Jin Wang who was ready to spring the traps suddenly paused when he heard where the conversation was going.
Even without asking a lot of the questions had already been answered naturally and if they could shed some more light on why there were here without a forced interrogation then it would be icing on the cake.
Jin Wang lowered his hands and patiently listened to the duo on the other side as Lady Natalia got more and more riled up the longer Dima stayed silent.
"I know very well how many innocent souls have been sacrificed while trying to explore these structures. Not only your own people but you even used the mortals of this world, making deals with the likes of Dai Zhi and even Tian Zheng, I didn't consider you to be such a person."
"The least you can do is tell me the truth, the whole truth. Why would one of the most promising sons of the Republic lower himself to this degree? Why is this artifact so important?"
'Republic? Is it a new power?' Jin Wang thought inwardly since it was the first time he had heard of such an institute.
Dima's radiant smile faltered when Lady Natalia called him by his official title, the 'Son of the Republic'. He pulled back both hands and took a step back to admire the artistic flavor of the metal door in all its glory.
He still didn't bother prying his gaze away from the door but nonetheless gave a response, even if it was in the shape of a question.
"Does my Lady know what the 'Primordial Spark' is?"
Lady Natalia, who was ready to fire back at a moment's notice repeated, "Primordial Spark?" she thought about it for a moment before answering, "I think I have heard of it from father but do not recall many details. All I know is that it's something one must possess if they want to be taken seriously within the Republic."
Dima chuckled at how wildly off-base she was but he couldn't blame her for not knowing.
"Haha, you're not entirely wrong but not right either so let me explain. As you very well know by now the material planes are largely governed by two bands. The larger and the main one is the Church of the Sacred Light which serves as a foothold for Old Pantheons and any other divine beings."
"The Church of the Sacred Light is an institute that is created by the Divines FOR the Divines. Mortals like us, no matter how devout or powerful we may be, will only play second fiddle to the Gods."
He paused at exactly the right moment to allow Lady Natalia to jump in.
"It is our honor and duty to serve the light, as it should be for all of mankind! All the good the Church has done cannot be overlooked no matter what you think of the divines, you shou-"
"Yes, I know that," Dima quickly cut in before she got really carried away, "I mean nothing by it, I am just explaining how the factions are perceived by most, please don't take my words personally."
"Hmph, as long as you know."
"I do indeed," he said shaking his head inwardly before continuing.
"Where the Church of the Sacred Light is an alliance of the Divine beings from all the different planes, the Republic was created as a coalition of powers that represented the interests of the mortal races."
"If the Church is the main hub for the Gods, the Republic is the governing body of the mortals. Many consider the Republic to be the underlings of the Church but that is not actually the case. The Gods usually don't move about by themselves within the Mortal Realms or interfere directly in its matter and that's where we come in but that's a discussion for another time."
"As you very well know, the majority of your powers come from the Holy Light or the divinities that make of it. Whereas those of us in the Republic depend on our inner strength, a power that belongs solely to us."
"Likewise, one could say the measurement criteria of your strength lies in how devout you are in serving the Holy Light, whereas, within the Republic, it is measured by how close one is to the Primordial Spark. Meaning when it comes down to it, the Primordial Spark is what gives us our power." (Mentioned briefly in CH 265)
"Now as for why I bring all this up is simple.. Since we know the closer one is to the Primordial Spark the greater their affinity becomes to the various elements, laws, and powers, we can use it as a standard to measure the capability of a person and their affinity with whichever element they are attuned to."
