Chapter 173: Chapter 28 A Journey Together and the Splendor
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Undoubtedly, however one may judge Protheus from other perspectives, his partiality towards humans was truly genuine.
Perhaps there were other thoughts mixed in, such as a secret delight in the rise of his divine power, but that wasn’t the main reason. He liked his own creation, so he was willing to do things for them and always considered things from their perspective—that was the reason for everything he had done in the past, was doing now, and would do in the future.
Thus, Protheus returned to the place where he created humans, a plain in the eastern region of the continent, not too far from the sea. He flew high into the sky to observe from a god’s perspective where there were cattle and sheep, and where the grains were, then guided humans to retrieve them.
He taught humans how to write so that they could record and communicate. He imparted knowledge to humans, all of which the kings of the Golden Humanity had learned from dreams in the previous era. He even relied on his divine body to drive away fierce beasts for humans.
However, over ti, the Forethinker gradually realized that his ticulous care made so humans beco lazy. They enjoyed the creator’s gifts but were unwilling to work.
So, after so thought, Protheus decided not to do everything himself. He would use wisdom to help humans and then let them handle each matter on their own.
From then on, Protheus lived with his brother among human settlents, telling them how to solve various problems.
Of course, he did not forget the most critical thing. The Forethinker guided the construction of temples to worship the gods, and recounted the greatness of each deity one by one. He built the Divine King’s Temple most splendidly, then let the people offer sacrifices to the gods.
The gods responded to humans, just as they had promised. When humans offered more and better things to the gods than they possessed, even though the gods did not actually care about these offerings, they still bestowed blessings upon them.
Ever since, the places where humans lived enjoyed favorable weather and plants bore fruit all year round. When people lit torches, ordinary wild beasts would stay away, and disasters like earthquakes and storms no longer occurred where humans dwelled.
Everything was fine, the gods harvested faith as expected, humans reaped benefits, and even by the command of the Divine King, Protheus created more humans from the remaining materials. But this ti, he made them like children of the gods in their youth. The Forethinker hoped that by doing so, he could make the Divine King realize that it was ti to grant humans won.
And so, years swiftly passed.
…
Another bountiful harvest year, and also the day to sacrifice to the gods.
Under the guidance of Protheus, humans flocked to temples built for different deities. There, they offered up most of their harvest to prove their devotion.
Therefore, within human settlents, the usually bustling scenes were absent, making it seem sowhat deserted.
Walking on human streets and looking around, Laine casually picked a fruit from a tree on the side of the road and handed it to Liana beside him.
The loyal Angel received the fruit but held it in her arms without any intent to eat it.
“Liana, don’t always be so stern. Don’t you think this place is interesting?”
She shook her head slightly, looking at the trees around her laden with ripe fruit.
Even though the arrival of the three goddesses of the All-Spirit Realm had made spring, sumr, and autumn more distinct within Chaos, under Deter’s dominion, the fruit trees here were still evergreen.
Even standing on Mount Olympus, the divine influence on the world remained imnse.
“In a few years, without the influence of divine power, humans have built such large-scale settlents. If I hadn’t seen more remarkable things, I’d be amazed by this as well.”
He admired the primitive and simple architecture around him. The Bronze Humanity was still constructing houses from wood and stone.
Everything seed rough but orderly, exuding a thriving and flourishing vibe.
“But what’s the use of all this? Just one earthquake, or a falling teorite, would reduce everything they have to dust.”
Standing beside Laine, Liana asked with confusion.
If it weren’t for Laine’s decision to co here, the Goddess of the Nether Moon would have never bothered visiting a human tribe. She didn’t find anything remarkable about it.
Just as humans would not marvel, “If I didn’t have wisdom, I would fare worse than those witless beasts,” because wisdom is an innate gift of humans, just as divine power is a god’s innate gift.
Therefore, Laine wasn’t surprised by Liana’s thoughts. What truly made humans valuable to gods, aside from faith, was their creativity. Or perhaps, it was precisely because of their creativity that they were capable of having faith.
This was sothing Laine still couldn’t be sure of, and as for the latter, humans had not yet had the chance to demonstrate it.
