Chapter 508: Atonement(5)
Chapter 508: Atonement(5)
In Greek, Roman, and Norse mythology, there are countless gods, each overseeing a different domain.
However, regardless of their divine duties, Zeus is famous for being a philanderer, and Hera, while she may inflict trials upon Zeus's illegitimate children, is surprisingly lenient when you get to know her.
This shows that a god's power and their personality are two separate things. In many myths, gods are depicted with very human qualities.
Some gods flare up in anger if their pride is wounded, while others laugh heartily and overlook slights with generosity. Despite being "gods," these transcendent beings often display the facets of "humanity."
One could say there are almost no truly omnipotent gods who can create a universe with the flick of a finger. They are gods who are close to "all-powerful" but never truly "omnipotent."
"Was telling me that one fact so terrifying? Because unlike others, I can't see the future, and I can't interfere recklessly due to the restrictions placed by gods of other dimensions?"
"……I’m sorry."
In the face of my relentless barrage of fact bombs, Mora hung her head dejectedly and apologized. From her perspective, she probably felt she didn't have a leg to stand on.
It wasn't just that she didn't trust me; what she was trying to do wasn't advice—it was education.
Like a trainer shouting "No!" to a biting puppy or kitten. She wasn't treating me as an equal.
Then again, this was somewhat inevitable. Mora is a god, and I am a mortal. If humans are busy ranking themselves, how much more so for beings born as entirely different entities?
The reason Luminous and Mora have doted on me until now was likely because I’ve been ruthlessly hunting down every single one of their targets—the demon worshippers.
How precious must a hunting dog be to its master if it brings back the prey without even being ordered to? They would have bestowed a reward far greater than a mere dog chew.
"After hearing your explanation, Lady Mora, I think I understand why you're doing this. A hunting dog that never needed training had been bringing back prey just fine, but then it suddenly started bringing back strange things. And those things must have caused you trouble."
"……"
"I'll take your silence as an affirmation. Sigh……"
I ruffled my hair roughly and rubbed my face with my hands. The sudden surge of stress made me feel like my head was heating up.
I understood the situation. But it was hard to accept. To put it bluntly, the gods had been treating me like a pet.
How should I put it? Beyond just feeling foul, I felt like throwing everything away. This was a level of irritation far beyond being censored.
"……Lady Mora."
"Y-yes?"
When I called her name, she answered tentatively. I let out a long breath and lowered the hands that had been covering my face.
Looking ahead, I saw Mora looking even more pathetic and small than before. She seemed completely overwhelmed by my fact bombs.
Well, she had no choice. Honestly, even if I described her as an evil god right now, she wouldn't have any right to complain.
Perhaps she was secretly afraid. A runaway locomotive that even the gods couldn't stop had almost been born.
"Did Lord Luminous agree to this as well?"
"N-no. Brother didn't……"
"So this was something you did entirely on your own?"
She nodded at my words, then suddenly looked up in shock. Her eyes, which looked like the Milky Way in the night sky, widened.
She then rushed toward me and grabbed my hands. Before I could even process the surprise of the sudden skinship, she began to plead.
"P-please, just don't describe me as an evil god! I'm begging you!"
"No, wait a moment."
"I'll stake my d-divinity! T-this will never happen again! I mean it! So please……"
Was being portrayed as an evil god that terrifying? Tears began to well up in Mora's eyes.
No matter how much of a god she was, Mora was ultimately a being who thrived on the love of her believers. If she were rejected by them, her power would be drastically weakened.
First, I carefully pried her hands off mine. Mora tried her best to keep holding on, but I managed to pull away.
However, Mora's gaze remained fixed on me. She seemed truly that frightened.
"It's not like that. Do you think I'm crazy? I'm angry about what happened, but that doesn't mean I'm your enemy. Please keep that in mind."
"T-then……"
"I only asked because I was curious if Lord Luminous was involved in this."
Unlike Mora, who had overstepped and ruined things, Luminous had remained silent. He hadn't even sent a messenger, unlike Mora who had sent Cecily.
It seemed he either had no great interest in the matter or, unlike Mora, wanted to avoid active intervention.
Furthermore, since Mora oversees "Peace," it was highly likely that Luminous was involved in "War" or similar conflicts.
From Luminous's perspective, he would benefit just by staying quiet and washing his hands of the situation.
