Myth: The Ruler of Spirituality - Chapter 92:
Chapter 92: Chapter 69 A Glimpse of the Future
Translator: 549690339
Having traversed the long fissure, Iapetus once again arrived at the gates of the Underworld.
Unlike the ever-changing surface world, the Underworld often remained unchanged for millennia. But this time, at the gates of the Underworld, in addition to the familiar River Styx, Iapetus also saw a lake of fire.
It was a part of the Sun that had fallen, but after being tainted with the mixed aura of the present and the beyond within the Underworld, it could no longer return to the sky.
After staring for a while, the God of Speech silently warned himself that in Chaos, unless you possess the boundless power of the Twin Gods of the Dark Night, one’s strength does not determine one’s fate.
His own brother had once been so proud, but now he was locked in his own domain, watching his eldest son drive the divine chariot for his enemies.
“Greetings to you, Lady.”
Accustomed to the route, he nodded slightly to the Styx River and then, as before, received no response. The God of Speech flew over the increasingly vast grey plains. Just like the humans before him, certain peculiar lifeforms caught his attention.
They were undead, twisted forms of life made of corpses, white bones, or some other things. They exuded a negative aura, naturally despised by any living being.
“These creatures are becoming more numerous. Even without corpses, they can naturally come into existence due to the unique environment of the Underworld… If these living beings—these undead dared to appear above ground, the gods would certainly have cleansed them.”
Frowning slightly, Iapetus did not linger and continued flying towards the direction of the Nether Moon.
After all, the Underworld was not his residence. Like the Goddess of Deceit or the God of Destruction, the deities of the Underworld were willing to tolerate them, so there was no need for him to meddle.
The God of Speech looked down upon the land from the sky, while in the Underworld, a few of the wiser undead looked up at the sky. They saw a trail of light crossing the sky, and in the burning Soulfire, they too harbored disgust and hatred.
They knew of these beings, these ‘gods’ that sometimes came here.
These ‘gods’ from the earth were different from the native deities of the Underworld. Sometimes they were just passing by, but other times they would randomly kill any undead they saw. Although they didn’t know why, it was clear that these beings did not like them, so the undead also harbored hatred for the earth’s ‘gods,’ just as they hated the living on the earth.
Unfortunately, in this era, mortals could not threaten the deities. Regardless of their thoughts, they could not harm the gods in the slightest.
Suddenly, the Nether Moon was right in front of him. Sensing the increasingly powerful aura of this most central celestial body of the Underworld, Iapetus spoke with reverence.
“Honored Goddess of the Nether Moon, master of Magic Power and wraiths, I am Iapetus. I am here by the command of Mother Earth to meet with the Lord of the Spirit Realm.”
The next moment, just as in the past, Liana’s figure silently appeared before him.
“Come with me,” she said, “The Lord wishes to see you.”
Crossing the invisible portal, the shadowy illusions of seven realms flashed before his eyes. In an instant, Iapetus felt as though countless lives were speaking in his ear, and an infinite number of lights and shadows flickered by.
For a moment, he thought he saw a Silver Serpent dancing wildly in the sky, darkness and illusion interweaving, a towering figure enveloped in the power of space-time gripping a fiery orb of light, pressing it fiercely toward The East.
But that was just a fleeting glimpse. When Iapetus awoke, he had truly stepped onto Mount Sinai, and everything was back to normal.
“What did you see?”
Noticing something amiss, Liana asked.
“…Some visions, what, do they mean something?”
Not sure why she was asking, Iapetus still carefully responded.
“Visions… I’m not sure either.”
Shaking her head lightly, Liana explained.
“As the Spirit Realm grows stronger, time and fate mingle here, and it’s possible for those who come here for the first time to unknowingly catch a glimpse of the future.”
“But don’t mind it, the fate of the Spirit Realm is ever uncertain. What you saw may not necessarily come to pass.”
After resolving the other party’s confusion, Liana continued to lead them forward.
Walking on the stone path, Iapetus realized that he was not headed towards the central hall but was on a smaller trail leading to the back mountain.
Silently following, he soon found his destination. It was the place he had caught a fleeting glimpse of during the creation of humans, the location of the Well of Origins.
And there stood the Lord of the Spirit Realm, seemingly deep in thought by the well.
“My respects to you, Your Highness,”
Even before he approached, Iapetus slightly bowed, respectfully speaking.
He tried to contain his power as much as possible, not to give any impression of misusing his godhood, something he had not intended to do anyway.
“…Good evening, God of Speech,”
After a short while, as if awakening from his reverie, Laine turned around and greeted him with a smile.
Clad in a black robe, for some reason it gave Iapetus a feeling both foreign and familiar. He felt he had seen this material before, but he could not recall where at the moment.
“I have made many conjectures about the course of fate, after all, I have truly changed it, but not completely.”
“I knew that Silver Humanity would inevitably be born. But it wasn’t until you evaded Zephyrus’ surveillance and, transforming into a giant serpent, arrived at Mother Earth’s abode that I was sure destiny in this world remained as before.”
His body somewhat stiff, Iapetus had not expected his every move to be observed by others. The Lord of the Spirit Realm he could accept, perhaps the focus was really on Mother Earth at Delphi, but the fact that the God of West Wind was just around the great plain, and he had passed in front of him unnoticed, was unsettling.
Fortunately, an unexpected thought had stopped Iapetus from going directly there, instead first transforming into a serpent to rush to the human tribes, and thus, he also evaded the surveillance of the God of West Wind.
“I did not know,” he said, “I just wanted to see the humans near the Oracle—”
“So this is destiny.”
“It always fulfills its purpose when you least expect it, in the most unexpected of ways.”
Shaking his head slightly, when Iapetus went to Mother Earth’s abode, Laine truly felt the fluctuation of destiny. It was the curse he had placed on Zephyrus. Because of this, he noticed the two deities near Delphi.
But this time, the uncertain fate and the destined one stood on the same side; both wanted the Silver Age to arrive on schedule. Thus, under the complete force of destiny, everything seemed so inevitable.
“Tell me about your mission. Did Mother Earth send you to obtain the water of the well, to create new life?”
Lightly tapping the jade-like well wall, and looking at the clear yet illusory liquid inside the well, Laine spoke.
Not fully understanding what Laine referred to as ‘destiny’, Iapetus always had a sense of self-awareness. That was a concern for the Divine King, not something relevant to him now.
“Yes, Your Highness. As you can see, the life of the Golden Age is nearing its end, and the earth will again see the desolation of ten thousand years past. Hence, Mother Earth decided to create life and entrusted me to seek the waters from the Well of Origins—”
He paused a moment, then continued.
“Moreover, because creating life over and over is too cumbersome, Mother Earth hopes to allow life forms other than humans the ability to reproduce.”
“When life can continue on its own, the two Divine Artifacts symbolizing life will also be strengthened once more.”
Nodding his head, Laine was not at all surprised by this.
He too was looking forward to this day. Complete, reproducing life forms—only with their birth could Spirituality advance leaps and bounds in the accumulation of Divine Power, just like the Sun and the Ocean.
“As you wish, you will get what you desire, after all, the birth of new life is beneficial to me as well,” Laine nodded, “Then go, create life, this is not an easy task.”
“But with the help of your two children, I think you will do well.”