Side chapter 45 was excellent for me. Is this implying that the different worlds exist in the same universe, just separated by a distance of light years? How is it different than breaking the boundary between worlds?
Depending on the definition the series uses, they could all exist in the same universe, but I wouldn't say so if we're thinking normally. Different worlds have different laws of physics and other fundamental differences that should mean they exist in different universes, rather than just being separated by distance. I think the difference between those three methods is whether Van shows up just with his soul, with his own physical body, or by taking over someone else's body. We know he can travel to Origin with just his soul as he does to connect with Banda and as he did with Zuruwarn, allowing his soul to descend directly. That could also allow him to possess someone else, giving him a physical body in Origin, even if it isn't his own. Breaking through the boundary between worlds is probably the only option he can take to act on Origin with his own body.
No it's just he can travel between dimensions without breaking the barrier between worlds in soul form. Souls can travel between worlds, after all that's how Van got to Lambda in the first place. So by going into spirit form he can take advantage of that same pathway. Traveling between worlds with a physical body required making a hole in the barrier between dimenions. At least this is how it's been implied to work in this series. It's also worth noting trying to travel in soul form could be dangerous as the path souls take between worlds is under Rodcorte's domain so he could possibly be vulnerable if he did that.
It's weird, that the dark hero quartet don't have the Demonfall skill Was it combined with familiar spirit descent?
I think it depends on which they have the most faith in, whether Descent or Demonfall is the primary skill, but I swear I remember someone getting both separately too, maybe Darcia....
If you already had Familiar Spirit Descent (or one of its upgrades) you can't get Demonfall, though it doesn't make a difference. Jeena used Spirit Descent to call upon Van's spirit clone just the same. Demonfall is basically a limited Spirit Descent. Who knows what it will become later on. Also, I think Darcia had both versions because Spirit Descent had changed into Vida's Embodiment or something along those lines. Whether it's because the skill's main use changed from 'borrowing a god's power' to 'using their own godly power' or because Darcia is considered both Vida and yet not (which is screwing with the System Gods), I don't know.
Darcia has Goddess decent, but during the like food cart arc it was mentioned that just because she has that skill doesn't mean she can't use the like prerequisite skill spirit decent. It's sorta like if someone had fire magic and it capped out and evolved into like phoenix fire magic. They may have like a phoenix fireball spell, but they still have base fireball spell as well.
Yeah, what I'm saying is that she is partially recognized as the Goddess Vida. Her rebirth basically made her like how Banda is to Van, only her ego is totally different. Vida could have replaced Darcia... though Van would've probably killed her then. I'm just not sure if the Goddess Descent skill is so high level and different that Darcia can obtain Demonfall as well. Or if the System is having issues deciding if Darcia is actually Vida or not, which is sort of glitching them out. We know godly creations aren't perfect and Van excels at being an unintentional bug tester.
So, Vida basically pulled a Sheogorath and tried to Mantle Darcia by tricking reality into basically giving-up on distinguishing the two as separate beings.
Given that we've seen him blast holes in divine-realm-dungeon twice, divine realms in general, and ... did he manage to blast a hole in reality during that fight against Heinz? Anyway, the dungeon stone in the two trials and the realm that composed them are both supposed to be substantially more indestructible that mere bedrock. Not saying it'd be quick, but he could probably break the planet if he decided to be persistent about it. Though it would be uninhabitable long before that point. Why would there be, it's been pretty clear from the start that those demi-gods are no real threat to Van... he's just been distracting them so they don't think he's going around them. He's going around them because he doesn't want to fight them while messing with the seal, or attract more forces that would fight. He isn't defeating them outright because he doesn't really want to wipe them out and he doesn't want to tip his hand. Nothing less than a full god would offer tension against Van currently, and they're not exactly something to fight too much. We're in strategy and civ building phrase for a while yet. We'll get back to interesting combat eventually. I partly interpreted the descend from outer space bit as a combination of it being easier to enter that realm at a distance from the inhabited world and partly that descending from space with a body isn't really ideal.
The author really needs to understand that we don't care about how well Zozogante does in a fight. Please stick with focusing on the characters we have the slightest investment in. I feel like Knochen should not be able to get Vida's Divine Protection. She's a goddess of life and he's an undead. One day this battle will be over. One day.