Divinity: Against the Godly System

"This... What are you trying to say? I can't answer that as I don't know," Alice responded, unable to answer. "I never really thought about it, but maybe."

" Think about that question. That's all I can tell you. My troubles are bigger than you can understand at this point," Ryder told Alice as he again fell on the bed. 

"The world is a much more complicated place. Just know that myths are true, and nothing is impossible," he said softly before he closed his eyes. "Get some sleep now."

Seeing him, Alice couldn't help but wonder what his words meant. Myths are true, and nothing is possible? Talking about gods? Did he really say that gods are real in vague terms? Gods are walking amongst them? She started putting the pieces together from whatever slight hint she got from Ryder.

....

"I found everything about Ryder Flynn," Maya told Ion in his office as she finished the task. 

"Tell me. Who is he?" Ion asked. 

"Ryder Flynn, born in the states. His parents had died when he was young, killed in a truck accident. As for the driver of that truck, it was a worker of Gian Transport Company. The man was sentenced to..."

"You're shifting the focus. I don't want to know about the driver. You're here to tell me about Ryder Flynn," Ion reminded Maya.

"After his parent's death, he lived with a girl known as Alice, who is a daughter of their family friend. They have stayed together throughout the years. As for their lifestyle, it was quite modest."

"Ryder Flynn's profession was of a Software Developer who developed small budget games. He didn't work for any company."

"Also, when I was checking his records, I found out that he had purchased a Divinity Glasses set," Maya told Ion.

"For Alice?" Ion asked.

"No. Alice brought one herself," Maya answered. 

"Interesting. I thought I heard him mention that he doesn't know much about Divinity and he doesn't play. So he was lying," Ion muttered, grinning. "Did you find his registration details? What is his character? Show me his journey in Divinity."

"There is no registration data related to Ryder Flynn. I didn't manage to find any details," Maya answered. 

"Oh," Ion muttered in disappointment. "So it's quite possible that he didn't really play. In that case, he wouldn't be lying. So he bought the glasses and didn't play. That's also strange. Why did he buy then?" 

"Alright. Continue telling more about him," he said. 

"Ryder Flynn went to a Betting Arena one day where he won over a million dollars. That is when he started becoming richer. He opened a company of himself which is known as Divine Corporation, which is doing good so far. He also brought an Aviation Company and merged the two together," Maya answered. 

"Moreover, his record shows that he continued going to the betting arena and kept winning. Until now, he has won over fifty million dollars and lost next to nothing," she said.

"His luck seems to be good. A bit too good," Ion muttered, amused. 

"Get the code of the glasses that he purchased and check it. I want to know if these glasses were used or not. Or if they were messed with. I have a feeling that this guy could be Lucifer," He further said. 

"He isn't. I ran a facial and body dimensions check between the two. They are different people," Maya replied. 

"Check with Hades then. I want to be sure," Ion said. 

Maya nodded her head as she closed her eyes. 

"Zero percent match. He isn't Hades," Maya replied. 

She didn't know that Janus had taken thorough precautions. He had subtly changed the body built of Ryder. This wasn't something that players could do, as Divinity was mostly a realistic experience. If they changed their body proportions, this was registered in the Database of Divinity as a separate file. 

There was no such file about the character of Hades. So at least it was certain that he wasn't changing his body proportions. 

As for the file about details of Hades and his login location and other data that could be used to catch Ryder, they were also in the system of Divinity. Unfortunately, that data seemed to corrupt right from the moment Hades first registered. Even Maya couldn't recover that corrupt data. It was the work of Janus, after all. 

"Interesting. So he's neither Hades nor Lucifer. Or it could also be that he is one of them, but he took some precautions and managed to change his body without creating any alert. Pretty interesting," Ion muttered as he frowned. 

"Continue and tell me more about him. Did he ever go to Russia?" Ion asked Maya.

"No such record exists. He hasn't visited Russia," Maya replied. 

"Strange. How did he contact Adrian then? Oh right, Adrian also came to this country. So it should be then," Ion said as he suddenly realized what it was. 

"That should be when he met Adrian and got him to share some of his powers. But still, he's fascinating. I really want to ask him a few questions, but I can't. If he really knows Aluren and Adrian, he might have ways to contact them. If they find out about me, it'll be a mess."

He stood up and walked over to the window before he gazed outside. It had started to rain outside. 

"I can't take the risk. It could also be Adrian and Aluren who sent him here to test me? If I take any action, they'll know. It seems like this Divinity is really starting to raise some suspicions. I need to increase the pace."

...

While Ion was worrying about Aluren, Itsuki was also thinking about Aluren. 

He was walking back and forth in his office.

"What actually happened? I can't contact Aluren. He said he found that Ryder Flynn, and since then, he himself has disappeared? Something isn't right," Itsuki muttered. 

....

In the distant country of India, Janus was searching for the Lord of Space. He himself was seemingly looking worried.

"Everything is moving too fast. Lord of Space is missing, and Itsuki is getting suspicious. Ryder needs to get to Itsuki and take him out, but there's also that guy. I thought he could kill him first, but that will take time."

"Tomorrow Ryder will be able to absorb Aluren's strength, and then killing Ion will take time too. In that time, Itsuki can very well find out about Aluren's death. I need to change plans," Janus thought as he stopped to glance at the sky. 

...

Itsuki called for his assistant inside his office. 

"Yes, sir?" The assistant asked. 

"Contact our sources in America and ask them to find Aluren and what happened to him. I want that information in two days," Itsuki said to his assistant, who nodded her head. 

"It shall be done."

...

Ryder had fallen asleep. Alice was also sleeping now when Ryder suddenly woke up.

There was a beeping sound in his head that kept ringing as if an alarm was going off inside his head. 

"What the heck is this? Am I going crazy?" Ryder muttered as he frowned. 

Even though the alarm in his head wasn't hurting him, it was annoying the heck out of him. 

As he woke up, the alarm also stopped. 

"Good Morning," Janus' voice appeared in Ryder's head next.

"So this was your work?" Ryder asked as he got off the bed. 

[Ding... A new mission has been issued to you.] 

[Mission: Go to Japan tomorrow as soon as you can and kill the owner of Itsuki Corporation, Itsuki Yamada]

[Time limit: Three days]

[Mission Rewards: Strength of another god-son and two thousand Origin Points]

[Punishment for Failure: Your secret will be exposed, and everyone close to you will die]

"This... Do you really have to do this? Can't you directly tell me that Itsuki is the next god-son that I need to kill?" Ryder asked, smiling wryly.

After all this time, he had understood Janus all too well. Whenever he wanted Ryder to do something, he didn't directly tell it but used the missions as an excuse. 

"Can you at least tell me how many more god-sons are left now?" He asked Janus. 

"There are seven left now that I know of. Before Aluren, there were eight that I know of," Janus told Ryder. 

"So I need to kill more. It doesn't matter. Only the first few times will be tough. But after I absorb the strength of the first few god-sons, it would be child's play," Ryder said. 

"Let me try to find tickets. Hopefully, I'll find one of tomorrow."

He walked back to the bed and opened an app from where he tried to book tickets. 

"Seats are available. Not bad. Early morning flight. It sucks that I can't sneak inside the Necrosis and kidnap Ion. Janus told me to wait till tomorrow before absorbing the strength of Aluren. He doesn't even let me go after Ion without absorbing the strength. Such a good chance wasted."