The Cat Goddess Bastet
Bastet now had the title "Cat Goddess". Although she was not yet a true god who transcended eternal life, she was already qualified to enjoy sacrifices in the shrine. The gods sent down an oracle, and the priests of the shrine built a statue for Bastet next to the statue of Osiris, which was the image that Ah Zeng saw. He had also built a similar statue in the manor.
At this time, the magic of a higher realm could be seen. Bastet had cultivated another independent consciousness, which was one with her origin and could attach to the statue. The statue itself naturally had no magic power, but it had a strange source of power, which was the sacrifices and prayers of people, the requests and wishes, and the casting of countless thoughts and beliefs.
Intelligence has power, and thinking also requires energy. It can't see, but without this power, people can't do anything. For example, to drink a glass of water, the first thing to do was to have the thought of drinking water, and the body knew to pick up the cup. This was not the power that people usually understood. All that could be seen was the hand picking up the cup, and as for the origin behind it, it was another form.
The incarnation that the statue attached to was a part of Bastet, which was also related to Bastet's realm. The higher her realm was, the more statues she could attach to. On the other hand, the wider the source of this power she obtained, the stronger her soul would be. In a sense, the scope of her divine realm would be wider.
Is this the so-called "Divine Power Source Domain"? Bastet never had her own independent divine realm. She only enjoyed sacrifices as a follower of Osiris in the shrines of various places.
In Schrödinger's spiritual imprint, Ah Zeng had a preliminary understanding of the meaning of the divine realm. He had once sensed the thoughts of countless people in the Underworld of the Anunnaki divine clan. At that time, Ah Zeng could only keep his consciousness clear and undisturbed. Now he could finally confirm that those were the prayers of countless people in the divine realm to the Queen of the Underworld, including the thoughts of the souls in the Underworld.
The Underworld of the Anunnaki divine clan was an independent divine realm belonging to Kella. There, she could have the power of those souls. No wonder Ah Zeng released the souls of the Ducians, which made the Queen of Kella furious. Judging from the undead magic that Ah Zeng had mastered, the Queen of Kella had used this magic to restrain the souls and build the Underworld.
What was so magical about this power? It could repair the soul.
Can the soul be hurt? Ordinary people might not understand, but at Ah's level, it was very clear. Ah Shen had been through hundreds of battles, but there was not a single scar on his body, but he had been injured. The most serious time was when he crossed the Euphrate River and encountered a monster. He used a scroll to kill the monster and then hurried on with his journey. He accidentally used up all his energy and almost couldn't move. It took him half a month to recover in Abel and Cain's manor.
Without life force, a person would be nothing more than a block of cold blood. Without a soul, a person would be nothing more than a walking corpse. All injuries hurt one's life force and soul. Some could be seen, while some could only be felt. The simplest example was that when a person was extremely fatigued and his consciousness was hazy, he would not be able to exert his strength no matter how strong his body was.
As a follower of the God of the Underworld, Bastet slew powerful demons and bound their souls. His own soul would also be injured in battle, but the incarnations attached to the statues of the gods could continuously absorb power to repair his soul. When she reached the ninth level and passed the true test, she would truly have the miracle of endless life. As long as she was not destroyed, her life seemed to be endless.
When Ah experienced this part of the past in Bastet's spiritual imprint, he opened his eyes again and let out a long sigh. He felt much more relaxed at this moment than when he had left the state of meditation the last time. Schrodinger was still looking at him in the morning light. Ah reached out his hand and touched the cat's shoulder. "The test of endless life is so important. It allows you to have a divine realm, and your life is almost endless. Is this immortality? What about the real gods? "
There was a trace of sadness in Schrödinger's eyes. "Back then, I thought I could stand shoulder to shoulder with the gods. I had great power and endless life. Standing on the altar, I heard countless people calling for the great Goddess Bastet in their hearts. I suddenly thought of myself as a god … But later I found out that I wasn't. There is a price to pay for everything. You will understand once you continue to experience it."
Schrödinger was never willing to talk about his past. After Ah guessed her origin, he did not allow her to say the name "Bastet". After experiencing her soul imprint for two hundred years, Ah already knew Schrodinger very well. She did not even need to use her special ability to understand Schrodinger's feelings. So she changed the topic and said, "You have passed the test of the Endless Cycle and have been allowed by the Divine System to enjoy the right to accept the sacrifice in the Divine Temple. You can attach your incarnation to the statue. But from the divine arts you have learned, you don't actually need to reach this level to do something similar. "
Schrödinger nodded. "Your understanding is truly astonishing. No wonder you could explore this path without the guidance of the gods. Yes, a soul can attach itself to a statue of the gods and absorb its power. There is no need for the power to reach the ninth level. But there are two limitations. First, it can only attach itself to a specific statue, and cannot change its incarnation at will. As for those living souls that aren't strong enough, they often need external help to achieve this. "
Ah asked again, "Have you encountered such a situation before?"
