Divine Power and Authority (Double Chapter)

By the time Ra reached the training ground, Oshi and Obe were already standing there obediently. She did a quick calculation in her head—she had arrived five minutes early.

Presumably, the two little ones still felt guilty about what had happened that morning, so they had deliberately come early to wait.

Had I been a little too harsh on the two of them before?

Seeing the two standing ramrod straight without even the slightest fidgeting, Ra could not help reflecting on herself.

"You don't need to be so tense. Relax." She deliberately softened her tone.

"Oh~ Got it. Wait, no! I-I'm not afraid you'll settle scores afterward!"

Oshi hurriedly waved her hands, the tips of her ears turning faintly red. Obe sighed with a hand to her forehead beside her, clearly helpless at her bargain-bin older sister's utterly transparent attempt at hiding the truth.

"Sigh~ What happened this morning is already behind us. Naturally, I won't pursue it any further.

"If the two of you spar again in the future, I won't interfere as long as you don't go overboard. I'll also give you more freedom from now on.

"After all, this world isn't safe either. More combat experience is always a good thing, and I won't meddle excessively anymore."

That was also why Ra was so eager to personally teach the two of them. Whether it was Armament Haki or the control of Phantom God power she was about to teach them, mastering it one day sooner meant one less chance of an accident.

"Really, Big Sister?" Oshi asked cautiously.

"Of course." Ra nodded.

"Yay! Now we can fight to our hearts' content!"

Oshi, with her red-themed powers, seemed to have a mysterious fascination with fighting strong opponents.

"Alright, back to the topic." Ra stepped in front of the two. "This afternoon, I'll be teaching you about the control and application of divine power."

"But we already know that, Sister Ra."

As she spoke, Oshi conjured a bolt of rumbling lightning in her palm. She was now quite adept at such simple releases of divine power.

Looking at the lightning scattering golden sparks, Ra shook her head.

"The control I'm referring to isn't merely as simple as releasing divine power. You need to understand the essence of divine power and authority.

"To give a simple example, the clothes you're wearing were woven from divine power by me. Can you now weave yourselves a set using your own power?"

"Ah! Hehe~ I forgot all about that if you hadn't mentioned it, Sister Ra.

"How did you do it, Sister Ra? Why can flames have this kind of texture? Before, they could only block people's vision."

Oshi tugged at the hem of her skirt. It felt delicate and warm, like the finest silk. Specks of fluorescence drifted off with every sway, making it seem all the more dreamlike.

As Ra's control over her power grew increasingly refined, she had upgraded the two girls' "clothes" not long ago. What Oshi and Obe wore now were true clothes of the same style as Ra's.

"It's simple. Before, I merely used divine power to control the flames' temperature and shape, then attached them directly to your bodies. Those 'clothes' were still flames in essence.

"But these were first spun into threads from pure divine power, then woven into garments through warp and weft. They are true 'divine attire' in every sense."

Ra opened her hand, and specks of golden particles glimmered in her palm, dazzlingly beautiful.

This was the purest divine power, before it had been transformed through authority.

"You should have noticed while learning Armament Haki this morning that the divine power within our bodies is essentially a kind of universal particle with immense 'plasticity.'

"Its properties can be altered almost at will according to our needs."

"Like programming? C, the origin of all things?" Obe quickly understood Ra's words in her own way.

"Then doesn't that mean we can use divine power to accomplish almost anything?

"Like initiating nuclear fusion right in our palms... as long as we found the right code, it wouldn't be impossible!

"Going further, couldn't our authorities essentially be seen as built-in programs? We just input divine power, and we get the corresponding wind, fire, lightning, or electricity. Is that right, Sister Ra?"

This sort of logical extrapolation based on assumptions was exactly what Obe excelled at.

"Mm... yes, but not entirely. In theory, our authorities should be something even more incredible. Rather than a 'program,' I would prefer to compare them to a 'crowbar.'"

"H-Huh? A crowbar?! Why a crowbar?" Obe did not understand why Ra had brought up the name of the holy sword of physics.

"Because it is the very foundation that allows us to pry open the laws of the real world," Ra said calmly.

"The universal-particle nature of divine power can indeed be called miraculous, but its products still fundamentally obey the physical laws of the real world.

"Take the nuclear fusion you just mentioned. Even if you arranged those divine-power particles into a configuration suitable for a fusion reaction, they would not simply begin fusing on their own."

"Because the physical conditions aren't met?" Obe immediately caught on.

"Exactly."

"The physical laws of the real world are always shackles that are difficult to overcome, and authority is the 'holy sword' that forcibly pries them open."

"Standing at the intersection of these two miracles—divine power and authority—we possess the power to create 'divine miracles.'"

