Chapter 507: Atonement(4)
Chapter 507: Atonement(4)
Editor's Note: I've added more content to the latter half of the chapter...! Please read on...!
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"…Pardon?"
I stood there, speechless, at Mora’s claim that she couldn't see my future. I simply couldn't wrap my head around what she was saying.
Gods can see the future. By consuming their own divinity, they can indirectly twist the threads of fate through oracles.
I had received so much divine power from them that they were practically at a level where they could just tell me the future outright, and I had benefited greatly from that.
Yet, out of nowhere, they forced me into an unscheduled period of Ascetic Training. They exhibited contradictory behavior that made no sense.
And now, she was claiming she couldn't read my future at all. Gods might talk in circles, but they do not lie.
Even that felt suspicious given the circumstances, but looking at the atmosphere, it was clear Mora was telling the truth. However, another question sprouted in its place.
"Do you really think that makes sense?"
After all the future events you've told me about, suddenly you can't? It went beyond absurdity; I could only laugh.
The Demon War, which was supposed to break out in 150 years, was pushed back by 2,000 years. Those close to me wouldn't be hurt in the immediate future. The dwarf trio would show up with a tank, and so on.
They had revealed a significant amount of the future to me. Though I rarely benefited directly—mostly using the information for consultation—I had trusted them.
The reason I could trust them was that they were incapable of lying. When a topic was difficult to address, they simply dodged the question.
Because they were so human, I could rely on them, and it was under their protection that I was able to continue my writing.
"You force me into Ascetic Training out of the blue, and now that I’m struggling, you say you can't see my future? Do you honestly think that’s a valid excuse, Mora?"
"…It’s hard to believe, but it’s the truth. I can see the future of those around you, but I cannot see yours."
"What on earth does that—"
I had so much I wanted to say. So much, in fact, that I didn't know where to start.
If she couldn't see my future, how could she see the future of those around me?
If the world changes because of me, shouldn't that future be invisible as well?
Nothing was being explained clearly. It felt less like a revelation and more like they had caused a massive disaster and were now scrambling to clean up the mess.
"…Please, explain in detail. I’m asking you."
I suppressed the emotions boiling inside me and made my request.
Screaming here wouldn't change anything. I had to calm my anger and approach this rationally.
Mora seemed to hesitate for a moment at my question before closing her eyes tight.
"…Earth."
"Earth?"
"It’s because you are a soul that crossed over from Earth."
I frowned at her answer. I needed a much more thorough explanation than that.
Sensing my mood, Mora continued her explanation, her expression looking somewhat cowed.
"You’ve heard this before. Your soul was brought here from Earth by the summons of demon worshippers. That act disrupted the Natural Order of Earth, and the Gods of Earth condemned us for it. As a result, you were reborn here with your memories fully intact."
"I know that much."
"But do you know why we didn't send you back to Earth?"
"…"
I didn't. My brow furrowed.
Thinking about it, they could have just sent my soul back. Even if I was brought here by a summoning ritual, I was still a soul belonging to Earth.
Yet, neither the Gods of Earth nor the gods of this world did that. What could possibly be the reason?
I wasn't privy to the internal affairs of gods; I was just an ordinary mortal.
As I fell into thought, Mora began to explain the reason in detail.
"It’s because Earth’s Natural Order was disrupted to a severe degree. You were originally destined to live for over ninety years. From the perspective of the Gods of Earth, a soul that was meant to exert various influences on Earth over a long period had simply vanished. Because of this, Earth’s future became incredibly opaque."
I had heard this from Luminous. That in my life on Earth, I was destined for a long life, nearly ninety years.
I had laughed it off back then, wondering why someone who had lost his parents and isolated himself from society was supposed to live that long.
But looking at it another way, there must have been a reason for such longevity.
No one knows what will happen tomorrow, so trying to explain seventy years of life was a waste of breath.
"Isn't that a bit of a leap? As you know, Mora, I was…"
"Someone who lost his parents early and isolated himself? That’s just how you think of yourself. Do you really think your friends would have just left you alone?"
"…"
"The Gods of Earth criticized us, saying this: This child was meant to bloom, very slowly, bit by bit. He was destined to form a household and gain a new family through that union. It wasn't just a disruption of the Natural Order; it meant a soul was created that couldn't even enter the cycle of reincarnation. Because those souls couldn't reincarnate, the fates of countless people became tangled and messy."
The reincarnation of souls. A concept often handled in Buddhism.
From the perspective of the Gods of Earth, it must have been a total bolt from the blue.
If they had messed up through their own mistake, they might have let it slide, but everything was ruined because of sudden interference from an outside force.
"So, did the Gods of Earth just hand me over to you guys as a way of saying, 'Here, you deal with this shit'?"
"…Yes. Originally, they were threatening to invade our world, but Mother barely managed to stop them. She promised she would take responsibility somehow."
"Hah."
To think a war between the gods of different planets almost broke out. If it had, this world would likely be under the management of Earth’s gods now.
Unlike Earth, which has countless mythologies and gods, this place only has three. They were at an overwhelming numerical disadvantage.
