Before dawn, the sky above the mountain ridges was turning a pale blue.
Rays of light seeped horizontally through the hazy air like shadows of the plains, and dew formed as if sprouting on every stretching branch before dropping cleanly onto the earth.
Mnemosyne sat on a rock side by side with Asteril, conversing for a long while.
The North Wind hovered around Kalian's shoulders, barely holding back the urge to barrage him with questions.
So is the princess of the southern kingdom really Lady Gaia's daughter? Did our Lord already know? Then which is she, human or Keton? What should we call her from now on? Despoina of Lethe? Daughter of Lady Gaia? The other Ketons will throw a fit if they find out; how long will you keep her being an Anteros a secret....
However, Kalian's gaze as he stared at the cliff of the black mountain in the distance was so murderous that he couldn't even open his mouth.
Mount Nisa was quiet.
They were hiding their presence as much as possible, but they might have already been seen through. It had only been a few weeks since he had beheaded them and hung their heads in a string, so they would surely be gnashing their teeth in outrage at the mere mention of Kalian's name. The fiery temper of the young Ketons was not easily extinguished.
Nyx's intuition regarding Gaia could not be ignored either. He must have instinctively sensed her aura from Asteril. He was someone who had no choice but to be acknowledged for his obsession with Gaia alone.
Gaia's daughter.
Kalian too had been continuously suspecting a connection between Asteril and Gaia. If she was Gaia's bloodline, it would truly explain a lot.
Nevertheless, a few questions remained.
If she was Gaia's daughter, why was she human? Her body was undoubtedly mortal. Now that he had received her as his Anteros, he could feel it even more clearly.
Was the cause on her father's side?
Did Gaia conceive a human's child? In the past, the question 'why?' would have immediately come to mind, but now, Gaia's position in making such a choice didn't feel entirely like someone else's business.
Where could Gaia be now? What happened to the man who was with her?
- Gaiaaaa!
Nyx definitely knew something. The reason he was searching for Gaia so desperately must be intertwined with a story only the two of them shared. He had to find out.
The path between the cliffs where the wind passed through was grand and solid. Such whistling wind sounds were often regarded as the breath of a god.
Rocks blackened by fire, flame-patterned reliefs carved into the cliffs, ashes and traces of fragrant oil fallen on the floor, and the trees that remembered the hymns humans sang and sang along.
This was the path to the ancient altar.
After exiting the narrow path, they arrived at the entrance of a limestone cave disguised as a pile of dry branches. Rhea and Leto, who were affectionately rubbing their snouts together, ran into the cave first in high spirits.
Asteril, who was watching them, turned around with a smiling face. Kalian was standing there, staring at her intently.
"About Lady Gaia."
He hadn't asked anything.
- Go first, my dear.
- What about you?
- I will wait here.
His transparent body needed to be where the moonlight lingered. If he entered the cave, the moon wouldn't be able to follow him, and moreover, it was right before dawn.
- You're not going anywhere, are you?
- If you wish it.
He sometimes said such affectionate words so casually. And then he would watch only her all day long with such indifferent eyes.
Her lips softened as if a soft feather was tickling a corner of her chest. Asteril turned her head and smiled softly. Then Kalian made a sour expression as if telling her not to be so happy.
- I have not yet said I would spare him.
- Him? Who?
Asteril let out an "Ah" of realization.
- Lord Ivar? How could you? Is the ruler of Lethe going back on his word?
- It seems you have forgotten....
His low voice, dropping so threateningly, was more sensual than scary. Like the deep moonlight caressing and melting a frost flower.
- When it comes to anything regarding you, I am full of contradictions. And I plan to contradict myself countless times in the future as well.
Asteril, looking at Kalian's shameless expression, moved only her cheek muscles in dissatisfaction.
Come to think of it, that's true, isn't it?
Thinking about the mental suffering she endured because of the pacts and actions Kalian had overturned, she felt undeniably aggrieved. But no matter who it was, the conclusion would have been the same.
He was so irresistible that even the goddess of beauty would embrace herself and crumble. No matter how much she explained in words, Kalian's unique aura was difficult to describe.
After reaching his mature form, a decadent beauty was added to it, so when conversing with him, maintaining her rationality, let alone sincerity, was difficult.
After coming to her senses, it was common to find herself naked and nestled between his legs.
Anyway, that man is bewitching.
- So what are you going to do with Lord Ivar?
- To tell you of the case of the Ketons....
For some reason, she felt anxious. Judging by his cold gaze, it seemed he was about to bring up a sinister story.
- Those who violate another's Anteros are dragged to Tartarus and imprisoned without exception. In principle, they receive punishment until the victim forgives them, but usually the Ojwa determines the sentence. Pontos feeds the sinner a drug that makes them feel pain several times over, then makes them sit on a chair of thorns with their legs spread, and drops flowing lava onto their bared genitals. And into the sinner's tongue and eyeballs, they insert larvae that eat away at their flesh.
Asteril's face turned pale as if in shock.
"Th-That much...."
Over the back of Asteril's hand, which was drenched and white as a sheet of paper, blue veins bulged. He thought, 'Oops.' There was no need to describe it in such detail.
"Forget it, my dear. It was not true."
He leaned down and caressed Asteril's bloodshot under-eyes.
"I was teasing you."
"Liar."
Her heartbeat, filled with fear, pounded against his eardrums like a hammer.
He said 'in the case of Ketons', not 'in the case of Ivar'.
Giving Asteril unnecessary fear was certainly something he regretted, but the fact that she cared about Ivar more than necessary was still annoying and displeasing.
