Myths Reawakened

Sun and moon shared the sky, which blended with the ocean. In the deep blue expanse was a hidden island that had been lost in history.

The oasis was covered in overly large vegetation. The vines that were a hundred meters in width coiled around the island, rooted in the rock at the bottom of the sea and converging into a pillar that reached into the sky. From afar, the vines connected the ocean and the sky, propping the dome up like the arm of a giant. The overwhelming presence was oppressive.

Nature propped up the sky, and the sun and the moon shared the sky. Facing such great, esoteric power, humans seemed as insignificant as a dust particle.

With the sky as the foundation, the Life Alliance was once established in this place. The magnificent, expansive palace had been worn by time, leaving behind only broken tablets, rusty weapons, and mysterious runes that could not be translated, quietly telling the tale of the Life Alliance’s past glory and legends.

It was a ruin and a symbol, a burial site for the predecessors who had met their demise in pursuit of evolution.

A few figures floated up the vines and soared toward the sky, led by one poor, unlucky fellow—no, by an original inhabitant of the Abyss, pursuer of Darkness, and the prime candidate for the third subordinate god, the Devourer.

It was Solsknar, the Abyssal Python.

While he had experienced many failures at Wayne’s hands, Solsknar was a household name in the Divine Realm of Darkness. As a strong individual who was closest to becoming the third subordinate god, his future held endless possibilities. Even the Goddess of Darkness’s two subordinate gods, the Listener and the Avenger, had to show him respect.

Everyone saw Solsknar as the third subordinate god; only he needed a little more time to solidify his foundation.

Wherever there were people, there were politics. The Goddess of Darkness was no exception. The goddess was too distant a figure, and the subordinate gods were too arrogant. While the three stood above and beyond everyone’s reach, Solsknar became the most attractive, ideal target for investment.

They couldn’t go wrong with earning his goodwill before he became a subordinate god.

Solsknar didn’t accept every investment when so many were eager to invest in him. Instead, he raised the bar and only built connections with the best of them. In the end, he decided on five companions who would fight alongside him.

They were companions rather than lackeys. He had personally invited Vichy, the previous Darkness Knight, and she would never serve him as a lackey when she had been the Goddess’s chosen knight. She had become his ally instead.

Solsknar couldn’t be drier behind the ears. He had been through the war between Hell and the Abyss and understood people. He called the other four allies rather than lackeys as well for appearances’ sake.

In addition to Vichy, among the four other allies, two hailed from the Abyss and were Solsknar’s fellow compatriots, while the other two were veterans from the Divine Realm, both demigods.

The two demigods from the Divine Realm were Sid and Gauche. They started as humans in the Chosen Land and later went down the evolution path of darkness elves. The two demigods from the Abyss were Sai and Hayner, and they were worthy of some descriptions.

The original inhabitants of the Abyss came with different shapes and forms. There were black pythons like Solsknar and half-spiders like Mattea. Sai and Hayner looked more humanoid, no different from the humans of the Chosen Land at first glance, but looking closely, one would notice the twin sisters’ strange proportions and inhuman traits.

They stood over two meters tall, with their torso taking up half of their height. Their six thin arms, hanging down from their sides, were particularly slim. They had black scleras and red eyes. Inside their mouth were rows of fangs and a snake-like forked tongue.

Despite their unusual appearance, they were fundamentally beautiful. The courageous ones might still find them attractive.

Their appearance reflected their complex bloodlines. They were related to many species in the Abyss. The past three generations... Well, no one could tell how the breeding worked. It was complicated.

“Unfortunately, Vichy isn’t here, or she’ll get her share today,” Gauche lamented without a lamenting tone. Were she here, they would get a smaller share. It was a good thing that Vichy was absent.

Sai and Hayner nodded. While they kept up the appearance of being close to the quiet and reserved Vichy, they didn’t like her.