Schrödinger replied, "Of course I have. I have restrained some demons that attached themselves to the statues of the gods in remote temples. Compared to the living demons, the powerful souls that occasionally condense after a demon's death prefer to do it this way. "
Ah smiled bitterly. "Back then, you have also killed mages, mages like me."
Schrödinger also smiled bitterly. "Not mages like you, but supreme mages who are enemies of the shrines. Ordinary mages do not need the emissaries of the gods to act, and as long as the supreme mages do not become enemies of the shrines, the shrines will not be willing to provoke them. The gods often send emissaries when they hear the prayers and summons of the shrines. … There are two kinds of mages that I have killed. One is those who have gone astray and become a scourge to the people of the gods. The other is those who have openly become enemies of the gods and committed unforgivable crimes. "
Ah thought for a moment and said, "The latter situation, like Bair?"
Schrödinger lowered his head and said, "Yes, if I was still the so-called goddess, I might have been sent to assist the pursuers of the shrines. But I was taken away by Bair. The Empire of Eygut paid a heavy price to hunt down Bair. He died together with three supreme mages and four supreme warriors. If I were to accept such a task, it would usually be to guide those people on how to catch up with Bair and resist his power at the critical moment. "
In terms of pure combat power, the cat goddess Bastet surpassed many powerful opponents that Ah had seen, but she was still not as good as Enkidu. If Bastet and Enkidu fought one-on-one, it would be difficult for her to win, but she should be able to escape. If she was alone and encountered Enkidu and Gilgamesh, and Enkidu fought head-on while Gilgamesh used a soul binding method to lock onto her, Bastet could also be beheaded. This was how Humbaba died.
When the gods of the divine clans dealt with powerful demons on earth, they usually sent down an oracle to let the shrines send masters to destroy them, and sometimes they would send emissaries to secretly assist. The shrines would also take the initiative to kill the so-called demons. Sometimes the opponent was too strong, they would pray to the gods, and when the gods heard the news, they would also send emissaries if necessary. Bastet was once the most powerful of all the emissaries of the Ennead.
Schrödinger didn't seem to want to talk about this topic anymore. He stood up and said to Ah, "You will soon learn what the 'judgment of fate' and 'judgment of the end' is in my spiritual imprint. My experience is a confirmation and help to your training, but it's not clear whether it's good or bad. … The weather is good today, would you like to take a walk with me by the Nile River? "
Ah also stood up and said, "It's been a few months, it's rare that you're in the mood to relax. Let's go for a walk by the Nile River and catch some fish for you."
Schrödinger tilted his head and looked at Ah, "It's not that I'm in the mood, it's that you've experienced so much in my spiritual imprint, and you're still in the mood to catch fish for me. That's what's really rare."
The Supreme General of the Empire had been living in seclusion for several months, and the farmers in the territory finally saw Ah coming out for a walk. He walked with his hands behind his back, walking out of the village built by Moses and the other slaves, passing through grassy slopes, fields, and river stalls. He didn't bring any servants with him, only a strolling cat.
The wind was gentle and the sun was bright. The clouds on the horizon were like a flock of white lambs, and the Nile River flowed endlessly. Ah stood on a small boat with Schrödinger squatting at the bow. Without oars or sails, the boat gently floated out. It didn't drift with the current, but headed straight for the heart of the river. A group of huge crocodiles on the steep slope by the shore were startled. They swam into the river, showing their scaly backs beside the boat, and then disappeared into the deep water.
Ah stopped the boat in the middle of the river, feeling the water flowing under his feet. With a wave of his hand, a few fish appeared out of thin air. Flames rose in the air, and all kinds of magic were used to clean the scales and internal organs of the fish. The seasoning was also sprinkled out of thin air, and in the blink of an eye, the fish were roasted fragrant. Then, he took out a golden plate and placed the fish in front of Schrödinger.
Schrödinger sighed and said, "Ah, your cooking skills are getting better and better. This fish is so good."
Ah smiled and said, "It's just the effort, because you like it."
Schrödinger looked up at the sky with his cat eyes and said, "People often forget that the sky is so blue, so blue that it makes people's hearts beat."
Ah also looked up at the sky and said, "You were very sad just now. Are you in a good mood now?"
Schrödinger smiled and said, "It's been a hundred years, and I've never been as sad as I am today, nor as happy as I am today."
Seeing that Schrödinger was happy, Ah was also very happy. He wanted to continue to unfold Schrödinger's spiritual imprint that night. After two hundred years, it was the most critical moment, but Schrödinger advised him to rest for a few more days, and he must be at the peak of his condition to experience the next part.
Ah rested for three days, and at the same time, he practiced the power of the eighth level. All the skills he had learned before could be instantly used as one. He suddenly felt that after experiencing Schrödinger's past, he had also mastered all the skills before Schrödinger broke through the ninth level, except for transforming into a cat. After all, he was not Schrödinger.