"……Brother was closer to the side of not doing it. He said that while it would be mentally taxing, it would be better for you to realize it on your own."
"And he knew he'd benefit either way even if he stayed still?"
"Yes……"
"Then what about the future where I cut my own wrist? As you said earlier, did you see a future based on 'that time'?"
Mora had explained it earlier. She couldn't see my future, and the people around me fluctuated wildly because of it.
But the future where I cut my own wrist didn't make sense. This was another inconsistency, but……
"I didn't see your future; it was something I learned through the future of someone else. It's a kind of loophole. And the subject of that loophole was that girl, Cecily."
"Cecily?"
"Yes. That girl, Cecily, refused to leave your side. In the end, she even watched you cut your own wrist. She managed to stop the bleeding with magic, though."
"……"
I furrowed my brows. I suppose I should be grateful, but…… the thought was a bit much.
I don't mean that in a bad way. Cecily would have taken care of me no matter what, but it meant I would have been mentally broken enough to do such a thing in front of her.
As she said, even if she couldn't see my future, she could see the futures of those around me. It meant Cecily was by my side even then, regardless of how the future was viewed.
"So, the more time I spend with someone, the more you can infer about my future?"
"It's literally a loophole. The moment you take a specific action, the futures of everyone around you change. The future I saw when I spoke to Cecily recently was like that."
"Now I finally understand."
"Really?"
"But that doesn't mean I've forgiven you."
I drew a sharp line. At my decisiveness, Mora instantly became dejected again.
Everything was starting to make sense and I could accept the logic, but there were still parts that felt wrong.
However, this was an issue that inevitably arose from the difference in species—no, the difference in existence.
As I've emphasized repeatedly, Mora and the other gods are transcendent beings, and I am a mortal under their management.
From the gods' perspective, a being like me is nothing short of a Joker. A card that can sometimes flip the entire world upside down, but other times drop everything into the abyss.
It's easier to think of the gods, who grow by consuming faith, as politicians. A single word from me could do more than just sway the polls; it could lead to them being buried entirely.
'I'm not even the real Elon Musk, so what is this?'
I wish I hadn't known. I wish they had just told me from the start.
Mora, unable to see my future, had acted out of haste, and now I had learned everything I didn't want to know.
"……Why didn't Lord Luminous stop you more firmly?"
So, was Luminous just eating popcorn this whole time? I was curious about that.
If Mora was in danger of having her throat bitten by the hunting dog she raised because of poor training, Luminous was a bystander.
Even if he couldn't strongly tell the educator that this was wrong, staying silent was also a mistake.
"Because you chose me. Originally, gods don't interfere in each other's affairs. It's because it would harm each other's 'Authority.' Isn't it…… similar for the gods of Earth?"
"Like how if one god punishes someone, another god doesn't remove that punishment but gives a different blessing instead?"
"Exactly."
Then there was almost no room for Luminous to interfere. This was an issue that could have escalated into a war between gods.
He wasn't just a bystander; he was in a situation where he had no choice but to stand by. Now, Mora had essentially self-destructed.
But that didn't mean I intended to stay still as Luminous suggested.
I might not know about the Great Depression, but I planned to resolve the issue of National Self-Determination at the very least. Luminous must have been salivating at the prospect.
"Thinking about it this way, how should I put it……"
"How should you put it?"
"Even if I describe you as an evil god, Lady Mora, you wouldn't be able to resist at all, would you?"
"……!"
When I spoke with a note of realization, Mora's face turned pale in an instant. For a human-like god, it was a truly human reaction.
But unfortunately, that was the truth. Of course, the moment I did that, I'd be fighting the world alone.
Perhaps the demons and dark elves who worship Mora would also suffer great damage.
"I-I'm sorry! I'm really sorry! I'll never do it again! H-how can I make it up to you? Even if I have to tear off a piece of my divinity……"
"Forget it. I might live a long time, but I'm going to grow old and die normally. I have absolutely no intention of becoming a transcendent being, a god, or whatever. So……"
I looked straight at the restless Mora. Mora, whose eyes were brimming with tears, quietly clasped her hands together under my gaze.
Was this beautiful woman really a god? Or was she acting this way because we were essentially equal beings?
But the fact remained that this person—no, this god—had wronged me. If nothing else, this had to be resolved.
"Apologize to me sincerely, with genuine guilt and heart."
I demanded an apology not as a mortal to a transcendent, but as one person to another. You might ask if this one thing would be enough?
