TGS - Chapter 119
Chapter 119: The Past Enters a Dream
The Yilu River flowed through the mortal realm, traversing the vast territory of Solancia, ceaselessly day and night, from spring to winter, and then the cycle began anew.
Its reflection was cast upon the Kingdom of the Gods in the heavens, condensing into lines on the dome of the River God's temple, like a simple map of the Milky Way's veins. It emitted a soft, gentle light, making the entire pool of clear water below appear even more limpid and transparent.
Lotus slumbered at the bottom of the pool, silent and still.
The sapphire-like manifestation of her godhood floated before her chest. Inside, a silver halo flickered on and off. Divine power surged with the frequency of the halo's flashes, rhythmic and orderly, like a quiet, slow process of self-repair.
How long would such a repair take?
Perhaps ten years, several decades, or even nearly a century. Gods were beings who possessed long lifespans. To recover from the cost of defying the rules, no amount of years would be excessive.
When the deity awakened, the mortal realm might have already undergone immense changes, a world transformed. This was an unavoidable future, yet it could not make them sigh with sorrow—after all, such was the nature of gods.
Except for Lotus.
Only Lotus.
In her slumber, the silver-haired goddess's brow furrowed slightly, her eyelashes trembling gently, like a human caught in a strange dream, her heart aching for everything she saw within it.
The scene changed.
At first, it was her hometown, stored away in distant memories, with its towering buildings and bustling traffic.
Lotus watched her past self from a third-person perspective. She sat alone in the back seat of a car, a partition raised between the front and back. The black-haired, blue-eyed girl was in a quiet, small space, staring out the window in a daze.
—There was no air of melancholy or sadness. Knowing herself, Lotus figured she was probably just spacing out.
The vehicle carried her through the city streets, finally pulling into the underground garage of a single-story villa. A driver with an indistinct face took out her suitcase and followed her silently through the tall mahogany door.
Or, one could simply say she was going home.
It seemed to be during a holiday. Lotus had returned to this house from boarding school. Her parents were not home, which made her feel a faint sense of relief.
The ancient Solancians had no surnames, only given names. Gods, even more so, had no concept of surnames.
But before becoming the River Goddess of Solancia, Lotus did have a surname. This surname was quite well-known in her area. To put it simply, it was an inspirational story of a fallen family reviving its fortunes and carving out a new path in a new field, a story that had little to do with Lotus herself.
The only connection was that the protagonists of the story were Lotus's parents.
Two extremely career-driven adults had met when they were young, a union of powerhouses. Their two families became one, and just as their stagnant business finally showed signs of life, Lotus was born.
This was a very interesting thing, because from the moment she was born, from the moment Lotus opened her blue chalcedony eyes, great hopes were placed upon her.
A similar statement might make one laugh, but for Lotus, it was a heavy "responsibility."
The thing her parents said to her most often was, "You must be perfect."
These "great hopes" were not the typical expectations parents have for their children—to become successful, to be the best of the best, or even to be ordinary but happy. The expectations Lotus received were nothing of the sort.
That couple had always hoped that Lotus could become a benchmark to display the family's capabilities, a banner, or an object for admiration—much like a national museum putting its most prized treasure on display.
Therefore, Lotus needed to be excellent in her studies—not necessarily at the very top, but enough to give her parents sufficient talking points.
She also had to be able to play a musical instrument and dance elegantly—not to a professional level, but enough to perform at family banquets and win the admiration of the guests.
Her speech and behavior had to be dignified, graceful, and outstanding. This was fundamental. When Lotus was very young, her mother told her personally: "If you cannot do this, we would rather declare to the world that we have no daughter. Do you understand, Lotus?"
Lotus—even her name was taken from a noble goddess of an ancient civilization. This way of naming was actually very strange; if not handled well, it could attract strange, mocking gazes from others—unless the person who bore the name could live up to it.
As it turned out, her parents' expectations were rewarded. Lotus did indeed perform perfectly, just as they had wished, from childhood to adulthood, and she successfully allowed them to hear the voices they had anticipated.
"Although their family fell on hard times, they still have a solid foundation."
"That's true, but look at their daughter. Does she look like someone a nouveau riche family could raise?"
Lotus grew up amidst such voices and her parents' satisfied smiles.
That day, she returned home, went quietly to her room to read and practice the piano. At dinnertime, she went downstairs. As expected, her parents were already home on time, chatting about something.
As Lotus sat down, she happened to hear her mother say in a flat tone, "How disgraceful. I don't know what that family was thinking, letting such talk get out."
"A perfectly good daughter, actually liking women."
Lotus's hand paused as she picked up her dinner knife, so quickly it was unnoticeable.
Her father shook his head and said, "Yes, my old friend is about to go mad with anger. He wishes he could round up the person who spread the news along with his daughter tonight. Who knows how such a thing could get out. It's very unseemly."
