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Perhaps the story has reached its final chapter.
Yet its song has only just begun.
Most of the people in the city will not remember what happened, nor what they themselves experienced. But the tale of this city and of 'Him' will always have someone to remember, someone to record, someone to… sing.
[When shadows covered every corner of the city, when whispers of despair intertwined in the alleys. The threads of fate knotted into a deadlock, and fear made people's souls tremble and shrink.]
[From the abyss, You spread Your wings, carrying supreme will. You bore the light of dawn, driving away the shadow of endless night. In the grand tapestry of fate, you gracefully appeared.]
[You waved your invisible hand, unlocking the shackles of destiny, letting the light of hope shine again upon the city. You guided the lost out of the maelstrom, and the power of redemption shook every heart.]
[You carried away the darkness and left behind light. You carried away despair and left behind hope. Upon the ruins, the city flourished anew, and Your deeds will be etched in the annals of time.]
[We look up, we murmur softly, we sing this heartfelt hymn. May You soar among the stars, may Your grace never fade, may Your journey be filled with peace…]
Cassandra was singing a farewell hymn for her Lord. The Sun God and His daughter waited quietly for this favored one of the Ancient Gods.
"If I recall correctly, it was you who permitted that temple to stand in this city."
The Brute Goddess, though known as a brute, was not actually stupid; she simply disliked using her mind.
She turned her gaze toward the distant temple where Cassandra lived. A forbidden temple, one somewhat out of place with the city. Yet because a true god had permitted it, it had endured for many years.
"I'm glad to see you've finally started thinking and using that mind of yours." The Sun God's reply was, in itself, an acknowledgement.
This made the Brute Goddess all the more curious.
"Did you already know that this day would come? Or did you know long ago that this temple would one day worship an Ancient God, one born in the future, yet who proved his divinity in the past?"
She did know some fragments of information, but they were not enough to pierce the truth hidden behind the fog. And this Goddess knew very well that her father surely understood more than she did.
"No God can glimpse Fate itself nor its working. I think you already understood this when you met him, when Fate itself manifests, aside from him, all else we glimpse are but illusions, and empty phantoms."
The Sun God spoke in a soft voice. These words were much the same as what the Brute Goddess had told Ian not long ago, though she had phrased it more simply as "Priority."
"Then why, if neither you nor the other Gods could glimpse fate, did you permit such a temple to exist?" She remained puzzled as she asked this. She knew full well that every regional god was narrow-minded and jealous.
For heresy to be allowed to preach openly was nearly impossible, after all, the reason she herself preferred simple words over cryptic riddles was precisely because she was never a qualified "riddle-monger."
This, in a world of magic and miracles, was practically considered an impure lineage.
"Heh."
Faced with his foolish daughter's question, the Sun God gave a helpless smile. His gaze fell instead upon the little girl still prostrated on the ground, reverently chanting in the direction Ian had departed.
"When you set out on that ridiculous adventure of yours, the only reason I was able to respond to you so swiftly was because I had long been watching over this city from the clouds." He spoke as if of something completely unrelated.
"Was it Father who discovered my descent then?" The Brute Goddess grew slightly guilty.
But, she was clearly overthinking it. The Sun God shook his head and replied with steady voice, "Of course not. Do you think I have nothing better to do than to monitor your whereabouts?"
"You caused trouble. Naturally, I knew how to punish you."
The brilliant god's words should have pleased the Brute Goddess. Yet his tone, so lacking in fatherly warmth, only left her expression awkward.
"This time doesn't count as trouble, right? I did help save quite a lot of people…" Her voice carried a faint trace of guilt, though the Sun God himself didn't particularly care.
He continued gazing at the little girl before him as he spoke. "I was watching her from the heavens. She was supposed to carry my curse, but that curse was silently broken."
This statement truly caught the Brute Goddess off guard.
"What do you mean?" Her tone was startled.
She could sense the scent of gossip.
"She was once my priestess, a woman who had vowed to serve me. Yet she was deceived by a bird spouting words of 'freedom, feminine power, and awakening,' and was coaxed into pursuing love and the meaning of life."
"Of course, this enraged me. I could not catch that bird, but I could punish the mortal who broke her vow. Perhaps it was domineering, but ultimately, it was to safeguard our divine majesty."
"So I laid a curse upon her, a curse that would pass down to her descendants. However, just yesterday, the curse was erased. Even your older brother's priest now believes she truly possesses the Inner Eye."
"That was what drew my attention… It was not out of pettiness, but simply curiosity, who had the power to erase my curse? And it was then that I saw his arrival. The moment he believed that little girl to be a prophet, my curse was dispelled. That made me deeply curious about his origins." The Sun God spoke slowly.
The Brute Goddess seemed to grasp something.
"So, you like copper play' after all!"
(*lit. "Copper Play", internet slang implying relationships with very young girls; she is making a crude joke here.)
Her bizarre exclamation froze the Sun God's expression.
"This is not amusing, nor a good joke." The Sun God's face hardened.
He was not that person.
"Just kidding, I am just kidding, don't be angry." The Brute Goddess noticed the gleam in her father's eyes, as if he were about to raise a hand and show her what "true fatherly love" meant.
She hurriedly took several steps back, offering an awkward laugh and quick flattery. As a goddess, of course, she understood the matters of life, death, and reincarnation.
"So… when you struck at him, attempting to read his soul, it wasn't just because he had made a contract with me, but also because he shattered your curse?" Her voice held astonishment as she asked this question.
The Sun God nodded.
The Brute Goddess pieced the clues together thoughtfully.
(To Be Continued…)