Myth: The Ruler of Spirituality

“At least that’s how it appears on the surface,”

Walking on the streets, the usually bustling areas seemed somewhat desolate.

Even if people occasionally hurried past, they would just glance at the two individuals who seemed out of place and then rush toward what they believed to be a safe location, with no intention of stopping.

Clearly, at such a critical time, no one wanted to waste time on two strangers.

“Cough cough, lies told frequently enough can inevitably be accepted as truths. Before, everyone believed that priests could truly communicate with the gods, so naturally, they didn’t prepare in advance.”

With a cough, the old man was not surprised by this.

He wasn’t a priest, but within humanity, he had some status, which meant that after much contact, those tricks to fool the general populace were useless to him.

“However, being prepared or not doesn’t make much of a difference; if ignorance allows them to spend their last dozen or so years in peace rather than panic, cough cough, that might not be such a bad thing.”

Glancing at the symbols full of familiar power hidden beneath the road, Laine didn’t respond. Their brief conversation ended, and the two men continued walking along the main road toward the gates of the Eastern Region, where the sound of water could be faintly heard.

Dark clouds gathered in the sky, obscuring all light—a sign of an impending downpour. However, as they walked past a temple, a shout suddenly came from within.

“Hey, you two over there—yes, you.”

“Come over here!”

“Hmm?”

A bit surprised, but after hearing the call, Laine hesitated for a moment before leading Humar over.

In this journey through the Mortal Realm, he left all choices to the humans. Their fates were completely up to their own decisions.

“Hey, are you two also looking for a place to take refuge?”

The one who spoke was a young man, accompanied by a few others who didn’t seem familiar with each other. They were all standing behind the temple threshold, watching the situation outside.

“Sort of. What about it, you want me to take you along?”

Laine asked with a smile, looking at the young man who had spoken.

“What are you thinking? Isn’t this place the safest right now?”

Another person, slightly older and wearing a brown robe, loudly stated beside the young man. Nevertheless, Laine could hear the unintentional fear building within, betrayed by the voice.

“He’s right; the Sea God has sent divine punishment, and it’s ultimately aimed at humans. He wouldn’t strike the temple of other deities, would he?”

The young man also nodded, glancing at the old man beside Laine. Such an aged human was rare in Aurora.

“Come inside quickly; if it weren’t for the old man you’re with, I wouldn’t bother with you.”

Finally understanding the other party’s intention, Laine smiled wryly but also felt somewhat touched. Although their idea was wrong, their hearts were in the right place.

Facing their gaze, Laine directly countered:

“But haven’t the gods already abandoned humans? Can a temple not recognized by its god still be considered the domain of that god?”

“…What nonsense are you talking about!”

The few individuals in front of him changed their expressions, clearly upset by Laine’s words that pierced their underlying hopes. Obviously, they too knew that today’s temples were not the same as before.

In the past, the statues in those temples seemed ‘alive’, occasionally giving people the feeling of being watched by a formidable presence. But ever since the creator left, those statues had become ‘dead’.

Although priests always proclaimed that deities were still watching over them, simply in a more secretive manner, now that divine punishment had come, they had not come up with a solution, undermining their previous claims. Would such temples truly be cared about by other deities?

“Staying here probably won’t save your life, but I do know that a deity, upon the creator’s request, is willing to provide sanctuary for humans when divine punishment descends.”

Inside the temple, Laine spoke again, turning to the few now pale-faced listeners.

“Really? Isn’t the Divine King the sovereign over all gods?”

Surprised, yet the young man who had first called out still expressed his skepticism.

“Of course it’s true. You know as well that neither the stars above nor the ground beneath are governed by the Divine King. Think again about the creator’s epithet—the Forethinker; it’s only natural for him to foresee the coming calamity of humans and make preparations, isn’t it?”

Laine asserted, meeting the young man’s gaze.

“You’re right. Well… thank you,”

The young man was a bit embarrassed, as his tone had been loud earlier, but remembering the imminent disaster, he quickly asked:

“Could you tell me the name of this deity?”

“As for the name, I haven’t heard anyone mention it.”

Smiling faintly, Laine continued:

“But I have heard of his deeds. They say that he is deeply connected with humans and that, tens of thousands of years ago, he personally created the Golden Humanity.”

“Not long ago, the creator, foreseeing the disaster of humans, sought his aid, and he responded to the expectations of Iapetus’s son: as long as people beseech the Spirit Realm, silently revering his presence when the catastrophe comes, all calamities will be averted, and nothing can harm the bodies of the devout.”