Chapter 466: From God's... Prayer

Chapter 466: A Plea... From a God

Silence.

A god was a being high above, a true supremacy detached from social classes, cognitive frameworks, and levels of life; even comparing oneself to an ant on the fingertip of a god was a form of blasphemy against them.

When a god appeared before you, the only thing you could do was press your forehead against the ground to worship;

When a god spoke to you, you could only listen intently and obey to the death, for it was a divine decree;

When a god intended to bestow a gift upon you, you could only be grateful and offer up all your devotion; retaining even a single fraction more was a sin.

If this wisp of "will" from the Goddess of the Dark Moon had not descended, this island might have vanished from the world by now, and the people and things on it would have been completely erased as well.

It could be said that the appearance of the Goddess had already saved Karen.

However, faced with the demand made by the Goddess, Karen did not choose to swear an oath, nor did he choose to accept the bestowal; instead, he stood there, demanding the holy Goddess to plead with him.

Logically speaking, the hunger of Order at this moment was enough to drive Karen mad; in fact, the current Karen had temporarily lost all reason, reduced to a slave of "desire" and "need."

Therefore, for Karen to restrain his "hunger" at this moment, pause his devouring instinct, and instead continue standing here to make a demand of the Goddess could only mean one thing:

That was, the newly emerged "desire" at this moment had suppressed the primitive "desire of hunger."

Not bowing to a god, not fawning over a god, not worshiping a god;

Not acknowledging the majesty of a god, not respecting the supremacy of a god, not believing in the grandeur of a god;

As a priest in a world with gods, yet being a staunch "atheist";

What kind of pleasure,

Could possibly compare to————blaspheming a god?

I care nothing for my life or death, I give no thought to the situation of my subordinates, and I ignore the outcome that your previous failure to restrain or your current abandonment of restraint will bring upon me;

I simply, naively, innocently want

Had a true Goddess of the Dark Moon descended, she would never have been deceived, but alas, she was not; she was merely the final vestige of will left behind by the Goddess of the Dark Moon upon each of her altars.

Her behavioral principles were just like those of the blindfolded God of Order whom Cullen had once beheld.

The Goddess of the Dark Moon parted her lips: "Order..."

In the previous epoch, even among the Master Gods, not every one of them could leave behind detailed records in the mythological narratives outside of their own respective churches.

And the war between the Goddess of the Dark Moon and Artemis, the Goddess of the Moon, was an exceptionally obscure conflict, a common occurrence against the backdrop of the frequent wars and slaughter among the gods in the last epoch.

The faith of the Dark Moon had long suffered a schism, and the Church of the Moon had never publicly recorded the details of the Dark Moon faith, certainly due in part to the pride and disdain of the victor, and in part to preserve the image of their own Goddess; regarding this war, detailed records would inevitably lead people to trace and ponder the reasons behind the Dark Moon Goddess's revenge.

In truth, the Church of the Moon's promotion of those two sacrificed "handmaidens" as positive and loyal figures, even positioning them as branch deities of their own church, must have also been influenced by the Dark Moon Goddess's subsequent challenge to the Moon Goddess.

You wish to avenge your mother, so I shall define your mother as the most loyal of sacrifices.

Yet as gods, they possessed their own distinct and clear social circles, much like how ordinary mortals perceived and conceptualized the splendid era of the gods of the previous epoch through mythological narrative systems, a deity likewise understood who the true pinnacles of existence were in the era she inhabited.

Humans worshiped the high and mighty gods because of the vast distance, a distance that cast a thick filter, always imagining the gods as overly pure and ethereal;

but among the circles of gods, they often exhibited many behaviors characteristic of "humans."

Had it been any other god standing before the Goddess of the Dark Moon, demanding that she "beg me," she would have felt disdain, would have ignored them, would have been indifferent, for the object of her vengeance was the head of the Moon lineage, a true Master God possessing a matching orthodox church.

