After delving deeper, Su Mo gradually understood why there were two Solar Spirits in particular. He even discovered a subversive fact: neither Shiroyasha nor the Halloween Queen were, strictly speaking, Solar Spirits.
The celestial bodies they symbolized were, in fact, far more vast.
"According to Little Garden's saying, Shiroyasha symbolizes the material aspect of the Solar Spirit, while the Halloween Queen symbolizes its spiritual aspect. This is why their naturally converged Authorities are the Primordial Star and the Boundary," Su Mo recalled the information revealed in the original work.
Shiroyasha controlled the mass of the entire universe and was the representative of the sun itself. The Halloween Queen represented the changing aspect of the sun, deriving the Boundary of the stars from the sun's activities, and ultimately distinguishing all things.
On the surface, this explanation seemed to be without problems. The sun itself provided matter, and the Boundary itself distinguished the concepts of the material world, ultimately making the world an orderly existence.
But upon closer inspection, it was easy to find problems.
What right did a mere Solar Spirit have to bear the mass of the entire universe? And on what grounds could the sun's trajectory become the Boundary that divided all things in the world?
The answer to this question could easily be found from the concept of the Primordial Star itself.
In the distant past, when humanity had not yet realized they lived on "Earth" and heaven and earth were still one in the era of the geocentric model, the celestial body Shiroyasha represented was not just the sun, but the primordial celestial body that included the earth, moon, and stars.
At that time, heaven and earth were connected, and the sun, moon, stars, and earth all belonged to the same world. The "world" formed by the unity of all things was the Primordial Star.
In that age of ignorance, the "world" consisted of only this one celestial body, containing all things within it.
In other words, the so-called Primordial Star actually referred to the entire universe itself.
It was less that Shiroyasha symbolized the Solar Spirit, and more that she initially symbolized the spiritual body of the entire universe. It was only with the development of astronomy and the elimination of the geocentric model that she was demoted to a mere Solar Spirit. And the reason she could control the mass of the entire universe through the convergence of her Authority was because her original spiritual rank represented the entire universe. Both the geocentric model and the Primordial Star reflected this essence.
That was why she was considered a celestial law that existed before the concept of heaven and earth was born. That was why the fully-powered Demon Lord Shiroyasha was considered the center and pinnacle that reigned over all cosmologies.
"If the product of the pantheons' cosmology materializing is the 'Another Cosmology', then Shiroyasha's essence is the core star in the 'Another Cosmology'," Su Mo confirmed this point.
All cosmologies attempted to explain the entire world. But the one true, existing real world itself was the Primordial Star symbolized by Shiroyasha. It could be said that all cosmologies revolved around her.
After confirming this point, Shiroyasha's essential spiritual rank became self-evident. She was the personification of the material world, demoted to the level of a Solar Spirit.
And the Halloween Queen, as her twin sister, presided over the concept that divided matter and made the stars follow order, each in its own place.
The two of them, one representing the matter of the universe, the other representing its order. It was only due to the limitations of human historical observation that they materialized as Solar Spirits.
After analyzing the essential spiritual ranks of the two, Su Mo suddenly understood why the later stages of the original work's plot gradually escaped the control of the pantheons.
The pantheons thought they had mastered the world, thought they could interfere with history at will, and even recreate Little Garden, but they failed to realize that the future of the world needed to be decided by the world itself.
Without the support of Shiroyasha and the Halloween Queen, any action to change the future of Little Garden would be in vain. The reason the original work had taken a dual-protagonist route was most likely because the influence of these Celestial Spirit sisters on the world's situation was destined from the very beginning.
"If that's the case, to interfere with the world of Little Garden, Shiroyasha and the Halloween Queen are the most crucial nodes."
Compared to them, the pantheons were not as important.
In addition, Su Mo realized another problem.
"Speaking of which, since neither of them is an orthodox Solar Spirit, doesn't that mean the position of the orthodox Solar Spirit is still vacant?"
Two personifications of the universe had simultaneously occupied the position of the Solar Spirit itself, and they had even divided the Star Sovereignty of the sun between them. But neither of them was a pure Solar Spirit, which meant that there was still room for one more person in the position of the Solar Spirit.
Normally, even so, it would be impossible for a new Solar Spirit to be born, since a Celestial Spirit without a Star Sovereignty could not exist. Unless all holders of the Solar Sovereignty agreed, no new Solar Spirit could be born.
But now, Su Mo looked down at the twenty-five Solar Sovereignties in his hand.
"It seems... there's still room for manipulation?"
---||---
While Su Mo was using the Solar Sovereignties as a key to link with the Central Hub of Little Garden and communicate with the Akashic Records...
In the audience chamber, a tall young woman in a wine-red dress and form-fitting soft armor suddenly appeared from a Boundary Gate, carrying a tray of fine tea and pastries.
"Scáthach?"
Recognizing the young woman before her as the Halloween Queen's most trusted second-in-command, Shiroyasha's brow furrowed, her dissatisfaction finally showing.
"After waiting for so long, she still doesn't dare to come and see me in person. Does that woman think she's so clever? Does she really think I have to see her?"
