The girl opened her eyes and raised her head, fixing her gaze upon Zigeyr, who floated above, observing her.
Her expression shifted instantly—from surprise to fury. With a single motion, she struck the fragment of the mountain beneath Zigeyr with a powerful punch.
In an instant, the mountain disintegrated into countless fragments. The bloodied, eyes-gouged humans collapsed to the ground. Yet Zigeyr remained aloft, untouched, levitating exactly where he had been.
"Waking up after millions of years and choosing to fight… You have no sense of style, do you, Goddess Xuhuna?" Zigeyr remarked, a crooked smile forming on his face as he waved his hand. A remaining portion of the mountain began to fall toward Xuhuna.
She did not reply immediately. Instead, she extended her hand, manifesting a black vortex that consumed the entire mountain fragment, leaving nothing but empty space.
"Do you even understand what you have done, Zigeyr?" Xuhuna's voice was measured but carried underlying tension. She had not yet reached her full strength and had no certainty regarding how much Zigeyr had recovered after awakening prematurely. Naturally, she was unwilling to risk a direct confrontation.
"Hm," Zigeyr replied. "You mean killing the humans who were investigating your energy and waking you ahead of schedule?"
"I AM TALKING ABOUT THE 'ANOMALY', ZIGEYR!" Her words resonated with fury. Though it was clear he understood her reference, he chose to feign ignorance—a behavior both irritating and calculated.
"Oh, if you mean the "Anomaly"… then relax. It was rather impressive, wasn't it? You are the goddess of destruction; surely the devastation would have thrilled you to the core?"
"Even as a goddess of destruction, I would never invite an "Anomaly from the Upper Universe to annihilate Heaven and the universe itself. BECAUSE OF YOU, THERE ARE LITERALLY NO LIVING BEINGS LEFT IN THIS UNIVERSE EXCEPT FROM THIS PLANET! Only we gods remain."
Zigeyr chuckled lightly. "Isn't that quite the scenario? No demon race to contend with, and a lengthy, uninterrupted sleep for you all. In fact, the others are still enjoying theirs."
"Enough! It is futile to argue with you. Wait until the others awaken; then your punishment will be decided."
"My punishment?" Zigeyr laughed, amusement dancing in his tone. "You are quite entertaining. Out of the entire council, only two other Primordials are capable of challenging me. How could they possibly punish me?"
Xuhuna smiled faintly. "After awakening, everyone's power is diminished. Those who were stronger experience a greater relative weakening than the weaker ones. Since your strength has waned considerably, it is not impossible to defeat you—even without the assistance of the Primordials." Though she did not understand why Zigeyr had awoken so early, she knew that the weakening effect was independent of this.
Zigeyr raised an eyebrow, amused. "Do you think they would risk their lives just to punish me?"
"I will convince them," she replied, unwavering. "You are a lunatic. No one knows the chaos you could unleash. The council will never permit such a threat to remain unchecked."
"And why so eager to punish me? Because releasing that anomaly destroyed the plan you had been orchestrating for millennia?"
Xuhuna's eyes widened in shock, and her body trembled. "Y-yo—you know about it? Impossible… how?"
"Hmph. Do you think I am the only one aware? Almost everyone on the council knew of your plan to eliminate the Goddess of Life. Honestly, you are poor at scheming; you were born for combat alone." In the hierarchy of gods, even an ordinary deity is regarded as a master strategist. By supreme standards, Xuhuna—despite being a goddess of the highest order—was remarkably naïve in the art of political manipulation.
Xuhuna gritted her teeth and, in the next instant, vanished.
Zigeyr remained suspended above the ruined mountain, surveying the devastation. "Well… humans will have to get accustomed to this. It seems such occurrences will become increasingly frequent in the coming months."
In the following millisecond, he too disappeared.
For the next few days, relative peace returned. Aside from occasional reports of soldier and scientist corpses—with their right eyes gouged—and fragments of the destroyed mountain, nothing notable transpired. Neither of the awakened deities reappeared.
Two months later, significant political upheaval occurred. The Aidni nation, long perceived as peaceful and non-aggressive, declared war on several neighboring countries simultaneously. The decision stunned the world. Aidni had recently endured a domestic insurgency; now, they waged war on multiple fronts. Observers questioned the sanity of their leadership.
Everyone anticipated Aidni's defeat. Yet, contrary to expectation, Aidni emerged victorious in just two months. Entire armies were annihilated, and neighboring nations were annexed. Defeated soldiers reported the use of an unseen, devastating weapon and recounted sightings of an enigmatic woman who could stun any person, regardless of gender.
Throughout the conflict, weather phenomena—violent winds—obstructed enemy operations. Additionally, numerous enemy soldiers defected to Aidni's side, reportedly under the influence of an unknown man capable of charming and seducing women soldiers.
The world largely dismissed these reports. How could trained soldiers succumb to such forces? Yet, the truth was far stranger—and far more terrifying—than anyone could anticipate.
Aidni Nation:
"Miss, all the people have gathered. We can begin the rally now," a man said to Kiara.
She nodded. "All right. I am coming." The man excused himself.
Kiara exhaled softly. "How things have changed. I never imagined Idom would declare war—and even more, that they would win with so few casualties. This makes our election campaign even harder. Still, we can address the issue of him tarnishing the nation's image on the world stage."
At this moment, the rally was about to commence, a public denouncement of the current government, as Kiara and her supporters prepared to confront the political turmoil head-on.