TGS - Chapter 73
Chapter 73: Meaning
Outside the Temple of the Earth Goddess, the woods seemed more lush than the vegetation elsewhere in the Kingdom of the Gods.
While still flying through the air, Lotus saw a true giant python loosely coiled around the temple, its head resting atop the palace dome.
Under the celestial light, its massive body, patterned in black and gold, resembled a glittering, exquisitely brilliant necklace.
This was one of Suojia's avatars, the divine python symbolizing her benevolent aspect.
The Snow Goddess avatar landed before the temple and looked up. "Suojia, it is I, Lotus. Forgive my sudden visit."
The Moon Goddess had once said that every deity's temple was their own domain. Mindful of this, Lotus did not approach rashly, but waited for Suojia's response.
The python's head slid down from the dome and slowly turned toward her. Its serpentine eyes were as large as millstones, round and clear, giving it a somewhat amiable appearance.
"Come in. My true body cannot leave the inner sanctum for the moment. Please wait in the foyer."
The python's tail swept aside, revealing the half-open temple doors.
Lotus nodded and stepped into the foyer, the doors closing behind her.
In a corner of the foyer stood a low table and chairs, all woven from vines. The tabletop was laden with all sorts of pastries and honeyed tea. To her surprise, steam was still rising from the teacups.
Lotus: "..."
Recalling the sweetness of the wine at the gathering, she decisively averted her gaze and took a seat in one of the vine chairs.
This was the first time Lotus had entered another god's domain.
It was completely different from the outside world. The air felt rich and heavy, dense and fresh.
Of course, this wasn't to say the air here truly possessed such qualities, but that being inside the temple naturally brought to mind the earth during a bountiful harvest and vigorously growing green plants.
The walls had a faint, silvery-gray luster, and it was impossible to tell if they were made of wood, stone, or some special metal. A bronze-colored paint highlighted the bas-reliefs, which depicted murals of myths about the earth.
One of them was an image of the divine python avatar coiled around a mountain range, its posture identical to that of the giant python currently outside.
As she was looking around, the door to the inner sanctum was pushed open from within.
Lotus turned at the sound and saw the golden-haired Earth Goddess walking toward her.
The goddess was tall and slender, dressed in a dark green robe with a train that trailed on the floor. A gold ornament shaped like wheat sheaves was wrapped around her waist, and a crown of deer antlers sat upon her head. Her brown eyes, the same color as the divine python's, were warm and deep.
The Earth Goddess sat down opposite her, across the low table laden with sweets and tea. Her face was youthful, but her bearing was calm and dignified, possessing a unique kindness and gravity characteristic of an elder.
It was a demeanor that matched the overall atmosphere of the Temple of the Earth Goddess.
With an amiable smile, Suojia pushed a plate of pastries toward Lotus.
"These are for you. If you don't want cookies, have some honeyed tea to moisten your throat."
Lotus: "...Alright."
So much for not interacting with humans, she thought. How would she know the phrase 'moisten your throat' without having contact with them? Gods don't get dry throats.
Besides, judging by that certain sweet wine, this tea would probably just make one's throat even more cloyingly parched, wouldn't it?
The Snow Goddess avatar picked up the finely crafted saucer, holding it in her hands without bringing it to her lips.
Suojia didn't seem to mind, appearing satisfied just that her guest had picked something up.
"You came this time because of the earth tremor in Disimeng City?"
"Yes," Lotus acknowledged. "Before the tremor, I felt a vague sense of unease, so I was a bit concerned."
"Oh, that."
The Earth Goddess took a sip of her honeyed tea and said with a smile, "It's normal to feel something unusual. If not for my intervention, this tremor would have originally involved the scope of your authority. It was just a warning from your godhead, nothing to worry about."
"A warning from my godhead?"
"Correct."
Just then, a shrunken divine python slithered in from the main entrance. It was about the same size as it had been at the banquet. It gracefully glided to the Earth Goddess's true body and merged with it.
As Suojia reabsorbed her avatar, her entire being seemed to elevate. She let out a slow breath and explained in greater detail.
"The earth is in constant motion. I only become aware of the tremors that pose a threat to human populations ahead of time."
"In the original 【Destiny】, the tremor was to occur in summer, destroying the humans' homes and the great dikes they had built."
Lotus said softly, "Summer and autumn are the high-water seasons for the Yilu River..."
Once the dikes broke, Disimeng would be inundated by floods. The residents who survived the tremor would have little chance of escaping the deluge, and the floodplains would even encompass a dozen more cities farther away.
The farmlands would be submerged, and the unripe crops would be destroyed, potentially leading to a subsequent food shortage. There was no telling how many more humans would die of starvation.
The Earth Goddess said, "Therefore, I needed to intervene, to delay it and suppress the tremor's destructive power. Summer and autumn have passed, and the period I could delay it for was almost at its end. Hmm, it just so happened that it hasn't snowed in Disimeng these past few days."
So Suojia released her divine power. The tremor, delayed by two seasons, arrived late. It was still perilous, but it wouldn't result in the kind of terrible catastrophe depicted in 【Destiny】.
As for what happened next, Suojia considered it no longer her concern. After a simple cleanup of the dissipated divine power, her true body would be able to leave the temple.
Lotus asked, "You can only delay it, not erase it?"
"Sometimes I can, but..." The Earth Goddess shook her head. "Natural disasters are indispensable. It is a matter of balance."
What was the counterpart to natural disasters?
Man-made calamities?