For a moment, an impulse arose to have Hanpung secretly kill that guy. No. If she found out, he wasn't confident he could handle the aftermath.
Just then, the North Wind, who was standing afar, sang a certain bard's song loudly like a nightingale, having picked it up from somewhere.
Oh, you who are more dazzling than the wings of Helios. Jealousy is the shadow at your feet that shines like the sun. As love blazes hotter, the darkness at your feet hides more out of sight and glares at me.
Whether human or object, nothing could dare make Kalian of Judgment anxious. There must not be. Flinching and feeling anxious over any subject was so humiliating to him that he would write it off as an impossibility.
He was a tranquil lake.
A divine realm that had never experienced any intrusion. The most sacred space in the forest where no one had ever set foot.
Into such a place, Asteril threw a pebble. Shattering the mirror-like surface and stirring up foam in the blue waters.
The startled lake, the moment it saw her standing with an innocent face, felt the power of inevitable fate.
Until then, to him, love and jealousy were the trivial emotional plays of inferior beings for whom even recognition was unnecessary.
However, that arrogant principle was broken.
What could be done? He didn't say it out loud, but he swore he would offer the entire world if his Anteros wished it. He whispered it in the name of his father, Chaos, so he had to keep it even if his soul shattered.
Honestly, if she wished it, he was a body that had no choice but to obey anything even without such an oath of pledge. The 'slave of love' that humans always clamored about meant exactly this kind of relationship. Ketos, whatever they do, do it properly once they start.
"I understand, my dear. I will not touch Ivar anymore, so...."
"Lava? Larvae that eat away at your eyeballs? Are you in such a place right now? Is real lava dropping on your body?"
His expression flinched at the sudden barrage of questions.
What? The point of the conversation....
Asteril swung her arm toward his body. She looked at her hand passing through his waist and vented her frustration.
"I can't touch you again! You.... Are you also suffering such pain right now? Does it have something to do with why your body is like this?"
Kalian's eyes paused for a moment before blinking. An unfamiliar sensation spread from his chest throughout his body.
Was she worrying about me?
It felt as if a soft dandelion seed was fluttering over his heart muscle. His skin felt warmed as if a warm evening glow was shining through his blood vessels all over his body. It was the feeling of an ice-cold body suddenly discovering an ember somewhere in its stomach and marveling at it.
It was warm and ticklish, and yet his chest ached at her teary voice. He had wanted her to know nothing, but now that she had actually noticed, he felt the urge to pull her small body into an embrace and lean his head against hers.
"There is nothing for you to worry about."
A human worrying about a Keton's safety was a situation where even the North Wind would scoff with a sullen face, but he was seized by a wondrous feeling.
A completely different level of emotion surged up compared to when he saw his mother, Ananke, worrying for him with tears in her eyes.
He wanted to make love to her right now.
He wanted to lie naked in the dirt in their own private garden, and enter the spring, tangled together, wetly slapping and passionately mingling their bodies. He wanted to rub and caress every corner of her body. Until her moans of ecstasy were hazily covered in warm breath.
"Don't change the subject and answer me. What exactly is your situation right now?"
"...."
"Kalian!"
"I am confined in the deepest part of Tartarus, restrained by Pontos's shackles."
"Shackles? I've never even seen that in ancient texts.... Does it hurt a lot?"
Kalian looked down at her slightly.
It was similar to the look in his eyes when she occasionally did incomprehensible things, like eating for over half a shi because she was too hungry, or not speaking to him out of spite, or crying when she was happy, or smiling when she was sad. It was a warm yet curious gaze.
"My answer to the question of what my situation is hasn't ended yet.... Do you wish for me to continue answering, my dear?"
"Huh? Of course."
"As you can see, it is a situation where I have escaped by any means necessary in order to see you."
Asteril blinked a few times. Kalian pointed to his transparent body and lowered his gaze. His long eyelashes cast an elegant shadow over his face.
"It is also a situation where I am pondering how I can make love to you in this state."
Her cheeks flushed hotly. Leaving aside the fact that she was speechless, everyone was watching their conversation with fascinated expressions.
Asteril coughed awkwardly with a red face and continued to ask.
"Things like torture or suffering...."
Who dares to torture me? His expressionless gaze seemed to have that answer written on his forehead.
"Like the lava you mentioned earlier, and such."
"There is only one way to torture my body."
"What is it?"
Kalian leaned his body down further. Her heart pounded. Because of his violet eyes that stared at her as if sucking her in.
"You should already know well."
"Me? How would I know?"
"Why don't you think about it carefully? You have already done it to me countless times."
"I.... Tortured you? What did I do...."
Asteril, who was arguing out of unfairness, paused.
It was because Kalian's moist gaze flashed through her mind. A shiver ran down her spine as she recalled the memory of him whispering that he was going crazy, rubbing small kisses on her shoulder.
"Relax, my dear.... Even without that, your body drives me crazy."
Once, she aimed for the moment right before his climax and clenched her inner pelvic muscles tightly. Kalian collapsed with a gasp-like moan as if he had been stabbed in the back. Barely supporting himself on the floor with his hands, he trembled as he reached his peak.
It was the first time he had breathed so heavily. The sight of his firm, muscular, beautiful body releasing its lust while losing its reason was so sensual it could leave one covering their mouth.
Ah, did that kind of thing... also count as torture?
As a lewd smile appeared on Asteril's lips, Kalian flinched and stiffened.
