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“Mr. Laine, have you heard? Just three days ago, the entire Temple of the Goddess of Law collapsed.”

Rushing into Laine’s courtyard, Ande’s expression was somewhat urgent. He had stayed at home for the past two days without going out, and he hadn’t expected to hear such news the moment he stepped outside.

Over the years, studying drama under Laine had also allowed Ande to understand much of the history unknown to the common people, as well as the true power of deities.

The collapse of a deity’s temple, did it signify their dissatisfaction with humans? He came in search of the always knowledgeable and seemingly omniscient Laine for answers, but upon entering the courtyard, he found it devoid of anyone.

A layer of dust had settled on the tabletop, appearing to have been there for two days. Aside from the dust, there was nothing else but an exquisitely modeled wooden puppet.

“Mr. Laine?”

Still no response. The doors of the house were open, yet it was completely empty, and even the items Laine often used had vanished. Everything seemed to indicate that he had left this place, and it didn’t appear to be a temporary departure.

Instantly, a tremendous sense of loss welled up in Ande’s heart. He had anticipated today’s events, but now that they had actually happened, he felt somewhat at a loss.

Laine had mentioned more than once in conversations that he would one day leave this place. Only, in the past, Ande had thought that day was far off, but unexpectedly, it had turned out to be today.

“…Probably because of the temple’s collapse, Mr. Laine is, after all, a priest.”

Sighing, Ande looked at the puppet on the table.

This was perhaps the gift Mr. Laine left for him. He had previously mentioned that he would leave Ande a “gift beyond your imagination” before he departed.

Ande fell silent for a moment, then gently took hold of the puppet and turned to leave.

Whatever it was, it came from the elder who had taught him for decades, and he would definitely cherish it. However, in the next moment, Ande’s body froze in place.

As the puppet came into contact with his palm, an invisible ‘lock’ seemed to be undone. In the past, it had locked away anything ‘abnormal’ about Laine, with everyone subconsciously ignoring these under the influence of that power, but from this moment forward, it no longer affected Ande.

Accompanying this was a message about the puppet.

“This is—”

With widened eyes, Ande looked at the ‘toy’ in his hand. Just now, using the information he received from the message, he understood the secret contained within the puppet, which truly was beyond his imagination.

He didn’t know whether this message was true or false, but if it were true…

“Whew—Ande, don’t rush.”

“Your mental strength is not yet strong enough. According to the message, even though you could use external objects, you must first reach the ‘Legendary’ realm.”

Taking a deep breath, Ande spoke to himself.

In these years, in order to multitask with puppet control, Ande had learned the method of meditation. But as a mortal, he couldn’t break through barriers in a short time like a deity could, and the meditation he learned was really just that, devoid of other esoteric knowledge.

If the realm before Legendary was divided into four stages, he was now at the pinnacle of Third Order, still far from the transcendent realm.

Ande hadn’t been very concerned about power, but now it was different.

“Mr. Laine—no, Lord Laine was a deity?”

Murmuring to himself, Ande realized that his never-before-acknowledged teacher was likely not just any deity, but probably one stronger than the creator. After all, Prometheus once said the boundary between mortals and deities was unbreakable.

But now, it seemed that it was only because the creator wasn’t powerful enough.

Clutching the puppet, Ande calmed his excited emotions. Despite witnessing many of humanity’s less ‘good’ affairs over the years, he still retained kindness in his heart.

Therefore, although he had received a tremendous boon, he remained concerned about the collapse of the temple.

After all, it might signify the deities’ discontent with humans, and while he had something in his hand for the future, that was all it was—for the future.

“I should first seek out a priest I know, they should have some information.”

Making up his mind, Ande left Laine’s courtyard. Stepping over the threshold and glancing at the sky, he couldn’t help but note that today’s meteorology was indeed strange.

Dark clouds seemed to press down in the sky, with Silver Serpents dancing among them, especially prominent above the core of Aurora City, where the clouds were particularly thick.

An invisible oppression weighed on his mind, and Ande shook his head to dispel the feeling.

After all, that was the safest place for human tribes, and though he had never been there personally, Ande was well aware of what stood there.

It was the dwelling of the creator and the Temple of the Divine King.

······

The color of the sky had darkened, the clouds gathering even more, and the streets were devoid of people. In weather that looked like a heavy rain was imminent, everyone was reluctant to venture outside.

Scattered lights flickered in the now quiet human tribes, bringing a glimmer of light to the pitch-black night. After Momon left, Ossen donned a layer of black clothing and then silently stepped out of his room.