TGS - Chapter 177

Chapter 177: No Reincarnation

The Wolf God now probably couldn't pose much of a threat.

The God of the Sky had severely wounded him. Even though Huracan had used the giant wolf's body as cover to escape, the grievous injuries and consumption of divine power could not be undone.

The Sanur army was completely annihilated. Although there were still captured prisoners of war who continued to believe in the Wolf God, the demise of this faith was already a foregone conclusion, irreversible.

The massive loss of faith in a short period slowed Huracan's recovery of divine power and prevented him from healing himself.

Strictly speaking, the Sanur were already a vanquished nation at this point, but the complete disappearance of their civilization would not happen so quickly.

Within at least three generations, the remaining Sanur people would be absorbed by Solancia, believe in the Solancian pantheon, and integrate into Solancian civilization.

Compared to Solancia's long and vast history, the Sanur civilization was like a stumbling, yet savage and warlike, beast cub, completely powerless against cultural assimilation.

Only then would the Sanur gods truly dissipate.

This time lag was one of the reasons Lotus succeeded in turning the Sheep God. Otherwise, if calculated from the moment the Sanur nation was destroyed, Sheli Pu would have already vanished along with the Wolf God, never getting the chance for her believers to build her a temple and integrate her into the Solancian pantheon.

However, considering all these factors, even if the Wolf God Huracan wasn't dead, he was already extremely weak.

He was so weak that he couldn't maintain his form as a beast-headed deity. He could only transform into a young wolf, carefully concealing his divine power and hiding in the forest, disguised as an ordinary, non-sentient beast.

He could not be discovered by the Solancian pantheon.

Otherwise, in his current state—alone and powerless—he would surely die.

The reason Huracan had sent the Sheep God to the wilderness was partly out of fear for the Sanur nation's destruction, and partly to prepare for his future healing.

After all, the Kasnie gods seemed off. They wouldn't say anything when asked, appearing to only intend to use the Sanur gods as tools against the Solancian pantheon. But even if he felt this way, the fact that he had already participated in the divine war could not be changed, so Huracan could only brace himself and fight to the end.

He had originally wanted to keep Sheli Pu aside, letting the weak sheep who couldn't fight stay far from the battlefield, so he could go to her for healing.

Who would have thought the Solancian gods were much stronger than expected? All his companions' divine cores had fallen, and only Huracan found a chance to escape the battlefield. He had intended to find Sheli Pu to heal his wounds, but—

Sheli Pu had been taken away by a Solancian god.

Without any objection, willingly.

Traitor!

Huracan could hardly suppress his fury. Although he had never taken Sheli Pu seriously, she was still a Sanur god and should have dedicated everything to her pantheon. On what grounds did she betray her civilization and leave with the Solancian gods?

Yet, no matter how enraged he was, the Wolf God could do nothing but watch helplessly and then slowly heal himself.

Wolves are vengeful animals, and so was Huracan.

Compared to a "weakling" like Sheli Pu, whom he had never respected, the Wolf God held a deeper grudge against the River Goddess who brought Sheli Pu back to Solancia, and the Goddess of the Mind who had dragged him into the divine war. The other gods came after them.

Perseus.

Lotus.

As long as he had the chance, Huracan would retaliate at any cost—

The Wolf God's murderous thoughts went unnoticed by the Solancian gods currently in Surinia.

The discussion among the major gods continued.

The discussion about where Huracan might be hiding came to an end. The location of the Kasnie gods, however, was quite clear, and they could be attacked at any time.

Against these three foreign gods, the Solancian pantheon was practically guaranteed to win.

It was just that Perseus's fearless demeanor was somewhat baffling, making them suspect her pantheon had some trick up its sleeve.

"If there really is some hidden trouble, what could it be?" Lotus asked. "There's no such thing as a divine power boost for gods, is there?"

For example, stealing another god's faith, calling for outside help at the last minute, or a mental technique from the Goddess of the Mind causing the Solancian gods to kill each other... things like that.

Lotus listed the possible scenarios, showing a strong sense of caution.

The first two were basically impossible. Faith was the foundation of existence for all deities. If it could truly be stolen without anyone noticing, it would be a blatant disregard for the rules.

Outside help was even more absurd. There were only three major pantheons on this continent. The other small nations either depended on Solancian civilization and worshipped the same gods, or their pantheons were not yet fully formed, their gods still gestating, making it impossible for them to participate in a divine war.

As for the final possibility—turning on each other—

The Solancian gods looked at one another.

Not just killing each other, but also other forms of mental control. The possibility was low, but not zero. After all, the scope of the Goddess of the Mind's divine authority was hard to grasp; she might have some ultimate move in reserve.

But if she had such an ability, Adia would not have been able to return that day.

The God of the Sky was silent for a moment, then said, "The Kasnie gods and their human companions don't seem to be hiding. There's no rush to deal with them."

"Let's wait until the Kasnie people arrive outside Surinia to start the divine war. Suriel might be healed by then. With one more major god, we'll be better able to avoid any accidents."

No god objected, and so the matter was settled.

Lotus took the opportunity to bring up the Goddess of the Mind. "Perseus holds a deep hostility toward Alyuin. Could there be a reason? For example, perhaps she wants to control the human ruler to achieve her goals."

