The Servant of the Gods (2)
When people only used my title as the Genesis Divine Dragon, not many called out to me. At most, it was Lizardmen or dragons, and even then, only very occasionally—or through the great shaman designated as my communication channel.
But now, as the owner of the Life Temple and taking on the role of the Life Goddess as well...
A flood of prayers was pouring in toward me.
And that last one! I'm the Life Goddess, not some goddess of fate or romance!! I can't make lovers for people!!!
Ahem. It hit me anew, but there were seriously countless sick people in this world. Most of those praying to me were suffering from illness or injury.
Well, I couldn't respond to every single one of them promptly.
I tried replying to a few, wondering if maybe it was possible, but unfortunately, it failed. Felt like messages from my end weren't transmitting properly.
They went through fine to dragons, though.
Oh, right—there was one other case besides dragons. My message got through properly to that priest who became the servant of the Life Goddess, now pushing from young man into middle age.
When I first replied to him, he freaked out so much I couldn't help but burst out laughing.
Unlike regular folks, messages reached dragons and that priest fine, so it seems I can only send replies if the recipient's faith is strong enough.
Dragons worship me as both Life Goddess and Genesis Divine Dragon, so that makes sense.
Anyway, with restrictions on replies, I couldn't answer everyone who prayed to me. Instead, I'd grant the truly desperate ones—easing illnesses or injuries related to life a tiny bit, ensuring no threat to their survival.
I couldn't send replies, but I could fulfill the prayers of the truly desperate.
While tending to pitiful lives as the Life Goddess and wrapping up underworld business, a message arrived from the priest.
"O Mother of Life, lend me your wisdom."
No, could you drop the "Mother of Life" thing? Being called that makes me feel like I'll end up pinned down, ravaged, and popping out eggs left and right. Not that I've ever laid eggs! Though I am female, technically. But anyway, no way that's happening. No partner even exists.
Whatever. "What do you seek my wisdom for?"
"I wish to know the answer to a question that has puzzled me for long years. I could not find it alone."
A question? He's one of the smartest humans, and he wants the answer to some unsolved mystery? What could it be?
"What question?"
"What is life?"
It was an incredibly vague question. Life. What was life? The ability that lets living things breathe and act? Nah, that's just dictionary stuff. Not what the kid wants.
So vague. But it gave plenty to chew on. What is life? The most precious thing, irreplaceable? Life itself? Existence? Choices between birth and death?
Here I was, calling myself the Life Goddess, yet stumped by "What is life?" Pathetic.
I couldn't give a clear answer, so I asked back. Answering a question with a question is foolish, but I was curious about his thoughts.
"What do you think life is?"
"My thoughts?"
He pondered deeply, then spoke slowly.
"Perhaps the driving force for movement. Bodies with life have warmth, beating hearts, breath—like those without grow cold and still."
Hmm. That's how he saw it? Not wrong, exactly.
"Your words have merit."
Without life, it's just a cold corpse.
"Life has many meanings. Yours captures one facet."
"Many meanings..."
"It could be choices between birth and death, or something priceless beyond compare."
I paused to catch my breath, then continued.
"It's the ability for creatures to live, breathe, move—and the power letting them exist as creatures. Life's definition changes with who defines it."
Super vague, but that's all I could say. No one in this world, myself included, had thought deeply about it.
"Changes by the definer..."
He sank into deep thought. Good. Did that land?
Caught me off guard with such a tough question. Hilarious, though—me, the self-proclaimed Life Goddess, fumbling a definition of life. I wield life force freely, boost others' easily, yet can't pin it down. What a fool of a goddess.
Wonder if he'd be disappointed realizing it.
"Thank you, Mother of Life. The fog before my eyes has lifted."
What? He got enlightenment from my vague ramble? Where'd he pull that from?
Unlike my doubts, he looked deeply satisfied, as if he'd solved the question tormenting him for years.
Hmm... Well, if he's happy, it's good, right? Yeah.
Leaving the priest behind, I finished the underworld work. All seven layers ready, Cloud Whale for soul reincarnation prepped.
Perfect. Time to open the underworld.
Humanity's First Faith: The Life Church
— Including non-human faiths, it's not the absolute first, but for humans, it was.
— Has become inseparable from human society today.
From aiding childbirth to post-death funerals, accompanying humans from birth to death.
The Life Church began with pilgrims who called themselves "Those Who Bestow Life."
These "Bestowers of Life" wandered the world, helping countless people, but never settling, earning prejudice as outsiders.
Their goddess of life underwent great change through a man named Haim.
The first priest of the Life Goddess and the only one to hear her voice, Haim was the first to wield divine power from faith.
Unlike the Bestowers who used their own life force, he healed others through faith in the Life Goddess, gaining fame.
His achievements: Formalizing worship by making her his goddess and building a proper temple; compiling scriptures with the Bestowers' help.
Also, organizing lesser gods aiding the Life Goddess—the birth and death gods' lineage—and leaving many works.
Famous among them: "What Is Life?", summarized as "Life's definition varies by person," and "A Brief Study on the Afterlife", first recording its structure.
Especially the depiction of the afterlife in seven layers shocked society then.
The novel idea of horrific punishments based on lifetime sins—that even well-hidden crimes bring post-death retribution—hinted at primitive morality tales.
Fear of this underworld lingered long in human minds; even the great hero Raiklenzo, said unbeatable under heaven, used tricks instead of brute force to pass its gates.