"We should probably get serious." Alara muttered after a few seconds. Lukas nodded, remembering what Fenrir had said.
Somebody was out there with an item that could give godlike powers. Because Physsus was still running around and bring a dick, Lukas was sure that the hero hadn't used the chalice yet.
But for long?
"Uh, where to start," Alara whispered, resting her chin on her hands. "Pantheons, I guess."
For the next few hours, Alara taught Lukas the basics of each of the pantheons, as well as each continent.
There were 5 pantheons in total, and each were said to have a different level of strength.
The weakest was the Ushin Pantheon, which was followed by peasants around the world of all races. Like the goblins of the Shindachi nation.
After that was the Halayian Pantheon, which was followed by the elves in Ikitochi, the neighboring nation of Shindachi. They were separated only by the Mountain, which spread from the north-east edge of the continent all the way down to the south-west edge.
Apparently, the elven side was luscious and green, while the goblin's and other inferior races side was this dry, mute desert.
The next 2 pantheons were fairly equivalent in strength, and both held many warmongering gods. The first was called the Hidokean Pantheon and was followed by the wartorn nation of Vahashka.
In a place once dominated by dragons, the people living there used their deep connection with the gods to eventually overthrow the dragons. Now, they ride on those beast's back as they wage war on the neighboring nation of Glacernia.
Unlike Vahashka, which was an entirely volcanic, fiery terrain, Glacernia was essentially nothing more than an icy tundra. They followed the Skrena Pantheon.
Then there was the strongest pantheon, the Machigai Pantheon, which was followed by the Isjian Holy Empire.
Spreading across more than half of the world, the Holy Empire was revered as the single, most powerful nation in the entire world. Even nations that were constantly in war, like Vahashka, refused to defy the Holy Empire.
It was no wonder that their pantheon was the strongest, consisting of only outer gods. Just a fragment of an outer god's avatar would be more than enough to obliterate Loki, let alone someone like Physsus.
Their power was almost unfathomable to Lukas.
When it came to gods, there were 6 different ranks. At the bottom there were the Low-Immortal gods like Physsus. Although they were Quasi-Omnipotent beings, when it came to the Divines they were barely even a speck.
Their only abilities were being immortal and having the capability to warp reality.
Next came the immortal gods. They were much more powerful than Low-Immortal gods because not only could they live forever, but they also couldn't die by conventional means.
Whereas Physsus could theoretically be killed by 1,000 cuts, an immortal god would simply tank such an attack.
However, even an immortal god could be killed. Even if they transcended the boundaries of time, they still occupied some kind of space. They still inhabited some intrinsic part of the universe, and thus could be erased from existence.
However, this is not the case for True Immortal gods. They are simply the pinnacle of a mortal's perceivable omnipotence.
Immovable monoliths that transcend the very idea of time and space, these gods are at the furthest reaches of reality.
They have no true physical form, so it is impossible to kill them.
Yet somehow, there are beings even stronger. Because, in the realm of the gods, reality is a myth. Omnipotence is simply a suggestion.
The next rank of gods are known as Progenitors. Loki is one such being.
They exist beyond the bounds of reality, only interacting with the mortal world out of a boring interest. Like a little kid stomping ant hills.
Every Progenitor marks the beginning of some concept, some idea. For example, Loki is the Progenitor god of Lies and Deceit.
Because of this, any lie or deceit across any level reality exists simply because it originated from Loki.
He is an immutable force, like any Progenitor. The platonic ideal of lies and deceit.
Walkers are a mysterious bunch.
Although they were once mortal, through some method or another they rose to a plane beyond Divinity. Existing even further beyond reality than Progenitors, Walkers do exactly what their name entails:
They walk amongst the fabrics of concepts. They see the shores of the Sea of Eternity, which marks the beginning of a platonic ideal. They see the endless sea beyond the shore, beyond even the scope of a Progenitor.
The only thing unknown to them is the other side of the sea.
The home of the Outer Gods.
A group who's power is entirely unfathomable. Explaining even just their avatar was like trying to teach differential calculus to a newborn deer.
If any mortal or god claimed to understand the true extent of their powers and strength, there was no reason to believe anything they said. They were clearly just madmen.
After hearing all of this, Lukas went into shock.
Turning to Alara, he whispered, "So I'm just fucked, huh. These gods know I've been acting like I'm one of them, and I already know they're gonna be a bunch of fickle assholes."
Alara raised a brow at his words. For a few seconds she sat still, merely studying him.
Those seconds were an endless, torturous eternity for Lukas. It almost felt like one of those Progenitors, those 'beyond omnipotent bullshit' beings were looking down on him.
Then she asked, "How do you know they found out? Y'know, the gods can be as dumb as you."
'Oh yeah. I guess she wouldn't know about Fenrir.' Lukas realized.
Therefore, he explained the entire situation.
Alara's eyes widened the more he spoke, and once he was done all she could do was mumble, "What the fuck man..."
"Yeah," Lukas whispered, sharing the same sentiment.
These gods were far stronger than Lukas realized. At first, he had thought of them as nothing more than beings who could teleport you or turn you into jelly at will.
This was insane.
And he potentially had more than the hero who stole the chalice to worry about. If Loki decided he was bored...
"Well, dwelling on it won't do us any good," Alara said suddenly, causing Lukas to jump.
She chuckled at that and lightly pushed his shoulder.
Then she forced herself to calm down as she said, "You're no good with a sword. Although I was excited for you at one point... well, your sharp plateau is all the proof I need."
"It isn't entirely your fault," Alara promised, tapping his shoulder. "You simply don't have enough of a killer instinct. You prefer the shadows. Intellect, cunning, tactics are your strength."
"Basically," Alara said with a wry smile, "You're a coward!"
"No I'm not!" Lukas retorted with vigor.
Alara merely laughed at this before saying, "It's fine. Not everyone can be as cool as me. There's plenty of other weapons in this world to master."
Nodding his understanding, Lukas asked the system to bring up a list of weapons he could buy.