Lying sideways in the void, enveloped by an invisible force.
Her black hair hung down unconsciously, and at this moment, Athena no longer exuded her usual heroic air, but rather resembled a tranquil Sleeping Beauty.
However, the two present were indifferent to this beautiful scene, Nyx even regarded the other with a scrutinizing attitude for a long time, yet still could not discern Laine's intentions.
"You intend to send her into a Foreign Realm? Although I do not know what connection you have with her or by what means you plan to circumvent the barriers of worlds, I have to remind you,"
"To a world, it does not care who brought in the Outer Deity, it only sees it as a threat, one to be transformed if possible, or destroyed if not."
"I know, moreover, as a True God born immortal, Athena actually cannot enter. Just like she is now, struggling with the fate originating from herself, Chaos would not send its power into the belly of another... so the living cannot be sent."
With a slight smile, Laine reached out with his right hand towards 'Sleeping Beauty's' forehead.
A pearly light shimmered faintly, and the invisible force stopped the advance of his finger. But due to the struggle between 'oneself' and 'oneself,' this power of the world showed a gap.
Part of It wanted to send Athena in, while another part wanted to keep Her here. Laine, with a kind heart, couldn't bear to see such a self-destructive act, and fortunately, helped to compromise.
If one couldn't be sent in completely, then send in half; if the living cannot enter, then let the dead take her place; if those with authority could not leave, then let those without it embark on her behalf.
At first, there was a wisp of fog, followed by millions of threads pouring out from Athena's brow. Nyx, standing aside, recognized those threads' nature at a glance—they were not souls, nor even recognized by the world, they were merely a segment of 'already-dead fate'.
In the depths of the cosmos, a faint sound echoed as the true name of Pallas Athena was being split. The portion of her fate meant for her brother, the proud lord of divinity, from now on had nothing to do with the Goddess of Wisdom anymore, after all, if not for Zeus swallowing his wife, if not for the subsequent sacrifices, they should not have had such a connection.
"See, she is the most suitable candidate."
"The fate that wanted to send Athena into Hemenu's 'script' has been fulfilled, and the world itself has prevented an immortal deity from falling into the heart of a Foreign Realm. And now that a part of the 'script' has been fulfilled, fate will no longer struggle so fiercely against the world itself, and soon, other deities will no longer remain here."
"So only you," Nyx said, "only you can leave an anchor in this world while all other deities will be excluded—then what am I here for?"
Her voice was light and airy, like the ever-shifting form of the Lady of the Night's black gown, with no one knowing what she was truly thinking.
She seemed to express dissatisfaction, yet also not. However, Laine just smiled, for in his heart, Nyx's true purpose lay within Chaos, but this was not without use here either.
Since he had summoned her, naturally, he also owed her a bit of compensation.
"Help me hide the essence of this soul—I reckon Io was discovered the day she entered the world, but he cannot be discovered so early."
"Then, as a medium, you too will form a connection with him... and when this world fully collapses one day, you will receive your reward through it."
In any case, the Hemenu World was far smaller than Chaos, and its collapse was predestined, a fact both were well aware of.
Meanwhile, as they spoke, Laine's fingertip mingled with the fog of fate. Along with the flash of threadlike light, a brand new soul began to be constructed in front of the two.
But this scene lasted only a brief moment; when the soul was half-constructed, the change ceased.
"One half created by me, and the other, let this world complete it."
Releasing his hand, the ethereal soul trembled slightly. The fate that had shrouded Athena as if finding another object to cling to, began to shift naturally.
Suddenly, Nyx pointed to the foreign domain shrouded in darkness up ahead. There, a golden pinpoint of light had started to flicker at some unknown time.
The hierarchical structure of the world seemed unable to stop it... it was incessantly breaking through towards the outside.
"A native deity, it seems, a God of Sun, much more potent than the God of Sun of Chaos."
After discerning for a moment, Laine roughly recognized the identity of the newcomer.
That should be Ra, just uncertain as to which era's Ra it was, whether it was the complete Amon-Ra-Atum or not.
"In that case, even without me, the gods wouldn't remain in a stalemate here. After all, once this Outer God notices them, battle becomes inevitable, and then the self-preserving power of the world will overcome fate and drag these deities back."
Making this judgment wasn't particularly surprising.
The world's will, though rigid, wasn't to the point of being stuck entirely. In any case, it would gradually resolve this issue.
As for Ra, Laine was quite willing to get a preview of his level of power.
Although the Hemenu World was far inferior to Chaos, Ra was the only supreme deity, unlike their own world with not just one Primordial Deity. In this situation, it was difficult to say just how much power the other party possessed.