Human world, East Continent.
The sun is shining brightly, and the sky is cloudless
. On the ground, a black shadow is moving from west to east.
Above the shadow, a pale blue carriage pulled by three Pegasus horses is traveling in the sky, leaving a long trail in the air.
Incense smoke rises, and Lachesis, leaning on the warm cushion, lifts the curtain of the carriage and looks at the scenery outside.
This is the most common way for gods to travel, but it is rare for the goddess of fate.
They rarely show off, and they will not come and go in a big way, which is not in line with their character - but today is a little different.
Because Lachesis's purpose today is not to visit any gods, but to visit friends, especially friends she values very much.
The cloud car jumps in the air, and the land gradually changes from wilderness to farmland and roads.
At the end of the sight, a big city is in sight.
It is the capital of this kingdom and one of the places where the fate of the human world intersects the most.
"Athens..."
Silently reciting the name, Lachesis patted the window of the cloud car.
The next moment, it seemed that something was activated.
The cloud car was hidden, and the sunlight passed through the car body and shone directly on the ground.
Although Lachesis chose to come by car for some reason, it did not mean that she wanted her existence to be exposed to the eyes of mortals.
Especially as the goddess of fate, if people knew that she came to Athens, it would inevitably cause a lot of unnecessary suspicion.
Swish -
Soon, Athens was in sight, and Pegasus slowed down.
The height of the cloud car slowly dropped, and Lachesis adjusted her clothes.
After a while, with a slight sound, the light cloud car landed on a platform.
Stepping down, this is a platform hanging near the tower.
Looking at the familiar figure not far away, Lachesis couldn't help but smile.
"Mr. Hermes, it's been a long time since we
last met." "Please forgive me for interrupting you."
"No need to be so rude, ma'am. As long as you want, the door is always open to you."
The great alchemist, who looked like a handsome young man, put his left hand on his chest and bowed slightly to the goddess, and Lachesis smiled again.
Yes, the friend that the goddess of fate wanted to see in Athens this time was not a god, but this famous human.
Judging from the performance of the two, it seems that this is not the first time the goddess has come.
Walking into the tower together, Lachesis found a seat and sat down with ease.
Looking at the surrounding layout, other things were no different from the last time she came, but there was only a golden tray that was different from before.
An arrow was suspended there in the air, seemingly motionless.
But at a glance, Lachesis always felt that something was unusual.
Although reason told her that it was an arrow suspended in the air.
But her intuition seemed to say that the arrow was flying at high speed.
"This is my recent experiment, ma'am. You seem very interested in it."
Holding the teapot in one hand and two teacups in the other,
Hermes placed the cups on the table and filled them with tea himself.
The fragrance of the tea floated in the air, refreshing people.
"This is one of the results of my recent exploration of the rules of time and space in the material world. Based on the principle, I developed this special witchcraft."
"I call it [Flying Arrow Still] - very descriptive, right?"
"[Flying Arrow Still]?"
Picking up the teacup and taking a sip of tea, Lachesis felt that her spirit, which was burdened with the heavy pressure of fate, seemed to be relieved a lot.
Enjoying this moment of relaxation, the goddess asked with interest.
"What does this mean? A flying arrow is motionless... You mean it is both flying and still?"
"You can understand it this way - this involves the characteristics of time and space in the material world, which is also the content of my research."
"After all, it is well known that time and space are one of the cornerstones of the world's existence, so if you want to explore the mysteries of the world, then understanding time and space is an indispensable condition."
Spreading his hands, Hermes said with a smile.
"And my starting point is its form of existence."
"Whether time and space are continuous, like energy, or discontinuous, like matter, the results are completely different."
"Unfortunately, I still don't have an answer so far, because no matter which one it is, I can observe the corresponding phenomenon."
"Just like it."
Picking up the arrow, Hermes let go.
The next moment, the arrow flew out as if it had returned to its original state.
With a 'bang' sound, it hit the wall, and only the tail was still shaking slightly.
"In it, time and space show the characteristic of 'discontinuity'. If we intercept the time and space during its flight and then divide it infinitely, it will be still in the smallest unit of time and space obtained."
"Just like quickly flipping through 10,000 paintings with only slight changes, the characters in them seem to move to outsiders."
"But in fact, the 10,000 paintings themselves have not changed at all."
"This is the 'discontinuity' of time and space - although soon, I found that it is also continuous at the same time." "..."
"Well, you're right."
The goddess nodded in agreement. In fact, she couldn't understand what Hermes was saying.
The only thing Lachesis felt about this so-called [Flying Arrow Still] was that it was an extremely rare witchcraft involving the field of [Time].
But it didn't matter. She didn't need to understand it. She just needed to sigh at this extraordinary wisdom.
Whether it was a human or a god, Hermes always looked so dazzling...
"Ahem..." She
coughed lightly and interrupted her thoughts.
Lachesis admitted that she might have been influenced by the priesthood to think so.
But no matter what, Hermes was enough to be recorded in history for being able to touch the field of [Time] - although even without this discovery, he would still be an existence that the casters in history could not surpass.
She raised her cup of tea and looked at the knowledgeable great alchemist in front of her.
Unlike before, Lachesis felt that she was more influenced by the priesthood now that she was personally bearing the backlash of fate.
Time passed by minute by minute. Sitting on the top of the tower, the two chatted casually.
Until the sun set, Hermes finally straightened his expression.
Looking at Lachesis who was unaware in front of him, the great alchemist felt a little helpless.
Until now, he didn't know why the goddess of fate suddenly came to his door again.
"Madam."
After a moment of silence, Hermes still spoke.
Looking at the current situation, if he didn't take the initiative to ask, even if it took a while, Lachesis might not get to the point.
