Within the emptiness, two streaks of light swiftly darted by.
Compared to the world within, both Laine and Nyx had noticeably declined in their speed of progress and the imposing aura they gave off. This wasn't due to excessive consumption of energy but because here, the 'existence' of the world undoubtedly seemed very faint.
In the classical philosophy of The East that would emerge in later generations, there was a saying, "The Dao begets one, one begets two, two begets three, three begets all things." But if even the 'Dao' ceases to exist, then many things built upon it would also lose their significance.
It was like characters in a game becoming detached from the game itself—they would just be a bunch of meaningless code. Thus, when the 'existence' of the world was diminished, everything built on the world's rules would naturally weaken as well. Compared to Nyx, however, Laine fared a bit better, since he himself possessed a part of the power that could anchor existence.
The streaks of light continued to travel, and after an indeterminate amount of time, the 'existence' of the surrounding emptiness finally became clear again. Yet compared to the environment of Chaos World, this place bore a slight scent of a Foreign Realm.
However, this sensation precisely confirmed that they were heading in the right direction. Consequently, as their own power gradually returned, they increased their speed—until suddenly, the sound of collision and friction from those origins thunderously filled the air.
"A conflict between Destiny and Order?"
Halting in the emptiness, Nyx looked towards the distance.
There, it seemed as if something both infinitely large and infinitely small existed, yet she could see no tangible thing.
That was their target, but compared to the clearly visible, river-encircled Chaos, this world appeared to be shrouded in shadow.
This was Hemenu, and its name was derived from its distinct world structure. The core of it was divided into four layers, from inside to outside, each layer having positive and negative sides. They were collectively known as 'Hemenu,' also called 'The Eight Primordial Spirits' by the intelligent life within the world.
In the outermost layer of this world was the 'Absolute Void,' symbolic of a space where the world's power could radiate to but which in itself had no existence; the second layer was the 'Boundless Darkness,' thinkable as the protective outer coat of the world, preventing all internal and external interaction; the third layer was the 'Infinite Space,' the emptiness that bore everything within the world, facing the emptiness of the outer world; and at the very core was the 'Primordial Water,' from which all matter and deities of the entire world were born.
In such a case, from the outside looking in, one would naturally only notice nothingness and darkness, unable to see anything else.
"Yes, a conflict between Order and Destiny. Do you remember what I said before? The Chaotic Gods will not truly enter this world—not that they cannot, but the world will not permit them, and what's happening now proves that my thoughts were not wrong."
Nodding her head, in the emptiness surrounding Laine, there were specks of twinkling lights: the location of the Chaotic Gods.
They were supposed to dive directly into those deep, immeasurable Darkness, but now they had all stopped here.
"They've come too early, Nyx. The timeline of our world is many years ahead of the original destiny, maybe thousands, maybe tens of thousands—no one knows exactly how much earlier. In any case, the Foreign Realm that should have been nearly completely devoured still retains a significant level of resistance, and Destiny has not realized this."
"Moreover, in the midst of this, the integration of the Nine Realms has even exacerbated the problem. After all, in the long term, the remnants of the Nine Realms will indeed strengthen the mass of Chaos, but in the short term, it has caused the world to have to devote a considerable amount of force to digest this gain."
"...So, just as the present world does not wish for True Gods who hold authority to enter the Abyss beyond their control, Chaos also does not wish for the representatives of Law to enter a Foreign Realm it has not yet completely mastered—because this could very likely be a one-way trip?"
Reflectively, Nyx roughly understood the reasoning behind this.
Indeed, if Chaos had an absolute upper hand, then naturally, it could throw the gods into it, acting as the final straw to break the camel's back. But now, it was a war between two nations, with one side losing cities and lands, yet its core remained unscathed.
At this time, deploying forces deep into the enemy's core without any backup was uncertain in dealing damage, but it was certain that those who went likely wouldn't return.
Gods are indeed immortal, but that's assuming their opponents are not another world.
"And since there's a problem... would they just keep being at a stalemate ?"
"Io is a mortal, and although she holds a certain position in Destiny, her existence or absence wouldn't really affect the world."
Hesitating for a moment, Laine spoke faintly.
"I don't know, perhaps time will give the answer... But I have a better solution."
"After all, Nyx, look, since the Hemenu World still has some strength to spare—how am I to enter it?"
This indeed posed a problem, as Laine knew with certainty that he wouldn't be able to breach that 'Boundless Darkness' on his own. Thus, during the conversation, Laine's gaze turned toward one of the closest orbs of light.
That was Athena, the beacon of Wisdom and Victory he had followed all the way here.