Chapter 422: Ten Thousand Years Ago (1)

"Helik!" Kai shouted without realizing it.

But Helik’s gaze never turned toward him.

Oh. right. This is inside Lord's memory.

This place was a fictional space created based on Lord’s memory.

Kai was someone who originally couldn’t exist in this time period. Naturally, the people in the memory didn’t notice his presence.

Then that must be... Helik from 10,000 years ago?

Kai calmed his slightly excited heart and looked at Helik again.

She’s definitely different...

She wasn’t the same god as the one he knew. First of all, her height and build were smaller. She looked about two or three years younger than the current Helik.

Still, she’s just as cute as ever.

However, the expressionless look on her face ruined that adorable charm completely.

Come to think of it, he remembered Shimizu had said that Helik was very mature and did her job well a thousand years ago. At the time he had asked who she was even talking about, but now he felt like he understood.

And this isn't 1,000 years ago but 10,000...

Kai faintly smiled as if he understood something and took a screenshot of her. He planned to show it to her and tease her about it for a long time when he returned to reality.

Ding!

[You are now viewing the Dragon Lord’s secret memory: Prologue 1-2.]

"

Hmm,

Prologue 1-2?"

That meant there was a previous scene, Prologue 1-1.

Might as well finish this one.

Kai passed through the wide garden lined with hundreds of gods and approached Helik. He spotted some familiar faces among the gods along the way.

God of Strength Gauss, God of Reunions Hisashiburi, and the Sky God Iska. Oh, I guess Robi already looked like an adult at this time.

Passing by the familiar faces, Kai approached Helik and tried to pinch her cheek, but his hand passed through her face like it was moving through a hologram. Kai lightly clicked his tongue.

Too bad I can’t pinch Helik’s cheek from 10,000 years ago.

At that moment, Helik slightly scrunched her nose and quickly turned to look at Kai. Startled, Kai took a step back. Then someone stepped forward, passing right through his body.

“Did something happen?”

A gentle voice tickled both of Kai’s ears.

It was a calm male voice that anyone would find pleasant to hear.

She wasn’t looking at me.

Kai let out a sigh of relief and looked at the back of the man standing in front of him. Black hair, black clothes. Everything about him was covered in black except for his skin.

As Helik stared at him for a moment, she slowly said, “Brother.”

The moment Kai heard that word, his gaze turned cold.

If she said brother...

That meant the black-clad man standing before him was Muldine.

Kai walked forward toward Muldine and glared at him. Muldine was a very handsome young man. He had such a gentle appearance that it was hard to believe he was the God of Darkness and Destruction. The way he smiled at Helik especially stood out.

"This guy is... Muldine?"

Kai couldn’t help but feel conflicted as he looked at him. Just by appearance, anyone would assume this guy was kind and gentle, yet he was the one who had made Helik cry. And now, he was pouring every effort into trying to kill her. Muldine’s gaze wandered around the area and soon turned toward the forty-three gods kneeling and bound before him.

“Seems I arrived a bit late. Has the verdict been reached?”

“Yes. The Supreme God divided the Heavenly Realm, the Middle Realm, and the Demon Realm for a clear reason. Disrupting that order is a direct challenge to the laws of the Heavenly Realm. Following your advice, we have decided to banish them to the Middle Realm.”

“As expected of the Solarian God. Very fitting of Heaven’s number one.”

“You flatter me,” Helik softly smiled.

It was the first time she had smiled in this memory.

She only smiles at Muldine...

It must have meant she trusted and relied on him that much. Thinking of Helik being betrayed by such a person made Kai’s chest ache again.

“But I believe we need to make an adjustment to that decision.”

“An adjustment?”

“If we simply send them to the Middle Realm, who knows what they might do.”

“That’s...”

Before Helik could finish speaking, Muldine cut her off. “Let us erase all their memories.”

His sudden declaration shocked the hundreds of gods present.

Helik’s expression also slightly hardened and said, “Brother. Do you understand what it means to erase the memories of gods?”

“The deletion of conviction,” Muldine said firmly. "That’s actually for the better, is it not? They disrupted the laws of the Heavenly Realm and are being banished to the Middle Realm anyway. Why would such beings need conviction? It’s not like we’re sending them to play envoy of the gods in the human world.”

He wasn’t speaking to Helik. He was looking at the hundreds of gods gathered in that place as he spoke, as if he were trying to implant his thoughts into them.

“There is something we must clearly reaffirm. This is punishment. Naturally, they should suffer. For a god, losing their conviction is a greater pain than anything else.”

“I’ve said this before, but your methods are always violent, Brother.”

"Well, I am the God of Destruction and Darkness," Muldine lightly scoffed with a self-deprecating tone.

His narrowed eyes gleamed coldly for a brief moment, but only Kai witnessed it.

“In any case, I would like to make my proposal here.” Muldine pointed at the forty-three kneeling gods. “First, Eos and the other forty-two gods will be banished to the Middle Realm.”

Up to that point, it was the same verdict as Helik’s. However, the additions that followed left the gods speechless.

“Second, we cannot allow those who are no longer gods to have divine bodies. They shall be sent down with the body of an entirely new species. Each entity will have a lifespan of approximately 10,000 years. Third, all of their memories will be erased. But since we are taking away the memories of their time as gods, we will give them an abundance of new memories to keep the balance. They will live a life where they cannot forget even the smallest fragment of their existence.”

