Chapter 707: Divinity’s Shadow
Edward did not immediately leave but visited the hold’s blacksmith, Smith Master Hewg. He was interested in how the Artificers of this world operated. So, he talked to the blacksmith and paid the fee and materials required to improve his two swords. At first, Edward didn’t care. Their weapon creation system involved using a highly diluted form of divine energy to strengthen the weapons and imbue them with qualities such as defense-breaking and energy nullification. However, what happened next shocked him.
’Is this...’ Edward muttered to Morgana.
’This is so beautiful and brilliant,’ the elf said. The Smith Master created shadow particles for the weapon, forming a dual system of positive and negative energy; it’s similar to how, in mathematics, there are positive and negative numbers, and they perfectly combine with each other. The weapon’s positive particles contained divine energy to strengthen it, but the negative or shadow particles contained something Edward has been pursuing for years now: anti-divine energy.
’This is a weapon designed to kill Gods,’ Morgana said.
’It seems Marika has indeed planned the destruction of the Golden Order, and maybe even her death,’ Edward said. Marika imprisoned Hewg in this place to serve the Tarnished. In the original timeline, he successfully created a God-Killing Weapon, and the Tarnished used it to kill Radagon and the Elden Beast.
’We’ve poured so much effort and research into Anti-Divinity. But in this random world, some random man created a perfect method,’ Morgana sighed deeply.
’Not random. Marika probably chose him because she knew he had the talent to succeed.’
’That’s not the point,’ Morgana argued. ’Aren’t you feeling a little bit dejected? Think about how much effort you spent because of Cosmus and the Time Game. Do you know how much easier your plan would have been had you had access to this world?"’
’I don’t feel dejected at all. I’ve always understood that a different world gives rise to different problems and different solutions. One thing might be an extremely challenging concept in one Universe, but in another, it’s a common thing. That’s why I’ve placed so much focus on Omniversal Travel. Until the Empire truly reaches the pinnacle of the Omniverse, most of the answers to our problems probably exist in another world."
"Then, why spend so much wealth and time on research and innovation? Why not focus more on getting the answers from other universes?"
"There are plenty of reasons. I don’t want the Arcanists to become too reliant on knowledge from other worlds. We also need to have a certain foundation if we want to understand and utilize the technology and knowledge of other worlds. More importantly, I still want us to create our own versions of things by combining the advantages of multiple civilizations."
"Well, that is the most direct path of becoming a Pinnacle Omniverse Civilization while maintaining your sense of identity," Morgana nodded.
"Exactly. According to my deduction, the Magus Race took the path of pure innovation while mostly rejecting foreign knowledge and civilization. While that’s admirable, I can also imagine how slow their rise was and how homogenous their culture and civilization are. We have to take our own path," Edward nodded.
Edward asked Hewg to teach him his casting method. This was an unusual request, as most Tarnished viewed Hewg as nothing but a servant. The latter refused, but Edward said he was willing to become his disciple, and Hewg had to consider it. The Smith Master was Misbegotten, a humanoid race with animal traits like tails, horns, or wings. They are treated as lesser beings in the world and heavily discriminated against. Tarnished are considered foul undead creatures and looked down upon, but that was not even as close as how Misbegotten were treated. As such, Hewg was surprised someone would be willing to lower themselves not only to learn, but also to become his apprentice.
So, after a round of sweet-talking, Hewg accepted a new disciple, but told Edward to keep it quiet. He then taught Edward almost everything he knew, which Morgana recorded. The design or skills needed to refine the God-Killing Weapon have not been entirely created yet. So, Hewg tasked Edward to find the materials, and once the weapon is completed, he’ll teach him everything. This was originally one of Edward’s goals, so he was fine with this arrangement.
After leaving the Roundtable Hold, Ddward’s next target was another holder of a Great Rune: Rykard, Lord of Blasphemy. Rykard is one of the three children Radagon had with Renalla. And after his father remarried Queen Marika, he was elevated to the status of demi-god. Rykard used to be a firm believer in the Golden Order, to the point that he created a group of Inquisitors who would torture anyone who practiced heresy against the Golden Order. He would eventually become a symbol of justice.
However, after the Shattering, Rykard realized that the Gods treated demigods like puppets, forcing them to fight for scraps of power, an act which he found demeaning. So, he turned against the Golden Order. At some point, Rykard discovered the God Devouring Serpent, an ancient creature — who is most likely an old god long before the Erdtree — that was worshipped by the people living in Mt. Gemir.
He had been studying the creature for a while, attempting to revive ancient sorceries from long ago. However, after the shattering, Rykard fed himself to the creature and eventually fused with it, becoming the Loed of Blasphemy — a heretic of his own right.
Rykard lived in a place called the Volcano Manor. Edward flew to his destination. As soon as he revived, he realized the strange atmosphere around this place. Rykard’s man had turned him after he abandoned his faith in the Golden Order and turned into a heretic. However, Rykard also had his own power, a group of assassins called the Recusants. There seemed to be a struggle between both factions. Edward sided with the Inquisitors because they had found a weapon called the Serpent Hunter, which would make killing Rykard a lot easier.
With this weapon, Edward almost killed the serpent, but midway through the fight, Rykard finally took control as a strange face appeared on the serpent’s head. With the Blasphemous Blade, which contains the remains of countless heroes he had devoured, Rykard put up a decent fight before Edward slaughtered and took his Great Runes.
’Now, let’s see Ranni and make a deal,’ Edward thought. He flew to a Divine Tower to cleanse the Great Rune before heading to the Carian Manor in northern Liurna. He received a warm welcome as some of her strongest knights tried to stop his entry, but they were no match for him. Eventually, he reached the top of her tower, where he met Ranni the Witch, the woman behind one of the pivotal moments of the Shattering, the death of Godwyn the Golden.
AN: Quick recap since it’s been so long. Edward became a Time Prisoner after forcefully reviving members of the Empire who died because of the Death God, Guzznad, terrorist attack on Earth. He then searched for the Savant Race to learn how to escape his fate, and that’s when he learned he must participate in the Time Game, held by an ancient Deity and the Guardian of Time, Cosmus.
One of the primary reasons for his voyage was to find a unique application for the Time Game. And as you would expect from Edward, he also wishes to deal with Cosmus in the process, which led him to Fate Universe, where he acquired knowledge on how to create Heaven’s Lock and Ea, an Anti-Divinity Weapon and a Tier 11 Artifact. Now, with the knowledge gained in the Elden Ring Universe, he has more confidence in his plan.