Chapter 1509 — Dropping In

The deep sea—this is the foundation of the world, the cornerstone of the cosmos, a place beyond the reach of the order-light of reality and matter alike. Amidst the primordial and chaotic "background oscillations," nothing from the true universe can find footing here; only by passing through layer upon layer of realm-distortion and reshaping can anything manifest in this abyssal darkness in the form of a "projection."

Even the mighty gods must obey the laws of the world itself. The divine realms of the gods are the largest and most structurally stable clusters of projections in the deep sea; the "imaginings" and "beliefs" that mortals have held toward particular objects over vast spans of time have shaped the order and form of these projections, and the gods, together with these realms, run with precision along the trajectories delineated by currents of thought. In other words, beyond the barriers of these divine realms—in places the thought-currents of mortals have never illuminated—lies a "void of death" of extreme peril to the gods. Any deviation from course is forbidden, and to stand in the darkness of that void, unprotected by the barrier of a divine realm, is enough to annihilate oneself outright.

But there are always exceptions to any rule.

Some gods have successfully broken free of the bonds of their divine station and no longer fall into madness should they stray from the currents of thought. They can move about the deep sea within limits: so long as they do not linger for long and do not draw too near those divine-realm projections sustained by thought-currents, such exploration remains safe and manageable. The outstanding representative of this category is Lady Mermina, Goddess of Magic, who, having nothing better to do, drops by the deep sea for a stroll and often stands at a safe distance to gaze upon other people's backyards.

And there is yet another kind of god—one that has not only broken free of the bonds of divine station and the rules of thought-currents, but has even obtained equipment support from the Voyager. Backed by formidable, advanced Celestian technology, such a god may do things far more shocking still—like the ancient deity at this very moment, preparing to make a great splash.

The Lady of the Night stood quietly in the vast darkness between divine realms, gazing at a faint dome of light not far off. The surface of Her cloud-dark body was now sheened with countless fine streaks of flowing light; wandering shadows and glimmers formed a barrier-like structure that shielded Her from the surrounding deep-sea environment, keeping Her existence stable in this chaotic, dark substrate of the world.

"...Self-check... the anchor generator is running well," the Lady of the Night said, lowering Her head to look over Her own body, Her gaze settling on those flickering, roaming points of light that covered Her surface. Amid the flowing shadows and glimmers, faint patterns could be discerned resembling the "totem reliefs" on the surface of the anchor generator. "Looks like it can hold out a good long while. Very good."

Muttering to Herself, She raised Her head and glanced at the shimmering divine-realm dome ahead. Deep within that translucent, misty curtain of light, the scenery inside could faintly be made out—fertile plains, blossoming gardens, rivers running with mead, and holy spirits and gods feasting in the gardens.

At first glance, all of it seemed thriving—but to think that this scene had persisted for a thousand years or more made it seem only bizarre and uncanny.

"Though I thought I could teleport straight inside the barrier... turns out I still have to find my own way in," the Lady of the Night said, shaking Her head after watching for a while. "Still, that is a good thing. It at least shows this divine realm is in decent shape. Strong repulsion means a stable foundational structure... Let us hope that means it can take a beating overall as well..."

As the words fell, the ancient god took a step through the dark void. In the next instant, Her towering figure arrived at the edge of that divine-realm barrier. She reached out and touched the barrier's shell, then curled Her fingers and rapped on it as if testing its hardness—ripples spread in layers across the surface, drawing a faint smile from Her.

"Quite hard... So it seems that in any era, the concept of 'Abundance' sinks deepest into the hearts of mortals..." She murmured softly, then drew back half a step and gave a light beckon in the void, as though long prepared. In a flash, a gray-white gleam of shadow appeared abruptly in Her hand, curling and writhing unaided against the dark backdrop. The instant it appeared, it showed a tendency to dissipate and run wild in the deep-sea environment, but the next second the power of the anchor generator steadied it once more.

The towering ancient god, standing outside the divine-realm barrier, considered briefly, then casually bound that shadow-rift to the tip of the black-and-white scepter. Her other hand made a casual grab in the darkness, and a swirling mass of shadow-dust appeared in Her palm. It swiftly condensed and compressed, and in the blink of an eye became a trembling gray-white core brimming with astonishing power—so mighty was the force within it, and so unmistakable its pointed intent, that the barrier of the Abundant Realm reacted almost instantly!

Layer upon layer of ripples began appearing from nowhere on the barrier's outer wall, swiftly converging toward the direction the Lady of the Night was watching. Yet the latter merely smiled faintly at this instinct-driven "defense." She casually set that gray-white core of astonishing energy into the center of the shadow-rift bound to the scepter's tip, then stretched Her arm out and drew back like one bending a bow to nock an arrow, and loosed—"Bang!!!"

In the dark, chaotic deep sea, where sound should never carry, a low, muffled boom in that instant swept like a tangible wave across the entire cluster of divine-realm projections!

Within the Abundant Realm, under bright, fair skies, the never-ending feast was underway in that eternally fruitful garden. On both banks of the rivers of wine and honey, spirit-beings animated by divine power danced joyfully; among the great trees and shrubs heavy with fruit, faceless holy spirits moved to and fro. A long dining table stood at the garden's center, laden with the finest dishes and wines that mortal minds could conceive, and the chosen holy spirits drank merrily on either side, prolonging that endless, meaningless feast.

At the table's head, three beautiful goddesses sat quietly amidst green grass and garlands, watching over all within the divine realm with gentle, serene smiles. All three had fair female faces, elegant figures, and cascades of golden hair; on their heads they wore ornaments woven of wheat ears, fresh grass, and flowers. Yet from the waist down their bodies were shaped like elk, and under the light of heaven the pale brown or light-gold fur seemed to shimmer with a thin veil of luminous mist.

Gaia, Mother Earth and Mother of Life, eldest of the Three of Abundance; Eve, Goddess of the Harvest, the second sister; Flora, Goddess of Spring, the youngest—these were the gods mortals imagined as rulers of harvest and earth, the eternal mistresses of this dome... and its prisoners.

Amid that seemingly eternal, meaningless, unchanging feast, the youngest of the three goddesses suddenly blinked.

"Will He understand what we mean?" Breaking the statue-like pose of smiling down upon the realm, the goddess spoke softly to herself.