With that, she hopped off her chair with a "heave-ho" and turned around without a second thought.
"Tsk! I should have left with Su Mo earlier, instead of wasting my time here."
One look at her eyes and you could tell that Shiroyasha was not putting on an act. Although it was necessary to make an ally of the Halloween Queen, with Su Mo here, this ally was not indispensable. If she hadn't been entertaining the thought of having some fun with the Halloween Queen, she wouldn't have waited for so long.
Seeing Shiroyasha's displeasure and her intention to leave, Scáthach hurriedly stepped forward to explain.
"Please calm down, Lady Shiroyasha. Although the Queen did initially intend to tease you by making you wait, she by no means intended to deliberately humiliate you, nor is she refusing to meet with you now."
"Hmph! So 'not refusing' means sending you out? Who does she think she is? With that attitude, she dares to say she values etiquette? Bah!"
"No, Her Majesty the Queen is by no means trying to shirk responsibility," Scáthach hurriedly continued to explain. "On the contrary, Her Majesty the Queen attaches great importance to this conversation, so she is bathing and changing to show her respect."
"Do you think I'll believe that?" Shiroyasha's eyes were filled with a hint of speechlessness.
Respect? Given the relationship between the two of them, it would be a good thing if the other didn't take the opportunity to make fun of her.
Scáthach clearly knew that these two rivals knew each other inside and out, so after a moment's thought, she didn't try to sugarcoat it and said honestly, "Alright! The Queen's original words were, 'There aren't many things that can make an idiot like Shiroyasha wait so patiently. Even if I don't have high hopes for her intelligence, it's necessary to find out what she's up to. Scáthach, you go and receive that idiot to prevent her from losing her patience and running away. I'll make some arrangements here.'"
Putting aside the Halloween Queen's derogatory nickname for Shiroyasha, her summary wasn't actually too embellished. At the very least, the Halloween Queen was genuinely planning to take this conversation seriously. There weren't many things that could make Shiroyasha so quiet.
"Heh! She actually called me an idiot? That woman can only be arrogant for now!" Hearing that the Halloween Queen was indeed making special arrangements to receive her, a slight smile touched Shiroyasha's lips, and she turned back, clearly placated.
"After we're done talking, I'm going to make that woman hug my legs and beg me! Hehe~"
The thought of the Halloween Queen groveling made Shiroyasha feel incredibly excited.
"..."
Seeing the incredibly lewd smile on Shiroyasha's lips, Scáthach was a little speechless.
Neither of these two problem children was easy to deal with. However, she couldn't afford to offend either of them.
"Lead the way!"
"This way, please!"
Leaving the tea room and arriving at the main hall behind it, facing the closed doors, Scáthach had originally intended to announce their arrival before leading Shiroyasha in. For the Halloween Queen, who valued etiquette, this step, even if unnecessary, could not be skipped.
However, before she could make a move, the brash Shiroyasha pushed her aside and, without even knocking, pushed the doors open and walked in.
"What a hassle to see you! Are all these rules interesting?"
After seating herself at the tea table opposite, Shiroyasha downed the meticulously prepared tea in one gulp, wiped her mouth casually with her sleeve, and then looked at the Solar Spirit before her, the Halloween Queen, who symbolized gold and the Boundary.
"..."
Seeing Shiroyasha's rude and ill-mannered actions, the beautiful girl with the magnificent beauty of a setting sun and eyes as green as a clear pool, her almond-shaped eyes widened slightly. Her delicate chest heaved up and down, as if she were secretly grinding her teeth.
"Rules are, of course, meaningful. At the very least, they can prevent being run into by certain beasts that know no etiquette. Of course, even with rules, such boors will still appear."
The girl's rosy lips opened and closed, her tone filled with sarcasm. However, Shiroyasha acted as if she couldn't understand the sarcasm at all.
"Is that so! Then aren't your rules just as useless as I said?"
Seeing her nonchalant attitude, the Halloween Queen gritted her teeth slightly. "It's fine. Next time, I won't let a beast get so close so easily."
"So, what did you want to see me about? If your purpose is too boring, don't blame me for kicking you out!"
To prevent her blood pressure from getting too high, the Halloween Queen decided to get straight to the point and find out Shiroyasha's intentions.
"Nothing much. I just wanted to ask if you recognize this weapon."
When it came to business, Shiroyasha didn't deliberately stall. She immediately activated the power she had learned from Su Mo, materializing the phantom of a crimson demonic spear in her palm. It was a weapon created with thaumaturgy, a product of simulated divinity.
The moment she saw the crimson demonic spear, before the Halloween Queen could react, Scáthach's eyes had already widened.
"Gáe Bolg, the Spear of Impaling Barbed Death?"
As the Queen of the Land of Shadows, how could she not recognize the spiritual rank of a weapon she had personally forged?
So, she soon noticed the difference between this spear and the one she usually used.
"No, this isn't a replica of mine, but a replica of the spear I forged for my disciple... Lady Shiroyasha, where did you get Cú Chulainn's weapon? Wasn't he destroyed along with the Celtic pantheon?"
Realizing the source of this power, Scáthach and the Halloween Queen both cast questioning gazes at Shiroyasha.