TGS - Chapter 201
Chapter 201: The Self
When Suojia arrived near the divine battle space with Alyuin, the other major gods had also mostly gathered. The gods sensed the divine power fluctuations faintly transmitting to the outside world from the point where the space was opened. They looked at each other, the atmosphere tense and solemn.
Generally speaking, battles within a divine battle space would not affect reality; otherwise, there would be no point in creating such a region.
Yet at this moment, vast and formless divine power overflowed, affecting the surrounding natural environment.
Large swathes of clouds gathered here, with thick gray clouds forming a vortex. The winds were strong, as if responding to a storm. The Alitu Snow Mountains trembled with the magnitude of the fluctuations, and accumulated snow and broken ice rustled down, growing more intense. Great plumes of snow mist and chunks of ice and snow, like roaring beasts, created an unprecedented avalanche.
It was fortunate that this area was the coldest place in Solancia, remote and uninhabited. The Alitu Snow Peaks were a forbidden zone even among forbidden zones for humans, so no one had the chance to witness this terrifying cataclysm.
But if the effects continued to expand, that might not remain the case.
"It seems Perseus, as a Creator God, is more troublesome than imagined. Otherwise, the battle wouldn't have reached this state." The God of the Sky was the first to arrive. When he first got here, he could still get close to the point where the battlefield was opened, but now he had to retreat some distance to avoid the indiscriminate, frenzied divine power.
This was Solancia, the home ground of the Primordial Water.
The fact that they could fight on even terms was enough to show that even compared to other beings at the Creator God level, Perseus was not a weak opponent.
However, based on the subtle differences in the overflowing divine power, one could sense that Lotus had the upper hand. If this continued, victory was only a matter of time.
The major gods discussed in low voices, poised to unleash their divine power at any moment. Whether they could help or not, they needed to be ready to act immediately if called upon.
Alyuin still stood in the enlarged dessert basket, her hands resting on the rim, staring intently at the opening point in mid-air.
A person with such a powerful aura, even standing in a woven basket and holding its edge, could give the illusion that she was actually in the royal court, leaning against the railing of the highest golden pavilion and jade tower, looking down.
Although the reality was that the Princess was in a basket, a human unable to hover in the sky on her own, she was out of place among the surrounding major gods.
—But Alyuin did indeed see it.
She saw the intersection of the mythical land and the real world, something that should not be witnessed by human eyes.
Suojia noticed the focus of the Princess's gaze and suddenly remembered that she had been in Surinia in her spiritual form just now. Logically, Alyuin shouldn't have been able to hear her muttering to herself, nor should she have been able to see her form clearly, but the opposite was true.
And now, the Princess could personally observe the existence of the battlefield's opening point. She had a sense of sight equivalent to that of a deity.
Lotus must have left behind a sufficient amount of divine power lenses before she left.
The Goddess of the Earth didn't pay it much mind. She withdrew her gaze and continued to watch the fluctuations emanating from within the divine battle space with a solemn expression.
Within the mythical space, the scene was completely different from how it had been at the start of the divine battle.
The sky, the earth, the mountains and rivers, the clouds and vegetation, including the Alitu Snow Mountains where Lotus had once stood—everything that replicated the natural world had dissipated into nothingness under the influence of the Creator Gods' power.
Some things were annihilated, while others regressed to a state before the birth of all things. Thus, the divine battle space was now a dim, hazy gray, as if it had returned to the dawn of creation. Occasionally, a rift would be torn in the spatial barrier in some direction, leaking divine power, only to be repaired perfectly in the blink of an eye.
In this space, "creation" and "destruction" coexisted.
Amidst a chaotic gray mist, Lotus was searching for Perseus's hiding place.
Actually, it wasn't entirely correct to say this was Lotus's home ground.
It was true at the beginning. The divine battle space completely replicated Solancia, so Lotus was more or less at ease in this space.
However, Perseus had used some kind of divine art to move her old home, the Kasnie Sacred Pillar Island, over.
It had to be said, this move was very effective.
Although the island had already been destroyed by the God of the Sky during his earlier inspection, with its pillars toppled and not a blade of grass growing, Perseus could still pay a small price to move the mythical island here to provide herself with a boost.
In any case, all the other high-ranking gods of Kasnie were dead. She could do as she pleased with the sacred island, using it as a tool to provide a bonus.
