Myths Reawakened

The woman on the left was tall and slim, her skin fair like the first snow of winter. There was an ethereal chill to her delicate face. She wore a black robe adorned with silver lines. Its hem fluttered in the wind. Her long black hair ran down to her waist, with dark blue glowing strands that peeked out now and then. Her temperament was serene to the point of being icy, keeping others away.

Most captivating were her deep, clear eyes. The starry light gleaming in them was bright but not blinding. The long, thick lashes resembled fine feathers when she lowered her eyes. Every blink seemed to stir up a gentle wind that tickled the heart of the beholder. The beauty mark below her left eye added a seductive charm to the frosty face.

She was the Listener, Briar the Eye of Tears!

The woman on the right wore heavy black armor that covered her entire body, pulsing with lines of dark red that looked like blood. On her back was a black greatsword. She had sharp, chilling features and fierce brows. Her gaze seemed to put whatever she looked at on pause, projecting a chilling energy in the air.

Her hair was ink-black, tied into a messy ponytail with red ribbon. There was a red pattern on her forehead. She seemed like a lonesome beauty, captivating in an aloof way.

She was the Avenger, Kaya the Blade of Nightmares.

The two subordinate gods were radiant like dim stars in the night sky suddenly glowing brilliantly. Their beauty was intimidating.

Because they were so cool, their coolness did not last more than three seconds.

Wayne was observant enough to see that the two subordinate gods were serious—in a way that made it seem like they were sitting on needles with thorns in their backs, or treading on thin ice right above an abyss. It even seemed like they were attending their own funeral.

“For some reason, I feel pity for them...” He touched his own heart to feel his conscience, lamenting how difficult life was for the two subordinate gods. He would make sure to go easy on them rather than go as hard as he did with Solsknar.

“Wayne, the Devourer, the third subordinate god. The goddess told us who you are,” Briar said slowly. Finding it inappropriate for them to be looking down at Wayne, she landed along with Kaya.

“According to the goddess’s oracle, She’s satisfied with your talent and power, but not your character and morality. She sent me and Kaya to investigate. If you can’t pass the trial, you’ll lose your qualification as a subordinate god.”

“Did the goddess really say that?” Wayne turned to Vichy. She shook her head since she didn’t know what role the two subordinate gods played in the script.

Briar and Kaya froze. As subordinate gods, they should trust their goddesses unconditionally—at least that was what subordinate gods should do in other Divine Realms. Since they were Darkness’s subordinate gods and had suffered at Her hands more than a few times, though, they had developed PTSD. Their hypervigilance made them cautious in everyday life, and even a slight disturbance could make them shake.

Hearing Wayne’s question, they immediately started brainstorming. They discussed the situation in their private chat.

“What do you think, Kaya?”

“I’m scared.”

“That’s not what I’m asking. You think I’m not scared? I’m asking who the third subordinate god is. Also, what’s with the item that the goddess entrusted us with?”

“You’re the Eye of Tears, representing the goddess’s eyes. You’ll know once you open the item, won’t you?”

“Bah, then why don’t you take a look?!”

They quickly came to a conclusion. No matter who Wayne was, whether the goddess was toying with them or not, they just had to execute the oracle as they always did. What if it was a trap? They had jumped into their fair share of traps before. It wasn’t as if they could resist!

In other words, if the goddess laid down a trap and told them to jump in, they jumped. If they didn’t but instead asked Her why? Ha, then ‘good time’ would be ahead of them!

The two subordinate gods stared at Wayne. Once again, Kaya remained silent with a persistent chilly air around her, while Briar said coldly, “Wayne, based on your prior actions, I saw nothing moral about you. You aren’t qualified to be a subordinate god.”

“How am I immoral?” Wayne grumbled. He might be the moral low bar in other Divine Realms, but in the Divine Realm of Darkness, there was at least one other person at his level. He wasn’t the only low bar.

He was just being himself!

“I saw clearly that you imprisoned Darkness Knight Vichy and did shameless things to her.” Briar pointed at Vichy, who stood by Wayne silently. She was still crying. She had not stopped since she started, in fact.

“Have you considered that I’ve been falsely accused? Vichy...” Wayne had an idea. He took a page from Ines’s book and said resignedly, “There are things I cannot tell you. You two must understand my pain after following the goddess for so long.”

No, you’re the one who doesn’t understand, Briar thought.

How long have you been with the goddess? Kaya thought. You don’t deserve to compare yourself to us!

They stared at Wayne with frosty eyes that spoke volumes about their feelings, then quickly looked away. They could tell from that brief eye contact that Wayne truly knew Darkness.

Briar took a deep breath and apologized silently to him. While she sympathized with his plight, there was nothing she could do. She hoped that he would toughen up. After today’s crisis, he was free to have a private chat with them about his grievances and frustrations. She and Kaya had held on by doing that.

We’ll add you to our chat later.

Briar and Kaya had been so thoroughly tamed by Darkness that they had been remolded from head to toe and from the inside out. They knew their goddess’s preferences very well. The fact that Wayne had replaced Solsknar as the sole candidate for the Devourer, the third subordinate god, meant that he had passed the goddess’s trials.