But if it were the God of Order...

That primary warrior within the Light faction during the mid-period of the previous epoch, the existence that replaced the God of Light to become the most powerful Master God at the end of the previous epoch—if he were willing to aid her in her revenge, then Artemis...

If, moments earlier, hunger could drive Cullen to madness, even making him feel that he could swallow Purr down if it came to it;

then now, Cullen, provoked by a deeper level of desire and need, was equally prepared to use any means necessary to force the Goddess of the Dark Moon to her knees.

Deception?

Disguise?

Filth?

There were no longer any moral constraints, nor any consideration of consequences; I simply want you to lay down your dignity, your dignity as a god!

"Are you... willing to help me seek vengeance?"

The Goddess of the Dark Moon inquired.

Cullen frowned; her neck remained proudly erect, which was not the attitude of a suppliant, but rather resembled an interrogation.

"There is a dog up above; I helped him suppress and slaughter the God of the Sea."

The Goddess of the Dark Moon raised her head, looking upward.

A crimson light appeared at the mouth of the well, enveloping Kevin, a scene that gave Purr quite a fright.

Kevin was stunned at first, but then realized exactly whose gaze had fallen upon him, and he appeared relatively calm, reserved, and elegant.

Yet soon, he sensed an extremely familiar feeling, one almost branded into the depths of his soul; his canine eyes instantly snapped toward Cullen—or more accurately, using the gaze of the Dark Moon Goddess as a medium, he perceived Cullen's condition within the conscious space.

Kevin’s tail immediately stood erect, then realizing something was amiss, quickly drooped downward.

The same feeling... the same feeling, yet again the same feeling.

The last time this feeling had appeared was in the master bedroom of the funeral parlor's back garden, when he and Purr had pushed open the bathroom door and seen Cullen lying in the bathtub, his eyes entirely filled with hunger.

This brought back memories of himself groveling beneath the throne of the God of Order; at that time, the God of Order had said: he was hungry.

Now, another scene surfaced in Kevin's mind, one where he stood behind the God of Order, arriving at the periphery of the Burial Ground of the Gods.

Due to the fall of the God of Light, the gods buried within the Burial Ground of the Gods hoped to sign a new treaty with the gods outside, and their attitude had not been particularly poor, essentially meaning that since Light's whereabouts were unknown, they hoped to reach a new round of communication with the next Master God who would succeed Light's position.

On that occasion, Ragnedal had originally thought it was merely a very ordinary meeting between gods; though he did not understand why the God of Order had summoned him, the God of Order had promised him back then that he only needed to help him accomplish nine things, and he would personally intervene to suppress the God of the Sea for him, so he had naturally gone straight there, thinking the matter was incredibly simple.

However, upon arriving there and standing behind the God of Order, he immediately sensed that something was wrong.

At that time, facing the Burial Ground of the Gods, the God of Order had spoken two sentences;

the first sentence was: Even in death, they still stubbornly and ridiculously hold their proud heads high; they have already ended, and should no longer continue to exist.

the second sentence was: Gods should not exist in the first place; they are an unstable source of order.

Upon hearing the second sentence, Ragnedal was so terrified he almost thought the God of Order was going to kill him and casually throw him into the Burial Ground of the Gods to be buried!

Fortunately, the God of Order did not do so, but instead stepped into the Burial Ground of the Gods in person; Ragnedal did not know how the negotiations went, only remembering that as he remained on the periphery, he witnessed the constant collapse and shattering within the Burial Ground of the Gods, as well as the unending wailing of the gods.

In the end, the heavily injured God of Order walked out alone, telling him to banish the Burial Ground of the Gods.

This time, from Cullen's manifestation, Kevin swiftly realized that Order's hunger was merely a superficial form; the impact brought by Order was a hatred toward all unstable sources of order, and among these, the greatest hatred... was toward gods.

So, was this the reason why the God of Order had slaughtered deities on a grand scale at the end of the previous epoch...

