"It was not that an evil god descended into a shell, but that the shell gave birth to an evil god."
The room fell silent, and Theus felt his thoughts twist into a knot.
This was completely different from what he had imagined. He had thought evil gods came into the world through some form of descent, after all, he often heard phrases like "summoning an evil god" and "the descent of an evil god."
But according to Chloe, it was not a matter of first having an evil god and then finding a way to bring it into the world. Instead, an evil god was produced within a shell, like filling a boot with water.
Did evil gods not originally exist?
Did summoning grant them existence?
Why did this method feel so familiar? Theus suddenly experienced a strong sense of déjà vu. After thinking back for a while, he abruptly shuddered.
He remembered. There really was something very similar to evil gods.
Machine Souls.
When Monica summoned Machine Souls, she made souls arise within steel, rather than stuffing the soul of a sea serpent into steel.
He had even specifically told Monica not to treat Machine Souls the way one treated animals, but to regard them as machines.
Souls born in machines, evil gods born in flesh...
Just what, just what—
"Just what is an evil god!?"
Theus stared fixedly at Chloe. Never before had he craved an answer so desperately.
"Hey, after telling you all this, aren't you feeling unwell?"
Chloe was pressing a hand to her temple. The firelight in her eyes flickered erratically, making her seem like a moving hearth in the dim room.
"I've said too much already and suffered some pollution. Let me rest for a moment, let me rest."
Her condition was clearly