TGS - Chapter 64
Chapter 64: The Adversary of Gods
Gods possessed "humanity."
In the presence of their companions, of beings equal to themselves, they each had their own temperament and displayed their own preferences, appearing real and vibrant.
Their indifferent side was reserved only for mortals.
The figures in the temples upon the floating islands would respond to the collective prayers of humanity, but they paid no mind to the joys and sorrows of any single individual.
Only now did Lotus fully understand the sea of divinity sealed within her body, dormant on the other side of the floodgate.
Why, when the young princess had a fever back then, had Lotus—having acknowledged her divine body—acted with such detached transcendence under the influence of her divinity, even wanting to return to the Kingdom of the Gods at the first opportunity?
It was not merely indifference, but the driving instinct of a deity to return to the place where it truly belonged.
Lotus remembered how, upon her first visit to the divine kingdom and meeting the gods of the sun, moon, and love, she had grumbled to herself that their personalities and actions were nothing like she had imagined. They lacked the transcendent air of awakened divinity and had very distinct personalities.
At the time, Lotus had not considered another possibility—that to a god, divinity was humanity.
If she had opened the floodgate here, among the gods, her divinity would not have caused a sudden shift in her consciousness. Lotus would still have gotten along well with the other deities, perhaps even more easily than she did with humans.
Correspondingly, this meant a separation from humanity.
Lotus lowered her gaze.
If she didn't have her past memories, nor the years she had spent by Alyuin's side, her divinity might have long since merged with her completely, and the confusion she now felt would not exist.
Logically, that would have been the normal course of development. Whether human or god, everyone had their proper place and the group to which they should belong.
The so-called correct path.
However, it was an established fact that Lotus possessed those memories. Her modern memories had shaped her personality, and her memories in Solancia were precious in a different sense.
She was unwilling to let either of them be sealed away in dust.
Noticing Lotus's unusual silence, the smile on Adia's face faded slightly. She offered comfort, "Don't pay too much mind to what Nierde said. He gets proud too when he hears humans praise wisdom, he just wasn't as prim and proper about it as he was just now."
Nierde paused. "When did I—"
"Right after you were born," Adia said with a shrug. "You were so puffed up from the collective prayers of humanity, yet you tried so hard to act composed. I still remember what you looked like."
"..." Nierde turned his face away and said no more.
Lotus smiled faintly. "Thank you, Adia."
"What's there to thank me for? If you really want to show your gratitude, how about giving me a Snowtu flower too?"
The end of her sentence rose in pitch, carrying a clear teasing tone.
It took Lotus a moment to understand. Adia probably knew about the time she had transformed into a blue heron to deliver a Snowtu flower to Alyuin.
The other gods were still confused.
The Goddess of Love gestured with great interest. "It was for that princess named Alyuin. Lotus gave her a Snowtu flower during Anmila's festival. The story has already spread throughout the mortal realm."
She didn't forget to add, "It was for her that Lotus rushed off to the mortal realm as soon as her divine position was stable, without even having time to say hello."
Lotus was speechless.
Hearing these two events put together and spoken by Adia, for some reason, gave her a strange sense of déjà vu.
And these were things that had happened years ago. What was with this tone, as if she were spreading fresh gossip?
"At my festival?" The Moon Goddess recalled for a moment, then remembered. "I do believe something like that happened."
No matter how unreliable the main gods were, they were always aware of major events in the mortal realm. Even if they had just awoken from a long slumber, their first instinct was to review past events.
Therefore, the name Alyuin was not unfamiliar to the gods, and they began to discuss it seriously.
The Goddess of the Earth said, "She was exiled to Lotus's temple before, wasn't she? The poor little thing."
"The girl Lotus picked up in the temple?" The Sun God found it fascinating. "Considering the timing, she must have found her right after she awakened."
The God of Wisdom's first reaction was to consult his annals and look up her life story. "She was born eighteen years ago. According to human custom, she held her coming-of-age ceremony two days ago."
"Oh..."
"Lotus only came here after the ceremony was over."
"Lotus, when you were in the mortal realm before, were you always near the Solancian princess?"
Even the Death God chimed in thoughtfully, "Is raising a human fun?"
The ravens aptly struck up a lullaby... wait, how was that appropriate?
