Myth: The Ruler of Spirituality

Musing to himself, Momon felt drowsiness surging over him, and he prepared to take a nap.

“Probably not, after all, you’ve never seen a fellow human die, let alone experienced what it’s like to age. Once you truly witness it, you’ll know fear.”

“Who’s there!”

The sleepiness vanished in an instant. Momon hadn’t expected to encounter an unknown being twice in just half a day.

Moreover, it seemed that this second visitor wasn’t merely passing by but had come specifically for him.

He grasped the short copper sword he always kept by his side. Although it was probably useless against the newcomer, it offered Momon a bit of psychological comfort at least.

His gaze was sharp as he scanned the area, but amidst the flickering firelight, there was nothing out of the ordinary.

“Don’t be afraid. As a ‘Priest’ favored by Prometheus, I won’t harm you.”

“After all, if we alerted him to our presence, that would complicate matters.”

Accompanied by a slight laugh, a figure slowly emerged. The stranger looked no different from a young human, a gentle smile playing on his lips.

If it had been during the day, Momon would probably have been happy to make friends with someone like this. But now, it seemed highly likely that the other party wasn’t even human.

“Who are you? This place is under the watch of the creator, and it’s not too late for you to leave now.”

Rolling over to sit up from the wooden bed, sword in hand, Momon was vigilant.

He had already resolved that if the stranger could be frightened off by the name of the creator, he would immediately seek shelter with Prometheus.

But in reality, he also knew his plan might not come to pass.

As expected, under his watchful eyes, the stranger had no intention of retreating. Instead, they simply curled their lips and spoke with a smile:

“Prometheus, he’s already in a precarious situation himself. Why would you think he could protect you?”

“Surely you don’t believe that desecrating a Deity is so easily forgiven.”

With a touch of mockery, Mephisto had thought he would need a lot of time to find his opportunity, but to his utter disbelief, the prescient deity he had once dealt with had done such a thing in just half a day.

To deceive the gods for some petty offerings, any deity passing near human settlements would have seen through his little scheme. Mephisto was even wondering whether this prescient sage simply had a reputation that exceeded his abilities, or had become so deluded that he forgot who he was.

Did he think himself greater than those transcendent beings above all gods?

But perhaps this was for the best. He no longer needed to consider how to kill humans en masse—after all, he only had one shot. The Lord of the Nine Hells had told him that the ruler of the Spirit Realm might turn a blind eye to his pilfering of mortal souls, but that did not mean other entities in the Spirit Realm would do the same.

He had been puzzling over how to ‘feast to his fill’ at once, but now he needed only to watch as humans destroyed themselves, sowing enough ‘seeds’ before that happened.

In a century or two, everything could be put to rest.

“…You are not from the Deity Race?”

After a brief silence, the strange presence on the other side exposed Momon’s greatest fear. Strictly speaking, many priests, like him, reveled in their immediate happiness yet dreaded the day of their exposure.

He was unsure what the creator would do, but as a priest who had deceived a deity, Momon felt he certainly wouldn’t face a good end. Thankfully, the second unknown being he encountered today didn’t seem to be a deity either.

“Certainly, I am not a deity. In fact, in the past, I too was human, but from the destroyed Silver Humanity.”

“What?”

Momon was shocked.

He had heard of Silver Humanity, a generation that had been irreverent towards the gods, a sinful generation of humans. They had all died at the turn of two eras, and their souls had vanished without a trace.

Yet the stranger before him not only claimed to be from the Silver Humanity but also possessed a power that was clearly beyond the grasp of any common being. This was hard for him to accept—had the creator lied to him?

“Heh, in the eyes of most, Silver Humanity is indeed a thing of the past, yet the great Lord of the Nine Hells has granted us rebirth,”

As if discerning Momon’s thoughts, Mephisto casually explained.

“As for your creator Prometheus… he is a deity difficult to assess. He once made contact with us, but ultimately gave up.”

Shaking his head, now that he was no longer influenced by Source Power in his thoughts, Mephisto didn’t know how to evaluate this deity.

If it hadn’t been for him, the Silver Humanity of old would probably not have even been able to learn the most basic knowledge, but now, both parties were clearly standing on opposite sides.

“So what are you here for? Do you want me to act against the creator?”

Trying to calm himself down, Momon knew that there must be something of use to the other party.

And looking up and down, he felt that only his relationship with the creator was worth the other’s consideration.

“No, I have no interest in gods.”

However, to Momon’s surprise, the other party laughed and denied his thought.

“In fact, Momon, I am more interested in you.”

Reaching out a hand, Mephisto took a small vial from his bosom in front of Momon.

The vial was crystal clear, not at all a creation within the capabilities of current human craftsmanship. Within it, a dark red liquid swirl and rolled slowly.

“This is my blood. After drinking it, you can jump higher, have more strength, sharper senses, and you will possess some extraordinary powers. Of course, most importantly, you will live much longer.”

“But I don’t need it.”

With a stiff tone, Momon was uninterested in drinking anything given by a stranger.

“Perhaps, you indeed don’t need it now.”

Placing the small vial on the table, Mephisto smiled and said:

“But you will in the future.”

“Use your eyes to see, use your body to feel. When you see your peers aging, when your eyes no longer see clearly, when you start to fear, drink it, and you will gain more time.”

“Moreover, I hope you understand,”

Standing in the shadows, Mephisto seemed very sincere.

“We were once human, and humans can understand each other, but humans and gods are different.”

“They require human faith, not humans themselves. No matter how much you contribute to them, if you do not believe in them, there won’t be much of a difference in outcome.”

“So remember, Momon, never pray to a deity for immortality. Otherwise, you will surely regret it.”

With a mysterious smile, Mephisto’s figure gradually receded, turning into a wisp of black mist that dispersed and then vanished. Momon remained vigilant for a while until the Moon was high in the sky before he gradually relaxed.

He looked at the small vial on the table and hesitated for a moment. Momon had intended to tell the creator about today’s events and to ask him to deal with the contents of the vial, but ultimately, for some reason, he hid it beneath his bed.

He had no plans to use it and did not trust this stranger from Silver Humanity. If he could deceive the gods, then how could others not deceive him?

And thinking of the other’s last words, Momon couldn’t help but find them somewhat laughable.

“Pray to a god for immortality… huh, doesn’t he know that there is no such option in the blessings bestowed by deities?”

“Even if I wanted to do that, no deity has ever made such a promise.”

Shaking his head and thinking no more of it, although he did not plan to tell the creator, Momon decided to secretly observe the other priests the next day, especially Ossen.

He wasn’t sure that this mysterious person had only approached him.