She Was Afraid

When Jiang Hao was in school, his teacher had said, "Make bold assumptions, then test them carefully."

So Jiang Hao made a bold assumption.

She's afraid. Afraid of falling. The moment I gain control of the authority of the sun, her Divine Kingdom will fall from the void beyond.

According to the Book of Sedir, when the sea goddess Ambori ascended through the authority of the ocean, the God of the Near Sea and the God of the Open Ocean both lost control of their respective authorities at the same time.

Their Divine Kingdoms fell from the void beyond into this world, and both gods dropped from the rank of True God to Demigod.

A century later, the God of the Near Sea ascended again through the authority of Tide-Calling Murlocs, changing his title to God of Tide-Calling Murlocs.

The God of the Open Ocean, meanwhile, perished in a secret war.

Jiang Hao examined his assumption closely. Then another thought struck him: the Lady of Night's earlier attitude toward the Lord of Dawn.

They're both among the Seven Primordial Gods, yet when she faced him, she gave him two choices: "Leave at once. Or fall." That suggests the Lord of Dawn ranks below her.

The Lady of Night is the mistress of night, ruler of the moon, and Creator of Dark Beings.

Her name tells me she must control the authority of night. Being called the ruler of the moon also means she holds the authority of the moon—and most likely controls it outright, rather than merely possessing it.

The titles of gods were not chosen on a whim.

The God of Knowledge, Oghma, was called the "spreader of knowledge," and the Lord of Dawn, Amon-Ato, the "ruler of dawn" only after they had gained control of the corresponding authorities.

Among gods, some titles were kept secret, but none were made up at random.

To be called the ruler or master of something meant a god held tremendous control over its authority.

As for "Creator of Dark Beings," that suggests the Lady of Night holds some authority related to creation. I just don't know whether she possesses the authority of the Creator or controls a lesser authority derived from it: Creator of Dark Beings.

He suddenly recalled the Moon Demon God worshipped by the Vampires and the Mother of Fallen Nature worshipped by the Werewolves, both from Baron Ian Albert's memories.

Both gods seemed to have the moon as their divine emblem: a crescent moon for the Moon Demon God and a full moon for the Mother of Fallen Nature.

More strikingly, both were dark races favored by the night.

According to legend, the Moon Demon God created the Vampires, and the Mother of Fallen Nature created the Werewolves. Suppose... suppose both gods are actually the Lady of Night. That would explain where "Creator of Dark Beings" comes from.

She created the Vampires and the Werewolves, giving her a claim to the authority of the Creator. But because she hasn't fully mastered it, her title is "Creator of Dark Beings," not "Creator of All Things."

Looked at that way, the Lady of Night is more than one rank above the Lord of Dawn.

After all, the authority of dawn is only a lesser authority derived from the sun, while the moon's authority is on the same level as the sun's.

The moon in this world was nothing like Blue Star's moon.

Blue Star's moon shone by reflecting sunlight. Conceptually, it was subordinate to the sun. The moon in this world gave off its own light.

It and the sun ruled night and Daylight respectively, taking turns lighting the world and bringing night and day.

Conceptually, the moon and sun of this other world were closer to those in ancient Chinese mythology: equals.

She also controls the authority of night. Hmm... and there's the Creator of Dark Beings, too.

Divine power determined a god's strength, but authority determined the limit of that strength. Even if everyone on the continent worshipped a swamp god, he would never become truly powerful.

No wonder she dared tell the Lord of Dawn to leave at once or fall.

What a force of nature she is!

Toward enemies, be as ruthless as winter.

Toward friends, be as warm and sincere as spring.

Thank you for helping me.

Jiang Hao said it silently. Without her, he would already have fled back to Blue Star.

Then he lightly tapped the armrest of his egg chair and began considering what to do next.

I'm safe for now. Ganzros City is under the Lady of Night's protection, so the Lord of Dawn won't dare cause trouble here. As long as I stay, I'm safe.

But outside Ganzros City is another matter. If the Lord of Dawn lay in wait in the Endless Forest to hit me with the sun the moment I appeared, he could just as easily wait outside Ganzros City and hit me with Eternal Blazing Sun when I leave.

In other words, I'm trapped here.

How do I get out of this?

Jiang Hao thought it over carefully.

Becoming a True God would certainly solve the problem. But instead of facing the Lord of Dawn's wrath descending from the void beyond, he would face the Lord of Dawn crossing the void in person to wage war on his Divine Kingdom.

That would be like turning an online shouting match into a knife fight in person. He was better off leaving the problem unsolved.

Besides, that idea doesn't work at all. I want to get out so I can learn what the key to mastering an authority—"recognition"—actually means, and then become a True God. If I could become one directly, I wouldn't need to leave.

I could just go back to Blue Star, pose as a god, unite everyone under one faith, and come back ready for a fight.

Asking another god for help won't work either. I have nothing valuable enough to win one over. And even if my assumption is right and the Lord of Dawn is more than one rank below the Lady of Night, he's still one of the Seven Primordial Gods. An ordinary god wouldn't carry enough weight to make him spare me.

Jiang Hao paused, then turned the problem around. If that approach won't work, why not try another?

My real goal is to find out what "recognition," the key to mastering an authority, means. Leaving Ganzros City is one way to do that, but staying here could be another.

I can have other people search for the answer while I stay in Ganzros City.