TGS - Chapter 188
Chapter 188: The Deadline
When Lotus opened her eyes, she was already in her own room.
Warm, peaceful, and with a turn of her head, she saw the princess with her head down, handling official business… For a god who had been falling in the desolate wilderness before losing consciousness, it was truly a relief.
Alyuin noticed the movement beside her, turned her head to look, and immediately put down her quill pen, leaning over to ask with a hint of nervousness, "How do you feel?"
"I'm fine, just depleted of divine power. I need some time to recover." As Lotus spoke, she felt a fatigue and emptiness radiating outward from within her divinity, likely an aftereffect of exhausting her power. She didn't want to move at all right now.
To say it was depleted wasn't entirely accurate. A small reserve of divine power was still contained within her divinity, one that wouldn't be easily used even if her main consciousness was lost, precisely to guard against sneak attacks from other gods.
Not to mention the escaped Wolf God of the Sanur pantheon, even the minor gods of Kasnie with their weak divine power were a potential threat to an exhausted major god.
The divine power stored within her divinity was capable of both offense and defense. Not only could it prevent other pantheons from launching a sneak attack, but it could also counterattack automatically. If anyone had truly tried to take advantage of the situation, they might have already been reduced to a pile of ash.
Lotus lowered her eyes and saw that the reserve of divine power was still stored away safely, with no signs of having been triggered. Could it be that no one had tried to attack her?
In that case, how did she get back? And what about Suojia and the others?
Lotus cast a questioning gaze at the princess.
Alyuin said simply, "At that time, your avatar dissipated. I was worried the situation was urgent, so I went outside the city to find you."
She paused. "There was a wolf that could use divine power. It wanted to take advantage of your weakness, so I killed it. Was that the Sanur Wolf God?"
After hearing Alyuin's description of the wolf, Lotus was speechless.
It really was the Wolf God, Huracan.
At this, Lotus was both surprised and confused.
The Wolf God had been severely wounded in his battle with the God of the Sky, and he was in a weakened state due to the fall of the Sanur. He barely had any fighting strength left.
Even so, he was still a god. How could he have been killed by the princess?
Could it be that the spread of the new myth had already granted Alyuin the characteristics of a god?
Lotus was worried and wanted to use her divine power to sense and confirm the princess's condition. Faint blue water patterns swirled gently around Alyuin, but no feedback returned—this sensory ability had been stripped away by Perseus, who wielded the authority of a Creator God. Even though Perseus was now sealed, the ability could not be restored for the time being.
Her senses were useless, so Lotus could only ask the princess, "Are there any side effects?"
Alyuin shook her head, not mentioning a single word about the headache and dizziness she experienced after killing the Wolf God.
Lotus sighed.
Alyuin recounted the entire process of dealing with Huracan. It sounded easy, but in reality, it had been exceptionally dangerous.
Huracan had assumed a human couldn't harm him, so he hadn't used his divine power right away. Caught completely off guard, his divinity was struck by Alyuin. His frenzied counterattack just before his demise was then blocked by the blue chalcedony bead on the amulet, which was how the princess avoided injury.
Although the rules limited a god's ability to harm mortals, the rules had also demonstrated how impossible it was for a human to attempt deicide. And yet, hadn't Alyuin killed a god?
If the vengeful Wolf God had thrown all caution to the wind and attacked with divine power from the very beginning, one could only imagine the danger.
At this thought, Lotus's brow furrowed slightly as she looked at Alyuin without speaking.
The princess, of course, knew what the goddess was thinking, but—
"Even if it happened again, I would not have backed down," Alyuin said. "You were the one behind me, after all."
Lotus was left without retort by this occasional switch in address. With a sense of helplessness, she could only explain that even if a god lost consciousness, they wouldn't be a sitting duck. A wolf god as weak as he was would have met his end had he tried a sneak attack.
After hearing this, Alyuin didn't think she had done anything unnecessary, and neither did Lotus.
The only regret was…
The princess held the bead, which had split in two, in her palm, looking quite dejected. "This was the first gift you ever gave me."
In her eyes, its symbolic meaning was far more precious than the value of the bead itself.
Lotus raised a hand to stroke the black hair at the nape of Alyuin's neck. She decided that once some of her divine power returned, she would repair the poor bead. Unfortunately, it would no longer have its protective function and could only serve as a commemorative ornament.
From Alyuin, Lotus learned that the other major gods had also been brought back to the city.
So far, besides Lotus who had just woken up, only En and Suojia had regained consciousness. They were resting in the next room, waiting for their divine power to recover.
The seven major gods who had participated in the battle were all present, not one was missing, turning this residence owned by the princess into a veritable divine sanatorium.
As for the diamond-shaped crystal sealing Perseus, it was too conspicuous to be stuffed into a carriage and transported home like the unconscious gods. It had to be covered with a large cloth, placed on a flatbed cart, and hauled back by trusted guards—it was now sitting in the courtyard.
…For a moment, it was hard to tell which side had lost more face.
"Does it require any special arrangements?" Alyuin asked.
"No," Lotus said. "She won't wake up. Just don't let anyone get near it."
The seal would last for at least three seasons. If its strength held, it could last for a year.
And this period of time was the opportunity granted to Solancia.
If, by the time the seal dissolved, they still hadn't found a way to deal with a being of a Creator God's status, trying to seal Perseus again using the same trick would be futile.
