Chapter 581 Paradox
"Ugh…"
"It's another god from the human world… And she looks really serious…"
"With her next to him, I probably can't do anything… But I still really want to grab that guy, what should I do… Ugh, so conflicted…"
With a tender voice, in the Dream Spirit Realm, Iserania tumbled in the dreamlike and magnificent sea of bubbles, splashing waves.
As if she had discovered an interesting toy, her white paw was about to reach out, but she hesitated.
An unblemished mind reflects all things; the more cluttered the thoughts, the less one can resist the power of dreams and the mind.
However, in Iserania's eyes, the Goddess with the long sword hanging at her waist was indeed an exception.
Seriousness was merely a facade; a similarly pure heart was the strongest tool to resist the power of the mind.
A rare trace of vexation appeared in her sparkling eyes as she looked at the deity who felt vaguely strange; the more she looked, the more she wanted to grab him and examine him.
Following her heart and acting on impulse, if it were anyone else, they would likely give up after finding no fault, believing it to be merely their own illusion. But for Iserania, the concept of 'illusion' simply didn't exist in the world.
If Themis hadn't been there, she would have already snatched him without the slightest hesitation.
"Why don't I just snatch him directly?"
"Ugh… Maybe not. Curiosity kills the cat… But I don't seem to be a cat, do I?"
"Darn it, so why wouldn't Ryan leave Sprall's Mirror to me? If I had it, I could have whatever I wanted, and no one could stop me!"
If the all-pervading power of the mind were combined with the spatial authority of Sprall's Mirror, perhaps the white dragon truly could achieve her desires.
Feeling indignant, Iserania rolled over again above the sea of dreams.
In an instant, countless beings in the human world awoke because of this, only to feel bewildered upon waking.
Fortunately, this was the Dream Spirit Realm; if it were the human world, this would be a natural disaster… However, her temper came and went quickly. In a blink of an eye, she was no longer angry, and instead, she blinked her eyes, activating her brain, which she rarely used.
With each breath, the dream sea shimmered. Infinite inspiration surged within her heart, transforming into dream bubbles that floated around her.
Filled with joy, Iserania immediately spread her wings and soared above the dream sea.
"Hehehe… I knew it, there's no problem that Lord Bai… no, that Princess Iserania can't solve."
"I almost forgot, that sneaky guy from before still left a lot of divine power in the Dream Spirit Realm."
"With its help, mere deities are easily handled!"
As her thought arose, a gray mist immediately appeared.
It passed through several layers of the Spirit Realm, heading towards the human world, silently causing Dionysus to fall into a standing slumber.
Above the valley, in a small space shaped by the change of space, with the golden balance as its foundation, the Goddess of Law slightly turned her head.
Her eyes beneath the black cloth seemed to see something… but she ultimately did nothing.
It was just a dream.
As an immortal deity, this was never a threat.
······
"You have already answered the first question correctly."
"Although I didn't use my full power… you have also proven that you are not a whimsical madman."
"Since that is the case, Heracles, human. From now on, you have the right to leave my domain alive."
"This is determined by Law; even I, its master, cannot change it."
"However, if you answer both of your remaining questions incorrectly, then you can only take your Life itself… and what remains will still stay here."
The voice was deep, shaking the surroundings with a rumbling sound.
In the valley, the question-and-answer session between the Great Heroand the demon continued.
Only, the Sphinx, which had been lying on the ground, had now sat up, looking intently at the human, who was tiny compared to its size.
As the Sphinx had said before, its first question indeed did not use any particularly powerful methods.
It not only allowed Heracles to choose one of the two questions to answer, but the loopholes were also far greater than imagined.
Many of the people present had already guessed it, but the Great Herodisdained to choose that method.
But now, it was going to get serious.
"Young man, the outcome of a question-and-answer often does not lie in the riddle itself."
"The true killing move is when your answer itself is wrong."
"The previous one was just the beginning. As the son of the God King of Mount Olympus, you actually had a shortcut."
"Not choosing this easy path indeed proved your Wisdom, but there won't be such a good opportunity next time."
"How about it, tell me… young mortal."
"Are you preparing to return with honor now, or continue to answer my questions?"
"Advancing is not necessarily reckless, and retreating does not necessarily mean cowardice."
"Heaven and purgatory, sometimes perhaps as close as one."
"And the paths to both are now laid before you…"
"No need to say more, I choose to continue."
Speaking calmly, the Great Hero interrupted the Sphinx's enticement.
And the Sphinx merely shrugged, not particularly afraid.
"Alright, since that is your decision, then please listen to the question."
"Heracles, human, your previous answer was indeed clever."
"Your answer involved the Spirit Realm, yet it did not involve the Lord of the Spirit Realm; this is something other Primordial God cannot compare to."
"After all, you know that dreams exist in the world, and you know their number is immeasurable. The Primordial God have never forbidden people from mentioning the existence of dreams, so you can use them to describe the stars."
"But under the cover of lightless or eternal night, no one knows what is inside. Even if you knew, you wouldn't dare to use it as an analogy."
"This is a manifestation of your Wisdom, and I have nothing to refute… However, since you mentioned the Spirit Realm, I also have a story to share with you."
"Silvermoon City—you should have heard of it. In the distant past, there were even so-called 'angels' who descended there."
"These perfect beings possessed power comparable to gods, yet they also had faith equivalent to fanatics… Young human, the story I am about to tell you is related to this."
His expression unchanged, the Great Hero's heart was already secretly vigilant.
Telling a story before asking a question, this was probably not that simple.
However, the rules of the Sphinx's domain did not prohibit it from telling stories before asking questions, as the story itself could be part of the question.
So Heracles merely nodded, raising no objections.
"Please tell it, I'm all ears."
"Very good."
