97 Fall of The Canyon 2

\"Master, is this the place?\"

Lenia pointed out to a large canyon which stood out among the hills and flat lands they had traversed. This was the place simply called The Canyon, and it was both the spiritual and cultural center of the Barbarians.

\"Yes. This is the place. If we wish to subdue these people entirely, we will need to start with destroying this place. Only then can my ambitions be realized.\" replied Aleks.

\"We could have already been finished with this business if we didn't have such heavy baggage.\" chimed in Lariel with amusement.

Lenia and Nelay knew immediately that she was referring to them.

\"And leave master with you? I don't think so!\" shouted Lenia in anger.

Aleks turned his head to look back at the two young women and asked, \"Is this why you were so determined to come with us?\"

Both women blushed in embarrassment and mumbled \"No.\" under their breaths. Lariel giggled while covering her mouth with a delicate hand. She had been teasing the two as if it were an amusing game to her.

\"That's enough wasting time. I will head directly towards where the ancestral spirits are housed in their relics. The three of you, I don't need to tell you what to do, do I?\" Aleks said while still looking at Nelay and Lenia.

\"No master.\" They both replied sullenly.

Aleks then turned to Lariel, \"Do it.\"

Lariel smiled at Aleks and pressed one of her delicate fingers against his chest and said playfully, \"You need to be more gentle.\"

\"Enough fooling around Lariel. We didn't come here to play.\"

Aleks stepped back from her and placed his mask on his face with a smooth motion. The mask glowed vibrantly before becoming dim.

\"Tsk, Tsk. Fine. It is time to be a little more serious. Let me flex my wings a bit!\"

Aleks turned away from Lariel as she walked away from him to give herself some space. Her long and graceful angelic wings appeared once more, spreading widely out from her back. They flapped with rising strength, releasing a powerful wind.

\"I will see you soon, don't miss me too much.\"

Lariel blew Aleks a kiss with a cute and rapid motion before taking to the skies. The wind from her rapidly flapping wings spread outwards almost blowing Nelay and Lenia off their feet. They had to struggle to stay grounded and both cursed Lariel under their breaths. Aleks was not affected in the slightest by the wind.

The three watched as Lariel flitted across the sky heading towards The Canyon. The wind subsided and both young women approached Aleks.

\"Master, she is too arrogant. Why do you let her do as she wishes?\" asked Lenia who was greatly frustrated by Lariel's actions.

\"Pride is an integral part of her personality. Just like jealousy is a part of yours. I accept all of you for who you are, she is no different. Also.. \"

'I owe her…'

He left those thoughts unsaid.

\"Just watch.\"

The three looked to the skies and they could see Lariel flapping her wings over The Canyon. She came to a stop directly over it and looked down at those below. There was still a great number of Barbarians who remained within The Canyon. At least a quarter of the warriors of the tribe had remained behind to defend their sacred grounds and the interests of the tribe. Some noticed the angelic figure flying overhead and they screamed out in alarm causing many to turn their eyes to the sky above.

Lariel began to shine brilliantly as her magic power rose and soon, to the dismay of those below, her magic power poured out sending shivers down their spines. Burning meteors appeared, becoming visible as they rapidly descended from the skies above leaving fiery trails in their wake across the sky. It was like a scene of the apocalypse. Thousands of these destructive meteors came crashing down causing destruction and mayhem everywhere they collided. There were still a number of powerful shamans and warriors below who did their best to defend against the Legendary spell, but even with their efforts it was impossible to defend against so many meteors.

Aleks observed calmly without any fluctuations in his demeanor or posture.

\"Let's go. Try to leave some alive. We need the word to spread of what happened here\".

Aleks left the two women to go their own way. He wasn't worried that they would be in danger. There were some powerful beings within The Canyon, but there weren't any who could threaten them especially with the chaos. The meteors that fell had rained down destruction upon The Canyon leaving devastation, and the cries of despair from those who survived. The rock dwellings, hovels, and other living spaces were mostly destroyed and rubble from the cliff face fell down upon the ground below. The weak were most likely already dead, the only survivors being those of some notable strength. None of this mattered to Aleks though.

Aleks rumbled through The Canyon atop a sea of 'Soul Tendrils' which smashed against the earth and the sides of The Canyon causing even more destruction. He resembled a god of destruction in his expressionless gold mask, floating above the ground, and standing upon monstrous tentacles that spared no mercy for those they struck. His hair fluttered in the wind and rock and rubble fell all around him, but not a single speck of dust could even touch him. Only his eyes could be seen, but therein lie no emotion, no ounce of sympathy. To him, only those that stood by his side were deserving of life. Everyone else was merely a sacrifice for his wrath that was directed at the gods, and his cruel fate.

Aleks continued unimpeded, heading straight for the ancestral grounds of The Canyon. He already knew its location. He had seen everything through his 'Astral Projection' which accompanied Grobak. This was one of the reasons he came to this place. It was not just to destroy their center of worship, culture, and tradition. It was also to devour the ancestral spirits that resided in the ancient relics within the ancestral grounds. These relics had become shrines to the ancestral spirits and held significant 'Soul Potential'. This 'Soul Potential' represented the faith and worship of the people and could be turned into divinity. As a Demigod, what Aleks needed the most was divinity. With the Origin which had fused with his soul, he could filter all of the impurities of faith within the 'Soul Potential' he acquired and obtain pure divinity. This was something which was unique to Aleks.

Other Demigods would need to acquire immense faith from those willing to worship them, but this was difficult. First, obtaining significant worshippers was one of the biggest obstacles. Why would someone worship a Demigod when there were other more powerful options? A Demigod was limited in the amount of benefits they could provide their worshippers in terms of divine spells, increasing their level and class, and building a true lasting faith. The path of a Demigod to godhood was also fraught with immense danger. Any worshippers would also be guilty of colluding with unsanctioned deities. The penalty of which, was death. These groups who worshipped Demigods were considered cults and would be hunted down by paladins of sanctioned faiths. Lastly, the amount of 'Spirit Potential' obtained from faith which could then be converted to Divinity was miniscule unless on an excessively large scale. This was why there were not many willing to go this route and most ended up serving a god and obtaining power through them.

The only Demigods which could obtain success through these means were those with special circumstances. For example, the Spider Queen Matriarch of the Dark Elves or the Blood Progenitor of the vampires. They were beings who had the support of an entire race, vast lands and powerful nations. It was only through these means that they could survive and become powerful despite all of the obstacles. Even then, they had lived for thousands of years and had yet to achieve true godhood. Aleks on the other hand, had many advantages over them. Through the Origin in his soul, he could create beings of great power, devour 'Soul Potential' directly, and now even filter the 'Soul Potential' he devoured or received through worship into pure divinity. These were unimaginable benefits which any Demigod would even kill their own worshippers off for. No amount of worshippers could compare to these advantages. Aleks knew he was unique, but he had no idea how unique he truly was.