673 – The Road Not Taken – 2

While riding Ziz on the way to Croita, where Behemoth is located, the eternal blue sky, which had revealed its presence for the first time in a long time, said something very bizarre.

– He’s my younger brother…

It is said that Ziz is her own younger brother. It is said that Eternal Blue Sky, the god of the sky, and Ziz, the self-proclaimed Lord of the Sky, were sisters. My mind became dizzy because it was information that was difficult to accept with ordinary human values and common sense.

Of course, I was the one who asked about Leviathan, Behemoth, and Ziz from the Eternal Blue Sky. It was a story I didn’t need to hear if I hadn’t asked first.

However, I asked. She asked first and learned the truth that she should not have known.

‘…You mean younger brother?’

After seeing the children playing under the protection of Trixie, the imperial knights, and the imperial wizards, I continued a conversation with the eternal blue sky in my head.

Fortunately, there are many people on Jiz to take care of the children besides me. It’ll be okay if you lose your mind for a while.

– Ah, yes.

And the eternal blue sky answered my question in the affirmative.

It’s a shame. In fact, if I told you it was a joke, I was planning on laughing with all my might like an assistant manager who heard the manager’s joke.

– Ugh, my younger brother was a sky god like me.

‘Yes?’

I was surprised again by what he said next.

It’s surprising that Ziz is his younger brother her, but he’s God? A god of the sky whose fields overlap with the eternal blue sky?

‘Is that possible? Doesn’t the God of Heaven already exist?’

– God is ultimately a being made up of faith. If you worship the sky in a different way, a different sky god will appear. That was jizz.

It was a complicated word, but I tried my best to understand it. Isn’t the important thing now the identity of Ziz rather than the fact that there are multiple gods in the sky?

Moreover, considering that the Greek sky god and the Norse sky god existed separately in the world before possession, it does not seem impossible.

– When our fields overlap, there are times when we fight to the death, but me and Ziz were quite close. Because Ziz was such a gentle and bright child, she saw me as her family, not as her competition.

At those words, I inadvertently turned my gaze towards Ziz’s head.

Indeed. Was this brightness something you were born with from the time you were a god?

-What? There were many things that happened while living as part of her her family her her her …

The eternal blue sky that said so suddenly fell silent.

I don’t know if this silence was because she was reminiscing about her memories her with her her brother her her her, who was her her god her her her, or because she was wondering what to explain to me.

– It would be too long to talk about, so I’ll just tell you what you’re curious about.

The voice of the eternal blue sky that just broke the silence has become somewhat quieter than before, so I guess I’ll have to guess it’s the former.

– Did I say that God cannot be physically defeated? It can be eliminated only after losing faith and losing divinity.

‘Yes. I did.’

I remember. In the past, when the holy beasts were just running out of the sanctuary, the eternal blue sky said so, and I was worried about the treatment of the holy beasts.

There is no answer because it is a god to deal with, and it is not economically feasible to seal it again.

‘I’m glad I picked it up.’

Now that I think about it, picking up the holy water was a godsend. I don’t even want to imagine how difficult parenting would have been without them.

-If a god loses his status as a god, he can no longer reign as a god, but that does not mean he disappears completely. Living in the world as something that was once a god.

Anyway, while I was thinking about the holy beasts rolling around in the mansion, I was able to get a general idea of the situation from the words of the eternal blue sky.

In fact, if you’ve heard this far, you can’t know. Loss of godhood, a being that was a god, something that was a god.

‘Jiz has lost his status as a god.’

– That’s right. Due to several events overlapping, the faith that worshiped Ziz collapsed, and Ziz, the god of the sky, was reduced to just Ziz.

The voice was full of bitterness, so I felt a little sorry. If I had n’t asked him something, he wouldn’t have had to tell me about his brother’s downfall.

– Still, I didn’t feel discouraged because he was such a bright child. It was annoying to be a god, but now I’m going to enjoy seeing the world to my heart’s content? I couldn’t stop him so I just let him go.

Eventually, a small sigh echoed in my head.

– If I had known that would be the last conversation, I would have stopped it till the end.

‘The last one?’

– Huh. They left for the south and were subjugated by humans. The jizz you have now is not the jizz I know. It’s more like something else made from scraps of jizz.

I was momentarily lost for words at the sudden tragedy.

Not only did his younger brother, who was a god, lose his godhood, but he also died at the hands of humans and was even transformed. Why are there all these terrible stories?

‘Somehow.’

At the same time, I felt like I knew why Trika was able to create artificial life forms.

She didn’t create something completely out of nothing. Since the Eternal Blue Sky is said to be a fragment of Ziz, it seems that catching ‘something that used to be a god’ yields loot that cannot normally be obtained.

Given the circumstances, it seems like an artificial life form was created based on the loot. By creating a body with Trika’s technology and putting the loot into the body like a soul.

– We live off nature’s mana, or divine power. I eat ordinary food, but that’s not very efficient.

And what Leviathan said gives strength to that hypothesis.