Lotus, however, could not follow suit and move the Kingdom of the Gods. Besides, she was already on Solancian territory and had the home-ground advantage, so an additional boost would be meaningless.
The outcome of this divine battle could ultimately only depend on the individual abilities of the two Creator Gods.
Now, the victor was about to be decided.
Perseus was very strong.
She was one of the most ancient deities, born in the same era as En and Suojia. Even though the Kasnie creation myth appeared later, her divine power level was closer to the former.
At the same time, the former Goddess of the Mind's techniques faintly contained the aura of the Nibet civilization's pantheon. It was highly likely a trace of aura she had managed to preserve when that civilization fell, which was finally being put to use here.
It was precisely because of this strength—these combined powers that could barely contend with Solancia's Primordial Water—that Perseus was able to fight Lotus to a standstill in the early stages.
The power of chaos fought a life-or-death battle against the power of chaos.
One side possessed the "light" attribute of Klotho, attached to the stolen name, which made it awkward for the user of this power. It manifested more as a strange, bewitching force that could delude minds and sow mental confusion.
The other side possessed the vastness of the Primordial Water, the water-base that could nurture the most ancient of civilizations, the water system that covered a kingdom. Her name was the most perfect fusion and amalgamation of water and chaos.
The two chaotic divine powers gave no ground, their killing intent palpable, ultimately leading to the result the major gods outside witnessed—divine power fluctuations even overflowed the space specially created for the divine battle. Inside the space, the world had essentially been destroyed and rebuilt, then shattered from a bizarre form and disintegrated again. This process had cycled several times, and they were still evenly matched.
The problem, however, was that the power of the Kasnie civilization was waning.
While the Kasnie Creator God was sealed, Alyuin had led her army in battle, forcing the Kasnie army into continuous retreat.
The losses from these battles, large and small, could not yet shake the foundations of the civilization—unless Alyuin, as she had with the Sanur, invaded their territory, destroyed their army in battle, and killed their royalty and priests...
Only then would Perseus's power decline like that of the Wolf God Huracan, who had staked everything on a single throw.
Nevertheless, the retreat of the Kasnie army did have a slight impact.
As one waned, the other waxed. Lotus gradually gained the upper hand in the battle.
The closest she came to victory was when she used chaos to slice Perseus in two at the waist, annihilating half of her opponent's body in an instant.
Before the annihilation could reach the other half of her body, Perseus vanished, turning into a hidden mist and concealing herself within the dim chaos.
As they both wielded the authority of Creator Gods, the current primordial chaotic environment, with no heaven, no earth, and no living things, was actually quite suitable for her to heal and recover her divine power—and, of course, it was suitable for Lotus as well.
On the surface, if they dragged it out until both had recovered and then started a new round of battle, it would just be a repeat of the previous process. Lotus's strength was what it was; Perseus still wouldn't be able to win.
But with a god like Perseus as the opponent, the uncertainties were far greater than that.
Lotus didn't want to drag it out.
To avoid any unforeseen complications, she had to drag the Kasnie Creator God out of her hiding place.
The Solancian Creator God half-closed her eyes. Her fingertips, as if plucking strings, traced shallow arcs in the air. Fine droplets of primordial water emerged from the chaotic mist, spontaneously transforming, structuring, and reassembling themselves.
Within a few breaths, vast natural phenomena rose from the chaos. The space returned to its original appearance, and beneath her feet were once again the snow-covered ice peaks wrapped in a sea of clouds.
The mist of chaos receded, and Perseus, who had been hiding within it, had nowhere to hide in the brand-new world.
Perseus's injuries had not yet healed.
Even for a Creator God, self-healing abilities were stretched thin when fighting another Creator God. The blow from Lotus that had destroyed half her body had not only annihilated the superficial shell but had also cost her more than half of her divine power.
Lotus approached her.
Her toes touched the snow, leaving no prints behind. Lotus looked at the enemy before her, now at the end of her rope. Every step was light and casual, as if unguarded, but in truth, she was secretly vigilant against a final, desperate counterattack.
Even now, Lotus still didn't know why Perseus had relentlessly targeted her and Alyuin, from the very beginning and all along. Could it be just because of the "special soul" the Goddess of the Mind had mentioned?