Ra extended her hand. A tiny "sun" floated silently above her palm, steadily radiating light and heat.

!!!

"T-That can't be...!" Obe stared wide-eyed at the tiny sphere of light in Ra's hand.

"Mm, that's right." Ra nodded again, confirming Obe's guess.

"That is roughly what 'divine power' and 'authority' are." The sphere of light went out and vanished from Ra's hand, leaving behind no trace at all.

"What you need to do now is improve your control over divine power and deepen your understanding of authority. Do you understand, Obe, Oshi?"

"Oshi?"

"Ah! Um... Sister Ra, when did you change our clothes? How did I not notice at all?"

Oshi, who had been deep in thought, raised her head and asked somewhat shyly.

Ra: "..."

Obe: "..."

"Haha, it's mainly because I really couldn't understand all that stuff you were talking about earlier—programs, fusion, and all that~"

The girl rubbed her red hair awkwardly.

"In any case, changes in the nature of divine power aren't as simple as you imagine.

It may be ours to mold as we please, but we ourselves aren't skilled craftsmen, so the final product may not be what we wanted.

At present, Haki is the only usable form of nature transformation."

Ra poured a bucket of cold water over the two eager little girls with the facts, keeping them from aiming too high too soon.

"That's not right, Sister Ra. Aren't the clothes we're wearing also transformed from your divine power?" Oshi rarely managed to get a word in.

"That's merely the most basic alteration of particles' spatial positions and arrangements—a very superficial transformation.

Changing the nature of energy itself and fusing it into an entirely new system of power, like Haki, is true control over the essence of energy.

It's like the difference between a lump of clay and a finished porcelain vessel. Do you understand?"

"I... I guess I understand..." Oshi replied with extreme reluctance.

Realizing that her tone was far from convincing, Oshi hurriedly changed the subject.

"Then... then what exactly are we supposed to do?"

Perhaps noticing that Oshi truly wasn't good at theoretical matters, Ra simply followed the tangent she had offered and continued.

"It's simple. Find the smallest unit of energy you can control. Use that as your foundation, then continuously raise its energy level while maintaining control over it."

A fairly classic incremental method. It really did sound simple.

Simple my ass!!!

Even Obe, confident as she was, felt her scalp go numb.

"So we have to command every trace of divine power in our bodies as easily as our own limbs, instead of dumping it all out at once like we used to...

Th-this is impossible, isn't it?!"

It was like saying, "You're pretty good at making bullets. Now go build a ballistic missile."

And it fucking had to be smaller than a bullet!

"Is... is that even something a person can do?" Trembling, Obe touched the hem of her skirt and felt the warmth coming from it. Her entire mind went blank.

For the first time, she clearly realized what kind of "monster" her eldest sister—who seemed capable of doing anything—really was.

"Maybe a 'person' can't. But haven't we already ceased to be 'people'?"

The golden-haired girl said it calmly, her tone no different from usual, as though she were simply commenting that the weather was nice today.

But both Obe and Oshi froze at her words.

It was a question they had deliberately or unconsciously ignored and brushed aside all this time. Even when they had called themselves the "Phantom God Race" before Burufatt and the others, they had done so half-jokingly.

But now Ra said it in such an offhand yet irrefutable tone that they had no choice but to face the issue.

And both of them knew what the unspoken second half of her words was.

"We are... gods," Obe murmured. That ordinary sentence struck her harder than everything she had encountered before combined.

Oshi, too, fell into rare, profound silence.

"That's right. From every perspective, it's already difficult to call us human. Our bodies, our minds, even our souls." Ra coldly stated the reality of the three of them.

"Big Sis, are you telling us to abandon human values?" Obe clearly could not adapt to her current identity in such a short time.

"No. What values you choose to uphold is your own decision. Whether you are gods or humans, it doesn't matter.

What I mean is that you need to step beyond the limitations of the way you thought as humans. Many things that would have been utterly impossible for ordinary people are now things we can do with ease."

For example, the three of them no longer had a theoretical "lifespan." As long as they wished it, they could live until the day the world was destroyed.

"Don't trap yourselves in the cage of 'human.' Remember, we now wield divine power in divine bodies."

[Transcend the constraints of 'human'... Is that why you've always been able to walk ahead of us, leaving Oshi and me so far behind?]

Obe looked at Ra, who had remained calm from beginning to end, feeling both admiration and bitterness.

"So what you mean is, we can stop being human while still living as humans, or stop being human in our thinking while acting like humans." Oshi's interpretation was as unconventional as ever.

"What kind of weird tongue twister is that?"

"Nyaa~"

"What is it? Did you steal the Marines' sonar or something...?"

Obe turned to look at Osiris, only to find her wearing a full-on DIO expression.

"I'm no longer human, Obe!"