"Come to think of it, I haven't asked yet - I wonder if you came here today, do you need my help?"
"Ah?"
He was stunned for a moment, and then his expression suddenly understood.
At this moment, Lachesis remembered what she was here for.
It was a little embarrassing, but the goddess looked at the sky and swallowed back the words she was about to say.
It's getting late, so let's talk about it tomorrow.
"Well... Sir Hermes, I do need your help with something."
"But considering the time... let's talk about it tomorrow."
"..."
He was a little speechless, but since Lachesis said so, Hermes could only nod.
It was really strange... I remember when he first saw the goddess of fate, he thought that his "crossing" had been exposed, which attracted the other party's investigation.
But he never expected that when Lachesis saw him, she was surprised, which made Hermes feel puzzled.
In his impression, in the former virtual world, the three goddesses of fate on Mount Nisa never gave others a good face.
I don't know why the other party's attitude was so good when it was my turn to "cross".
But no matter what, Hermes still didn't want to provoke these supernatural beings.
If there is anything in this world that the former thief god is afraid of, fate is definitely one of them.
So for Lachesis, Hermes has always treated her with courtesy, and even responded to her every request.
"...In that case, why don't I arrange a resting place for you, ma'am?"
Hermes said, forcing a smile.
He actually hoped that the other party would reject him, but unfortunately, Lachesis nodded happily.
"Thank you very much."
"..."
His expression froze for a moment, and then returned to normal.
Standing up, Hermes gave up struggling.
Forget it, just stay for one day.
Since he received the news that the goddess of fate was going to visit, he should have guessed that he would have a headache again.
I just hope that what the other party wants him to do is not that difficult... But then again, what on earth attracted the favor of the goddess of fate?
As an alternative "traveler", according to Hermes' shallow understanding of fate, he should have been regarded by fate as an intruder who disturbed the order.
"Ma'am, please come this way."
As early as when he learned that Lachesis was going to visit today, Hermes disguised his tower.
Although he didn't know whether this would work, and whether his arrangement could isolate the goddess of fate from sensing the fate of living beings and even the star gods, he could only do so.
But then again, his method was probably somewhat useful.
Otherwise, if the other party had discovered the fate of those star gods, how could he be at ease until today.
So with the attitude that if she didn't say it, she didn't discover it, Hermes led the way.
This goddess of fate is admittedly a bit strange, but after all, for him, the various things in that virtual world can be used as reference, but they can never be regarded as the truth.
Even the number of original gods can be changed, so what else can be fixed?
So although Lachesis is very different from the one he remembered, Hermes didn't feel too strange.
Maybe the other party in this world is like this. After all, what he originally lived in was just an illusory possibility, and here is the real world.
The next day.
Waking up from the soft big bed in the tower, Lachesis looked at the gorgeous relief on the ceiling.
The spirit was rarely relaxed, and the goddess seemed to be in another world for a moment.
It has not been too long since the fainting, but for Lachesis, this period of time is extremely long.
When the backlash of fate gradually falls on her, as the night comes, the negative power of the world rises, and those chaotic destinies will turn into terrible nightmares and entangle the goddess's dreams.
Lachesis doesn't remember what she dreamed about, but every time she wakes up, her whole body is completely soaked in sweat.
Although she knew that Atropos had borne the punishment of fate for them, it was not until this moment that she knew that the price was so heavy.
Just a little bit of contamination has made her sleepless all night.
Compared with what Atropos bears, this is just a drop in the bucket.
"Huh..."
"...Fortunately, fortunately I found Hermes..."
With a sigh, Lachesis simply dressed up and then pushed the door and walked out.
Seriously speaking, before today, the goddess of fate had not thought that Hermes would be so "useful".
But now, she has reacquainted herself with
Hermes, a human spellcaster in this world, but Lachesis knows that in the original trajectory of the world, he should be a true god born immortal.
As the son of the king of gods and the messenger who replaced Zephyrus to convey orders to Zeus, this young god who is in charge of [commerce], [theft], [travel], [animal husbandry], [eloquence] and [competition] also holds a very important position in the world.
He should have left behind many legends, and it would not change for a thousand years. However, under the disordered trajectory of fate, Hermes did not even have the opportunity to be born.
The loss of a true god is a major event that is enough to deal a heavy blow to fate, and the series of effects caused by the trauma in turn have further aggravated this disturbance.
Just like the first domino that falls, if you fail to pick it up in time, then the further you go, the greater the cost of saving it.
So you can imagine how happy Lachesis was when she accidentally discovered that Hermes had been born again.
Even though this 'Hermes' was a human being rather than a god, the goddess of fate could find a way to resolve many problems.
With this in mind, and in order to explore the secret of the fate of the star god, Lachesis met him for the first time, and everything changed.
Although she didn't know why, Lachesis had never suffered the true backlash of fate before.
But when the goddess saw Hermes for the first time, she felt an inexplicable sense of closeness and comfort.
It was like seeing light in the dark, seeing water in the desert, seeing a bunch of bonfires in the cold winter, and getting a bite of food when hungry.
From the inside to the outside, everything told Lachesis that the existence in front of her was important to her.
It was unclear, but this was reality.
In desperation, Lachesis chose to make Hermes her first human friend.
She tried to use time to find the secret... But when Lachesis saw him again yesterday, she finally understood the reason for this feeling.
Since Atropos disappeared, all the backlash inflicted on her, all the pain that came out of nowhere, and all the chaotic fate that troubled her, all these things that she instinctively rejected disappeared in front of Hermes.
It was like seeing a truth that did not exist. As long as she stayed around him, the scene in Lachesis's dream could be realized-
everything followed the destined trajectory, and all the rules had been determined long ago.
