บท 55: Chapter 55: The Star Ruins, Embryo of Divine Fire? Remnants of Divine Objects are Still Divine!
Hades wasted no time and headed straight for the Star Realm. With Zeus having already rescued Poseidon, time was evidently slipping by quickly. It was crucial to advance his plans without delay.
Traveling to the Star Realm for Hades was akin to returning home. It took only a simple step to cross the boundary and re-enter the realm. After a brief search, he made his way directly to the Star Ruins.
Though his previous encounter with the perilous forces in the Star Realm still left a lingering chill, Hades felt no fear. He might feel terror or sense death, but fear itself was not an option.
Hades's resolve was unshakable. Defeat or death did not matter. What mattered was never allowing fear to erect an invisible barrier in his mind, which could imprison him indefinitely. Such a barrier would render him useless.
The Star Ruins!
As the name suggests, it's a graveyard of various remnants and debris. When enough of these accumulate, they form a ruin. The Star Ruins, in particular, are a collection point for countless remains from the Chaos Sea and unidentified flying objects intercepted and discarded by the Star Gods. Although these items were once mighty divine artifacts or weapons, now, as remnants, they held little practical use.
The Star Ruins are where such fragments end up. Here lies the second World Chain.
Hades, empowered by the dark star's divine energy, was unaffected by the Star Realm's oppressive aura. He quickly arrived at the Star Ruins and immediately saw the innumerable remains of divine objects floating amidst the vast expanse.
Hades stood silent, surveying the scene with deep contemplation. Moments later, he decided to delve into the ruins without hesitation. Following the crystal's guidance, he ventured deeper into the Star Ruins.
Along the way, he encountered countless divine remains. For most gods, these were worthless, discarded remnants, but Hades saw them differently. To him, even the remnants held value. They still contained divine power and could be considered resources.
Other gods might dismiss these remains as useless. The cost of collecting, refining, and processing them would far outweigh the benefits. However, Hades saw an opportunity where others saw waste. To him, divine remnants were still divine, containing the potential for immense growth.
As he moved through the ruins, Hades thought, "Wait until I find the second World Chain. I'll absorb these remnants through the dark star. This will be a tremendous boost."
The Star Ruins had amassed an incalculable quantity of divine remains over untold ages. For other gods, these were meaningless, but for Hades, whose World Tree could absorb anything, they were treasures.
The World Tree could break down divine objects into their fundamental laws and divine energies or directly absorb the world's essence. Given the sheer volume of remnants in the Star Ruins, absorbing them could enhance the World Tree's growth significantly, potentially by one to three percent.
However, before doing so, Hades needed to find the second World Chain. During his search, something caught his attention through his divine senses.
Hades halted, pausing before a mass of remnants. Carefully, he scanned the area with his divine power, searching with a treasure hunter's keen eye. Whether he found anything of value or not, absorbing the entire Star Ruins' divine remnants would not be a loss. The expanse was vast and largely unexplored, hiding many secrets unknown even to the gods.
While most of the remains were fragments, the odds of finding an intact divine object or artifact were low but not impossible. The Star Gods found these ruins uninteresting, and the Titans, despite their interest, found the Star Realm too dangerous to explore thoroughly. The Olympian Titans, heirs to Uranus's vast treasury, had no need for such scavenging.
Hades's search was meticulous but slow. As he progressed, he found several intact divine objects and artifacts, each with varying degrees of utility. These were promptly stored within the dark star.
Finally, Hades's divine senses led him to an intriguing find. Before him was a small flame on the verge of extinction. Despite its dim glow, it burned stubbornly, refusing to die out. Over time, its original red hue had acquired flecks of gold, which, though faint, indicated the nascent form of a divine fire.
Hades hesitated briefly, surprised by the sight. "A divine fire...naturally occurring?"
For the first time, Hades's voice carried a note of genuine curiosity and surprise. His usually composed and rational demeanor gave way to visible astonishment. Even his iron-clad reason couldn't suppress his shock.
Despite his hesitation, Hades carefully collected the fragile divine flame and transported it to the World Tree in the Underworld. With the World Tree's nurturing divine power, the flame would be delicately preserved. If the experiment failed, he would lose only a bit of divine power. But if successful, and if this was indeed a true divine fire, the rewards would be immeasurable.
His mission in the Star Ruins wasn't over. With one potential treasure secured, Hades turned his focus back to finding the second World Chain. The journey through the ruins was far from complete, and who knew what other secrets lay buried in the remnants of the divine past?
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