Chapter 579 Three Questions
Leaving Olympia, the group continued west.
Under the extreme speed of the Star Shuttle, the distance of one-fifth of the continent did not take them too long.
On a scorching afternoon, the ancient base of the Heavenly Pillar was already in sight.
A sense of desolation and decay assailed them, making Ender feel a little suppressed.
Evidently, even after nearly ten thousand years, some immutable rules still lingered here.
"Is this Mount Othrys? It's a bit different from what I imagined."
"Rather than a broken divine mountain, it's more like an endless high wall."
Looking as far as the eye could see, one could also feel that invisible pressure.
In Heracles's eyes, there was no divine mountain in the distance, only a 'high wall' whose height, distance, and length were unknown.
According to records, this was the fallen body of the divine mountain. However, from a human perspective, it was impossible to discern its 'mountain' shape.
"Whatever you call it, mountain or wall, it has already fallen."
"As the only mountain in the world that still belongs to the earth and not the ancient mountain god Urea, the fall of Mount Othrys was perhaps inevitable."
"The only thing I regret is that all traces at the foot of this mountain were also destroyed with the collapse of the divine mountain… There was once a human tribe here, and that tribe was the golden civilization you yearn for."
"Golden Age, huh… I wonder if they were truly as righteous and perfect as the records say."
With a slight sigh, the Great Hero had some doubts.
Dionysus remained silent, while Prometheus merely smiled.
"Of course they were."
"However… what they possessed was not righteousness and perfection, but perfect justice."
Perfect justice… There is nothing perfect in this world.
If there is, it probably only exists in books or in the fleeting dreams of living beings.
…
Looking at a mountain from afar can exhaust a horse, and while Chaosdid not have this exact saying, similar proverbs were not uncommon.
From the moment Heracles saw the 'high wall' shrouded in clouds, he continued to walk forward for a considerable period.
Perhaps because Great Divine Power had once clashed here without reservation, the speed of the Star Shuttle was no longer as swift near the broken Heavenly Pillar.
It wasn't until this evening that Heracles finally felt the profound orderthat was different from other places.
This was a small valley, though the 'mountains' here were more like natural barriers formed by the debris that fell when the Heavenly Pillar broke.
At the mouth of the valley, a huge golden balance, as if carved from stone, stood, blocking the only way in and out of the valley.
"Hmm? What is this for?"
Raising an eyebrow slightly, Dionysus couldn't help but ask curiously.
On this stone balance, he vaguely sensed a unique power of rules, but it was definitely not transformed from a divine artifact.
Its existence seemed to be for screening entrants… Looking at this stone statue that Chiron had once mentioned, the Great Hero explained:
"This is the 'Equivalent Balance,' a wondrous item shaped by the power of the divine artifact [Golden Balance] and another divine object of unknown origin."
"As for its purpose, it's just as its name suggests: a tool for equivalent exchange."
"Place what you possess on one end of the balance as an offering to the Goddess, and the Goddess will give you an equivalent amount of divine power in the form of a crystal."
"So… this is Themis's 'ticket'?" Dionysus continued to ask.
"No, this is not a ticket."
"On the contrary, this is the last Life-saving charm for those who come here to verify their challenge against the demon."
Shaking his head gently, the Great Hero took a step forward.
He walked directly past the balance, having no intention of making an exchange here. As for whether Dionysus wanted to exchange, that was his own decision.
"For hundreds of years, countless people have come here to challenge the Sphinx. Some for status, some for fame, some for power… But none of them succeeded."
"And the fate of the losers is to be consumed by the Sphinx's domain, becoming lost souls fallen under its order."
"To gamble with Life, this is the cruelest challenge. But to lose Life in a fair contest, this is something even the Goddess of Justice will not prevent."
"However, perhaps out of her own impartiality, Themis still granted challengers a chance at survival, which is to offer 'themselves' to the Goddess before entering the valley, exchanging it for an equivalent amount of divine power under the balance's fairness."
"When everything a challenger possesses belongs to the Goddess, then even if he fails, he cannot lose his Life a second time… To compensate the Sphinx for its loss, the divine power imbued with order will also become a more delicious sustenance for the demon."
"As for those challengers who escaped Death, they will spend the rest of their lives upholding the Goddess's teachings, fulfilling their mission on earth… So Dionysus, whether or not to leave something here, you can decide for yourself."
"This… truly a generous deity."
With some emotion, he hadn't expected anyone to use divine power to exchange for mortals. Although both sides were indeed equivalent in some sense, Dionysus was certain that this equivalence was definitely not the same in terms of matter and energy.
However, shaking his head, Dionysus ultimately refused the suggestion.
As an immortal in the true sense, he didn't need to sell himself to another god.
"I'll pass. With you ahead, I'm confident I can at least answer one question correctly."
"As for dedicating myself to the cause of a Holy Knight, that's quite unnecessary."
"While I greatly admire their spirit, if I had to do it myself, it would be simpler to just kill me."
Striding to catch up, passing the balance stone carving, Dionysussubconsciously looked back at this unique wondrous item.
Equivalent exchange… Measuring equivalence is indeed the power of the [Golden Balance], so what facilitates this exchange?
Perhaps nothing, if it can only be exchanged for divine power.
But if it could facilitate other exchanges… then Dionysus was truly a little curious. If he mortgaged some of his divine qualities, could he really exchange for something interesting?
…
"Hoo…"
"Hoo…"
"Hoo…"
"…"
Walking deeper, secretly on guard.
While traversing the valley, Heracles had guessed more than once what the Sphinx truly looked like.
A majestic body, a tyrannical aura, powerful strength, and a rationality forcibly maintained under the restraint of the Goddess of Law… all of these were possible.
