"Fine!" Seeing how Hodan answered, the Sovereign of Death decided not to press him.
Paragons were proud. They were rarer than Sovereigns, and becoming one depended on talent and insight, while becoming a Sovereign was simply a matter of luck.
Most Paragons looked down on Sovereigns, thinking they had only gotten lucky and obtained a Sovereign Spark.
Hodan, of course, didn't think that way. Strength was strength; if someone was stronger than you, then they were stronger than you. And he knew perfectly well that sometimes luck mattered far more than talent or insight. With enough luck, you could rise to the top in a single leap. Those with talent and insight might die in some remote corner because of bad luck before they ever got the chance to make use of them.
"If you ever truly decide you want to become my emissary, you can come find me at Youming Mountain in the Netherworld." The Sovereign of Death left him with those words, tinged with disappointment, then vanished before him.
The other Sovereigns also invited Hodan, offering the same terms as the Sovereign of Death. They were hoping that, by some chance, he might take a liking to one of them and choose them instead. That was how Xingyi had become an emissary.
Then they all left as well. There was nothing in the Spatial Turbulence; the Material Plane and divine planes were far more colorful.
"I never thought you'd actually turn down the Sovereign of Death." Augusta was unusually talkative, and Hodan found himself a little unaccustomed to it. In his impression, Augusta had appeared in the Coiling Dragon World as the incarnation of its major villain.
Augusta didn't ask again to take Hodan on as his emissary. He had already invited him the first time they met,