Myths Reawakened

“My goddess—and Siluk—I’m going to leave coordinates in your Divine Realms so that I can come and go freely in the future. You don’t have any objections, do you?”

“None at all,” Kaleb said, as decisive as ever. “You won. I’ll listen to you until the Final Judgment.”

Wayne nodded and infiltrated the Divine Realm of Sun with his thoughts, leaving a pale trace on the garden beneath his feet, namely, the backdoor to Kaleb’s private quarters.

He then turned to Siluk and, without asking for Her permission, extended his thoughts and barged into the Divine Realm of Moonlight, which had not pulled away. He left a pale trace on the ninth level there in the same way; only he had ‘accidentally’ left it on the forehead of the statue of the Goddess of Moonlight on purpose.

Sensing it, Siluk didn’t bother to resist or struggle. Fine. Whatever. Kaleb wasn’t going to listen to reason, so might as well fall into the abyss with Her bestie.

She let out a hysterical laugh.

After setting the coordinates in both Divine Realms, Wayne now had access to two independent passageways. Spreading his thoughts, he sent the coordinates of the Divine Realm of Sun to the Divine Realm of Darkness and the Divine Realm of Death.

The coordinates the two goddesses had were obsolete because of Kaleb’s adjustment to the spatial rules. He sent them the updated coordinates so that they wouldn’t get lost.

Wayne had foreseen everything that had happened before coming to the Divine Realm of Sun. Kaleb might not change anything, but She sought Siluk’s advice on everything, and Siluk would certainly suggest She shut the door and attack.

Everything went according to his plan.

The only thing that caught him off guard was how powerful the Goddess of Light, the combination of Sun and Moonlight, turned out to be. He almost lost even with a cheat code.

Wayne smiled. He waited for Ines and Aztimor to descend. The two had called him hypocritical and accused him of having double standards, stating that he shouldn’t trust Kaleb and Siluk, but see? He had won over the two goddesses fair and square.

Um, Siluk might not be trustworthy since She got too many ideas and would occasionally believe She could turn things around, but Kaleb could definitely be trusted.

It was time to prove them wrong. Wayne looked forward to it.

Siluk eyed him with suspicion, frowning. “Who did you just send the coordinates to? Ines... and who else?”

“Watch your mouth. Even if you don’t call me ‘master’, you should at least call me ‘lord’. We have a long future together. Pushing back at me on every turn won’t do you any good.” Wayne grinned. “Believe me, I like the rebellious ones. If you’re obedient and do whatever I tell you to do, I’ll treat you nicely.”

“Believe him, Siluk. He meant it.”

“Shut up!” Siluk shot Her a glare. “So who else? What other allies do you have?”

Aside from Ines, the only ones who were qualified to be Wayne’s allies would be Elian and Aztimor. Aztimor was in a limbo state and might not even be alive, so it was most likely Elian.

Siluk grew suspicious. Given Elian’s pride, She would never submit to Wayne. What agreement had they reached? Would the alliance really survive the Final Judgment? Wouldn’t the arc capsize halfway?

“It’s Ines and Aztimor. Both of them are mine.”

Wayne’s response rendered Siluk speechless. She didn’t question the claim, Her brows still furrowed. “Ines isn’t reliable. You shouldn’t get too close to Her. The ambitious Darkness is seeking to control me and Kaleb through you. It’s a good thing you didn’t listen to Her—”

“What’s with Aztimor? Isn’t She in slumber? When did She wake up?”

“Um, you got so many things wrong, so I’m not sure where to start.” Wayne shook his head before nodding. “Although you refuse to admit it, your body is honest. It’s already learned to strategize for my benefit. I’ll stop teasing you then.”

He told Her the truth. “There is more to Aztimor’s slumber. She hasn’t done it voluntarily, but as part of a deal She and Elian struck. Both wanted to become the Goddess of Life. Since neither could defeat the other, they exchanged information and agreed that whoever broke through first would be the Goddess of Life.”

“The winner takes all, and the loser will become a slave on the path of evolution.”

“Has Aztimor woken up and become the Goddess of Life?” Siluk said with alarm.

“Nah. I woke Her early, so Her ascension failed.”

“...”

Siluk shot him a glare. He said he wouldn’t tease Her. He truly shouldn’t be trusted!

Wayne stroked his chin and ignored Siluk’s indignation. “Aztimor’s ascension failed. Then, the moment She woke up—you may not believe this—She experienced something called ‘love at first sight’. Rather than getting angry, She listened to my vision and found it convincing. She handed the information of Death over and became my ally.”

“You’re right. I don’t believe you.”

Siluk was quick to shoot Wayne down. Goddesses didn’t do love at first sight. Otherwise, they would’ve already had lovers rather than letting Wayne have them. The forced explanation had to be a cover for something.

Siluk could have Kaleb’s brain and still figure out what it was. He must have used dirty tricks to claim Aztimor.

Kaleb shook Her head in disagreement. While She didn’t believe in love at first sight, either, She was willing to meet Wayne a few more times for his abundant fire elements.