After all, in his past experiences, almost every great demon inheriting Typhon's bloodline was like this.
Although their powers differed, their brutality was identical.
Not only him, the Great Hero believed that Dionysus must have thought the same… However, all of this ceased the moment he truly saw this legendary wise demon.
Looking at the great demon lying on the ground before him, Heracles's eyes twitched slightly, feeling all his fantasies crumble in that instant.
"This…"
Unable to say anything, on a flat area near a water source in the valley, deafening snores echoed.
On the demon's mountain-like body, the Great Hero couldn't see a single trace of muscle.
Compared to the lions in the wilderness, the massive lion body before him was not just a change in size proportion, but more notably, a very obvious layer of flab.
And what he found most bizarre was that it wasn't until he approached that the Sphinx seemed to finally sense his presence, reluctantly opening its eyes.
"Hoo…"
"Hoo…"
"Hoo… Hmm…?"
"…Has someone else come? You're disturbing my good dream… Come, let me see… Hmm! Boy, what are you looking at?"
With a lazy, half-awake look in its eyes, the Sphinx's large head lowered slightly, looking at the tiny human before it with some displeasure.
Three gods, one human, interesting.
These gods didn't seem to be here to cause trouble, otherwise, with their level of divine power, the projection of the [Evil-Slaying Sword] left by Themis would have reacted long ago.
So they all came with this human, huh… What a rude fellow.
"Hmph, what are you looking at? Haven't you seen such a majestic and powerful demon like me? You really have no experience at all… Never mind, just tell me, what are you here for, or more directly, are you 'old rule' or 'newcomer'?"
"…My sincerest apologies, esteemed Demon."
"But what is the 'old rule,' and what happens if one is a 'newcomer'?"
His lips twitched slightly. Looking at this demon, whose style was vastly different, Heracles still apologized for his rude gaze.
However, the Sphinx's subsequent words caught his attention. 'Old rule'… What, did it have some other dealings with humans?
And before him, the Sphinx didn't care what this human was thinking.
It merely lay back down, saying listlessly:
"A newcomer, huh… Alright then, I'll exert myself a bit and explain it to you properly."
"Since you're human, you should understand your own kind better… You saw that stone balance outside, right? Do you think this place is a Deathtrap? Five hundred years ago, it certainly was, but ever since a 'clever' human hero came, it's no longer dangerous here."
Slowly, the Sphinx briefly recounted what had happened here.
And listening to the Sphinx's explanation, Heracles couldn't help but feel once again that his understanding of the world was still too shallow.
Thousands of years ago, the first humans attacked the Sphinx simply because it was a demon.
But as hero after hero, seeking fame and the favor of the gods, died at its hands, hatred began to sprout. Even when the Goddess of Justice put an end to this pointless conflict, the hatred still persisted.
From that day on, almost every day, humans traveled thousands of miles to this valley. They gambled their lives against the demon for various reasons, but ultimately, all they gained was Death.
Gradually, a generation died. Those who harbored hatred also got what they wished for, falling one after another before the Sphinx.
But as time passed, when later generations learned of this past from history, they found it difficult to find any reason to kill it.
The gods were no longer interested in this demon, constrained by the Goddess of Justice. Those who harbored hatred had died off, leaving only the Sphinx's reputation growing ever larger.
Gradually, the only people who came to seek the Sphinx were those who pursued fame and profit, heroes who dreamed of overnight success—but they still couldn't defeat it.
Until one day, a man named Oedipus and his friend appeared before it.
As if fated, despite the shift in destiny—this human hero, who in the original timeline would have killed the Sphinx, had already killed his king and father before even meeting it, causing the tragedy of patricide and incest—he still easily answered the Sphinx's two questions.
The Sphinx felt fear for the first time. It couldn't help but set aside its arrogance, trying to understand this human's weakness.
So it lied, claiming that before answering the third question, it could give him a reward, as no one had ever answered two of its riddles before.
It allowed Oedipus to ask it two questions in return, and it would try its best to answer.
Oedipus agreed. The king, abandoned since childhood, told his story, wanting to know who his father was, and why his kingdom, despite all its sacrifices to the gods, received no protection, but instead suffered continuous natural disasters… The Sphinx answered him.
The atrocity of patricide and incest was unacceptable to all gods and men. As long as he lived, Thebes would never know peace.
"In despair, Oedipus killed himself… Heh heh, this is humanity."
"To end one's Life because of mistakes not consciously made by oneself, this is something even demons cannot comprehend—yet he died, but his friend did not."
"He witnessed our confrontation with his own eyes. He knew that I could be defeated, but he also knew that while Oedipus could defeat me, he could not."
"So he decided to make a deal with me, a mutually beneficial deal."
"He brings me offerings, and I can intentionally let him answer two questions correctly after he answers one incorrectly."
"This way, he gains fame, a fame that almost surpasses the Sphinx's… And I no longer have to worry about another Oedipus appearing."
"Because he was the first, but he would certainly not be the last… From then on, faced with such tangible benefits, even humans themselves were no longer willing to see Themis's wager won."
With a languid and relaxed demeanor, the Sphinx wore a faint, mocking smile at the corner of its mouth.
It looked up slightly, as if gazing at the [Golden Balance] suspended above this valley.
This divine artifact could bind demons, but it could not bind human greed.
"Look, this is humanity."
"Hypocritical and cunning, despicable and heartless."
"So, young hero… what do you intend to do?"
"Will you answer my three questions, attempting to end my existence… or will you be like your predecessors, carrying a body full of honor, and then returning to this utterly sinful human world?"