Myths Reawakened

When his old friend—Rognes, he meant—voluntarily entrusted him with the beautiful lady, Wayne couldn’t help but feel at a loss. He was someone with good self-awareness. He knew what would happen to the Goddess of Death’s thoughts should they fall into his hands.

That was troublesome. He would like to suggest Rognes stop throwing his goddess into a burning pit.

When Wayne lowered his head without a word, Rognes praised with a deepening smile, “Though you play dirty and fight dishonorably, I know the kind of person you are. For the goddess, you’ll willingly fall into the abyss of Hell and endure humiliation and judgment, becoming more demonic than a demon. The goddess hasn’t chosen the wrong person. You are an excellent knight.”

“It’s my honor to have a successor like you!”

“...”

Wayne looked around in confusion. He and Rognes were the only ones here, and there wasn’t a third Death Knight around, which meant that Rognes could only be speaking to him.

Yes, Rognes was right about him!

Hesione should learn from Rognes what being objective meant. Although Rognes didn’t have actual eyes, he had a good eye for people and made insightful observations.

“If I weren’t too weak, if the Divine Realm had not fallen, if the goddess had time to wait for me to keep growing, I wouldn’t have turned out like this. But now, I’ve even forgotten much of the chivalrous spirit.” Wayne sighed with a bitter smile. “I’ve disgraced you with my behavior, Senior Rognes.”

“No, I’m proud of you!”

Rognes was indeed quite blind. He evaluated Wayne’s strategy fairly and objectively and concluded that, compared to how Wayne had secured the most perfect victory by paying the minimum price, Rognes was nothing but a brainless thug.

Who wouldn’t want to be a hero with three Elemental HERO Stratos in the deck[1]? Wayne felt a strong envy. If not for his insufficient power, he would’ve loved to be a reckless man relying on brute force alone. Look at Batman. He had never once used his brain after sitting on the Mobius Chair[2]! Superman, despite having super intelligence, couldn’t be a bigger fool.

Rognes continued to praise Wayne, going so far that Wayne started feeling embarrassed. It was said that one shouldn’t strike a smiling face, so he definitely shouldn’t hurt Rognes for no good reason. He stopped parading Julia around like a homewrecker, instead behaving like an advocate of true love with integrity.

“Stop it, Rognes,” Wayne said seriously. “I believe it’s better to leave the goddess with you. I already hold a part of Her. Just in case, the eggs shouldn’t be left in the same basket.”

He really shouldn’t be entrusted with the goddess. He knew himself. If Rognes gave the goddess to him, he would extend his tentacles toward the history teacher with long, black hair, wearing black stockings and black heels with red soles. Once She woke up, She would most likely strangle Rognes to death with Her own hands.

“Stop, Wayne. I know what you’re thinking.”

“Huh?!”

“You’re planning to head to the Underworld with me to save the goddess, aren’t you?”

...Apologies, the thought has never occurred to me!

“I knew it.” Rognes chuckled. “I could tell what you’re thinking as a fellow Death Knight. You want the same as me. You can’t hide that from me.”

Fine, as long as you’re happy. Wayne sighed. “You’re right. I can’t hide anything from you.”

“But I refuse to let you do that!” Rognes said. “The Observer, the Judge, and the Executor have all betrayed the goddess. Although you’re powerful, you aren’t powerful enough to take on the three subordinate gods. It’s safer for you to stay here and take care of the goddess while I head to the Divine Realm.”

“Wait, parts of the goddess’s thoughts remain in the Divine Realm, right?”

“Yes.” Rognes reserved nothing from a fellow Death Knight. “Remaining there is the largest part of Her thoughts, while all other parts are scattered across the world. I don’t know exactly how many parts there are, but I know three of them.”

Rognes swung Shadow Nightmare to send Julia out of the grey area filled with Death energy.

Wayne raised an eyebrow. “There’s some in Julia’s body?”

“Yes. She’s the goddess’s creation, as am I.”

Rognes explained that, unlike the other chosen knights, he had been personally created by the Goddess of Death, making Her his faith, master, but also mother. That was why Rognes was so powerful. He didn’t need to train, nor did he have to assimilate with Shadow Nightmare to become a demigod. He was born with an incredible power that rivaled that of the subordinate gods!

Wayne sucked in a breath. While his Death Knight form was an added skin, it was Rognes’s original form. He had been born a walking dead.

“The three subordinate gods are incredibly powerful, so it won’t be easy for me to rescue the goddess. In case the goddess that exists in me is taken away, I have to entrust Her to you. Stay in the human world and do not take a single step into the Underworld.”

“Moreover,” Rognes added solemnly, “Do not draw the eyes of the Goddess of Nature. I don’t know who’s behind the betrayal of the three subordinate gods, but I suspect the Goddess of Nature the most. She alone has the ability to do so.”

“So it is she.” Wayne nodded. “She wants to evolve Nature into Life and become the second Heavenly Father.”

“Have you looked into her, too?”

“Of course. I’m the Death Knight after all, and I have made educated guesses about the Divine Realm. Combined with the information that the Holy Maiden gave me, I was able to arrive at some conclusions.”

“Then I need not say more.” Rognes took a few steps toward him, handing him a ball of grey mist. “May I trust you, Wayne?”

“To be honest, I don’t think so.”