Grinning, the Sphinx then began its narration.
"The story is very simple, and its beginning is like this."
"Legend has it that one day, the faith of Silvermoon City, an angel of 'the Lord,' descended upon the human world."
"Boundless moonlight illuminated the earth, turning the white hair of the elderly black and making sprouting vegetation grow. Broken limbs regenerated, and the sick healed without illness."
"Under these true and undeniable miracles, countless mortals knelt on the ground, grateful for the grace of the divine and the greatness of the angel."
"And a fanatic knelt forward, telling the noble angel his wish."
"'Oh, great manifestation of the Lord in the world,' he said, 'I have seen your great power, which the false gods of Olympus have never bestowed upon humanity. I am willing to devoutly believe in the Almighty Lord, to commemorate His supreme benevolence.'"
"'But, esteemed Highness, please forgive my ignorance—I have seen your power, and thus understood your might… Therefore, I have the ability to praise you with songs and poems, and to commemorate your courage with paintings and reliefs.'"
"'But, esteemed angel, holy one who spreads glory. The great Lord walks His path in heaven, and my ability cannot perceive it; He walks His path on earth, and my ability cannot discern it. As a believer of the Lord, I cannot know the Lord's might, which must be my fault—but this is also beyond my ability, which is why I seek your guidance.'"
"As I said, young human, this devout believer sought guidance from the angel regarding the Lord's might. And in the moonlight, amidst the dream, the angel still answered his question."
"She told this believer that the Lord, high above behind seven veils, was the beginning of His kingdom and also its end."
"Within His domain, He could be 'omniscient' and also 'omnipotent.'"
Pausing slightly, the Sphinx smiled as it reached this point.
It subtly moved its finger, placing a stone in front of Heracles.
"This is just a story, and I don't know if it's true. But young human, at the end of the story, an unbeliever who heard about this matter raised a question."
"He first marveled at the Lord's greatness and then praised the angel's benevolence. But in the very end, he still had doubts about the Lord's might."
"Because 'omniscient, omnipotent'—what a great title!"
"He dared not deny it, nor did he wish to deny it. What puzzled him, however, was whether this omniscient and omnipotent Lord… could truly create a stone that even He Himself could not lift?"
"If He could—then since there exists a stone that even the Lord cannot lift, His omnipotence might be tarnished."
"If He could not—then since there exists something that even the Lord cannot create, His omnipotence also seems no longer absolute."
"After he raised this question, countless people tried to refute him. Some divided past and future from the perspective of time, others divided subject and object from the perspective of independence."
"But no matter how it was divided, it seemed that this 'division' itself brought a blemish to the Lord's absolute authority. So to this day, no answer has been able to convince everyone."
"So, young human… this is my question."
"In your opinion, is the 'Lord' worshipped in Silvermoon City omniscient and omnipotent?"
"…"
The question was asked, and the Sphinx smiled and lay down.
When this question was uttered, the outcome was no longer about the question itself.
It knew, and Heracles also knew, that in terms of the answer to the question alone, the Sphinx had already lost before it even began.
Because, like the dream before, the opponent's 'Law' simply could not shake the great power of the Lord of the Spirit Realm.
So no matter whether the Great Hero answered 'yes' or 'no,' he would ultimately win without a doubt.
However, just as the Sphinx had warned before… the outcome of a question-and-answer often does not lie in the riddle itself.
The true killing move is when the answer itself is wrong.
For Heracles at this moment, the threat was never in the answer, but in the domain outside the question-and-answer.
What story, what believer.
Perhaps the first half of the story was true, but the latter half, concerning the discussions it sparked, was certainly baseless.
No believer would allow this matter to be discussed, and no intelligent person would question it.
So from beginning to end, Heracles was the first, and only, person to answer this question.
Under such circumstances, there was no predecessor to compare with, no outcome to reference, and it was not like the answer about 'dreams,' which merely hinted at, but never truly touched upon, the Primordial God themselves.
If he chose to answer 'no,' then he would be denying the authority of the Primordial God and challenging the faith of the Spirit Realm angels. Not to mention going to the Spirit Realm to find the answer to resurrection, no matter how powerful the Great Hero was, he might not even be able to leave the Spirit Realm alive.
And if he chose to answer 'yes'… this did not mean nothing would happen.
After all, how this 'yes' was arrived at, even the Lord of the Spirit Realmhimself would probably be very curious.
Moreover, unlike the previous question, as the questioner, the Sphinxdid not know the number of stars and earth, so Heracles could also not know the number of dreams when answering.
But the Sphinx's narration of the second question was meticulously detailed, so the Great Hero also had to provide a process.
Although the logic of the process was not important, after all, 'yes' or 'no' itself was the answer, and 'Law' could not verify right or wrong.
But if Heracles really gave a ridiculous logic to prove the 'omniscience and omnipotence' of the Lord of the Spirit Realm… then the result could be referenced from the former.
What the Primordial God themselves cared about might be random, but what the angels cared about was almost certainly inevitable.
A dilemma of an answer, a paradoxical story, a question that likely had no answer at all… No matter how it was solved, the Star of Death Omenseemed to be shining ahead.
The only solution seemed to be to concede. With one win and one loss, the Great Hero could still give up the third question and leave the valley unharmed.
"…But it also said, 'Heaven and purgatory, sometimes as close as one.'"
"Perhaps its Law also does not allow such questions that are all killing moves, but must leave a path."
"So I cannot be limited to the question itself, but must think outside its limitations… The paradox might be unsolvable, but I can try to prove that this paradox itself cannot exist…"
Not knowing if his idea was correct, the Great Hero could only think this way for now.
Is this the Sphinx's riddle… At this moment, Heracles had to admit. Compared to the Sphinx, he would still rather face the giant lion and the Hydra.