Chapter 580 Seduction
"I will answer your question."
"Because I don't care about these false honors… Compared to that, I care more about being able to surpass you in your own domain."
Heracles spoke in a deep voice, looking at the monster that was nothing like he had imagined, and spoke frankly.
Oedipus's story did indeed surprise him, but along the way, he had already seen similar things more than once.
Looking at the mortal world, he could find the noblest people, and he could also find the most despicable. He could find the most honest, and he could also find those full of lies.
In contrast, when the Great Hero stepped into this valley, which had existed for over a thousand years, an unspoken realization passed into his heart through Sphinx's unique domain of order.
This place had accumulated the Wisdom and desires, greed and fear of countless heroes from the mortal world over a thousand years.
Countless mortals viewed this place as a challenge for the wise, a ladder to fame, yet no one had ever truly defeated the master of this domain.
Oedipus was the closest one, but he still failed.
So Heracles planned to take over his work and send Sphinx and the golden balance back to the Goddess of Law's side.
And by the way, eliminate the delusions of those who admired it from the mortal world, so that this place would no longer be a tool for them to fool the world.
"…Is that so?"
"Alright then."
"Young human, according to the rules, as long as you decide to challenge, then I must accept your request."
"It's just my final reminder to you, if you don't answer a single one of the three questions, then even if I don't want to kill you, under the guidance of the rules, you will still surely die."
Sphinx's expression became slightly more formal, but it still lay on the ground without getting up.
And in front of it, the Great Hero nodded again, thanking it for its reminder.
"Good, in that case, let's begin."
Speaking lightly, with Heracles's affirmation, an invisible force emanated from Sphinx, then enveloped the entire valley.
The laws of this place seemed to be twisted; a very small part of them was rapidly magnified, while the vast majority became almost nonexistent.
This was Sphinx's domain, a powerful unique ability comparable to the Giant Lion's invulnerable body and the Hydra's immortal body, capable of making even true gods falter, a rule of order that even Divine Power could not change.
The stone golden balance at the valley entrance also swayed slightly, as if being pulled by a force of the same origin, making a corresponding response.
"Mortal, as you wish, the great Wisdom demon, Sphinx, will give you three questions, and the stakes are our lives."
"First question, mortals look up at the stars, thus knowing the vastness of the Sky; they look down at the Earth, thus knowing the breadth of the Earth."
"So, young human, please tell me, how many stars are there in the Sky? And how many pebbles are there on the Earth?"
"Heh heh, mortal… Although you killed more than one of my brothers, I don't care about the lives of those who only know how to kill. So, for the sake of your courage, I want to remind you—"
"New stars can be born every moment, only the great Mother of Nightknows how many adornments are on her skirt… And pebbles on the ground can split every moment, only Gaia knows how much dust is on her brown robe."
"Cherish the opportunity to answer, do not give an answer casually. As long as you answer one, I will consider you to have answered my question, this is the courtesy I grant you."
"But if you can't answer, then you are just another arrogant one."
"I will no longer give you a chance… The remaining two questions will be the epitaph you write for yourself."
Every word seemed to transform into a rune, as if an ancient contract was thus signed.
In front of Sphinx, Heracles's brows furrowed slightly.
Just the first question, and the Great Hero already felt pressure.
He was not unprepared for this trip to the valley.
The book in Prometheus's hand, which recorded countless knowledge, was one of his relies, after all, Sphinx's rules had never forbidden the answerer from consulting books.
However, when the first question was placed before him, Heraclesknew that he could not find the answer in the book.
Even if it truly was an omniscient book, the answer he saw at this moment might be correct, but the next moment, at the edge of the world, a celestial body might shatter, or a new star might emerge.
"…Sir Sphinx, before I answer your question, don't you think your question has a loophole?"
"You said that only the Mother of Night knows the number of stars, and only the Earth Mother knows the number of pebbles. Then how are you supposed to judge the correctness of the answer? This probably contradicts what you yourself said."
