Separating the gods' humanity from their divinity would grant freedom of action to gods who had once been able only to operate in absolute accordance with the rules. It would allow them to strike one last time to protect this world when the divine calamity came—and allow them to end themselves.
To end themselves—that was the first freedom, and also the last, that the Night Lady had brought to the gods.
As Gaia had said, this would be the best possible choice for all living beings in the mortal world. The gods would resolve the divine calamity themselves, without placing the slightest burden upon mortals. Their fall would leave behind no residual contamination; the mutual annihilation of divinity and humanity would be far more thorough than any cleansing imposed by an outside force. This world could face the Magic Tide without concern, and neither the Alliance nor the Divine Authority Council would need to divide their attention over the divine calamity any longer.
But this was not the path Gawain had envisioned.
Naturally, the Three Goddesses did not miss the sudden darkening of Gawain's expression. Their eldest sister, Gaia, smiled gently. She knew what this mortal before her was thinking, but she shook her head. "The world has always been this way. The development of all things rarely proceeds as you wish. But compared to the civilizations that vanished season after season before us, we are already fortunate enough. At last, we have found a way to continue, and before the end arrives, we still have one chance to make a choice. Those before us did not even have that chance."
Yet Gawain's brow remained tightly furrowed. Beside him, Amber seemed to have suddenly thought of something. Her voice was full of doubt. "But does this really count as getting