Myth: The Ruler of Spirituality

After all, a complete ocean and water are forces on par with The Sky, if their authority had not been divided, perhaps the ancient Sea God would have already reached the great realms. The Sun, albeit slightly inferior, might also have reached greatness at the end of the third era if not for the divided power.

From this perspective, perhaps all of this is a part of the “destined” cycle of the present age. Such potentially great divine authorities, He had divided them up long ago one by one.

The most recent one was Meteorology, and the next, most likely, will be Light.

Speeding across the ocean, Laine could see that the sea surface gradually became silent and restless. The closer it got to the edge of the world, the more lifeless it seemed and the weaker the presence of the rules of the current age became.

Until, at one moment, the sea stopped out of nowhere. At the edge of the ocean, the water cascaded down like a waterfall into the endless void below, and across from the waterfall was the ever-flowing Circumterrestrial River that encircled the world.

Above that, one could vaguely see a palace, the residence of the God of the Ocean.

But in the next instant, a booming voice came from that grand Divine Palace.

“Who goes there!”

As Laine stepped onto the river, the effect of his robe’s [secrecy] also dissolved.

This place already belonged to the border between the current world and the beyond, even close to the edge of the world, where the suppression of laws was almost nonexistent.

Therefore, feeling that the symbol of his divine authority was touched by someone, the God of the Ocean immediately noticed this uninvited guest.

“Eh, you have recovered?”

Watching the tall figure step out from the Divine Palace, Laine was somewhat surprised.

Even though he had recovered completely, he ignored the fate of his daughter, which made Laine somewhat sentimental.

Moreover, subsequent myths indeed did not record any deed where the God of the Ocean became an enemy of Zeus due to Metis’ disappearance.

Chaos’ goddess was one thing; among the male deities, there really weren’t many who were “good fathers” in the true sense.

“Laine? What brings you here?”

Not recognizing that the one before him was the chief culprit who had seriously injured him, Oceanus frowned slightly.

His injury was indeed severe, but he was much more powerful than the God of Sun, and the main symbol of his divine authority was the Circumterrestrial River, not the ocean.

As for why he stayed here even after his injury had healed, that was another matter altogether.

Thinking this, Oceanus couldn’t help but become vigilant. He didn’t know what Laine was there for, but he wouldn’t allow him to proceed further.

“I’ve come here to find something… As the master of this place, have you noticed anything amiss recently?”

“Not at all!”

Without hesitation, the God of the Ocean replied immediately.

“Hmm?”

Laine, who had only asked casually and did not expect an answer, was genuinely taken aback by Oceanus’ reaction.

Though the other party had not shown any obvious flaws, Laine’s intuition told him that the other party was not telling the truth.

“Are you sure?”

Narrowing his eyes, Laine persuaded with a smile:

“Some things are not within your ability to handle, it might be better to tell me. My instinct tells me that what I’m looking for might not be something good.”

“This has nothing to do with you, Laine. You think you can handle what I cannot?”

“Besides, I’ve already said, there is nothing abnormal here! This is my territory, and I ask you to leave.”

Once again, Oceanus refused without any fear. As a Titan deity who had witnessed Laine take action, the God of the Ocean believed he had some understanding of him.

Moreover, this was not the land; above the Circumterrestrial River, even if Mother Earth herself were to come, she would have no way to deal with him. Standing here, he feared nothing.

“…”

After pondering for a moment, Laine looked at the Titan who had once oppressed him with divine power in the distant First Epoch, and ultimately decided to give him another chance.

After all, it was he who had made the prophecy, and the God of the Ocean’s overreaction was somewhat understandable.

So Laine nodded and calmly said,

“If that’s the case, then I will not disturb you.”

Turning around, Laine looked beyond the Circumterrestrial River.

Having come this far, that vague sense of something was becoming clearer and clearer; without a doubt, the ‘thing’ he was looking to find was here.

Taking a step forward, Laine intended to cross the river and see for himself what was on the other side. However, as soon as he took his first step, the God of the Ocean, who was originally in front of the Divine Palace, changed expression and flashed in front of him to block his way.

“What is the meaning of this?”

With the corners of his mouth slightly raised, Laine asked with a smile.

“I have said, this is my territory, you are not welcome here, please leave,” the God of the Ocean said coldly, with no intention of moving aside.

“But I am merely going to look beyond the Circumterrestrial River, which I suspect does not belong to you.”

Still smiling, Laine added politely.

“As long as it’s a place the Circumterrestrial River flows through, it all belongs to me! Leave now, I warn you for the last time!”

The God of the Ocean was growing impatient, perhaps more from the nervousness of his secret being discovered. His power began to gather, and upon his symbol of divine authority, Oceanus felt immensely powerful, just as he had in the past. He released his oppressive might, trying to drive away the deity in front of him.

However, this time, he felt as though his power was sinking into the sea, disappearing without trace as it neared Laine.

“This aura…”

“Decay, ruin, death… It feels to me like ‘twilight’.”

Whispering softly to himself, Laine keenly sensed something. The aura leaking out as Oceanus’s power vibrated was effortlessly captured by him, and it clearly mixed with some forces that the other should not possess.

This confirmed Laine’s suspicions: the God of the Ocean had indeed come into contact with that unknown ‘thing,’ and it was more than just an accidental encounter.

So he dropped his smile and looked at the towering deity before him. On the tip of Laine’s right hand, a dark light slowly emerged.

After a century, the power of the Spirit Realm was once again wielded by him, and half of this great power descended at the interface of this world and the beyond. Under this force, Laine almost instantly locked onto the general location of the anomaly beyond the river, but he still first looked at the God of the Ocean in front of him.

Stepping forward, in the Mythic World, what belongs to whom, who among the deities of Chaos truly cared about such things? Now would be no exception.

“You say all this belongs to you, I don’t see it that way.”

“Now, I declare: This place is mine.”