“No, you must take this.” Rognes shook his head. “If not, someone as loyal to the goddess as you are will do everything you can to enter the Underworld. Taking this part of Her will change things. Just like me, you won’t risk the goddess.”

“Um...”

“Take it, Wayne. It’s my request.”

Rognes offered parts of the Goddess of Death’s thoughts on a silver platter. Wayne turned it down three times before taking in Rognes’s goddess, master, and mother at his insistence. Despite being an advocate for true love, he looked into a mirror and saw a typical homewrecker.

He took the thoughts and placed them in his right eye. The two parts of the goddess’s thoughts blended, both ending up enveloped by layers of pale tentacles. They wrapped her, went deep into her, and reshaped her... There was no turning back for the goddess!

Wayne blinked at the culprit, pursing his lips. “What about the thoughts in Julia? Should I keep them safe, too?”

“That would be ideal since the goddess would be safe under your close protection.” Having resolved one of his concerns, Rognes spared no praise for Wayne. He added regretfully, “Julia’s different from me. When the goddess created her, She integrated Her thoughts into Julia’s body. Julia could be considered an incarnation of the goddess.”

No wonder the silly horse is so good at math!

Wayne came to a realization, but then a thought occurred to him. “If she’s goddess incarnate, wouldn’t we be riding the goddess?” he asked awkwardly. “It’s a little... You know."

“No, Her thoughts exist within us, so we have not done anything sacrilegious," Rognes said.

What, so the goddess is riding herself? Is that why you’re able to ride your own goddess, master, and mother?

Wayne grew suspicious. Rognes had shown a strange, complicated attitude toward Julia. He clearly harbored inappropriate feelings. How despicable and shameless!

Noticing Wayne’s judgmental gaze, Rognes hurriedly explained himself through gritted teeth, proving his devotion: “Now that I’ve lost the goddess’s thoughts, I no longer have the right to ride Julia. I’ll leave her with you.”

Despite Rognes’s lack of a face, Wayne could see his twisted, conflicted expression. The reluctance was more revealing than anything.

All chosen knights were paragons of virtue outside of card games, so Wayne didn’t want Rognes to slip further down the slippery slope of the Oedipus Complex. He decided to help Rognes turn around from the edge of the slope. “Don’t worry,” he said seriously. “Under my watch, you’ll never ever lay a hand on Julia again.”

“...”

“Answer me!”

“As-as it should be.”

It pained Rognes that he would never get to touch Julia again. His feelings for the mare weren’t inappropriate as Wayne suspected; it was pure camaraderie born out of long-term companionship. Because Julia was a manifestation of the Goddess of Death, the camaraderie was colored by admiration and awe. While complex, his feelings were pure.

After losing the goddess’s partial thoughts, Rognes no longer dared to summon Julia as his mount, no matter how reluctant he felt. If he rode her now, it would be a desecration to the goddess.

His expression turned grave, and the black smoke rising from the top of his skull became fainter. Wayne judged him silently, resolving to give Julia a good ride later—right in front of Rognes so that he would give up his inappropriate desires.

“Rognes, the goddess’s thoughts have been divided into many parts. You only know three, stored in you, me, and Julia. Adding the part in the Divine Realm will make it four...” Wayne frowned. “But there should be more than four. There must be other parts elsewhere. Do you have any clues?”

“Not at the moment,” Rognes said. “I’ll need you to look into it in the mortal realm. Perhaps you’ll find something.”

“What should I be looking for? Any hints?” Wayne shrugged. “The Chosen Land is too big. I can’t just search at random.”

“What to be looking for...” Rognes thought for a moment. “I’m not sure, but since Death is our faith, perhaps the inability to die would be a trait to look for.”

(ಠ‸ಠ)

For some reason, Wayne immediately pictured a black cat taking care of its business on a lawn. It would be beyond unbecoming of the Goddess of Death to spread Her legs and take a dump like that.

He didn’t want to think about that, so he recited ‘long black hair, black stockings, black heels with red soles’ thrice until he felt a little better.

Seriously, he shouldn’t be blamed for having no faith. The deities should reflect on why they couldn’t inspire faith in him.

“Why do you look so ill, Wayne?”

“I think I look better than you do,” Wayne retorted. “To tell you the truth, I think I’ve got something. I’ll have to test the theory. Perhaps I’ll gain another part of the goddess’s thoughts.”

Rognes perked up. “Truly? Already?”

“I won’t say that. The goddess has been living at my home for so long without me ever noticing. That’s embarrassing to think about.” Picturing Monica taking care of its business left Wayne at a loss. At the same time, he also felt a little excited. Perhaps if he picked up Monica and said ‘poof’, the history teacher he pictured in his head would appear.

“Your home?”

“Yes, my home.”

“I haven’t misjudged you.” Rognes grew even more certain. “The goddess has been with you. It shows how much She trusts you.”

Wayne scratched his head. Thinking of something, he said in a lowered voice, “Something’s wrong. If the black cat at my place is the goddess, there’s more to Her appearance there.”

1. A reference to Yu-Gi-Oh. When the card Elemental HERO Stratos is played, the player can choose to add 1 HERO-type monster to their deck. ☜

2. A chair Mobius created to seek knowledge. It grants near omniscience, teleportation, shield, and many other abilities. ☜