TGS - Chapter 1
Chapter 1: Transmigrating into a Divine Statue
Sunlight passed through the temple pillars and fell into the ritual chamber, paving a brilliant golden path. At the end of this radiant road stood a marble statue of a goddess, solemn and silent.
The chamber was empty.
...But it was only empty of people.
Lotus wanted to sigh, but she could only think about it, for a stone statue could not sigh.
That's right. At this moment, Lotus was this very statue standing in the temple.
The deity depicted by the statue was the river goddess from the mythological system of a long-vanished ancient civilization—Solancia. Her name was Lotus, and the woman's own name had been based on this ancient goddess.
Lotus had been trapped in the stone body for three days, unable to move or speak. From her initial bewilderment to her current composure, she had accepted the fact that she had transformed from a modern person into an ancient divine statue.
To say she had transmigrated into a stone statue wasn't entirely accurate. Lotus had a certain understanding that the statue was merely a vessel for her consciousness. Her current awkward state would not last forever; it only required time... and an opportunity.
Just then, the sound of slow, steady footsteps came from outside the ritual chamber, drawing closer.
The newcomer was the head priestess of this temple, an elderly woman who always wore a stern expression. She came at this fixed time every day to perform the daily sacrificial ritual, extremely devout and meticulous from start to finish.
The priestess stopped before the statue and placed the tray she was holding on the sacrificial altar. Lotus didn't need to look to know what was on it—steaming fresh bread, honey-roasted meat, pomegranates, and wine.
The ancient Solancians believed that the gods also needed three meals a day. Therefore, the first thing the head priestess of any temple did upon waking was to bathe, burn incense, and then bring a platter to serve breakfast to the deity she attended.
Of course, a statue couldn't eat. So, after being left on the altar for a few hours, these sumptuous meals would be taken down and distributed to the other priestesses as snacks, euphemistically called a "holy communion."
Lotus, the victim of this sacrificial tradition: "..."
She couldn't help but sigh again in her heart.
The priestess, of course, had no idea what the statue before her was thinking. She set down the offerings, took two steps back, and closed her eyes to recite a hymn to the goddess. This, too, was part of the daily prayers.
The priestess did not finish her hymn until the steam from the bread and roasted meat had completely dissipated and they had grown cold and hard. Then, she gave a deep bow.
Just as Lotus thought the priestess would turn and leave as she had before, the woman paused, a complex expression on her face. "O merciful Goddess of the Yilu River," she said, "today, a new believer has come among us. Will you grant her the honor of stepping into this place?"
She paused for a few breaths, as if the statue had already answered, then turned her head toward the door and said, "You may enter."
There was someone else here? Lotus was a little surprised. She had clearly only heard the priestess's footsteps before. When did...
Under Lotus's probing gaze, a small figure entered from beside the door. Her footsteps were so soft they were almost imperceptible, as nimble as a cat's.
This was a young girl, no older than ten by the looks of her. She wore a simple white linen dress, and her fine, straight black hair just reached her shoulders. Her small face was expressionless, and only the slight trembling of her eyelashes betrayed her nervousness and vigilance.
The girl looked up at the statue without speaking.
The priestess said sternly, "This is the deity you will serve from now on. She is the embodiment of all clear waters, the Goddess of the Yilu River who bestows grace upon all things! Alyuin, you must swear your loyalty to the Goddess here."
Alyuin.
Lotus, who was still observing the little girl, suddenly froze. She was quite familiar with that name—or rather, no one who knew anything about ancient Solancia would be unfamiliar with it.
In the recorded history of ancient Solancia, there had been several queens. Alyuin was not one of them, but her life story was the most legendary of all.
This princess had lost her parents in her youth and was exiled to a remote temple by her uncle, who had succeeded the throne, under the charge of "bearing the blood of a sinner." Everyone thought she would die there without a trace, but she survived.
Not only that, but Alyuin also went to the battlefield, achieved glorious military merits, and eventually led the army loyal to her back to the royal city to compete for the throne with the prince at the time, Romuer.
She almost succeeded. Unfortunately, her miraculous life was ended by a cup of secretly poisoned wine.
The ancient Solancian epics praised her thus:
Ah, majestic Alyuin!
Your bow and arrow are gilded with the radiance of the gods,
Your name makes your enemies dare not boast,
Your deeds will be told forever on the frontiers of Solancia,
Alyuin, the uncrowned queen!
—And at this moment, the uncrowned queen was just a little girl who had recently been exiled. Stripped of her status as a princess right after losing her parents, she had been cast away to this strange, remote place. This was likely her most confusing and difficult time.
Opposite the statue, seeing the little princess remain silent after bowing and failing to swear loyalty to the goddess, the priestess couldn't help but remind her in a sterner tone, "Every student who comes here must believe in the Goddess of the Yilu River."
Alyuin was unmoved, her attitude silent and stubborn.