Even when simply making love, he had to make superhuman efforts not to lose his reason, but lately, because she kept stimulating him, it wasn't once or twice that he barely managed to grasp the abruptly severed thread of his rationality.
Of course, he too secretly enjoyed such situations, but this was truly the limit. To the point where he wondered if being imprisoned in Tartarus might actually have been a blessing.
Just then, a butterfly flew urgently above his crown.
— Return, Kalian. Pontos is coming.
Ananke's message reached him through the shimmering butterfly's wingbeats. Asteril's expression darkened upon hearing her voice.
"I will return tomorrow night. Or the night after."
She was, after all, a fluid form that would lose its shape once the moon set. Asteril reached out to grasp his hem as if reluctant, then stopped.
Kalian lowered his head and left a breath like ice upon her downcast lips, as if stamping a seal.
"Do not forget that you are mine."
"You as well."
Kalian stroked her head twice. Once gently, and a second time as if reluctant, letting her hair slip over the back of his hand.
Kalian turned and vanished into a sudden gale that rose like splashing water.
Asteril bit her lower lip hard to keep from crying. The North Wind, watching from an oak branch, curled its tail and descended to comfort her.
— Do not be too disheartened, Princess. You know how deeply the Lord thinks of you. Perhaps even now he is merely pretending to have returned. Even in Triton, he secretly followed behind you....
"Followed?"
— Ah? What did I say?
"You said Kalian secretly followed behind me."
— No, no, I did not say he followed. That is, hmm.... He wanted to do so but could not. If he could have, he certainly would have, but since he could not... what would one call that? An attempted act that came to nothing?
What on earth was this one trying to say? No, did he even know what he was saying? An attempted act that came to nothing—it seemed like words slipped out while thinking of something else....
The North Wind whistled, feigning innocence. Inside, he was wiping sweat from his brow.
Whew, I almost blurted out something about that accursed Pherius or whatever his name was, that perverted prince. If Despoina were to learn that the Lord severed that bastard's hand and ears.... Though the princess of the Southern Kingdom seems to take such things lightly now, my life would be in danger for running my mouth so carelessly.
Come to think of it, is that prince fellow dead? If he lived, I hope he at least boarded a ship and fled far away.
In any case, his future is set—dying by Lord Kalian's hand, dying by Hanpung who follows Kalian's orders, dying by Lord Aris whom Kalian asked in his stead because he was busy, dying by Kalian's rage when he suddenly recalls that wretch years later, dying by running into Hanpung by chance while pretending to be dead somewhere, dying by some unlucky encounter—death is the only outcome. Poor bastard.... No matter how much he runs, it will be useless.
The North Wind suddenly felt sorry for Pherius, then grew sorrowful again. I am not in a position to be sympathizing with such things.
Asteril, watching him with pitying eyes, thought Nodos's delusions must have ended by now and spoke.
"Kalian hates troublesome things to begin with. He might send Hanpung to check, but he would never personally follow me."
The North Wind looked at Asteril in shock. How could she be so ignorant of Lord Kalian! He shouted with only his mouth:
Princess of the Southern Kingdom.... How do you still not know what kind of person your lover is? The Keton are born with madness-level obsession and possessiveness! Have you not seen Lady Nyx? Lord Kalian was someone who, before you even became Despoina, would pester me and those eerie flowers endlessly to receive reports of your every movement divided by the minute. He even disliked hearing reports through our voices, so he carved your voice onto Himeros petals and appreciated them directly. No matter how I look, he is not normal.... I cannot just complain about Lady Nyx.
Thus grumbling internally, the North Wind sighed and closed his mouth. A wind spirit's unstated thoughts must also be heavy.
But I want to spill everything. I want to let it all burst out. I want to make you admit that Lord Kalian is actually a tyrant who is gentle only toward you, Princess! Has your brain melted from love so much that you forgot your first meeting with the Lord? He only pretends to be gentle for you. Despoina needs to know how unfairly and sorrowfully I live.
But I, a spirit, I, the wind, one who rose to become the strongest influence in the natural world after being reborn.... I did it again today. I endured without spilling. Though I am no longer a gatekeeper, this innate taciturnity—why does it grow heavier by the day, like Pontos's spear? Ha, truly my existence....
Asteril turned away with an expression of barely contained secondhand embarrassment. It felt like witnessing something cringeworthy.
Lately, the North Wind has been showing serious narcissistic tendencies—perhaps a side effect of dying and coming back to life....
Mnemosyne, who had been standing to one side, cautiously approached Asteril.
"By the way, Lady Asteril, why do you not create a body for Lord Kalian?"
"A body?"
"I mean a vessel for him to inhabit."
"Ah...."
"That was Lady Pyra's specialty."
"If it were Lady Pyra, perhaps, but I do not know how?"
"That cannot be."
Mnemosyne burst into laughter.
"You will be able to do it."
"But...."
"Earlier, I briefly examined Rhea and noticed a scar on her abdomen."
"Ah, she was badly hurt once in the past. It was a deep wound, but she barely survived."
"Did you heal her, Lady Asteril?"
"Perhaps.... People say I performed healing throughout the night, but I do not remember well. Normally, when I use my abilities extensively, I fall into a sleep state for several hours to several days."
Mnemosyne wore a meaningful smile at the corner of her mouth.
"Please follow me."
Inside the cave, where the sound of water dripped steadily, cool air lowered body temperature.
The torch holders on the walls and the braziers placed here and there were empty, their fires extinguished. Piles of stones meant to block the entrance in emergencies were also visible.
