Myths Reawakened

“Ines, do you really think so?” Siluk asked gravely.

“I do. As for him...” Ines stroked Wayne’s face softly. “Unlike you, I’ve never tried to control him!”

As if! x3

Siluk stared darkly at Ines. She couldn’t tell what Ines was thinking. She strongly suspected it was a trap long in the making, and today was the day she and Kaleb would be reined in.

“Why don’t you try and see if this is a trap? What’s stopping you? I’m not scared.” Ines put Her arms around Wayne’s neck and kissed him. Then She turned to Kaleb and Siluk provocatively.

Wayne didn’t understand what She was doing. It was all very confusing.

Siluk opened Her mouth and closed it, while Kaleb took a step forward and said, “Fine, I’ll try. If it works, it’ll be a jackpot, and if it doesn’t work, I won’t lose anything. There’s nothing to fear.”

She raised one hand and gathered earth, fire, water, and wind elements around a cluster of moving fire. She considered it seriously before turning to Wayne, “This is knowledge that has been corrupted by the Astral Plane. I don’t know what Ines has said to you or done to you. You’re a smart one. If you don’t want to be corrupted by such insane knowledge, you’d better not touch it.”

She pushed the knowledge toward him with one hand, making it halt right before him.

Wayne looked down at Ines. She stepped to the side and nodded with a smile. “Your will dictates your actions. I cannot interfere with that, so just do whatever you want to do.”

Wayne nodded. “Then I’m not touching it.”

(￣～￣;)

“...” x4

“Bastard, what are you waiting for? Touch it!”

Ines was close to popping a vessel. Wayne worked against Her when he should have been listening to Her and acted obediently when he should have been defiant. He was clearly doing it on purpose.

“Hmph!”

╭(╯^╰)╮

“My will dictates my actions, so you won’t interfere? You said that, but now I’m touching it because you told me to...”

He huffed as he went up to touch the four-colored energy. With an audible swallow, he consumed the four elements and the information that manifested as fire inside the energy.

Kaleb’s eyes lit up. She stepped forward and asked, “How is it? What do you feel? Are you losing your mind?”

Siluk stared at Wayne and waited.

“I feel quite good.” He patted himself on the chest, but while he spoke, half of his face melted into white foam and flowed down his neck.

“Ahhh—”

Amid his panicked screams, his body continued to collapse until he became a pile of writhing white foam on the ground, growing tentacles and radiating chaotic whispers.

He’s gone mad!

Kaleb’s face fell, and Siluk shook her head with a bitter smile.

“Ines, this isn’t like you, but your plan works. You succeed in angering us.”

Kaleb shot Ines a glare and pointed at the white foam. “Look what you’ve done. I quite like him, but now he’s gone.”

Who told you to like him?!

Ines’s breath quickened with rage, and Her chest heaved. Stalking up to the white foam, She stomped on it a few times.

Playing dead? Playing crazy? I’m gonna stomp you to death!

“Ines, this is unbecoming of you,” Kaleb snapped. “This has nothing to do with Wayne. He’s a victim.”

“This is none of your business. I like stepping on him!”

“...”

Siluk shook her head. The truth was out of the bag. Their ally in name only, Ines, had set up a trap for the two of them. She trained Wayne and helped him acquire White Night Creed and Dawn Doctrine, putting in great effort to make them think that he could resist the corruption.

They believed it. To confirm that he was the real deal, they had given him the key to the ruins of the Life Alliance so that he could acquire the demigod-level corrupted information. The information didn’t harm Wayne—or Ines had eliminated the risk for him.

Unfortunately, Ines hadn’t taken into consideration that they would be cautious enough to make another test before leaping. This time, Wayne lost his mind immediately!

“Ines, if there’s nothing else, Kaleb and I would be leaving,” Siluk said coldly. “Don’t worry. This farce won’t affect our partnership.”

“Damn it!”

“Bastard!”