Yes, even if it was mana, it was strange to have to feed it divine power as well. Now that I think of him as a former god, my doubts are finally resolved.

‘Well, then Leviathan and Behemoth…’

– From what I remember, were they respectively the god of the sea and the god of livestock? Probably so.

Hearing the specific word ‘pastoralism’ made it even more persuasive. Seeing that Behemoth cares for livestock with affection, it is clear that he is the god of livestock.

‘Crazy.’

Thanks to you, my head started pounding.

An artificial life form that can be created by killing something that was a god. This was only possible in a time when religions were running wild.

The children who landed safely in Croita had their eyes sparkling as they saw the Behemoth.

What on earth had happened in such a short period of time? The Behemoth, whose entire body was covered not with fur but with grass, trees, and flowers, looked like a moving mountain in the eyes of children. To be honest, it’s amazing to me, but I wonder if the kids will be surprised.

“There are a lot of cows and sheep!”

There were even quite a few cows and sheep on the Behemoth’s body. At this level, I think it’s a ranch and not a mountain.

– Little guests have arrived. Nice to meet you.

And despite the sudden visit, Behemoth welcomed the children with a gentle voice.

Considering his gentle and quiet personality, this was a natural reaction, but it seemed a little different when he learned that Behemoth was a god.

Such a gentle and kind god eventually lost his faith and became mortal, and was subjugated by humans who had once cared for him with mercy, and was reborn as an artificial life form. It’s not a very pleasant situation.

‘Are there no memories?’

The behemoth rolled his head as he looked at Jizz resting on the floor.

First of all, these guys don’t seem to have any memories of the time when they were gods. If they were, there is no way they would wholeheartedly follow Trika, who subjugated and resurrected them, and there was no way they would accept being treated like animals.

So it’s both fortunate and sad. It’s a good thing that I live quietly because I don’t have any memories of the time when I was a god.

– I’d like to talk to Jiz again, but he’s not the Jiz I know. If it’s Jiz that I don’t remember from the time we were together, I’m just pretending to know… So I’ll just bury it in my heart.

It’s a pity to think that the eternal blue sky has lost its younger brother forever.

‘Do you really have no memory?’

But it is questionable. They are giant beasts that have inherited their original names and personalities. We cannot ignore the possibility that it was inherited both as a memory and as a memory.

Of course, Trica may have intentionally omitted memories when creating those guys, but—

‘Probably not.’

It’s not a very convincing hypothesis. Tampering with people’s memories is still an unknown territory, even though magic and technology have advanced to the extreme. Even Trixie, the greatest wizard on the continent, is reluctant to mess with memories, saying it is something that should not be dared.

Such advanced technology was achieved using technology from 2,000 years ago? If Trika had created an artificial life form using only their own technology, it could have been so, but since we know that it is the result of being tied to God, we cannot help but be skeptical.

‘Or is it a seal?’

This is also not an easy method because it involves touching memories, but it may somehow be possible if the memories are sealed rather than erased. Forgetting is something that all living things naturally experience.

Moreover, it would be more convenient if you could block all memories before you die, rather than just sealing specific memories.

‘It’s difficult.’

I sighed a little while thinking of many hypotheses.

Even if I think about it alone, nothing will change. The truth is known only to the Trica Empire that created them.

***

After talking with the honorary priest, I just stared blankly at the sky.

I ended up mentioning my younger brother again, whom I had kept in my mind for a long time and never thought about. My precious younger brother, who left me 2,000 years ago, is scratching my head again.

‘I really liked flying.’

Ziz had a strong attachment to the sky because he thought he might be the god of the sky. Ziz often flies in the sky and looks down at the world.

‘I miss you…’

Miss you. There were many gods I looked after like younger brothers, but I felt particularly attached to this guy, perhaps because he was a sky god like me. That guy also followed me around, calling me her older sister.

The younger brother lost his faith, fell into ruin, and suddenly died at the hands of humans.

‘Why you?’

It was a bitter experience. It was not that uncommon for a being who had lost godhood to be subjugated, but it was also not common. However, it was my younger brother, Ziz, who suffered that tragedy.

Why, why did it have to be you? Was it my fault for not stopping you when you went south? When you stepped down from your position as a god, was it my fault for not making you a god out of pride?

I don’t know. Because it’s already been over 2,000 years.

-Why are you doing this? You look listless.

– Ah.

While I was looking at the sky blankly, Constantina came back.

– Just, well, it reminds me of something old.

– It must have been a long time ago for you too.

-Not that long. When I’m with Jizz.

– Ah.

Constantina seemed to be convinced by my words. It’s not like Konstantina thought I had a special interest in jizz either—

– Now that I think about it, Ziz, Behemoth, and Leviathan have awakened again. It was nice talking to you again after a long time.

?

– Conversation…?

-Yes. Me and Behemoth have slightly overlapping areas. I said hello to Behemoth a few days ago.

– …Do I remember you?

– Of course, right? Even though it died and came back to life, Behemoth is still Behemoth.

At those words, his hair turned white.