The North Wind, whose eyes could see clearly even in darkness, checked every corner of the cave. He approached Asteril's shoulder and secretly whispered.
— Over there by the wall, walnut-wood coffins are piled up. Coffins containing corpses.
Since entering the cave, a faint breeze had been felt from within. It seemed like a natural cave, but... artificial traces were also felt.
"This way."
The cave gradually extended like a tunnel.
Finally, Circe raised a torch, and the surroundings were pitch darkness. Men standing guard with weapons in between bowed their heads toward Circe and Mnemosyne.
A fork appeared. Circe guided them to the right. A short passage connected small rooms, and another fork appeared.
Footsteps echoed. The rooms divided into multiple branches repeated their division in the next room. Leuce spoke as if recalling something.
"There is a place like this beneath the Crete palace as well. It is a labyrinth designed by the genius architect Daedalus, said to be filled with unimaginable monsters. Like the Minotaur, half man and half bull...."
"Minos takes pride in having such a monster in his palace. He is a madman who thinks it elevates his kingdom's stature."
Circe scoffed in mockery. Saying it was a miracle you grew up this well, considering what a dreadful man he was.
"Everywhere in the world, those who sit on thrones think the same. They are wretches who care for nothing but their own safety and reputation. Look at Tyndareus. He became obsessed with some legendary trident or whatever and completely depleted the treasury! Does he think holding that spear will make him more of a man? I heard he is quite the lecher, but apparently there is something wrong with him—once he penetrates, he cannot even last three breaths before finishing."
Someone snickered. That great treasure hunt was born from the sexual inferiority of a king who was essentially premature.
"By the way, where did that young lady with the bow come from?"
At Mnemosyne's question, Melinoe answered with a indifferent expression.
"I am from Aphrodisias."
"Ah, yes. Delphi originally belonged to Aphrodisias. I heard they elect kings through some kind of trial by a tribal coalition—is that true? What is the current king of Aphrodisias like?"
"...."
"You do not know well?"
"That cannot be. She is a princess. The daughter of the King of Aphrodisias."
Leuce added, "Right? Lady Melinoe?" But Melinoe's expression was not bright.
"The King of Aphrodisias...."
The throne decorated with antlers was watched over by twelve pairs of dull eyeballs, a place where nine rusted braziers issued warnings.
But what the king seated there feared most were the future foretold by the priestess brilliant as the sun as she chanted with closed eyes, and the solemn warning of the pale smoke rising from the three-legged rusted brazier.
Kneel, O King.
Hear, O King.
Act, O King.
"Their king is weak. He is treated as more useless than firewood kindling."
Deplete the treasury to find treasure? Build a labyrinth in the palace? Imprison half-human monsters? Such foolishness can only be displayed when one holds power.
"He possesses only a hollow crown, a being who can do nothing. He is merely a figurehead for the old elders."
While everyone conversed, Asteril looked around and slipped into a room with a transparent curtain covering its entrance.
She saw a long wooden platform placed in the center of the room. Large enough for an adult man to lie upon. Dark red blood was soaked between the wood grains.
Inside a red vessel placed on the platform, what appeared to be medical instruments were arranged. Sharp knives and pointed forceps, and thick linen bandages. Beside them, standing jars waited with their lids open for whatever would fill them.
The floor beneath the platform was grooved like a water channel, designed to send flowing something toward the wall. A square opening in the wall meeting the ceiling seemed to be for ventilation.
This was a place for making mummies. It was far more delicate and eerie than what she had only heard about from Monera.
Mnemosyne's voice came from behind.
"It happened half a century ago. On a rainy night, after collecting sacred water in an urn, I went to pay respects to Lady Pyra who had retired first. The room was too cold. Lady Pyra's body had gone cold. It was so sudden. I remember crying all night, holding the rigid corpse. Exhausted, I fell asleep and opened my eyes to the sound of morning birds. And then I was startled. Lady Pyra's body, which had been like a log, suddenly felt warm. Her face, pale as hardened flour, gained a pinkish vitality, and her chest rose and fell shallowly as she breathed evenly. And not long after, she opened her eyes as if waking from sleep. Upon seeing me, she called my name as usual and smiled gently."
The emotion that swelled in my chest at that moment.... That morning scene with sunlight pouring down is something I will never forget for the rest of my life.
"It was only after several years passed that I learned. That Lady Pyra's body was not real. That it was merely a vessel containing a soul, like clothing one puts on and takes off. That night I visited, Lady Pyra had briefly gone to the world of gods. She did not specifically tell me where, but I could tell. Similar things happened occasionally after that."
"...."
"I do not know if Lady Pyra was truly the Mother Goddess Gaia. But I am certain she was a divine being. When you told me the story of Lady Pandora and Lady Gaia, I felt no sense of incongruity at all. Rather, I felt that everything fell into place. One thing I knew for certain. That Lady Pyra possessed power related to birth and resurrection. Thinking about it, this is precisely the domain of the Mother Goddess Gaia, is it not?"
Gaia's totem is two snakes. Gaia had most of her totems and Shakti form pairs.
The priests of Demeter considered this to be the Mother Goddess's teaching referring to the natural cycle of birth and extinction, or death and resurrection.
"Rumor has it that mummies created by the Kokinos clan come back to life.... Is that true?"
"That is what they say."
Mnemosyne answered calmly, as if speaking of someone else.
“It seems that swindler bastard is properly deceiving people.”
“A swindler?”