Lotus pondered this for a moment, then asked, "Since you can sense them, is it possible to warn humans of impending natural disasters?"
"If it happens to coincide with a festival, it's no problem to convey it to a priest. Otherwise, I've heard that warning them in their dreams has a certain chance of success, though I've never managed it myself."
The Earth Goddess swirled her saucer, remarking, intentionally or not, "And it's not certain whether more people would believe it anyway."
The temple fell silent for a moment. Lost in thought, Lotus subconsciously brought the honeyed tea to her lips and took a small sip. The sweetness jolted her brain, bringing her back to her senses.
"There is something I don't quite understand." The Snow Goddess avatar set down her teacup, rubbing the red-gold bracelet on her wrist as she murmured, as if to herself, "When we go to the mortal realm, the act of using divine power to influence the original trajectory of a human individual is usually restricted by the rules. But pushing back a natural disaster from within a temple affects—"
Doesn't it affect thousands upon thousands of individuals?
Their trajectories would overlap and interact, with repercussions of unknowable scope. Why would the rules turn a blind eye to this? Was it simply because the god was not in the mortal realm at the time?
The curve of the Earth Goddess's lips flattened slightly, but her expression remained gentle.
"As En said, we are the manifestation of the will of Solancian civilization. Likewise, we are the change that the very concept of human civilization has wrought upon 【The World】."
"Sensing and influencing natural disasters is one of the fundamental duties of a nature god. When humans look up at the sky and down at the earth, they imagine the essence of the world. What they ultimately seek is change—change that allows themselves, and humanity, to better endure."
"And so, faith was born. From vague worship to clear totems... and then to us."
As Suojia spoke, a sense of sudden understanding washed over Lotus. It was a difficult feeling to describe, but perhaps a god was meant to comprehend its meaning.
"Is this the meaning of divine power's existence?"
"Yes. To oppose and to protect—that is likely the meaning of a god's existence." The Earth Goddess sighed. "For the only race capable of birthing a civilizational will, it's quite normal for 【The World】 to grant preferential treatment, isn't it?"
Lotus lowered her eyes. "So that's how it is."
It was different. Not just her perception, but this era—or rather, this world—was truly different from the one she had once lived in.
The Earth Goddess's solemn expression vanished, and she cheerfully picked up a cookie again.
"Of course, this isn't something you must understand. As a deity, it's enough to follow the warnings or epiphanies that arise in your consciousness."
"What I just said was Nierde's conclusion. His divine duties have nothing to do with natural disasters, but he once spent a period of time researching these things."
"One day, Nierde gathered us to announce his findings, but he suddenly discovered an inconsistency and fell into a funk for a while. He's probably still mulling it over to this day."
Lotus: "..."
No wonder. She had been wondering how Suojia had come by such insights. So it was the God of Wisdom who had been diligently contemplating it all.
Suojia commented magnanimously, "Nierde is eager to uncover all the rules, but humans themselves know so little about the world. As gods coalesced from this group, how could we possibly know everything?"
"There will always be some things that are unknowable."
Lotus chatted with the Earth Goddess for a long time and benefited greatly from the conversation.
However, constantly watching the goddess eat while not daring to touch anything herself was an agonizing experience.
Finally, Lotus decided to end the conversation and take her leave.
But the Earth Goddess stopped her. "Wait, I have something I'd like you to take back with you."
She turned and went back into the inner sanctum. When she reemerged, she was holding a large box. It looked quite heavy, but in the hands of a god, it seemed as light as paper.
A sense of foreboding rose in Lotus's heart. She managed a strained, polite smile. "What are these...?"
The Earth Goddess said, "The sweets aren't to your taste, but perhaps the human you're raising will like them. You can take these to her."
Lotus looked down at the box, speechless.
This wasn't a matter of taste, was it?
She looked up at Suojia again and suddenly felt that the "young beauty" before her was exactly like a kind-faced grandmotherly figure. Reliability aside, her penchant for stuffing snacks on the younger generation was completely identical.
Suojia asked, "Is that alright?"
Lotus silently apologized to Alyuin in her heart, took the box, and bid the Earth Goddess farewell.
When she returned to the mortal realm, Alyuin was still in the reception hall.
While the Snow Goddess avatar was in the Kingdom of the Gods, the Princess had not been in secret talks with her advisor the entire time.
After speaking with her advisor, she spoke with the head maidservant. The moment the head maidservant left, the manager of the colosseum arrived. She was incredibly busy.
Then, the advisor visited again, which was the current situation.
Lotus properly stored the box full of deadly sweetness and went to the reception hall, just in time to hear the advisor leaving.
Alyuin was sitting in the main seat, pressing her temples. She looked up and saw Lotus standing by the door, and a captivating smile immediately spread from the corners of her lips.
"It's time for dinner, isn't it?" She rose from her seat. "I'm coming now. What would you like to eat?"
Lotus weighed her options and decided it was best to tell the Princess about the box of sweets before the meal.
Just tell her, show her. Lotus was firmly against actually letting Alyuin eat those dark culinary creations.
No matter what, she wouldn't mistreat Alyuin's taste buds—or her throat—for the sake of camaraderie among gods.
With this in mind, Lotus led Alyuin back to her room and showed her the box.
"This is a gift for you from Suojia."
Lotus was prepared to stop Alyuin before she could pick up a pastry.
Who would have thought that the Princess would look at the exquisite and lovely pastries, which appeared both fragrant and beautiful, take a deep breath, and ask with great solemnity, "Was this a gift from your mother?"
Lotus: "...Hmm?"
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