Myths Reawakened

Wayne felt wronged. He proceeded to explain honestly where the thoughts in his right eye came from.

“Ah, so the Holy Maiden of Death believed you were the chosen one of Death when she saw that the Law of Death couldn’t hurt you. Thus she entrusted you with the goddess’s thoughts. She wanted no part in any battle, with her heart fully devoted to slacking off. She moved into your place and has been receiving your financial support ever since.”

“That’s right.”

“Rognes, the former Death Knight, believed that you were the chosen one of Death when he saw that you had Aztimor’s thoughts. Thus, he entrusted the goddess’s thoughts in his possession to you. That’s why the thoughts in your right eye are so powerful.”

“That’s exactly it!”

Wayne nodded. As expected of the villainess, she figured everything out after his explanation.

Thud!

Wayne grabbed her long legs and climbed back up, staring at Ines with exasperation. Vichy had long legs, yes. He had measured them himself. He didn’t need a demonstration.

“It’s pure happenstance that you acquired Aztimor’s thoughts, and you don’t even know her? Do you expect me to believe such nonsense?” Ines poked him in the chest. “Be honest with me. I’m angry enough to end things between us.”

You’re difficult to appease, Goddess!

Wayne let out a long sigh and snapped his fingers, instructing Anastasia and Mona to pin down the Goddess of Darkness’s hands.

Later, he managed to pacify Ines, but not completely. She abandoned an exhausted Vichy and slipped back into Anastasia’s body. She kept switching between vessels so that She could win and monopolize everything with Her divine authority.

It was Mona’s first time meeting Ines in person. She was struck by Her unorthodox personality and couldn’t help glancing at Vichy, who lay completely prone on the bed.

What do you think of your own goddess?

The creampuff named Vichy was unable to answer the question, her eyes glazed and her body twitching every once in a while.

“This is your last chance. Tell me the truth. If you keep lying to me, I’ll assume that Aztimor matters more to you than I do!” Ines warned in an icy voice. Beneath Her fierce displeasure was a wounded feeling She couldn’t put into words. Being betrayed by both Her closest friend and lover wasn’t an easy pill to swallow.

Wayne was speechless. He was telling the truth! But Ines had such a calculative mind that when She put Herself in others’ shoes, She believed everyone had a plan. That was the source of Her distrust.

What to do?

“Speak!”

“But it is a coincidence.” Wayne spread his hands. “If you don’t believe me, I’ll go to the Divine Realm of Darkness and repeat the explanation to you.”

Ines frowned deeply, holding his gaze. She remained unconvinced.

“Really? You won’t even buy that?”

“Should I? You’re too good at fooling women.”

“...”

She was so right that Wayne couldn’t protest.

She couldn’t make up Her mind no matter how She thought about it. Displeased, She pushed Wayne down and straddled him.

After an intense fight, Ines lay on Wayne’s chest with Her eyes narrowed, murmuring, “I’ll bet on you being innocent this once. Do not make me regret it, or... hmm...”

The kiss ended. She threw Wayne a disdainful glance before hurling a clump of thoughts at him.

The thoughts belonged to Aztimor, the Goddess of Death.

White foam rushed into Wayne and became pale at an observable rate. He injected the thoughts into his right eye. Now, he had acquired the thoughts that Aztimor had entrusted to Her knights, Holy Maiden, and best friend. Moreover, Her two incarnations, Monica and Julia, were Wayne’s too.

It was fate!

Of course, it was a fated misfortune to Aztimor. If She were awake, She would strangle Her knight, Holy Maiden, and best friend with Her own hands.

Wayne swallowed Aztimor’s thoughts and said curiously, “Ines, why would you have Az—”

“Huh?!”

“Ines, why would you have the Goddess of Death’s thoughts? I know you’re friends, but... doesn’t She trust you too much?” Wayne said in disbelief. When the goddesses all had private chat groups between them for under-the-table talks, he couldn’t believe that such pure friendship still existed.

On second thought, Siluk and Kaleb were also quite close. They might as well be sharing pants. Elian, the Goddess of Nature, was the only one with no friends. No one cared about Her but Herself.