Lotus didn't understand, nor did she want to ask or think too much about it. She had no curiosity about the enemy's inner journey; she only wanted to destroy Perseus's existence as an individual.
Completely, thoroughly, leaving no room for anything else.
Lotus didn't want to ask, but Perseus seemed to have a strong desire to talk.
"You're going to kill me? You're going to kill me."
The half of her body that had been annihilated had not yet fully recovered. A gray mist of light slowly formed into a solid entity, with long, drifting wisps of mist trailing from the gap, as if stretching from the peak of the snow mountain all the way to its foot. The mist swirled as if it were alive.
If any human could see this scene, one wonders if they would be frightened half to death.
This Perseus was undoubtedly in a sorry state, yet the curve of her smile was the same as ever.
Lotus wouldn't try to figure out her thought process.
The power of chaos gathered behind Lotus, silently compressing in preparation for a fatal blow. The one opposite her was likely planning the same.
When both sides finished gathering their power, the two spheres of divine power, compressed to their limits, would collide like gray meteorites, deciding victory, defeat, life, and death. Everything would be settled.
Therefore, she would not be the least bit distracted by Perseus's words.
Perseus said in a low voice, "I planned so much, yet in the end, I still fell because of you. It was true a thousand years ago, and it's true a thousand years later."
Lotus's expression was cold. Hearing this, her brow didn't even twitch. She remained silent.
"But even at this point, I still can't bring myself to detest you. What about you? Do you hate me?"
Lotus: "..."
Lotus found these words a bit strange.
The Solancian Creator God didn't think she and Perseus needed to discuss hatred at this moment. In movies and dramas, this was usually a topic for opponents who had some kind of emotional entanglement.
What emotional entanglement did she have with Perseus?
None. Except for the fact that the other was the mastermind and driving force behind the assassination of Alyuin in her past life, and the enemy in both of Solancia's divine wars. With national and personal grudges all accounted for, discussing hatred at a time like this seemed superfluous.
So Lotus focused on gathering her power. Perhaps the indifference on her face was mistaken for an expression of hatred, as Perseus actually chuckled. "So you do hate me. That's good too. At least outside of myth, Perseus will be remembered—"
Lotus had to remind her, "You are Klotho now."
Perseus... Klotho froze.
"Besides, I detest you now, but that might not be the case later," Lotus said calmly. "Who would hate something that doesn't exist?"
The power gathering was nearing its end. Klotho's appearance, with her head bowed in silence, made Lotus doubt whether the enemy was actually amassing a final attack.
If not, this attack from Lotus would likely cause her to dissipate without any resistance.
Maybe half a divine core would be left?
When that time came, it must be destroyed completely at the first opportunity.
Just then, Klotho stood up.
Her appearance suddenly changed. The mist of light covering her body dispersed, and her face transformed in an instant like melting wax. Her deep blue eyes were veiled by a pale gold. This woman with black hair and honey-toned skin raised her eyes and looked at Lotus.
Her black hair was loose, and she was dressed in the style of the Solancian city-state era.
She was imitating Alyuin from a thousand years ago, when she was the lord of a city-state.
Lotus looked back, a gray light surging in the depths of her blue chalcedony eyes, like the flicker of anger rising in her heart.
At a time like this, what was she trying to do by taking on this appearance?
Yet her expression was still Perseus's unique, unchanging smile. It didn't seem like a deliberate attempt to confuse Lotus, but rather to provoke her and disrupt her emotions.
Lotus suppressed her anger.
But Klotho pointed to that face and said in a steady tone, "Then what will you always remember? Her, for example?"
More than that, we will always be together.
Lotus ignored her. In a decisive battle between two Creator Gods, a fight to the death was enough. She was in no mood to engage in an emotional dialogue with this person, especially one that was completely irrelevant.
The chaotic meteorite took shape behind her. Lotus lifted a fingertip and pointed it in Klotho's direction.
A vast torrent of gray light completely submerged the Creator God opposite her, triggering a chain of disintegration, including that forged face. In her final moment, Klotho seemed to say nothing and do nothing.
Her curtain call was entirely unfitting for a Creator God's exit. She simply disintegrated silently in the monstrous snow mist kicked up by the meteorite's fall.