But could they really find a way?
It seemed the best method was to completely destroy Kasnie within a year and eradicate all faith in the Kasnie pantheon. Setting aside the difficulty of such a task, consider its implications—it was impossible. Even the most ruthless and tyrannical dictator could not achieve it.
Therefore, this most obvious path was, conversely, the most impossible narrow way.
But if they didn't do that, what other choice was there?
Lotus lowered her gaze, unconsciously revealing her helplessness.
One year was too short, especially for beings like gods, who might sleep for decades or even centuries at a time. Such a tight deadline was both stressful and yet seemed to offer a buffer, which was truly messing with one's mind.
Alyuin tilted her head to look at Lotus. As if sensing something, she blinked but said nothing.
Lotus hadn't been awake for long.
She still had little strength. After getting a general understanding of the situation, she once again sank into a sleep-like state of self-healing. This time, she slept for a full three days.
When she woke up, forty to fifty percent of her divine power had returned, and the fatigue and weariness emanating from her divinity had receded. Aside from her divine senses still being blocked, everything else was back to normal.
Alyuin had also kept watch in the room for three days, not leaving unless absolutely necessary. Only when Lotus finally opened her eyes did she reveal a hint of relief and ease.
Having experienced Lotus sleeping for three or four years, Alyuin treated this kind of healing slumber as if facing a great enemy—thankfully, it was only for three days and nights.
With some divine power to spare, Lotus repaired the blue chalcedony bead and reset it in the center of the amulet.
"There." Lotus gestured for the princess to lower her head and hung the amulet back around her long, honey-colored neck. Just as she was about to withdraw her hand, Alyuin caught her wrist, lacing their fingers together tightly.
"Thank you for your gift. In return…"
Alyuin's voice grew softer, the final sound dissolving between their pressed lips.
A long, tender kiss. It was unclear who started it, but it gradually grew more intense, making it hard to part. It stirred a hidden fire, igniting cluster by cluster upon their skin and within their bodies.
Desire came, impossible to escape, and neither of them intended to. Lotus raised a field of divine power as usual.
The light-blocking curtains fell, the linen-silk fabric cascading down like water. The princess imprinted lingering, flower-like marks on the side of the goddess's neck, then raised her head and whispered something against her ear.
Lotus's eyes widened slightly, but before she could answer, Alyuin lowered her gaze and continued downward.
She climbed over snow-covered peaks, planting frost-kissed roses along the snowy plains. Like a determined traveler, she stepped into a shallow forest of silver branches and jade leaves, and there she paused.
"I think it's better like before—"
Alyuin interrupted, a rare occurrence. She lifted the corners of her already upturned eyes, her gaze shimmering as she looked at her. "Lotus, I'm a little thirsty."
Clear water condensed into a ball beside her half-raised hand. With the princess's movement, Lotus gasped in surprise. Unsteady for a moment, she couldn't maintain the ball of water. Part of it spilled onto the curtains, while the rest flowed down her pale arm.
Lotus felt embarrassed, yet for some reason, she was unwilling to call a halt. Torn, she simply threw an arm over her eyes, letting the other control the rhythm of the music, like a conductor leading a symphony orchestra in a later age.
Notes blossomed at fingertips, and on the singer's lips and tongue.
In a daze, she seemed to hear Alyuin's intermittent, polite remarks, things like, "You are truly worthy of being the Goddess of the River," and "The snow is melting too much, this won't do."
They sounded fine, even respectful, but upon reflection, she realized what nonsense the person was spouting and wished she could cover her ears.
Lotus endured it for a while before whispering, "Don't use the honorific…"
Alyuin looked up, the pads of her fingers still soothing the trembling, and sighed in a tone of subtle reverence, "Wouldn't that be too presumptuous?"
Aren't you already being presumptuous!
When everything subsided, Lotus rolled over and buried her face in the pillows, feeling the illusion that she had just woken up only to want to fall back into a deep sleep.
But this was just an illusion, after all. After a short rest, the goddess quickly tidied herself up and walked out of the room. Before leaving, she glanced back at the princess, who, from her appearance alone, showed no sign of what had just transpired.
Alyuin, however, had to pay the price for her indulgence and stay in the room to handle her affairs.
She had originally wanted to press her advantage, feigning concern while actually flirting, asking, "Was that too presumptuous? Are you angry?"
But seeing the impassive glance Lotus shot her way, she ultimately held her tongue.
It might have been a bit inappropriate, but the effect was good. At least the sense of urgency and bewilderment that had clung to Lotus was gone.
Alyuin smiled at the door, then lowered her head to look at the official documents on the desk, her expression turning cold once more.
Lotus went to the garden behind the house.
The crystal sealing Perseus was placed here, and no one was allowed near it. Not that they would see anything even if they did.
A swirling mist filled the inner layer of the crystal, completely obscuring the figure sealed within. Unlike when the seal was first completed, its crystalline luster had dimmed and its transparency had decreased, making it look like a particularly large and well-cut block of stone.
Lotus stared at it for a moment, then turned her head.
At some point, the other major gods had appeared beside her, also gazing up at the sealing crystal in silence.
It was as if they could see through the layers of mist to the Creator God's frozen face, still wearing a smile, confident of victory.
"Let's split up."
Lotus said.
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