Whether it was gods or mortals, there was no existence beyond order.
And the backlash she faced naturally had no foundation for existence.
"Maybe this is the world's self-salvation... Although it doesn't make sense, this is the only explanation."
She shook her head gently, not delving too deeply into the reasons. After all, fate is unpredictable, and the result is good.
Instead of exploring this problem that even Hermes himself might not know, Lachesis hoped to solve the current dilemma as soon as possible.
Find the culprit and rescue her sister.
At this point, as long as there is Hermes, Lachesis feels that it should not be difficult to do it.
...
"Ahem..."
"So... that's it, Mr. Hermes."
Meeting the master of the tower again, after a few casual chats, Lachesis slowly talked about the purpose of her trip, suppressing her inner closeness.
"Not long ago, my eldest sister traveled around the continent. She used her eyes to see the future and guide mortals who have gone astray to return to the right path."
"Whether it is for them personally or for the whole world, this behavior is an indisputable good deed."
"But in a corner of the Aigario Mountains, someone cruelly hurt her."
The voice was clear and tactful. Although according to the rules, the revelation from fate cannot be passed on to others.
But just as Lachesis guessed, this fixed iron rule failed again when facing Hermes.
Slowly telling what she saw from the Elder Wand, the goddess looked earnest.
And opposite her, Hermes could only agree with this.
"Ms. Lachesis, I deeply sympathize with your sisters' experiences."
Hermes changed the subject with a regretful expression.
"It's just a pity that as an ordinary spellcaster, although I have made some achievements in the human world, I really dare not rashly interfere with the unpredictable fate."
"From ancient times to the present, whether it is the immortal gods or the heroes famous in the world, there have been countless beings who have tried to know the future and then change it according to their own will." "
But even if the years have passed and the sea has turned into mulberry fields, they have never succeeded..."
"--But you are different!"
Lachesis blurted out, and inadvertently, her body leaned forward slightly.
But the next moment, the goddess realized that she seemed to react too strongly.
It was not her fault. Under the sense of closeness that came from nowhere, Lachesis instinctively let down her guard against Hermes.
However, when this scene fell into the eyes of the other party, it immediately aroused the vigilance of the great alchemist. "Different, what's different?"
Hermes asked curiously at the right time.
"As far as I know, there seems to be no exception in the face of fate."
"Uh..."
Lachesis hesitated slightly, not knowing how to explain.
But looking at Hermes' smile, she gave up deceiving him.
"That's not the case. I just... I mean, Mr. Hermes, maybe you are the one favored by fate."
"In my eyes, you are the only one - in this world, only you can help me."
"..."
The smile remained, but only Hermes knew that the smile on his face was almost unsustainable.
Listening to Lachesis's hidden "threat", Hermes felt cold in his heart.
Good, very good.
Although it has been a long time, he still remembers the first time he met her. This goddess who called herself the "Northern Prophet" came because of her experiment on the star god.
Although this was an accident, Hermes actually thought about the possibility of his identity being discovered by the gods in the real world.
But the subsequent development of the matter made him change his inherent understanding of the goddess of fate.
First of all, the other party's so-called purpose - Lachesis seemed to come for the star god.
But when the two really "met by chance", the other party only pretended to care about his purpose of collecting meteorites, and then began to ask about his origins in a roundabout way.
What does it mean?
What else can it mean.
I am just a person who has never been to this world. What can be worthy of the gods' attention
. The only possibility is that my identity as a "traveler" was noticed by Lachesis.
And then, the other party's series of actions proved this point.
First, she turned a deaf ear to his collection of meteorites, and even expressed her willingness to support his actions in words.
Immediately afterwards, she hoped to be friends with Hermes.
Asking himself, Hermes felt that if he were a god, he would definitely not spend too much energy on an ordinary mortal wizard, unless the other party had something he needed.
In this way, the truth is very clear.
Lachesis found something wrong with herself, but for some purpose, she did not spread the news, but kept it to herself.
And what he ultimately wanted, perhaps, was to trick others into blocking her knife when she needed it today.
Ha, just kidding.
"Favored by fate" and "unique", he would only believe these nonsense if he was crazy.
Putting aside the literal meaning, Hermes felt that he understood the other party's implication.
"Favored by fate" - only by listening to the goddess of fate can you have a good ending.
"Unique" - I know the secret you are hiding, you are the only "traveler" from the virtual world.
"In this world, only you can help me" - only if I keep the secret for you can you continue to live in this world. Of course, the price is that you have to do things for me.
Coercion, inducement, soft and hard.
Even compared to the straightforwardness of other gods, Lachesis also put on a weak appearance of sincere request, no one could find any problem, and tried to comfort others' fragile hearts.
Hermes asked himself, with the other party's means, if it were someone else, he would have sighed and then been used by Lachesis.
I never thought that the goddess of fate would be so scheming - as expected, the virtual world is the virtual world.
The second generation of the gods, Kronos, in this world can suppress the earth mother with one hand, and Lachesis is not at all what he remembered.
Compared with the real world, the gap between the two is simply immeasurable.
"Huh -"
He exhaled lightly, looking at Lachesis's expectant and somewhat intimate eyes, Hermes couldn't help but secretly praised her good acting skills.
But the question is, no matter what, should he agree to the other party now?
"I never thought that I was so important in your eyes."
Shaking his head and smiling, Hermes promised with certainty in Lachesis' eyes:
"Although I don't know what I have to be favored by you, it would be unreasonable for me to refuse now that things have come to this."
"Please tell me what you need me to do."
"As long as I can do it, I will do my best."
"Really? That's great!"
