"Do you know, Gaia? The growth of all things requires nourishment."
"The world draws strength from its own cycles and the void, while the gods draw strength through their Divine Offices from the symbols corresponding to them. One substance transforming into another through equivalent exchange—that is the unchanging law of this world."
"So?" Hearing Erebus, Gaia frowned. "Of course I know that."
"Even the plants I created need to draw nutrients from the earth. You don't need to teach me this. What does any of this have to do with life and souls?"
Erebus smiled faintly, still appearing unhurried. Perhaps due to his Divine Office, the Lord of Darkness greatly enjoyed the feeling of gradually unveiling secrets.
"Is that so? Then tell me, my sister. Plants draw nutrients from the earth, but where do the lives created by the gods obtain the strength to maintain their existence?"
"Can't you see?" Gaia felt this was yet another meaningless question. "They eat plants, or one another. They drink water to promote the balance of elements within their bodies. What's wrong with that?"
"Of course it's wrong," Erebus said curtly. "If life could not be divided, I would consider this perfectly normal. But since the body and soul can exist independently, why can one life consume the body of another, while its soul does not consume the soul of another?"
"If the soul has no process of 'feeding,' where does it obtain nourishment?"
"."
Gaia fell silent. She already vaguely understood what he was trying to say.
"The nourishment for the body's growth is water and plants, but the nourishment for the soul's growth is the body itself."
"It doesn't need anything else." Erebus's gaze grew somewhat profound. "Nurtured by the body, it directly borrows the intersection between the two within the domain