503 War and conflict are just a part of the normal course of events
A planet suddenly appeared near Earth, and then William casually told Steven that the planet is inhabited by gods from mythology.
It all felt like a joke to Steven, who, despite being a Soulmancer, found it hard to believe in the real existence of mythological deities. Or perhaps, he was afraid to believe.
If the gods from the legends truly exist, then how should they, as humans, conduct themselves?
"Mr. Johnson, you knew about the existence of that planet?"
That was what puzzled Steven. The planet had appeared only half an hour ago, and he had learned of it through satellite video transmissions. How then did William know about it? And why was he so certain that the planet was inhabited by mythological gods? Could he see the people on that planet? Or was William himself from the Divine Realm?
"Yes," William replied. "One thing you can be sure of is that the planet will not collide with Earth."
Setting aside William's ability to easily alter a planet's orbit, even the high-ranking deities of the Divine Realm could do so with ease. A collision leading to mutual destruction was out of the question.
Steven fell into deep thought, then asked, "Mr. Johnson, do those deities really possess extraordinary divine powers as in the myths? Can they unleash powerful lightning or control the movement of the sea?"
William nodded. "Such feats are not difficult for them."
"Can they come to Earth?" Steven inquired further.
William responded, "That's not difficult either."
The deities of the Divine Realm, each capable of traversing freely through the cosmos, faced no barriers between the Divine Realm and Earth. Coming to Earth, for them, was a straightforward matter.
"Are the deities of the Divine Realm as benevolent as you?" Steven asked, emphasizing the most crucial question.
With the real existence of deities, the consideration naturally turns to whether conflicts might arise between ordinary people and these divine beings. Myths often portray deities as kind-hearted, even rescuing people from disasters. If the deities were indeed like this, then they wouldn't be frightening.
"Like me?" William was momentarily at a loss for words by the question. "They should be more or less similar."
"That's a relief!" Steven finally exhaled in relief.
In his view, William was fairly kind. Without William's help, the 13th Bureau would have struggled to handle many of the current situations.
William chuckled, "Actually, you don't have to worry too much. Only a few from the Divine Realm can come to Earth. Those individuals... I mostly know them, and generally speaking, they have decent temperaments."
He hadn't expected the Divine Realm to descend in this manner. However, this development was quite favorable. Now, to descend from the Divine Realm to Earth, one would have to physically travel across space, as spatial gateways and ritual descents were nearly impossible. Only those with at least the power of a Nature Deity could travel freely between planets. Those with such power, barring a few Dark Power Wielders and Shapeshifter Lords, wouldn't indiscriminately slaughter innocents. Mortal Deities and Guardian Deities of the lower ranks of the Divine Realm are unlikely to conflict with ordinary people and Soulmancers on Earth. Without conflicts at the lower levels, wars are less likely to erupt. This is ideal!
Steven felt relieved hearing William's response, but the emergence of the Divine Realm certainly needed to be kept secret. Such information would not be disclosed to the public unless absolutely necessary. Messages from amateur astronomers about it also needed to be promptly blocked. It's better to keep such news under wraps. He wondered if foreign media would report on it.
After chatting idly with Steven for a while, William headed back home.
Alice was still in the bedroom, enhancing her abilities. In her inner world, the small sword she had cultivated was surrounded by a faint golden glow. Although her rank as a high-level Soulmancer hadn't escalated to Demi-God status, she had nurtured a mysterious little sword in her inner world. It seemed she wouldn't wake up anytime soon, given the immense energy contained in William's essence. While it could easily preserve youth for ordinary people if consumed, absorbing it to boost one's power required more time.
Unaware of the Divine Realm's descent, Luna and Erebus were engrossed in snacks and video games, each with their own computer, teaming up in the game.
"Damn servant, why don't you block the bullets for me? You're sabotaging your teammate, and now you're dead too," Luna fumed, almost ready to physically attack Erebus in her frustration.
21:30
Erebus calmly analyzed, "Sacrificing you gave me room to maneuver."
Luna scoffed, "And still ended up with a double kill against us? You're just bad at this game!"
Erebus defensively blamed, "It's the keyboard's fault."
"Oh, please! You're such a noob! I've never seen an assistant this terrible!" Luna retorted.
Erebus, not admitting defeat, insisted, "That was definitely the jungler's fault…"
The kids, blaming each other and shifting responsibilities, seemed to be having a great time. William, finding himself with nothing pressing to do, went over to watch. He saw that Luna and Erebus' teammates were calling them elementary schoolers, while their jungler, acting like a toxic gamer, started trolling and ranting, infuriating them to the point they nearly wanted to reach through the internet to exact revenge.
"Erebus, let me play for you!" William, having some free time and being quite skilled at the game, offered to help. He couldn't understand why Luna and Erebus, with their quick reflexes, weren't better at these games. Perhaps their quick reactions weren't matched by equally quick thinking.
William took over Erebus's role as the support mid-game. His gameplay was flawless, but the match was still lost due to the team's poor performance.
"Let's restart!" William was curious to see if he could win a game with Luna, who wasn't exactly the brightest.
With his computer commandeered by William, Erebus didn't dare complain and just watched from the side. William and Luna teamed up for a game until Moros arrived.
Erebus let Moros in, and seeing William engrossed in gaming, Moros also stood by quietly, not daring to interrupt. After finishing a match, William finally turned and asked, "What's up?"
Moros nodded seriously and said, "Mr. Johnson, you must already know, Divine Realm has descended. I'm not sure what I should do now?"
"What do you mean by what to do?" William asked in return.
Moros inquired, "Can my true self come down from Divine Realm to recruit disciples?"
While gaming, William had contemplated a few issues. He knew he wasn't as benevolent as Steven had suggested. Keeping the Shapeshifters' lords and deities in check was simply because he enjoyed his current lifestyle, nothing more.
Wars and conflicts were, in William's view, just part of the usual course of events. Now that the Divine Realm had descended, those below the level of a Nature Deity realistically couldn't come to Earth.
So, could he just keep those at or above the level of a Nature Deity in check, or maybe just reason with them, to ensure everyone's well-being?
This 𝓬ontent is taken from f(r)eeweb(n)ovel.𝒄𝒐𝙢