During the tarot reading, amidst a series of shocks, "The Sun" Derrick was the first to react: "So, so, those of us who have consumed the Black Face Grass must kill our own relatives with our own hands, otherwise our relatives will become evil spirits!"
"So—this is the curse from the Giant Queen!"
The other members all sighed inwardly: What a tragic deity.
Emlyn "Moon" was about to say "Serves him right," since he betrayed our progenitor.
But he also felt that the god's fate was indeed too tragic, so he did not speak ill of him.
Odis the Hermit suddenly said, "I can only say that it is possible."
He paused for a moment and said, "Based on some incomplete information I have, this curse may have another cause, but that information is incomplete and I don't know how to describe it."
That was information that Odispu obtained from the "wilderness of knowledge" after his ascension.
Omibella is a very special deity, actually the child of the "Primordial God" and the "Mother Nest"...
To be precise, Odis considered Omibella a special deity, but in that era, it seemed that the deities that split directly from the "original" source, as well as those born from the "fallen mother goddess," were the mainstream.
According to the records of the "Wilderness of Knowledge," at the beginning of creation, the "First Creator" created the "Fallen Mother Goddess."
Then, she gave birth to many gods with the "Fallen Mother Goddess," many of whom were born as the Old Ones, or later became the Old Ones themselves.
For example, "Decaying King" and "Superstar Overlord" were both born at that time.
When the "first" awakened last time, it directly brought the "mother nest" to Earth, and deities such as Omibella were born.
These are deities from the "Fallen Mother Goddess" and "Mother Nest" lineages. Although there is some struggle between them, they are generally connected and cooperate to some extent.
In addition, the "Mother Tree of Desire" is also an Old One that was directly created in the "original" way. Before its source matter and properties were aggregated on Earth, it was the strongest Old One below the "Pillars".
Moreover, he now possesses two extraordinary pathways within him, making him a formidable opponent from the past.
It was only after obtaining the "Dust-Avoiding Pearl" that the Celestial Master attempted to join forces with Adam to injure this ancient being.
However, their operation still failed, as the "Mother Tree of Desire" sensed the danger in advance.
When the second era arrived, Odis felt unfamiliar with the history of the "King of Giants" being the first ancient god, but it should be accurate, since the "Sage" had lived through that era.
From the mystical information he gained after his ascension, Odis also learned that Omibella had a younger brother named Giddas. It seemed that the two gods had a conflict over something, and Giddas cursed his sister Omibella before his fall, saying that he would be killed by his own descendants.
The "Ancient Sun God" is human, and humans are descendants of the "Creator," inheriting the characteristics and most of the authority of the "Primordial God," who is the "original" incarnation. Therefore, to a certain extent, the "Ancient Sun God's" attack on Omibella can be considered a fulfillment of the curse.
Omibella witnessed her son murder her husband and was cursed by her brother; this seems to be the reason why the "Gift of the Earth" has a curse of patricide.
Regarding this period of history, the "Wilderness of Knowledge" does not provide much detail. Odis estimated that the "wise men" were also unaware of the specific circumstances and only made some disjointed records based on later events.
Odis's previous statement was somewhat nonsensical. Seeing that everyone was looking at him, he then said in a more formal tone, "With the fall of some gods, some aspects of the history of mysticism may never be restored."
He paused for a moment and then said, "However, there is one thing I can announce to everyone: the 'Goddess of Harvest' Omibella, having been stripped of her destiny and possibly having her inherent characteristics stolen, has gone to the Silver Kingdom."
"The believers should still be able to sense her presence. Of course, the 'Goddess of Harvest' came to the Silver Kingdom not to seek refuge, but to have half of the Silver Kingdom's people sacrificed to help temporarily stabilize the situation—"
This is clearly recorded in the "Wilderness of Knowledge." Odis estimated that the "wise men" knew about that "history," which is why they paid attention to this matter.
The Sage witnessed the entire exchange between the Ancient Sun God and the Night Goddess as they began to switch the Goddess of Harvest.
But later the "sage" discovered that the situation was not as he had "remembered" it. Omibella's curse of "parricide" was not entirely due to witnessing her child murder her husband.
The "wise man" did not have the authority to be "omniscient," and when he went back to trace the source, he found that his understanding of Omibella was rather vague, so in the end only some vague records were left behind.
While lost in thought, Odis continued, "In response, the Silver Kingdom did not choose to continue to submit to the gods they worshipped, but instead killed the 'Goddess of Harvest'."
