Creating Life

In the Great Hall, Nereus was still expressing his opinion.

Many gods actually did not care where souls belonged, and at present, they did not understand what value souls had. Thinking that they would not have to pay any price either way, they chose to sit back and watch.

Moreover, Nereus's subsequent opinion did sound quite reasonable at first.

"Everyone, souls are merely creations of divine offices. They are not precious things. To His Highness Ryan, they are like seawater to me or rocks to His Highness Urea—insignificant in themselves. As long as too many are not created, they will not be a burden."

"Besides, I hear that His Highness Ryan also holds the Divine Office of Memory? From that perspective, the souls of created beings should belong to each god themselves."

Several gods nodded slightly. At least regarding the latter point, quite a few of them showed expressions of agreement.

The souls of mortal beings contained memories, and no god wanted their secrets known by others. Perhaps one day, through carelessness, they might mention something in front of mortals that those mortals should never have known.

"But you can bestow divinity."

Listening to the gods' discussion, the Goddess of Justice spoke.

"Making too many created beings immortal is also a burden for gods, but a few are different."

"As long as those you take a liking to become immortal, there will naturally be no issue of their souls returning."

Faced with Themis's suggestion, the gods fell silent. It was not that none of them had thought of this. It was simply that those who had thought of it had not pointed it out. After all, the souls being sacrificed were not theirs.

"Try again."

In the end, a god suggested, "They are only a few souls. Perhaps His Highness Ryan will change his mind?"

Once this suggestion was made, some gods agreed, while more chose to tacitly accept it. This time, however, Iapetus refused to go again.

He had already served as an envoy once and had obtained a fairly good result, so the gods did not force him. Instead, they sent the God of the West Wind, Zephyrus.

Although the Wind Gods and the Star Gods were siblings, the blood ties of the Khaos world were genuinely not taken seriously by many gods. Compared with their maternal grandfather, they felt closer to Crios, who governed meteorology. Thus, even though the Star God faction had already returned to the sky with Hyperion, the Four Wind Gods still chose to remain.

After accepting the appointment, Zephyrus departed immediately. He transformed into an invisible current of air and hurried toward the Underworld Soil through the cracks in the earth. But this time, more than half a month passed. When the Wind God returned, he angrily declared that no god had paid him any attention at all.

He had spent more than ten days in front of the Underworld Moon, exhausting every method to find an entrance to the Spirit World. The result was obvious, so he had no choice but to return the way he had come.

"There is no need to send anyone else." The God King finally spoke. He had known this would be the result.

Only these foolish fellows would think that Ryan was willing to grant souls to life because of the gods' demands. As early as when Themis had seen the Spirit World Lifeforms, he had already begun to question that assumption.

The God King was certain that Ryan was pleased to see life appear, but he definitely wanted something else in return. Even so, Cronus had merely watched the gods' futile efforts from the sidelines. Now, seeing the Wind God return empty-handed, Cronus could not help feeling a strange sense of delight.

Only the wisdom of the God King could reveal the true nature of certain gods, rather than leaving him like them, still unaware that there was a god capable of devouring sources.

If Ryan had been there, he would have told Cronus that this was the superiority of being the only one awake among all the drunkards, the only one pure in a corrupted world.

"The Lord of Spirituality ought to possess ownership of all souls. That is the right granted to him by his Divine Office."

Cronus swept his gaze over the gods and spoke unhurriedly:

"So if no one is willing to try using his 'power' to change this outcome, then so be it."

"Five hundred years from now, we will go together to seek the Life Treasure Bottle from the Earth Mother. We will use it to create the bodies of living beings, and then have His Highness Ryan grant them souls."

"Then let it be so." Okeanos sighed.

Although he was also very interested in souls, it was not enough to make him do anything for them. In the end, he did not really understand what significance the existence of souls had.

As for Cronus's mention of five hundred years from now, he was not surprised by that. The Sun God's son would replace him in driving the sun, and this had already been decided. Although everyone knew that even five hundred years later, Helios would still be no match for his father, this God King was probably planning to use the opportunity to do something.

The father of many Star Gods was Astraeus, the eldest son of Crios, the God of Meteorology. If the God King also brought another Sun God under his command, then even the other Titans would have to acknowledge that he had the right to interfere in the starry sky.

"Then let it be decided."

"We will each create the life we desire and separately possess ownership of them."

"The gods on land will create those on land, and the gods of the sea will create those in the sea. They will have nothing to do with one another."

The gods nodded one after another. The God King and the Lord of the Outer Sea were unwilling to take the lead, so naturally, they would not do anything unnecessary.

The matter of life had been settled, and the banquet should have come to an end. But at the very end, one of Cronus's proposals aroused the gods' interest.

He wanted to create a special species, one resembling gods but without divinity.

"God King Your Majesty, is it really necessary for all the gods to pool their strength to create a species?"

"Of course it is." Cronus smiled. "I plan to imitate the form of gods and create a race that worships us."

"Even with the Life Treasure Bottle, none of us are gods skilled at creation. No one can accomplish such a feat alone. But if we join forces, this lifeform may be born."

"I agree." Iapetus was the first to support him.

When he had first proposed creating life, it was precisely because his strength was insignificant among the gods. Compared with displaying his authority before a group of bizarrely shaped lifeforms, he would rather have some beings similar to himself, yet far weaker.

"Would creating lifeforms like us damage the dignity of the gods?" a god asked.

"No. They will 'die,' but we will not. Although I have yet to see what exactly 'death' is."

Heavenly Queen Rhea's words made the gods nod. This goddess rarely spoke, but since it was her husband's proposal, she still voiced her support.

After surveying the gods, Cronus nodded in satisfaction. He did not care what Ryan thought about 'souls.' Bringing the earth alive under his rule could likewise raise the authority of the God King.

Themis's actions had given him some inspiration. Although that fellow who lived in the Spirit World was full of schemes and tricks, as long as they did not target him, there were still benefits to be gained.

As for his final proposal, in this regard, he had actually reached the same conclusion as Iapetus.

As King of the Gods, his status among the gods was still inferior to that of the Lord of the Outer Sea and his two uncles. Even if the Sun God's Divine Office had not been divided, Theia still needed several more years to reach Great Divine Power. Otherwise, Hyperion might even have had a greater presence than him.

Under such circumstances, creating some living beings resembling the gods and watching them prostrate themselves before him in worship was not a bad choice.

On the other hand, his divine palace also needed other lifeforms. As things stood, even serving food and wine required the gods to do it themselves. Cronus likewise hoped to have some creatures that suited the gods' aesthetic tastes handle these trivial tasks for him.

"Since everyone has no objections," Cronus said at last, "then today's gathering will end here."

"Five hundred years from now, any god who wishes to participate may go to the East Sea Coast. We will then visit the Earth Mother together."

"Creating life is not a simple matter. I imagine all of you will certainly need some time to prepare."