[D'sP] On Angels - Chapter 299 (Patreon)

Ally claps her hands, ‘Now, on the matter of Ace balancing interests against one another. In theory, it can work. I suspect, despite how regular people view him, Ace is less good and more neutral. Lawful neutral if I had to put a tag on it.

‘Though of course while stuff like Order is a thing, you can’t fit sapients into neat little boxes like that. Which is why most “higher beings” like deities don’t use sapients as their main servants. Except the Fae because they like a bit of chaos and confusion that you can only get from sapience.

‘Anyway, since Ace isn’t the classic lawful good paladin stereotype, he might manage it. After all, he is already on his way there with how he plans to handle religion in town. Though I hope he leans more towards good. He at least is able to consider his friends on an equal ground and emphasize with people.’

Doyle, ‘Back up just a moment. What do you mean deities don’t depend on sapients? Does that mean angels aren’t sapient? Because there are a ton of references in my culture to them falling.’

Ally shrugs, ‘Yes and no. Low rank angels are not sapient. However, an angel falling, while it can be related to having the free will to decide on it themselves, it can also be some other force taking them.

‘However, most deities prefer to only create high rank angels. Unless it is a low-ranking deity or relatively new, most of them have a better option for non-sapient servants. I sort of remember us talking a bit about how the “heavens” work?

‘Where a soul will detour through whatever afterlife realm the sapient believed in? Anyway, for a while, the actual soul will hang around and receive whatever was promised. In fact, this is actually the pool that most angel souls are drawn from.

‘Though only after all memories of their past life has been stripped away. What is key, is what happens after the actual soul finishes its time in the afterlife and is returned to the void. At that point, just like how some of the soul shell is left behind where they died, generally the traumatic parts. The rest of the shell is left in the afterlife, becoming what many see as the lowest rank of angel.

‘They aren’t technically angels, but deities don’t like to spread what they really are. After all, the difference between what they do and what a necromancer does is just that of public opinion. Either way, those shells lack the actual soul and so, while still containing logic and reasoning to a degree, have no free will.

‘As for why they are preferred over simply making some low rank angels? Well, it has to do with that fallen angel thing. A low rank angel is basically a fancy golem and with some work, others can take control of them.

‘On the other hand, the soul shell of a believer can only be controlled by those it believed in. At the point someone else would manage to take control, it will instead disintegrate because part of what allows it to exist was that belief. The only downside compared to an angel is that an angel is immortal while a soul shell is not.’

Doyle, ‘Could I make stuff like that?’

Ally, ‘Sure, if you don’t mind being known as a necromantic dungeon. Like I said, the difference between a deity doing that and a necromancer is public opinion. I’m sure at least part of the backlash against even white necromancers is the result of pressure from all afterlifes.

‘After all, if a necromancer manages to grab most of the soul shell, there is less left for whatever deity that person worshiped. Honestly, the fact that souls are timeless makes everything to do with them a little wonky.

‘Like, the soul itself leaves right away even if the soul shell doesn’t. This gives necromancers and natural circumstances the chance to turn them into undead and use the soul shell. However, the soul will show up in its afterlife with its shell mostly intact. Except, of course when something happens to it in which case it doesn’t show up. Oh, and a proper burial ceremony can send everything away all at once.’

Doyle takes a moment to think. ‘So, why don’t I ever notice the shells after a person dies? I admit to not always paying the most attention. In fact, most of the time I avoid looking too closely, slasher movies never were a genre I enjoyed. That doesn’t mean I haven’t observed things closely a time or two.’

Ally, ‘So, deities don’t like dungeons. At least, they prefer their high level followers not to use them.’

Doyle, ‘Moota and Jess didn’t seem to mind me?’

Ally laughed, ‘I guess I should be more specific. Deities mainly cater to the civilized races don’t like dungeons. What you eat is what the soul shells are made of. It isn’t that you don’t detect it, rather you already notice it whenever you get that tasty lump sum of power from a death.

‘Civilized deities care because they’re the types to focus on the afterlife. A wolf that has gained sapience isn’t going to worry about where it goes after it dies, they just aren’t wired that way. Sure, Jess could develop an afterlife for her followers and likely inherited such a place.

‘However, that will tend to be used for the folk and kin that tend to result from sapient animals over time. In fact, some animals would actually see it as an honor for you to eat their soul shell as it would benefit the natural cycles. Though it certainly helps that beast deities don’t depend on soul shells for servants.

‘That, however, goes back to why you can’t make a human. “Civilized” beings are those who gain a soul at birth. This is a natural restriction on humans as much as it is a benefit and so a deity worshiped by humans would not be able to make non-sapient human servants. Jess, on the other hand, can totally make as many wolves as she wants, just like you can. She doesn’t need to depend on her believers for that purpose.’