The other members were stunned for a moment when they heard this, and then they all looked at "The Sun" Derrick.
Derrick was silent for a moment before saying, "That's right."
Upon learning the truth about the "Gift of the Earth," he also saw the corresponding documents left behind by Silver City. At the time, he felt somewhat unable to accept it, but upon careful consideration, he wondered what kind of pressure the former leaders of the Silver Kingdom faced when making this bold decision.
They were guilty, but they saved half the people of the Silver Kingdom.
"The Fool" Klein estimated that the leaders of the Silver Kingdom must have already learned of the fall of the "King of Giants" by then, which is why they rebelled. If the "King of Giants" were still alive, they would have immediately sacrificed half of their people.
This is the Second Period.
"The Hanged Man" Alger speculated, "Could this be the reason for the Silver City's curse of patricide?"
"No," Derrick said. "The Silver Kingdom didn't have such a curse before we started eating rye grass."
Everyone looked at the "hermit" again, as if asking with their eyes: Why is that?
Klein, in particular, realized that there might be more to this story than met the eye, and that this hidden story seemed to be quite important.
Odis smiled helplessly and said, "As I said, some extraordinary histories may never be known in truth."
To reveal the truth would involve explaining concepts such as the "original creator" and the "mother nest," which are too advanced for other members to know for the time being.
The other members were somewhat disappointed, while Klein vaguely sensed that Odis probably knew some inside information, but it wasn't appropriate to reveal it to everyone.
That was the end of the topic. The hall fell silent as everyone digested the information they had just received and pondered their own thoughts.
Klein, behind the gray fog, thought to himself: Tarot doesn't have much other information, but the dark history of the gods often comes up. The "Goddess of Night" is suspected of plotting against the main god "Destruction Wolf". The "Eternal Sun", "Lord of Storms" and "God of Knowledge and Wisdom" have also done the same thing.
The "God of Steam and Machinery" apparently murdered his own sister in order to become a god.
Today I learned two more embarrassing pieces of history: Lilith took the place of the Giant Queen and later became the "Earth Mother Goddess".
The "God of War" became a god by killing his father.
The hall was silent for about ten seconds before "The World" brought up another topic: "Everyone, I need to remind you of something."
When all the members of the Tarot Club looked over, Klein manipulated "The World" and said, "The end of the world is just over a decade away. Everyone may be destroyed, including the gods."
He had recently obtained information about the approximate time of the apocalypse, and he felt it necessary to remind the other members.
This was the second time the other members had heard about the end times at the Tarot meeting. Mr. Fool had previously said that the so-called end times were the destruction of the barrier formed by the "original creator" and the invasion of outer gods.
But at the time, no one took it too seriously, always feeling that the end of the world was still far away.
But "the world" mentioned the end of the world again, and even gave an approximate time!
In other words, there is no room for easing the impending doom, and it is not far off.
Odis was not worried about this. He was confident that he would achieve merging with the Celestial Master in the next few years, become an Old One, and play a certain role in the subsequent battles of the Old Ones.
Moreover, the scheme of the Celestial Master and Adam seems to allow the "Ancient Sun God" to regain some of his strength. Then, with the addition of the "Fool," they can take the initiative to launch a sneak attack outside the barrier before the end of the world. They can then injure a few Outer Gods and try to support one or two Old Ones, at which point the strength of both sides will be roughly equal.
Upon hearing this news, "Justice" Audrey still felt a sense of bewilderment: the end of the world is only a little over ten years away, what can I do?
Alger's first reaction was that Gehrman Sparrow was disrespectful to Mr. "The Fool," because "The Fool"...
The gentleman is also a deity.
But he quickly dismissed the idea. After all, "The World" was the favorite of Mr. "The Patient" and the most devout believer. Other members of the Tarot Club might accidentally blaspheme Mr. "The Fool," but "The World," Gehrman Sparrow, would never do so!
Based on this, Alger quickly came to another conclusion: this must be a reminder at the behest of Mr. Fool, urging us to prepare for the end times. But if even gods can be destroyed, what can we do?
The priestess, Cattleya, is equally confused about the future, unsure of which direction to strive for besides improving herself.
"The Magician" Fors decided to no longer delay and prepare to ascend to demigod after the gathering! As the end of the world approached, it seemed that only by becoming an angel could one see a glimmer of hope.
