Chapter 142: Chapter 111 The Fourth Layer

“…I do not know, respected Mother Earth, I think no one dares to spy on the Father God’s whereabouts.”

“Perhaps he left on his own, perhaps… he has returned to the embrace of the world.”

Although it was somewhat hard to accept at the moment, and wondering how the situation had changed so drastically in such a short time, Zeus’s heart couldn’t help but flare with excitement, feeling the faint connection to the title of Divine King.

Unlike the previous epoch, even though the title of Divine King had now almost faded to nothing due to lavish squandering, it was indeed handed down by the previous Divine King himself, not directly usurped.

By comparison, Cronus had taken five hundred years to become the true Divine King, but Zeus would immediately become the new king as soon as he acquired it.

As for how to restore its power, that was a matter for another time. His father had set a good example for him, making it clear what kind of deeds would please the world.

It was just unfortunate that others, not just himself, but Hades and Poseidon as well, had also formed a connection with the Divine Authority.

Zeus gave a relieved glance at the God of the Ocean, who, supported by the primordial water goddess, had already fallen unconscious.

The two brothers were an easy matter, as their contributions paled in comparison to his own; perhaps some bargaining would make them abandon their vain hopes. But if his dear ‘father-in-law’ were unharmed now, no one knew if he would follow so-called ‘fate’ and support his rise to the throne.

After all, among the original six male Titans, the God of the Ocean and the God of the Sun had both revealed covetous glances at the title of Divine King to varying degrees.

And with his numerous followers, it went without saying whom Mother Earth would choose between her son and herself.

“Left yes,”

Gaia, to the side, paid no attention to the latter part of Zeus’s statement, dismissing the idea of ‘impacting greatness, returning to the world’ as mere fiction.

Turning her gaze to the distance, Gaia saw that the colliding Spirit Realm and the Realm of Lightness had suddenly calmed and begun to fade away silently. After all, once one party left, there was no longer any need for the other to continue.

“Indeed, it was those two…”

“Both you and I are the same. Even in the end, we cannot see clearly what truly happened.”

With a cold snort and a cryptic remark, Gaia did not care for the will of the other deities present, and turned to leave.

Her initial intention had been to entangle the ‘Divine King,’ waiting until his disguise was exhausted, to then see his true face.

But clearly, Gaia had overestimated her strength; she couldn’t entangle him at all.

Therefore, she needed to visit the Underworld to seek answers from her brother. Even though he most likely would not tell her the truth, Gaia still needed to seek an explanation from him.

At least, she had to figure out where Cronus had gone.

“Sigh”

“It’s over, Zeus.”

A flash of golden light, and Mother Earth’s figure also disappeared without a trace. Glancing furtively, Hades, who had been standing still from the beginning, looked at Eurybia. It had to be said, this goddess had made the most ridiculous choice twice in a row.

The sea gods of the Pontus lineage were never a match for those of the Ocean God lineage, and now, there was even less need to mention it.

“Indeed, it’s over.”

Zeus straightened his expression, forcing a smile onto his handsome, golden-haired face. Despite the hidden worries, he did not show them.

“My fellows, let’s return to Olympus for now, to celebrate our victory, if it can be called a victory.”

“I think everyone needs to relax a bit, and then we can together address the disasters of this world.”

There were still two enemies left unresolved: the Titan god Atlas, entangled with the Hekatonkheires on the western part of the continent, and Crius, the God of Meteorology. Even the Sky was still falling, showing no sign of stopping, but these were not the present focus.

The ownership of the Divine King title was the key issue at hand.

Thus, with their own thoughts, the deities all headed together towards the high mountains in the East.

The Spirit Realm, fourth layer.

Turning from void to reality, standing in the fourth layer of the Spirit Realm, the divine body of Laine began to slowly heal its fine cracks.

Though it was only for a brief moment, having borne the power of the interface with such ‘shallow’ divine power, Laine sustained no small injury.

Of course, given his timely withdrawal, such damage was not difficult to recover from.