From the Earth gods' perspective, declaring war would have been justified; it was as if a plague had been unleashed on their territory.
And there was no vaccine or cure. The best they could do was manage the fallout as it came.
"Did the Gods of Earth become unable to read Earth’s future as well?"
"They do not interfere with the world, so reading the future is meaningless to them. They only care about the Natural Order."
"Then what did the Gods of Earth say when they handed over my soul? Does it give you the right to torment me under the guise of Ascetic Training?"
Mora hesitated for a long time after hearing my question. She had been answering well enough until now, but this seemed to be a difficult point for her.
However, I had no intention of waiting patiently. They were the ones who had committed a wrong without so much as a hint.
When my expression hardened into a grimace, Mora jumped in surprise and blurted out the truth.
"They—they said we could interfere as much as we wanted while you were alive, but we were forbidden from reaping your soul! They even said that if we broke you before you could bloom the flowers you couldn't in your previous life, they would invade immediately!"
"Explain it simply, please."
I didn't quite follow. When I asked irritably, Mora explained in a small, shrinking voice.
"They placed a pact on us, forbidding any interference that would prevent you from forming a family and closing your eyes in front of them. We had to bring over your original destiny from your past life, and we are responsible for cleaning up any incidents or accidents that happen in the process."
"And yet you put me through this 'Ascetic Training'? What if I had committed suicide?"
Absurdly enough, it seemed even the transcendent gods couldn't touch me as they pleased.
Of course, that didn't mean I was going to act out. I didn't have that kind of nerve, and I was far from a state of tranquility.
Mora hesitated again at my rebuke, looking down and answering timidly.
"…Because I have a duty to do so."
"Duty? Your duty is to torment me?"
Mora shook her head vigorously at my incredulous question. That wasn't it.
When I raised an eyebrow, demanding an answer with my expression alone, she spoke cautiously.
"I told you earlier that I couldn't see your future. But I said I could see the future of those around you."
"And?"
"But that 'future of those around you' is based on the 'present'—specifically, the moment we are talking. The moment you take a specific action afterward, the future often changes drastically. The Great Depression that broke out this time is the same."
"So you didn't lie."
They just didn't tell me the whole truth. That made it even more infuriating.
If they were going to play games like that, then knowing the future was utterly pointless, wasn't it?
As my trust in the gods plummeted, Mora saw my expression and hurriedly tried to explain, as if making an excuse.
"B-but the future I tell you while we're talking is always the truth! The same goes for the future I see!"
"The future where the people I love suffer great misfortune?"
"Y-yes!"
"And what does that have to do with your duty, Mora?"
Mora was the Goddess of Darkness and Rest. She was a transcendent being who reached out to those struggling mentally.
Making someone undergo Ascetic Training to forge their spirit was out of character for her. I could have understood if it were Luminous.
But this wasn't even a case of 'giving the disease and then the cure.' This was neither here nor there—a complete 'failure.'
She did this because she couldn't see my future? That alone wasn't a satisfying explanation.
Which meant Mora was still hiding something. I pressed her, cornering her with my interrogation.
"Tell me honestly. What else are you hiding? What is the connection between 'Rest' and my 'Ascetic Training'?"
"…"
"If you don't answer, I’m really going to end up hating you. So please…"
Even if I had spoken harshly until now.
"Don't make me hate you all."
I didn't want to hate them. It wasn't because I was a pushover.
It was because they had been so human. It was also a fact that they had helped me until now.
As much as I trusted them, I hoped they would trust me in return. I wanted them to grant a mortal’s tiny wish.
I had no intention of moving this world like a puppet. I just wanted to live a normal life, writing my books.
If that caused them great harm, I was willing to stop my serialization immediately.
"…Peace."
"Pardon?"
"I govern darkness, rest, and the night, but at the same time, I also govern peace."
Whether she recognized my sincerity or not, Mora answered in a voice that had sunk as low as it could go.
I chewed on her answer in my mind several times. Peace. Mora, the Goddess of Peace.
A world that has been shaken once does not settle easily. And right now, the Great Depression was in full swing.
Though the situation was slightly different, the Great Depression would have sown seeds of conflict everywhere.
As the Goddess of Peace, Mora must have been more than just worried; she must have been terrified by the sheer number of unstable elements.
"So, to summarize…"
I racked my aching brain as much as I could. Though there were many gaps, I could piece it together roughly.
"You saw a future where those around me met a bad end, and to prevent the uncertain future where I might break from the shock, you put me through Ascetic Training so I could handle the world's chaos myself? Because you’re the Goddess of Peace, and if the chaos intensifies, it causes you great harm as well?"
"…"
"Am I right?"
To my confirming question, Mora…
"…Yes."
She nodded her head cautiously, in a way unbecoming of a goddess. Her face was full of anxiety.
I let out another hollow laugh at her reaction. Put that way, I could more or less understand.
The problem was…
"Well, now."
From my perspective as a 'mortal,' it was an 'education' that was light-years away from common sense.
"You are disgustingly human."
Once again, I realized how terrifying the power of a transcendent being could be.
I suppose it couldn't be helped.
"Did you really find me that untrustworthy?"
Because she couldn't see my future.