TGS - Chapter 45
Chapter 45: A Distant Scene
Divine statues were the foundation of the Solancian people's faith.
From the small clay figures of ancient tribes to the exquisite sculptures now enshrined in temples, the gradually evolving ritual ceremonies and increasingly complex sacred hymns carried their infinite reverence for the gods.
And at this moment, across a thousand years, fragments bearing that faith flashed before Lotus's eyes.
In the scene, the old priestess she had just seen that morning was still a woman in the prime of her life, kneeling before the divine statue and placing the holy sacrament on the altar.
The scene changed. A frail young man coughed softly as he arranged Snowtu flowers into a bouquet and placed them in a pottery jar.
The scene changed again. A young child recited the ritual words with earnest solemnity, stumbling midway and glancing back guiltily at the adults.
The scenes flashed by faster and faster, tracing back from the present to the distant past, revealing the faces of successive priests.
In every fragment, the person kneeling before the statue was never the same, and the furnishings of the ritual chamber were always different. Only the divine statue stood unchanged.
In the final scene, a spacious hall seemed to have been newly built, with no furnishings other than the divine statue.
A petite woman in heavy priestly robes placed an exquisite jewelry box on the altar and kowtowed deeply before the statue.
Inside that jewelry box was...
Lotus opened her eyes.
The images dispersed before her eyes but did not disappear from her memory.
Inside the small box was a red-gold bracelet. Its style was simple, with only one special feature: her name, Lotus, was engraved on the inner side.
A name engraved in modern script.
Lotus subconsciously raised her right hand and grasped her left wrist. She would unconsciously make this gesture whenever she was thinking.
In fact, before she had transmigrated, this gesture would have been her idly turning the bracelet on her left wrist—the very one in the jewelry box.
Lotus left the ritual chamber, thinking as she floated. Her previous speculation could now be confirmed.
She hadn't transmigrated into a divine statue.
Instead, she had arrived in a much more distant era, during the final period when Solancian mythology was taking its complete form. For some unknown reason, she had become a god within their belief system. The reason she thought she had become a statue was simply because the mechanism of a god's awakening had caused her to lose that part of her memory.
The red-gold bracelet that had been with her for three years in the modern world was the greatest proof she had right now.
It was hard to describe her mood. Lotus only briefly considered where her bracelet might be now before continuing to float toward the temple's library, hoping to find more useful information there.
Unfortunately, she didn't get her wish. The collection in this temple's library was more extensive than the one in Kadera, but the sections recording myths and legends were still largely the same.
Lotus wasn't disappointed. She drifted around the library. The temple in Yilulaila also belonged to the River Goddess, so she possessed the power to control all the "knowledge" within its library.
In other words, she could once again memorize knowledge simply by touching the books.
After absorbing the knowledge that the Princess could use, the goddess glanced at the sky. It was nearly dusk, so she unhurriedly floated back to her temporary residence.
Alyuin was in the courtyard feeding the golden eagles.
Such birds of prey were a rare sight in the mild and humid city of Yilulaila, especially since the two sister eagles were already larger than others of their kind. When they spread their wings, they were awe-inspiring.
A few local handmaidens stood nearby, observing them with a mixture of curiosity and caution.
Lotus floated past them, returned to her room to materialize, and then walked out the door nonchalantly, as if she had been in there the whole time.
Alyuin wasn't surprised to see her. With a beaming smile, she abandoned the golden eagles, who were happily eating their meat, and hurried forward. "You haven't had dinner yet, have you? What would you like to eat? I'll go get it."
Perhaps because she had witnessed the grand spectacle of the giant fish paying homage that day, Lotus suddenly felt a craving for fish. But it was getting late, and preparing fish now would be too much trouble.
Before she could say that anything would do, Alyuin spoke first. "It's been a while since I've grilled fish. What kind of tasty fish do they have in Yilulaila? I'll go find a couple."
Her Highness the Princess was decisive and efficient. The moment she said she wanted to grill fish, she left to buy the ingredients, leaving Lotus to exchange glances with the two golden eagles, who had been tragically abandoned mid-meal.
The sister eagles immediately forgot all about eating meat and single-mindedly circled the goddess, begging to be petted.