“Yes, a bastard who uses the breath of the gods to line his own pockets. The greatest swindler currently in existence... He’s an absolute master at peddling prayers.”
“And who might that be?”
“Eleusis.”
As soon as that name came out, Circe could not hide her disgust. Her expression was one of utter revulsion, just as it had been when she spoke of King Minos.
“He is the one who leads Delphi, the city of oracles. He is also our biggest customer. With them, how should I put it... we have a somewhat more artistic transaction. A few years ago, he made a special request for us to build a wildly bizarre machine, and it seems he is reaping substantial profits from it.”
“What is it?”
Mnemosyne sighed and furrowed her brow. It was true that she regretted it. But an order from Delphi was not something she could dare to refuse.
“A resurrection device... A machine that makes corpses spring to their feet. The rumor that the mummies created by the Kokinos clan are coming back to life probably originated from that.”
Ψ
The young priestesses who had yet to become official Sibyls bustled about in their ceremonial robes.
Silver anklets shaped like serpents jingled on their slender ankles, and wreaths woven with black daffodils encircled the girls' round foreheads, cascading shimmeringly down their braided hair.
Averaging between twelve and fourteen years of age, the girls hurried toward the central sanctuary, baskets of lupine seeds and fava beans tucked under their arms.
Today was the day the serpent sheds its skin.
The pilgrims, holding torches, headed toward the narrow, winding path between the gorges. This rugged passage was called the Hierà Odós. Hierà meant sacred, and Odós meant way. In other words, it denoted the Sacred Way. Among the devotees of Delphi, it was also called the Pilgrim's Path.
The black-hooded pilgrims shared barley porridge at the entrance where the Sacred Way began, then painted the area around their eyes red with brushes dipped in red alkanet dye.
The priestesses handed a drink made from ground lupine seeds and fava beans to the pilgrims, whose eyes were growing glazed.
How the pilgrims—who had begun to stagger as if drunk—would remember tonight's affairs would later be spun into grand tales by bards.
The Sanctuary of Daphne was where the Ritual of Mystical Re-enactment was held. The pilgrims who arrived after passing through the gorge stood before the candlelit stairs and lifted their torches high before dropping them downward to declare their intention to participate in the ritual.
This was the same method used at the altar of Nyssa; dropping the sacred flame downward signified sending one's soul to the underworld.
The Sanctuary of Daphne was quite a distance from the great temple of Delphi where the oracles were delivered. Unlike the great temple, which was crowded with numerous diplomatic figures and envoys sent by key figures from various nations, this place was primarily open to the general public.
The sanctuary, largely composed of a circular structure, had a stage made of laid timber in the center. By day, it was a space for plays or performances, but....
Creak, creak.
As the sound of gears turning was heard, the surroundings grew thick with mist.
Around the time the effects of the barley porridge containing ergot fungus were slowly wearing off, the pilgrims glanced around with bloodshot eyes.
Beneath the stage existed a stone chamber with an arched ceiling, accessible only by a ladder.
The priests waiting here pulled hard on ropes connected to a pulley. The rattling machine was a dismantled trebuchet used in farming; as the gears connected to bronze rings turned, it created the illusion of a corpse strapped to a wooden plank springing upright.
The hallucinating pilgrims believed it to be a resurrection. Especially given the current boom in mummy burials, the people's reaction was fervent.
“The corpse has come back to life...”
“Oh my god, Pythia!”
Mount Parnassus, the symbol of Delphi, was also called the Mountain of Snakes, and those who ruled this place were likewise the Snake Tribe. The priestesses of Delphi were called Pythia, for they were the daughters of the serpent.
The Serpent God... The God of Darkness and Death.
There was no one who did not know that the totem of Nyx was the snake. Originally having no totem, he stole one from Gaia, who had taken two serpents as her totems, and made it his own.
Unaware that she had taken two serpents as totems to maintain the balance between death and resurrection.
An incomplete shedding.
And so, Nyx became the god of death. Pythia became the priestess of death.
The pilgrims who had watched the resurrection ritual approached the massive laurel tree planted behind the stage, following the priests' instructions.
They each plucked a laurel leaf, placed it in their mouths, and, as if by prior agreement, found the cave entrance hidden in the tree's shadow and underbrush, bending down to enter one by one.
Upon entering the cave, they came upon a space where the ceiling was open in a circle. The moon was faint today. Nevertheless, the surroundings were bright thanks to the sunstones arranged above. Sunstones were minerals that absorbed light during the day and emitted a glow at night.
The pilgrims knelt before a stone statue that glowed, imbued with the bluish light emitted by the sunstones.
It was a sculpture of a hooded old man holding a sickle. Behind the statue, overlapping rocks formed a wall, but upon closer inspection, there was a gap just wide enough for a single person to pass through.
The pilgrims twisted their bodies and shuffled sideways through the gap in the rocks. Then, a breathtaking sight appeared.
The cave floor was entirely made of gold.
A golden path, paved with an unknown mineral similar to marble, stretched out in a long, straight line.
At the end of that path stood a massive rock erected like a stele, and ancient characters were carved in a line like a pattern on its smooth front.
“It is Lady Sibyl.”
All official priestesses, except for Pythia, the high priestess who delivered the oracles, were called Sibyls. Among them, the priestess who presided over the Ritual of Mystical Re-enactment enjoyed popularity equal to that of Pythia.
Whoa.
Exclamations of awe erupted. Some were so moved that they burst into tears.
“Lady Sibyl!”
“Oh, Sibyl!”
The Sibyl, seated on a three-legged chair placed before the rock, had a red cloth draped over her up to the tip of her nose, revealing only her lips.
