TGS - Chapter 116

Chapter 116: Disorder

Alyuin returned to the Lord's Manor by carriage.

The Lord's Manor, whose previous master was lost in the slave rebellion, had long been requisitioned by the Princess and her retinue as a temporary residence. People were busy coming and going from morning till night.

The bodies of Tarsha and the Luntelila snakes were also loaded onto the carriage, sealed separately in boxes to be dealt with later.

For various reasons, Alyuin concealed the fact that she had been bitten by a venomous snake. However, Lena still summoned the army physician, as the Princess's condition was truly not good.

The physician, of course, couldn't find anything wrong. After all, the Princess was alive and well, the snake venom injected into her blood had been completely eliminated, leaving only some residual symptoms.

After examining her thoroughly, he could only say, "There are some symptoms of a fever. It's likely due to the mental and physical strain of attacking the rebellious slaves, which has affected her body. I will prepare a medicinal broth. After Your Highness drinks it and gets some good rest, you should recover quickly."

Alyuin said, "I understand. You may all leave."

The physician breathed a sigh of relief, immediately bowed, and took his leave. Lena and Motis, who had rushed over, exchanged a glance and also walked out the door.

Click. The door closed.

Alyuin pushed aside the long hair falling over her chest and turned her head to examine the wound. The ominous blackness from before seemed like a mere illusion. A small, ordinary wound like this would probably heal in no time.

But the Princess gazed at it as if staring at an unsolvable riddle.

After a long while, Alyuin closed her eyes and asked in a soft voice, almost a sigh, "Are you still there?"

It was a hopeless call, and as expected, there was no response. The northern wind and sand beat against the window frame, creating a rhythmic rattling sound that only made the room seem more deathly silent.

Like a silent, unannounced departure.

The Princess fell back into the wicker chair, her long neck slightly raised, the back of her hand covering her eyes.

A silent separation like this, or being scorned and abandoned after a cold rebuke—comparing the two, she couldn't say which was easier to bear.

Of course, the unannounced departure was merely the Princess's speculation. The image of Lotus's overly pale face before she disappeared surfaced in her mind, making her increasingly distraught.

What if... what if Lotus had actually run into some kind of trouble, and that was why she had vanished...

Alyuin slightly lifted her hand, and in the sliver of her gaze that was revealed, a heavy mist seemed to gather.

She would rather it be the former.

---

The reason Lotus hadn't appeared wasn't because she didn't know how to face Alyuin.

Although that was indeed the main source of her worries, she knew very well that running away without a word was always the worst way to handle things.

Even if she truly wanted to separate for a while, to give them both space away from each other to think about what to do next, Lotus would have told the Princess first before she could leave with peace of mind.

—Unfortunately, the situation simply didn't allow for it.

Lotus had originally intended to follow the carriage back to the Lord's Manor.

The pain and dizziness hadn't subsided, assaulting her consciousness in continuous waves. This wasn't something that could be fixed with a little rest.

The sensory pressure wasn't the main problem. What made Lotus feel that things were truly amiss was the loss of control over her divine power.

The escaping divine power formed a chaotic "field." Logically, if she could just gather it all back into her body and suppress it deep within her divinity, half the problem would be solved.

However...

In her spiritual form, Lotus raised a fingertip, manipulating her power to gather and flow back. The divine power was reasonably obedient, dutifully assembling according to her command.

The problem was, as soon as she gathered one part and shifted her focus to another, the first cluster of divine power would immediately disperse, turning back into irregularly drifting wisps of water.

The god power field enveloped her, centered on Lotus, like the tentacles of a transparent jellyfish—soft, gentle, stretching and tangling. Its range was both high and wide, and it was constantly expanding.

If this continued, it might end up encompassing the entire city of Senna.

Was this the price for interfering with 【Destiny】 using divine power?

Thinking of this, Lotus felt only a sense of relief. At least she had succeeded.

Halfway there, the state of her god power field grew even more out of control. Lotus could no longer continue floating forward. The weight of the field was like a heavy, sticky gel, gradually slowing her steps.

Just then, Lotus happened to walk past the colonnaded gate of the Earth Goddess's temple.

The moment Suojia arrived, she saw the Goddess of the Yilu River walking forward with a chaotic, swirling god power field around her, her eyes unfocused.

The Earth Goddess's expression changed drastically. "Lotus!"

No wonder the water-aspected divine power constructing the barrier had become so chaotic. The divine power of the water-aspected main god herself was already out of control, so how could one expect its derivative powers to remain stable?

Losing control of divine power was no small matter. In the worst-case scenario, a god would experience a loss of control and dissipation of their divine power before fading, returning to the heavens and earth. When their divine power was completely gone, that was when the god would perish.

Lotus's situation was better; at least her divine power hadn't completely dissipated and was still gathered around her.

But they couldn't delay any longer.

Suojia waved her hand, and her divine power solidified into a large flower basket. Judging by the style, it was the same as the one the Earth Goddess used for her small cookies.

Before Lotus could react, she was placed inside the basket. It was just the right size, allowing her to lie back with her knees bent.

"Wait—" Lotus struggled to sit up.

Suojia said, "Your condition is terrible. You probably can't fly back to the Kingdom of the Gods on your own, so just make do with this for now."