Sure enough, Osiris would never pass up an opportunity to make that reference.

Still, thanks to her, Obe's mood improved again.

"By the way, Sister Ra. You only told us how to train our divine power before, but what about our Authorities?"

Little Osiris, the class representative, raised her hand to ask, making the tips of her crimson hair sway gently.

"I don't know."

"Huh?"

"I don't know," Ra repeated, making it clear that the other girl had heard correctly.

"Authorities are like instincts to me. I really don't know how to teach you something that comes as naturally as breathing."

"And each of our Authorities is different. You'll have to rely on yourselves this time. Only the methods you discover on your own will suit you best."

"The area ahead is yours to explore~"

As she spoke, Ra hooked a finger under the corner of her mouth and gave the two of them a smile with a wider curve than usual.

It could be considered an evolution from a "smile" to a normal-level "smile."

"D-Damn! That smile... My heart's pounding, and my... my thing that's already gone! Gwah—"

The unsinkable ship named Osiris was sunk once again.

In the end, under Ra's beauty offensive, the two little girls with flushed faces gave up on pressing the matter further.

"By the way, how is your Haki training going?"

"Uh..."

An awkward silence followed.

Looking at the two little ones' expressions—wanting to speak, stopping themselves, then wanting to speak again—Ra roughly guessed what was going on.

But Obe was ultimately the first to speak.

"How should I put it, Sis? We can use it, but only a tiny little bit."

As she spoke, she held out her thumb and index finger, pinching them together in a gesture that looked like losing a certain country's market.

"Hm? Don't beat around the bush. Osiris, you tell me."

Osiris, whose name had been called, immediately gave a shudder.

"Uh... it's just, the first time we use it, Haki comes out, but after that we can't react at all. Um... how do I put this...?"

"Like you've only just gotten familiar with the skill buttons, then immediately get thrown into a professional match, but the pace is too fast for you to press anything?"

Ra once again restated her meaning in language Osiris could understand.

"Yes, yes, yes! Exactly! That's what it feels like!" Osiris nodded repeatedly.

"It's that frantic feeling where the enemy is practically about to hit you in the face, but you still have to mash over a dozen buttons before you can use a skill.

So I instinctively give up on using Haki and just counter with normal attacks."

"I think we may need some time to get used to fighting with Haki involved, Sis," Obe said helplessly.

Even with talent as terrifying as theirs, expecting them to cross in a single morning a realm that others needed years of effort to reach was still somewhat unrealistic.

"Alright, I was being too impatient.

King and the others said it took them several years to master Haki themselves. Asking you to do it in half a day really is asking too much."

"Mhm! Mhm!" Osiris nodded in wholehearted agreement.

"Then from now on, we'll switch the lessons to practical combat. I've already taught you all the theory anyway. You can familiarize yourselves with it and master it in battle."

"Wha?!" *2

"Sister Ra, are you going to fight us yourself?"

"That's right. Of course, I'll keep it at an appropriate level. I won't let you get hurt."

In theory, neither Osiris nor Obe had ever seen Ra truly fight, so objectively speaking, it was merely a change of sparring partner.

But instincts were subjective things. Being scared was being scared...

"Eek! I refuse." Clinging to her last sliver of hope, Osiris charged in to challenge her.

"Mm↓ hm↑"

"O-Okay, I get it." Osiris typed GG.

"Since that's the case, today's lesson will end here.

Oh, right. I'm assigning you some homework—use your own divine power and authority to make a set of clothes. You have one week.

When the time comes, I'll dispel the dresses I wove for you. Anyone who can't do it will just have to go bare-assed."

As Ra spoke, she stared straight at Oshi.

[*S-so petty! Is it just because I rejected her earlier?

Sister Ra, you're really despicable right now!*]

Of course, Oshi only dared to think those things. If she said them aloud, she would probably have to go bare-assed starting tomorrow.

Obe, however, lowered her head in thought upon hearing this "homework," seeming to have already come up with an idea.

"Hey, Obe, what are we going to do? Can you do it?" Oshi nudged Obe with her elbow, but received no response.

"Man?"

"Smallest unit, authority, god... Oshi, stop bothering me. I'm thinking."

Muttering under her breath, Obe dodged Oshi's elbow and continued pondering.

"Don't tell me you already have an idea?! No, you're not allowed to know how! If I have to go bare-assed, you have to do it with me!"

Oshi's eyes widened as she desperately clung to Obe like a water ghost in a river dragging someone on shore down with her.

"What are you doing?! You idiot, I don't want to do it with you! Let go already!"

"Gah! I won't! I won't let go even if you beat me to death! Either help me think of a way, or we both die together!"

"You!"

Watching the two of them tugging at each other, Ra left behind the words, "Don't forget dinner," before leaving the training ground.