Ines was still stepping on Wayne, ignoring Siluk as she turned to leave.

Just then, the white foam with tentacles suddenly rose into a pale humanoid form, reaching out to pull Ines into his arms. Paleness faded, and Wayne reverted to his human form.

Ines huffed, struggling out of his embrace. “Why not keep pretending? Keep being insane? Bastard, you’re only getting the cold shoulder from now on.”

“Ines, this is usually the time a girl threatens to break up with me,” Wayne said helpfully.

“I’m no girl!”

Right, you’re a goddess.

Siluk stopped walking away. Turning around and seeing Wayne back to his own form, with his sanity intact, she wondered whether this was a trap or a deadly trap.

Was this part of Ines’s plan, too?

“Seriously? Has he not gone mad, or has he been remolded...?” Kaleb rubbed her hands together and came up to Wayne, eyes glinting. “May I touch you, Wayne?”

“That won’t be appropriate. My girlfriend is watching...” He put on a bashful look, waving his hand in denial.

“Just once!”

“That won’t do. It’s a matter of principle. I’m quite conservative in love.” He insisted, but... “If you pay me, we can talk.”

Kaleb made a face before pressing a hand to his chest, injecting him with a thread of corrupted Sun. She stared at him with blazing eyes and tried to detect any changes in his body.

Siluk watched with bated breath from a short distance away, Her eyes wide and unblinking. She didn’t want to miss a moment.

Kaleb sensed no change in Wayne. Frowning, She pressed further until Her fingers, and then Her whole hand, sank into the white foam, wrist-deep.

She quickly pulled back, shaking off the white foam. “Wayne.” She took a deep breath. “Would you share the knowledge you’ve just taken with me?”

Her trembling voice betrayed Her feelings. She was far from composed.

Wayne glanced at Ines and saw the back of Her head. She made Her grievances clear. Shrugging, he conjured a ball of light. Between his pale fingers, the scintillating fire was radiant, graceful, and serene, with no trace of impurity.

Kaleb reached out with a trembling hand to take the fire into Her body. The moment Her thoughts came into contact with it, She couldn’t help but let out a cheer of catharsis for finally getting what She had worked hard for.

Soon, however, the information was corrupted by Her thoughts. The dawn and noon both turned into the setting sun of dusk.

Still, it was enough!

Gulp!

Kaleb swallowed, putting a hand on Wayne’s shoulder. “My Sun Knight, come back to my Divine Realm, and you’ll be its viceroy from now on, ranked above the subordinate god.”

“Ahem!” Ines cleared her throat, pushing Kaleb’s hand away. She kept Wayne behind Her. “Kaleb, him becoming the Sun Knight is an accident. He has a goddess, and Her name is Darkness. We’ve made that clear in the beginning.”

“Hmph, your opinion doesn’t count. His does. Only he can control his will.” Kaleb turned to Wayne, urging him to say something.

Ines scowled. She had a feeling that Wayne was going to defy Her again.

To Her surprise, though, he didn’t. He took Ines’s hand and kissed its back, speaking in a calm but resolute tone, “I’m afraid I’d have to disappoint you, Goddess Kaleb. It’s not you. It’s me. Darkness is my one and only goddess.”

Pleased, Ines threw Herself into his arms and looked at Kaleb and Siluk with satisfaction. Their scowls filled Her with joy, and in Her joyous mood, She decided to reward Wayne tonight.

Wait, is he manipulating me?

“What are you doing, Ines?” Siluk came back to them with a frosty expression. “You must know that even if we have to violate our agreement, Kaleb and I must have Wayne.”

Even if it was a trap, She would have to step into it!

“Look, Wayne. She scared me.” Ines buried Her face in Wayne’s chest and nuzzled it. It had more than the intended effect. Wayne found it persuasive, and Kaleb and Siluk found it repulsive. The reputation of the goddesses had plummeted because of Ines.

