Chapter 184: Divine Interrogation (I) The Gods’ focus locked onto Finn’s divine form with an intensity that made the air itself seem to warp. Behind him, the other Transcendents watched tensely, positioned in a loose defensive formation despite knowing how futile resistance would be against fully manifested divine beings. Casmir, despite the oppressive presence emanating from the Gods, kept his face carefully neutral while his hands moved in subtle gestures. Finn could sense the Space bearer still manipulating the breach in the short distance between them and escape, trying to make it resonate, preparing it to open at a moment’s notice just in case an opportunity presented itself. The others maintained wary vigilance as Finn stood at the fore. Unlike the incarnations they’d fought moments ago, who were desperate, aggressive, and focused on preventing their escape, these Gods seemed entirely at ease. Curious, even. As if they’d stumbled upon an intriguing puzzle and wanted to dissect every piece carefully before deciding what to do with it. Thalassa — or rather, Storm, as Nocturne had called her — tilted her head, ancient eyes narrowing. "What is your name, new-born?" "Peculiar. Your existence bothers my senses. Like... wrongness made manifest. An anomaly that shouldn’t be, yet is." Nocturne added as he studied Finn’s masked form. Storm stepped closer, lightning crackling across her skin passively. "I thought all powerful paths to divinity had been claimed eons ago. The fundamental concepts, the primal forces, all spoken for, all controlled by established pantheons. Yet here you stand before me with something that makes my divine senses recoil." Her voice carried genuine wonder rather than threat. "You hold a core path to divinity. Not a derivative, not a subset of some greater concept, but something fundamental to reality itself." She leaned forward slightly. "How did you achieve this? Is it tied to that spatial anomaly?" She gestured toward the breach. "A Great One is involved, yes? That would explain—" "Storm." Nocturne cut her off with a raised hand, amusement coloring his voice. "You’re firing off too many questions at once. The young divine will be confused." Finn, behind his mask, watched them with extreme wariness that his demeanor didn’t betray. He feigned confidence, standing relaxed as if their overwhelming presence didn’t faze him, putting up a strong front to avoid showing weakness. But in his mind, he was calculating frantically. The success rate of escaping beings like these is near zero if they decide to stop us... For now I’ll prolong this dialogue for as long as possible, keep them talking, hopefully an opportunity will present itself... Casmir perhaps...? He remembered the Space bearer was still silently trying to secure their way home, so he grit his teeth behind his mask and continued. He couldn’t really get a read on the two Gods. Their demeanor was such a stark contrast to the frantic, violent fight that had occurred mere seconds ago, that it threw him off entirely. The surroundings were still apocalyptic wreaked with destruction for miles, stone flash-heated to plasma, magma flowing where solid ground had been. Finn’s gaze flicked upward briefly. Tons upon tons of molten earth, hardened stone, and massive rocks floated above them, held suspended by what could only be the Shadow God’s — who now inhabited Nocturne — casual application of power. Himothy’s devastating attack had destabilized everything. They were supposed to be gone before the entire structure collapsed. But now, with the Gods blocking their path, they were trapped miles underground where everything had turned to hell — the heat and molten ground here consumed what little solid footing remained by the second. And above them, immense weight hung like an executioner’s sword. Though, Finn mused grimly, all the Transcendents should survive if it drops. Probably. Yara’s Resilience, Casmir’s spatial manipulation, my own Error... we’d make it somehow... He then put those thoughts to the side and refocused on the Gods, considering how to answer their questions. It was already an established fact that fighting here gained the Transcendents nothing. Finn knew that if he could navigate this with words instead of violence, it would be the better play. So he considered his next words very carefully, down to the tone and cadence of his voice. He didn’t want to come across as haughty or fiery, potentially provoking the Gods, yet he also didn’t want to appear submissive and diminutive. For this, he needed to maintain a confident neutrality. "I am called The Errant," Finn said, his voice carrying neither subservience nor arrogance. Steady. Certain. Both Gods paused, expressions becoming thoughtful as if searching their vast memories for any reference to that name. After a moment, the Shadow God shook his head. "We haven’t heard that name before. Not in any pantheon we know of, nor among the new-borns we’ve encountered, nor in the records of claimed divine paths." They seemed about to continue questioning when Finn shrugged slightly, the gesture almost casual despite the tension. "That would be because I’m from a different world." The reaction was immediate and rippled through both groups. The Transcendents behind him tensed visibly. Even Casmir’s subtle manipulations of the breach faltered for half a second, his concentration broken by shock. Thalia’s fist clenched. They all wondered why Finn would reveal something so vital. What is he doing? their expressions screamed. Only Deacon remained expressionless, golden eyes watching the exchange without apparent surprise or concern. The two Gods went utterly still. For a long moment, neither spoke. Finn could practically see their divine minds working, processing this revelation, fitting it into their understanding of reality, recalculating everything they thought they knew about the situation. Then the Shadow God’s eyes widened fractionally. "Now that you mention it... you seem to be speaking in an unknown tongue, aren’t you?" Storm blinked, genuine surprise crossing her features. "He is. I didn’t even notice. Your language is completely foreign to anything in our world." Both Gods looked at each other, then back at Finn with renewed fascination. "We’ve grown so accustomed to the fact that beings at our level aren’t limited by spoken language," the Shadow God explained, almost to himself. "We understand intent behind words inherently, so the actual language used becomes... irrelevant. I hadn’t consciously registered that your mouth-sounds don’t correspond to any known linguistic structure." Finn filed that observation away while nodding in acknowledgment. Interesting. So their ability to communicate works the same way Deacon’s Truth translation does. And more importantly, I was doing the same subconsciously... Is it a result of my Error interpretation from what I learned watching Deacon? Or is it my divine essence enabling it like them...? He also wondered briefly whether the other Transcendents had been understanding the incarnations earlier, and now these Gods. But he pushed the thoughts aside refocusing on Storm, who leaned forward eagerly. "So you’re saying there are other worlds besides ours?" Finn raised an eyebrow behind his mask, then nodded slowly. "Not just worlds. Planes of reality. There are millions... billions, maybe trillions, of separate planes existing throughout the vast void. Yours and mine are just two among countless others." Finn knew he may be exaggerating. But based on Earth knowledge of the scale of the universe, he extrapolated the same for planes of existence floating in the void. The Shadow God tilted his head. "Interesting. Although it’s less clear, you actually speak truth." Ah. Finn filed that away too. Their truth-sensing isn’t absolute. It registers belief rather than universal fact. If I genuinely believe something false, they might not detect the deception.