A happy look appeared on her cheeks. At this moment, Lachesis didn't know whether she was happy for her sister's rescue or for something else.
On the other side of the goddess, Hermes affirmed again. "
Of course it's true."
"As you can see--"
"I, Hermes, never lie, and I will keep my word."
The great alchemist spoke with a serious face, and his tone was very sincere.
Lachesis... I don't want to do this either.
But there is no way, you forced me to do this.
Compared to facing Lachesis's true fate, which she was extremely afraid of and even had to find a scapegoat, dealing with a goddess who represented her fate was already the best and simplest outcome.
The conversation ended quickly after the request was agreed.
From Lachesis, Hermes got the news about the person who imprisoned her elder sister. However, in the eyes of the great alchemist, who the other party was was not important at all.
With a gentle expression, Hermes said that since he had accepted this task, he needed to make more preparations for it.
As a world-renowned pioneer of the alchemy road, he would take out his most proud work to help the other party solve this problem.
Lachesis naturally had no objection to this.
She didn't know much about the field of spellcasters.
So leaving the living room where guests were entertained, Hermes walked down the escalator of the tower.
Only when he was far away from the previous floor did the smile on his face disappear.
"Lachesis..."
whispered the goddess's name softly, and Hermes' eyes flickered.
When he was alone again, he slowly calmed down his agitated emotions and reviewed his decision in his mind.
It has been a long time since he came to the real world, so that today, there are few things in the world that can threaten his life.
Hermes also knows that the goddess of fate can't hurt him directly, or rather, they can't hurt anyone directly.
As the foundation of the order of fate, this iron rule will not change because of the changes in the world...
Of course, correspondingly, there is no one in the world who can hurt the goddess of fate by strength alone.
This is only true for others, but when Hermes himself faced all this, he didn't dare to guarantee whether "eliminating outsiders" was a violation of their own order or a good deed rewarded by the world.
He didn't know, and the goddess of fate herself probably didn't know either, after all, there was no precedent for this kind of shuttle between illusion and reality.
But today, the other party seemed to be ready to take the lead in attacking him.
"It's just Lachesis, you can decide how to start."
"But how to end is up to me."
Hermes walked straight down through the library and a compartment full of treasures.
He walked into the underground space at the bottom of the tower, which was no different from before.
Seventy-two pillars stood here, with crystals floating on them.
The only difference was that many of these crystals that were once crystal clear were now stained with blood... and there was an illusory figure wandering on the side of the seventh pillar.
"Sir Hermes, I haven't seen you for a while."
"Is the situation outside okay?"
Taking his attention away from the book in his hand, Star God Amon looked up and greeted him next to the seventh pillar painted with mysterious patterns.
As he stepped into the underground space, Hermes just nodded slightly, and then expressed regret as usual.
"I'm sorry, Sir Amon."
"The environment outside is still very unfriendly to Star Gods... I have tried my best, but this is not something that can be changed overnight."
"Okay... I understand you."
A little disappointed, but he didn't get entangled.
Star God Amon had long been accustomed to this answer.
Compared to the outside world, watching Hermes stride to the midpoint of the seventy-two pillars, he was more concerned about what the other party was going to do. He
raised his right hand and stood in the middle of the underground space.
Hermes held his hands in the air, and as he moved, the lines on the surface of the pillars around him began to light up layer by layer from bottom to top.
Last time, they mixed together, reconstructing and purifying the elements, and turned them into weapons to defeat the incarnation of the gods.
This time, they did not attract any external forces, but something began to gather above Hermes' palm.
His expression was a little solemn. The application of weapons was just a byproduct of Hermes's painstaking collection of these things.
What he really wanted to do was to make himself break through the boundaries and sublimate into a god again.
Once you have seen the sea, you will never be as good as water. Once you have seen the Wushan Mountains, you will never be as good as clouds.
If he had not been a god, Hermes might be satisfied with his current achievements.
But as the son of the God King in the virtual world, a god who left all kinds of legends in the world, he would obviously not stop there.
However, it was precisely because he had experienced the gap between gods and humans that Hermes knew more clearly how difficult it was to cross this natural chasm.
Even with his wisdom and inspiration, it was only after he created the field of alchemy that he vaguely saw a shortcut that belonged to him.
"Refine the 'false' into the 'true'."
"One 'quality' replaces another 'quality', one 'quality' exchanges for another 'quality', one 'quality' sublimates another 'quality'."
"Put equivalent things on both ends of the supreme scale and then swap their positions."
"Replace the 'false' with the 'true', and replace the 'false' with the 'true'
." "Isn't this the highest level of alchemy?"
Some unspeakable power gathered in his palm. In a corner of the underground space, Star God Amon also witnessed this scene.
His essence beyond the true God told him that at this moment, 'himself' seemed to have participated in this mysterious ceremony.
However, whether it was his senses or something else, Star God Amon only saw the shining of the pillars, and the crystals floating on them seemed to have nothing to do with this.
Interesting... Is this the real 'alchemy'?
One breath, two breaths, three breaths...
From the perspective of ordinary people or even ordinary true gods, there was nothing in Hermes' palm at this moment.
There was no power gathering, and there was no special strange scene.
But Star God Amon could vaguely see that a portal composed of flowing starlight was slowly solidifying there.
From blurry to clear, and from gorgeous to ordinary.
At a certain moment, Star God Amon even felt that this strange door was about to turn from virtual to real and completely enter the material world. However, the next moment, the illusory Starlight Gate flickered gently, and cracks began to appear on it.
"... Come."
Seeing this scene, Hermes, who was holding up his right hand, was not at all flustered or disappointed.
Because he knew clearly that what was happening in front of him was the most normal thing.
After all, from the beginning to the end, everything he prepared was still far from enough.
