Chapter 329 - Borrowed Power

"Wait – what do you mean when you said that I can be similar to you in power if I wish it?"

As soon as the question left Ara's lips, all men in the room looked at her with amusement. Nobody dared to laugh openly, however, except for Kazehaya Gin.

"What's so funny?" she demanded with a frown.

She just wanted to know the reason why her power level was not in a stable state. Was that funny?

"My little one, it's because it's a borrowed power," Alistair explained kindly.

As it turned out, although Ara was blessed by all the powerful deities in the room, she couldn't utilize the power automatically. She needed to activate her seal, like what she'd been doing with Perun's seal in the past to use them.

Oh well…

She wanted to joke by asking why she wasn't born with an innate power so she wouldn't feel like a doll with a switch but stopped herself. With her father here – the father who had been feeling guilty enough because of what happened to her, it would just add to his depression. The joke would remind Perun that because of his beef with the Black God, the latter retaliated by cursing her which prevented her from inheriting her rightful divine blessing as the daughter of the King of Heaven.

Come to think of it…

In reality, if Czernobog did not interfere in their lives and she was born normal, Ara would have been a lot stronger than Ivan. She wouldn't be as strong as her older siblings, Perun's children from Fanya, but she wouldn't be that far from them when it came to power.

Urgh… Oh well…

There was no use thinking about this as it didn't happen the way it should be. At least now, she had three seals from the three most powerful deities in the Celestial Plane. Things were now looking up for her. She was not that hesitant to fulfill her task anymore.

On the other hand, Alistair had read her thoughts earlier and sighed. He reached out and patted her arm as if to give her comfort.

"Do not worry my little one, you will have what's rightfully yours soon…"

Huh?

"What do you mean, father?"

"It means that when you kill Czernobog, the rest of him will die, including the spawn living within you." It was Ryuu who answered this.

Ara's eyes widened. "Y-You m-mean…"

"You will be free, and the rightful divine inheritance will, of course, be with you," Perun informed her.

"When Czernobog's destroyed, the spawn will vanish. We don't know how long it would take to be destroyed within you, but it will surely will, and your deity blood would awaken." Ivan had long since known about this ever since he found out how to destroy the Black God through Alistair.

With this, Ara's face lit up. Her pair of silver orbs glittered with hope and excitement. "If I successfully finish this task, it means I can not only end the curse but also regain what I have lost!"

Everyone nodded with a smile.

"When that time comes, we can all ascend to the Celestial Plane together after thousands of years." Alistair's amethyst eyes glistened with suspicious moisture. He was rarely emotional and so Ara immediately understood how this information was very important to her father.

But ascending to the Celestial Plane?

She still hadn't thought that advanced. She had been living like a hunted entity for a long time, and she had started having experienced such a good life for the first time here on Earth. She would be reluctant to leave her friends – and Aki!

She should never forget about her elder human brother!

There was still so much she'd love to do here with Ryuu as well. Then again, there was no point in thinking about them for now as she hadn't attained her freedom yet. Also, she didn't have a heart to tell Alistair she'd love to stay. She had to deal with Czernobog first in order to make that problem legitimate.

She smiled at her father but refrained from commenting on his words. She then focused on the task.

"You said I don't have to go back to Ged yet to deal with Czernobog,"she reminded them, and they all nodded their confirmation.

"You can also opt to complete your task before the year ends there or after five hundred years here on Earth. It is up to you."

While the year hadn't ended in Ged, the seal would still be weak enough to let Ivan and Fredek pass through. If the year elapsed, the seal wouldn't let them in anymore for the next fifty years, except Ara.  

Alistair gave her the options because he didn't want to pressure her. If she didn't want to deal with this matter now, he wouldn't hesitate to fulfill her wishes. However, he'd ask her to return to Ged with him, along with Stribog and Kresnik as it would be strange for normal humans to see them not aging.

Yes, as soon as their memories returned, they'd all become immortals – well except for Ara, although she would still have a very long lifespan compared to ordinary humans, most especially here on Earth. At least in Ged, being ageless was not uncommon. The majority of the Royals in Ged, most especially those from Kres had very long lives.

In fact, the previous Emperor of Kres, Vladimir's son and Ivan's father was still very much healthy and youthful. It's just that his wife was a normal Gedian and couldn't last longer than he did. When she died, he completely lost interest in everything and chose to retire early.

Ara shook her head. "I want to complete it as early as possible. I don't want to wait for decades much less centuries more to have this chance to be free again," she stated solemnly.

"Then you will complete it before the year ends there," Alistair promised almost immediately, making his daughter smile.

Perun's words were vows and blessings. He might have made a few mistakes, although the result had been terrible, at least were never intentional.

"So, do we leave for Ged immediately?"

Gin shook his head. "No. The year wouldn't end immediately there. You still have plenty of time. Next week is your High School graduation. You have to at least wait until that's over before we go to Ged."

Oh. Right.

Ara almost forgot about that. She was suddenly focused on completing her task that it skipped her mind.

"That's right," Ryuu agreed. "Besides, you need to train before going there."

"Huh?"Ara frowned. "What training?"

"You don't think your seals are magical they'd help you out immediately, no?" Ivan looked totally amused.

"B-but how come? I was able to use my father's seal without problems," she told them.

"My little one, that's because you have my blood. You're rightfully able to control the lightning. But you are neither a wind nor a flame caster. You need to train," Alistair explained, looking thoughtful. "Also, you have three seals now. You need to learn how to properly switch between them or it'll be dangerous."