Chapter 162: The Fall of the Gods

“I’m weak? It’s clearly you who are too foolish! The gods, Minerva, even my other half! They all oppose me because of those meaningless lives trapped in a destined cycle, not realizing they’ve played right into the world’s hands!”

“Well, how about that! Those self-proclaimed righteous and kind ones, aren’t they all falling in the Twilight War? Do they truly believe that the world’s malice will differ due to individual actions? Idiots! You’re all idiots! You too!!!”

“Enough, Withering Goddess, in these final moments… stop showing that face. Hasn’t over a thousand years of sealing made you realize?”

A greenish light slowly rose from the stone statue, transforming into a girl with green hair and eyes almost identical to Xi Fu’s. Her sorrowful and wistful gaze intertwined with the deranged goddess’s gray eyes, leaving the latter momentarily stunned.

“This feeling… Life, is that you?”

Xi Fu’s voice suddenly became complex, filled with shock, wonder, and a hint of sorrow and anger.

“It’s me. I never expected to see you again… Calm down and listen to me, there are hidden truths behind the fall of the Earth Mother Goddess. Besides the world’s malice, there are others secretly guiding events, and those technologies from the Aibus world are problematic.”

“I can’t believe even you have awakened. You and Minerva teamed up to trap me in that seal for over a thousand years, and now you want to confuse me with these alarming words…”

“I’m not trying to alarm you!”

Xi Fu Lin suddenly shouted, and even as a mere phantom, her usual gentle demeanor transformed into wrathful authority, instantly silencing the somewhat restless Withering Goddess.

“Tell me, when did you escape the seal, and who released you?”

“What does it matter to you? Aren’t you the one who ludicrously ran out as well…?”

For some reason, despite being able to handle situations in front of more powerful beings like Miss Vilyric and Little Dragon Daughter, the Goddess struggled to speak and appeared guilty when conversing with Xi Fu Lin, a half who split from her own essence.

Xi Fu Lin didn’t give her an opportunity to dodge the question, her gaze piercing into the goddess’s gray eyes, pronouncing each word clearly.

“Is it, a visitor from below the Abyss?”

“How do you know…?!”

Instinctively gasping, she noticed that Miss Vilyric and Little Dragon Daughter were still nearby. Xi Fu’s face turned annoyed as she covered her mouth, clearly not wanting the two to know this particular secret.

“How do I know? Hmph…”

Xi Fu Lin scoffed and turned to Miss Priestess, who had quietly returned to her kingdom, munching on snacks.

“Vilyric, please bring out that book.”

“Ah?”

Speaking of books, the only thing Xi Fu Lin could refer to in this situation was indeed one item, so Miss Vilyric cooperatively retrieved the wordless book obtained from the Fragrant Auction House, stored in her backpack.

This book remained unchanged, having been neglected in the corner of the item storage since Xi Fu Lin’s failed attempt to restore it, which also led her into slumber.

“This book, Withering Goddess, you probably haven’t seen it, but the lingering aura on it isn’t hard for you and me to recognize.”

“…The shell of a source fragment’s seal?”

Although she had grown significantly weak, Xi Fu’s divine status and perceptiveness hadn’t diminished. She could effortlessly judge what even Xi Fu Lin in the seal could perceive.

“Correct. The divine spark fragments inside have been taken away, but it wasn’t me. Vilyric might think you did it, but that’s also not the right answer. If it had been a fusion, the contents would have completely vanished, rather than leaving remnants like this.”

The Withering Goddess furrowed her brow deeply, and Miss Priestess, who had been singled out, shared a similar expression. It looked like Xi Fu Lin intended to inform her earlier but didn’t have time to finish.

“I read the memories remaining in this book. The one who took the divine spark fragment is an existence claiming to come from below the Abyss. Withering Goddess, you’ve seen it, right?”

“…”

Without answering Xi Fu Lin’s question, the Withering Goddess suddenly replied with another question.

“What do you intend to do with me?”

After a brief pause, the green-haired girl manifesting from the stone statue glanced at Vilyric, who nonchalantly shrugged her shoulders.

In truth, while Miss Priestess decided to intervene against Xi Fu, she hadn’t deeply considered how to handle the situation—killing her or sealing her again as Xi Fu Lin suggested; as long as it wasn’t a straightforward release, Vilyric could accept it.

Seeing the black-haired girl reveal a tacit approval, Xi Fu Lin pondered for a moment.

“What you’ve done is truly too much. We will likely split the divine spark again and re-seal all parts, including you…”

For some reason, both sides fell silent. In the end, it was Xi Fu, representing the Withering consciousness, who spoke softly.

“Is that so? So, this includes you too, doesn’t it?”

“…What are you talking about? I never left the seal.”

“Hah… Pushing that off onto that girl named Vilyric is fine, but you and I are one. We both know the essence of this seal; in fact, since the moment I awakened, the so-called seal has already become meaningless, hasn’t it? You’re just intentionally staying inside.”

Eh? Is that so?

Someone in the audience froze for a moment.

Xi Fu Lin hurriedly turned back, a bit flustered as she explained.

“Don’t misunderstand, Vilyric, I really didn’t intend to deceive you. Although after being nourished by your divine soul and awakening, I indeed had the power to break the seal at that moment, doing so could invite troublesome things, and I originally planned to—”

“Hmph, quite the schemer, I see. No wonder you’re an ancient goddess who’s lived for thousands of years~”

She said this while intentionally posing, feigning displeasure. However, after the initial shock, Vilyric wasn’t really that angry.

Even though Xi Fu Lin had become a close friend, there are still privacy matters among friends, just as Miss Priestess had her own secrets, like her journey and abilities.

Do unto others as you would have them do unto you; as long as it’s not a deliberate trap set for her, normally, it’s all good.

“You two have such a good relationship…”

The Goddess said, cast a slightly jealous glance at them, and spoke softly.

“The divine spark fragments originate from the same source, connecting with each other. As long as one part escapes the seal, the others will also be influenced, and awakening is only a matter of time. Therefore, if we want to re-seal the Earth Mother Goddess, both you and I must again fall into slumber.”

As she spoke, she sneered.

“Not only that, if what you say is true and the beings from below the Abyss have collected some divine spark fragments, we will also need to seal those they have. But who knows where those beings have run off to? Heh heh, what a good calculation. Life, it seems your plan is a bit hard to fulfill.”

   

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