If the foundation had not been laid, how could the desired "truth" be materialized into a real thing.
So he shouted and did not wait.
As if holding up a heavy burden, Hermes' right hand began to slowly approach his face.
Little by little, inch by inch.
The distance was shortened, but the damage to the door continued.
Time passed slowly, until the moment before the Starlight Gate shattered, this thing between existence and non-existence trembled slightly, and then it was completely imprinted in Hermes' pupils.
It was like putting down a heavy burden. At this point, the great alchemist finally exhaled a long breath.
"Sir Hermes, what are you doing?"
As if he hadn't seen anything, the Star God Amon, who had been watching from the bottom of the seventh pillar in the underground space, expressed his doubts at the right time.
Standing in the center surrounded by the pillars, Hermes couldn't help but smile from the bottom of his heart.
"Nothing, Sir Amon... I just tried to do an experiment."
"But as you can see, I failed."
"Although the instrument was successfully started, nothing happened in the end."
In a good mood, feeling the pupils finally barely stabilized, and the door that was temporarily stored with something of his own as nourishment, Hermes couldn't help but sigh with emotion.
Like today's experiment, it was not the first time he did it.
But since he created 'Amon' in the time and space outside the Ring River and let Solomon take turns to sacrifice blood on the battlefield, this was indeed his first attempt.
It didn't succeed, of course. After all,
it was far from enough to support himself to build His 'truth', so His collapse was also reasonable.
But in terms of the result, He did not completely fail.
At least His body had held out until I used my body to carry Him, which was already a qualitative breakthrough.
Smiling slightly, recalling the past, at this moment, Hermes couldn't help but be surprised at his own boldness and luck.
A traveler who travels through the worlds.
An apprentice who explores the truth.
The god Hermes once ignited his power of "traveling" and "traveling" in the virtual world, passed through the portal that separated the real world from the false, and successfully came to the world behind the door.
To him at that time, everything in this real world was undoubtedly the "truth".
But now, he has actually stood at the top of the real world, and began to use his own existence as an anchor to try to reconstruct the door of the past.
This is not only his way to become a god, but also a tool for him to explore higher realms.
If he makes this portal that travels through existence and nothingness "materialized", he may be able to ascend to the throne of God again.
Then what will he gain if he completely "materializes" the things hidden behind the portal?
"All roads… all lead to the same destination."
"To me, everything in the real world was the 'truth.' "
"And if I can embody all the 'truths,' does that mean I am omniscient and omnipotent? "
Throwing this slightly arrogant conjecture out of his mind, Hermes was not too excited.
Because as he said, the end of all roads is the same.
Alchemy is like this, and 'practicing the false to become true' may reach the end of the road.
But from the perspective of the Chaos gods, don't they already have a similar path?
If Zeus ruled everything in heaven and earth with his own kingship, and then in turn ruled the sky with the power of the king of gods.
Then when he finally defeated the destined fate and mastered everything in the world itself, he would also be the 'omniscient' and 'omnipotent' Lord of All Gods, and the King of All Kings respected by all the worlds, but he obviously couldn't do it now.
So it's a good thing to be able to see the end.
But the gap between being able to see the end and being able to do it is like a world of difference.
With a satisfied smile, the preparations beforehand were finally completely over.
After talking with the star god Amon for a few more words, Hermes immediately said goodbye.
Returning to the top of the tower, he found the goddess of fate who had been waiting for a long time.
With a little bit of obscure starlight flashing in his right eye, Hermes said with a smile.
"Ms. Lachesis, I'm ready now."
"If you don't have any other questions, then we can set off."
"Of course not."
She nodded heavily, turned around, and looked at Hermes in front of her.
He looked no different from before, and she didn't know what he was preparing for...
thinking this in her mind, she felt a little dazed.
For some reason, in the intuition of the goddess of fate, the feeling of closeness from instinct seemed to be more intense at this moment.
Off the coast of the East China Sea, the nameless sea.
A few days ago, after preparing everything, Hermes boarded the cloud car driven by the goddess of fate in the tower.
In another world, he had ridden this most common frame among the gods more than once, but this was indeed the first time he used it in this life.
However, considering that Lachesis had guessed his identity as a "traveler", Hermes simply gave up his disguise and no longer pretended to be an unworldly person.
After all, it was meaningless to pretend at this point. In addition to superficial obedience, in such a small matter, it would be better for him to be more casual.
Hermes thought so and did so.
However, what he didn't expect was that when this familiarity fell into Lachesis's eyes, the goddess of fate had a different understanding.
"...Mr. Hermes."
"As a great alchemist who has deep cooperation with the Athenian royal family, are you familiar with the goddess of wisdom Athena?"
In the cloud car, he endured for more than ten days.
On the eve of reaching the destination, looking at the handsome and elegant Hermes, Lachesis still asked this question.
The speed of the cloud car is not fast. As a ceremonial tool, its flying speed is not much faster than that of human ships.
However, no matter how slow it is, such a long time is enough for them to cross the sea and reach the location of the culprit.
"... Her Majesty Athena?"
Slightly startled, Hermes slowly opened his eyes while sitting by the window of the cloud car.
Along the way, the great alchemist seemed a little taciturn. This was because he thought he had nothing to say, and also because of the incomplete portal that had sunk into his body.
As the only person in the world who has successfully crossed the illusion and reality, Hermes' existence itself is the only carrier that can barely keep Him from collapsing immediately.
But for him, this behavior is like carrying a mountain on his back, which is really not easy.
"Ms. Lachesis, you may be wrong."
"I admire the wisdom of Her Highness Athena very much. I have heard many stories about the goddess while living in Athens."
"But to be honest, I don't have much communication with Her Highness."