"It doesn't contradict, because in fact, I don't know what the answer is," Sphinx revealed a cunning smile at the corner of its mouth, its eyes widening slightly: "But I don't know doesn't mean 'order' doesn't know."
"I am only responsible for asking the question, but the correctness of the answer is not for me to judge. Because since I am already a contestant, I cannot also be the judge."
"Just as a God's Divinity can affect the natural rules of the world, my unique ability can too."
"Within my domain, as long as it judges your answer to be correct, then even if you are wrong, you are right."
"Conversely, if it judges you to be wrong, then even if I think you are right, you are still wrong."
"Living beings can make mistakes, rules will never be wrong."
"So, young human, do you have any more questions?"
"Yes."
Lost in thought, the Great Hero asked again: "Then what if even your rules cannot judge right or wrong? How should it be judged then?"
"If that's the case, then you win a round. Because winning against the rules is also a way to win."
"I see…"
Whispering softly, Heracles's brows slowly relaxed.
A test of Wisdom? Perhaps, but more likely, it was a test of thinking patterns.
Sphinx's riddle had no time limit for answering; theoretically, if the answerer had infinite Life, they might be able to count the stars in the night Sky and finally answer at the moment a new star had not yet been born, but this was the most basic solution.
Conversely, if one thought in a different way and gave an answer that the rules could not verify, then perhaps the problem could be solved from another angle.
For example, the simplest way: the Great Hero only needed to pray to the Goddess of Night, Nyx, here, then falsely claim that he had received the answer from the Goddess, and finally give a random number. Then no matter whether this answer was true or false, it would actually already be true.
After all, as the question itself stated, the Lord of Eternal Night knew the answer to the question, so what she said must be true, even if it was false, it would be true. And whether Heracles had actually received a response from the Goddess was also something that Sphinx's rules could not verify.
If the judge was a living person, they would naturally not accept such sophistry; but facing a rule, this could very likely be the solution to the problem.
Of course, looking at Sphinx's half-smiling expression, the Great Heroknew that the other party had probably also thought of this method, but it still asked this question.
Because both knew that if Heracles really answered the question this way, he would indeed solve a difficult problem.
But in contrast, another more terrifying problem would be thrown in his face.
Using an Original God as an excuse to lie… This was Chaos, where Gods were present.
Just thinking about the kings and heroes who met tragic ends due to a momentary slip of the tongue, one would know that whoever dared to do so was gambling with their Life on the Goddess's magnanimity.
For such a person, Sphinx would not mind letting him win a round first.
"Well, have you thought of an answer?"
Speaking with a smile, Sphinx's words seemed to carry a hint of temptation.
"It looks like you already have an idea, don't you?"
"What a clever human, heh heh, you are not like your peers… Come on, mortal, speak your answer."
"Answering one of my questions with your own Wisdom is already enough to make your name go down in history."
"Looking back over the past thousands of years, only a few people have achieved it."
"Oedipus was like that, and the question he answered was far less difficult than yours. I only asked him what kind of creature has four legs in the morning, two legs at noon, and three legs in the evening… And he told me, that was 'man'."
"What a simple riddle, far incomparable to yours. Come on, give your answer. For the next ten thousand years, I will remember your reply."
"Is that so?"
"Ten thousand years… That's a very long time indeed."
Shaking his head slightly, looking at the monster that was still tall even when lying on the ground, Heracles couldn't help but smile.
"In that case, please, you and your rules, listen carefully to my answer."
"Dream. I believe there are as many stars in the Sky as there are dreams, which are the dreams possessed by all living beings in the Sky, on the Earth, and in the world."
"They pile up like mountains, they gather into abysses… Together, they form a part of the Spirit Realm, which mortals call the Dream Spirit Realm."
"Perhaps in the near future, I will personally go there to seek some answers, but at least for now, this is my reply."
"Just as you, as the questioner, do not know the number of stars and pebbles, as the answerer, I do not need to know the number of dreams."
"Your powerful rules will surely weigh the size of the two for me—So Sphinx, is my answer correct?"