Suojia was taken aback. "They met?"

Lotus said, "A few days ago, Perseus came looking for me, and they met then."

Lotus briefly recounted what the shadow had said.

Those inexplicably strange words, the assertion that she would be absorbed into the Kasnie pantheon, and the malice toward Alyuin.

If this had been in the past, with Adia present, the gods would probably have held a tea party to discuss the tangled web of grudges and affections hinted at in the conversation.

But at this moment, one could hear a pin drop in the hall where the gods were gathered. Not even the sound of the wind from outside could penetrate the field of divine power. Without the most boisterous personalities, Adia and Suriel, the major gods were each lost in their own thoughts.

Finally, Suojia let out a soft sigh. "It's impossible for a god to control the ruler of a nation, unless that person is connected to them by aura and is a truly devout believer."

"Perseus's hostility toward Alyuin must be for her own reasons."

"The Goddess of the Mind met me when I was still human." Lotus turned the bracelet on her wrist, her eyes downcast. "So, did she meet the Alyuin from that time?"

Silence was the best answer.

Lotus said seriously, "Suojia, I want to know what this is all about."

Suojia looked at En. The God of the Sky nodded and floated solemnly before Lotus. "We didn't want to bring it up before, because what's in the past could inevitably affect the choices you make now."

Suojia gave a gentle smile and added, "But in my opinion, you won't be swayed by the past anymore, so whether we tell you or not isn't that important."

Then, from Suojia's lips, Lotus heard a story from the past that seemed both logical and yet bewildering.

Suojia had said before that because gods don't pay much attention to mortal affairs, she didn't know much about Lotus's past—and that was true.

But she hadn't mentioned one thing: no matter how little they intended to interfere in worldly matters, those important figures who influenced the course of events would still draw the occasional gaze of the gods—just like the princess exiled to the temple ten years ago, and just like the "Alyuin" from a thousand years ago.

At that time, this land that now belonged to Solancia was dotted with city-states, sometimes forming alliances, sometimes fighting one another, scattered and rife with conflict.

Until a city-state named Solan rose from the chaos, annexed numerous other city-states, and established the Kingdom of Solancia.

Alyuin was the sister of the first King of Solan, a commander who led armies into battle. Just like the princess Lotus had watched grow up, she was a seasoned warrior who had never known defeat. Her magnificent appearance, with black hair and golden eyes, was also almost identical.

And the human Lotus rose to fame as the River Goddess by her side.

At that time, the Solancian pantheon only had four combatants: En, Suojia, Adia, and Emute. Adia and Emute had only recently been born and had not yet reached their full power. As for the twin gods of the sun and moon and the God of Wisdom, they had not even taken form yet.

Suojia was right; she didn't know much.

She didn't know the details of Perseus's interactions with the two of them. What she could confirm was that Lotus deeply disliked the Goddess of the Mind, and she knew of their end—the end she heard about from the Solancian people after the war.

The attack on the city-state where the Goddess of the Mind resided was the final battle for the unification of Solancia. Commander Alyuin did not die in the heat of battle, but was backstabbed by a traitor in her own army.

No matter how prepared she was, she couldn't stop an arrow from piercing her heart from behind on the chaotic battlefield.

Perhaps for this reason, the water-based power that Lotus controlled went haywire, causing the Yilu River to flood. In the face of nature's might, the enemy army was powerless, and so the Solancian army won a great victory.

However, before the war ended, Lotus's human body perished. Suojia guessed her death was related to the surge of power.

"This is all I know—this time, it's really all I know."

The Goddess of the Earth gave a wry smile.

Lotus murmured, "So, that was Alyuin's past life?"

Unexpectedly, the God of the Sky shook his head. "No, that Alyuin should not be the current Princess of Solancia."

"Because when she died, reincarnation did not yet exist."

Lotus's eyes shot up.

"No reincarnation? But Emute existed back then..."

"In the earliest version of the myths, Emute's divine duty was over withering and flourishing—the growth and decay of all living things. It had nothing to do with death or reincarnation. The concept of the reincarnation of human souls only appeared at the founding of the kingdom, and at that time—"

At that time, "Alyuin" was already dead.

No reincarnation, no rebirth. Logically, the current Alyuin should have no connection to the founding female general Suojia spoke of. Even if there was one, it would only be a similarity born of coincidence and fate.

"Then, why is Perseus hostile to the current Alyuin?"

"Transference, displaced anger, both are possible. Perseus has been a madwoman for a thousand years."

Suojia didn't mention her relationship with that Alyuin, but from her tone, it seemed that in the eyes of others, they were trusted colleagues, good friends.

...Friends.

For a moment, her thoughts were a tangled mess, a mixture of complex emotions.

Lotus lowered her head in silence for a moment before saying, "I understand. Thank you."

The gods had gathered, said all that needed to be said, and naturally dispersed to their own tasks. Lotus floated to the spire of the sky-reaching tower in the city, lost in thought at its highest point.

If only Adia were all right. At least then she would have someone to analyze this with. Only Adia had a special interest in such tangled matters of the heart and could serve as a divine advisor.

Lotus looked down at the white stone city walls in all directions, her fingertips unconsciously toying with her bracelet.

She was thinking.

Should she tell Alyuin about this?

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