"So if you want to know something about her, it's better to seek the answer from fate itself instead of asking me."
"Compared to my shallowness, He will definitely give you a response."
Not knowing why the other party asked this question, Hermes said cautiously.
In the other corner of the cloud car, Lachesis had to accept the response.
Maybe she thought too much, and the other party would not lie to her.
After all, cloud cars are not rare, and Hermes may not have seen it at Athena's place.
But no matter what, this discovery still made Lachesis a little depressed.
Under the influence of that inexplicable sense of closeness, the goddess of fate only hoped that the other party belonged to her alone.
In addition, it would be best if all gods and humans had nothing to do with him.
Well, yes, belong to herself alone... Holding the window frame irritably, Lachesis didn't know where this inexplicable desire came from.
Although as one of the three gods of Mount Nissa, she had witnessed the love, hatred, and vengeance of countless creatures in her fate, and even with this experience, she could perfectly disguise herself as another person, just like turning into Helen to deceive Paris' trust.
But at that time, she was like a player controlling a character in a game. Although she could make correct judgments, she could not hide the sense of detachment.
When it was her turn to personally experience this incomprehensible emotion, Lachesis immediately didn't know what to do.
She could only recall what she had seen in the fate of all living beings and try to find similar examples.
Possessiveness, or admiration?
I don't know whether to nod or shake my head.
Just like the girl couldn't distinguish between panic and heartbeat under the suspension bridge effect, at this moment, looking at the profile of Hermes, Lachesis covered her heart.
She couldn't tell this emotion, and the only thing that was somewhat similar made her feel absurd.
In order to repair the defects of fate, a life that should not have been born was born.
Innate complementarity, perhaps... is this destined love?
"...Ahem."
"Ms. Lachesis, we're here."
"Ah?"
With a light cough, Hermes' mouth twitched.
He suppressed the discomfort in his heart and reminded Lachesis, who seemed
to have just woken up from a dream. The cloud car had stopped for a while. The great alchemist didn't know that the goddess of fate had just been thinking about her "true love", and this person happened to be him.
At this moment, Hermes felt that the other party was really rampant.
Ever since she suddenly mentioned Athena, Lachesis has been looking at him with a fiery look, as if she wanted to eat him alive.
No, strictly speaking, this look has been there since she came to the tower not long ago, but now, the other party has no longer concealed it.
"Ms. Lachesis, I mean, we're here."
Taking a deep breath, Hermes repeated again.
And this time, Lachesis finally responded.
The face of the goddess of fate flashed a blush, as if she also realized that she was afraid of her distraction. Lachesis apologized with a bit of embarrassment:
"...I'm very sorry, Mr. Hermes, I just-"
"It's okay, business is more important." He
spoke quickly, not wanting to say more.
Hermes didn't wait for the other party to respond, he got off the cloud car first.
At this moment, they seemed to be parked above a large island, and a real cloud blocked the mortals' upward vision.
Looking down from a high place, you can see many ships parked nearby, and there are also many figures moving around on the island.
That is the army of the Athenians. As for this island, it seems that there were traces of human habitation not long ago.
But now, Hermes can only see a look of being washed by floods, and all the original residents have disappeared.
Thinking about what happened on the sea not long ago, the great alchemist probably guessed the cause and effect of the matter.
This is a terrible disaster, and the source of the disaster is the God King and Poseidon.
In that catastrophe that Hermes did not know and did not want to know, the humans on this island might have been tragically affected and then swept away by the mad sea, leaving only an empty island. As for why the Athenians are here...it seems that they intend to use this place as a new base.
"Mr. Hermes, it seems that the human is nearby..."
The voice came from behind, and Lachesis's eyes swept over everything under the clouds.
Without paying attention to those busy mortals, she stepped down from the cloud car and searched for the target.
There are countless mortals on the island, and it would take a long time to search for them one by one.
However, when Lachesis's eyes swept across the land, suddenly, an inexplicable feeling came to her heart.
Near the only volcano on the island, she instantly locked onto a figure.
"It's him - Hermes, it's him!"
"Quick, catch him!"
The voice was excited and a little excited. When she saw the figure, Lachesis almost immediately felt an unusual intuition.
This feeling is difficult to describe, and the backlash of fate seems to make this feeling vague.
But compared to Atropos, the backlash that Lachesis bears is still too little.
Taking a step forward, at this moment, the goddess felt that her spirit seemed to be in fear, and seemed to be in joy.
"Is it him? I see."
Hermes, who also noticed the figure, spoke calmly.
He had seen the other person at the ceremony of the new king of Athens' succession to the throne.
Although the ceremony had nothing to do with him, he still paid some attention to the new king because of his pleasant cooperation with Theseus.
In his impression, he was a priest with unknown source of power, who seemed to believe in a god that he had no impression of in the virtual world.
But he didn't expect that the person Lachesis was talking about was actually him.
Turning his eyes, Hermes looked at the goddess of fate in front of him.
In his eyes, the gate of starlight shone brightly.
·······
The underworld, in the darkness that enveloped the realm.
The night rises and the sun sets, the tide ebbs and flows.
When the day of the world comes, the tide of the eternal night will also recede, returning to this holy land of eternal peace.
On a path shining with starlight, Hypnos, the god of sleep, is still cautiously moving forward along his memory.
Sometimes some terrible lives approach here, but they seem to be afraid of the remaining power on this road, so they never dare to move forward.
This is the periphery of the Land of Eternal Night. The remnants of the beginning of creation have become real life under the enlightenment of spiritual power.
They uphold chaos and fear, silence and nightmare, follow their own nature, and try to destroy all living things in the world.
The further you go in, the rarer and stronger these lives become.