There was no significant change from before: three cocoons of light hung suspended in mid-air, facing the crystals formed by the Death Origin Force, with no other traces present.

Standing here, Laine sensed the order of the present world. The old king had completely lost his place, and the new king, under his influence, pointed towards three gods, his position yet unsettled. This meant that the present time belonged neither to the Second Era nor to the Third Era.

“Erebus… truly decisive.”

Shaking his head lightly, although the primary objectives were achieved, the actions of The Dark Overlord still had an effect on Laine.

One of the most crucial points was that the ‘punishment’ from the will of the world would be somewhat weaker than anticipated.

Unlike other deities, Laine’s control over his authority was very precise. If he wanted, there was actually no need to cause such a disturbance, resulting in abnormal meteorology and the rerouting of mountains and rivers.

But he still did it, colliding with the gods in the most primitive way, all to fulfill the narrative, ‘The Divine King and the gods clashing, leading to the destruction of the present world.’

The price the Divine King paid was that the authority that could have lasted seven days was exhausted in a short period of time. What the gods would face, they would learn once the new king ascended.

This was also the choice Laine made when he realized that after stepping into powerful divine force, he could possess ‘half of the great’ power.

On one hand, he was testing how the rules of the present world reacted to such extraordinary powers. But as it turned out, Its tolerance was zero. From now on, every time Laine’s true body entered the present world, it would become a confrontation between the laws of the Spirit Realm and the present world, and this confrontation would grow stronger with each occurrence.

It instinctively rejected powerful beings; the more powerful the entity, the more evident the rejection. Towards Its own, It would choose a gentler weakening, but for outsiders, It would outright deny their entry.

In this situation, Laine thought of a simple solution: since I am restricted, then you all should be restricted as well. As long as everyone is brought to the same level, it’s as if none of us were restricted.

Thus, there was the collapse of Mount of the Gods, bathing the East Sea in sunlight. Even if The Dark Overlord had acted later, Laine had other measures ready to deploy.

“It’s fine, even if the constraints are fewer now, everything will come back once The King of All Monsters is born.”

“Unlike me, it will not talk rules with you.”

Looking towards the periphery of the Underworld, Laine saw the shimmer of Gaia’s figure in the fleeting Realm of Lightness, which had retracted to its original place.

It was not surprising that she did not seek him out first. After all, compared to Laine, her own brother was definitely more trustworthy to her.

But without even thinking about it, Laine didn’t believe Gaia would have gained anything, even though her actual contact with Erebus wasn’t much.

She was likely easily persuaded by him, for in both power and wisdom, they were not on the same level at all.

“And Nyx.”

“How strange, are we on good terms?”

Confused, Laine had not accounted for the Lady of the Night in this turn of the era’s collision.

She shouldn’t suddenly stand on the opposing side, but neither did she have any reason to aid him. Yet, in the midst of the clash with the domain of the Lord of Darkness, Laine sensitively noticed a familiar black skirt hem.

Although she ultimately did not take action, her presence there at that time in itself implied some underlying stance.

“Forget it, it’s normal to be puzzled.”

“The thought processes of Chaos deities are not something that just anyone can understand. I’ll leave that for later.”

Like Gaia, like the goddess of discord, and several other deities. They always manage to act in ways that, if not for later generations’ memories, ordinary people would have trouble comprehending.

Now with one more, Nyx, it doesn’t seem so strange anymore.

“Sigh—it’s about time.”

Laine withdrew his gaze, no longer paying attention to the various external matters.

The world at this moment must be very lively. Not only because of the aftereffects of the battle that had just ended but also because of the competition for the position of the new Divine King, though that was no longer his concern.

“Soon, you will have a new name.”

Looking towards the still chaotic fourth layer of the realm, Laine spoke softly.

The first layer of the Spirit Realm, Phantasmal Spirit Realm; the second layer of the Spirit Realm, True Spirit Realm, also known as the Communicating Spirit Realm; the third layer of the Spirit Realm, Dream Spirit Realm.

From today onwards, the fourth layer of the Spirit Realm will also have a name that belongs solely to it.