In the end, the two of them sat facing each other, eating grilled fish. The fish was a species unique to Jadaar Lake, caught just that morning. Its flesh was very fresh, and the skin was grilled to a perfect crisp. Biting into the tender meat inside was like tasting the fresh juices of the fish itself.
The two golden eagles tried to eat the fish, but to no avail. Alyuin tore off two pieces of fish for them to taste, then mercilessly shooed them away to continue eating their raw mutton.
That night, when it was their usual time to sleep, Lotus didn't close her eyes immediately.
"Alyuin, do you still want to read books in your dreams?"
She had absorbed a new pile of scrolls that day, so it was a good opportunity to rebuild their dream classroom. In truth, with the Princess's current status, it was no problem at all for her to enter the library to read. But for Alyuin, this method of absorbing knowledge was the most efficient.
To Lotus's surprise, Alyuin seemed a little hesitant.
The thought of seeing the silver-haired goddess in her true form in a dream naturally made her very happy. On the other hand, however, she was also worried that the dream would expose things that shouldn't be revealed at this time.
She often dreamed about Lotus, and upon waking, she would only remember fragmented pieces. Most of the time, they were warm interactions, but sometimes they were filled with an intense passion that would surely give her away at a single glance.
Although it wasn't certain they would encounter such a dream, it was better to be cautious.
For the first time, Alyuin refused the dream-learning method, even making an excuse. "There isn't much to do during the day recently, so I can go to the temple library. Will you accompany me tomorrow?"
Lotus thought for a moment and said gently, "Alright."
The topic ended, and there was a moment of silence between them.
Lotus felt the Princess leaning against her arm. Before falling asleep, she would just lean like this, but in the morning, she would always find herself being embraced. Without any external sounds to disturb her, Lotus usually wouldn't wake up in the middle of the night, so she didn't know when Alyuin usually wrapped herself around her.
Recalling the surprised and hesitant expression of the handmaiden sent by the city lord that morning, Lotus suddenly felt that it wasn't quite right to always be living together with Alyuin.
Even mothers and daughters, sisters, or the closest of friends mostly only slept together occasionally after growing up. Who stayed in the same room day and night?
Lena, the Royal Guard, and the others had grown accustomed to their way of interacting, so they didn't find it strange. But to others, it must seem incredibly bizarre.
Should she suggest they sleep separately?
Lotus turned her head to look. Alyuin's eyes were already closed, the strands of hair by her cheek rising and falling with her even breathing.
Since she's asleep, I'll bring it up tomorrow.
Lotus then fell asleep. In the darkness, Alyuin wrapped herself around her as usual. Her eyes never opened, and the rhythm of her breathing remained perfectly steady, as if it were truly an unconscious reaction in her sleep.
Lucreta stared silently at the official documents, his gaze unfocused. His mind clearly wasn't on matters of state.
Five days had passed since the Princess's arrival in Yilulaila.
Five days wasn't a long time, but it was more than enough to get a general sense of a person's outward characteristics. And for this very reason, Lucreta felt even more perplexed.
This Princess possessed all the qualities and strength of a competent military commander. He had "coincidentally" passed by the training grounds and seen her effortlessly defeat a mountain of a man. Her effortless grace made one unconsciously hold their breath.
No wonder that boy Luca had said he would understand after watching her fight. The power and beauty radiating from the Princess in combat were transcendent. The premonition that she would surely overturn something, create something, was so vivid... but it wasn't enough.
A person suited to be a general wasn't necessarily suited to be a king, and a person suited to be a king wasn't guaranteed to win—moreover, she was a princess.
Although he had already made up his mind, Lucreta's thoughts turned to the rumors that had spread throughout the city over the past few days—about how the giant fish in Jadaar Lake had surfaced to perform and bring the goddess's grace.
He was not unaware of similar records.
It wasn't just Alyuin. Kings or famous figures in historical records who had risen through unconventional means had all, to some extent, used the names of the gods to build their own momentum. After all, the gods would never appear to refute them.
But strangely, no other case had seemed as natural as Alyuin's, nor had any other attracted so much attention from bards and painters.
For instance, right now, the old poems about the blue heron carrying flowers were still being sung, and new ones were already emerging.
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