Her body, clad in a white priestess robe, was frail enough to seem breakable. Her collarbones and wrists, glimpsed fleetingly through the fabric, were so gaunt that the bones were clearly visible.
She too had a laurel leaf held in her mouth.
The powder and extract made from grinding laurel leaves had effects potent enough to be used as anesthetics or painkillers.
The priestess chewed noisily on the laurel leaf, then parted her red-painted lips and laughed uproariously.
“Hear me, you foolish ones!”
Her voice echoed thunderously inside the hemispherical cave. It was the same effect as the sacred voice Asteril used during rituals. The only difference was that this was artificially produced by taking advantage of the space's acoustics.
“This is the divine domain of the ancient god Cronus, the father of Nyx! Pay your respects to the God of Time, the God of Immortality, the God of Darkness, the God of Ruin, the God of Prophecy, the God of Resurrection! Bow your heads before the sickle of Cronus and uphold his majesty!”
The pilgrims prostrated themselves in fear and cried out.
“Oh, Cronus! God of Darkness and Resurrection!”
“God of Time! God who takes the form of a child and an old man!”
“Immortal Father! Lord of Death and the Underworld!”
The Sibyl looked down at the pilgrims with satisfaction from her high, three-legged chair.
This year's roster of pilgrims was quite good. It had been worth the effort to screen them, selecting only those who wielded considerable influence in their respective regions.
Lord Eleusis will be pleased.
The Sibyl raised both hands high, wearing an expression of ecstatic trance. An intoxicated voice spilled from her rapturous face. She leaned forward as if gazing down at her devotees, swaying her arms and shoulders languidly.
“It traces back to a distant, primordial past. A tale from when the world was just newly created, older than ancient times itself, unrecorded anywhere....”
Light poured down like a waterfall from all directions, and darkness swayed and roamed like endless waves.
In the beginning, the Creator who shaped Mother Nature was called Order. Order valued Harmony. To Order, Harmony was a clear contrast, like light and darkness, water and fire, life and death, movement and stillness.
And thus, having built the world, Order spent long ages refining and polishing a certain creation to perfection; this was called Humanity.
- How truly beautiful.
Order was delighted. He finally felt that his world was complete.
However, there was one who envied this, and that was Chaos, who was born alongside Order. Chaos had originally been uninterested in the act of creating the world. Unlike Order, who was always busy doing something, he preferred to remain idle and formless.
He coveted the world Order had created. What Chaos showed the most interest in, in particular, was humanity.
The existence that Order cherished and loved the most....
Chaos resolved to create a being greater than humanity. Thus, he began to bestow upon his creations talents superior to those of humans in every aspect.
Chaos gave them bodies stronger and appearances more beautiful than humans. He granted them wisdom superior to obtuse humans, and, unlike humans who were dominated by nature, he implanted in them the ability to dominate nature.
He would make them beings second only to himself and Order.
He made it so his children could escape even the cycle of life and death, which Order valued most. He also endowed them with infinite vitality and regenerative abilities.
They must be perfect. My children... must be perfect.
Right before breathing the breath of a soul into them as the final step, Chaos felt that he had missed something.
What could he have missed...?
Chaos could not figure it out. He closely observed the humans Order had created. Ah, he understood. Humans could be divided into two kinds.
Those born with their respective sexes from birth would pair up upon becoming adults and proliferate their species. That was truly a principle that Order would have created.
Chaos fell into contemplation. If he did not give them sex, his children would not be able to proliferate like Order's creations, but he disliked the idea of distinguishing their genders because it felt like following Order.
Meanwhile, Order was greatly surprised upon seeing the creatures Chaos had made.
He didn't want to admit it, but they were perfect to the point of anger. Order grew anxious. At this rate, the natural order he had created would collapse because of Chaos's creations. Furthermore, it wouldn't be long before his own children would worship Chaos's children.
Order spoke.
- Chaos. Your children are indeed superior to my children. But you have not given your children the most important things.
- What would that be?
- Do you know why humans are beautiful?
At Order's question, Chaos fell silent.
Beautiful? Those frail creatures?
He was clearly jealous of Order, who had created humans. Why? How could he desire those mere beings living such fleeting lives, desire them so much that he wanted to shatter them, and shatter them to forge something even greater?
Order answered in his stead.
- There are two reasons. First, it is because they die. Because there is death, their lives are incomparably beautiful.
Chaos seemed struck with shock and could not say a word.
- Second, they perform an act far more subtle and mysterious than anything else that exists in this world. It is a function that not even you, Chaos, nor I, can dare to comprehend. For it is an unfathomable emotion possessed only by humans....
- Tell me what it is.
- They call it love.
Chaos agonized for a long time over the children he had already shaped. Watching Chaos like that, Order knew his plan had succeeded.
Chaos would not find the answer. He couldn't possibly. For it was something that even he, Order, had not anticipated.
Love was an error.
He had never bestowed such a thing upon humans. Humans had generated this thing called love on their own as they multiplied.
After agonizing for a long while, Chaos entered the net of darkness and spent another long age.
A long, long time passed, and then one day.
Chaos finally breathed the breath of a soul into his children. Order, watching from afar, approached in surprise. Chaos named his creations Ketos.
- Order, I have finally found the answer. My children, the Ketos, will become the most beautiful and greatest of beings.
- Why are you so certain?
- I will bestow both sexes upon these children.
Order scoffed.
- If they have both sexes, won't they be unable to pair up and live like humans?
