The places to visit were… extensive. There were many things he could do to build power, but most of them took months or years to get the proper use out of. For example, there were some dungeon-like things that'd evolved from the Challenge Convergences, where if he completed it then he'd get a boon.

The issue was that on average, it took two to three years to complete. Dei didn't think it'd take him that long, but it would take too long.

Instead, he was working inside the timeframe he had. Around two weeks to wait for Aloran's message and all his stuff, then around another month to find some Reality Beings, maybe cure Earth's problem, and get his Void attunements in order.

True, it might be most beneficial to spend years outside of quarantine, but Fendrascora and Clever would be without a powerful protector in that time, and he wasn't willing to risk losing them.

'Not to mention, is it really more efficient to live out here? The advancement bonus granted by the demon seems to outpace every possible resource on the outside.'

It wasn't fully bad though. There were some powerful Convergences that aligned with his affinities which he planned to visit. Most people would spend months in each of these, meditating on the meanings and growing their affinities slowly, but Dei just wasn't gonna do that. The growth tapered down rapidly, so he'd get a large boost on his first day, then incremental percentage gains every day after that he spent meditating on the meanings.

The decades-long wait lists for each of these places meant most people would spend every moment they could in them, but he was gladly going to waste the majority in favor of rapid, instant gains.

He decided he would spend exactly one day in each Convergence before moving on to the next one. He'd likely need sleep at some point, but he would try and stay up for as long as possible to get the most out of his trip.

He looked at the first two on his list, ones of Kindness and Wrath. These were very popular, and he was going to make a lot of people mad by delaying their schedules by one day.

He shrugged, 'Yea well I'm gonna be the one fighting an apocalypse not them. Womp womp.'

* * *

Guided by a team of inquisitors, Dei kicked one furious noble from his spot in the Kindness convergence. The noble's rage was allayed slightly when he heard Dei would only be there for one day, but he was still quite pissed.

That wasn't for Dei to consider though. Right now, he quietly sat on a bench, situated in the center of a park, directly across from a tombstone surrounded by a cube of enchanted glass to ensure nobody ever disrupted its connection with Kindness.

The waves of Kindness this tombstone emitted lapped against Dei's skin, and he silently allowed some of it to enter his body.

The tombstone was not of organic material, so Dei couldn't Identify it, but that was fine. The message spoke itself.

Dei felt the Kindness of a teacher. A man who was brutal on those he loved, because he wanted to push their best selves forward. Not everyone liked him, but he was fine with that, because those who knew him, knew that he wanted the best for everyone. Even when his reputation started to decline as he got older and more of the younger generation scorned him, he never compromised on the desire to see people put their best foot forward.

His life ended surrounded by a tight-knit group of friends and family, all better off from his influence. He was a noteworthy man, someone who had friends in high places as he'd raised them up himself. He was a mentor to many, but he never drew upon the connections he had for selfish reasons.

When he passed, he wrote in his will to not write anything on his tombstone. He wanted to remain anonymous, because despite all the quiet fame he held in the upper circles of society, he wished to remain as the man he always was. An orphan, forgotten by his family and trying his best to make his way in the world. Despite the wealth he'd built, he didn't want to be known by anyone other than the friends and family he left behind.

Dei smiled, 'How ironic it is, then, that you'll never be forgotten Mr. Edren' Dei thought, reading the small plaque in front of the tombstone that listed his name.

He didn't feel that Kindness had disrespected the man's wishes though, no. Kindness made it a Convergence because it would remember him. It considered him an old friend, and one Kindness was not willing to leave behind just yet. Kindness mourned over the grave, and its tears gave the place power as the strongest listed Kindness Convergence.

'I do wonder what kind of man he was in life to be so noteworthy to Kindness, or if he was at all? Perhaps he was a simple pauper who gave it all away despite knowing so many successful people. Maybe Kindness chose him simply out of bias, or it grew close to him in some way.'

He let the meaning of the story wash over him, pieces of it caressing his Kindness affinity, helping him understand what it actually means to be kind.

Like that, Dei spent the next twenty four hours, peacefully enjoying the sun on his skin and the chill of the night, until at last it was time to go.

