The second day dawned.
Noen had barely slept a wink through the night, catching only a fitful half-slumber.
Fortunately, when he woke up the next day, he was still very clear-headed.
He rubbed his head and slowly walked to the plaza in front of the altar.
Noen looked up at the altar to see the druids, led by the Oak Sage, kneeling before the statue of the Curse God.
They recited prayers in unison, bowing in a manner that was both devout and respectful.
Noen stopped in his tracks, curiously listening to their chants.
"Oh honorable Curse, mysterious Yikabe,
we beseech you to curse us...
we implore you to show rcy in the curse.
We cannot live without your curse, we worship you day and night."
The repeated kneeling, the collective recitation of prayer, all were voicing nearly identical petitions.
Noen watched in astonishnt.
What were they doing?
Praying for a curse?
He had just lifted the curse, so why were they praying for it once again?
Just as Noen was confounded,
Slaier appeared seemingly out of nowhere.
Suddenly, Slaier ca up beside Noen.
"Confused, Noen?" The God of Lies and Deception asked.
Noen nodded subconsciously.
"It’s quite understandable,
they are pleading for a lighter curse."
"Why, why would they do that?"
"Rather than waiting for Yikabe to whimsically bestow a terrible curse, it’s better to proactively beg.
And this has been the tradition of druids for generations."
Slaier said with a playful smile.
Upon hearing this, the scene before him struck Noen with an even greater shock.
Just yesterday, the curse that had plagued three generations was lifted by him.
Noen looked at the prostrate druids.
Their voices were devout, quivering with a hint of tears.
The druids were sincerely begging for a curse.
"So it turns out... after a curse, there cos another curse."
Noen murmured to himself.
He seed to have lifted a curse,
yet nothing had changed.
Worshipping, seeking curses, being cursed then finding the solution, worshipping again, seeking help from the curse, being cursed and finding the solution yet again...
Continually eliciting the delight of the Curse God, pulling at the pleasure of the deity.
Like elks running in circles, there was no end in sight.
Since a particular mont in the past, the druids had been repeating the sa history.
It was the fate of their race,
the druidic triple helix,
it seed...
like an inescapable cycle.
......
When it was ti to depart, the druids sent off the party.
The Oak Sage thanked Noen repeatedly, but the young man’s face was stiff, and he could not utter a word.
In the face of the druids’ cyclic plight, he could do nothing.
On schedule, the group, leading their cals, set out on the road to the Ancient Kingdom.
The God of Lies and Deception led the way, guiding them in circles and starts through the forest.
In this manner, the party traveled for seven whole days.
Noen and his companions had plenty of patience, even after seven days they were not in a rush.
However...
Anxiety appeared on Slaier’s face.
"Strange, strange...
Prophetic God Kagawus clearly said it was in this direction."
In the dead of night, Slaier would look towards the depths of the forest and muse.
Although recently awakened as a Star, he had earned the favor of Kagawus and beca a Subordinate God to the Prophetic God.
And Kagawus, being one of the first five Divine, had bestowed many mories upon the God of Lies and Deception.
Therefore, Slaier knew many secrets unknown to other divine beings.
At the sa ti, he also knew where the Ancient Kingdom lay.
But Slaier had not anticipated that the barriers cast by Prophetic God Kagawus and the God of Secrets Noen would be so flawlessly imperceptible.
The inability to fulfill the pact made the God of Lies and Deception unspokenly restless.
Another seven days passed.
The group had still not found the whereabouts of the Ancient Kingdom.
They began to feel that they were just circling the sa spot, unable to find the true path.
Under these circumstances, the group occasionally cast doubtful glances towards Slaier.
Slaier rely gazed long into the depths of the forest, as if hesitating over sothing.
Then, the party wandered the forest for four sets of seven days each.
Just when Slaier thought he was about to catch the direction, for so unknown reason, he would lead them into the mists among the woods.
"Secretive God Noen..."
Slaier whispered facing the depths of the forest.
At that mont, Noen approached.
The days of futile search had worn down the group’s confidence and patience.
Slaier turned abruptly, his words biting:
"I know what you want to ask. You want to ask why I still haven’t taken you to the Ancient Kingdom!"
Noen did not speak, simply nodding slightly.
The God of Lies and Deception ran his fingers through his hair, with a bitter smile:
"It’s not so simple...
The God of Secrets Noen and Prophetic God Kagawus have set up a barrier that obscures the location of the Ancient Kingdom.
I thought that no matter how perfect, there would be flaws to exploit.
I didn’t expect... that I had underestimated them."
"Honorable Slaier... what should we do now?"
Noen asked in a low voice.
As a mortal, Noen had not expected the Divine to obscure the existence of the Ancient Kingdom, he could only rely on the God of Lies and Deception before him.
Slaier gritted his teeth, staring at the mist before him, saying not a word for a long while.
Noen waited patiently by his side.
At last, the God of Lies and Deception spoke slowly.
"It’s not that there’s no way."
"What way?"
"There are two thods, one is to stay here for decades or even close to a hundred years, until we find an insignificant loophole."
"And the other?"
Noen couldn’t help but ask.
"The other is quite mad, but very effective."
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