Derrick was initially overwhelmed with frustration, because Silver City had just left the apocalyptic land of God and come to the world of light, only to face a new apocalypse soon.
But soon, he adjusted his mindset and chose to believe Mr. Fool.
If this great being could save Silver City from the land forsaken by the gods, then he can also prevent the end of the world.
Emlyn couldn't help but frown: Although I was the savior of the vampires during the apocalypse, I never thought the apocalypse would come so soon. I am only an earl!
He suddenly felt like a student who had only attended classes for a few days and was about to face an exam.
Of course, this also excited him a bit, after all, he would soon be fulfilling his mission and showing his greatness to his people.
Leonard, nicknamed "Star," had heard about the doomsday prophecy from the old man, Palez Zoroaster, but he didn't understand why things had turned out this way. So he asked, "Why is the end of the world suddenly coming? There's no sign of it at all."
Klein responded to Leonard by saying, "You just didn't see the signs."
"Did you really think that the war of the gods that just ended would break out without any reason?"
Seeing that the members of the Tarot Club were stunned by these words and fell into thought, "The World" added, "You are not qualified to know the specific reasons for now. Even just understanding them will bring about an irresistible pollution."
Only beings of angelic or higher rank could possibly contend with it.
Audrey was the first to realize: Mr. World seemed to know the whole story, and he wasn't afraid of being corrupted? Could it be—he was already an angel? Was it him?
She took a deep breath: This is the second angel among the Tarot Club members!
Alger and Cattleya then had similar interpretations, realizing that "The World" Gehrman Sparrow had become an angel walking on earth.
In ancient times, this came from God, and was a member of the divine.
"The World" looked around and said, "You can think carefully about what you plan to do next."
What are your plans?
The other members nodded slightly, indicating that they understood.
After a few more seconds of silence in the hall, Audrey said to the Hermit, "I've heard that Rune is inclined to send a delegation to Remburg for peace talks."
The other members felt a slight sense of relief, as if all the heavy topics had finally come to an end.
Odis said, "Thank you."
Then he smiled and said, "This is the wisest choice."
Emlyn then joined the conversation: "These peace talks between Loen and Lenburg should get other countries to cede a lot of territory, right?"
After the initial confusion following the war of the gods, the people of Backlund quickly began to imagine what benefits they would receive as citizens of the victorious nation.
Everyone is now discussing that a victory in this battle should allow them to reclaim Sunia Island from the Fusak Empire and completely occupy the central plateau.
The people of Backlund now have high hopes for these peace talks.
Emlin asked the question after hearing some of the discussions among the people of Backlund.
Odis replied, "As defeated nations, Intis and Fussac will at most cede some colonies, and they won't cede too many."
The other members were stunned, not expecting the "Hermit" to come to such a conclusion. Even Alger thought that Intis and Fussac would have to pay a lot of war reparations and cede some territory.
After glancing at everyone's expressions, Odis explained, "Although this battle of gods determined the outcome of the war, it is an undeniable fact that Rune lost too many extraordinary powers in the early stages of the war. He may be able to regain most of the lost characteristics through post-war negotiations, but it will take time to cultivate new extraordinary beings."
"After the war of the gods ended, most of the Intis army and the Fusak army withdrew back to their home countries, and because Rune did not organize an effective pursuit, their extraordinary power was basically preserved."
"So in the next few years, at least in terms of extraordinary beings below the level of demigods, Rune has no advantage."
"The current situation is quite interesting. Rune is a victorious nation, but its strength is somewhat weakened, while Fusak and Intis are defeated nations, but they still have enough strength to fight back."
"In my opinion, in the end, Ruen can only get back some of the extraordinary traits that were taken away by the armies of the other two countries. After all, once those two countries obtain those traits, they will immediately cultivate extraordinary individuals through the 'arbitrator' and 'lawyer' pathways."
"We can't just kill those extraordinary individuals and take back their traits, can we?"
"However, there is a lot of room for debate regarding the specific features it can have."
,
Upon hearing this, everyone felt as if they had a very clear understanding of the current situation.
This made Alger think to himself: This is the difference between an extraordinary person and a politician.
Alger had always felt that he understood the rules of this world and the good and evil of human nature.
Therefore, when considering problems, he is more likely to see the essence of the problem and the root of the contradiction.
However, after the "Hermit" became president, Alger increasingly felt that his analysis of the international situation was still flawed.
Odis paused slightly before continuing, "The negotiations will likely end with Intis and Fussac symbolically ceding a portion of their territory to Rune, thus concluding these negotiations."
