But when Laine created it, it was specifically for today. Having witnessed the end of the last Divine King by his hand, he naturally could also bring about his own end.
If it weren't for this special symbol of destiny, relying solely on the frail 'Death' to achieve all this would have indeed been difficult.
"Compared to before, you now seem more like the true 'Hidden'."
"Because your very existence has already been forgotten by all things."
At this moment, in the fourth layer of the Spirit Realm, it seemed as though the previous Divine King had been burned to death. However, in Laine's view, Cronus was still there. Only now, what constituted him was merely the immortal source as a deity.
That was an essence Laine still couldn't understand to this day, originating from Chaos itself, stronger than even Great Divine Power. In terms of his previous life, such a supreme essence both existed and did not exist. It was neither pure nor impure, neither born nor annihilated, neither increasing nor decreasing.
"Congratulations, you have completed the first step of being reborn anew."
Stepping forward, he picked up the scroll covered in scorch marks and unfolded it. In the dim light, the figure of Cronus within the painting became somewhat indistinct and unreal.
He then threw in what did not involve power, the existence that belonged to the identity of Cronus, back into the figure in the painting to replenish it, and then casually tossed the scroll to the side.
But in the fourth layer of the Spirit Realm, where time and space were still chaotic and disordered, only the area around Laine and the cocoon of light formed with the three gods was governed by Order. Thus, in the chaotic time and space of the Spirit Realm, this powerless painting was just a flicker before its whereabouts became unknown.
"When shall we depart?"
No voice came through, but Laine 'heard' Cronus's words. Now, only beings close to Great Divine Power could notice the former Divine King who had lost everything.
Laine could sense the other's urgency, like a customer who has paid in full and even though they know it's unlikely for the other party to breach the contract, they still feel somewhat uneasy.
This had nothing to do with identity or state of mind, after all, what he had given was everything.
"Don't rush, I still have some things to prepare."
With a sweep of his hand, in an instant, the power of the Spirit Realm enveloped most places of Chaos's current world. With a subtle connection to the spiritual bodies, Laine directly locked onto his target.
So many years had passed, and aside from a few dangerous places, such as around the Primordial Gods or the edges of the oceans, the ends of the starry sky, the surface layer of the Spirit Realm had already covered almost everywhere.
Therefore, under the influence of the Lord of the Spirit Realm, an invisible power spread out. All the souls of the deceased Silver Humanity were gathered into a sphere of light that fell into Laine's palm, with only the few Humans who survived the battle of the gods escaping this fate.
But this might not necessarily be a good thing. After all, being taken away by Laine might not mean a bad end, but those Humans left behind on earth will surely be accounted for by the new king.
"Some souls can be used to give you a preview, to test the viability of my idea."
"If it ends up successful, I might as well leave these sinful souls to you. It seems you can make them bow and scrape to you, right?"
With a slight smile, he had no intention of using the power of the Spirit Realm to dissolve and absorb the souls of the golden and silver generations of Humans.
As he said before, merely harvesting souls as seeds was too crude. A continuous cycle was the right way.
But given that the first two generations of Humans could not reproduce, the matter of cycling would fall upon their successors.
"Of course, I will ensure that some common souls stay in line."
With a hint of ill intent, although these Humans had no direct grievances with him, who asked them to be the symbols of enmity between Mother Earth and himself? Besides, the sinfulness of their souls was as visible as daylight in the special environment of the Spirit Realm.
Cronus assured that no matter how 'naturally rebellious' these fellows were, he had plenty of methods to teach them what obedience meant.
"Then let's set off."
"I have to say, I'm somewhat looking forward to it. If it weren't for the fact that as the sovereign of Spirituality, the 'consciousness' within me is unified, I wouldn't dare go with you."
Taking a sprinkle of Well of Origin water in hand, Laine stepped out and, together with the intangible Cronus, vanished from the fourth layer of the Spirit Realm.
And so this layer of the Spirit Realm quieted down once again, only the three god-bearing cocoons and Death, whose power had reached the strength of Great Divine Power, continued to sway slowly in the void.
At the same time Laine was collecting the souls of Silver Humanity, in the Realm of Lightless, the Lord of Darkness, Erebus, who stood at the boundary, had a slight change in expression.
Raising his right foot, he was almost ready to step out. The entire Realm of Lightless trembled with his movement, and the Underworld would part before the Primordial Gods if he so wished, and he would personally test the depths of that 'Divine King.'
But in the next instant, Erebus halted his step. He realized that the part of his power left within the souls of Silver Humanity had not been disturbed.
They were still in the souls, undetected by anyone, nor had they come into contact with the origin of the Spirit Realm.
"Huh—there's no need to rush."
"I've waited through tens of thousands of years; what's a little while longer? Let him perform more futile efforts for now, what significance is there in flaunting power before the weak?"
His eyes flickered for a moment before returning to normal; he continued to watch the unfolding events. Erebus could tell that the confrontation with the gods was a facade. In reality, the figure was testing the tolerance of the present world's rules in some form.