Facing this group of suddenly talkative main gods, Lotus said faintly, "Weren't you all uninterested in individual humans?"
"But we're very interested in the human you're raising."
Adia wagged her index finger, a grin on her face.
The lives of gods were, for the most part, quite uneventful. Besides listening to the collective prayers of humanity and sending messages to their priests at the appropriate times, only banquets were worth looking forward to.
Otherwise, why would they all fall into slumber for years at a time?
A new companion was raising a human. This was truly a novel affair.
It turned out that even gods were not immune to gossip.
They didn't even need to ask the divine protagonist of the story. By sifting through the information fed back from the mortal realm, these main gods could roughly piece together an outline of the past.
In the end, they still focused their attention on the princess's eighteenth birthday, because the God of Wisdom remembered the mortal weapon he had seen from one of his subordinate gods.
The Goddess of Raging Fire had stated that it was a commission from Lotus. Nierde hadn't thought much of it at the time, but now, wasn't it obvious who the weapon was for?
"Lotus is raising her human very diligently."
This was the consensus among the main gods.
Adia hummed softly to the tune played by the Death God's ravens, smiling without a word, wearing an expression that said, I know a secret, but I'm not telling.
Lotus was helpless, but the corners of her mouth turned up unconsciously.
The scene before her sparked an interesting association.
In truth, some parts of Alyuin's coming-of-age ceremony had been simplified during the preparation process. One of these was a standard feature of a royal descendant's ceremony—the performance of a play written and choreographed specifically for that member of the royal family.
This part of the ceremony was only applicable to royal heirs who had shown outstanding performance and gained a great reputation before reaching adulthood.
The plot was simple, usually depicting how the gods would gather to chat after learning that the king's children had come of age, offering blessings and predicting a magnificent or happy life for the royal descendant.
This play was supposed to be performed for three days in the theaters of Akhet for the public to watch, to a packed house.
But for Alyuin, the small city where her coming-of-age ceremony was held lacked such facilities. Moreover, it would have been too high-profile. When planning the ceremony, this procedure was the first to be cut.
—A scene imagined by generations of the royal family had come true for Alyuin.
Of course, the reality was very different from the theatrical cliché, but it was still a gathering of the main gods for a discussion. Which king in the past thousand years had ever received such treatment?
As the enthusiastic voices gradually died down, the God of Wisdom paused, as if he had figured something out.
He turned to Lotus. "No wonder you asked that question earlier... It seems you plan to continue staying in the mortal realm?"
Lotus said frankly, "Yes, at least for the next few years."
Nierde nodded, not surprised.
Among the main gods, there was one with a poor memory, one who brought a raven orchestra with him everywhere, and one who liked to make deadly desserts.
That being the case, what was so strange about a river goddess who liked to keep her true body in the mortal realm to raise a human?
As a kinsman, as a companion, Nierde said deliberately:
"Regarding that 'line,' I have some speculations."
Gods could not observe the rules that constrained them, and they usually didn't have the leisure to test the limits. Once a rule was touched, even if there was no danger, the heart palpitations and headaches were unpleasant.
However, Nierde was the God of Wisdom, after all. The human race's thirst for knowledge of all things had been perfectly fed back to him.
Nierde had once been curious about this phenomenon. He had spent some time asking other gods who had similar experiences and had come to a certain understanding.
"In the mortal realm, one cannot use divine power to inflict fatal harm on a person, nor can one save the life of an individual human."
"Conversely, humans cannot attack our true bodies or divine incarnations, otherwise they will suffer a backlash from the authority we command... but there are exceptions. Two hundred years ago, a group of humans attacked Askle, thinking he was an ordinary physician. One of the attackers did not suffer a backlash, while all the others died."
"The human who survived later became a close confidant of the reigning Solancian king and even promoted a major reform of mortal laws. Therefore, I speculate that whether this mechanism takes effect is related to the role the individual plays in the human collective. Even if he was unknown at the time of the attack on the god, his future achievements determined that he would not die so easily."
"—The above is what I have determined to be the line concerning life and death."
Lotus listened intently.
She knew that the Askle Nierde spoke of was the God of Medicine, and also a human-turned-god.