“I see. You lied to Aztimor as you did with Kaleb. That silly woman handed over the information of Death, and by the time She regretted it...”

She squinted. “You corrupted her. She listened to your order because she couldn’t say no to you.”

As Ines had said, Siluk did have a decent brain over Her shoulders. It didn’t take long for Her to figure out the truth.

“But that’s not the case.” Wayne shook his head. Since he had promised to preserve Aztimor’s dignity as a goddess, he would keep Her true situation to himself. He insisted, “It is love—love at first sight.”

“Ha. Who would believe that?” Siluk crossed Her arms and turned to Kaleb sharply. “Shut up. Not a word while I’m speaking.”

Kaleb’s eyes widened. “But I haven’t said anything.”

“Just because you haven’t said anything doesn’t mean I don’t know what you’re thinking.” Siluk rolled Her eyes at Kaleb before turning to Wayne. “Poor Aztimor, playing into your hands like a fool. I’m pretty sure that you’ve fed her some fake confessions, like promising you’d make her your wife.”

“Not really. I married Ines and had a honeymoon in the Divine Realm of Darkness.”

“...” x2

∑(?д?;)???、)

Siluk was shocked. She raised Her voice and demanded, “In what way did you marry her? Did you... do that?”

“Do what, exactly?” Wayne blinked. “Would you be more specific? Preferably in writing. Or I have no idea what answer I should give you.”

Stop playing innocent!

Siluk took a deep breath and said in a trembling voice, “Now I get it. You’ve not only corrupted Aztimor, but also corrupted Ines...”

“Indeed, you’ve corrupted Ines first to make Her hand you Her knowledge. Then She sold out Aztimor to help you enter the Underworld...”

“That’s it. That has to be the case. Otherwise, Ines would’ve never fallen far enough to marry you!”

Her tone contained the schadenfreude of seeing Ines bitten by a dog and a lament for an old rival. Darkness and Death didn’t deserve such punishment. They deserved better.

Siluk’s bitterness deepened. Wouldn’t Sun and Moonlight meet the same fate as Darkness and Death? Ines and Her bestie had already fallen. How long could She and Kaleb resist?

Remembering what Wayne had just admitted to, She guessed that it would be tonight.

“Don’t be absurd,” Wayne said. “You can’t deny the existence of love just because you don’t believe in love. Ines and I dated of our own volition. We’ve always been equal.”

He huffed. “We’ve had a wedding and a honeymoon. Apologies for not inviting you to see Her in a wedding gown. It’s okay, though. You may give us the red envelope now. That’ll count as your participation.”

Bam!

“I object to this marriage!” Kaleb slammed the table and shot to Her feet. “It’s too reckless. How could you marry Darkness? You don’t know how wicked that woman is. It’s not too late to back out now. Siluk and I will help you. Divorce her now.”

“They’re two peas in the same pod and pot and kettle found in the same kitchen. They’re a perfect match. Who are you to object to their union?” Siluk looked at Her gullible friend with exasperation. “Objection denied. They will not get a divorce.”

“Objection accepted!”

“Objection de—”

“Objection denied!”

Siluk was interrupted by another voice. Black light surged in the front of the garden, from which two stunning figures stepped out. Darkness and Death had wasted a lot of time getting lost, consulting a map, and looking for clues. Then, in their Divine Realms, they found the coordinates they had lost and reached the Divine Realm of Sun.

Ines scowled sourly at Kaleb. “We’re a perfect match. A little wench like you is in no position to object.”

Then, She ‘accidentally’ revealed Her wedding band.

Kaleb went green with envy. “It’s fake. You were corrupted by Wayne, so your marriage doesn’t count. He’s just toying with you.”

Aztimor sneered. “Well said. I agree.”

(?_?)

Ines looked around. Aside from the bastard, She was surrounded by romantic rivals and not a friend on Her side. Oh, there was also Siluk, who held no goodwill for the bastard.

Damn wench, how dare you look down on him?!

She glared at everyone in turn. With these vermin who coveted Her husband, how were they going to survive the Final Judgment? If they couldn’t survive the Final Judgment, why didn’t She just kill them all now?

“Wah...”

Eyes brimming with tears, Ines went up to Wayne, sat down on his lap, burrowed into his arms, and served the tea. “See, Wayne? They are all bullying me.”

Bleh. x2

Siluk and Aztimor rolled their eyes at the same time, smelling the fake tea She was serving and feeling ill.

Bleh.

Kaleb held Her chest and retched. “That’s disgusting, Ines. You’ve become even worse.”

“So what? Say whatever you want. I don’t care about how you feel.” Ines raised Her left hand—ring gleaming—and stroked Wayne’s face gently, speaking in an adoring voice. “I only care about his feelings. I’m good as long as he likes me.”

Kaleb took a deep breath, with ire burning in Her chest. A true love advocate like Her could not tolerate the sight. “Let go of that man. I will fight you one-on-one!”

“Ha, you think you can beat me?”

Ines shot Kaleb a cold glare and covered Wayne’s mouth. “Fine. You’ll be nothing but trouble. It’s better to deal with you today so that you can’t try to steal my husband from me.”