Isha gently floated down to Nurgle's cauldron.
Her erald light, unlike Nurgle's dark green, was filled with vitality, so soothing it seed to cleanse the air.
Rhodes was montarily stunned by her beauty: truly a peerless goddess, with a frail, sickly charm.
Words couldn't describe her. The life aura she gave off filled the garden with a sweet fragrance as if purifying the stench.
"What have you made this ti?"
"I made a deal with a being from the material universe and got a zombie monster.
It fits my concept of life so well! Hard to believe such a thing could be born in the real universe!" Nurgle excitedly introduced his new monster.
Isha nodded, bent down to examine the cauldron—then pinched her nose in disgust.
Rot, stench, viruses, ulcers, filth, pus—every word for foulness fit this monster. It was Nurgle's perfect creation.
Every ti she saw Nurgle's creations, she felt sick, but this one actually existed in the real universe!
If Nurgle hadn't told her so, she'd think it was just another new Nurgle monster—how could such an ugly, disgusting thing evolve naturally?
No, not even a life form—just a zombie.
Could Nurgle be right about the nature of life? Was her own concept of life evolution wrong?
Isha suddenly felt awful.
"Here, try so of my soup—I've stewed it for over a month." Nurgle ladled out so green water and offered it to her.
Expressionless, Isha drained the cup. After ten thousand years of captivity, she'd drunk plenty of Nurgle's broth.
At first, it made her body rot and ulcerate.
Back then, she was terrified, helpless, and furious.
But over the millennia, Isha learned to be strong and learned to analyze each new plague's weakness and pass it on to mortals in dreams.
"How's the taste, my dear?" Nurgle looked on expectantly.
Isha pursed her lips and replied,
"Well… it's a bit different this ti. You should stew the monster longer. Its toxins are pretty ordinary—just a stench, rotting corpse. Its cells are special—they can regenerate indefinitely—but that's all."
She'd expected sothing more toxic, but it was surprisingly mild—barely harmful at all, just a bit of stomach upset or bad sll.
"I just wanted it to absorb my power, so I didn't add anything but my own divine energy. Its toxicity is weak, but I believe it'll grow stronger." Nurgle said.
"Then, if there's nothing else, I'd like to return to my own garden," Isha said.
"You're always so cold! After all these millennia!" Nurgle protested.
"How could I not care about you? You embody the life of the whole universe, while I'm just the embodint of a mortal race," Isha replied.
"Enough. But this creature is special—co, little one, say sothing so Isha can see what you can do." Nurgle looked into the cauldron and called to Rhodes.
"He can't answer—he has no soul, you can tell," Isha frowned.
A soulless corpse couldn't possibly greet her.
"That's where you're wrong, Isha. That's what makes it special—no soul, but self-awareness. Am I right, little one?" Nurgle asked.
"Hello, Goddess Isha!" Rhodes, controlling the zombie monster, opened its mouth and even waved a claw, showing a terrifying grin.
This startled Isha—her eyes widened in disbelief.
"Impossible! Is this so kind of trick? Are you ssing with ?" she asked Nurgle.
A soulless being can't be self-aware—they're just walking corpses, only capable of basic instincts.
But this was no ordinary soulless being!
"I'm not tricking you, Isha! I even tried to give it a Great Daemon's soul, but the body devoured it!
Even after that, it didn't develop a soul. No matter what I feed it, it can digest, but it'll never have a soul," Nurgle described.
"That's not possible! Such a life shouldn't exist!" Isha said.
"That's why I called you—you wield life energy too. Maybe you can figure it out." Nurgle replied.
Curious, Isha reached into the cauldron, picked up the monster like a doll, and scrutinized it.
His monster was seventy ters tall, but in the eyes of the gods, just doll-sized. In the Warp, size didn't matter.
"Very strange! No soul, yet self-aware." Isha examined the monster.
"I told you! Do you like it, Isha? If so, I'll give it to you." Nurgle said lovingly.
Having stewed it, he'd already figured out its life structure. He could now recreate its special cells and viruses at will.
The monster, once cooked, was no longer of use.
Isha shot Nurgle a look and threw the monster back in the cauldron.
"I think it's great! Its life is perfect—it proves the universe agrees with my view of life. Soday, bacteria and viruses will rule!" Nurgle said.
"Forget it… actually, maybe I'll keep it as a pet!" Isha suddenly changed her mind.
"Really? You like it? It's the first ti you've accepted my gift! Take it to your garden!" Nurgle said happily.
Isha nodded, tore a piece of green cloth from her skirt, and used it to pick up Rod.
"I'm off. If I get bored, I'll throw it out, don't be mad." Isha said.
"If you get tired of it, just put it in my garden—they're all adorable little creatures," Nurgle replied.
Isha nodded, waved her arm, opened a green portal, and left.
…
Rhodes found himself in a stunning world—flowers, green trees, deer, treants, owls, and fairies lived here.
It was the opposite of Nurgle's foul garden—here was vibrant, like a paradise.
This was Isha's garden—the most beautiful, clean place in Nurgle's realm, hated by all Nurgle's daemons.
Everything here was nurtured by Isha's divine power.
"Lady Isha, what's that thing you're holding? It's so ugly!" a fairy asked.
"Go play elsewhere, little one. I'll handle this," Isha gently stroked the fairy's head, went into her palace, shut the door, and tossed Rhodes on the floor.
"Goddess of Life, how do you plan to deal with ?" Rhodes asked.
"What exactly are you?" Isha asked.
"I think Father already explained," Rhodes replied.
"Don't lie. I didn't want to bring you, but I sensed the Laughing God's power in you!
If you say you have nothing to do with him, I'll crush you with life energy. Nurgle won't mind," Isha said.
She didn't want the monster, but for a mont, she sensed the Laughing God's power!
PS: Bonus Chapter at 100 PS
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