For gods who were once human, although they wouldn't stay in the mortal realm for as long as Lotus, it was normal for them to visit from time to time.
"As for other aspects, try not to influence the original trajectory of humans. Priests in the temples who hold pious beliefs are another matter. For priests with whom we can communicate through dreams, the rules are always more lenient."
Lotus gently raised a question, "But, as you were just discussing, I have been with Alyuin for several years. If we're talking about influencing her original trajectory, that has long since happened."
It couldn't be said that the influence was small; it could only be described as profound.
But in the past few years, she had never triggered any restrictions while caring for and teaching the princess.
Adia, who had been listening for a while, idly twirled a lock of hair and smiled. "The rules are always lenient when interacting with the pious. It means your princess holds a rather devout faith. Isn't that a good thing?"
Lotus remained silent, only shaking her head slightly.
Only she and Alyuin knew that on that night nine years ago, when the princess first arrived at the temple in Kadera, her trust in the gods was at an all-time low.
If Lotus had not appeared, Alyuin would have become the first faithless royal in Solancian history.
Yet it was on that very night that Lotus had unexpectedly entered her dream without any preparation, and from that, their initial connection was born.
Even earlier, it was Alyuin's tears falling on the cold marble that had separated Lotus from the stone statue.
Lotus didn't know what the normal circumstances were for a human-turned-god to awaken from a temple, but she remembered how she had broken free from the statue's restraints step by step, and Alyuin's figure had been there throughout the entire process.
At that moment, a thought occurred to Lotus. She wanted to visit the other human-turned-gods and learn about their awakenings.
What was different?
Nierde raised his cup and took a sip of the divine kingdom's wine, as if recalling something. He said rigorously, "There is one other situation where the constraints and restrictions on us in the mortal realm are reduced to a minimum. We can use our divine power, and we can also kill mortals."
Lotus was taken aback and frowned. "There's such a situation?"
But Nierde said no more. He looked down at his cup, as if he had suddenly developed a deep interest in the wine, so much so that his thoughts came to a halt and the conversation was cut short.
"..." Lotus paused. "What's wrong with Nierde?"
Did he just short-circuit?
The divine serpent, as if accustomed to this, extended its tail, picked up a cookie, and resolutely stuffed it into Nierde's mouth, but he remained unmoved.
Not even Suojia's desserts could elicit a reaction from the God of Wisdom.
After forcibly delivering the cookie, the divine serpent revealed a satisfied smile.
"While Nierde banquets with us here, his two other incarnations—the God of Axioms and the Sage who meditates at the source of the river—are still exploring and thinking without a moment's rest."
Adia threw up her hands and took over the explanation. "When one of his incarnations reaches a critical point in its thinking, his true body and other incarnations will cease all activity and focus all consciousness on that thought."
"His true body is fine, just silent and still. His other incarnations are probably lying lifelessly on the ground right now."
The Moon Goddess added, "He does this often."
The Sun God said, "See? Even Anmila remembers. It just shows how frequently Nierde does this."
The Death God's ravens struck up a mocking tune in response. One of them even stepped forward from the group, hopped twice, and then fell flat on its back with a thud, vividly demonstrating to Lotus the current plight of the wisdom god's incarnations.
Lotus was speechless.
Was this raven musician also a part-time actor?
No, the important point was the situation where they could freely use their divine power in the mortal realm. What was it?
You could have at least finished your sentence before short-circuiting, Nierde!
Adia saw the trace of frustration in her new companion's eyes and the corners of her mouth curled into a satisfied smile, pleased with her successful prank. Just as she was about to speak, her eyes suddenly shifted, looking behind Lotus.
By the river goddess's cheek, strands of silver hair fluttered, brushing against the tips of her upturned eyelashes, causing her to close her eyes for a moment.
It was the wind.
The wind in the Kingdom of the Gods was constant. At every moment, a gentle breeze carrying the faint scent of flowers and trees flowed ceaselessly across the island.
But just now, the direction of those air currents had changed. The wind had strengthened, surging towards them.
"It is war."
A clear voice, calm in tone, sounded from behind, carried by the wind.
Lotus turned her head to see a very small child being lifted by the wind across the lake, arriving at the pavilion filled with the main gods.
The child was so small that calling him a child was a bit of a stretch; he looked to be only one or two years old, still in the category of an infant.