The Goddess of the Dark Moon withdrew her gaze, her silhouette now somewhat dissipated; clearly, she could not endure for too long.

"Can you keep your promise?"

Cullen repeated: "Beg me."

Beside Cullen, the Ring of Order once again split into chains of order, continuously issuing warnings toward the Goddess of the Dark Moon; among them, one chain emitted a "hissing" sound, trembling, yet exceptionally excited—that was Thousand Charms.

It knew it should not appear at this moment, but it could not help itself, it had to come out, and this feeling of being simultaneously utterly terrified and matchlessly ecstatic was simply too intoxicating.

Only at this very moment did this vicious creature, Thousand Charms, born from the land of resentment within the world behind the gates, thoroughly submit to Cullen; it was a realization of 'I thought I was ruthless enough, but it turns out you are even more ruthless than I am.'

"I hope to receive a definitive answer."

"Beg me."

"For the sake of revenge, I can disregard everything."

"Your disregarding of everything has already failed; praying to me is your only chance."

Before Cullen, the phantom of the God of Order and the phantom of the God of Light took a step forward simultaneously, the two Master Gods' avatars of faith suppressing the Goddess of the Dark Moon into an even smaller, more delicate form.

"I do not possess the qualification to implore, nor do I have this authority."

"No, you do," Cullen spoke, "You are just like the two of them, possessing the capacity to think; it was you who allowed their betrayal."

Hearing this, the Goddess of the Dark Moon remained motionless, and said:

"I want revenge."

"Then you should know what to do next."

The Goddess of the Dark Moon closed her eyes, placed her hands before her, took a step back, and lowered her head;

every minute movement afforded Cullen a sense of immense pleasure.

This is the high and mighty god, this is the high and mighty god!

Cullen spoke: "Wait a moment."

The Goddess of the Dark Moon halted her movements.

"Your hesitation has already stripped you of the qualification to pray to me directly; I no longer wish to listen to your words."

"What do you mean?"

"Change to someone else to listen."

Cullen’s gaze focused, and his hand reached forward.

In the next instant,

Sitting by the well's edge, Purr sensed a sudden summon rippling through the symbiotic bond. She snapped her head toward Kevin instantly. "Stupid dog, have things truly grown so desperate that even I am required to lend a hand?"

Despite her dire suspicions, Purr did not hesitate; she immediately answered Kaelen's call to arms.

Then,

Taking human form, cloaked in a cowl and grasping her wand, Purr materialized within Kaelen's conscious realm.

She glanced to one side, beholding the towering, majestic manifestation of the God of Light.

"Sss..."

She glanced to her right, beholding the solemn, awe-inspiring manifestation of the God of Order.

"Uh..."

She realized she was standing right between two supreme existences. Was this a place she even belonged?

Directly after,

Purr saw the Goddess of the Dark Moon lean down toward her:

"I beg of you, help me exact my vengeance."

Oh, heavens! Heavens! Heavens!!!

Purr felt her fingers and toes curl tight in that very instant, her soul trembling violently. She answered in an involuntarily faltering voice:

"Y-y-y-yes."

Kaelen spoke:

"Very well."

—

The temple of the Moon God religion.

High above, the lunar wheel spun ceaselessly, a precious gift bestowed by the Moon God upon her faithful, and the modern totemic symbol of their faith.

An elder clad in gold-bordered divine robes, a full moon sigil marked between his brows, sat in a chair with his eyes closed, facing the lunar wheel.

He was the Guardian of the Lunar Wheel, having sat in this very spot for two centuries.

"Crack..."

A faint, almost imperceptible snap broke the silence.

The elder opened his eyes, a flash of horror instantly piercing his gaze. One had to understand that even when his subordinates recently reported the disastrous losses on the front lines, he had not even bothered to open his eyes. Yet now, his voice betrayed a stark, unmistakable terror:

"The lunar wheel... it has cracked!"