Until you cross a certain boundary point, a place where even the pale white sleeping flowers no longer grow, the power of the night itself begins to gradually become thinner.
No one could have imagined that in the center of the Land of Eternal Night, the power of the night is no longer the dominant one here.
Instead, there are three rules that have never appeared in the outside world.
[Fate and cause and effect]
[Inevitable constant]
[Natural order]
They turned into a stable triangle, supporting a sky at the core of the Eternal Night.
When they intertwined with each other, they seemed to form three vague shadows.
There were no colorful visions, no terrifying pressure.
They just existed there, like the midpoint of the universe, the cornerstone of the operation of all things.
Step...
step...
step -
black veil covered her face, skirt dragged on the ground.
For the countless times, Nyx walked into the area at the center of her domain.
She didn't need to ask for anything. When she stepped here, a kind of resonance appeared faintly in her body.
The three shadows seemed to become active, or maybe they should have been active, but they were just restricted by something.
And at this moment, at least here, Ms. Ye was sure that she was invincible in the world.
"... Invincible in the world... It doesn't seem that difficult, right, Ryan."
"Just such power, would you want it?"
"..."
No one responded, and Nyx didn't want others to respond to her.
After a long time, she gently raised her hand, looked at her three shadows, and Ms. Ye pressed her palm on one of them.
The black skirt vibrated, and the night was dark.
The power of the eternal night once again prevailed in her domain, and secretly enveloped this area again.
I don't know how long it took before Nyx slowly withdrew her hand and took a step back.
The breath was slightly weakened, but in her own domain, she returned to normal in just a moment.
From ancient times to the present, the gods have their own authority.
And in Chaos's world, there are three goddesses who claim to be able to control destiny.
But in fact, since the birth of the world, there has always been only one person who truly controls the fate of the world.
East China Sea.
Over an unknown island.
Light clouds fluttered in the sea breeze, holding up the luxurious chariot.
With her eyes fixed firmly on the figure beside the crater, Lachesis's eyes flashed with excitement.
"It's him, hurry up - Hermes, catch him!"
"As long as you help me catch him, I can promise you anything!"
The voice could not hide her joy, and the goddess of fate even spoke without thinking.
However, Lachesis did not care about this little thing. At this moment, she only hoped to end the nightmare of this period as soon as possible.
When Atropos was still there, the goddess of fate did not actually think that her sister was so indispensable.
The three goddesses had their own opinions on fate, and even at work, they did not often act together.
In private, Lachesis felt that her sister's approach was useless.
After all, she did not know whether the God King could set the deviated constant back on track.
But as goddesses of fate, the three sisters had no ability to directly interfere with everything in the world, which was a certain fact.
Sometimes, Lachesis even agreed with her sister's naive idea - just like the three Graces were subordinate to the Queen of Heaven and the God of Beauty, the three Ash Trees were subordinate to the previous Queen of Heaven Rhea, the three Furies and the three goddesses of time in the rumor also had their own main gods, maybe they sisters should also have a destined main god.
This idea was very bold, but Lachesis didn't know how to refute her.
Indeed, it seemed that all three goddesses born in Chaos were like this, they all had a main god, only they were the exception.
Of course, Clotho's conjecture was quickly suppressed. That day, the eldest sister Atropos angrily rebuked her for the first time.
She told Clotho that the goddess of fate had no main god, because fate had no master, she was part of the world, and was as constant as the great Chaos.
Uranus could replace the sky with his own name, and Nyx could replace the eternal night with his own name.
But each of these powerful primitive gods was unable to name the great fate with his own name.
"...Hehe.
"It sounds very powerful, but what's the point. "
She clenched her fist lightly. If she had a choice, Lachesis didn't want to be the goddess of fate.
If the price of being strong is to be hurt and not know how to resist, it would be a bit ridiculous.
What's even more ridiculous is that the three sisters have never experienced such power.
"But fortunately, I still have Hermes..."
The corners of her mouth raised, and a trace of satisfaction slowly rose from the goddess' heart.
Yes, in fact, she might have to thank this sudden change, which gave her the opportunity to discover such a special person.
Hermes, he was born to be with her...
Immersed in beautiful fantasies, her pupils were a little dilated.
So much so that when standing in the sky, Lachesis did not notice the stars slowly rising behind her.
······
"As long as you help me catch him, I can promise you anything! "
Behind Lachesis, under the cover of the clouds, Hermes was making final preparations.
The pupils shining with starlight swept across the sky and the ground. In front of this eye, the changes of the gods could not hide their whereabouts.
Without anyone else, this was the best result.
But to be on the safe side, Hermes took a last look at the original purpose of this trip.
On that human, through the incomplete "portal", the great alchemist did see something he had never discovered before.
A powerful mark, as a clergyman, the source of his faith seemed to have exceeded the limitations of the true God.
There is no doubt that it was another tool created by the original god.
Time was short, and Hermes had no time to take a closer look, but as long as he was sure of this, the rest had nothing to do with him.
Although he followed Lachesis here, from beginning to end, he had no intention of participating in the dispute between the original god and Atropos.
"... Lachesis... As long as I help you catch him, will you promise me anything..."
Standing behind the goddess of fate, Hermes' eyes turned from calm to cold without him knowing when.
Deep in his pupils, chains hung from the dilapidated door.
The starlight was bright, illuminating half of the sky.
However, as if they were in two different worlds, the mortals on the island did not notice any movement.
With a slight movement of his mind, chains transformed from starlight emerged from his eyes, and silently, they came behind the goddess of fate.
Taking a deep breath, Hermes asked for the last time.
"Lachesis, are you sure you want me to do it? "
…"
Whoosh—
the voice fell, and there was no response.
