TGS - Chapter 190
Chapter 190: Jadaar
For some time now, the subordinate gods of the Solancian pantheon were either in battle or on their way to one.
Although they couldn't participate in battles between major gods—given the absolute disparity in divine power, the aftershock of a single attack could kill a subordinate god—they had other tasks: dealing with Kasnie's various minor gods.
On one hand, they were to eliminate as many Kasnian gods as possible; on the other, they were to prevent their opponents from approaching important Solancian cities, such as Akhet and Surinia.
Fula, the Goddess of Performing Arts, was just outside Akhet.
This musician, who enjoyed swinging her harp like a club, was facing a crisis. A group of Kasnian gods had surrounded her, like a pack of restless hyenas.
When both sides were of the same rank, a numerical advantage was enough to overcome any difference in divine power. Without outside intervention, Fula's defeat was certain.
Seeing she couldn't smash her way through, the Goddess of Performing Arts changed her harp-swinging tactic. She began to play it instead, infusing her divine power into the music to slow the foreign gods' attacks.
This balance was only temporary. When one of the foreign gods broke free from the music's control and rushed toward Fula, wreathed in flames, she had no time to defend herself.
Just as the flames were about to scorch her, a clear yet massive waterfall descended from the sky, engulfing the fire god and the other Kasnian gods. The flames were extinguished with a hiss, leaving only small wisps of white steam, as brief as the attackers' screams.
When Fula opened her eyes again, not a single god remained around her.
Only then did Lotus emerge from the river, hovering above the ground. Her elegant fishtail swayed from side to side as her eyes met the Goddess of Performing Arts'.
Oh, it was a god she had spoken with before.
Having escaped death, Fula cheerfully greeted the major god and asked expectantly, "You've come to Akhet. Does this mean the divine war is about to end?"
"I have come to end it," Lotus said succinctly. "How are your sensory abilities with divine power?"
"Well, I wouldn't dare compare myself to a higher god, but among the subordinate gods, I rank near the top."
Otherwise, back when she was in the mortal realm, she wouldn't have been the first to sense Lotus's awakening.
Lotus nodded. "You'll do."
Fula: "Eh?"
And just like that, the Goddess of Performing Arts was conscripted.
The objects symbolizing royal authority were mostly stored in the royal palace.
The crown and scepter were one thing. As treasures passed down for a thousand years, they were both valuable and heavy, only brought out for formal ceremonies and rituals. They were normally kept in the royal treasury, so dismantling them wouldn't be conspicuous.
But the throne was different. It sat openly in the royal court. Even with the Princess absent from Akhet, the nobles and officials conducted their business facing that empty seat. It couldn't just be dismantled on a whim.
For this reason, Alyuin had written a letter for Lotus to carry, stating that dismantling the throne was the Princess's own wish. If necessary, the lady-in-waiting Lorja was free to turn the entire palace upside down.
Lotus: "..."
This must be what it feels like to dismantle a house by imperial decree.
In any case, Lotus, in her spiritual form, led the Goddess of Performing Arts floating into the palace, heading straight for the private royal treasury. If they could find any clues in the crown and scepter, they wouldn't need to use Alyuin's letter and could leave after dismantling them without alerting anyone.
Unfortunately, things didn't go as planned. No matter how the Goddess of Performing Arts sensed them, the crown and scepter were merely ordinary human artifacts. They were indeed stunningly beautiful, precious, and rare, symbolizing the supreme power of the mortal world, but that was all.
There was nothing extra hidden within them, let alone the key from the secret lore.
Lotus was prepared for this and sighed. "Let's go check the throne."
At this hour, the royal court was empty, with guards only stationed around the building's perimeter. The two deities floated into the hall with ease.
Fula closed her eyes to sense it, her brow furrowing in conflict after a moment.
Lotus, who had lost all her sensory abilities, looked at her. "What is it?"
Fula said hesitantly, "There is something, but it's not in the shape of a key. It's more like an oddly shaped stone."
That must be it, Lotus thought. As everyone knows, a key doesn't necessarily have a conventional shape. Anything can be called a key.
If one were so inclined, one could even point to a person and call them a key, as long as they could open something.
Although she couldn't be certain yet, still—
A moment later, Lotus, in the guise of the lady-in-waiting Lorja, stood before the main gate of the royal palace, holding the Princess's token.
"I need to see Motis."
the dark-haired lady-in-waiting said, her tone calm and unquestionable.
