It didn't take long for them to reach the foot of Mount Grace with Axion pulling the cart. His Adept Attuned strength made him the perfect mule. Murkuk's fear quickly turned to exaltation.

"Yah!" Murkuk shouted while flicking the reins, urging Axion on faster. Axion turned to glare over his shoulder at the oblivious Goblin.

"Up ahead, there's the monastery!" Dink shouted, pointing into the distance to draw away Axion's ire.

"Dink, please have a look at Estra. I don't think she's breathing," Martha urgently said.

Dink shifted his attention back to Estra lying beside him. Her complexion had taken on a waxy cast with a stiff expression. He leaned in close while holding the air in his lungs to listen intently. Relieved, he sat back in the cart. She was still breathing.

"What's going on back there, Dink old-boy?" Axion called over his shoulder.

"She's still alive," Dink assured him. He didn't respond, instead redoubling his effort to climb the steep mountainside road.

"How can anyone this close to death be saved?" Martha rhetorically asked, holding her hand against the pallid flesh of Estra's brow.

"Whatever might be said about Mercy's unique quirks. He's still a true god," Dink replied.

"A true god, what do you mean?" Martha asked, her brow wrinkling in confusion.

"I guess that's something you'd learn in a small backwater town like Burrowton. Mana-users have many realms. They're the same for both Attuned and Magus," Dink said, adjusting his position to prepare for a sermon. "It starts with the Novice realm where one distinguishes themselves from the masses and learns to touch upon their mana. The Apprentice realm is where one learns to focus it. A Journeyman realm has achieved a basic level of control. The realms after that are where one builds their strength and skill. Adept, Expert, Master, Grand, and Champion. There are a few more realms after that, but most that claim to be gods reside beneath the Legend realm."

"Okay, I think I understand. You still haven't explained what a true god is," Martha replied, hanging on his every word.

"Despite the last mortal realms before ascension holding unfathomable power, a true god is incomparable. The Legend, Mythos, and Precept realms are all extremely difficult to break through. The Divine realm means to sacrifice your physical form. Anything other than that's a false god,"

"It's incredible to think the gods were once like us. But wouldn't that mean they're dead?" Martha asked, her eyes open wide in wonder.

"In a sense, you'd be right about true gods being dead. They've got little to do with the affairs of mortals," Dink replied.

"What about the nine God Constructs belonging to the illustrious trade city of Secrad? On the Great Dividing River. I read that they each embody one of the Nine Disciplines," Martha asked, unable to contain her curiosity.

"The God Constructs of Secrad are perfect examples of false gods. They can't even match my strength from before I burned my life essence. That includes their three dormant constructs in the Champion realm. The other nine are barely worth mentioning in the Grand realm," Dink informed her, he worriedly glanced toward the monastery growing in the distance. "Although, I admit that it's impressive whoever built them managed to break the Master realm hard limit. Their skill in mana core construction would've been unmatched. It's never been seen again since."

"So, the true god the sisterhood worships is in the Divine realm, is there anything above that?" Martha asked in fascination.

"Yes, the primordial gods that created the world. There are even whispers of another realm even greater than them. Belonging to a single entity that fabricated all of reality. The true gods punish any civilisation with pestilence and famine foolish enough to spread such heresy. It's best you forget that I mentioned it," Dink distractedly said, staring intently into the darkness.

"Wait, I just realised that you said there's more than just the nine God Constructs. Can you tell me what you know about them and the trade city Secrad?" Martha excitedly exclaimed.

"Not today. We'll be passing through there on the way to our destination," Dink answered.

"I never asked, where is our destination, Dink?" Martha hesitantly asked.

"We're going to House Hydra to undo a wrong made against Estra," Dink vehemently said, gently stroking Estra's immobile face.

He waved away further questions, leaning forward to deeply frown at the monastery ahead. The flickering torchlight allowed him to see a set of large and imposing heavy iron-wrought gates.

This place's atmosphere is all wrong. The gates weren't here the last time I visited the monastery. Something bad must have happened to make the sisterhood close its doors.

"Halt, state your business!" A deep masculine voice shouted from the thick wall above the gates. Dink's ears twitched as he heard a strange cadence underlying the words.

"We're in urgent need of the sister's healing. Our companion is heavily injured and may be dying. Grant us entry!" Axion shouted back.

"Axion, wait. I believe it's an illusion spell," Dink said, hopping down from the cart and placing a hand on his muscular arm.

"What makes you say that? That's clearly a solid wall with a great pair of reinforced gates," Axion said, gesturing ahead.

"Just trust me. Keep walking forward and don't stop," Dink replied, beginning to swagger towards the gates. "Ladies, your dashing prince charming has come to whisk you away from this dreadful life of celibacy!"

"I said halt. If you continue any further, I'll alert the garrison!" The watchman anxiously commanded.

Dink grinned after hearing the nervousness in their voice. He faced toward Axion, gesturing or him to follow with a waving motion. Sauntering forwards, Dink continued up the gravel road, casually lacing his hands behind his head.

"Damnit, I said halt! Are you deaf or just stupid?" The watchman hysterically shouted, the tone of their voice becoming distinctly more feminine.

Dink ignored their cries as he arrived in front of the gate. Without missing a beat, he stepped into the foreboding doors. Axion watched what was about to happen next from a short distance away. Instead of the anticipated collision with his face, the walls shattered into countless fragments.

The individual stones defied gravity to crumble upward into the sky. The gates distorted and retreated backward, stretching into thin ribbons that wrapped around a person revealed standing behind them. The stones in the sky tumbled down to stack neatly in place at his back, the ribbons streaked past him to do the same.

He looked over his shoulder in time to watch it all snap into place, completely intact. The cart and his companions were still on the other side. Dink unconcernedly turned back to face the woman.

"Nice place you have here," Dink said with a beaming self-satisfied smile.