Chapter 1548 — The Stars Take Their Seats

Once the conspiracy between the mortal kings and the gods had ended, those towering figures walked one after another into the depths of darkness at the far end of the wasteland, just as they had come. The churning, roiling fog of chaos was like a boundless sea of darkness, and at its farthest shore lay the realm of the gods—Gao Yang watched their colossal backs recede, as though watching a line of prisoners slowly walking back to their cells.

The chains of these prisoners had already been struck away, yet for the sake of striking the chains from this world as well, they would have to endure a while longer within their cages. The good news was that the final day of liberation was drawing near: the curtain had risen on the Twilight of the Gods, and the dawn of the mortal world was not far off.

The gods departed one by one, and the vast assembly ground quickly grew deserted. Only Baufar, the God of Commerce, remained to the last. He seemed about to rise and leave as well, but before departing he suddenly paused, turned, and looked toward Gao Yang.

Gao Yang studied this giant-like middle-aged deity draped in a long robe and asked with some curiosity, "Is there something else?"

"I'd like to consult you about a few things," Baufar said with complete frankness. Then in two strides he came before Gao Yang and sat down cross-legged on the ground with perfect ease, setting the large book he had been holding onto a nearby rock. The utterly undignified gesture was nothing like a god—and yet, in its way, exactly like a god. "These things have been troubling me for a long time."

The heavy tome landed on the stone with a thud, and when the giant deity sat down, the earth itself shuddered. Gao Yang felt himself tremble along with it, and only then did his gaze fall upon the cover of the great book. The next second, his expression turned strange—for there on the cover, in bold characters, he read: *Fundamental Principles of Modern Economics*.

Gao Yang: "...Why are you reading this?"

"I was reading it before Lady Night came to find me," Baufar said earnestly. "It counts as one of the few 'freedoms' I had during my days bound to the divine throne."

Gao Yang looked thoughtfully at the great book Baufar had set out, mused for a moment, and then asked, "You're trying to use this method to 'escape your predicament'?"

"Not necessarily escape," Baufar smiled. "Perhaps it also lets me keep pace with you all, just a little. I know it's not really of much use—the power that bound me came chiefly from the currents of thought, and my own understanding had precious little influence on them. But even to keep up just a little... Of course, I don't seem to need that anymore. Still, I've found that the things you brought with you are genuinely interesting in themselves."

Gao Yang was briefly taken aback, and for some reason he thought of the three Fertility Goddesses asking Amoen about growing vegetables. Suddenly he realized something—the gods, or rather the "human nature" of the gods, were just as curious as mortals...

So a "divine human nature" that possessed curiosity, the capacity to learn, and all the seven emotions and six desires, joy and anger, sorrow and happiness... should it be counted as mortal, or as divine?

These idle thoughts flashed through his mind and did not trouble Gao Yang for long. He simply burst out laughing and pointed at the great book. "Go ahead and ask, then. I won't necessarily have all the answers, but whatever I know, I'll tell you."

...

"...It wasn't only the God of Nature and the Goddess of Magic who actively sought a way out. In fact, before I ever came knocking, many of the gods of this season of civilization had more or less become aware of the hidden dangers in the currents of thought, and had begun seeking ways to break free within the limits of their power."

At the center of a boundless gray-white desert, Lady Night's voice came from above the magnificent throne, her tone as calm as if she were chatting with an old friend.

"It's a fascinating phenomenon," She continued. "Over the past million-odd years, civilization on this planet has turned over season after season, but no matter which season it was, the gods behind it were always the slowest to react and the most passive in their actions—which fits perfectly with the logic of the 'shackles of thought.' But the situation changed in this season of civilization. The gods of this season are active. They've grown to feel a sense of crisis, they're full of curiosity, and even while bound to their divine stations they've shown tremendous capacity for action.

"The God of Nature and the Goddess of Magic, successful 'escapees' as they are, are representatives of this. And beyond those two, there is the God of Holy Light, who took the initiative to break through the shackles of his divine office; the God of War, who voluntarily descended to the mortal world to seek death; and the God of Commerce, who tried to break through the 'information loop' and actively sought contact with new fields of knowledge... That last one left the deepest impression on me."

From the stone pillar before the throne, Wild's voice finally came: "You didn't mention this when you returned earlier."

"Oh? Didn't I? Then I must have forgotten," Lady Night chuckled softly. "That scene was rather amusing. When I knocked and paid a visit to the Sanctum of Wealth, I found Baufar sitting on the floor, clutching a copy of *Fundamental Principles of Modern Economics* that his followers had offered up as sacrifice, gnawing his way through it. All around him were piled every manner of economics treatise—things he'd been sending down divine oracles every few days to have his followers deliver. I've never seen a god study the knowledge created by mortals with such diligence. It seemed he was trying to prevent his own loss of control this way, or at least delay it as long as possible... I was deeply moved."

Wild promptly pressed: "Ah... and then?"

"Moved as I was, I still gave him a whack and turned him from a 'She' into a 'he,'" Lady Night sighed. "If he'd started studying ten years earlier, he might have made it in time. But 'graduation' is only a year away now—how could he possibly work his way through modern economics from scratch in time? So I had no choice but to graduate him early. Looking back, Baufar must have been shaken by the God of War's fall, and that's what made him think of changing his fate through knowledge..."

Wild was stunned for a moment, then finally blurted out: "Is that how 'changing your fate through knowledge' is supposed to be used?"

"More or less. Anyway, that's how the entry is used on your pages," Lady Night said airily, then added with a smile, "It wasn't just Baufar, either. Behind the God of Blood's throne I dug out a complete set of *Modern Contract Theory*, and Nefari's temple was positively stuffed with *The Cecil Film and Television Weekly* and *Idol Beat*—do you know how shocked I was when I saw those things? Every bit as shocked as when a whole flood of memories about the old Zongzi suddenly surfaced in my mind..."

Wild seemed a little dumbfounded by Lady Night's words. He was silent for nearly half a minute before he suddenly spoke: "But why did such a change happen? Why are the gods behind this season of civilization so vastly different from those of the past million-odd years? Could it be... that this change is also the result of the order Gao Yang Cecil has been promoting since his resurrection?"