"An Origin Vein brings more than just mana to its surroundings. It also bring along a constant flow of lifeforce." Zamia explained.
From there, Agamemas continued. Naturally, Ceph already knew of lifeforce. And not just because of Eldrian and his... unique abilities and problems.
Lifeforce was something quite commonly discussed in Alicorn society. Unlike how humans wielded it as a type of power (be it an aura or bloodline), and devils used to to bend reality to their whims. A bending which had led to the corruption of their souls.
The Alicorns, instead, believe in assimilation with this seemingly limitless power. A power which far surpassed mana in output. Instead of seeking immediate reward, the Alicorns seek to become one with it.
After all, it was said to be what had birthed them, and all Mythical raced. And what allowed them ever continued growth. In another thousand years, Ceph's father would reach the level of the average Legend. Even if he did not train.
Should Agamemas make it to ten thousand, he might even equal the oldest of dragons (called Ryagons, evolved dragons but not ascended like the Ryu)—and Athtar. If the elf didn't grow stronger in the those thousands of years.
Whether an Alicorn could reach the heights of a Ryu was unknown. They were a race spoken of in similar tales to the prophecy of the end of the world—which had ever been part of Ceph's childhood.
The fact of the matter was that the dragons had a similar ability of ever-growth (most Legends also have this ability—in fact, as long as one can access lifeforce, they would be able to grow without limit).
The difference was that dragons were birthed by not one, but three Origin Veins. Naturally then, their strength would be much more impressive as a whole.
Even the weakest dragon was as strong as a Tier 5 Alicorn. At adulthood (Tier 7 for most Mythical races) most already equaled Alicorns at Tier 10. This wasn't entirely a matter of stats, but rather the unique ability of theirs called Dragon's Breath.
Its power rivaled that of an aura in output. Allowing it to kill anyone and anything even several Tiers above itself. It was, after all, fueled not by mana but the dragon's abundant lifeforce.
Their case was similar to how Eldrian was capable to jump Tiers thanks to his hidden class and auras. Only, they were born with perfect control of their breath.
To evolve, they needed to learn to master all the different types of Dragon Breath. Once they had managed this, they would be called a Ryagon in official settings between dragons. Often called a half-Ryu in unofficial settings.
Explaining this all took quite a time. "In the end, the dragons have learned to become one with the flow of lifeforce itself. This is what allows them to ascend to a level that even equals the gods."
It took Ceph a few seconds to fully process what his father had said. When he did, he froze.
"Wait! That mythical tale..." Ceph paused, unsure whether he wanted to know the truth or not. "It can't be true, can it?"
"It is. I doubted it myself. But when I went to greet the Ryu after becoming the head of the family... All my doubts were cleared."
'Yikes. They were so strong that just being in their presence confirmed the myth for dad?' Ceph didn't know how to take this.
Knowing what he did, the realization that it was possible to match the gods was seemingly paradoxical.
It left Ceph frozen as his emotions boiled. From what Eldrian had told him, he couldn't see how it was possible. They were the literal creators and managers of the world.
Yet, he didn't doubt his father's words either. Instead, his mind spun trying to make sense of it.
'Perhaps they descended and where limited in power? Or, no. I can't see how someone can kill a god. I need to confirm this with Eldrian when he wakes!'
"Ceph, do you recall how the myth goes?" His mother asked.
Nodding, the young Alicorn recited what he remembered. "Long, long ago. Just as the world finally calmed and nature took its place as the keeper of order, gods descended from the heavens above and earth below."
"They came to the world, inciting chaos. Bringing terrible wars and strife with them. Each seemingly fighting one another, but using the people of the world to hold their war. Killing billions and trillions to gain but an inch of ground against the other."
"As the world was swallowed in darkness, one of the oldest and wisest of the dragons stood against them." Knowing what he did now, Ceph assumed this must have been a Ryu in actuality. The tale simply called it a dragon, at least, that was all Ceph could recall.
Perhaps, in time, the Alicorns would also have sub-classifications for their race. Theirs was still rather young, after all. Especially when compared to dragons who had been birthed almost along with the world itself.
"They forsook their neutrality and faced the gods. The gods, with their pride, decided to face the dragon one-on-one. Drawing lots to decide who will face him. In the end, the goddess Istos faced the dragon." Ceph could not recall what kind of goddess she was. Only that she had some kind of evil power to do with darkness and webs or something.
"Their battle continued from days, to weeks, to months, to years. At first, the gods all watched with grins. But as the days turned to weeks, turned to months, turned to years; their expressions soured. And when the final blow came, they fled."
Ceph, naturally, had never memorized the exact speech for the tale. As it was up there along with the one that said his birth (the birth of an Alicorn with a coat of night) would herald the end of the world. Well, suffice to say, he didn't recall it in any sort of favorable light.
Still, it was an impressive enough tale for him to remember the gist of it. As poor conduct as that was for an Alicorn. Especially the son of the chieftain family. But he cared not. His childhood had been hell until he met Eldrian.
Smiling at how inaccurate Ceph had recited the tale, Zamia giggled. "That is how it goes, yes. But you seem to have forgotten most of the tale."
"I won't bore you with it. But you forgot to that their battle consumed continents and birthed voids. Nearly causing the collapse of the entire world. Well, the tale speaks of this in a poetic tone that makes it hard to know the truth. In reality, the gods did not retreat."
"They were forced to withdraw by the creator god, GAIA. Their actions had nearly brought the world to ruin, and they had to atone. According to the Ryu who had killed Istos, this was the birth of Invasions."
"Wait, what?" From what Ceph knew, he thought Invasions were simply forced onto the world. He didn't get how it could have an actual historical reason.
"The gods are apposed to one another. Some are more aggressive than others, but their are some who cannot stand peace at all. The god of war, for example, can't have that. His existence would become meaningless."
"To give those who sought war and competition a way to vent their anger, GAIA agreed to allow them to wage war."
"These wars, however, will be limited in time. Held only when the world would be able to survive the chaos that it would cause. And stopped once the world can no longer survive the clash of all the races living on it."
'Huh... Did this actually happen naturally, or are the gods acting to make us think it did?' Ceph pondered. 'And wait, does that mean... if the gods simply never stop us. The world will end?'
As horrifying as the thought was, there was no way to ensure peace. With how much hatred there now was between the races of what was considered human (any sentient being that can be considered humanoid and whose soul is not corrupted) and devils (all monsters and humanoids with a corrupted soul). Peace is all but impossible.
Without divine intervention, war was now all but inevitable. As funny as it is, if the gods do not act to put a stop to it, then things would simply follow a natural course to destruction. 'Was this all planned by them?' Ceph wondered, shaken to his core if this was the case.
For people to play with generations upon generations like that. It was something unthinkable to the Alicorn who had yet to even live a hundred years.
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