He had to meet Her requirements for power, talent, and character. The problematic one was the god—ahem! Anyway, the two subordinate gods believed that Wayne had been falsely accused, that he didn’t covet Vichy’s body and had not forced her to do shameless things with him. She had not been marked, for sure.

He had to be taking on the blame at a certain goddess’s request, playing a pervert.

That has to be the case. x2

Based on their own experience, the two subordinate gods came to a conclusion about the item they were entrusted with.

“Wayne, although you’re morally questionable, Darkness is accommodating to all, and the goddess is the most merciful and gentle protector,” Kaya said. “Even though you’re you, She will not give up on you. She’s willing to give you another chance to prove yourself.”

“What do you mean even though I’m me? I’m not from Franc,” Wayne grumbled, then raised his voice. “I have no integrity, so skip your nonsense. Just tell me what chance it is.”

“Defeat us and prove that you can be a subordinate god!” Briar’s eyes sharpened. “Use your unrivaled raw power to make up for your most lackluster character. Prove that the average of the two will qualify you to stand on even ground as me and Kaya.” 𝑓𝑟ℯℴ𝓂

“That’s it?”

“...” x2

You’re surely acting under the goddess’s order, but you’re too good at playing an arrogant antagonist! x2

“It’s not simple. This is the Divine Realm of Darkness, and Kaya and I both hold the authorities of subordinate gods. No one can defeat us here.” Briar tossed a gleaming star into the sky. “Defeat Kaya and me or take this star from us. Meet the goddess with that, and you’ll become the third subordinate god.”

So that’s the key! But...

Wayne frowned at the two stunning ladies, asking tentatively, “Ladies, do you know the story of an adventurer?”

They shook their heads immediately.

“That’s not what the script says...” He turned to Vichy and found her still shedding tears. Her pitiful look made him want to bully her harder.

Forget it for now. I’ll get the key first.

“Subordinate gods, I must warn you that I’m tremendously powerful. Even if you fight together, I’m afraid...”

Wayne took a step forward, trailing off when an intangible pressure came down upon him and modified the Laws of the Palace of Night. The update made sure that no Laws other than Laws of Darkness could be used here.

That was the true Authority of a god. Inside the Divine Realm of Darkness, Ines was the one and only god, and any other deities would have to play by Her rule as intruders. Of course, the restrictive power of Her rules would depend on the strengths of the two parties. If a god had intruded, They wouldn’t have been completely sealed and prevented from using any of Their power.

Wayne, on the other hand, wasn’t a god, so he had to play by Ines’s rules. If he wanted to bypass the rules, he would have to advance further and transcend the Divine Realm.

He clenched his fists. The Book of Greed was still working, but he couldn’t manifest the Laws of Nature or Death. He could only fight with Darkness’s information. The Pale Knight was available, too.

The debuff didn’t debuff him much.

“Alright, if you insist, I’ll defeat your subordinate gods with your power.”

Wayne slowly floated up. He could guess what Ines was thinking. Since the goddess had brought a man home, to prevent any dissent, She decided to have Her man demonstrate his power.

She valued this meeting very much, about as much as a woman who brought her husband to her original family to flaunt him.

Incredibly powerful Darkness radiated from Wayne, surging without limit. Black energy washed over him, manifesting a vague, magnificent projection behind him.

The face was obscured, and the appealing figure had a dignity to it. The projection represented Ines, the Goddess of Darkness.

Briar looked at Wayne in surprise. “No wonder he could defeat Solsknar in an open fight, Kaya. The Darkness is greater than yours and mine. Once he becomes a subordinate god and acquires his authority, he will certainly become stronger than us.”

Kaya nodded happily. It wasn’t acting. She was truly happy.

Wayne would be sharing their burden. He would be the goddess’s new toy and allow her and Briar to have a much easier time for a long time.

At that moment, the subordinate gods looked at Wayne with both pity and joy, but also frustration.

Why didn’t you show up earlier? x2

Kaya moved. Leaving a deep dent in the ground, her heavily armored body split the air and crushed space into powder. Amid deep howls of currents, the red pattern on her forehead radiated crimson light, resonating with the dark red patterns pulsing on her armor.

Her volatile energy surged to the limit. Her gauntleted hand balled into a fist and slammed into Wayne’s face.

Kaya had not used the greatsword on her back. Wayne didn’t draw his sword either. Since he knew a thing or two about hand-to-hand combat, he decided to spar with her.

Holding his fingers together into a knifehand, he struck the fist flying toward his face, moving down the armored arm toward Kaya’s neck, sputtering sparks.

Kaya caught the knifehand swinging down toward her. At contact, she felt tremendous power crashing into her. She was caught off guard by Wayne’s power, having underestimated him. She ended up falling from the sky and slamming into the street, leaving a crater on the ground.

“Careful,” Kaya alerted Briar loudly. “He goes hard.”

Wayne nodded. What an accurate description. He expected nothing less from a subordinate of Darkness. Ines often made the same complaint.

Meanwhile, Briar played the role of a mage and conjured an impenetrable veil of darkness, hurling debuffs like darkness erosion, soul consumption, curses of night, and lament of the stars. Before the debuffs hit, she also applied buffs like the veil of night, the blessing of night, and the eternal night to Kaya, pushing her power beyond her peak.

You have been buffed. Now go!