"…"
Silence fell over the scene for a moment, only the demon and the hero stared at each other.
Vaguely, an invisible rule swept across heaven and earth.
Stars were adornments on the Mother of Night's skirt, but she never regarded stars as her own.
So, under the effect of the rules, the number of stars was naturally clear.
Pebbles were dust on the Earth Mother's brown robe, but Gaia's eyes would not hold this dust.
So, under the effect of the rules, the number of pebbles was also naturally clear.
However, when the invisible rule swept across heaven and earth, a shadow rooted deep in space-time, spanning the past and future, blocked its path.
The demon's unique ability crumbled at a touch; it could not count the number of dreams.
The next moment, the rule turned back and fell back into this valley.
Looking at Heracles's confident expression, the great demon nodded with difficulty.
"Yes… you are right."
"The stars in the Sky are countless, but you counted them, and they are as many as the dreams of living beings."
"Every star represents a Life… This is the answer you came up with, and now, it is the truth of the world."
"You answered the first question correctly, congratulations, young human… By the way, I forgot to ask, what is your name?"
"Heracles."
Speaking calmly, the Great Hero was not at all surprised by his victory.
"Remember my name… For the next ten thousand years, this will be the name you need to remember by the Goddess of Justice's side."
······
The third layer of the Spirit Realm, the Dream Spirit Realm.
Illusory dreams like bubbles, a thousand layers of thoughts, ten thousand streams.
Almost every moment, new dreams are born here, and old dreams are shattered here.
Except for a very few ancient dream realms, and even rarer 'Ancient God's Dreams', the entire territory of the Dream Spirit Realm is constantly transforming through generation and destruction, and expanding through destruction and generation.
As its manager, Iserania liked it this way.
Without needing to do anything extra, she only needed to spread her wings at the right time, letting the Sky-covering shadow envelop the realm, so that the entire Dream Spirit Realm could be stable when it contracted to its limit, and not float aimlessly when it expanded to its extreme. With one opening and one closing, the power of the realm would naturally increase.
And she could lie on clouds made of dreams, eating some interesting dreams like snacks.
Without any malice, the Heart Dragon had no worldly distinction of good and evil. She merely followed her nature, fulfilling her 'merit'.
Clarity of mind is merit, realization of nature is virtue; doing what one wants to do, the mysteries originating from the heart naturally surge into one's mind.
Regarding this, Ryan was once somewhat envious.
Because he could see that, following this path, perhaps when the domain of Dream crosses a certain limit, the Heart Dragon, which grows together with it, might not only ascend but even no longer need any 'Divinity' to limit the power of Dream.
Heaven and Earth are born with it, all things are one with it… The purest heart is the greatest shield, capable of rejecting all external interference.
Of course, this resistance, seemingly perfect, actually had limitations.
Unlike the path Ryan pursued, which once completed, would never need to worry about origin power polluting the personality even when reaching the peak of Great Divine Power, the resistance of a pure heart had an upper limit, probably at most around 22 or 23.
Unless Iserania ultimately abandoned not only worldly notions of good and evil but also the concept of humanity itself, then she might be able to completely discard the influence of origin power—However, if that truly happened, then she would probably be no different from Tartarus's state.
Rather than success, it would be eternal slumber.
But for Bai, she didn't need to aspire to such a lofty realm. The current Dream had not yet formed a true symbol, so naturally, there was no talk of the extent of its upper limit.
Eat and sleep, sleep and play, play and eat, eat and sleep—this was Iserania's daily routine, only today was a little different.
The core of the Dream Realm was awakened by a sudden 'knock on the door'.
Bai opened her crystal-clear eyes and looked out… In that corner of the mortal world, she saw the Sphinx, the ancient Titan's child, a God consecrated by faith, and a true God who made her feel a little strange by intuition, yet she didn't know why.
Hmm… And there was a Goddess next to him too.
Looking at the sword at her waist, she was probably the one often mentioned in dreams, the God who presided over Justice in the mortal world.