Her affinity for life and plants was extremely high, evident from the faint floral scent emanating from Estila’s body and her natural disposition that seemed to harmonize with nature.
That’s why she was chosen as the current god’s priestess.
However, bearing the power of a god with a mortal body was undoubtedly an arduous task, something even the relatively sturdy White-feathered couldn’t accomplish without consequences.
It’s like igniting firewood. Although it can erupt with light and heat far beyond normal circumstances in a short period, it will also turn to ash faster and earlier than ordinary wood.
That’s what’s known as sacrificing lifespan.
While white-feathered winged beings generally lived for over a thousand years, the information Violet later uncovered about the god’s priesthood showed that they changed roughly every two hundred years or even sooner. If Estila was the sister of the Feathered Emperor, then she had certainly held this position for over a hundred years.
Moreover, last night, in order to confront the Goddess of Withering, she forcibly unleashed the power of the divine shard, surpassing the limits of mortals for a short time, reaching a divine domain of level 80 or above. This undoubtedly further accelerated her decline.
Saying she had only a few years left to live wasn’t an exaggeration.
That’s why Sethlin asked this question. As the Goddess of Life, it might not excel in other aspects, but as long as one becomes its priestess, accepts its divine favor, continuing one’s life is not an issue.
“Why are you looking at me like that? It’s not like I’m trying to recruit you as a believer. Forget it, let’s start from the beginning...”
Feeling a bit awkward under the white-feathered girl’s pleading gaze, Violet scratched her head and roughly explained the relationship between Sethlin and the Goddess of Withering, Seth, along with some essential information.
There was a lot to cover, and it took the priestess quite a while to finally clarify the situation for Estila.
“Um... so, this individual is actually a deity, the High Goddess of Life, split from the Goddess of Earth... And the accompanying opposing force, the Goddess of Withering who attacked the city last night, has been sealed?”
The high priest blinked awkwardly, despite already knowing a lot beforehand, she was still somewhat overwhelmed by this fact.
“Yes, on that note, how much do you, or rather your winged people, understand about the Sky God Minerva and this so-called [Divine Core]?”
“Well... ah!”
Perhaps barely grasping the situation, Estila seemed to suddenly realize, hastily rising as if to worship, but was casually stopped by Sethlin, who reached out and held her up.
“No need for that. Although a thousand years ago, the winged beings did indeed have Seth as their deity, but now, it’s Minerva who offers you protection and guidance. Besides, I am no longer the Goddess of Earth. I am Sethlin, not Seth.”
The priestess nearby teased with a whistle.
“Hey, wasn’t someone initially quite disdainful of that name?”
Ignoring Miss Violet’s usual banter, Sethlin merely frowned at the white-winged priestess who had been stopped but still insisted on bowing three times after being released.
“What does this mean?”
Estila earnestly completed the act of reverence before rising to explain.
“It’s not like that. Our ancestor Minerva has long told us the truth about her not being a deity. We persist in worshiping deities as a token of gratitude to our ancestors for their teachings. Moreover, it’s also a way to convey respect to our Goddess of Earth who has always protected and sheltered our tribe with the Divine Core.”
“The ancestral spirit sleeps for years on end. It may not awaken even in a hundred years unless under special circumstances. Therefore, it’s your power that truly protects us, establishing barriers and bestowing blessings. The responsibility of the successive god’s priesthood has always been voluntarily undertaken. Although we winged beings have flown to the sky, we have never forgotten the blessings of the earth.”
“Goddess, I am willing to become your priestess and continue to serve you... No, I should say it’s my honor, the honor of the entire winged tribe! After a thousand years, we have finally received the favor of the gods again. It’s wonderful, truly wonderful!”
The white-haired, white-winged priestess girl looked extremely excited. Under her heightened emotions, even her pale face, drained and tired, regained some color.
But the priestess, who always liked to dig deep and speak out of turn, sang a discordant tune.
“Well, since you know about the existence of the Goddess of Earth, why do you still have to fabricate and concoct the name of the Sky God, causing the existence of Seth to almost disappear into the dust of history?”
“This is...!”
“It’s belief.”
Before Estila could hastily explain, Sethlin herself turned back and explained to the overly inquisitive Violet.
“Belief is a kind of power, a force akin to causality, yet like the soul, an intangible force. It might not mean much to a few individuals, but if millions, tens of millions, hundreds of millions, or even more sentient beings all believe in a god, it becomes different.”
Read lat𝙚st chapters at fɾeewebnoveℓ.co๓ Only.
“As I mentioned to you before, there are differences in the strength of divine essences. This is not only due to the different concepts they represent but also fluctuates due to the amplification of belief. Simply put, the more believers there are, the stronger a god becomes. In extreme cases, it can even cause the evolution of the divine essence itself over time.”
“Likewise, if this power continues to be injected into the divine essence while the Goddess of Earth is sealed, it will keep the essence continuously active, significantly increasing the probability of breaking the seal. Probably considering this, Minerva deliberately replaced Seth with herself, using the fabricated name of a god to carry that force of causality.”
“Right, right, right! That’s exactly what our ancestor said in the secret teachings! Truly worthy of the Goddess of Life!”
Estila nodded incessantly like a pecking chicken, while Violet, like a curious baby, continued to press on.
“But isn’t Minerva an archangel? She doesn’t have a divine essence to bear, so where will all these ownerless beliefs and karma ultimately go?”
Perhaps this question was indeed tricky enough. Sethlin hesitated rarely before pondering.
“It’s hard to say. Under normal circumstances, it would naturally dissipate like a wandering soul, disappearing into the heavens and earth. But if this causality has a clear target in mind and the conditions are met, it will directly fall upon that deity.”
“Of course, such situations are relatively rare. After all, there aren’t many gods who would go out of their way to help non-believers unless they are vying for followers.”
“I see. Thank you for your guidance, Teacher Sethlin!”
“So when will you finally have a proper form...”
Ending the topic there, the three girls, of varying ages but appearing somewhat similar in age, exchanged some more information before Miss Sethlin, the current Goddess of Life, brought up the real purpose of their visit.
“Estila, I plan to plant a tree in this city. I’d like to ask for the opinions of you natives. Is that alright?”
“Plant a tree?”