Lotus promptly withdrew from the Alitu Snow Mountains, which had been destroyed as collateral damage. Her frost-blue eyes were locked on this space, preventing Klotho from leaving behind any tricks, like her divine core growing wings and escaping to incubate another Perseus in some other secret place.
In an instant, Lotus's gaze locked onto the edge of the explosive snow mist. A clump—or rather, half a clump—of bright gray light shot out from it, tracing an arc high in the sky.
Lotus raised her hand and beckoned, pulling it before her.
...It really was destroyed, leaving only half.
Lotus thought for a moment, cautiously added a layer of a chaotic god power field around herself, and then released ice and snow to freeze this half of a divine core.
Then, crack.
The divine core, along with the ice, turned to dust.
But just then, a tiny wisp of gray mist shot out from the scattering fragments, heading straight for Lotus.
The god power field seemed to have no effect. It passed through as easily as snow melting into water, but its final target was not Lotus's heavily protected divine core.
The gray mist drilled into the space between Lotus's eyebrows.
A whisper, light as mist, seemed to echo in her ears.
"I've lost, Lotus."
"But you won't win either."
"You won't remember her. You won't remember anything, including yourself."
The whispering voice was accompanied by the roar of a violent tide inside her mind.
This wisp of gray mist left by Klotho did not attempt to destroy the victor's divine core, nor did it try to control Lotus's consciousness or destroy her mind, as the Goddess of the Mind, Perseus, was best at. It did none of those things.
It only did one thing.
Bypassing the heavily guarded personality, emotions, and will within her mental domain, it opened a valve. Then, with no strength left, it completely dissipated.
Lotus's eyes went blank for a moment.
In that instant, the existence known as "divinity," which she had kept tightly sealed behind that valve, was suddenly unsealed.
The sea of divinity has no waves. It is as still as the deep sea, as dark as the abyss. It silently swept over and engulfed her entire mental world, drowning Lotus's own consciousness as well.
At the last moment, Lotus only had time to connect all the pieces.
So it was... meant to happen here.
Her consciousness sank, and the deep sea was deathly still.
Outside the divine battle space, the major gods noticed that the fluctuations of divine power had completely vanished. Everything had fallen silent.
The avalanche had long since stopped, and the abnormally formed vortex of clouds was also slowly dispersing. The sky was clear and bright, with a faint rainbow on the horizon.
"Is it over?"
Adia asked languidly.
The God of the Sky: "It should be. Let's wait a little longer."
Although they believed in their hearts that the victor must be Lotus, they still felt a little tense before the result was revealed.
Finally, the opening point of the divine battle space rotated and expanded, from a point to a ring, and then to a door—an archway large enough for someone to step through with ease.
A deity with silver hair, blue eyes, and snow-white robes walked out slowly, a silk scarf draped at her side, swaying gently.
The major gods all breathed a sigh of relief.
At the same time, a faint sense of understanding arrived, just as it had on the day the divine war began. It announced that Kasnie, and Sanur before it, no longer had the strength to fight. The divine war had come to an end.
We have to go back and get a good sleep after this!
The gods were joyous, but as Alyuin looked at Lotus by the archway, her expression froze.
Something was wrong.
How was Lotus... now?
Just then, the silver-haired deity's gaze swept over. It was faint, devoid of any emotion. For a moment, her figure seemed to briefly turn ethereal.
Alyuin's pupils contracted sharply.
"Lotus" seemed to be watching all of this from a third-person perspective, high above.
The body of the Solancian Creator God was gradually becoming ethereal, turning into a gray silhouette surrounded by waves of water, just like 【Destiny】 and 【Spacetime】.
This was merely a superficial change. More difficult to perceive, but more important, was the "web" that was slowly connecting beneath the silhouette.
It connected upwards to the dome of the sky and downwards to the other side of a distant planet. It even expanded outwards, to the galaxies beyond the heavens, to the vast universe. Solancia had not yet developed to the stage of recognizing the true world, but the true world had always been there.
"Lotus" was connecting with the rules of this world, until she completely transformed into an existence identical to Spacetime and Destiny, becoming a part of the rules.
When Lotus was still a river goddess, divinity did not represent this kind of transformation. But for a Creator God, divinity was the side completely opposite to personality, emotion, and self. It was the rules.
The rules do not need a self.
Just as a complete world does not need a creator with a self.
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