"There's no harm in telling you," Gideon said. "The Queen doesn't like any of this."
"Why don't you spell it out a little more?" Zhao Si pointed at his head. "You know my brain doesn't work very well."
"Haha." Gideon laughed. "Then let me make it even simpler: the Queen doesn't want this kind of fearless warfare. She wants to break these shackles."
"Oh, so the rules laid down by the Greater Will are a kind of shackle." Zhao Si felt he understood.
"Exactly!" Gideon's voice grew more excited. "Shackles. Empyreans and lords, alternating endlessly like an eternal cycle."
What was more, this generation's god and lord were, by any reckoning, one family.
Even if a winner really did emerge, things would still become utterly sordid.
The gods and lords of the Golden Dynasty would only narrow the pool of candidates further and further.
Perhaps one day, a father really would have to marry his daughter, a mother her son, or brothers and sisters each other.
It would become a union between direct blood relatives.
However one looked at it, that would do neither the dynasty nor the Lands Between any good.
Psychologically, it would be oppressive as well.
"The Goddess thought that far ahead, huh?" Zhao Si put on an admiring look.
"Of course. That's also why people other than Demigods can claim the throne," Gideon said. "Other heroes and Tarnished all have a chance. Between you and me, we have two Great Runes. If you give me yours, my chances of becoming lord will be even greater."
"Where did you learn all this?" Zhao Si asked casually.
"Some of it came from the Great Rune. It contains some useful information," Gideon replied. "If we can't break out of this cycle, we can only passively accept the worst possible