It would. I had learned that they wouldn't be able to pull any more nonsense on me in the future, and I realized they were hiding more than I thought.
To put it bluntly, I was the one holding the spear. As Mora feared, she would probably grant anything I asked for with just a little bit of intimidation.
But I didn't want that. Like the "Peace" Mora oversees, I only wanted a simple and tranquil daily life.
A life of writing books normally and laughing at the readers' reactions. An end where I live happily with the people I love and then quietly close my eyes.
I am not a hero from a book. On the outside, I am a great writer who moves the world, but in reality, I was nothing more than a homebody and a writer.
"It will be difficult to restore our relationship of trust in the future, but I don't intend to hate you. I don't want to hate you, either. So, I'd like to end this with a very clean apology."
"……Is that all? You're a being that even we find difficult to handle. Is there nothing else you want from me?"
"No."
"……Really?"
"Yes."
I answered flatly. It wasn't a lie; there really wasn't. I already had everything I wanted, so what more was there to gain?
Whether she realized my humble answer was sincere, Mora blinked with a stunned expression.
I waited patiently for her to organize her thoughts. This must be a first for her, so she would need time to think.
Thud—
"……Lady Mora?"
But suddenly, she collapsed onto the floor. She crumpled like a doll with its strings cut.
Startled, I approached her to help her up.
"……Sob."
"……?"
Moisture began to gather in Mora's eyes, and soon, thick, heavy tears began to fall. I was caught off guard once again and couldn't help but hesitate.
Mora wiped her tears pathetically for a long time before apologizing to me in a voice thick with emotion.
"I'm sorry…… I'm so sorry……"
"……"
"To do this to such a good child…… such a truly good child, just because I was scared…… I should have just told you……"
Like a thoughtless child realizing their mistake too late, Mora sobbed, her tears falling uncontrollably.
She was truly human. The fact that she didn't react with defiance but instead blamed herself meant there was plenty of room for growth.
This is why I can't hate them. At least they know how to repent for their own mistakes.
I watched Mora, who had collapsed on the floor and burst into tears, and then I slowly knelt down.
I gently took one of her hands and spoke to her in a pleading tone.
"There's only one thing I want. Please trust me. You and Lord Luminous only need to give me advice. There's no need to force me through trials."
"Hic……"
"So, let's start over from this point. Okay?"
"Sniff. Okay……"
Mora was now even sniffing. If I had a handkerchief, I would have personally wiped her nose.
After that, I quietly knelt and waited for Mora to stop crying.
Or rather, I intended to.
[This brat finally caused an accident!]
Before the voice of a mature woman echoed like a thunderous roar. Mora and I both jumped at the shout and snapped our heads up.
I've heard this voice somewhere before.
Shaaaa—
Suddenly, Mora, whose hand I was holding to comfort her, vanished. She turned into powder and disappeared, just as the white people had done earlier.
I could only stare blankly at the powder. It looked as if she was being dragged away by someone.
"……Lady Mora?"
I called out to her with a hollow heart, but there was no answer. I was left all alone in the pure white space.
As I looked around, trying to compose my confused mind, I discovered something in the palm of my hand.
In the hand that had just been holding Mora's, there was something round and pitch-black, like Mora's hair.
A tiny black bead, small enough to be swallowed in one gulp. I blinked and stared at the bead.
"……What is this?"
Is it okay to eat this?
*
It was while Isaac was spending time inside the pure white space. Unlike the time inside, which flowed slowly, the time outside flowed normally.
In other words, even if morning approached, as time passed, night would come. Most people considered the end of the day to be when the sun went down.
Normally, today should have been the same……
"Why is the sun still up?"
"I know, right? By the clock, it should definitely be evening……"
The sun did not set. To be precise, the sun was setting, but at a certain point, it came to a dead stop.
People shared their opinions as they watched the impossible phenomenon. The mainstream theory was that something major had happened to Luminous or Mora.
"What could be happening to them?"
"Who knows……"
A merchant scratched his head and spoke in a low voice.
"Maybe they're being scolded by Lord Hirt or something?"
And as if to prove it.
KABOOM!
"Agh!"
"W-what was that?"
The Temple of Mora, located in Helium and the Maishal Territory. A bolt of lightning struck the Temple of Mora.
Boom! Kaboom!
Not once or twice, but several times over.