“Who knows why she did it? Perhaps it’s her scheme!” Ines closed Her eyes. “That woman always stays quiet and pretends to be in deep thought, so I thought she was a good, straightforward girl. That’s why I’ve been taking care of her and protecting her. But it turns out she’s been seducing my pet all this time.”

Actually, Death came first.

Wayne didn’t voice that thought. “I thought Az—the Goddess of Death is dead, but She’s made preparations, hasn’t She? What is Her plan? What conditions must She meet to come back to life?”

“How should I know?” Ines groused with resentment. “I’m just a fool, a silly woman who deserves to be deceived.”

“Don’t say that. A silly woman is adorable!”

Wayne didn’t even wait for Ines to demonstrate Anastasia’s long legs before flipping himself off the bed obediently.

“I’m serious. I don’t know the Goddess of Death, and I’ve only acquired Her thoughts through a series of misunderstandings. Like earlier, you gave Her thoughts to me because of your misunderstanding.”

He held Ines and whispered in Her ear, “You’re my one and only goddess, Ines. The other goddesses don’t even compare to your toenail.”

Ines’s lips curled up. It took Her genuine effort to keep Herself from smiling.

“Keep going. Who told you to stop?”

“Alright...” Wayne uttered more secondhand lines, touching his eye. “Death is your ally, isn’t She? The two of you have your own plan. Tsk, I remember you saying that the risk was so great that you wouldn’t invest in me alone. Now it seems that you’re bearing the greatest sunk cost. You cannot pull out now.”

Ines glanced at him. “Pleased?”

“I feel like I can enter the Divine Realm of Darkness now!”

“Not now. I worry that you won’t be able to leave...” Ines poked him in the forehead, letting out a sigh. “I don’t know what your relationship with Aztimor is, nor do I know why you tell the truth now. Insecurity is a terrible feeling. Don’t disappoint me, or on Judgment Day, I’ll destroy you even if that’ll destroy myself.”

Wayne nodded solemnly. He hadn’t even met Aztimor, so he could say with confidence that there was no relationship between them.

“Tell me, why did you open up today?”

“I need the coordinates of the Underworld...”

Wayne explained his plan. He felt uncomfortable if he even went a day without evolving. Upon acquiring power, he wanted greater power. Death was his best option.

“Do you really have nothing to do with her?” Ines said in surprise. “Or are you trying to fool me into entering the Underworld so that Aztimor and you can ambush me together? Are you the real degenerate partners in crime?”

That was a loaded response. Darkness was quite self-aware about the role She played. Still, since She was attractive, he would refrain from making the comment. “Congratulations, you’ve betrayed Death and handed Her thoughts to me because of a misunderstanding.”

“Um...” Ines panicked a little, but then She put on a sweet smile. “Let’s exchange. If you just returned Aztimor’s thoughts to me, I wouldn’t have betrayed her.”

“She’s already been turned into my shape.”

“...”

Az—ti—mor—

Ines shouted Her bestie’s name in Her mind, begging for Her forgiveness. When She didn’t respond, Ines nodded in confirmation. Aztimor was as shy as ever, even expressing Her forgiveness in silence.

Ines snickered inwardly, still only half convinced. Raising an eyebrow, She said, “Give it a good thought. Aren’t you worried that I’ll give you the coordinates of the Divine Realm of Darkness rather than the Underworld?”

“Why would I be worried?” Wayne said adoringly. “At worst, I would be locked up in a basement in your Divine Realm. You aren’t going to hurt me, are you?”

Ines narrowed Her eyes, giving him two sets of coordinates. With a wicked smile, She said, “One leads to Death, and one leads to Darkness. You’ll get to choose your fate and determine if you’ll survive.”

Her thoughts departed then, cutting off Anastasia’s summons.

Wayne stared for a moment. Both sets of coordinates pointed to an unknown location in the Astral Plane.

“Tsk, the villainess is too hot...”

He didn’t immediately set out. He decided to recruit a powerful teammate just in case. Turning around to look at Mona, he shook his head slightly. The risk was too great for him to bring his dear secretary. He thought of someone else.

“Mikhael, my viceroy, it’s time for you to show your loyalty to the Anointed One.”

“Great Anointed One, you—” Mona’s voice turned icy. “Good work. Your nightlife sure is colorful!”

“Hesione, perfect timing!”