Ye Buyu choked on her words. "What nonsense are you talking about? We weren't that strong back then. Even when we'd just returned to the past, we couldn't possibly take on those gods."
"It was just that... countless living beings in the Divine Realms they ruled gave us their power. Only then did we finally have the confidence to defeat the gods."
She turned toward the Calamities, the corners of her lips lifting slightly.
"Just as you were born from certain traits of living beings, we also gained the recognition and support of many living beings back then."
"Because of that, the Origin concepts we wielded were able to deepen to an extreme degree. With the guidance of half of [Fate] as well, we finally stepped into the domain of gods and fought those three to the death."
"From the beginning of the Deity Epoch to today, it has finally come to an end."
Those words fell lightly, like a feather sinking soundlessly into a still, deep pool. The air throughout the room seemed to freeze, and not another sound could be heard.
The Lost Era that no one knew of, that distant age called the Deity Epoch, slowly and clearly unfolded before everyone present.
Hold Up the Heavens' account contained no thrilling, heart-stopping scenes, nor any legends so magnificent and sweeping that they could move people to tears.
All they described was a victory filled with endless exhaustion and the relief of having survived a catastrophe.
Gong Jieyong and the others said nothing. They simply drank in silence and patted their shoulders.
"It's good that you're back. It's good that you're back."
The Doomsday Tower that had been elbowed, the undercurrents stirring outside-none of it mattered as much as their own children coming home.
[Madness] fixed a gaze on