Hecate didn't know what he was talking about as Ocean Song shot up into the sky.
However, he sounded more serious than he normally did, which made Hecate not interrupt him. Instead, she simply stood still and watched what he was going to do.
She didn't know why he was high up in the air, that is, until she started to feel the changes in the world.
It was subtle at first.
The wind slowly started to pick up.
The sky slowly began to tremble.
And then something even stranger pricked her senses.
As the goddess of magic, she was very familiar with the ebb and flow of magic in the world. From a natural standpoint, Ocean Song almost always was sucking up the magic around him. It wasn't strange; plenty of beings did the same thing.
So, it took her a moment to notice that it began to increase.
Gradually at first, then, she could feel it truly.
He turned into a vortex, and the magics in the area began to get swept up.
The mountain range, the state, the east coast—gradually, it began to encapsulate the entire country. The magic power in the entire country was pulled towards him, and the changes in the world could be felt by even those without a hint of magical talent.
The sky changed, and thunder began to boom as the normal weather became disrupted and chaotic.
The tides on the coast began to build and break, a massive storm rolling in on the horizon, pulled by the unseen waves of magic.
Monsters were more keen than most; they could sense something wrong, almost unconsciously looking in the direction of Ocean Song.
Poseidon, who had already left Olympus and was peacefully resting in Atlantis, had opened his eyes, looking towards the home of his son.
He could feel the turbulence sweeping across his ocean realm.
Zeus, silently sitting upon his throne, had suddenly jolted and turned his head towards the south as his domain of the sky had turned to utter chaos.
Chiron paused mid-lesson as many of his students became distracted.
He couldn't blame them.
He too looked upward at what had been a clear blue-sky moments ago, which was now rolling with clouds pulled in from distant horizons, turning black, thundering.
Strangely, he didn't feel the normal fury of Zeus within them.
It was daytime, and Apollo, who usually passed the time riding the sun across the sky while practicing or playing music, had unconsciously let out a hiss from his harp, missing the right note.
He looked down as the clouds began to swirl around one location, like a hurricane that had spontaneously appeared in the Eastern Hemisphere.
He frowned as his chariot vibrated and shook, placing a steady hand on the reins.
Hercules wasn't ignorant either. Stripped of his godhood—by his own hand—he still had connections to the world. He was ancient; he was powerful; he picked up the changes happening quickly.
But he also could taste the familiar flavor on the air and just grinned before chuckling.
He was peeved that the baseball game he was watching had suddenly gotten paused due to the weather, but he would forgive it this time.
Unbeknownst to the gods, though, in the northwest, below a mountain that suppressed it, an entity stirred and opened its eyes in a daze, looking towards the southeast before going back to slumber.
There were similar scenes all across the country, and it wasn't limited to just the Greek gods. The West—North America and specifically the United States—had become a hotbed for all manner of mythological entities.
Odin sat on a bench, his one eye peering into the distance. The birds he had been feeding had long fled due to instincts.
A God of Wisdom, a God of Magic.
He could take measure of the phenomena in their full scope.
Gradually his lips turned upwards.
Ironically, the one feeling the most profound confusion wasn't the gods; it was a monster.
Echidna felt a prickling sensation across her skin. She was the mother of monsters, conceptually, physically. Even the mothers that didn't descend from her, she had a connection to, a sort of authority.
While others felt the changes happening in the world, she felt the changes happening to one of her kin.
That is, she felt a monster breaking from its shackles.
She felt a monster doing something she didn't think was possible.
A monster was ascending to godhood all on their own.
For Hecate, who was standing right there, things looked much different. Before, she sort of correlated his existence with that of a lesser god. It was different, but also not entirely wrong. However, she also couldn't confidently claim he was a god before either.
He was in some strange state of existence where he was both his own idol of worship and still was mortal in a way.
She was not oblivious to the fact that he was doing strange things to himself, so she chalked it up to his continued strangeness and would just watch him closely.
Now, though…it felt different.
It was genuinely like she was now watching a lesser god come into existence.
