of course need to convert the female members into undead mamono."
"…of course it's a literal death cult" the Wight grumbled "I don't know why I'm even surprised by this."
"It's a valid method, if not without some extra steps such as spreading mana and increasing the number of worshippers."
"The worshippers I get, but why spread mana? Is that just for converting the people?"
"It also works to pierce the veil between dimensions essentially acting as a signal boost for prayers. At least, that's my theory. Gods are magical beings, and mana acts as a fuel for magic, so it stands to reason that prayers spoken in a mana-rich environment would have a better chance of reaching them."
"Naturally"
"These steps are not mutually exclusive, and to accomplish them in the most optimum environment you would need to erect a Demon Realm Necropolis."
"Huh, well, I guess I'm going to be flying under the radar without too much worry, since, uh, I'm not really interested in following in the footsteps of Jim Jones while also being the catalyst for a possible undead apocalypse."
"It wouldn't be an apocalypse."
"Yes, it would," Natalie retorted, "just not the kind people expect."
"Hm" Ezraphel hummed at that "alternatively you could try to increase your own might to where your personal power would be noticed though obviously that would be an even more arduous undertaking."
"Not interested in going through that sort of hassle."
"Then the only other thing I could think of is to take part in a ritual specifically designed to make contact with the goddess. Obviously I won't be teaching you that."
Natalie raised her hands up in surrender "wasn't going to ask? Honestly aside from curiosity I just didn't want to accidentally do something that might get the wrong sort of attention from beyond the veil."
"And again, I ask if that's such a bad thing."
"Considering Hel is an ally to my mother and she would be obliged to tell her my location, I would say it is a pretty bad thing. We already went over what would happen should that occur; however, in this scenario, the death goddess would have a stake in it. That means you would be dragged into the ensuing chaos."
'That sounds bad.'
"And who is to say that Hel wouldn't try to establish a foothold on Earth regardless of my mother? As the first and only undead and native of this world Hel very much has a claim to spread roots before the other gods through you."
'That sounds even worse.'
"Ugh," Natalie massaged her head, suddenly feeling a headache coming on. "okay my curiosity is satiated now. Can we change the subject? Better yet, are we done here? I think I've met my quota for these kinds of discussions."
"Very well, I suppose enough time has passed for you to be properly acclimated to the mana of the demon realm."
That got Natalie's attention "what?"
"Did you forget where you are? Why we're even here?" The Lilim gestured around them.
Natalie did and she rolled her eyes "sorry if I got distracted by the lecture and ensuing conversation."
"It's good that you're distracted. It means that your body has absorbed enough mana while your attention was preoccupied for the effects to be lessened."
"I still feel horny, though."
"Don't we all?" Ezraphel mused before shaking her head, "don't worry about it."
"When has saying that ever worked?"
"I am telling you it is not something you should think too much about since whatever you are feeling right now is perfectly natural for us."
"This is natural? Do you always feel this horny?"
"Always," Lilim replied without missing a beat.
The slight look of mania in her eyes made Natalie feel mild discomfort and she made this known to the woman.
"I'm not sure I'm comfortable with this."
"You'll get used to it. As a matter of fact, you've been getting used to it. I'm actually rather surprised you've managed to keep your libido so manageable."
'This is manageable?'
"The fact that you aren't attempting to masturbate right now means that it is manageable."
Natalie stared, her pale cheeks brightening as the thought stuck in her mind for longer than she'd like. The fact that, for a brief moment, she considered doing it had her feeling mortified.
"Why'd you have to go and say that?"
"As if you were not going to do just that after this?"
"Yeah, but no one wants to be called out for it."
"You should adjust that prudish behavior when you're amongst other mamono."
"I don't think I do, and I won't apologize for not becoming a degenerate."
In response Ezraphel's lips quirked upwards in amusement, "heh..."
"What's with that look?"
"Nothing~"
"I'm not becoming a degenerate!"
"Sure-sure~"
"I'm not!"
"I would say I support you but *snrk* that would be a lie."
'This bitch!" Natalie felt a vein throb in her forehead as her eyes twitched.
"The degenerate advocating for degeneracy" she drawled "shocking."
"Now there's no need for passive aggressiveness it's just that I find your reaction to be nostalgic."
"Nostalgic how?"
"You remind me of a heroic maiden who is in denial of her situation. Sufficed to say degeneracy is an inevitable reality."
"Well I reject your reality and substitute my own."
"That is a bold declaration Natalie let us see if you manage to follow through."
'Ah shit, I walked right into that one and why the hell did I even say that anyway!? Whatever not like it has any meaning.'
Except it does have meaning or at least she felt it did. The thought of devolving into degeneracy chafed at her human sensibilities but having made that declaration and worse having said declaration acknowledged by Ezraphel meant that her pride as a Wight would not allow her to dismiss it.
"Whatever, I'm already dead but I'm sticking on this hill anyway."
"Sure-sure" Ezraphel spoke like an adult indulging a child, which caused the Wight to scowl. "I think now we can move into learning magic."
Natalie perked up "finally"
Then Ezraphel's smile gained a sinister edge as she quite literally flipped the whiteboard to a whole new set of topics to be reviewed.
"Magical theory, that is," Lilim finished with a saccharine smile.
Natalie's response?
*Slam*
Ezraphel looked at her student with an unimpressed gaze "must you be so dramatic?"
"Yes," came the muffled reply followed by
*Slam*
"Why even do that?"
"Maybe if I hit my head hard enough I'll get a concussion and knock myself out."
*Slam*
"Well, good luck with that. Wights have unnaturally high regeneration so long as they have the mana to spare and in this high density mana environment nothing short of a holy weapon or decapitation will put you in any meaningful danger."
*Slam*
*CRACK*
That was the sound of a forehead hitting a wooden desk so hard that something broke.
"I hope that hurts."
"…worth it," came the slurred response.
Estado de energía semanal
-- Ranking de
Poder 
-- Piedra de
Poder