* * *

The next Convergence was Wrath, and it was safe to say it had a much different feel to it. Not only that, but the noble he was kicking out of his spot went utterly apeshit, and had to be restrained until Dei was done.

The Convergence itself was located in a large colosseum that, supposedly, was shut down after the Convergence formed in the dead center of the arena.

Like the last one, this Convergence had glass around its Anchor. Unlike the last Convergence, this one didn't have a bench. The only "furniture" in the colosseum was a training dummy on one side that someone could punch while they meditated on Wrath.

Setting that aside for now, he walked as close to the glass as he dared and looked inside, taking in what Wrath considered to be an important event.

Two standing corpses, locked in combat, greeted him. The wounds from their battle made it so that their bodies were utterly unrecognizable, several holes appearing in them both, but something told him it wasn't the damage from each other that killed them.

The only way to describe them was as husks. Their "corpses" were wrinkled and dried out, yet he could still sense the absolute hate in their gazes towards one another as they tried to burn more of themselves to kill the other.

'Spoilers' he thought with amusement, clearly able to predict how this ended and why the Convergence came about. 'I can definitely Identify this one, but I believe it would be more complete to simply feel it with my soul, as I did with Kindness.'

Closing his eyes, he began parsing through a story of unending hatred. It spanned years, starting with two boys in a small village.

They were brothers, raised in a loving home and wanting for nothing- but that wasn't enough for either. Through a twist of fate, both had inherited their fathers Wrath affinity, as well as one particular rule Dei was somewhat familiar with from his experience with Lani. Both brothers insisted on being the strongest in their generation, with a powerful innate ambition.

The parents encouraged this, thinking it would lead to something of a healthy rivalry, and it did for a time. When they came of age to pursue higher education, they'd become standouts not only within their community, but even according to the wider world. Both received scholarships to the same prestigious school, and went.

Things devolved from there. One brother was more social-minded, and wormed more resources his way from teachers and friends alike, but found a problem. Any time he'd pull ahead in strength, it would provide a boost for his brother. He didn't care that he'd benefitted from the same treatment, being pushed by his brother in turn, he felt he should be better. He had more resources and friends while also spending just as long in training, so why wasn't he entitled to be the victor in their rivalry?

The environment they were in worsened these thoughts, because his friends saw this phenomena as well, and said the same as him, encouraging him to do something about it, which is exactly when everything fell apart.

He struck the first blow to his brother's foundation. For once, rather than trying to become better than his brother, he tried to make his brother worse.

A "letter" from home, that their mother was sick. The popular brother ignored it, much to the gall of the soon-to-be-betrayed. The betrayed took a weeks-long journey home, only to find that his mother was healthy. The letter was a forgery to simply pull him away from the school.

By the time the betrayed one got back, the gap between them had become too great. He wouldn't be able to catch up.

If he played fair. But he didn't.

The fight changed from one where they outpaced each other, to one of constant sabotage and backstabbing. From a forged message to a planted cheat sheet to get the other suspended. From a hired harassment of those close to one brother, to hired violence against the other.

They began to fall behind in their studies, going from the top of the class to the bottom. A year went by, and the hatred only festered. Neither were willing to simply let the cycle end. To allow them to return to the previous status quo of building the other up.

So consumed by their rage were they, that they started to lose their friends and outside support. This, too, they blamed on the other brother, thinking they'd "paid off" the people close to them. It culminated at the beginning of a holiday break, when they arranged for a duel in the arena. No matter what happened after this duel, the fight would be over. The loser of the duel would bow out, and the other would be crowned the "best" brother. It wasn't meant to be deadly, that's simply how it ended up.

You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

They threw lethal attacks at one another, uncaring of if it ended up scarring or crippling the person they'd once called family. Limbs were broken, flesh was torn, and organs spilled, yet they both refused to back down.

They went through their mana, but neither forfeited, burning through their HP and flesh as a secondary resource to be expended. They dealt more damage to themselves than their sibling with each blow, but it didn't matter. They only wanted to hurt the other. Both brothers simply wanted the other to suffer.

When the last of their vital energies were expended, the last drop of blood was shed, and both brothers perished in the final moments… they still refused to die, immediately converting into undead to continue their battle.

They burned through their souls, shattering the once beloved memories they shared with not only each other, but their friends and family.

