Chapter 312 - The Sun God I (1/2)

”He is here!” Mason almost shouted as he saw the brilliant rays of gold dawn upon the reborn Midpath, coloring in the blueprints of the Aviania angels into mechanical structures of gold and white plate surrounding azure blue cores.

”The One Light himself. I…I…had no idea it would feel like this.” He put a hand to his heart, and his fingers gripped his shirt tight, and yet, his expression, though awed, remained neutral. ”It…does not feel warm. As warm and comforting as I thought the Light would be.”

The light spread from statue to statue in weaves of gold before finally arcing its way to the twin sand obelisks Li stood in front of. The luminescence gathered, swirling in tight-knit strands that eventually became so compact they created a swirling portal that shimmered like a miniature sun, though, as Mason noted, no heat came from it.

Everyone in the party except for Li took steps back, for even if there was no heat from this light, the sheer output of magical energy from it was enormous, bending the very space around the portal in distortions that mimicked heat waves.

This was the power of Helius, after all, an entity that stood above even the Three Great Gods.

And Li could feel that the light shone for him.

”Papa, you going?” said Tia as she tugged at Li's brown coat sleeve.

”Hm.” Li stared at the portal, wondering about if things could go wrong. Would this lead to Valhul? If so, then did he have a way out?

It was odd that Helius would ever invite Li back into Valhul if the god had no way to send Li back. But there was a chance. Had the god become antagonistic? It seemed highly unlikely.

Regardless, if Li had to prepare for a worst-case scenario, he would rather be safe than sorry. He was curious about this portal, massively so, in fact, considering this would be the first time he interacted with any of the three great gods since what seemed like an eternity ago in the first month of his time in this world.

He wanted to know of their status and their plans, for they alone were entities related to this world big enough to match the impact he could make. It was crucial that all of them cooperated together.

”Yes, Tia. Father is going,” said Li. ”This portal was meant for me. I would be rude not to accept the invitation.”

”You…hold personal counsel with the One Light himself?” asked Mason in slack jawed awe.

”Why do you think I am so confident in making judgements about the Light?” said Li. ”I will let you know how things are on his end soon enough.”

”Stay safe, papa, and come back soon!” said Tia. ”Make sure to think about me.”

”Of course, Tia.” Li smiled and put a hand to her head. ”I always think about you.”

He stepped up to the golden portal, eyed it once, then stepped past it.

The sun.

Li found himself floating a hundred or so meters away from a gargantuan sun, though even with its size, it was evident that it was not a real solar body. An imitation. Perfect in terms of visual appearance with its orange, white-speckled spherical body lined with bright white, flaring bands that formed a corona.

But there was no dangerously high heat emanating from it. In fact, there was no heat at all. Nor was there bliding amounts of light. Rather, the light that shone from the miniature sun seemed rather dim for its size, casting just enough to light up the surroundings of this new area.

Li willed himself to move, landing in front of the sun god atop the orb. He inspected Helius again, wondering if anything had changed.

Helius was still much the same. His ragged, unkempt gold hair ran down beyond his shoulders. His facial features were as gaunt and sunken in as ever, dark bags under golden eyes that should have been filled with fiery light. He was still thin, his divine armor absent with a tattered white sackcloth in its place.

”You seem well,” said Li.