One thought arose above all others in that moment.
There had been monsters who had become gods before. Yet, for every example she could pick in her head, it was the result of another god pulling them upwards.
She couldn't find an example of a single time where a monster ascended to godhood all on their own.
There was an immediate sense of worry.
A strange sense, if anything.
It was rare for her to worry about others not of her blood. Her emotions, her love and protectiveness, almost exclusively fell upon her children and no one else.
Yet now…she found herself doing something perhaps a bit inappropriate and foolish.
There was so much magical power that had been pulled to this area; it didn't take much effort from her to do, but her unique touch would be seen by everyone.
Even so.
She used the absurd amount of magic in the area to weave a large coverage of mists around the mountain range, covering everything completely.
Hecate understood that he had shot into the sky to avoid damaging his home, leaving the safety of his barrier.
So, she hid him from everyone.
[Line Break]
Ocean Song sat cross-legged, floating in the sky.
He was oblivious to what was happening around him at the moment.
Focusing on his cultivation, he rotated his cultivation base beyond anything he had done before. He thought he had reached the limit of what his body could handle when it came to Qi. But as soon as he began to attack the threshold of the Dao Seeking Realm, it was like trying to put out a fire with a cup of water at a time.
Each realm needs certain requirements to progress.
Qi condensation, of course, is the basis for everything. To teach you how to sense and cultivate Qi from the world.
But that didn't mean that Qi suddenly became irrelevant from that point forward.
Qi was the beginning and the primary factor of everything.
They were called Qi Cultivators for a reason.
Even now, when he was breaking through to the Dao Seeking Realm, the realm primarily for understanding and refining one's Dao, Qi was still a prevalent necessity.
Qi was how one connected to Heaven and Earth.
It was the bridge that allowed one to ascend the heavens.
So, he did the obvious.
He began to pull on all the Qi around him, as much as possible, without any thoughts of stopping.
His cultivation base was firm and unyielding, yet even so, it strained with the influx of Qi that he began to absorb from the world.
Ocean Song knew for sure that after he broke through, this area would become a holy realm blessed by an abundance of Qi.
That his fellow sect members would see their cultivation progress by leaps and bounds by the density of Qi in the area.
But he didn't have time to dwell on those thoughts.
Qi Condensation was the beginning.
He established his foundation.
Then he created his Golden Core, taking another path to also create his Demonic Core.
This allowed him to truly begin to understand his Dao. Yin and Yang, Tai Chi. One of godly origin, the other of monster origin.
They complemented each other and repulsed one another.
They mirrored the primordial laws of the world.
In the Golden Core realm, he touched upon the Dao, allowing himself a dead start.
In the Nascent Soul Realm, he furthered his Dao. He tempered it with understanding and worldly wisdom.
His nascent soul—the infant that represented his immortal soul—had fully grown to match him. It didn't mean it was perfect; it didn't mean that it was without flaws. Ocean Song realized that there was no such thing as a perfect nascent soul.
It's grown by one's experiences, good and bad.
And experiences are what make a person.
You can't have good without the bad, and you can't live life without its ups and downs. It wasn't a detriment to have regrets; it wasn't a flaw to have sadness or despair in one's life. As long as one was willing to acknowledge their faults, it meant they could keep taking steps forward.
It was only when these feelings and negative emotions pulled you down that they became heart demons.
Ocean Song would admit he hasn't lived a perfect life.
He hasn't even lived a long life.
There were many things he has yet to experience or understand.
However, his heart remained unmoving.
The many negative thoughts of his had flashed across his mind. His monstrous impulses, his regret, his insecurities, his fears—he could feel them all around him, almost palpable.
The turbid and rampant Qi gave birth to these Heart Demons that seemed to latch onto his negative emotions that had been brought to the surface. It had given them form, wanting to claw at him, to dig into his heart and take root.
Yet, his heart continued to beat soundly, unmoving.
What was a Dao heart?
