"Have you heard about the Goddess of Light?" Both Aditya and Lilith raised their eyebrows upon hearing this. 'Goddess of what now?' They thought in their mind. The people who were having this conversation were sitting just behind them. "You mean the Goddess everyone in the City has been talking about recently?" Asked the second girl. "Yeah...!!!" "You wouldn't believe how my life has changed after we went to meet this Goddess." "Wait you actually went to see the Goddess of Light?" The second girl named Emma sounded really surprised. "You see, in the last few months, my husband has stopped touching me during nighttime. We completely stopped having any intimate relationship. At first, I mistakenly assumed that my hubby must be too tired from his work. But weeks passed and he never touched me. This started making me feel anxious." "At the same time, I felt that we were getting further away from each other. At this rate, our marriage was going to break. Even when I took the initiative to have intimacy, he rejected me saying that he was too tired to continue. I started doubting my beauty. I thought my beauty no longer attracted my hubby. I start doubting my hubby. I started to think that he must be having an affair with another woman." "Around a week ago I met another couple who went to meet the Goddess of Light. The couple shared how their lives had changed after meeting the Goddess. So I decided to take my husband to see the Goddess of Light." "So how was your experience?" Emma asked. "Initially, I had very low expectations. But meeting the Goddess might have been the best decision of my life. After meeting the Goddess, everything changed."
"It turned out my husband wasn't cheating on me. Recently he has been very stressed since his business wasn't making that much profit. Fortunately within one week after meeting the Goddess, my husband started making more profits. He looked much happier than before. And our relationship also has significantly improved." "We can't thank the Goddess of Light enough. She was kind enough to not only bless our family but also give us many useful suggestions and advice." Hearing all of this, Aditya and Lilith did not come to any conclusion. Till now, the two females behind them only have been saying good things about this Goddess. It wouldn't be wise to judge the Goddess based on what they had heard about her. This entire story might be an imaginative story told by this woman to pursue the other woman to become a follower of the Goddess. Or this entire story might be true. Neither Aditya nor Lilith was sure of it. But everything that they have heard till now has definitely made them very curious about this Goddess. "Since the Goddess has helped us so much, we have decided to make a donation of one million gold coins. Our entire family now has become a devoted follower of the Goddess."
The fact that they donated one million gold coins meant that this woman and her family were very rich. They were richer than many low-ranking nobles. "If you're having any problem in your life, then you should definitely go to see the Goddess of Light." "I might visit The Goddess tomorrow with my husband and the rest of my family. Because recently, our family has been going through financial problems. Because of this situation, I could no longer buy luxurious dresses. I want our financial situation to improve." As Aditya and Lilith strolled through Valthorn City, it seemed everyone around them buzzed with chatter. Topics varied, but one subject stood out: the Goddess of Light. It was as if her story echoed off every wall and whispered from every corner.
Almost everyone they passed—a baker, a young mother, a weary soldier—spoke with awe and reverence about their encounters with the Goddess of Light.
One story came from a baker, whose shop had been on the brink of closure. He shared how, after a visit from the Goddess, the sales began to rise as if touched by divine hands, drawing crowds and restoring his livelihood.
A young mother who was pushing a stroller tearfully recounted her struggle with loneliness and despair. She said that meeting the Goddess of Light has filled her with inner warmth and has guided her to a community where she found friendship and support.
"Just who is this Goddess...?" Aditya and Lilith's curiosity peaked at the end of their tour around Valthorn City.
"Whoever she is, she definitely has a very strong influence in this City," Lilith commented. "Do you think she is a real Goddess?" Aditya asked. Aditya did not believe that she did all of these miracles. He did not believe that this Goddess was a real Goddess. It was a well-known fact that there could only be Seven Goddesses in this Era. Everyone in this world knew this fact and accepted this fact. And this fact was the ultimate truth. But the Goddess of Light was never mentioned among the 7 Goddesses. So whoever was pretending to be the Goddess of Light must have been doing a pretty good job to make people convinced that she was a real Goddess. "She is definitely a Fake Goddess. Before, I was somewhat doubtful of it. But now I am 100% sure that she is a False Goddess." Lilith seriously said. "Should we investigate about this Fake Goddess?" Lilith asked. As her curiosity had reached its Peak, she really wanted to know more about this Fake Goddess and expose her. However, Aditya shook his head. "Today, we don't have any time. It already has gotten dark outside. I think we should head back. I will ask Nathan to send someone from the Shadow Guardian to investigate this whole matter." "Maybe, Alicia also knows something about this Fake Goddess. Once we have returned, I will ask her." Alicia had her own intelligence network. Since her guild, she could very easily collect information about this Fake Goddess. -
Scene change________
A few hours after having dinner with everyone. "What about those 19 criminals? Have you spoken to them?" Currently, Aditya followed by Nathan was heading to the prison to meet the 19 criminals that were caught by the Imperial Soldiers. "I have," Nathan replied in two words. He wasn't making any sound as he was walking behind Aditya. "Oh...!!"
"Did you learn anything from them?" Aditya asked. "I haven't. However, after being captured, 5 of them tried to end their lives. While a few others tried to kill everyone. Fortunately, the guards were keeping a close watch on them. They were able to stop that from happening. In the end, all the 19 criminals were put into 19 different cells. And any kind of communication between the 19 criminals or between other criminals has been restricted." "Now that's interesting," Aditya said with a smile. "What do you think about them, Nathan?"
"I feel like these criminals are very loyal to their master whom they work for. In order to make sure that no information about their Master gets out of their mouth, they have tried to end their lives. This shows just how loyal these criminals are." Aditya nodded his head. "What makes you think that these criminals work for a master? Maybe their leader is someone among them."
"I have questioned the guards who have caught them. They told me that when they were trying to capture them, no one was trying to protect each other. Everyone was more worried about themselves. If there was a leader, then everyone would have listened to the leader's instructions. And would have tried to protect the Leader. But such things never was observed by the guards."
"I see...!!" Aditya and Nathan walked to a room. The room was small. There were two other Imperial Soldiers sitting in the room. Seeing the Emperor and the General, the two soldiers quickly stood up and then bowed their heads to greet the Emperor and the General. At the center of the room, there was a table. On the table, there were more than hundreds of Hearts lying out.
"Your Majesty, what should we do with these Mana Hearts?" All of the Mana Hearts were frozen to still keep them fresh and to prevent them from rotting. "How many are here?" Aditya asked. "One hundred and thirty-eight." This matter was complicated. The Mana Hearts that have been removed from the dead bodies cannot be returned to the corpses. The Istarin Empire also had no use in keeping this many Mana Hearts. After a few hours, the Mana Hearts will start rotting. "Burn them to ashes....!!! The Istarin Empire does not need such a thing." "Understood.....!!"
"Let's meet the people who have done this crime. I want to personally talk to them." This wasn't a small matter in Aditya's eyes. If it was a few Mana Hearts, then perhaps, he might have left this entire matter to Nathan's hands. But about 138 Mana Hearts had been removed from the Istarin Empire's soldiers bodies. Aditya was determined to find out the truth.