“It may seem useless, but they can generate faith, and you do not know why they can. At least on that account, they still have sothing to offer.”
He responded to Liana’s question with simple words, and Laine noticed that, not far from a wooden hut, there was a young man sitting there, lost in thought.
He vaguely looked toward the direction of The Temple but did not join the rest of the humans in worshipping the deities.
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“You’ll understand in ti, Liana, this is civilization. Everything is changing, only change itself is constant. And civilization itself is the source of ‘change’.”
“Let’s go and take a look.”
Liana, seemingly puzzled but following nonetheless, kept pace as Laine advanced. They quickly arrived before the young man.
Noticing the newcors, the young man slightly lifted his head, his previously dull eyes instantly becoming alert.
“Deity.”
The calm tone, the certain judgnt. Among mortals, it is already tricky for gods to discern who has Divine Power, yet Liana’s presence was indisputable proof.
There were no won among humans, thus the visitors must be of the divine.
“Yes, and you are too.”
Nodding his head with a smile, Laine took a seat beside the young man and gestured for Liana to sit as well.
“I brought her along to get a little exposure to the world because, in her current state, it will be difficult for her to advance much further in the future.”
“To do anything, one must learn to plan ahead, not wait until trouble arrives before thinking about a solution.”
Epitheus still didn’t relax, his eyes narrowing slightly. His visit to the human tribe on this special day didn’t strike him as a coincidence.
“There’s probably not much of the world to be seen here, except for and my brother and a bunch of ignorant mortals.”
“Heh.”
With a light chuckle, Laine could sense that Liana’s gaze towards the other had turned sowhat unfriendly.
However, he understood the man’s caution and knew the reason for it. He spoke to reassure him:
“Don’t misunderstand, I’m not here for your brother. Besides, even if his actions go unnoticed, it’s unlikely that he’ll keep succeeding.”
A surge of emotion filled his heart, but then Epitheus fell silent again. The other did indeed know what his brother intended to do. He shouldn’t remain indifferent, but as Laine said, even if this attempt were avoided, Protheus couldn’t succeed forever.
In the endless ti of the deities, if anything is possible, it’s destined to happen, and that’s what he always believed. Epitheus had not supported Protheus’s actions from the start, but the latter clearly didn’t care about his foolish younger brother’s advice.
Over the years, watching humans offer the finest parts of cattle and sheep to the gods, and the best grains as tribute, at first, he felt it was only right. But as ti went by, living and eating with humans, Protheus started feeling imbalanced.
The blessings granted by deities were just a minor exercise of authority, barely affecting their power, but the tributes from humans were tangible, and more for the gods ant a significantly worse life for them.
If the gods truly needed these offerings, then as a trade for blessings, Protheus might have accepted it, but he knew perfectly well that they didn’t. The gods rejoiced at the humans’ devotion and secretly delighted in the existence of the Power of Faith, only to discard the tributes soon after.
Seeing the fruits of his creations’ labors squandered this way, the Forethinker couldn’t help but entertain so unacceptable thoughts.
“Then why have you co?”
Sowhat irritated, Epitheus knew that Protheus wouldn’t et a good end. He had advised him against it, but while it bore no results, and he felt it couldn’t be changed, he let things take their course, although it didn’t make him feel any better.
Even towards humans, his creations to which he was once rather fond, he now felt a growing resentnt.
“If I must give a reason, perhaps it’s to bear witness.”
After a mont of contemplation, Laine spoke slowly.
“To witness sin, to witness sacrifice, and of course, to wait for soone.”
“There aren’t many in this world who et my criteria, who possess ‘potential’, but I think he is one.”
Laine could feel what Evangeline felt—that pure and strong faith that had captured his attention the mont it appeared.
When the Lord of the Spirit Realm cast his gaze there, the traces of History beca clear, but that wasn’t enough. The eldest of the human kings still held on to illusions, after all, he had never truly witnessed the gods’ indifference towards humans. Laine wasn’t in a rush to approach him, but kept a watchful eye instead.
He believed that the most outstanding heroes bloom the brightest flowers under the strongest emotions.
As for Laine, he didn’t need to do anything. The gods of Mount Olympus were already like that.
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