Husk one punched a hole into Husk two's stomach, and was too weak to pull it out. Husk two simply grabbed Husk one's neck, trying to starve a brain of blood that'd long since run dry.

They'd forgotten their own names, their reasons for fighting, and every goal they'd ever had. It was all replaced with dark, spiteful hatred. They knew nothing, other than the fact that this thing in front of them was an enemy to be defeated.

And they would stop at nothing to finish the job.

The structure of their souls gave out before their wills did, and the last modicum of existence was fed into the fire for yet more strength- only for there to be nobody left to use it. They'd burned away even the hatred for one another, and their corpses stilled.

There was nothing left to feel. Nothing left to burn, and finally, the brothers found peace.

Dei was left with a frown, as the story was… not only not a happy one, but it wasn't grand. This wasn't some centuries-long tale of two immortal beings. The two brothers weren't even that old, he had no idea why Wrath chose this as one of its defining moments. It was a cautionary tale of what happens when one fails to forgive.

'Or at least… that's my interpretation of it,' he realized.

His view on it aligned with how he used his own Wrath, but perhaps that wasn't how others would see it.

He observed the two figures thoughtfully, letting their final moments wash over him. He never approached the training dummy. Unlike some others in his situation, he didn't feel the need to vent his frustration or anger.

He simply stared at the two figures, frowning, for the next twenty four hours.

* * *

His third stop was at a Soul Convergence. As he walked through the crowd of people near the "place," he was reminded of a time when he'd visited a local cardshop event back on Earth, and realized seventy percent of the people there likely had some form of autism. These people were antisocial by every definition of the word.

When he displaced the noble this time, the man didn't even put up a fight. He was clearly displeased, but was not in a mood to really put up a fight, and didn't care about waiting one more day.

He thought the Convergence for Soul would be on a mountaintop or something similar. Soul was a very introspective affinity, so he had the idea of some cultivator in his head.

Nope. Apparently, Soul users didn't care in the slightest for views, because this Convergence was in a random musty basement that'd had a fence erected around the neighborhood it sat in.

The Anchor was some dust on the stone floor with a glass box around it. He didn't know how he could tell it was specifically the dust, but he could.

The Soul Convergence was quiet. It didn't broadcast its meaning like Kindness or Wrath, it invited him to sit down and stay a while, then it could tell him a story.

He did so, and closed his eyes.

Hours passed, and the Anchor didn't speak to him, yet he still heard it. There wasn't a lot for it to share like the others had, no grand life of events or anything of the sort. It simply guided him down, deeper into himself. Dei felt his consciousness swim through his memories along the lines of Connection, but Soul had other plans.

It beckoned him off the path, and into the hidden wilderness. Into places he couldn't understand or see. Places untouched by even the Leviathan's spell.

He was hesitant, but eventually followed behind the little will-o-wisp, seeing his understanding twist.

He was previously in a memory from Avium, as he tried running from the Smiler he didn't yet know existed. Little Dei simply fled, afraid of whatever chased him.

Rather than bring him along the memory, Soul beckoned him… somewhere else. Into his own mind, his own dreams, Dei saw the parasitic connection the Smiler had attached. He'd missed it the first time, but now he could see it perfectly.

Through the connection now, Dei traveled into the Smiler's body, into its memories.

'How the… How am I doing this?' Dei wondered. He'd never been in the Smiler's head, yet here its soul was laid bare before him.

Soul didn't simply let him wander though, it guided him to the Smiler's spells, to its magic.

Dei had a lot of experience with different types of magic, such as with all the people he'd helped on Earth, but Smiler magic felt different. It was another genre. Whoever the Progenitor Smiler was, they'd built up their school with no understanding of-

'OH! The Progenitor Smiler created its magic without an understanding of any other creature! It never interacted with another being! That's why Smilers have a strong connection with Soul, because their Progenitor was a focused Soul user that did nothing else! Either because it was trapped somewhere by itself, or chose to avoid others, the original Smiler must've created everything it used without ever talking to another being.'

It was an interesting concept, and Dei did what he could to learn from the Smiler's manner of manipulating its soul. It would take a while, but he'd learn what he could and think it over later.

* * *

When he was finished and guided out of the Soul Convergence, he was… unnerved with what he'd found about Smilers.