The two remained at a stalemate for a long while. A flash of helplessness crossed the priestess's eyes, but her expression remained stern. "You should know," she said, "that you cannot study in the temple until you become a believer of the Goddess. You may leave."
Lotus wanted to look at the little princess a bit longer, but Alyuin had already turned and walked out quickly. The priestess shook her head repeatedly behind her, murmuring to the statue. The gist of her words was a prayer for the goddess to forgive the child's disrespect.
No, I don't mind.
Lotus thought silently.
In the fragmented historical records, Alyuin seemed to have no deity she believed in. Unlike other royals, she did not use a god's name as her middle name, and she never held sacrificial ceremonies before going to war. She was considered a rare atheist in ancient Solancia.
Lotus had once been an atheist herself—until she became a divine statue.
She recalled Alyuin's earlier behavior.
Against the light, those clear, brilliant golden eyes had stared directly into the statue's, unflinching. It was as if she were trying to convey something, yet also holding back a sense of grievance, like a wolf cub abandoned by its pack to wander alone in a world of ice and snow.
To say she wasn't moved would be impossible.
But as a stone statue for whom even moving was an extravagant hope, what could she possibly do?
The priestess soon left, drawing the curtain to block the sunlight as she went and leaving the dim, tranquil ritual chamber to the statue.
Unable to tell the time by the shifting sunlight, and with no idea how much time had passed, Lotus was focused on digging through her mind for memories related to ancient Solancia when the curtain was suddenly pulled aside.
The little princess had returned. She peeked out from behind the door, observed cautiously for a moment, and then slipped quietly inside.
What is she here for?
Lotus's curiosity was piqued.
Alyuin stood opposite the statue. She was only a little taller than the altar, looking tiny at the statue's feet.
In the empty ritual chamber, she tilted her head up and observed the statue intently. Her gaze moved inch by inch, from the vividly carved waves on the pedestal to the meticulously detailed folds of the long dress, from the silk shawl symbolizing the Yilu River to the eyes inlaid with blue chalcedony.
The statue was lifelike. Its blue eyes were slightly downcast, as if watching the visitor with a gentle, compassionate gaze... but its lips were pressed tightly together, without the slightest hint of a smile—an indifference devoid of joy or sorrow.
Are humans so insignificant in the eyes of the gods? Is that why even the royal family, chosen by the gods to rule Solancia, cannot receive their favor in times of crisis...?
Or could it be that even the lofty gods believed the false charges my uncle laid against my father and mother, and have abandoned them?
Alyuin took a deep breath and, mimicking the priestess's tone as she recited the hymn, said, "Great River Goddess Lotus, I pray for your descent."
Her voice was childish, yet it carried an innate, compelling presence. Even as she spoke the words of supplication, she was neither servile nor overbearing.
The statue did not respond.
No matter how lifelike, a statue was ultimately just made of stone.
The little princess's hands, hanging at her sides, clenched into tight fists. She continued to stare stubbornly at the blue chalcedony eyes. "I am Alyuin, the only princess of Solancia. If the gods truly exist, then please appear before me—"
The last syllable dissipated into the empty chamber, followed only by a long silence.
Alyuin bit her lip as a watery mist gathered in her eyes. With a soft blink, two teardrops rolled down from their corners.
She had matured earlier than other children her age. Just a short while ago, she had been a pampered princess, the only direct royal bloodline of her generation, yet now she was stranded alone in this unfamiliar temple.
Her parents had died before her very eyes. There was no one to trust, no one to rely on. She could only depend on herself.
Any other child in her place would have long since hidden in a corner, crying their eyes out in panic.
But Alyuin was keenly aware that danger followed her like a shadow. She had to start planning for herself from this moment on, lest she die here without a trace, never to return home.
She didn't have the luxury of crying her heart out.
The little princess raised a hand to wipe the tear tracks from her face, trying to suppress her tears, completely oblivious to where those two teardrops had fallen.
Suddenly, the faint sound of voices came from outside the door. Someone was coming this way.
Alyuin's gaze instantly froze. She looked around warily like a small animal, then, with a running start, nimbly vaulted over the ritual chamber's narrow, high window and quickly fled.
If Lotus could have spoken at that moment, she would have certainly called out to the little princess: Don't be in such a hurry to run! Those people laughing and talking outside are just temple workers; they aren't allowed to enter the ritual chamber. You're much safer in here than you are out there!
However, she couldn't make a sound, and even if she could, she had no time to spare for anything else.
Those two teardrops from the little princess had landed squarely on the tip of the statue's foot, which peeked out from under the hem of its dress, and gradually seeped into the lustrous, translucent marble.
But what they brought Lotus was not the coolness of water, but a strange warmth that spread rapidly from the tip of her toe throughout her entire body, causing her to involuntarily close her eyes.
...Wait, closed her eyes?
On the third day after her transmigration, Lotus finally broke free from the statue's restraints and made her first movement in ancient Solancia—closing her eyes.
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