TGS - Chapter 195
Chapter 195: The Primordial Water
The hazy light of the lake shone from above, its shimmering ripples reflecting on the surface of the temple's stone pillars like a pool of shattered jade being poured down.
Juvenile giant fish swam around Lotus, clearly not understanding why the silver mermaid was so still. When they saw her open her eyes, they immediately scattered. After observing for a moment and seeing no other movement, they curiously swam back.
The giant fish could not see the temple; in their eyes, nothing had happened. But Lotus's state of mind was completely different from before she had entered the temple at the bottom of the lake.
The memories that had been sealed away when she ascended to godhood now returned to her mind, as if they had never been forgotten.
Especially the final scene of her memories—Alyuin leaning silently in her arms, her chest pierced and her body covered in blood—was as clear as if it had happened yesterday.
"This is my... past," Lotus murmured to herself, her consciousness fully returning.
At the same time, the River Goddess's main body in Surinia stirred, and the light returned to her eyes.
It had only been a short while since her main body had severed the connection. Alyuin, who had been waiting by her side, felt her heart settle with relief at the sight.
"You're back. What—"
Before Alyuin could finish, Lotus had already raised her arms and pulled her into a tight, slightly urgent embrace.
Through the fabric, the body in her arms was supple and warm—even slightly hot compared to Lotus's own temperature.
Lotus held her even tighter and said softly, "...Alyuin."
Alyuin had rarely seen Lotus so urgent, to the point of losing her composure. The last time had been in Senna City, when she had nearly died from the snake's potent venom.
She thought for a moment but said nothing. The two of them held each other in silence.
Lotus was nearly swept away by the surging emotions from her memories, but she quickly realized that those events had happened a thousand years ago.
More than a thousand years had passed—an eternity of change.
At this moment, Alyuin was right in front of her, whole and completely safe.
The strength of Lotus's embrace gradually loosened.
Only then did Alyuin ask, "What happened?"
Lotus looked up and saw worry and confusion in the princess's eyes.
She wanted to speak but didn't know where to begin.
With her memories returned, Lotus could roughly guess how the city lord of the past had become the princess of today.
Before Solancia was founded, there was indeed no concept of reincarnation, but the belief that humans had souls was an ancient one.
It wasn't just the city-state of Solan; the people living on this land at the time all believed the Yilu River was sacred. One prevalent belief held that after death, a person's soul would sink into the Yilu River until it dissolved into nothingness and returned to nature. This was one of the prototypes for the Death God's underworld mechanism and the historical origin of Solancia's funerary baptismal rites.
A thousand years ago, this belief couldn't be considered a myth, so naturally, it would not become reality.
But Lotus's death caused a small change.
When Lotus was human, her divine power came from the sapphire embedded in the Ouroboros Mirror. At the time, she didn't know what it was, but Lotus, now a god, understood it perfectly.
A godhead. The godhead of the River Goddess.
It belonged to Lotus, and likely due to some kind of resonance, she could wield the power of the godhead even when she was still human.
Based on this, Lotus was, in theory, a god with a human body and soul, possessing divine authority. However, she was limited by the strength of her body and soul, and because the mythology had not yet fully formed, she could not unleash its true power.
When Lotus used power far beyond what she could bear, commanding the Yilu River to change its course and crush the Nibet army, her life force and soul were severely damaged. Her body died from the exhaustion.
But at the same time, freed from the constraints of her physical shell, Lotus instinctively used her authority to protect Alyuin's soul, allowing that speck of light, which should have dissipated, to coalesce and remain.
Lotus guessed that for the thousand-plus years after that final battle, their two souls had probably stayed together. It was only when Lotus was about to awaken, her soul entering the statue in the temple of Kadera, that Alyuin returned to the royal family, born as the princess.
...And all this, should she really tell Alyuin?
Lotus hesitated.
Alyuin had no memories of the past. Regardless of whether they would ever return, at least for now, she didn't know.
It wasn't necessary for her to know about those heavy, sorrowful past events.
Lotus lowered her gaze and said lightly, "I remembered some things, about you and me from a long time ago."
Alyuin raised an eyebrow, as if she sensed something.
"Like something dangerous?"
"They were very good things." Lotus turned her head and kissed the corner of Alyuin's lips, deepening it until they were both slightly breathless. Then she continued, "For example, that I like you, and you like me."
The former was true, and the latter... should also be true.
Although the city lord from a thousand years ago had never truly said it out loud, based on Lotus's understanding of Alyuin and looking back at her past life's behavior, it was clearly a sign of hidden affection. Even the way she sometimes dropped her city lord's airs to act spoiled was exactly the same. Of course, she probably wasn't as practiced as the current Alyuin, who had been doing it since childhood.
Thinking of this, Lotus couldn't help but smile.
The sorrow and panic that had arisen from her memories also slowly faded.
At least for now, they were fine.
While her main body embraced and kissed the princess, Lotus split off half of her consciousness, which stood lost in thought before the stone platform in the ethereal temple.
Lotus had previously thought that she herself had written the word "Jadaar" on the black stone a thousand years ago.
