Following Invidia’s declaration, time itself seemed to have stopped in this spiritual domain.
[Invidia!]
A roar filled Invidia’s mind but she had no care for it. Luxuria could do nothing to her since she was following the rule established by the sisterhood since time immemorial. Even though Luxuria was vastly stronger than her, it would change nothing in the end. She was in the right, after all.
The rules were the rules and nothing Luxuria would say could change them without absolute unanimity from all of them combined. She knew what she was doing.
She knew very well that after this stunt, Luxuria would be unbelievably angry at her and might not forgive her for a few hundred years. But it did not matter to her in the slightest.
Time was a concept that was completely meaningless for them in the first place.
Sooner or later, her sister would forget about this mortal and would find a new toy that she would be infatuated with. Hopefully a toy much less dangerous than the current one.
Invidia simply continued to look down at Sol from her throne and observe his reaction. She had already anticipated how he would react and was ready to act accordingly. After all, she only had one goal…
Sol Luxuria’s death.
The events of the small war that happened with the dragons proved one dangerous fact. He was too much of an uncontrollable variable in this game of theirs, surpassing even the likes of Anubis in the amount of chaos he could bring to the realms.
Back then, she was the one who brought and made Anubis reincarnate into a Demon. But even though she could see far into the future, she would have never imagined that this small inconsequential soul would grow to become a thorn in their side.
Now, after stealing a part of the Afterlife Realm, that abominable man had the highest chance to steal the true power of Death and ascend to godhood.
‘One such monster is already one too much.’
Sol was infinitely more dangerous than Anubis had ever shown to have been. She did not know what her sister was thinking by grooming such a dangerous variable but she would put an end to this foolishness of hers once and for all. She was adamant about extinguishing this bug from the realms of existence.
Since she could not harm Sol directly without breaking the rules of their sisterhood, all she needed was to put a trap for him and this situation would become perfect for her.
[Sol Dragona Luxuria. Do you accept my judgment?]
‘Say it. Do it.’
She remembered how that mortal did not hesitate to throw his pride away and beg for the survival of his loved one.
Would such a man really bow in front of her judgment?
The answer was obviously—
“I hear and comply.”
—What?
[What?]
Invidia had been so surprised that even her inner voice leaked out in the open.
But she was not the only one to be surprised. All the goddesses here had witnessed Sol's growth and more or less understood his personality.
He was a crazy man who would put the well-being of those he cared about above even his own.
Right now, he should be seething with fury or going crazy from rage as he should’ve asked Invidia to revoke her decision.
But he showed no such thing, showed no such concerns. His surprise had long since vanished and was replaced by a certain indifference that seemed uncanny even to the goddesses. As if he had already anticipated such an event taking place in this discussion.
This went completely against everything Invidia had planned.
‘This is why I hate Singularities!’
She frowned in disgust and was about to explore Sol’s mind in order to understand what he was planning but she was surprised to find a barrier stopping her from doing so.
[That is enough. Sister.]
[Luxuria.]
[I do not allow you to meddle with the thoughts of my Blessed.]
Invidia gritted her teeth before completely relaxing. A tone of indifference reflected in her voice as she replied to Luxuria.
[Very Well.]
She then focused on Sol,
[Since you agree with my decision… Then I believe there is nothing else for us to speak.]
“Indeed. I learned an important lesson. I will be sure to remember this.”
The calmer he was the spookier Invidia felt about this situation. His gaze was completely apathetic, devoid of any emotions and it was all the more dangerous for it.
As Sol slowly vanished from this spiritual domain… She realized then and there that there was no going back from the road she was now treading upon.
The two of them were officially enemies.
‘How ridiculous…’
At the end of the day, no matter how powerful a mortal became, they could never surpass a god.
She had failed now because she did not anticipate his willingness to bear with his anger.
‘I wonder if you will be able to keep such a straight face as you watch that woman slowly die out in front of your eyes.’
She was sure that Sol would not be able to hold on by then and once this happened— she would finally have a righteous reason to strike him down.
———
In the mortal world, as the golden light slowly died out, Camelia could see Sol standing still, with his fists clenched.
“Sol?”
Camelia called hesitantly. She had not been present to witness how the situation went but normally it should not have been a big problem for them. After all, they were not really trying to create a new race.
Ideally, they wouldn’t even ask for a price.
But, feeling the gloomy aura around Sol, she was sure that something outside of their predictions had happened.
“Sol?”
She called again and this time, Sol’s hand twitched as he opened his eyes and gazed at her.
“I am alright.”
She was surprised by his answer as the gloomy aura around him completely vanished and was replaced by his usual gentle smile.
‘Did I overthink?’
Perhaps he was just upset about facing the goddesses again?
“How did it go?”
“Bad.”
His answer was simple and concise but the smile never left his lips as he continued to explain,
“It seems like a certain goddess has something against me and decided to give me a headache.”
“Sol. Are you really, alright?”
Camelia paled. She knew that her question was rather stupid.
“Haha. I have no reason to be angry, you know? I was sure that something like this would happen. For an instant, I hoped that I was wrong. But heh… Hope for the best and prepare for the worst. I am used to situations like this now.
“In fact, I would have felt weird if it had been resolved easily.”
He smiled and rambled as if nothing was wrong. But this was why she understood.
Sol was really really angry now.
He simply did not wish to show his inner feeling to her at this moment.
“Sol…”
Camelia approached Sol and took him in his arms.
“You don’t have to be strong in front of me, you know?”
“I am alright.”
“There is nothing wrong about crying when something wrong happens.”
“....”
“Sol… You have the right to be sad like anyone else. You don’t have to always show your mature side to us. Nor act like an adult. Please, don’t take all the weight, all the burden on your shoulders.”
Sol stayed silent as he buried his face in Camelia’s shoulder.
“I understand it’s alright to cry. But you should understand it much more than me that… Crying and whining change absolutely nothing.”
Sol's words were calm and composed.
“At this point. I can feel like Fate itself has already decided Lilith’s death.”
Ever since he came back to the mortal world, Sol felt like he was sinking into a deep sea and that no matter what he did, no matter how much he tried to swim back above to reach the shore, unbreakable chains kept pulling him down.
Lilith’s death was like an inevitability at this point.
Right now, it seemed like only two options were presented to him.
Save Lilith at all costs, even if it means becoming a heretic.
But by doing so, the only one affected would not be him. All his loved ones would pay the price alongside him.
Or give up on Lilith. Accept that her destiny was to die.
Sol gave a bitter smile inwardly.
He remembered being asked once what he would do between saving the world and saving his loved ones.
His response back then had been pretty clear-cut. He was ready to give up on the world for those he loved.
The actions of his alternative self were proof of his convictions.
But right now, he was in front of a much more cruel question.
(AN: There is a moral question people like to ask. Your mother, daughter, and wife are drowning or are in a house in a fire. You can only save one. Who do you choose?
This is a trick question as there is no right answer. No matter what decision you take, your life will be filled with regret afterward.
This is perhaps the greatest challenge Sol ever faced. What would you do if you were in his place?
Also, what do you think of Invidia? Objectively and subjectively. Is she wrong in wanting Sol’s death?
Finally, what are your opinions on this arc? SHK is generally much more lighthearted. So I am curious if the shift in the tone of this volume will put off some readers. Then again all arcs involving Lilith are always somewhat gloomy. Not gonna lie, I always become nervous during arcs like this. Vol 5 really traumatized me.)