Lotus listened quietly, distractedly turning her bracelet. Suddenly, she saw her mother turn to look at her and say earnestly, "If any of the other children talk to you about this in the next few days, don't say much. Just listen. After all, gossiping about others behind their backs doesn't earn a good reputation."
Before Lotus could answer, her mother laughed. "I forgot again. You've always put my mind at ease. How could you not be careful?"
After speaking, she turned her head back and continued discussing the absurd rumors about their friend's family with her husband. Her tone was full of sighs, but also a kind of superior condescension of an onlooker.
Before this country entered the modern era, people still believed that love between people of the same sex was a sin that needed to be punished. Many followers who believed in the creator god Krosda still detested homosexuals to this day, wishing these "heretics" would disappear.
Lotus's parents were not religious and had no particular opinion on these matters. They only cared about whether it sounded good to others, whether it would affect the family reputation they had painstakingly built and maintained.
Before dinner ended, her father, still engrossed in the conversation, wiped his mouth. As if suddenly remembering his daughter was of that age, he warned her gravely, "Lotus, don't you get involved in any of that messy business. It wouldn't be good if it reached other people's ears."
Lotus just smiled and nodded.
The scene in the dream slowly changed. Lotus shifted her gaze from the gradually dimming scene to the other side.
Here, some rather beautiful and unforgettable memories were playing out. For example, when she performed exceptionally well as a child and received a reward from her parents: a whole day to play at an amusement park.
Her mother watched from the side, taking all sorts of pictures. Some were posted to her personal online space, which wasn't yet fully popular at the time. Others were developed and carefully framed on the living room wall, used to introduce her well-behaved and sensible daughter to visiting guests.
Other memories included going out with friends; reading alone in an empty house about the fragmented history of the ancient civilization from which her name originated; planning a trip to the present-day ruins of ancient Solan, a trip she eventually took.
These are all dreams, aren't they?
Lotus stood in the void, not knowing why she was dreaming of these old events. Logically, she hadn't allowed herself to think about them for a very long time.
Perhaps sensing Lotus's confusion and the placid calm in her heart, the scene before her slowly faded, replaced by a bronze mirror.
It had a golden relief of an ouroboros encircling it, its surface could reflect a person's image, and a sapphire identical to her river godhood was embedded in it. It was the very mirror that had been displayed in the national museum and had sent Lotus to Solancia.
Lotus took half a step forward, confirming that every detail was identical to the bronze mirror she had carefully stored away at the bottom of a chest.
Gods do not dream, unless it is of the past or a premonition.
The Goddess of the Yilu River looked down for a long moment, then suddenly raised her head and said calmly, "Excuse me, what are you trying to express?"
The way the dream shifted was truly inconsistent with the nature of a god's dream. To Lotus, it seemed somewhat similar to the dreams of the little princess that she had manipulated.
This was only a guess.
But soon, the scene before her rippled, and a voice whose age, gender, and personality were impossible to discern rang out, confirming Lotus's suspicion.
"I just want to know, why is your heart still so calm after seeing all this?"
Along with this slightly perplexed question, more and more golden artifacts emerged from around the bronze mirror. Some were also mirrors, while others were rings, collars, and chains.
There were all sorts of them, too many to list.
The common feature of these artifacts was that they were all perfectly circular in shape, and their edges were all inlaid with an ouroboros.
Some were ferocious, some peaceful, some had their eyes closed, while others pierced their tails with their fangs... almost every snake had a different demeanor.
Immediately after, a translucent silhouette condensed from within the circle of these ouroboros artifacts. The silhouette was a beautiful pale gold. One could only make out that it had long hair and a slender figure. From the waist down, it flared out like a giant, open hoop skirt, making it impossible to discern any more useful information.
The silhouette faced forward, seemingly looking at Lotus.
Then, it once again emitted that same voice, whose true nature was difficult to discern.
"—O soul from another 【World】."
Lotus's pupils contracted slightly, but she showed no excessive emotional fluctuation.
"You don't seem surprised."
"If you're talking about the fact that I'm from another world..." Lotus paused, a hint of emotion showing in her eyes. "I had indeed already guessed."
It wasn't actually hard to figure out.
The Solancia where Lotus currently resided was a kingdom where a system of gods truly existed, and these gods could use their power in the Kingdom of the Gods to influence the mortal realm.
But in the place where she used to live, most people knew that deities were merely the fantasies of ancient people, their explanations for the things that existed in the world—it was just a necessary stage in the development of human civilization.
Therefore, there were only two possibilities.
One was that gods had indeed existed in the ancient civilization, but had vanished for some reason, with all traces of their existence even being erased.
The other was that she had come to a past where gods existed.
Now, it seemed it was likely the latter.
The Solancia that Lotus saw and the ancient Solan she had learned about in books were not, in fact, in the same spacetime.
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