Doyle, ‘Why do deity seem to be dungeon ripoffs? They seem to do much of what I can, except apparently they just store the soul shells instead of eating them like I apparently do.’

Ally shrugs, ‘Remember, dungeons and deities are a natural part of the multiverse and can both show up anywhere. While no one really knows the purpose of deities, it is assumed they serve a purpose, just like dungeons. The main difference is that deities are an evolution of sapience while also representing a limitation. Dungeon’s? Except for rare incidents like you, they just form naturally whenever.’

Doyle, ‘Though it also sounds like they are very limited in what they can create as well. How original are angels or do they all use the same ones?’

Ally, ‘They can only freely create their own race and thus the civilized deities and their troubles. Even the pseudo-civilized, like a kobold deity, has it easier. Angels, in turn, require various things to create.

‘While there isn’t a limit to what can be created, that in itself has limited things. Since there are no guidelines, most deities just go with the more mortal designs like the classic “human with wings”. That or what your world would call “biblically accurate” angels.

‘That second kind are the designs a deity will suddenly know after they ascend. As for the winged humanoid and similar? Those are simply the designs that end up being shared. The key point of both is they tend to have easily acquired materials as their base.

‘It is only when you start dealing with archangels and so on that you see any uniqueness. After all, common materials can only get you so far when it comes to power. Even when it is a deity raising up an angel that has capped out their potential into a new form, it can get expensive.’

Doyle, ‘Well angels just sound amazing. I’m stuck with predetermined stuff and those deities just get to throw whatever they want together. Though I guess being able to use world energy for everything instead of needing actual materials is a decent tradeoff.’

Ally nods, ‘Yep, though more accurately, you’re using quintessence to do it. Which I guess if a deity could handle, they would be able to bypass the material requirements in the same way. Good thing even if they could get their hands on the stuff, to use it without an affinity would require building stuff up from the subatomic level.’

Doyle sighed, ‘I feel like there is something in that all I can make use of. Just a strange itch at the back of my mind, but that actually means something nowadays.’

Ally, ‘Maybe we should see if one of our friends would mind sharing a couple angel designs with us. I know the default designs are free to share and cost basically nothing. Now that I think about it, my mom probably has a few kicking around as well. Though I don’t think we should try her first.’

Doyle, ‘Why would your mom have angel designs?’

Ally shrugs, ‘She is strong enough to have a true domain, which is the only “divine” requirement to create them. Whether it is a dungeon core’s territory, a deity’s heaven, or my mom’s personal slice of the Fae realm. You need such a space to create things like your monsters or an angel.

‘Even without someone around to throw the local area into a tizzy like how delvers stop you from being able to spawn in stuff. The general universe is too chaotic for such a delicate task. It would be like trying to make a sandcastle while waves are actively sweeping over where you are.

‘Though some beings without a domain manage to skirt around the rule. They don’t quite cheat. Instead, using the only controlled environment they can manage where their own presence wouldn’t mess up the process. Inside of themselves.

‘This, however, is mostly limited to beings of great size. Stuff like Kaiju, whales, and space monsters. The size limit from what I understand doesn’t come from needing a large enough space, but rather enough shielding. In theory, a human could totally make something small in their gut. However, there isn’t enough of them between their insides and the outsides.’

Doyle, ‘That gives me an idea. Could I make an area with enough separation that there would be areas of a floor where I can still work on stuff?’

Ally shrugs, ‘Maybe? The big thing with large creatures is that they themselves create a disruption which they learn to work with. Dungeons are instead like a series of calm ponds. While each floor is separated, within that floor it is still all connected, even if the space itself is separated. Remember, despite the spatial manipulation you do, your floors are still just spheres of space.’

Doyle sighs, ‘Well, it was worth asking. Would have been useful to handle any malicious pests.’

Ally, ‘We are still safe for the moment. I doubt anyone on the planet can break your core yet. Plus, with each new floor, you gain access to even greater numbers of points to get monsters with. Besides, we only need to make the next floor and we’ll have access to a flying monster.

‘That sort of thing can become completely unfair if you want it to. You just need to design the floor in a way that allows for a nasty hard mode. I’m thinking cliffs and heavy winds.’

Doyle, ‘That and I get my first magical metal to play with. Still don’t feel like I fully understand how that works, but we can wait on that until I can actually use it.’

Ally laughs, ‘Mithril is a decent metal all around. Plus, it makes you even more valuable to the people outside. Though at this point, Ace is basically assured to be setting up some pretty invasive measures to watch for those looking to kill you. His plans all revolve around you right now.’

Ally's Take On The Matter - Chapter 298

Might Have Worked - Chapter 300