Chapter 1509 — Dropping In

"Hard to say... Though He was once the high god of the elves and is closely bound to our origins, He severed His connection to the divine seat three thousand years ago and no longer concerns Himself with matters in this deep sea..." said eldest sister Gaia softly. "And besides, the message we left is far too subtle and faint. I fear that even if He noticed, He could draw nothing from it."

"But this is already the limit of what we can do," Eve, Goddess of the Harvest, also suddenly broke free of that statue-like "eternal smile," a sigh in Her tone. "To cross the bounds of divine authority and release a message into the mortal world without stirring our divinity—that we managed even this step is little short of a miracle..."

Flora, Goddess of Spring, nodded gently, then raised Her head to look behind Herself and Her two sisters—in Her sight, She could clearly see shadows beyond mortal comprehension or perception, shadows seeping from around the bodies of the three sisters, hazily forming illusions like chains that stretched out along the lush grass and flowers of the land. And at the end of every chain, in the shadow of every shrub and every fruit tree, at the bottom of the rivers, in the crevices of the soil—all were steeped in something like bloodstain, a dark and writhing horror.

It was a chilling apparition, a truth that could drive mortals mad—here within this divine realm, amidst all things that seemed so peaceful, fair, and bountiful on the surface, every crevice and shadow in truth concealed something foul and mad, ceaselessly growing.

Only, these ever-spreading "apparitions" had not yet crossed that dreadful balance point; the side of order and reason still held the upper hand here, and so what the three goddesses saw before them remained a peaceful and serene realm... at least, so it was when they did not look too closely.

"At least we are a little luckier than other gods," the Goddess of the Harvest said suddenly. "There are three of us sisters. When trouble comes we can consult one another; when terror comes we can encourage one another; and even if we attempt something that crosses the line, we can watch one another and keep from losing control near the boundary."

"The boundary..." Eldest sister Gaia murmured to herself, lifting Her eyes to the distance. Beyond the garden's edge, She—earliest born of the three—could see things more numerous and more real than what Her two sisters saw. "The boundary is changing faster and faster. In all the centuries past, mortals' understanding of the world has never shifted as violently as it does today."

Eve, Goddess of the Harvest, shook Her head slightly. "But it is precisely this 'change' that has given us the chance to think and confer freely as we do now."

Listening to her two elder sisters, Flora, Goddess of Spring, only lowered Her head to look at Her own hands. Under Her gaze, those hands suddenly grew illusory, showing blurred and split outlines like a doubled image—as though two "Her" were overlapping, yet in the overlapping some misalignment had occurred.

"In fact, that 'Divine Authority Council' the mortals established has already taken effect. Our divine and human parts are gradually separating, are they not?" After gazing for a long while, the youngest goddess suddenly broke the silence. "I think perhaps we could be bolder—like those two who already succeeded. Our divine part has no capacity for thought; it only runs according to rules. And if our human part acts quickly enough, it can complete the cut in an instant..."

"We have discussed that plan. No," eldest sister Gaia cut Flora off without hesitation. "Though our human and divine parts show signs of separation, that separation is nowhere near the point where we can act rashly. Sending a message into the mortal world was already a probe at the boundary. One step further, and I fear we would lose control in an instant."

Second sister Eve shook Her head as well. "Some successes cannot be replicated... Striking the firmament requires supreme mastery of one's own power and the critical point of madness; escaping divine authority requires thousands of years of preparation and a deep understanding of the 'Weave.' But we are neither ancient gods of rich experience and mighty power like the former, nor do we possess the preparation and learning of the latter. To cross the line recklessly can only invite madness—and the consequences of that madness would devour not only ourselves, but countless mortals besides."

Flora fell silent. After a long silence, She could only heave a sigh. "Yes... we cannot bring disaster upon them. But our time..."

"Bang!!!"

A low, muffled boom suddenly swept across the whole of heaven and earth, and the mighty aura it carried swept over the divine-realm dome like a storm. Flora's sigh was cut short in an instant. The goddess—quite young among the gods—raised Her head in astonishment and cried out, "What is happening?!"

"It seems some immensely powerful force has struck our dome..." Eldest sister Gaia rose to Her feet at once as well. "But how is that possible..."

For a divine realm operating in the deep sea to be "attacked" by an outside force was utterly unimaginable to the "younger gods" who had never lived through the Voyager's age. All three goddesses were startled by the impact at once, and with their reaction, the operation of the entire divine realm changed in the blink of an eye—

The feasting at the long table froze in an instant; every holy spirit's figure seemed congealed in place, and the spirit-beings dancing on the riverbanks swiftly shrank back into the nearby shrubs and grasses. The breeze over the plains no longer stirred, the saplings in the garden no longer swayed, and layer upon layer of thorns swiftly grew out from the garden's edges. These thorns grew ever taller and more numerous, soon becoming like ramparts, and began to spread upward and close together.

Through the gaps in the ever-closing thicket of thorns, Flora at last saw the great hole that had appeared in the divine-realm dome—some incomprehensible, mighty force had pierced that sturdy barrier woven by mortal minds, and dreadful cracks spread from the mouth of the hole all the way to the sky's end. Though the breach was already healing rapidly, the terrible sight it presented still left the three goddesses aghast.

Then, at last, the thorn-barrier above the garden closed.

The Abundant Garden was wholly covered by the sturdy ramparts of thorn; the faint glow emanating from between the thorns lit the area around the "feast table" where the three goddesses sat, and the turbulent, restless aura in the divine realm subsided as the thorns closed. Only then did Flora breathe a small sigh of relief. She patted Her chest lightly. "What was that just now..."

No sooner had the words left Her mouth than a gray-white "hue" abruptly flooded Her field of vision.

The gray-white surged like a tide, swiftly spreading from the thicket to all things in the garden. The green grass and fresh flowers all lost their color in that moment; even the light drifting in the air seemed all at once to turn a lifeless gray-white. The illusory holy spirits and spirit-beings gathered about the table vanished one after another, and amid a sudden wave of weakness, Flora felt a hand suddenly clap down on Her shoulder.

That hand was cold and soft, and seemed to hold invincible power.

A voice that sounded gentle and harmless came from behind the Goddess of Spring.

"I did knock."

(End of Chapter)