Who are you pulling that face for? If you think you’re too good for us, why don’t you keep going as the Darkness Knight? Why did you fake your death and leave the Chosen Land?

“Ahem!” Solsknar coughed to interrupt the unpleasant conversation, letting out a sigh. “Vichy sacrificed herself for us. She was a loyal knight who held to her principles and never betrayed her own. I hope you’ll continue to respect her.”

Since their leader had spoken, the four demigods stopped their sarcastic remarks.

“Solsknar, is Vichy really dead?” Sid asked. “In the Chosen Land? Hasn’t she faked her death again?”

“I’m certain that she’s dead.” Solsknar shook his head. He had been trying to contact Vichy, but never got a response. Given her chivalrous spirit and professionalism, her being off the radar had to mean she had been killed in action.

She couldn’t have jumped ship and cut off contact with Solsknar because she didn’t want her new superior to misunderstand her, could she? That would be too un-chosen-knight-like! Vichy wasn’t that kind of person.

“It’s not easy to become a subordinate god. All this time, I’d been too arrogant because I had no competition. I forgot that subordinate gods only became subordinate gods by shedding blood...”

Solsknar murmured to himself. He had asked the Listener and the Avenger about what trials they had weathered to become subordinate gods. They had sighed in lamentation. One of them broke into a bitter smile, while the other shook her head without a word. They told Solsknar not to ask too much since he would find out one day.

The goddess had Her plan.

While the two subordinate gods had not put it into words, Solsknar was no fool. He could make an educated guess based on their expressions.

Subordinate gods were avatars wielding the authority of Darkness for the goddess, second only to the goddess Herself. It was obvious how difficult the trials they had overcome were. Their reluctance to talk about it must stem from the close calls they had had.

Thinking back to the easy life he had led, Solsknar realized the issue. He had encountered no pushback and lacked experience in weathering trials of blood and fire. A subordinate god who had ascended like that wouldn’t go far, which was why the goddess had found him a competitor in the human world who also had the power to devour.

“I have a rival. He’s strong, so strong that I have to do my best,” Solsknar said solemnly. “The last time, I underestimated him and got Vichy killed. I won’t lose again.”

The demigods nodded in agreement and curiously asked about his competition. Unfortunately, Solsknar didn’t know enough about Wayne to give an insightful analysis.

“He won’t be a problem. He hasn’t even stepped into the Divine Realm, while you’ve acquired a territory in Hell and even located the Life Alliance’s legacy with the leads you received. You’ve outpaced him by a great margin...” Sid smiled. “He would be better off not making an appearance. If he shows up before you, he’ll become your stepping stone as you become a subordinate god.”

“Well said!”

The others agreed, and Solsknar couldn’t help but nod, too.

Thinking of his bright future, he said with a smile, “Speaking of which, I should be thanking him. If not for his wake-up call, I would still be struggling with Thunder and Storm, forgetting that what suits me most is the best option.”

He felt good about himself. Some time ago, he had won an investment in Hell, getting a part of Lord of Gluttony’s territory to establish a base. While it wasn’t a large land, he had the power to expand his territory by bullying the weak and avoiding the strong.

Good news came in pairs. During his conversation with the Listener, he had found out more about the Life Alliance’s ruins. By going through the back door, he bypassed the Goddess of Nature, the Goddess of Sun, and the Goddess of Moonlight and found his way in.

The Listener didn’t say why the Goddess of Darkness had the key to the back door. Her reluctance gave Solsknar an inkling about the truth, so he didn’t ask. Why should he ask more questions when the buffet was right within reach? He should just eat and drink his fill.

After his failure with consuming Thunder and Storm, Solsknar learned that there were things that couldn’t be forced. Just because he had an advantage thanks to his species didn’t mean that he could do whatever he wanted. He would be wise to choose what suited him the most.

This time, Solsknar set his eyes on the Laws of Darkness in the ruin rather than taking everything for himself. He brought his investors and lackeys with him.