It was a heart that sought the Dao. It was the unwavering convictions in oneself. It didn't mean to abandon everything in pursuit of one's goals, but it meant that no matter what happened in your life, you would remain true to yourself.
His eyes snapped open, staring at the mockeries of his own self-deprecation. "You are dismissed."
The simple words were like casting a light upon a shadow.
They were burned away from existence.
There was the Dao that one sought when climbing towards the heavens and the Dao that one held in their heart.
The Dao he sought was that of Yin and Yang.
And the Dao he held in his heart.
He put a name to it.
"Free and Unfettered."
It was like invisible chains around him shattered in that instant. Chains so hidden, so deeply burrowed into him, that he didn't even know they existed.
Chains that he couldn't even perceive before taking this next step forward. Intertwined with the very laws of the world, meant to bind every single creature that existed under this starry sky.
Ocean Song clasped his hands behind his back.
His understanding of the Dao Seeking Realm was still immature from before. He now realized that it wasn't merely about seeking one's Dao and claiming it from the Heavens. It was about keeping your Dao firmly in your heart.
If you didn't have a strong Dao Heart, what right did you have to compete with the heavens and become immortal?
What right did you have to look down upon all living beings and stand unmoving, unaging, as the ages passed?
The barrier between Nascent Soul and Dao Seeking was a test of worthiness.
His nascent soul stirred; the infant that had grown had left his body.
It manifested in front of him.
Like an illusion, a ghostly image. It absorbed its own Qi, and it took form, matching Ocean Song perfectly.
It wasn't a personal thought.
With his eyes, Ocean Song could see just under the surface.
Every crack upon it.
Did that mean it was flawed, that it was weak?
No.
Ocean Song saw it, and he smiled.
His nascent soul smiled back.
Then, it bowed to him.
"There's no need to bow, fellow Daoist. After all, you're me." He held out his hand, and his nascent soul took it.
His nascent soul was sucked back into his body, and it underwent a qualitative change; it fused with him, becoming one with him.
His existence began to elevate.
Flesh and Blood existed, but now he began to look ethereal.
Like if one looked at him, they couldn't tell if he were a mirage or not.
The biggest hurdle to advance wasn't the power needed. It was the ability to look at oneself without anything to hide behind and to accept it without reservations.
In this moment, Ocean Song didn't know this.
He merely acted according to his heart.
The Qi in the surroundings continued to get absorbed unceasingly. And the last barrier shattered under his continued assault.
The limit of the Nascent Soul had been overcome, and he stepped into the Dao Seeking Realm.
His illusionary-like form reaffirmed itself. Around him, it cracked and splintered before shattering, revealing him once more.
He looked the same, perhaps slightly more handsome, his person having gone through a qualitative change.
But people who would look up to him, they would feel the difference.
For Hecate below, her breathing hitched as she stared at him.
Because she well and truly felt like she was looking at a lesser god. Despite being called lesser, it was by no means a minor achievement.
And most certainly this added to the fact that he was, without a doubt, a monster.
She was about to say something, but her eyes dilated slightly because her mist barrier had been torn away, and she recognized the source because it carried with it a thunderous fury.
Ocean Song looked up too, seeing the swirling vortex of clouds above him part and lightning gathered.
"Yes, my Lightning Tribulation has finally arrived!" He yelled happily.
Hecate facepalmed as the lightning bolts started hitting him.
Her exasperation only alleviated slightly by his yelping and whining as the lightning continued to hit him.
One part of her was feeling he was deserving of this. The other part of her was utterly bewildered that he was taking those lightning bolts without much concern.
"Is that the best you have, dastardly Heavens!?"
The sky rumbled loudly as if to respond, and the lightning began to come down even harder.
"Regret!"
Hecate sighed.
She didn't know what he did, only that he somehow became a lesser god. But she was without a doubt happy that he was still his idiotic self.
[Line Break]
A/N
Ocean Song steps into the Dao Seeking Realm.
It'll be explained a bit more after, and Hecate explains things from her perspective to slot everything in place.
But Ocean Song is just happy he finally gets his lightning tribulation!
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