He had light golden curls, cerulean eyes, and a crown on his head. His cheeks were as round as his body. The long robe embroidered with solemn patterns draped over him only made him look like a child who had sneaked into an adult's clothes.
The currents of air that surrounded him revealed the infant's identity.
The God of Wind and Sky, En.
After the initial surprise faded, Lotus didn't find it strange at all. After all, she had already seen the divine serpent. The King of the Gods being an infant wasn't that peculiar—
The problem was that the divine serpent was an incarnation, while the god-king before her was his genuine true body.
Did the myths ever mention that the King of the Gods was a child not even as tall as one's leg?
The Goddess of the Earth smiled and greeted him, "You're quick to arrive this time, En."
En was delivered by the air currents to the only empty chair. Sitting there, he wasn't even as tall as the tabletop, so the wind dutifully lifted the god-king up so his short, chubby hands could rest comfortably on the table.
The Sky God nodded solemnly at Lotus. "Hello, Goddess of the Yilu River. It is wonderful to see you take form after a thousand years."
Then he said briefly, "I occasionally take on this form at random. Please do not be alarmed."
Suojia annotated his words, "Every time En awakens from his slumber, he transforms from a formless wind into an appearance of a different age, with no pattern. This time, he probably just happened to become a child. Don't worry, his appearance won't affect his speech or actions."
As she spoke, the Goddess of the Earth used her serpent tail to pick up a small cookie. "Come and try this," she said cheerfully. "A new flavor I made."
The Sky God unhesitatingly reached out, took the cookie, and stuffed it into his mouth. As he ate, his cheeks puffed out like a squirrel's.
...Lotus felt a phantom toothache just watching him.
Did children of this age even have teeth?
Lotus shook her head slightly, banishing the taste of sweet wine that had surfaced in her mind, her eyelashes lowered in thought.
Whether it was the wind or the sky, both undoubtedly possessed a certain characteristic of changeability and uncertainty. The former never rested for a moment, and the latter's celestial phenomena were ever-changing.
As for why the Sky God had this peculiar condition not mentioned in the myths, Lotus had no mind to ponder it for the time being.
She looked at En, who was sitting primly on a cushion of wind, and waited patiently for him to finish his cookie before asking cautiously, "You just said, war?"
If the condition for unleashing divine power was war, that seemed... too simple.
The northwestern border of Solancia was constantly plagued by war. If not for the princess's deterrence, the Sanur Tribe would still be raiding villages and towns and launching surprise attacks on cities from time to time.
Especially now, in winter, it was the period when their resources were most scarce and most difficult to endure.
It wasn't just the long-standing conflict with the Sanur Tribe; every page of Solancia's history was shadowed by the flames of war. What kingdom wasn't like this?
Where there were people, there was conflict. It had always been so.
Lotus pressed her lips together, quietly waiting for the god-king to finish his unspoken words.
As expected, En said, "Ordinary wars naturally cannot involve the gods. Only a true life-and-death struggle, a war of nations that determines the future survival of a human civilization, can permit a divine descent."
"In the rules of 【The World】, only a god can be the adversary of a god."
Lotus's eyes shot up.
Under her gaze, which could not hide its shock, the Sky God placed his hands one on top of the other on the table and sighed. "This gathering was also meant to tell you these things. Your awakening is very important to the Solancian pantheon."
"First, you should be able to guess that we are not the only pantheon in the world."
"Solancia is one of many human civilizations. The faith of the Solancian people caused us to be born or to awaken... That's not wrong, but a more precise way to put it is that the will of the Solancian civilization created us."
Lotus nodded slowly.
She had read the mythological texts of other countries of this era. Almost every civilization had its own mythological system, whether simple or complex, clear or chaotic, but they all had one.
While reading these texts, Lotus had wondered—
The Solancian gods existed, so did these other mythological systems also exist in reality?
And now, the Sky God had given her a clear answer.
"As creations of a civilization, we live and die with Solancia. If the civilization is extinguished, most of the gods will perish along with it."
"Even if scattered humans still chant our names after the civilization has dissipated, we cannot continue to exist, unless we are absorbed and integrated by the victorious civilization, becoming their new gods."
