The Future of Gods Begins to Turn

Inside the room.

Thor stood behind her, his gaze calm as still water. His attention did not linger on the girl's body, but instead pierced straight through her skin, settling deep within—

Upon that ancient, unchanging soul that bore everything.

In his perception, that soul shone with a pure and immense divine radiance, like amber solidified within the long river of time.

It lacked the tangled, intertwined threads of "past" causality common to mortal souls, nor could he see any trajectory pointing toward a "future."

Everything was clear, stable, and devoid of impurities, presenting a state of inhuman perfection.

It was the quintessential core of a god's soul.

The girl before him was no mortal, but a god—or more accurately, she was [Beauty Goddess] Freya herself.

The patron deity of one of the two strongest Familia in Orario.

She had simply used some form of transformation magic to alter her appearance.

Most gods could not recognize Syr, with only a few capable of seeing through the disguise, much like Loki had the previous night.

Thor weighed the situation in his mind.

My strength has only just begun to recover; can I successfully bestow a Blessing?

The gods had chosen to descend to the lower world a thousand years ago out of boredom, bringing the [Blessing] to the adventurers of Orario.

In order to increase their so-called amusement and better experience life, these gods voluntarily discarded their divine power to endure the hardships and inconveniences of mortals.

Thor understood this behavior.

For a race that did not know how to create, a long life was indeed tedious and dull.

However, it would be inaccurate to say that the Syr before him was the god's true form.

Because gods did not possess bodies in the true sense; they were collections of concepts and faith, impossible to truly "kill."

In the lower world, if gods were killed, they would be sent back to the Heaven, forbidden from descending again.

Even in the Heaven, if a god were killed, they would not truly die; they would simply enter a 10,000-year resurrection period.

In the Heaven, some gods were so bored they would even voluntarily enter the resurrection period just for fun.

The Syr before him possessed a god's soul, while her body was little different from that of a mortal.

It was merely that her vessel was more refined than a mortal's, capable of channeling divine power and possessing higher innate talent.

Bestowing a [Blessing] upon a god, making a god part of my Familia?

That was an intriguing experiment.

Since Syr had volunteered to become his follower, Thor had no reason to refuse.

Just as Thor contemplated the feasibility of carving a Blessing onto a god, Syr had already prepared herself.

She gently slipped off her clothing, her movements devoid of intentional seduction yet possessing a natural, rhythmic grace.

She raised her slender arms, one hand naturally covering her chest while the other elegantly swept her falling gray hair to one side, revealing her flawless back.

"Mr. Thor, I leave it to you~"

In an instant, the very air seemed to stagnate.

Moonlight flowed in through the window, landing perfectly upon her skin. It was not the white of the mortal realm.

It possessed the luster of ivory meticulously carved from warm jade, delicate as silk woven from moonlight itself, without a single blemish.

This was not merely the beauty of flesh, but the manifestation of the "concept" of beauty within a mortal shell.

It was an overwhelming charm, unrelated to lust, but rather a presentation akin to "truth."

A mere back view, a single gesture of brushing her hair, exhausted any mortal imagination of "beauty," enough to make any observer's heart sway and feel inferior.

The employees outside the door lost all sound instantly; even the faint noise of breathing vanished, leaving only overwhelming shock and an instinctive sense of submission to supreme beauty.

Mia's brows furrowed tighter, her expression complex and unreadable.

Ais's golden pupils flashed with a hint of pure appreciation.

Lefiya subconsciously covered her mouth.

Thor's gaze rested calmly upon her back.

Yet, even with his perspective that transcended the mortal realm, he could not entirely deny the concept of beauty carried by this vessel.

"Interesting, indeed..." Thor whispered.

Seeing Syr prepared, Thor confirmed once more: "Are you certain you wish to become part of my Familia? This is no ordinary contract; once carved, your essence will be inextricably linked to my path."

Syr did not hesitate in the slightest: "Actually, ever since you mentioned recruiting for your Familia last night, I had wanted to propose this to you, but was interrupted by some accidents..."

This was the result of her careful deliberation.

Syr understood in her heart.

In Thor's eyes, there were only the Starry Heavens he had created, and only they could occupy his gaze.

If she did not become a member of Thor's Familia, she... would likely remain nothing more than an object that Thor's gaze merely brushed past.

Moreover, this was the only path for her to draw near to that incomprehensible "greatness."

Thor stared into the unquestionable determination in her eyes.

Since it was confirmed, there was no need for further words.

He walked slowly behind Syr and raised his right index finger.

At the tip of his finger.

A drop of indescribable liquid slowly condensed—

It was not crimson, but rather resembled countless rotating stars shrunk and smelted, finally coalescing into a single drop of divine blood containing the power of creation.

Within the blood, specks of Stardust swirled like the faint light at the birth of the universe, exuding an ancient and vast aura.

Drip~

The moment the divine blood touched Syr's back!

Hum—!

A violent tremor that shook space itself erupted from the center of that drop of blood!

It was not a physical shaking, but a resonance at the level of the laws of reality.

An indescribably dazzling pillar of light shot up from Syr's back, instantly filling the entire cramped room with an intensity as if a star had been born indoors!

The blinding radiance caused everyone outside the door to instinctively squeeze their eyes shut, letting out a chorus of stifled gasps.

The light even pierced through the gaps in the doors and windows, briefly rendering the second floor as bright as day.

"Nn~!" Syr's body shuddered violently, a suppressed moan escaping her lips.

It was not a moan of pain, but a powerful impact originating from the very source of her life.

An unprecedented, scorching sensation of being "filled" and "reshaped" swept through her entire body.

The light came quickly and vanished just as fast.

After only a few seconds, the pillar of Star Blessing that could have blinded a mortal suddenly dissipated, as if it had never appeared at all.

The room returned to its dim state, leaving only the faint moonlight filtering in from outside and the rapid, ragged breathing of the crowd.

Mia was the first to endure the afterimages in her vision, eagerly looking at Syr's back once more.

In an instant, her eyes widened in shock.

There, on that skin that had once been flawless, like warm ivory jade, a complex pattern radiating soft starlight had now emerged!

That was the Star Blessing unique to Thor!

This sacred mark was now clearly branded upon the body of a deity.

Mia was utterly stunned.

Hey, hey, hey, you've got to be kidding me. Someone actually bestowed a blessing upon a god!?

In Thor's eyes, he witnessed a truly fascinating scene.

The moment the Star Blessing was branded, Syr's divine soul, which had originally been like solidified amber, began to change.

One, two... countless fine threads of fate, brimming with possibility, were slowly extending from the core of her eternally stagnant soul in a posture never seen before.

They reached out toward the future... which had previously been nothing but chaos to her.

The future of a god... had begun to flow.