Starting Out As The God of Beasts

Flashback.

Three months ago.

Before the golden hair of Varanus caught the light of the subterranean altar.

And and before his eyes locked onto Damascus.

Roy had sat in the absolute, quiet stillness of the Divine Zone, staring at the God of Information.

The vaulted sky of the infinite library swirled with violet starlight as Roy leaned forward in his materialized wooden armchair.

His eyes narrowed slightly as he formulated a crucial question.

”Telvanus,” Roy began, his tone measured.

”Yes?” Telvanus answered with a smile.

”If a True God actually manages to pull off a descent like this...” he paused for a second,

”If they take over a mortal vessel through a ritual, how powerful does that vessel actually become?”

Telvanus laid back in his chair, crossing his legs with a relaxed, academic air.

He raised a finger, slipping seamlessly into his role as the master of universal data.

”To understand the vessel, you must understand the fundamental laws governing a True God,”Telvanus explained, his liquid gold eyes flashing with algorithmic code.

”You see, True Gods are existences who represent the cosmic order itself. Because of that heavy, universal weight, we are tightly restricted by the Laws of Existence.” Telvanus paused.

”The system gifts us with nigh omnipresent powers, but the trade-off is absolute: those very laws make us entirely unable to directly interfere with the mortal world.”

Telvanus gestured to the floating, real-time parchment maps drifting like jellyfish around them.

”Since a True God cannot descend directly into the material plane with their true, colossal divine bodies without collapsing the local space-time fabric, they are forced to use a shortcut.

They take over a mortal vessel through blood rituals, erasing their identities. But doing so requires a massive sacrifice.

The True God must force their main, original body into a state of deep hibernation in the higher realms. Then, their consciousness breaks away, taking only a fraction of their authority down with them into the mortal flesh.”

Telvanus leaned closer, his voice dropping to a sharp whisper.

”Even with a perfected ritual, a True God can only manifest a mere 10% of their true power inside a mortal body.”

”The flesh simply cannot hold any more without disintegrating.”

Roy absorbed the information, his fingers tapping against the mahogany armrest.

Then, he dropped a question that made the ambient starlight freeze.

”Can I kill it?” Roy asked calmly.

”Uhm i don’t understand your question” Telvanus blinked.

”Can I kill a divine vessel currently possessed by a True God?”

Telvanus’s lopsided grin faltered for a fraction of a second.

He crossed his legs tighter, a deeply curious, intense look washing over his flawless face.

He leaned forward, locking his golden gaze onto Roy.

”Physically? Yes,” Telvanus answered slowly. ”But why on earth would you even think about doing that?”

Roy laid back against the wooden frame of his seat, hesitating for a brief heartbeat.

He stared up at the endless shelves of the cosmic library before answering with a nonchalant shrug.

”I’m just curious to know how powerful a True God actually is,” Roy murmured.

”Since I can’t exactly test my strength against your avatar without ruining our brand-new partnership... another True God will have to do.”

Telvanus’s golden eyes widened in genuine, uncharacteristic shock.

The hyper-calculating symbols in his pupils went completely haywire for a millisecond.

”Don’t tell me...” Telvanus gasped, his composure slipping. ”Are you planning to use Damascus as your guinea pig?”

”Yes,” Roy replied without a single shred of hesitation.

Telvanus inhaled deeply, the pale-blue divine energy humming around his neck tensing up.

He looked at Roy as if staring at a beautiful, suicidal anomaly. ”This is dangerous, Roy. Incredibly dangerous.” he grinned.

”You are playing with variables you don’t fully comprehend.”

”I know,” Roy countered, a slow, sharp smile gracing his lips. ”But I’m going to do it anyway.”

Roy leaned forward again, his gaze turning razor-sharp.

”Tell me one more thing.”

”What happens to a True God back in the higher realms when you kill the mortal vessel they are actively possessing?”

Telvanus went completely quiet.

For a long, heavy moment, the only sound in the Divine Zone was the faint, rhythmic ticking of the crystallized mana tablets on the shelves.

The God of Information weighed the risks, calculating the sheer audacity of the False God sitting before him.

Finally, Telvanus sighed, exhaling a puff of blue, data-infused vapor.

”The system penalty for losing a possessed vessel is strictly divided by the tiers of godhood,” Telvanus revealed. ”If the entity is an Absolute-tier True God, the backlash is practically nothing”

”A mere temporary loss of a fraction of their vast Divine Essence.”

He tapped his finger against his knee.

”If it is a Primordial-tier True God, the severe trauma to their consciousness will result in a temporary sealing of a specific percentage of their universal powers for a designated period of time.”

”They are handicapped, but still untouchable.”

Telvanus paused, his expression turning grim.

”If it is a King-tier True God, the severance of their consciousness causes a profound, spiritual injury to their true body.”

”A wound that will actively bleed their divinity and last for a prolonged period.”

Then, Telvanus’s lips curled into a dangerous, thrilling smile as he delivered the punchline.

”But... if it is a Lesser-tier True God like Damascus? The sudden, violent rupture of their consciousness while their true body is already hibernating will completely destabilize their divine sea.” he observed Roy’s reaction.

”The backlash will forcefully plunge their true divine body into a profound, unyielding slumber for a designated, lengthy period of time.”

”They will be entirely removed from the cosmic chessboard, completely comatose.”

Telvanus leaned back, his eyes shimmering with absolute anticipation.

”If you succeed, you won’t just destroy his arrangements in the desert, Roy.”

”You will literally put a god to sleep.”

The Present.

The memory dissolved back into the oppressive reality of the Grand Sanctum.

Standing beneath the gaze of the thousands of crimson eyes, Roy looked at the arrogant, gray-haired vessel of Damascus.

The warning from the God of Misfortune echoed through the fractured cavern

”What exactly are you?”

Roy’s lips curled faintly into the exact same confident smile he had worn in the library.

He didn’t answer the question.

Instead, his golden-flecked irises gleamed with the cold, calculating thrill of a hunter who knew his prey was operating at only 10% capacity.