Lotus's fingertips tightened. "So that's why the gods must participate in war?"
"We need to participate, and the will of the civilization is also calling for the gods to participate," En said solemnly, his childish face showing a strange solemnity. "When that fated day arrives, we will naturally understand that a period that will determine our survival has come. Even if humanity knows nothing, we will know before them."
And so, a war of gods.
The battlefield of the gods would merge with the battlefield of men. At that point, both sides would know that there was no retreat.
Because any human war that could be resolved through a truce midway was one that the gods could not participate in from the start.
Once a war of gods began, it meant that one of the two sides was destined to decline and perish. There was no option for reconciliation.
In a brief moment, Lotus thought of many things.
Finally, she asked in a low voice, "What do you mean by 'that day'?"
A major turning point in a war between two nations.
Or the final battlefield that would decide victory and defeat?
En said, "It is the day that will be recorded by the humans of the distant future as the beginning of a great catastrophe. It is the day that marks the start of a war destined to lead a certain civilization to its doom."
What kind of existence had the right to determine whether that day had arrived?
"—It is 【Spacetime】 and 【Destiny】."
Hundreds of miles further west from the northwestern border of Solancia, deep into the grasslands.
In winter, the grasslands were a desolate and barren frozen plain.
There was not enough pasture for the cattle and sheep, let alone the conditions for growing grain. Winter was the most difficult season for the Sanur Tribe.
In previous years at this time, the Sanur Tribe would have been raiding the Solancian border three times a week. For them, it was a habit, and perhaps a necessity for survival.
But in the last year or two, not a single one of these tribes had dared to make a rash move.
Solancia's national power was weaker than it had been under the previous king, but the princess guarding Digebia City was not to be trifled with.
If it were just one person, there would be nothing to fear, but under her command, the military defenses of Digebia were impregnable. She would even take the initiative to attack, forcing the Sanur people into a steady retreat, which was a major problem.
The leader of the largest Sanur tribe sat in his tent. A large, steaming piece of roasted meat was placed before him, but he had little appetite.
This was livestock from their own tribe.
Three years ago today, he had been eating horse meat stolen from Solancia. The meat of a warhorse was tough and flavorful. In comparison, the food before him was truly unappetizing.
Noticing a longing gaze from the corner, the leader sneered and said viciously, "What are you looking at? You should be glad I haven't roasted you. You want to eat meat?"
The girl huddled in the corner of the tent heard this and lowered her head. She didn't speak or move, her breathing so light it was almost inaudible, as if she were a lifeless stone.
The leader stared blankly at the roasted meat for a while, then tore off a bone with meat on it. Just as he was about to take a bite, he heard a report from one of his men outside the tent.
"My lord, the envoy from Kasnie has arrived."
Kasnie was a neighboring country to the southwest of Solancia, but it did not share a border with the grasslands occupied by the Sanur Tribe. A small country lay between them.
The leader looked up. "Oh? Let him in."
The envoy, wrapped in a long robe, walked into the tent against the wind and snow. He shook the snow from his clothes and bowed.
"I have come to see you, my lord, with a message from His Highness."
"Alright, cut the crap. What are you here for this time?"
The envoy's smile did not falter. "Then I will be direct—what are your thoughts on our previous proposal, my lord?"
The leader's eyes narrowed. "What proposal?"
The envoy knew he was feigning ignorance but patiently repeated, "To form an alliance with us, Kasnie, and wait together for an opportunity to gain greater benefits."
The leader snorted. "Not bad. You've got more guts than the last guy who came, and you know how to talk. He just spouted a bunch of nonsense. Who wants to listen to that?"
Behind him, a whole side of the tent was covered with white human skulls. Faced with such a scene, the envoy's expression showed not a hint of fear.
"Sit down. Have some meat." The leader pounded his chest, causing a thick rope strung with wolf teeth to tremble. "Let me say this first. I don't want to play your games of coming and going. But if you try to deceive me or take me for a fool, I'll be able to tell."
"If I find anything wrong with you, ha, you won't be going back."
The envoy smiled. "I will, of course, be honest with you, my lord. I swear it on the great Primordial God, Klotho."
He strode into the tent.
Behind the envoy, the heavy tent flap made of stitched animal hides fell, shutting out the wind and snow from outside.
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