Hermes was not asking the other party, but asking himself. At
this point, there was nothing to hesitate.
Compared with the fate that even the goddess of fate could not correct, and the power of the original god, the threat of Lachesis was so insignificant.
In an instant, the starlight chains between existence and non-existence pierced through the void, and in an instant penetrated the limbs and spine of the goddess of fate.
There was almost no resistance, and everything went so smoothly.
Because just as Hermes took action, the area around Lachesis fell into an eerie calm.
It was like extracting a film from a movie, or like a page taken out of a comic at random.
For the entire movie and comics, this has almost no effect.
But for the observer, this is a still world.
The latest achievement, Hermes had already introduced it when he just saw it.
And now, this achievement has been used on the goddess herself.
[Flying Arrow Does Not Move], a witchcraft born out of the understanding of the world. At this moment, in the small space in front of Hermes, time was no longer continuous, but completely "disconnected".
It was not to manipulate time, and Hermes had no ability to stop the time of a god.
He just changed his way of observation, so that he would always be in "this moment".
So in this space, everything came to a standstill.
Only under the power of the "door", Hermes' own thoughts could still move as usual.
Starlight and the goddess of fate were connected together. According to the original plan, the great alchemist would drag the other party into this illusory "door" and lock it in his control.
But when this connection was born, for some reason Hermes had a strong sense of hunger.
It was as if what was in front of him was not a god, but a delicious meal.
The incomplete door in his eyes trembled slightly, as if he wanted to swallow the goddess in front of him.
"This is..."
His eyes flickered. Hermes was not unfamiliar with this feeling.
Once, when he tried to create a "door" for the first time, he had this feeling.
Hermes once speculated that this might be because the concept of the "door" originated from the portal through which he passed through existence and nothingness, and in that illusory world, there were also gods.
So as a creation that practiced falsehood and became true, the incomplete "door" instinctively desired to replace illusion with reality.
But Hermes also knew that this was impossible to succeed.
Not to mention that it was just a semi-finished product, even if it was a real finished product, he did not think that he could swallow the gods for his own use.
But fortunately, he had no such plan in the first place, he just wanted to follow this instinct and transform this incomplete portal into the most solid prison in the world.
The starlight flickered, and the chain did not change in a fixed time.
However, it was visible to the naked eye that Lachesis's position began to slowly move towards Hermes.
At the same time, her stature was constantly shrinking, and her position was getting higher and higher.
But if anyone watched from the sidelines, they would only get the opposite result.
Lachesis never moved herself, and her size never changed.
This is the use of [space]. If Hermes only took a shortcut in the field of [time], he actually did not really touch upon its fundamentals.
Then in the field of [space], as the controller of travel and passage, Hermes' exploration has been rarely matched.
Movement and stillness, two seemingly contradictory places overlap here.
In the pupils that shimmered with starlight, the broken and closed portal slowly opened a gap.
In front of Hermes, the goddess of fate fell into his eyes, as if falling into a bottomless abyss.
Squeak...
At a certain moment, Lachesis's figure disappeared, and Hermes, who had been tense, finally breathed a sigh of relief.
There was a reason why he chose to act here.
On the one hand, he needed to confirm his guess about the goddess of fate's goal. On the other hand, it was also to be on the safe side.
If something went wrong, he still had a chance to remedy it... His mind relaxed slightly, but after just a moment, Hermes's expression became solemn again.
Because deep in his pupils, the broken door suddenly began to tremble.
Strands of black traces climbed along the broken cracks, and something like mud poured out from the inside and outside bit by bit.
This is not a real thing, but it appeared in a freehand form in front of the portal that is also between reality and illusion.
Just like the still time can't do anything about the existence of the "door", it is also useless in front of this extremely filthy and negative thing.
The black quagmire overflowed bit by bit and fell along the edge of the illusory door.
Almost subconsciously, Hermes lifted his spell.
Raising his right hand and pressing it on his eye socket, the great alchemist stretched out his hand and pulled out the broken illusory door again.
With an ugly face, looking at the black water that was about to drip, Hermes never expected that he would see such a thing.
"This is... the poison of fate?"
"How could it be... how could there be such a thing on Lachesis' body? Isn't this the real world?"
"If the illusory world is different from the real world, shouldn't the real one be correct?"
No one answered his doubts, but that was the fact.
When it left Hermes' body, the Starlight Gate, which was already on the verge of breaking, shook again.
And this time, there was nothing that could alleviate its disintegration.
Integrating into the body means that he will be exposed to the poison of fate, which was originally something that only the goddess of fate could bear, but was forcibly backfired by the fate that was materialized by his own creation.
Without integrating into the body, this half-finished door could not survive at all, and breaking was its only end.
No matter what choice you make, it is wrong, every choice is like this. Or in other words, the only mistake is weakness, not choice.
If the portal containing the truth has been cast at this time, then Hermes, who has returned to the throne of God, has more than one way to solve this problem.
However, for him now, this is an unsolvable problem.
His brain turned rapidly, and one plan after another flashed through his mind, and then was rejected one by one.
In this moment, the damage on the Starlight Gate became larger and larger, and the shape became more and more distorted.
It seemed that in the next moment, Lachesis would regain her freedom.
And she was powerless to stop it.
"...It's useless for you to do this."
A feeling of powerlessness surged into his heart, but was wiped out by Hermes in an instant.
The reason why he chose this place was to be on the safe side.
But just when he was about to give up his original plan, a strange voice suddenly sounded from Hermes' ears.
With a move in his heart, the great alchemist looked in the direction of the voice.
In the center of the island, in the corner of the crater.
On a stone, the person Lachesis was looking for was sitting there quietly making tea.