Kaleb threw Siluk a glance. There was no point in arguing with Darkness. They should just take Wayne.

Siluk didn’t say anything. If possible, She would have done something already, but Ines had made a move before them. If they used force now, they would end up with nothing.

What then? Kaleb wondered.

Pay him more! Siluk decided.

Ines watched the two goddesses having a conversation with their eyes, amused. She parted her lips and said, “Wayne, they led you to this ruin and modified this space so that if you survived and tried to leave, you’d always enter their Divine Realm...”

“I’ve given it a lot of thought. I’m afraid that the two haughty goddesses are up to no good!”

“Oh!” Wayne’s face crumbled. “That bad?”

“Right? They’re bad goddesses, not like me at all. I care about you.”

“Yeah, you’re the best.”

“...” x2

(는_는)x2

They were phoning it in so much that the goddesses couldn’t bear to look at them.

“But they are goddesses,” Ines said softly. “They’re strong. I cannot protect you forever. Rather than fearing that they would take us by surprise and kidnap you to their Divine Realm, it’s better to give them what they want. What do you think?”

I think there’s something seriously wrong with you!

Wayne knew what Ines was suggesting, but no matter how he looked at it, both in the near future and in the distant future, he would be the only one benefiting. Ines would suffer a great loss.

That wasn’t how business worked.

“Um, why don’t you reconsider...”

“No. You can just do what you want to do.”

“...”

Wayne fell silent. What did he want to do? Why didn’t he know that he wanted to do something?

Actually, there was something, but it was so far-fetched that he didn’t think it would happen. He thus didn’t say it.

In that moment, it was Kaleb, the Goddess of Sun, who took the initiative to reach out to Wayne. “Corrupt me then,” She said decisively. “It was my mistake to underestimate you. If I’d known you were this good, I would’ve locked you up in my Divine Realm last time.”

She was straightforward. Wayne didn’t dislike that. She was probably the least cunning one among the goddesses.

He took Kaleb’s hand and found her thoughts completely unguarded. His intangible eyeball opened, unleashing silent screams. The pale ocean rushed in all at once and flooded Kaleb’s thoughts.

Kaleb was overjoyed, but then a thought occurred to Her, and She warned with an eyebrow raised, “Just to be clear, do not mess around. I’m not like Ines.”

Yes, you’re much more stupid.

Wayne silently presented his hand to Her. Kaleb clapped it without hesitation.

A great volume of information rushed in, including corrupted and uncorrupted information. Her payment was so great that She quickly replaced Ines as Wayne’s biggest investor.

That was only the public investment, though. As Kaleb had never met up with him in private, She couldn’t replace Ines just yet.

Kaleb beamed, and Wayne matched Her expression. Their four hands clasped together and shook a few times. Both parties were satisfied with the deal.

(눈_눈)

What now? Siluk wondered. Isn’t he going to ask for a higher price from me?

“I’m closing up for the day. Goddess Kaleb, let’s take a rain check. I’ll give you a discount next time.”

“Just call me Kaleb...”

“That won’t be appropriate, Kaleb.”

“It’s fine. I don’t mind.”

Kaleb patted Wayne on the shoulders. Their fire elements attracted each other as their eyes met. They immediately formed a rapport.

Ines stepped in between them and blocked Kaleb’s view with an intimidating blank face.

Kaleb stepped aside, vexed. Ines was overthinking. She just found Wayne agreeable. Nothing more.

“That’s it then, Goddesses. May we meet again someday.”

Wayne turned away to leave with Ines.

“W-wait...” Siluk spoke up. Walking up to him with elegant steps, She extended Her right hand unhurriedly.

He glanced down and commented, “It’s nice. Holy Maiden has a fair, delicate hand.”

Siluk surrendered after a moment of silence. “I’ll offer extra.”

“Goddess, benefits are offered to early buyers. You’re late, so you’ll have to pay triple the price!”

“...”