The order from the Princess caused a great stir among Motis, the old noble Bodoer who arrived later, and Carlton of the Pragmatist Faction.
Motis concealed his bewilderment with a cold expression, Carlton offered no immediate opinion, and the elderly noble frowned deeply. "Even if Her Highness says so, this is the royal throne."
The reason for dismantling it was difficult to explain, so Alyuin had simply stated in the letter the existence of a royal secret, saying frankly that she needed what her ancestors had sealed within the throne.
The officials remaining in the royal city had no reason to object.
It was just that this throne, forged at the founding of Solancia, had been moved from the old capital of Yilulaila to the present-day Akhet. It was engraved with the names of every Solancian king, a piece of the kingdom's history and the embodiment of royal authority. There was no treasure more precious.
Motis and Carlton were fine, but the old noble Bodoer was truly in a difficult position.
Lotus said calmly, "The royal ancestors sealed it in the throne so that one day their descendants could retrieve it, did they not?"
"Alyuin will have a new throne, beginning with her."
Bodoer gave a wry smile. "You are right... Please, follow me, my lady."
Declining the officials' suggestion to find a craftsman to dismantle the throne, Lotus closed the doors to the royal court. She condensed her pale blue divine power into a thin, sharp blade and, guided by the location the Goddess of Performing Arts had sensed, carefully made an incision. It was as easy as cutting a cake.
Finally, the tip of the blade cut into an empty space.
There was indeed a small hollow space within the throne's base. Lotus proceeded to dismantle half the throne and retrieve the "key" placed inside.
Just as the Goddess of Performing Arts had said, it was an irregular black stone. It was crystalline but opaque, its texture indiscernible, seeming to be nothing more than a rather pretty, ordinary stone.
The River Goddess thought this as she turned the stone over.
The next moment, Lotus's expression faltered, and her fingertips tightened.
On the face of the black stone, a simple word was carved.
To the ancient Solancians—and the ancient Solancian gods—it would have been an unfamiliar cluster of runes, exceptionally neat and simple at best, but Lotus was very familiar with it.
"Jadaar."
Jadaar Lake, west of Yilulaila, the sacred lake of Solancian legend, said to be the most striking blue chalcedony on the Yilu River Goddess's neck.
And now, "Jadaar," written in a modern script, was clearly engraved on the stone's surface.
The Goddess of Performing Arts peered at it curiously from the side. "There's something carved on it. Is it a rune? Or writing?"
Lotus closed her palm over it and said impassively, "It seems this is it. Thank you, Fula."
"It was nothing. Even without me, you would have figured it out," the Goddess of Performing Arts said, shifting her attention and plucking her harp strings, slightly embarrassed.
Lotus stared at her closed hand, lost in thought.
Of course, she recognized her own handwriting.
Pointing to Jadaar Lake... Did my past self leave this?
It seems I'll have to make a trip to Yilulaila.
After bidding farewell to Motis, who had been asking about the Princess's recent situation, and seeing the Goddess of Performing Arts off, Lotus carefully examined the black stone in her mermaid incarnation's hand while her main body explained the situation to Alyuin.
"It points to Jadaar Lake," Lotus's main body said. "I'll go take a look now."
She and the Princess had been to the shores of Jadaar Lake before. A school of giant fish had surfaced to give them a warm welcome. The scene had been both shocking and bizarre, leaving a rather deep impression on Lotus.
Alyuin immediately said, "I'll—"
She stopped before she could finish the sentence. Although Solancia and Kasnie were still in a standoff, she could not leave Surinia. It was her responsibility.
Lotus gently caressed the Princess's cheek and said softly, "This is a message I left for myself. There shouldn't be any problems. Don't worry."
Alyuin was noncommittal.
So much time had passed, and there were too many variables. Even if the writing on the stone belonged to Lotus, there was no guarantee that the so-called key's purpose was truly as the secret lore described. What if it was meant for an enemy to see?
Seeing Alyuin's expression, Lotus could more or less guess what she was thinking. She couldn't help but chuckle, and with a slight pressure from the hand on the Princess's cheek, she gently kissed the corner of her tightly pressed lips.
After the kiss, Lotus and Alyuin rested their foreheads together. Lotus said slowly, "There won't be any problems. Perhaps the answers to many things can be found there."
Alyuin gazed into those blue chalcedony eyes.
After a moment, the corner of her lips, now a deeper red from the kiss, curved into a captivating smile. "Mm."
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