Ari

Chapter 63: The Tale of the Original Gods of Light and Darkness

Tora held my hand from under the table, squeezing it lightly while caressing it a few times to comfort me so I suddenly came back to my senses.

I looked at her and saw her confused about my reaction, but still worried about my gloomy expression.

"I see... How about the god named Sephtis?" My brother asked.

"Oh... The god of death... There were tales that he was the real father of one of the twin goddesses and it was in fact his curse that made the twin goddesses fuse once in a while, causing chaos on our lands. He threw it as vengeance for being defeated by his twin brother named Lev." Jael responded while feeling a little frightened.

"Wait! Did I hear it correctly? You said Lev?" Dillon asked abruptly.

"Yes, you did. His name was erased all throughout the history of the beastman world, but my ancestors have never forgotten the name of the first ruler even after his death. Would you like to hear the tale of the origin of our world?" Jael asked.

They all nodded eagerly so I just followed their lead even though I already read that part in the ancient stones.

Jael explained the tale similar to some of the information engraved on the ancient stones.

It is said that the world was created by a supreme being. He is the father of all the gods and goddesses as well as the creator of all the living and nonliving in the world of beastmen. He entrusted the world to his favorite daughter Herastia or also known as Hera, who was the goddess of the sky and is now the queen goddess of the beastman world and the Nirvana.

The twin gods, Lux and Gau, both fell in love with her and begged the Supreme Being day and night to allow them to be Hera's spouse. They were then turned into minor gods and were asked to duel one another. Their powers were not yet altered, but their names were engraved in their souls as a mark of their identity as minor gods, while removing the divine prestige that was only vested to the gods. The divine prestige has an equivalent responsibility that is related to the power that a god or goddess possesses. The balance of the power of each opposing element is necessary, because a minor imbalance can cause chaos in the mortal realm of the beastman world.

It was written down that whoever wins on the duel shall remain as a minor god, and shall have the goddess Hera. The two of them shall give birth to a new generation of god or goddess who will bear the responsibility over the power of both the sun and the moon. The winner will also become the first ruler of the mortal realm in the beastman world and the official consort to the queen of Nirvana. The loser shall be given a new divine prestige and become the god of death who will rule the abyss alone and guide their souls while crossing over into the path of cleansing and reincarnation.

The minor god Lux won the duel and was conferred the name Lev, the first ruler of the beastman world. On the other hand, Gau became the god of death and was named Sephtis.

The Supreme Being gave him a few days to calm down and accept the result of the duel. He was devastated and furious, saying that it was unfair that his weak twin won. The duel was not a fight of their strength. The two of them entered the 'Bridge of Trial' and were strictly monitored by the Supreme Being with Hera on his side.

The Bridge of Trial is a place or a dimension that the Supreme Being made to test his children before conferring their respective prestige and authority. Hera was the one who aced all the levels of the trial making her become the favorite daughter of the Supreme Being. The said dimension is also used as a punishment to any gods or goddesses who commit sins and chaos. The more evil and selfish their hearts are, the harder it is to pass the trial.

It was a fact that Gau didn't able to pass the heightened level of the Bridge of Trial, causing him to lose from his twin brother Lux

The minor god Lev and the queen Hera gave birth to the twins. However, Jael didn't know that it was written in the stones that one of the twins has both power of the sun and the moon causing imbalance to Nirvana every time they fuse together. Arie possesses both the power of the moon and the sun. The power of the moon within her was suppressed by the goddess Hera upon her awakening and prestige inauguration to prevent further calamities. However, the fusing of the two caused a fluctuation of the power of the recently conferred sun goddess since the goddess Ayla bears the power of the moon and was also conferred as the goddess of the moon.

The only clue that we learned was that Sephtis seemed to have a grudge at the first ruler named Lev. I felt discouraged thinking about my father. It was quite getting clear that the minor god named Lev, whom they were talking about and my father Lev, could be the same person. I was feeling distressed, knowing that the people whom I needed to face were gods and goddesses.

"Well... About the ancient stone in the central hall... Do you happen to know what was written on it?" I asked curiously.

"No... I have long been wanting to know what was written on the stones. My ancestors used to tell me that it was a tale regarding the gods and goddesses. I have long been searching for anyone who could decipher the engraved characters on the stones. Unfortunately, not even one of those who tried succeeded." Jael answered in a low voice.

"I-I think I c-can understand what was written on the stone." I mumbled while stuttering due to shyness and anxiety.

Tora stroked my back as if she was helping me to relax while the others were looking at me with worried eyes.