Fortunately, Athena was not without aid; she had other means to accelerate the process. Thus the goddess in the form of a young girl took a scroll of ancient appearance from her waist—the Divine Artifact that was supposed to take her through her memories, yet now had brought her to another world.
This was the only thing the goddess had brought with her. Aside from this, whether it was the clothes on her body or the Spear of Victory and Shield of Aegis, those were what another 'herself' naturally possessed.
Through centuries of continuous use, Athena had gradually come to understand the might of this scroll. It could do more than read memories; in fact, the function relating to memories was but a trivial accessory. Its true ability lay in the manipulation of 'existence,' the utilization of 'constants,' and it was also the gateway to 'history.'
Memory is a summary and trace of the past, a life's cognition of bygone days. Thus the exploration of memory was included in the functions of this Divine Artifact. Now, with its power, Athena could easily collect all the literature in the Archive and from there, reconstruct the most authentic scene of history.
This was going to be much simpler. A Divine Artifact related to 'history' could naturally and easily discern the true from the false… Standing inside the palace, the goddess slowly untied the strap of the scroll.
As the strap fell to the ground, the Divine Artifact began to emit a faint light. But Athena did not rush to use it, she only stared at this naturally formed creation for a good while and then, at a certain moment, spoke softly:
"It's been a long time since our last meeting, I didn't expect to see you again here... It's a bit rude of me, but last time I didn't get the chance to ask, how should I address you?"
The world's transition originated from the reading of memories, and all of it was manipulated by this Divine Artifact. If this could still be considered accidental, then the apparition seen earlier certainly confirmed that everything was inevitable and related to that mysterious existence.
Compared to understanding the history of this world, Athena actually wanted to know more about how to leave this place. And the most crucial of all was naturally to communicate with the person who had caused all this.
Moreover, the other party had indeed given a sign... With this thought, Athena's expression grew even more resolute.
As her words fell, there was no reaction at first. But after a short while, the scroll, symbolically held in the goddess's hands, began to tremble softly.
Athena let go of the scroll, and then before her, it slowly opened. On its originally blank title page, a streak of ink manifested.
"This is unexpected, I had not thought your memory would turn out before today."
"However, I will put an end to all this. As for my name..."
There was a pause, as if the existence behind it was pondering how to refer to itself. After a moment, the ink continued, and a line of small print appeared above it.
"Compared to many creatures in this world, I was indeed born different. So if you need a name to call me by..."
"Then call me 'Yahweh'."
The writing appeared and then vanished, as if nothing had ever happened. But when the author of the ink acknowledged this 'name,' it was not just the goddess who remembered it, but the world itself had it etched into its 'heart.'
The name of the Lord of the Spirit Realm itself possessed some unfathomable quality, yet the effect of this appellation was diminished. This was true for both the gods and the world.
Note: Yahweh is the romanization of the Hebrew pronunciation.
Inside the Archive, everything was as usual.
The candlelight flickered slightly, casting its glow upon Athena's fair cheeks. The uncertain light seemed to reflect her thoughts, which were equally elusive.
Athena silently mouthed the title, momentarily at a loss for words.
Using a name that sounded like an adjective was not a unique practice, quite the contrary, it was very much in line with the features of the current era.
Just like one of Athena's other names, Tritogeneia, which meant "the third child born, following Apollo and Artemis." Of course, in this altered world, the birth order had changed, so only in this illusory world had Athena ever heard someone addressing her in this way.
In addition, another name often used by Zeus to disguise himself before mortal princesses or queens—Klonides, was a direct expression of "son of Cronus."
So it must be said that it was quite remarkable how the Divine King was able to use such a pseudonym without ever being found out, whether it was because Zeus himself had cast some influence, or the queens and princesses of the Chaos World weren't that perceptive.
Either way, it was a reasonable method of naming that was widely propagated among the gods. However, that being said, not every word that served as an "adjective" could be used carelessly.
The names of gods were bestowed by the world, and they often possessed special powers and a strong connection with other deities; if a self-assigned epithet were to create a connection as deep, it had to be equally 'true.'
In such cases, even the Goddess of Beauty couldn't call herself "the most beautiful in the world," because this concept was tied to her godhood and the name "Aphrodite." Without her divine role, whether she was truly "the most beautiful" would be debatable.
Besides being 'true,' these epithets also contained a hint of the distinguished status of their bearers. Whether Zeus or Athena liked it or not, a major source of their identity, apart from the authority bestowed by the world, came from their royal lineage.
From this perspective, if this mysterious being claimed such a title, it meant he truly was "self-existent" and "everlasting." The world granted the gods authority and power, yet he was inherently endowed with these; the world could revoke a deity's power, but his eternity remained intact.
Athena didn't know if the Primordial Gods were , but even if they were, certainly not every one of them would possess such ability, as the example of Gaia had shown.
And from the latter perspective, such a transcendent entity naturally didn't need anyone else to affirm his nobility, for he himself was the origin of everything.
With a faint smile, Athena offered a slight bow without a sound.
Her heart was somewhat shaken, but she was more cautious than anything. No one extends goodwill to a stranger for no reason; if they did, there must be some purpose.
"Don't worry about it,"
"What comes naturally doesn't prove anything; let's talk about you instead,"
The ink marks emerged and disappeared, noticeably faster than before. Athena felt a stir in her heart—perhaps the person behind the script was not idle, engrossed in some task, and now finally had a moment to spare.
"This is a false world, yet it contains a 'true' destiny relative to itself. Now, all of that has been swept into a pile of old papers, never to be realized again,"
"So, about leaving this place... Is there anything in particular you would like me to do?"
Still smiling lightly, the bright-eyed goddess inquired casually.
"Leaving here isn't hard; what's important is what lies here... I've been contemplating this matter too, and your current actions have given me an idea,"
"This world is 'false,' but its original trajectory was 'true,' indicating that its existence is a piece of 'history' that should have been realized, acknowledged by Chaos itself, just like the path it has taken up until now is the 'destined fate' acknowledged by Chaos,"
The writing paused again, then continued to appear. This time, however, the strokes of the ink seemed to carry a certain inexplicable significance.
"I will destroy this world, Athena, and soon,"
"The Mount of the Gods will crumble, the world will return to nothingness... And what you need to do is use this Divine Artifact as a medium, using this segment of 'non-existent' history, to bring about the birth of the Annals of Time,"