Lotus pressed her temples. "I don't have an issue with the mode of transport, but I can't leave yet. I have to tell Alyuin first."

"The human you're raising?" Suojia seemed thoughtful. She suddenly lowered her gaze, a hint of worry appearing on her warm and gentle face. "Is this loss of control over your divine power related to the human princess?"

Lotus said, "...Yes."

Suojia sighed.

"We can send a messenger to tell her after we get back. The most important thing right now is you. We can't afford any delays."

Lotus weighed her options for a moment and finally gave a slight nod. Her feelings were inevitably complicated when she thought of Alyuin.

Suojia displayed a decisiveness completely at odds with her gentle appearance. "We're leaving now."

Before she had even finished speaking, she effortlessly lifted the flower basket containing Lotus.

Lifted... it up.

Lotus: "..."

Although she had no issue with the mode of transport and was grateful to Suojia for coming to get her, she couldn't help but feel that her mood had somehow become even more complicated.

Riding the wind, Lotus was carried back to the Kingdom of the Gods by the deceptively strong Suojia.

As time went on, the loss of control over her divine power grew more severe. The pain and dizziness remained unchanged, but if the pain continued like this, it was only a matter of time before her consciousness gave out.

When they arrived before the River God's temple, the Goddess of Love and the Sun and Moon twin gods were already there.

"Nierde is at the stone platform watching over the barrier," Adia said simply. She looked up at the dissipating water-aspected divine power and frowned. "How did it get this serious?"

Suriel said, "Did I miss something? But I'm sure I only saw two snakes..."

Anmila remained silent, her expression concerned yet slightly bewildered. Lotus hoped she wasn't connecting this to her previous strange theory about abandonment.

"I don't know what happened either. Lotus hasn't said anything yet," Suojia said.

And so, the main gods all turned to look at the River Goddess, awaiting the truth.

Lotus rose from the flower basket and looked at the circle of main gods around her, feeling like a classic case study being observed by a group of doctors at her bedside in the modern era.

This feeling became even more pronounced after she concisely recounted the story of how she had interfered with Alyuin's fate of life and death.

And that was indeed the case.

It was already rare for a god to go to the mortal realm and actively interfere with a human's life or death. Upon discovering they were being blocked by the rules, they would promptly stop. No one would press on through the pain and unknown risks.

To the gods, the sensation of pain was foreign.

The idea of interfering with an individual human's predetermined destiny was equally foreign and difficult to comprehend.

Lotus's actions this time were, without a doubt, a first for the pantheon.

It also brought a problem: none of the gods knew how to resolve the aftereffects of interfering in the mortal realm.

In her urgency, Adia suggested, "Let's get Askle to take a look first. If he can't do anything either, then the only option is to enter a deep sleep."

Askle was a subordinate god of the Sun God—Solancia's God of Medicine, and probably the only god in charge of treatment and healing.

Furthermore, he was also a god who was once human.

While waiting for the God of Medicine to arrive, Lotus tried to summon a Blue Heron messenger to deliver a message to Alyuin for her.

But her divine power was completely unresponsive. A blue heron, summoned from nearby, stared with its beady black eyes and waited eagerly with wings spread, but it failed to gain the abilities of a messenger.

This showed just how dire Lotus's situation was.

Adia sighed. "You want to send a message to the human princess?"

Lotus gave a wry smile. "I didn't say anything when I left. I'm afraid she'll..." Let her imagination run wild.

"Since you can't use your divine power, just leave it to me." Adia twirled a lock of golden hair around her finger, but her expression was quite serious. "I won't let your little princess worry. Rest assured."

Lotus said, "And my current condition—"

"Keep it a secret. I understand."

For whatever reason, Lotus didn't want Alyuin to know about her condition. With her intelligence, she might figure out the cause.

Self-blame, anxiety—Lotus didn't want to see such emotions in Alyuin.

Before they had exchanged more than a few words, the God of Medicine arrived swiftly.

This god, Askle, who was once human, couldn't get close because of the surrounding water-aspected god power field. The other main gods were on the same tier as Lotus, which was why they could act normally within the vast range of her divine power. As a subordinate god, it was somewhat difficult for him to do the same.

After hearing Lotus's description, Askle suddenly looked up, a strange light flashing in his eyes.

At a time like this, Lotus was quite perceptive. "You seem to have thought of something."

"When I first awakened, I did something similar, but I stopped the moment I touched the rules. So this is the result of pushing against the rules to the very end," Askle said with emotion.

Suriel asked, "So, can it be cured?"

"Medicine isn't a panacea. I still recommend that Her Excellency Lotus return to her temple and enter a deep sleep." Askle spread his hands. "However, I will prepare a potion to alleviate the symptoms."

For the gods of Solancia, "when in doubt, go to sleep" was practically a golden rule.

Bored? Go to sleep. Stabilizing your divine position? Go to sleep. Absorbing faith? Still go to sleep. Injured and need to heal? The first choice is to go to sleep... Wake up and everything is fine, it just takes a bit of time.

Lotus rubbed her forehead and lowered her head, silent.

After a long moment, she finally made a decision. "Alright."

"I'll have to trouble you to deliver the message, Adia."

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