Shura God said, "Of course. Your successor may be a stepping stone for my Great Treasure, but if she dares hurt him, I'll hold you responsible."
Rakshasa God rolled her eyes at Asura. His precious Great Treasure had caught the eye of a Divine King like Shura God, who was pouring everything into nurturing him. Nearly every opportunity the age of Douluo Continent had to offer had been handed to the boy. He got the meat and the soup, while everyone else was lucky to lick the bowl. Her own successor, meanwhile, had to wait until after his Great Treasure to become a god. She would receive no Divine Trial rewards—just a Divine Throne and a Divine Artifact.
And she was supposed to hurt his Great Treasure? Rakshasa God could not imagine how her successor could possibly manage it.
"I know, I know. I'll keep an eye on her until she becomes a god. Your Great Treasure won't suffer the slightest grievance," Rakshasa God said irritably. "Honestly, anyone who didn't know better would think he was your illegitimate son."
Then she leaned close to Shura God, sniffed him, and said, "Shura Gege, why don't we make a little treasure of our own right now?"
Shura God shoved her away. "Stop fooling around. Our positions are different now. What would people think of me if word got out? And don't speak to me in that sickening voice."
Black mist began seeping from Rakshasa God again. Shura God's expression turned solemn. "I promise. Once this is over, I'll have a little treasure with you. As many as you want. All right?"
The black mist around her subsided. "You said it."
"Of course. When I, Asura, give my word, I keep it. Now, it's getting late. You should go before someone catches on," Shura God said with righteous conviction.
Rakshasa God reluctantly left their private meeting place. Before she went, she stressed, "You'd better keep your word this time."
Shura God stood with his hands behind his back, watching her leave. Disgust crept across his face. He spat several times in her direction.
"Rakshasa, you've been tainted for ages. I, Shura God, am selfless and pure—a Law Enforcement Divine King who passes judgment on evil. How could I ever associate with a sinner like you? If my Great Treasure didn't still need you, would I have humbled myself before you?"
"Just wait. Once your successor commits evil in the Lower Realm and my Great Treasure judges her, I'll judge you along with her."
"Hmph. You want to roam the universe with me? As if you're worthy!"
With that, Shura God left as well.
In other worlds, opposing attributes were enemies with clear lines between them. Good and evil could not coexist, right and wrong could not compromise, and water and fire could not mix.
But in this romance-obsessed Douluo Universe, Goodness and Evil, Life and Destruction—opposing forces that would have fought to the death in almost any other universe—were not enemies. Instead, they fell in love, married, and became celebrated divine couples in the Divine Realm.
Of the Five God Kings before Huo Yuhao arrived, only Asura was alone.
Was Asura single? Of course not. He and Rakshasa had sprung from the same source, their powers both sustaining and opposing each other. In a universe obsessed with romance, that made them longtime lovers.
But their relationship was not public like those of Life and Destruction or Goodness and Evil. Rakshasa often spread evil and slaughter, using wicked thoughts to plunge the Lower Realm into chaos. Shura God would then appear just in time to deliver his Shura Judgment. In the eyes of the gods, the two were mortal enemies. Tell anyone that Asura and Rakshasa were a couple, and they would think you had gone mad.
Their standing in the Divine Realm differed, too. After enduring Shura Judgment time and again, Rakshasa God had only reached the peak of a First-level God, while Shura God had risen to the lofty rank of Divine King. Rakshasa God, who spread wicked thoughts and threw the world into chaos, had almost no friends in the Divine Realm and kept to herself. Shura God, with his reputation for strict impartiality and purity, was extremely popular.
Rakshasa God returned to her Divine Temple, a heavy gloom weighing on her heart.
She had loved Shura Gege unwaveringly since the day she came into being. But even if she had wanted to deceive herself, Rakshasa God had long known that Shura Gege had changed.
Years ago, Shura God had wanted to strengthen his authority. He had come up with a plan: Rakshasa God would be his hidden hand, doing all his dirty work, while he appeared afterward as a noble, shining figure to clean up the mess.
Loving someone meant giving everything for him, didn't it? So Rakshasa God had become Shura God's hidden hand. She spread chaos through the world at his direction, only for him to expose her and deliver Shura Judgment again and again. Even so, she had never regretted it.
Yet the higher Shura Gege climbed and the brighter his image became, the more he distanced himself from her. He wanted to sever all ties, as though she were something filthy. If he had not wanted to bring his Great Treasure into this world, Shura Gege would not have visited her for decades—tens of thousands of years by Lower Realm reckoning.
Thinking of the successor Shura Gege had devoted so much effort to, Rakshasa God could not help feeling a twinge of jealousy. An idea came to her.
Should I scheme against his Great Treasure?
Rakshasa shuddered. She had schemed against Shura God's chosen successors before to protest his treatment of her. Those successors had never truly mattered to Shura Gege, so she had gotten away with it. But judging by his attitude toward this Great Treasure, if she dared scheme against his precious protégé, she and Shura God would never mend their relationship. He might even kill her.
"Forget it. I've been his hidden hand for so many years. One more time won't make a difference." Rakshasa God activated Divine Vision to check on her successor. "Ah, my poor successor. You're unlucky to have been chosen by me, but I can't help it. Shura Gege made me a promise."
The instant Divine Vision opened, Rakshasa God's expression changed. Her Divine Armor appeared at once.
Without her Divine Armor, Rakshasa God possessed a seductive beauty. The moment it appeared, that beauty vanished, leaving her with a blue-green face and fearsome fangs.
She summoned the Rakshasa Demon Scythe and roared, "Who was it? Someone has plotted against my successor. Damn them!"
If her successor had been caught in a scheme, she could not complete the task Shura Gege had given her. And if she failed, she could not be with him. At the thought, the black mist around Rakshasa God thickened.