"Or rather, they were willing to sit at the negotiating table only because the 'Goddess of Night' had won, and with four other gods standing on the victor's side, they had no choice but to compromise."
"But this victory is not a victory for the Kingdom of Rune, so they will not cede too many substantial benefits during the negotiations."
The other members nodded in agreement, indicating their agreement with the concept of the "hermit".
Emlyn had already thought: If I were to give this analysis at a vampire gathering, it would definitely surprise the barons and viscounts, making them appreciate Earl White's unique insights and wise mind.
Klein thought: I could go to Rembrandt soon and get a firsthand look at this negotiation that will affect the future international landscape.
He is currently traveling in the Northern Continent as a wandering magician, taking the opportunity to digest the magic potions.
Audrey then asked, "Mr. Hermit, what about Remburg? What are Remburg's demands in this negotiation?"
Will it help the Kingdom of Rune put pressure on other countries?
"No." Odis said crisply, "The war is over, and our alliance with Rune is also about to end."
"For Lenburg, we need a weakened Rune rather than a Rune that has become strong again."
Audrey simply nodded, realizing that she wasn't as disappointed as she had imagined.
Odis continued, "The conflicts between nations persist and have not been completely resolved by the war. In fact, the current situation remains quite dangerous because all nations—especially the defeated ones—still possess the power to wage war."
"Justice" Audrey seemed to understand the other person's warning: "You mean, there's a high possibility that war will break out again?"
Odis did not answer the question about "justice," but instead said, "I heard that after the war of the gods in Backlund, in the battle between the 'Eternal Sun' and the 'God of Knowledge and Wisdom,' the 'God of Knowledge' suddenly gained a certain advantage."
"I'm not entirely clear on the specifics, but based on some indications, the 'God of Steam and Machinery' and the 'Lord of Storms' also came to the border between the two countries at that time."
"Although this is a small matter, it is worrying. When both the Lord of Storms and the Eternal Sun believe that the God of Knowledge is a threat, they will inevitably cooperate in some way."
"In other words, the relationship between the gods at present, on the surface, is that the victorious side of the divine war, the 'Goddess of Night,' the 'Lord of Storms,' the 'God of Knowledge,' and the 'Mother Goddess of Earth,' is on the losing side, the 'Eternal Sun,' and the 'God of Steam.'"
"But the reality is that the conflict between the 'God of Knowledge' and the 'Lord of Storms' and the 'Eternal Sun' has suddenly escalated, and the 'God of Steam' is clearly on the side of the 'Eternal Sun,' while the 'Goddess of Night' and the 'Mother Earth' have not yet taken sides."
After this round of analysis, even "The Fool" Klein couldn't help but frown, because according to Odis's analysis,
There is also the possibility of a new war of gods breaking out.
The escalating conflict between the gods could very well lead to a new war among the nations of the Northern Continent, and this war would certainly be another world war.
The hall fell silent again, and the "Hanged Man" and other members looked one after another at the "patient" at the head of the bronze table.
Klein, the "Fool," thought to himself: Why are you all looking at me like that? If the "Hermit" hadn't brought it up, the "Fool" wouldn't have known what was going on.
However, on the surface, the "Fool" still maintained a calm expression.
Then Klein realized that he had to say something, and after a moment's thought, he smiled and said in the form of "The Fool": "As the end of the world approaches, the gods are all seeking a breakthrough."
Odis thought to himself: This reaction speed is impressive. He immediately understood the reason for the escalation of the conflict between the gods. Moreover, these ambiguous words not only made him seem very profound, but also roughly revealed the truth, although they did not involve any specific matters, only the general direction.
The other members, prompted by the "Fool's" hints, made many guesses.
Alger thought: "Above the gods!" The gods are preparing to become "above the gods."
He then asked the "Fool," "Respected Mr. 'Fool,' in the end times, only by becoming 'above the gods' can one have any initiative?"
The Fool simply gave a peaceful smile and made no response.
His mind was elsewhere, but he was thinking: It should be, probably, roughly that's how it is.
The other members all took a deep breath. Some thought that Mr. Fool had tacitly agreed, while others thought that Mr. Fool's reminder had another deeper meaning.
Only Odis thought to himself: This is the legendary "smiling without speaking" of "occupying the next house," a tactic of "taking over and then attacking."
There's a reason for that.
Seeing that no one was starting any new topics, Klein then announced the end of the tarot session.