车生活

Though still feeling somewhat unsatisfied, Themis returned to where Liana was.

She had kept her host waiting for too long. Although strictly speaking, the current Chaos didn’t yet have a well-defined ‘etiquette,’ she still felt it wasn’t right to do so.

“How was your harvest?” Liana asked with a smile.

“It was an eye-opener.”

In the half-day, Themis had traversed thousands of miles around her, seeing over a thousand types of bizarre ‘Spirit Realm beings.’ Some of them fed on plants, some on other lives, and some on certain concepts, all of which the goddess had never seen before.

Compared to her oddly-shaped brothers, they didn’t seem so strange after all.

During her observations, Themis had tried to stop the confrontations between different beings, but later she came to understand. Mortals and gods are different; food is a pleasure for the gods, but a necessity for them.

The goddess had witnessed the Spirit Realm beings fight each other for food more than once, and as a result, she was exposed to their unique battle methods.

Their power was weak, but their fighting techniques were primitive and fierce. Unlike the gods, who merely wield Divine Authority and Divine Power, the Spirit Realm beings also knew how to probe, trap, and disguise.

‘When I return, I must discuss this with Cronus. The Mother Goddess’s agreement with Lord Laine still has seven hundred years to go. Once the Life Vase returns to the Mother Goddess’s hands as agreed, we should also borrow this Divine Artifact to create life on earth.’

As she followed Liana through the light gate, Themis silently made up her mind.

In comparison to the current desolate Chaos World, the Spirit Realm felt much more vibrant to her.

“Hmm?”

Passing through the illusory portal, the next moment, the breath of Source Power that hit her face brought Themis’s thoughts to an abrupt stop.

Looking around, the goddess found herself on a peak so high that its bottom was nowhere to be seen. Seven crescent moons hung in the sky, and the mountain pierced through six layers of semi-solid interfaces. Standing on the mountain, although she couldn’t make out the details of those interfaces, Themis still felt like she had the world at her feet.

Mount Sinai, also known as Naiarath, was the name of Mount of the Gods, which translates to ‘the beginning of the Moon,’ ‘the source of Spirituality.’ When she reached this place, the goddess ‘understood’ this information instantly.

Moreover, she felt a power within the mountain, very similar to her own Origin of Godhood, breathing, flowing, and slowly changing its nature.

“If this was all opened by Lord Laine, it truly is a magnificent feat,” the Goddess of Justice said sincerely.

Creating interfaces and giving rise to living beings was something Themis, with her Divine Authority, didn’t know how to achieve.

“It is indeed a magnificent feat,” Liana said matter-of-factly:

“The world has not yet spread the name of the Lord, but one day they will know the supreme power of the Lord.”

With a polite smile and although struck by the scene before her, Themis still felt it was due to a particularity of Authority.

The gods had absolute power in their respective domains, much like how a future Goddess of Agriculture could prevent everything from sprouting, but without the corresponding Authority, even a being like Uranus couldn’t change this outcome with sheer power alone.

Themis didn’t know what Spirituality as a Godhood meant, but she guessed that everything before her was probably a demonstration of the absolute nature of this particular Godhood.

Continuing forward with Liana, the steps under their feet were made of unknown materials, and the various man-made objects along the way kept the goddess’s gaze busy.

The place opposite the light gate was not the summit, but a bit lower down. After all, although capable, Liana would not directly open a portal to Lord Laine’s palace.

However, Themis didn’t feel slighted; on the contrary, she was quite interested in observing the surrounding landscape.

Everything before her eyes was a novel scene she had never encountered before, and such more ‘civilized’ creations naturally resonated with the higher positions of the Law and Order Godhoods.

Themis had made her decision, she too wanted to set her sights on building something on Mount Othrys.

As time slowly passed, although Mount Sinai was a no-fly zone, the two were already not far from the summit. So soon, Themis arrived at the palace gates led by Liana.

Themis’s eyes brightened once again at the sight of the magnificent man-made structure she had never seen before. Compared to the sprawling and rudimentary abodes of the Chaotic Gods, this orderly and civilized creation undoubtedly won the goddess’s favor.

The buildings were not clustered together, each boasting its own style and beauty. Although Themis could only see a few nearby, she still took note of their styles one by one.

‘This is the place where gods should dwell,’ the goddess thought to herself.

“Here we are, the Temple of Lops, where the master welcomes guests.”

Liana pointed to the splendid great hall in front of them, smiled faintly, and then bid farewell:

“I have completed my task as a guide, and now it’s time for your meeting with the master.”

“I—”

Themis had just wanted to ask Liana to stay, but the black-robed goddess gave her a smile and then took a step back.

With that step, just as when she first appeared, she vanished without a trace in an instant.

But this time, Themis noticed something. The other’s movement seemed to leverage the space-time power of the Spirit Realm, allowing her to shift to a different plane of the Spirit Realm in the blink of an eye.

Even without moving, when separated by a layer of the world, she naturally could not sense the other’s presence.

Seeing this, Themis thought of the first layer of the Spirit Realm, the “Illusory Spirit Realm,” identical to the Underworld.

Perhaps Liana had always been standing by her side, standing in the Nether Moon, only invisible due to Themis’s inability to penetrate the barrier between reality and the first layer of the Spirit Realm.

‘Could Cronus achieve this level of space-time power?’

After a brief contemplation, Themis shook her head. Rather than dwelling on it, she stepped toward the great hall before her.

Having arrived at the doorstep, it would not be proper to keep the host waiting any longer, especially since she, too, was keen on building her own palace and interested in learning from the palace’s interior designs.

Stepping over the threshold, her vision was suddenly brightened. The palace interior was somewhat brighter than the light of the crescent Moon.

Looking around, she saw tables, lamps, vessels, decorations, and a black-clothed deity rising from the main seat. Though Themis did not know what ‘civilization’ meant, she felt that everything she saw was more to her liking than anything she had experienced in the past.

“Welcome, my lady.”

Raising a goblet, Laine said with a smile to the approaching Goddess of Justice:

“Before we discuss serious matters, please enjoy the dinner I have prepared for you.”

“Thank you for your hospitality, Prince Laine,”

With a subtle lift of her eyebrows, Themis accepted the floating goblet and drank the red liquid in one gulp.

‘This is nectar.’

The liquid seemed to contain ‘memories,’ as Themis knew its name upon tasting it.

For her, it was merely a rather pleasant drink. But the goddess believed her brothers would absolutely adore such a creation.

Setting down the goblet, Themis moved forward to take her seat. She looked forward to the forthcoming banquet with added anticipation.