- That is not so. My children shall choose their nature for the sake of a single companion. They are perfect, yet cannot be perfect; immortal, yet not immortal. For them, death and love… shall always coexist.
Whether this creation myth is true or not is unimportant. No one can know whether the struggle between order and chaos is the truth, or mere fiction within a myth.
"However, what is certain is…."
Sibyl emphasized.
"That the myth of those called the children of the Great Creator has begun. That the beautiful and distant tales of theirs, which would later branch out countless times, truly existed…."
It was sometime in ancient days. Where that place is, leaving behind only the history hidden within myths, no one can now know.
Ruling over humanity, who served the Creator within nature and feared the inexplicable beings, were the noble Ketons.
They were perfect beings, most resembling their father the Creator, and thus humans deemed the Ketons immortal, serving them like gods. They revered, feared, and worshipped them.
The Ketons were genderless, said to have no sex. Or it was said they possessed all sexes.
They looked human but were not human, and looked like spirits but were different from spirits. Neither male nor female, they sometimes devoured people, and sometimes mesmerized their counterparts with their beauty, bestowing endless pleasure.
They were the most perfect creation forged by the supernatural, and simultaneously the most dangerous of beings. Whenever they clashed, the lives of countless humans would form a gruesome river of blood….
Even to them, who were worshipped as gods for being immortal and fearsome, there existed a secret unknown to humanity. It was a matter of grave importance concerning their continuation, and only the greatest among the Ketons—the Ketons of the Ojwa—managed that confidentiality.
"However…."
Sibyl brought a finger to her lips with a shush. Her reddened, made-up eyes were fierce and sharp.
"The moment you try to know, you will lose your life, so store your foolish curiosity deep within a jar."
Whispering thus, Sibyl twisted up one corner of her mouth as she looked at the dozing pilgrims.
Meanwhile, Aris, who had been sitting perched atop the statue of the robed Kronos, eavesdropped on Sibyl's old tale through a crevice in the rock, wearing an expression of intrigue.
"Oho…. She knows quite a lot more than I thought?"
Could she possibly know about Ambrosia too? How on earth did she find out about these things?
Tilting his head in wonder, Aris suddenly looked forward and fell backward in surprise with a "Woah!"
"Wh-what the!"
Kallian was leaning against the cave wall with his arms crossed. Staring fixedly at him without a single sign of presence, to the point where it was impossible to tell when he had even gotten there.
Aris, who had tumbled behind the statue, grabbed the arm of the sculpture and climbed back up, staring blankly at Kallian.
"What is this? Are you really Lian?"
The luminescent color of the Haeroseok is blue. But Kallian's body was glowing with a yellowish golden hue. Furthermore, it was translucent like mist.
"Then what did you think?"
"Wow…. What kind of bizarre ability is this? Doesn't seem like your main body?"
Aris observed Kallian's body closely with a round mouth like a child and an expression of utter fascination. Kallian's gaze, as he looked at such an Aris, drifted toward his hair.
"What are you doing here? What is that on your head?"
"Ah, this? It's Lord Ananke's Jannabi."
"I'm asking why it's stuck to your hair."
"Lord Ananke gave it to me. She said if I kept this, I wouldn't catch the eyes of other Ketons. It seems Lord Ananke also suspects Nyx. As soon as permission fell from the Ojwa to monitor the black-haired princess, she quietly sent a Cheongeum to me."
- Go to Nisa. Go and watch over Nyx of Harmony. I shall attach a Jannabi to you so you can hide your presence.
"Just like you said, Lian, when I volunteered for the surveillance role, Nyx threw a fit and flipped out."
Aris recalled how Nyx's face had turned beet red and laughed as if satisfied.
"Anyway, I went to Nisa just as Lord Ananke said, and something bizarre was happening, you know? That human woman I saw at Lethe back then was alive and well. Isn't that strange? The Ketons of Nisa don't view humans as anything more than food or livestock, yet they kept her alive this long…. Especially Nyx, who would shudder at the mere mention of humans."
"The human woman you saw at Lethe?"
"Ah…. Actually, that day, Seate brought some woman along, saying he wanted to pay his respects to the sacred fire. Nyx's follower group playing with humans is something they do every day, so I didn't suspect much. But thinking back on it, there were more than one or two strange things. That day, I was so distracted looking for you, Lian…. Anyway, later I checked Lethe again, but I couldn't see where that wench had gone. No corpse was found, either."
"Are you saying that woman is connected to the burning of Asphodelos?"
"Isn't something off? At first, I only thought Seate did it, but how could he handle Hestia? Why would he take a human he wouldn't even play with?"
"I witnessed it. That woman did it."
Kallian's eyes deepened heavily. What if Nyx's words hadn't been a complete lie?
"By any chance…. Could that human woman have set fire to Asphodelos?"
It seemed Aris had the same thought.
Kallian, who had fallen silent in thought, cast a sidelong glance and brought his index finger to his lips in a shushing motion.
Someone was entering the depths of the cave.
"This way, Lady Sibyl."
"I'm not a Sibyl…."
Psyche, who had been about to argue, let out a sigh with an expression that said 'never mind.'
In Delphi, the holy land of oracles, there was a tendency to call noble women 'Sibyl' as a way of elevating them.
"Where is Eleusis?"
"Lord Eleusis is busy preparing for the mystical reenactment ritual today, so it might be a bit difficult to meet Him."
The priestess answered with a beaming smile. While going 'Lady Sibyl, Lady Sibyl!', she was cleverly evading the actual answer she wanted.
