Myth: The Ruler of Spirituality

“I am.”

Lifting her head high, Pandora looked at the black-haired goddess in front of her and spoke with certainty.

“Very well.”

Nodding slightly, Liana didn’t know what was special about this person before her, which made Laine send a gift from afar. However, all she had to do was follow through.

Extending her hand, a flickering illusory star appeared in Liana’s palm. She observed Pandora, and her gaze finally settled on the clay jar she was holding.

“Princess Liana, this is the gift my brother sent. He once cautioned that it would be best not to open it.”

At the corner of his eye, Zeus issued a reminder.

“It doesn’t matter.”

Gently shaking her head, Liana could tell that the clay jar didn’t contain anything good, but that was of no concern to her. With a mere flick of her finger, the illusory star passed through the wall of the jar and entered it.

The seal left by Hades seemed non-existent to her, easily penetrated by the time-space power she wielded.

“What is this?”

With widened eyes, Pandora’s curiosity was piqued. Yet she remembered what the Divine King had said; the jar should not be opened. But now, the gift delivered by the goddess before her had entered the clay jar.

“It has no name. If I must describe it…”

Choosing her words carefully, Liana slowly said:

“In its presence, there will no longer be ‘absolute,’ nor will ‘impossible’ exist in this world.”

Pandora was somewhat surprised and wished to take the clay jar, but Epimetheus, who stood beside her, was quicker to act.

He grasped the jar mid-air instinctively, but as if suddenly realizing something, Epimetheus seemed to act on behalf of his future wife. Promptly, he handed the gift back to Pandora.

“Is it effective on everything? Can whoever holds it achieve different outcomes from the predetermined trajectory?”

It sounded like a casual question as Epimetheus spoke.

“Certainly not.”

Shaking her head slightly, Liana noticed the eyes of the surrounding gods flare up instantly. However, this was a gift given by the Master, and how could it be privately possessed by anyone else?

“Only humans can use it,” Liana said indifferently: “As long as it resides within the jar, the human who possesses it will exclusively enjoy this privilege, but it is limited to humans only.”

“It is a blessing from the Master to his creation, no deity can possess it for themselves.”

“But what if a god gets hold of it and then has a human use it?”

Seemingly just out of curiosity, Zeus posed the question.

“‘Those who try to fool fate will be fooled by fate themselves,’ these are the Master’s very words.”

“If you don’t believe it, you might as well try.”

Not every god knows how to hide their emotions. Liana could see that some deities seemed to still harbor thoughts on the matter.

She had no intention of stopping them because Laine had said that without the support of Spirit Realm’s power, anyone else trying to manipulate destiny would only result in their own demise.

“Take good care of it. Its ultimate destiny depends solely on you yourself.”

“`

Finally, she turned to Pandora and said a sentence, which was also what Laine had instructed.

“Truly impolite.”

She came in haste and left in haste; it wasn’t until Liana had left the hall that a deity suddenly spoke.

“I don’t really like the way she looks at us.”

Demeter also spoke, that sort of gaze she was very familiar with, resembling the one she used when she walked among mortals, regarding worldly things.

“Enough, let it end here, this is Pandora’s gift.”

He spoke to stop the gods’ chatter and secretly warned the deity who had harbored thoughts about that jar. Although he himself had been tempted, for now, the other party still had a task to complete.

“Return to where you came from, Epimetheus, along with your wife, and set humans back on the right path.”

“I will, Your Majesty.”

Bowing in a salute, Epimetheus grabbed the somewhat bewildered Pandora and also started walking towards the exit of the hall.

He could feel, as they left, the many burning gazes fixed on the object in Pandora’s hands behind them. But until the two of them accomplished the Divine King’s plan, all issues would be stopped by Zeus; and after the plan had been accomplished…

Every “gift” would be released, whether those given by Hades or those sent by the Goddess of the Nether Moon. Epimetheus assured that all the deities paying attention to all this would come to such a conclusion.

······

“Forethinker and Afterthinker seem to enjoy playing smart within the framework of rules.”

Scattered rocks, sheer cliffs, and desolate woods, what met the eye was the scenery of Jotunheim within the nine realms.

But this was not due to some unknown disaster; it was natural for this place.

As the home of the Mountain Titans and Frost Giants, Jotunheim’s environment was quite harsh, but for the giants who were powerful enough to wage war with the Deity Race, this was nothing out of the ordinary. They dwelled here like humans lived on the plains.

“Forethought and afterthought, are you talking about other deities?”

Floating beside him, Mimir also watched his former home but paid more attention to the two terms Laine had mentioned.

“Yes, one is considered by the gods to be exceedingly wise, a Forethinker. The other is seen as naïve and foolish, an Afterthinker.”

Nodding, Laine didn’t mind discussing things about the Chaos World with Mimir.

After all, the other couldn’t escape, and Laine had no intention of letting him leave.

“Sounds somewhat like me and Heimdall. We were both taken as hostages; however, only my head was cut off and sent back to Asgard. This shows that mere cleverness and wisdom might not be such a good thing.”

“Maybe, but I think that neither they nor you, have sufficient wisdom.”

“I’ve always thought that being smart shouldn’t be equated with wisdom. But every so-called God of Wisdom I’ve met seemed to only possess the former, which makes me a bit skeptical.”

Turning his attention away from Chaos, Laine looked at Mimir beside him.

“Lead the way, that Spring of Wisdom that once bore your name, is it also beneath the roots of the World Tree?”

“Yes, not only that, there’s something there that I’m not sure still exists.”

Although Laine seemed to not acknowledge his ‘wisdom,’ Mimir wasn’t really offended. He just let out a chilling laugh, his weathered face reflecting reminiscence.

“Nine nights I hung on a wind-battered tree, wounded by a spear; I was offered as a sacrifice to Odin, sacrificing myself to myself, on a tree of which no one knows. Without bread to feed me, without water to quench my thirst. I look downward, picked up Runes, shouting as I picked them up, falling from the tree.”

“He sacrificed his own eye, Lord Laine, and that fallen eye lies at the bottom of the Spring of Wisdom, untouched to this day.”