But when her memories returned, she discovered that the inscription was far more ancient. She had merely found it and didn't even know its purpose. As for why it was later hidden in the throne as the royal family's ultimate weapon, it was most likely a coincidence.
Many years passed. Her cherished red-gold bracelet was left in the old capital, Yilulaila, ignored in the local temple. The Ouroboros bronze mirror was valued even less; if the young Alyuin hadn't taken a liking to it at first sight, it would probably still be gathering dust in the royal treasury.
Instead, it was the black stone, with its unknown origins and unremarkable appearance, that was passed down as the ultimate key to resolving crises. The thought was truly ironic.
But.
Lotus stared at the stone slab with the black stone embedded in it for a long while. She raised a fingertip, and her divine power lifted the slab. It flipped over in mid-air and settled back into its original place.
On what had previously been the back of the slab, three lines of modern text were starkly inscribed, all in Lotus's own handwriting.
The "Jadaar" inscribed on that black stone was actually one of the words that made up these sentences!
【It is the primordial, it is chaos, it is the beginning of all things.】
【The master of this Jadaar temple, It is all things itself.】
【It is the Primordial Water, its name is—】
Facing the slab, her expression having turned solemn, Lotus recited in a level voice: "Lotus."
The Primordial Water had no name.
As an existence on the level of a Creator God, it had no name, and thus no self-awareness. It would not truly manifest from myth into reality and affect the balance.
But now, the words on the stone slab were written with perfect clarity.
The Primordial Water was recorded as a conscious deity, and its name was Lotus.
Lotus, who also bore this name, lowered her head to look at the slab and did not move for a long time.
After a long while, she let out a sigh.
"So that's how it is."
Lotus examined the temple carefully, led the juvenile giant fish out of the fissure at the bottom of the lake, and bid them farewell.
She left Lake Jadaar, but instead of immediately having her avatar return to her main body, she ascended straight up. The clouds grew closer until they were left below her feet. The earth receded, mountains and rivers becoming mere lines of varying shades, until the entire landscape condensed into a miniature, model-like map.
Through the layers of clouds and mist, Lotus looked down upon all of Solancia.
【Spacetime】 had brought her here.
Then, could it take her to the past again, like a fish swimming back upstream?
The answer to that question was yes.
It had to be yes. Otherwise, that stone slab could not exist, and the Primordial Water named Lotus could not exist.
Perhaps she had misunderstood before. That ethereal temple might not just exist between illusion and reality, but also flicker in and out of existence in the cracks of time. It could disappear completely, or it could become a real divine domain.
【Spacetime】 had said it was the only chance.
Lotus turned her head and looked in the direction of the Kingdom of the Gods.
In the Kingdom of the Gods, inside a white pavilion by a stream, the Sheep God Sheli Pu was having a friendly discussion with the God of Medicine.
Currently, the Sheep God was, theoretically, still a Sanur god.
This was because the proper procedures had not yet been completed. She had to wait for the sheep-worshipping Sanur tribe to build her temple in Solancia; only then would Sheli Pu truly become a member of the Solancian pantheon.
As the only two gods in the future pantheon who specialized in healing, Sheli Pu and the God of Medicine actually had little in common. After all, the former healed with divine power, while the latter healed by making medicine.
But the God of Medicine coveted Sheli Pu's wool. He was very curious: would using the Sheep God's wool as an ingredient produce miraculous effects? In order to pluck a few strands of wool, Askle persistently sought out Sheli Pu to chat, and over time, they had become somewhat friendly.
This time, Askle had come for the wool again.
As soon as he stated his purpose, Sheli Pu said timidly, "I'm sorry, I can't give you any."
Askle said, "Really? We can trade. I don't need to pluck it. If you have any that has fallen out naturally..."
Her anger overcoming her timidity, Sheli Pu snapped, "I don't shed!"
Askle was deeply apologetic. "Ah, I'm sorry. I thought beast-headed gods molted."
Obviously, it was another day of returning empty-handed.
Just then, a level voice came from the edge of the pavilion. "Sheli Pu."
The Sheep God turned her head and was startled. "Lady Lotus?"
The silver mermaid emerged from the stream, her tail fin breaking the surface. It lay flat on the current, lifting slightly before slapping down again.
Lotus was concise. "Are you well?"
"I-I'm fine," Sheli Pu stammered.
Lotus said, "Please come with me. I need to borrow your godhead for something, if you would."
Her godhead. For a time, this chief god had held it in her hands every day, so Sheli Pu was quite accepting of the request. Without even asking what it was for, she said, "Alright. Should we leave now?"
"If it's convenient," Lotus nodded.
In the space of a few sentences, the two gods swiftly flew off into the distance, one after the other.
The God of Medicine stood there, stunned. "..."
Wasn't she a little too agreeable about her godhead?
Just a moment ago, you weren't even willing to trade a single strand of wool!
Regardless of what the God of Medicine thought, the silver mermaid avatar and the Sheep God rushed all the way to Surinia. After Lotus's main body and avatar successfully merged into one, she asked Sheli Pu to present her godhead.
The authority contained within this godhead was quite varied.
What Lotus needed was just one aspect that its owner considered the most useless—time.
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