Chapter 1536: “The Plan”

“This is Amber, my bodyguard.”

Gawain’s calm voice broke the tense silence, giving the hesitant Amber behind him a bit of courage. She looked up at the three half-human, half-deer goddesses before her and forced a smile that was more pitiful than comforting. Raising her hand awkwardly, she greeted, “Hello…”

The Earth Goddess Gaia’s lips twitched visibly, her smile even more tearful-looking than Amber’s, but she returned the greeting nonetheless: “Hello…”

Amber immediately perked up at the respectful “hello,” her whole demeanor lifting as if buoyed by the word. Gawain caught the sudden change in her expression and discreetly tapped her shoulder. “Don’t get cocky. She clearly meant the person behind you.”

He then shifted his attention back to the Earth Goddess, clearing his throat to draw her focus. His gaze lingered on her face, hesitating before finally speaking: “Maybe you three should wipe the blood off your faces first? And tend to those head wounds…”

From the moment they met, Gawain had noticed the blood streaming down the goddesses’ faces. His mind raced with countless wild images. The three of them had come running here, bearing fresh head injuries and bloodied faces. Honestly, the scene was as bizarre as it was unsettling. Gawain prided himself on having seen a lot in his life, but this kind of surreal, otherworldly sight was rare—even comparable only to the strange case of the Dragon God turning into a tea egg spirit. But even that was a gradual transformation, not like these goddesses showing up with what looked like second-degree wounds.

What Gawain didn’t know was that a similar conversation had happened not long ago. When Amon heard his suggestion, he raised an eyebrow instinctively. Gaia, clearly the more even-tempered one, maintained her gentle, approachable smile.

“These wounds are the result of shadow divine power penetrating us,” she explained. “They can only heal with time. But don’t worry—though they look severe, they’re only superficial injuries. Nothing to be concerned about.”

Gawain wanted to say, “You might not care, but the rest of us do,” but he held back. He had a feeling that if this topic dragged on, things would only get weirder. Meanwhile, Gaia’s explanation confirmed the clues he’d been piecing together recently, allowing him to focus on the matter at hand.

“So… you’ve indeed encountered Lady Night, and these injuries are from that encounter?”

The three goddesses exchanged glances. The Harvest Goddess nodded gently. “You know more than you realize. Lord Amon said you might be the wisest and bravest mortal in this world, and the one who understands the affairs of the gods best. It seems he was right.”

“I probably know more than you think,” Gawain said with a smile, trying to ignore the unsettling image of these beautiful ladies bleeding from their heads. “For example, I know that the three of you here aren’t the complete ‘Fertility Triad’—you’re the human halves of the triad, right? Lady Night used some method to sever your humanity, while your divinity remains fixed to your divine seats, responding to the mortal world like a receiver.”

Eve finally showed a flicker of surprise. After a moment’s thought, she nodded. “That’s correct. We didn’t expect you to know that much. Looks like we can skip a lot of explanations and get straight to the point.”

“Then let’s get to it. Why have you come here?” Gawain’s expression turned serious as he looked at the three goddesses. “If our guess is right, you’ve already been trying to contact the mortal world. Those ‘phantom plants’ around the edge of this courtyard—are those your doing? Among the gods of the world, you seem to be the first to take action.”

“That’s right,” Flora, the Spring Goddess, nodded. “We already mentioned this to Lord Amon. It’s because mortals in the world have taken active steps that the gods’ chains have loosened slightly. As soon as we sensed this loosening, we made a bold attempt. But at that time, the loosening was still slight. All we could do was leave some traces outside the divine realm. The Shadow Realm acts as a buffer between the mortal world and the divine realm, and since Lord Amon’s power is connected to ours, we chose this place.”

“Our idea was simple: to send a faint signal to the mortal world, letting you know your efforts were having some effect. Lady Night’s appearance… was a surprise to us.”

Flora glanced briefly at Amber before quickly looking away, then turned back to Gawain with a serious expression. “According to Lady Night, it was the ‘Divine Authority Council’s’ proper ‘operation’ that created a break in the chains binding the gods, allowing her to intervene. She amplified the impact of mortal resistance on the divine chains, severing the connection between our divine and human halves.”

“How exactly did she do that?” Gawain asked the question that had been nagging at him. He was now certain Lady Night’s solution was a blunt, straightforward ‘stick to the face’ approach. But how could such a crude method successfully sever the divine from the human? Considering the long-term consequences, he had to know now. “Did she really… I’m going to be blunt—did she just beat you all up?”

Even Gaia, usually the calmest of the three, showed a flicker of an odd expression. Her lips twitched as she tried to maintain her composure. “In terms of process… yes, it was something like that. But she explained a convincing principle—she used a device called an ‘Anchor Point Generator,’ a kind of Pathfinder technology, to ‘cut’ us. According to Lady Night, the Anchor Point Generator can impact thought projections, and the divine and human halves react very differently to this impact.”

“The divine half operates according to reason and rules. It tries first to maintain the divine office, so its priority is to ‘protect the stable connection between itself and the divine seat.’ The human half, however, is driven by richer emotions and reacts more complexly and intensely to threats. Its priority is to ‘avoid danger and minimize damage.’ Normally, the divine and human halves are bound together, with the human half unable to resist the divine. But now, since the Divine Authority Council has cracked the chain, the powerful impact from the Anchor Point Generator is enough to tear the two halves apart…”

Gawain was stunned. He hadn’t expected it could be explained this way. For a moment, he didn’t know whether to marvel more at the Pathfinders or Lady Night. After thinking it over, he concluded both were incredibly impressive. Still, he couldn’t help muttering, “Did you all just accept that explanation?”