“That’s too cruel a punishment...” Helik, who had been listening, said with a displeased expression.

In short, Muldine wasn’t simply advocating for their banishment but was proposing to inflict suffering for nearly 10,000 years. Yet despite Helik’s cautious protest, Muldine stood firm.

He gently placed a hand on Helik’s tense shoulder and said in a kind tone, “Helik, this isn’t something that can be resolved through emotion. You know that breaking the laws of the Heavenly Realm is not a trivial matter.”

“But...”

“For this matter at least, I’d like you to trust your brother.”

Muldine looked at Helik with an expression that asked for her trust. Helik remained silent for a moment before turning her head. She looked at the gods kneeling with their entire bodies restrained, even their mouths silenced.

That one must be Lord.

The god kneeling at the very front had facial features that resembled Lord. Tears were endlessly falling from his eyes. There was no way to know whether those were fake or genuine.

But Helik, unable to continue meeting his gaze, looked down. "Alright... But I don’t have the confidence to carry it out myself.”

"Don’t worry. You had the courage to make the hard judgment. I will handle the rest," Muldine gently patted her shoulder.

With that, the surrounding space began to blur.

Ding!

[Prologue 1-2 has ended.]

[Would you like to play Prologue 1-1?]

"

Hmm

," Kai rubbed his chin.

He briefly processed the information he had gained from the memory.

Helik never intended to turn the lower gods into dragons in the first place.

That idea had come entirely from Muldine, and that’s where the question formed?

Why?

Why had he gone so far as to persuade Helik to make that decision? To uphold the laws of the Heavenly Realm?

"That’s bullshit."

It was absurd. The guy who talked about killing a top-tier god of the heavens, Helik, was now jumping around over someone breaking the law?

No matter how I think about it, something’s off here.

There was a stench. A dirty, suspicious kind of stench.

And the answer to that smell...

Would be in Prologue 1-1.

***

[Dragon Lord’s Secret Memory, ‘Prologue 1-1’ is now playing.]

Is this... the Celestial Garden?

Kai had visited quite a few of the gods’ islands. For instance, Helik’s Celestial Garden was so vast, pleasant, and clean that words didn’t do it justice. It truly felt like a garden located in the heavens.

On the other hand, Horn’s island, the God of Earth, had a forge set up and gave off more of a workshop atmosphere. As for the Sky God Iska, his island had stone pillars scattered around. As such, each god’s garden reflected their own unique traits to some degree.

But this place is...

The structure was exactly the same as the Celestial Garden he always visited, but the atmosphere was different.

All the plants are dead.

And unlike the Celestial Garden, which was symbolized by white marble, this island was decorated with dull black stone.

“You called for me.”

Kai turned his head toward the voice.

There stood two men.

It’s Muldine.

Kai instinctively realized at that moment that Muldine was the owner of this island. The aura of death and darkness that covered the whole island was something that couldn’t be hidden.

“You came faster than I expected.”

“Yes, but may I ask why you’ve called for me...?”

“What’s the rush? Take a seat first,” Muldine smiled kindly and gestured to the seat across from him.

The Dragon Lord... no, the god who went by the name Eos in the Heavenly Realm.

Kai quietly watched them.

"Eos, your conviction was insight, was it not?"

"Yes, that is correct."

Eos, the God of Insight. That was the name Lord held when he resided in the Heavenly Realm.

"I called you today because I wanted to ask a few questions. It won’t take too long." Muldine suddenly turned his head and looked out over his garden. "With your insight, how does my island appear?"

Eos held his words back. It was clear he was struggling to figure out how to describe such an unimpressive garden.

“You can speak frankly. I won’t hold you responsible for anything you say.”

As Muldine coaxed him again with a gentle voice, Eos finally said, “First of all, I don’t feel any sign of life in this garden.”

“And?”

“

Hmm

. The layout is quite... no, it’s identical to Helik’s garden. Even the types of plants placed here are the same.”

“

Oh?

You noticed such fine detail? As expected, your insight is impressive.”

“I’m flattered,” Eos faintly smiled.

Even if Muldine was an evil god, there was no harm in gaining favor with one of the highest gods.

“Then can you also see why I arranged my garden this way?”

“

Um

...”

Eos glanced at Muldine, but Muldin only smiled playfully.

“I told you. Everything you say today will go in one ear and out the other, so speak without worry.”

At that, Eos slightly nodded and carefully said, “I mean no offense, but the layout of this space reflects your feelings toward Helik.”

“What kind of feelings?”

“A compassionate love for your younger sister, a respectful admiration for her as a fellow god, and at the same time...” Eos’s expression suddenly hardened as he continued.

“Why stop mid-sentence? Go on.”

Muldine still wore a playful smile, but Eos couldn’t smile with him.

“I-I’m not sure how to explain this feeling...”

As Eos stammered with cold sweat forming, Muldine cut in first, “Why not just be honest? It's just inferiority, isn't it? A pathetic urge to kill my own sister out of jealousy.”

Muldine’s face relaxed like tension had left him, but the air around them became unbearably tense.