Myth: The Ruler of Spirituality

“So, Liana, how did you end up fighting with Hades?”

Sitting at a small table in front of the house, Laine was holding a small knife, carving a wooden figure.

On the table beside him lay many different kinds of wood carvings. They were exquisitely lifelike and looked no different from real people.

“Although Hades doesn’t seem to be as content with his lot as he appears, he also doesn’t seem like someone who would provoke you intentionally.”

He didn’t ask much yesterday, but now that he had some free time, Laine was a bit curious.

Since he had let Liana handle the matter on her own, he naturally wouldn’t be peeking and watching all the time. As a result, he was completely clueless about how Hades had managed to offend his Angel.

However, thinking about Liana’s usual attitude towards the deities of the current world, it didn’t seem surprising that they would end up fighting.

“…He said some very annoying things, so I wanted to teach him a lesson,” Liana said after a moment’s silence.

Laine was somewhat surprised at her reply; the reason was not important, but it was the first time he saw Liana hesitate when facing her own problems. However, he only pondered briefly and did not continue to probe.

As the lord of the Spirit Realm, he respected every Spirit Realm life’s right to independence, as long as it did not concern his own interests.

“If that’s what you wanted to do, then go ahead.”

“But remember next time, before you act, think whether you can achieve your goal, and what you will have to sacrifice for it. If it were me, I’d either not take action at all, or be prepared to deal with the trouble if I did.”

As his hands continued carving, Laine, as he had said, seldom resorted to violence; every time he did act, it was with a purpose.

In contrast, if not for the accidentally created River of Oblivion, Liana could be said to have fought for no reason and gained almost nothing from it.

“All right, go take care of your business. You’ve drawn a river for Erinys; it’s only right to have a word with her about it.”

Laine waved his hand dismissively, and Liana, pressing her lips together, obeyed and left. Though she didn’t say much, the Goddess of the Nether Moon could still see that Laine was less than pleased with how the event had unfolded, but Liana felt it was simply because she wasn’t strong enough.

“Able to achieve the goal” and “prepared to solve problems”; clearly, had she already reached greatness, she could have easily solved all the problems she faced yesterday.

“Still not enough experience.”

“But of course, confined to the Spirit Realm since birth, how could she look at the world with a more rational perspective? Even the gods of Chaos are no exception.”

With a slight sigh, Laine decided to put aside Liana’s affairs for the moment. He looked up just as Ande’s small figure was approaching from the end of the path outside the courtyard.

On his back, a large basket was filled with firewood, which appeared to be quite heavy.

Over the years, even though the blessings of deities have allowed the Bronze Humanity to live comfortably, that was only comparative. In any case, the Humans of the present were still in a primitive and barbaric era, and when it came to the level of civilization, they were even inferior to the once Golden Race.

During thousands of years of development, the Golden Humanity had already mastered all the skills passed down in the Civilization Slate, only lacking further innovation. In contrast, a mere decade or so was far from sufficient for the new Bronze Humanity to learn the legacies of their predecessors.

Therefore, in such an era, even with the Fire that drove away calamities, they still needed to cut wood. Even with the evergreen fruit trees, they also needed to herd cattle and sheep. Ande was no exception.

Early today, he had gone to a forest more than a dozen miles away to prepare fuel for the coming days.

“Big brother, I’m back,” Ande announced as he entered the courtyard and put down the bamboo basket loaded with firewood, wiping off the sweat on his face.

If this scene were witnessed by people from later times, they would definitely accuse Laine of exploiting a child, but to the big and small in this courtyard, it seemed perfectly normal.

Laine felt it was justified, for what he was about to give Ande was far more valuable than what the latter had given. Ande also felt it was justified, for he realized that Laine knew a lot.

Ande wasn’t stupid; he had his guesses about Laine’s identity. Perhaps this big brother was a skilled ‘craftsman’.

“You’re back, that’s good, come here, Ande,” Laine said, finishing the final stroke and examining the wooden doll in his hand.

Perfect in appearance, the inside was also filled with organs, blood vessels, and meridians indistinguishable from those of a real body. He hadn’t used any extraordinary power; this was the pinnacle of mortals’ craftsmanship, enhanced by his Godhood.

Of course, without a transcendent physique, it would have been absolutely impossible to master the technique of projecting force through the exterior without damaging the wood.

“Come on, pick one,” Laine beckoned to Ande. On the stone table at the moment, there were varied dolls, including a small wooden sailboat that didn’t yet exist in this era, and a chessboard complete with diverse chess pieces.

These were the results of Laine’s carvings today. Of course, they were not Divine Artifacts with extraordinary effects; they were simply ordinary wood carvings.