He felt that his condition was at an unprecedented peak, but Schrödinger advised him to practice for two more days, so he waited until the night after five days to start again.
… …
Bastet transformed from a cat to a human, and from a human, she was revered as a god. She had endless life and could continuously absorb the power to repair the soul, and in her consciousness, she had already regarded herself as a god. She had also seen those gods who had truly transcended eternal life, and their means in the human world were no more than this, the only difference was the strength of their power.
During this experience, Ah had a new understanding of the divine realm, and along with Bastet's spiritual imprint, he entered the residence of the Ennead. This was a wonderful world, above the fourth waterfall in the upper reaches of the Nile River. Most people who walked here could only see the waterfall and the mountains, and could not find anything unusual at all.
But after opening a strange spatial door, there was another world hidden here, a world created by the gods in the human world. There were towering palaces and strange plants from all over the continent, and the messengers of the gods gathered here to practice. This wonderful world could protect them from outside interference, and the environment was more suitable for practicing all kinds of power. Bastet had an independent small palace.
It was called the Aeru, first built by Ra, and later built by Isis and Seth. Every brick, every stone, every blade of grass and every tree was the most beautiful in the world, and the use of brilliant magic formations to gather the ubiquitous power between heaven and earth, creating a magical spatial world. But the real gods rarely appeared here, only Horus lived in the Aeru all year round, and the messengers of the gods obeyed his orders.
Ah also 'went' to the Underworld of the Ennead through Schrödinger's spiritual imprint. In the myths and legends, Osiris lived at the end of the Nile River, which also symbolized the end of people's lives, and the Underworld was indeed on a beach at the mouth of the Nile River, which was flooded for half a year. The Underworld was also invisible to ordinary people. It was like another strange spatial world, very similar to the Underworld of the Anunnaki, but also slightly different, and Ah's experience was not very clear.
The god Schrödinger had seen the most was of course Osiris, but in her spiritual imprint, she had never clearly seen the face of this god, he was like a shadow that was faintly discernible.
Many years passed like this, and Schrödinger, who thought of herself as a god, gradually had new difficulties, and the seemingly endless life became a little boring. Year after year, like a monotonous river flowing through the same section, the people of the world were constantly changing, but life was always familiar. Is that what I am, she thought to herself, a god? From a cat to a goddess, was this what she was after? I have witnessed too much, but why should I witness it?
Just when her unwavering faith for three hundred years was in trouble, the real test came.
At that time, Bastet was in the Underworld, and a strange power ignored the barrier of the Underworld and directly pulled her out, revealing her on a desolate beach. Schrödinger thought that she had encountered a powerful enemy, probably an attack from a foreign god. The Underworld was built by a magical space, so who could directly pull her out of the Underworld? The enemy was unimaginably powerful.
She looked up and saw a gray vortex in the sky, as if it was tearing the world apart and leading to an endless unknown abyss. She donned her Battle Armor and picked up her weapon, only to be struck by a bolt of black lightning. Not only did the lightning strike her weapon, it also struck her soul. It was as though the sun had suddenly lit up in the darkness. She finally understood what she was facing.
Just like Ah Zeng had witnessed the encounter of Enkidu, Bastet had also experienced the battle of the invisible opponent. All the attacks seemed familiar, hidden in the black lightning, and contained all the injuries suffered by the enemies she had killed in her life. She had no way to avoid it, she could only face it, just like the test of fate.
According to the understanding of ordinary people, defeating a person did not only depend on strength, but also on the timing and position of the attack. For example, a heavy blow might not be able to injure a Hercules, but a light stab at a vital point would be able to take the opponent's life. These were all techniques in combat. But the test of fate did not include such techniques, it was just the power to inflict damage. With Bastet's achievements at that time, she could already change her body, so there were no vital points to speak of.
But the power of the black lightning was not limited to just that, it also attacked her soul. All the resentment of the world towards Bastet erupted. Bast finally understood one thing. The gratitude she received from the altar and the kindness of her prayers could counteract this resentment. Otherwise, the first strike of the black lightning would have shattered her soul.
This was like the judgment of the end of the world, there was no enemy, it was the reflection of all her actions. Bastet finally felt truly weak, she was far from being as strong as she thought. The valiant demon body that had cultivated for 300 years was destroyed, the incarnations that had attached themselves to the shrines had all disappeared. Her life was over, her soul was severely injured, and she had lost all her strength, but it was not destroyed.
When the black vortex disappeared, her final realization was that she was different from the souls that she had been bound to. She could attach herself to a blank life, combining her soul and life force. This was a choice made in a single thought. She wished that she was still a cat. 300 years of cultivation, all the achievements she had, in the end, all she got was a chance to make a choice.
At this moment, her soul was suddenly intercepted by a mysterious power, as if time had stopped for an eternity. This was Necromancy Divine Art, and it was a Necromancy Divine Art that could only be performed by real gods. The one who acted was Osiris, the god of the underworld. It was as if his soul had fused with hers, giving Bastet three choices.
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