Myth: The Ruler of Spirituality

······

Two hours later, outside Turingen City.

After pulling the last box of silverware onto the carriage, Laine looked up at the sky.

There was still some time before dawn, but they could set off now. Although the dirt roads of this era were pretty rubbish, at least the section near the city was fairly smooth, so even with just a torch for illumination, they wouldn't fall into any big potholes.

As for waiting until tomorrow morning, that was out of the question. Whether it was the cultists dead all over the place or the guards at the city gate who had been knocked over, it was likely that everything would be discovered by daybreak.

"We can set off now... Hey, you there, can you drive a carriage?"

Laine waved his hand, pointing to the front of the luxurious carriage, then unceremoniously sat down inside the carriage. In the direction he was gesturing, the not-so-tall Andrea stood beside the carriage, biting her lip.

She didn't look very tall; her waist just reached the bottom of the carriage.

"Head south, towards the Acropolis of Athens. Going home should be an energizing affair, right? So don't just stand there, get moving. And if anything unexpected happens on the road, remember to call me."

Seated on the soft cashmere cushion, Laine took out a box of tea leaves from a hidden compartment.

This luxurious carriage was originally an escape tool prepared by the cultists of the Resurrection Sect. After thousands of years of development and iterations, the frames of such carriages could now fully combine practicality with comfort, with the only flaw being that many parts were crafted through alchemical means, making the cost a bit steep.

But if it was just about taking it and using it, then this flaw didn't exist. Only the person paying would care about the price, not the user.

"But I can't!... Well, I know a little, I've seen others driving, but I've never done it myself!" Stay connected with empire

With hesitation in her voice and looking at the big horses that were almost one and a half times her height, Andrea was somewhat flabbergasted.

Just having come to terms with the 'cruel' reality that she had been rescued, Andrea wanted nothing more than to rest properly amid the emotional ups and downs.

She believed that the city's rulers would make that possible, but what she hadn't expected was that this person who had rescued her refused her suggestion and then took her out of the city overnight, insisting she drive the carriage.

She didn't think there was anything wrong with a princess driving a carriage, especially since Andrea's father hadn't led a princely life in his early years either. The current King of Athens, Theseus, was initially born as an illegitimate child of the previous king and didn't even meet his own father or come to Athens until he was an adult.

Therefore, when it came to educating his children, he discarded quite a lot of useless things.

"I am the Princess of Athens, the high Priest of the Goddess. Just take me to the church in Turingen, lift the seal on me, and I can take you back on a flight—not, they will escort us back to Athens, and then Father will surely be grateful for you rescuing me..."

"But for now, I don't really want to meet your father who is said to have killed more than one Divine Descending avatar, since I'm an evil Cultist, am I not, 'Unyielding' Little Princess."

Emphasizing the word 'Unyielding', Laine said indifferently, "That's what Cultists are like, and right now, you're my captive. In fact, if you hadn't been used as a sacrifice but merely killed by them, I wouldn't have even thought about saving you because faith-based disputes are all too common."

"You! I—I'm not crying!"

Instantly blushing, Andrea was on a completely different wavelength in the conversation and immediately focused on something else.

"Of course, I would never submit to a Cultist, no member of the Athens royal family would submit to a Cultist—nor would they be scared into crying! Don't slander me!"

"...That's right, you're not, so the non-crying Little Princess, let's get this carriage moving. The journey from here to Athens is measured in months—such vast territory, not primitive at all."

"And most importantly, there are even Dragons lurking on the way. The Dragon Clan, I mean, a dragon who doesn't snatch princesses just seems to be missing something. Or should I say, a princess who hasn't been captured by a dragon might be considered a bit low in value?"

Muttering words that confused Andrea, Laine turned to look back at the city under the cover of night.

Half the lights, bright and shining, while the other half, a scatter of stars, revealing the stark contrast of class. Now, we depart much earlier than planned, but there is no helping it; this place is no longer safe to linger.

After all, who would expect that in such a remote location, a mythological Athenian princess, unrecorded in any legend, would suddenly emerge? And the consequences of this are clear: whether Andrea dies here or is rescued, she will surely draw the attention of both the King of Athens and the gods.

Let those pursuing Saint Knights and Godhood Practitioners think this is another deceit, a diversion to cover the true whereabouts of the princess; that's what they already suspect, after all. Laine does not wish to be noticed at the moment, especially not by those he cannot best without starting over from scratch.

Thus, he made a decisive choice to slip away, heading south, ready to explore Athens of this era and the existence of alchemy.

"Now, let's set off, Andrea; use your intelligence."

With a smile, Laine opened a book he had found on a body in the carriage. Then, after a moment's thought, he passed a ration of pre-packed food outside.

"I believe you'll pick up the skills to drive soon—besides, here's your breakfast."

"I guess no one would feed a prisoner well, so fill your stomach and get moving as soon as possible."

"..."

Silently accepting it, Andrea struggled to climb onto the driver's seat of the carriage. Holding the warm food, she recalled the ways of driving she had seen and tried to get the carriage moving.

The clouds still masked the moonlight, growing even thicker, as if a heavy rain was about to fall. And after the rain, all traces that had been left here would be erased by the flowing water.

...

Endless Void, the far edges of the world.

The outskirts of the Hemenu world.

Coldness and silence were still the main theme here, and perhaps by coincidence or by fate, just as Laine's human incarnation descended completely, in the surrounding darkness, a certain consciousness began to stir.

Since the withdrawal of the World Power and the departure of All Gods, the periphery of the Hemenu world had become quiet again, leaving behind only one Deity who did not leave. And when a God loses most of its humanity, it no longer feels boredom or loneliness, nor does it notice the passage of time.

Time flowed like water, but there God remained, existing as though part of the world itself, eons passing like a single day, until, today, God was awakened.

It wasn't the human incarnation from beyond time and space that caused the stir; God simply noticed an odd fluctuation from the darkness before Him, a sign that something was nearing Perfection, and this long-awaited change meant it was time for God to act.

"...Pallas... Messe... Faith..."

Whispers echoed through the Void, and immediately the vast consciousness coalesced.

An indiscernible yet fundamentally superior strength of time and space emerged, and without any warning, it thrust at the darkness ahead.

The Void remained quiet, yet an unimaginable collision happened countless times in an instant. The outcome was inevitable—although the strength of today's World Power had diminished compared to before, God succeeded in repelling the Outsider that sought to invade His being.

Yet while the strength was repelled, a certain message passed between spiritualities was not. It flowed through the fleeting gap and, drawn by some form of connection, streamed towards a certain place within the world.

It descended upon a mountain top, where Shepherds grazed in the fields below. As a manifestation of Spirituality, it appeared in the Elemental Domain in its initial form—a sphere of Fire, yet one that wouldn't scorch the flesh of living beings.

The Shepherd was called Messe, or Musa. He was tending his flock when he was the first to witness this spectacle falling from the sky, a sight he had never seen before.

"What is... this?"

With a stunned expression, the aged Shepherd was somewhat at a loss. But for some reason, a call from deep within his soul emerged from his heart.