Back when they invested in him, he had promised that they would all benefit as long as he got something for himself. Credibility was important.

He lamented that Vichy had invested most but died unceremoniously before she could get a bonus. He also lost Vichy’s investment and could no longer use Twilight Despair.

Nevertheless, just as lowly thugs always went through a number of their bosses, so too did every boss experience the premature demises of a few subordinates. Let bygones be bygones. The living had to look at the future. Vichy was fated to pass away before today.

Solsknar looked at the future and couldn’t feel better.

There were things that were too outrageous for him to tell his four subordinate investors. Becoming a subordinate god was no longer his primary goal. He didn’t want to serve the Goddess of Darkness, but to become Her ally.

The ruins of the Life Alliance would be his first significant capital. With Hell as his springboard, he might just become the demon god of Hell.

Hell had been suffering under the rule of the Seven Demon Lords for too long. The demons would finally welcome the demon god they would pledge to!

By becoming the demon god, he would be the Goddess of Darkness’s equal and could be Her ally. Why would he want to be Her subordinate then? Besides, with them being equal, he could push further.

He was single, and the Goddess of Darkness hadn’t married. She was dignified, graceful, and holy in an authoritative manner. She wasn’t just a goddess, but a goddess!

The thought excited him.

“Strange, this place shouldn’t exist in the Chosen Land...” Gauche said. “We’ve entered as ourselves with our full power, like we were in the Divine Realm. According to the Listener, though, this isn’t part of the Divine Realm but the Chosen Land.”

“No, this place has to be connected to the Chosen Land. The first faiths of the Life Alliance originated from the Chosen Land...”

“This is a forged space...”

“Be careful. If we aren’t weakened, the goddesses won’t be weakened, either. If we run into any of the three goddesses of the Life Alliance, we’ll be in big trouble.”

“Don’t worry,” Solsknar said confidently. “I came prepared. Even if we run into a goddess, we’ll get out intact.”

“How so?”

“Hahaha...” Solsknar wagged his eyebrows. After hearing his explanation, Sai and Hayner, the Abyss inhabitants, broke into smiles.

***

City of the Sky, moon.

The City of the Sky was the Goddess of Moonlight’s palace in the human world and one of the three altars of the Life Alliance. It was a sacred site to the Church of Moonlight.

Before establishing Her Divine Realm, Siluk, the Goddess of Moonlight, had resided on the moon. Whenever She remembered that She had a palace in the human world, She would go there via Her Holy Maiden.

The last time he was here, Wayne had been kept outside because he couldn’t find a way in. This time, he was teleported right to the entrance of the palace, greeted by a crystal-clear ice sculpture. The palace appeared elegant and streamlined, like the accumulation of countless small stars. It adorned the cold silver desert, dignified and mysterious.

The entrance was a familiar arc of moonlight. As Wayne stepped in, the frozen palace slowly awakened, revealing the blade-like spire that pierced into the sky.

The walls were etched with different phases of the moon, and silverish vines wrapped around the circular pillars. Every time someone passed by, they radiated a clear light and faint fragrance.

The quiet, serene palace was like a celestial realm on the moon, standing above the mortal realm in defiance of material influence. It was in line with Wayne’s impression of Siluk.

There was no living creature in the palace except for the phoenix acting as a light source in the sky. It belonged to the Goddess of Sun and had a natural affinity with fire elements. It looked down at the mysterious visitor, trying to remember where it had seen that face.

Wayne looked up and waved at the phoenix.

Many of his skills were related to the phoenix, including flight, heat vision, and an incredible affinity with fire elements. Technically, they had stemmed from his fourteen vengeful spirits, who had the phoenix bloodline. That would make phoenixes one of his investors, too.

Well, he didn’t exactly get his fire affinity from phoenixes, since without them, he would still have an incredible affinity with fire elements. He and Śār Hesione, who represented water, would be a hot-and-cold pair.