Soul, as an affinity, was not a manipulative thing. It focused on manipulating your own soul, and if you wanted control over others, you needed to merge with another affinity. That's what Controller affinities were. Soul+Something else=manipulatable concept.

Smilers went around this by breaking off pieces of themselves to other souls, and manipulating themself in another soul. That wasn't the worst, it was a workaround he used too. It was the… autonomy behind it. The small fragment of Smiler within Dei wasn't acting on the main Smiler's will, it was just acting. Like it had a mind of its own, and it just chose to help the main body.

Something itched at Dei about that. And unlike last time, he had the defenses to pinpoint exactly how.

'You're shitting me,' Dei thought as he scanned over his soul in the places where the Smiler had set up fragments of itself.

The Smiler fragments?

Still there. Still festering. He'd killed it, and it still existed in a way.

The fragments could do nothing though. Once the main body perished, the smaller pieces lost a lot of their strength, and became unable to push their boundaries any longer. They could no longer take over Dei's soul, so they were content with simply hiding and watching him, waiting for a moment of weakness.

'I am really glad these little shits don't have access to a System anymore after I killed the body, because they'd probably be scary high level and well-achieved if they were allowed to do so.'

He didn't know what the criteria was for a System, but he used this moment to observe the Smiler pieces, seeing their weakness.

The smaller Smiler fragments were weak on their own. Dei was sure almost anyone could fend them off with enough time, and Dei's own soul could naturally crush them, if it decided to. The only reason it hadn't was because they were harmless. It was like a bacteria in his body that his immune system just didn't see as a threat, so it was left alone.

That also explained why Smilers targeted children more often. Their souls were weaker, and these fragments clearly struggled to do anything when even the slightest resistance was put up.

Smilers didn't actually reproduce at all. They infested the soul of a weak or young member of a species- specifically a sapient species- then took over.

Horrific.

Dei wordlessly exorcised the influence the Smiler had left on him, for his simple peace of mind. Not only that, he used Knowledge for the first time, trying to predict where the Smiler might hide pieces of itself in his soul by if it had ever chosen to do so. He wasn't sure if the pieces themselves would reproduce as well, after all.

It was lucky he did, because there was one more, incredibly weak, piece to get rid of. At last, he was free of some hidden parasite within him.

It made Dei wonder, 'How many other things are like this? How many parasites do I have in my soul or body that are simply harmless, like a gut microbiome?'

It was an interesting thought experiment, to realize he might have a soul microbiome too.

* * *

Dei hated to admit it, but he didn't glean as much from the Fortitude Convergence as he had the other three. It was simply not as important to his path as Kindness, Wrath, and Soul were.

He still got a lot from it, but it just wasn't as noteworthy.

'At least Fortitude had a Convergence' Dei thought with a chuckle, looking at his Void affinity.

He was reminded again that Void was a bit unusual in that it didn't get Convergences.

The gains were… okayish.

[Kindness: Mid-Epic: 78% -> 85% ???: Low-Grand: 24% -> 56% Wrath: Mid-Epic: 78% -> 85% Soul: Low-Treasured: 83% -> Mid-Treasured: 3% Fortitude: High-Rare: 28% -> 49% Void: Low-Rare: 41% -> 43%]

He was positive now that his benefits from Kindness and Wrath were stacking. Still, the biggest advancement was from his mystery pseudo affinity.

He didn't trick himself into thinking it was because it was getting stronger just yet. It was just the effects of the affinity healing the damage he'd dealt to it.

Aside from that though? Everything else was good, but not great. True, he'd earned seven percent in Kindness in two days, but he still felt like it wasn't a lot for how unbelievably valuable the Convergence was considered.

He knew why he felt this way of course, but it didn't make him happy.

'The demon is a REAL experience booster for EVERYTHING. This would be incredible progress for anyone else, just not for me.'

It wasn't just the short time he'd spent either, as apparently he would get, at most, two or three percent more over the course of several months in his Kindness and Wrath affinity. Maybe ten to fifteen for Soul.

It was good progress, but he felt a bit spoiled when he was disappointed by some legendary resources.

He was hit with another slight problem though. Convergences were the place to visit to build power, and now he'd run out.

'What the hell am I supposed to do for a week and a half?'

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