"Then can I just pick and take them?"
"Up to the third row there are those who will become salesmen, so it will be difficult, but from the row behind them, you may choose as you please. Since they came forward after voluntarily expressing their intention to leave home, please don't worry about any repercussions. All the pilgrims are fast asleep, so please look around comfortably."
"What's a salesman?"
"They are talents who will sell Delphi's products. Every year, we screen and select those who can wield influence in each region. There are a few in Nisa as well. From the ruling magistrates to the old women living after being exiled from their villages…."
Psyche looked down at the sleeping pilgrims with her hands behind her back. The priestess following behind shone the torch over the faces of the pilgrims one by one.
"Will you be taking only women?"
"Yeah, I was told to. What was it about men… they can't control their instincts and desires, and easily break…."
"That is correct. In the past, they were at least made into soldiers to be used, but nowadays soldiers aren't needed either, so they are truly useless. Therefore, men and the elderly are usually utilized as salesmen."
With the priestess's help, she picked out about a dozen or so in an instant. Psyche pointed with her finger, saying "This one and this one!" as if any young woman would do.
"Then when can I meet Eleusis?"
"The High Priest is insanely busy these days preparing for the upcoming Grand Festival. In particular, He is putting a lot of effort into preparing for the secret rite held on the last day of the Grand Festival."
"Secret rite?"
"I mean the mystical ritual."
"What is… that?"
"It's a secret ritual that only initiates can participate in, so I don't know the details well either."
Psyche's mouth opened slightly. It was an expression that emerged when her curiosity peaked and she grew tense.
"This Grand Festival thing, when is it? How can someone become an initiate?"
"The Grand Festival lasts for six days starting from the first day of the season of wind…. And since only Lord Eleusis and the Nomunyes take initiates, I am not sure."
A disappointed look appeared on her face. But she didn't pry any further. It was because the priestess's eyes had narrowed observantly.
Psyche slipped out of the cave, wrapping her body in a black hood that covered even her head.
A hooded crow waiting outside cawed harshly. As she raised her head and met eyes with the crow staring down at her, she clenched her teeth.
Secrets, secrets…. Damn secrets!
The crow fluttered and flew up. Then, a black barrier appeared before her furious expression.
Psyche quietly lowered her eyes and stepped into the barrier. The oval barrier that swallowed her swirled as it shrank, then vanished with a pop. The noisily fluttering crows also scattered like smoke.
"It's Nyx's barrier."
Aris, who had been hiding behind a nearby rock watching, crossed his arms in disbelief.
"So…. you're saying the young ones of Nisa are colluding with the priests here and periodically being supplied with human women? As food instead of Ambrosia?"
"Young Ketons seducing and devouring their followers has been happening openly since the very beginning. Even Gaia couldn't completely stop it."
"Back then, it was only occasionally for amusement. Now they're doing it openly every single day; shouldn't we inform the Ojwa?"
In a situation where Gaia was absent and Ambrosia was gone, even the Ojwa couldn't perfectly control the starving clan. In particular, the young Ketons were so rebellious that they were even harder to handle.
A justification was needed to punish them.
Just as Gaia, who pitied the humans being ruthlessly devoured by the Ketons, had created the food of the gods.
"Anyway, it's that one. The human woman Seate brought to Lethe…."
Aris looked in the direction where Psyche had disappeared and carefully asked.
"But I'm curious…. Honestly, isn't she prettier than the black-haired princess?"
"…."
"I'm genuinely curious. Do you see something different?"
The black-haired princess was sometimes a bit chilling. There were times she made his hair stand on end, making him wonder if she was really human.
Especially the way she feigned sweetness while fawning…. It was bone-chilling. A skill that would make even Lord Ananke step aside.
What on earth did Lian see in her to act like this, he really wanted to know. What was so special about her.
"Aris, have you…."
Kallian, whom he thought would wear his usual expression of contempt, unexpectedly replied, so Aris answered in surprise, "Huh?"
"Have you ever felt as if your soul had been stolen by someone?"
"What?"
"No sound reaches your ears, and the scene before your eyes feels as if it has stopped."
The feeling of losing one's mind, as humans commonly say.
Aris unknowingly parted his lips and stared blankly into the air.
The image of Asteril smiling as she met the West Wind in the forest of Cocytus flashed through his mind like lightning.
It felt as if the grass bending to the wind was etched into his retina in vivid detail, as though time had stopped only around her.
Kallian raised an eyebrow as he watched Aris blinking, unable to continue speaking.
So it seems he has.
Then there was no need to explain further. He would soon realize how foolish his previous question had been.
Aris, who had been staring blankly into the air, gasped and turned around at the sound of the chill wind. Kallian was moving, riding the wind.
"Lian!"
My god. He inwardly cried "My god" repeatedly.
No, that can't be. Me, for a mere human? Me, the Guardian of Hestia?
Pacing anxiously with a pale face, he screamed in self-reproach.
"Aaaaaah!"
Calm down, calm down….
It's not certain yet. It's not certain, but I shouldn't let Lian find out. When it comes to matters regarding the black-haired princess, he acts even more sensitively than a neurotic Nyx….
"Aaaagh! No way! No, no I'm not!"
Aris clutched his head, wearing an expression like he was going crazy. His chest pounded. His heart was beating so violently that he couldn't deny it.
I'm doomed. What do I do? Now I'm really going to need two glasses of Manggaksu.
He wanted to cry. So much so that if the god of love truly existed, he wanted to resent him to death.