Gaia was silent for a moment, but Flora blurted out, “What choice did we have? She explained after she hit us—and the hitting was already done…”

“Flora, don’t say that,” Gaia quickly chided her sister. “Lady Night’s method did work. Regardless of the process, her help is undeniable.”

She then turned to Gawain. “Lady Night said she was confident in this method from the start. Years ago, the Pathfinders used a similar technique to pull her back from a semi-mad state. Their technology was more advanced and efficient, and she borrowed that method somewhat.”

Gawain rubbed his temples. He’d just learned more about the ancient secrets of the Pathfinder era and the truth behind Lady Night’s transformation into the ‘Star Map Keeper.’ But somehow, he wished he hadn’t. At least before, he could imagine a fantastical, epic world. Now, Lady Night’s blunt approach had shattered that image, and he had to discuss serious matters with the Fertility Triad while they bled from their heads…

“Anyway, the result is that Lady Night succeeded,” Gawain finally composed himself. “So what does she want to do next? Or rather, what does she want you to do? And what does she need from us?”

The three goddesses fell silent for a moment. Then the youngest, Flora, broke the silence.

“She wants us… to prepare for suicide.”

Gawain’s eyes widened in shock. Even Amber, who had been quiet until now, gasped, “What? Did you just say prepare for suicide?!”

At that moment, Gawain’s mind raced. Countless clues and pieces of information suddenly snapped into place. What had once been a vast, fragmented puzzle now formed a clear line connecting everything. In stunned realization, he understood exactly what Lady Night intended.

“Is she asking you to destroy your divine halves during the divine catastrophe, to die together with them?” He turned sharply to Gaia, the eldest sister. “She wants to free your human halves… so you can end yourselves that way!?”

The goddesses remained silent. Nearby, Amon, who had been quietly listening, let out a soft sigh. That sigh made Gawain realize something. He looked at the former Nature God.

“You already knew?”

“I suspected it—vaguely,” Amon said, lifting his head, his voice low and steady. “I have witnessed the entire ‘life cycle’ of a god—from birth to peak, from freedom to bondage, from ‘fall’ to rebirth. I understand better than anyone the nature and power of the chains that bind the gods, what gods can and cannot do… Self-termination is the greatest freedom Lady Night can offer the gods in such a dire, urgent situation.”

He lowered his gaze, his crystal-clear eyes quietly fixed on Gawain. “And it’s the only safe option. At the critical moment of resisting the demonic tide, when every nation has exhausted its resources, when industrial capacity and social functions are pushed to their limits to support the planetary shield, even the slightest additional pressure from a divine catastrophe would be fatal. I know you have some backup plans, Gawain. You always have an ‘extra card.’ That card might increase this civilization’s chances of survival. But the cost… is probably something even you are unwilling to bear.”

“And even if we pay such a price, how much does that really increase the chances of civilization surviving? And if it does survive, how far can the last survivors possibly rebuild this world? Can a handful of survivors truly endure on a scorched earth left behind by a divine catastrophe? A magical tide can last for half a year, and the divine disaster begins the moment the tide arrives, turning the entire world into a wasteland in a very short time. During this half-year of desolation, can the homeworld’s barrier really remain stable and operational as you plan?”

“So, when the Three Sisters of Abundance appeared before me and told me they had achieved the separation of humanity and divinity, I immediately guessed what Lady Night intended to do.”

Gawain took a slow breath. At that moment, he suddenly recalled a casual conversation he once had with Amber. They had been discussing whether there was any way for mortals to resolve the divine disaster crisis with minimal cost when the final rebellion of the magical tide was triggered, or at least to complete their coming-of-age rites as quickly as possible. They had seriously considered every possibility, but in the end, they only reached one conclusion—half in jest—

It would be better to hope the gods would just collectively commit suicide.

Now, the gods had decided to do exactly that.

And this conclusion was no longer a joke.

“Lady Night said the coming-of-age ritual must be endured by the mortals of this era themselves. She does not belong to this age; her connection to the mortal world is too weak. The fact that she could intervene to separate our divinity from our humanity is already the greatest breakthrough she could achieve by exploiting loopholes in the rules,” Eve said calmly. “The self-annihilation of a god is a ‘clean and residue-free’ method of disposal. It leaves no contamination or lingering echoes caused by external interference, and it won’t have a major impact on the mortal world. If we act quickly, it won’t even cause much shock to mortal believers—just a moment, and they will no longer hear our voices.”

“Wait, no—” Amber finally couldn’t hold back and spoke up again, eyes wide with disbelief. “You just accepted that? She told you to kill yourselves to solve the final rebellion, and you just…”

“Divine disasters one after another, wasteland wars, sentinels, the reverse tide… mortals have barely had a moment to breathe these past years,” Gaia gently shook her head, her voice soft as she interrupted Amber. “This isn’t about acceptance or refusal. It’s a choice we have no option but to make. Though we are trapped in our divine roles, we see the world through the eyes of our believers. We understand the situation far better than you do.

“I don’t know about the other gods, but we sisters have discussed this seriously. The mortal nations of the world now need to focus all their strength on surviving this coming-of-age crisis. Mortals no longer have the capacity to bear the pressure brought by divine disasters. So… we will kill ourselves.”

(End of chapter)