"When that time comes, perhaps the Spirit Realm will be exceptionally empty, and whatever Your Highness wishes to do, it will be the perfect opportunity,"
He found it amusing to fantasize about the deity before him, who, as a god of the Spirit Realm, dared to rebel against the Lord of the Spirit Realm—it was as unbelievable as demons rebelling against the Lord of the Nine Hells.
However, for Mephisto, it didn't matter whether the other party was successful or not; as long as they took action, there was a great chance those gods of the Spirit Realm would be attracted back.
As for the fate of this 'esteemed Highness,' that had nothing to do with the demon lord.
"It sounds good, but what guarantee do you have that what you're saying is true?"
The young deity clad in gray was clueless about the devil's thoughts, but Mephisto's words indeed piqued his interest.
Just as in the myths, where he once caused the peak-level Zeus to dream, Chaos's association with 'Sleep' and 'Death' was inverted; the former was overwhelmingly powerful, while the latter was weak and fragile.
Thus, Hypnos was extremely confident in his domain of 'Sleep,' believing that as long as he was given a chance to launch a surprise attack, he could ensnare any being—provided he only had a single opponent.
And those devout Spirit Realm angels were the biggest stumbling block in his path.
"How about an oath on the Styx River?"
Just as he had done with Keto and Megaera before, Mephisto planned to deceive again, but this time, his trickery was seen through by the other party.
"As I understand it, only True Gods are qualified to swear on the Styx River and receive a response,"
The smile held no warmth, as the young deity slowly said:
"That's why Styx is also called the River of Hatred; it is two different rivers for True Gods and those who are not. Although you possess power akin to a deity, I'm afraid you are not a True God with an immortal essence and authority."
A bit surprised, since gods rarely dealt with non-divine beings at this time, and beings like Keto were unaware of the secrets of the River of Vows—unlike the deity before him, who knew it all too well.
Even though, as far as Mephisto was aware, the great Lord of the Nine Hells was already trying to create an oath medium that any being could use, at present it did not exist.
But this wasn't a problem, just as if the one who had just tried to deceive wasn't himself, Mephisto spoke:
"But we don't need guarantees between us, do we? No one can provide a guarantee anyway. You wouldn't dare to have me swear by the Spirit Realm, nor can I swear by the Nine Hells that stand behind me, so let's just forego guarantees altogether."
"When that day arrives, you'll see the gods of the Spirit Realm heading to the mortal world, and you'll naturally know that my words were true,"
After some contemplation, the God of Sleep finally nodded. Just as the other had said, being the one to act later, he could adapt as necessary. If the situation wasn't right, he could simply wait for the next opportunity.
If it weren't for the emergence of faith, making him fear that his Father God would gain stronger power, Hypnos would be content to wait longer.
"Then it's settled, respected Highness. I'll take my leave now,"
With his goal achieved, Mephisto took his leave with those words.
As his form burst into a cloud of black mist and then dissipated into nothingness, the valley was soon left with only Hypnos, alone.
Standing here, the God of Sleep felt the world on the opposite side, the vast and boundless Spirit Realm, and couldn't help but reaffirm his own thoughts once again.
"The Spirit Realm, truly magnificent—"
With a long sigh, as the builder of the third layer of the Spirit Realm, the young deity knew all too well the might of the Spirit Realm.
He didn't dare to go against the ancient and great Spirit Realm itself, but having witnessed the power of both Nyx and Gaia, the God of Sleep felt that the relationship between his Father God and the Spirit Realm was probably not as inseparable as that of the Primordial Gods and their essences.
Because Laine gave him the impression of a very high stature under the blessing of the Spirit Realm, yet lacking equally strong Divine Power, which led the God of Sleep to speculate that perhaps for Laine, his relationship to the Spirit Realm was more akin to that of a Divine King to the present world.
Only the Spirit Realm was more generous, allowing its agent to wield more power, and not as limited as the Divine Kings of the present world, who gain very little.
"I heard that you were once involved in the succession of the first Divine King... I remember in the legends, the Heavenly Father was also a 'heaven-granted' Divine King, right?"
With a smile that was gentle yet indifferent, Hypnos recalled this secret he had gleaned from dreams.
"'Kingship is never eternal, how you obtain it, is how you will lose it'... Well said, but have you ever considered that you too might have such a day?"
The naturally indifferent Evil Gods were ungrateful; they only feared power. And as long as they saw an opportunity, they would show no mercy.
In a single step, the young deity returned to his domain in the Dream Spirit Realm. Hypnos believed that everything today would only be perceived by the two participants, and perhaps only by the Law of the present world and the Spirit Realm itself.
"It won't be long before I become the new master of the Spirit Realm, just like the second Divine King, Cronus."
With some anticipation, the God of Sleep once again immersed himself in his authority, watching the various happenings in the world, while creating some terrible dreams for entertainment.
In the past, this was one of his few amusements that he found interesting.
Outside the world, the ruins of Asgard.
One thing the God of Sleep had guessed correctly: Laine's energy was indeed not focused on the Spirit Realm at the moment.
He was busy exploring this world that had already been destroyed, and all other matters would have to wait until his return.
After some time flying, the roots of the World Tree grew clearer and clearer. The debris of buildings on the ground became denser, yet throughout his journey, Laine found no sign of life.
Not even a single corpse was to be seen.
As the core of Asgard, this place was also known as the Idavoll Plains. Laine casually collected some unique minerals and relatively intact buildings during his flight, but these were not significant finds.
The core of this place had only two key locations: Valgrind, the palace where the gods gathered, and the Golden Palace, as well as Laine's prior target, the Well of Urd and the roots of Yggdrasil.
So, after a while, seeing the tall palace in front of him that seemed well-preserved, Laine knew he had found the place.
Although he had originally intended to go to the roots of Yggdrasil first, since he had found the other target first, changing the order didn't really matter.