“Am I weak? It’s clearly because you all are too foolish! The gods, Minerva, even my own other half! They all oppose me for those meaningless lives destined to cycle, not even realizing they’re playing into the world’s hands!”

“And now, look! Those self-proclaimed righteous, kind-hearted folks, one by one, they’re all falling in the twilight war. Did they truly think the world’s malice would change based on individual actions? Fools! They’re all fools! And so are you!!!”

“Enough, [Withering], the final moment… Don’t reveal that expression again. Haven’t the thousand-year seal awakened you yet?”

A green light rose slowly from the stone statue, transforming into a woman with green hair and green eyes, a virtual image almost identical to Seth. Her gaze, filled with pity and sorrow, intertwined with the frenzied eyes of the goddess, causing the latter to pause slightly.

“This feeling, [Life], is it you?”

Suddenly, the voices of Sethlin and the Goddess of Withering became incredibly complex, filled with astonishment, disbelief, and hints of lament and anger.

“It’s me. I didn’t expect to see you again… Listen to me calmly. There are hidden truths behind the fall of the Goddess of Earth. Besides the inherent malice of the world itself, there are also manipulators from the world of [Aibus], with problematic technologies.”

“I didn’t expect you to awaken as well. You and Minerva conspired to trap me in the seal for over a thousand years, and now you want to use these sensationalized claims to confuse…”

“I’m not sensationalizing!”

Sethlin suddenly snapped, even though she was just a virtual image. Her usual gentleness was replaced by anger, and the divine aura she exuded immediately silenced the somewhat unsettled Goddess of Withering.

“Tell me, when did you break free from the seal, and who released you?”

“W-why does it matter to you? You, out of nowhere, also emerged…”

For some reason, despite being the goddess who could handle herself with ease in front of outsiders, even in the face of Violet and the little dragon girl, who were more powerful than her, the Goddess of Withering appeared evasive and guilty when conversing with Sethlin, the split half of her source.

Sethlin didn’t give the other any chance to equivocate, staring intensely into her grey eyes, enunciating each word deliberately.

“Is it… the visitor from beneath the abyss?”

“How did you know…?!”

Subconsciously letting out a gasp, and noticing Violet and the little dragon girl still beside her, Sethlin covered her mouth in regret. Clearly, this was a secret that she had no intention of revealing to the two girls.

“How would I know? Hmph…”

Sethlin sneered, then turned her head towards the priestess who had silently withdrawn her divine realm.

“Violet, could you please bring out that book?”

“Huh?”

When it came to the book, Seth could only be referring to one thing at this moment, so Violet cooperated and took out the wordless book she had obtained from the Fragrant Auction House.

The book still looked the same as before. Since Sethlin had attempted to restore it but failed, falling into slumber herself afterward, it had been left to gather dust in the corner of the prop inventory by the priestess.

“This book, Withering, you probably haven’t seen it before. But the residual aura on it isn’t difficult for you and me to recognize.”

“…The seal casing of the Origin Fragment?”

Although greatly weakened, Seth’s divine rank and perception hadn’t diminished. If Sethlin could perceive things even within the seal, naturally, so could she easily make judgments.

“Yes, the divine fragment inside has been taken away. But it wasn’t me who took it. Perhaps Violet thought it was your doing, but that’s not the correct answer either. After all, if it was assimilation, the contents inside should have completely disappeared, rather than leaving remnants like this.”

The Goddess of Withering frowned deeply, and the priestess, who was criticized by being named, did the same. It seemed that the matter Sethlin intended to tell her about but couldn’t finish due to time constraints was this.

“I’ve extracted the memories remaining in this book. The one who took away the divine fragment is a being claiming to come from beneath the abyss. Withering, you’ve encountered it, haven’t you?”

“……”

Without answering Sethlin’s question, the Goddess of Withering abruptly spoke up, asking in return, “How do you intend to deal with me?”

After a brief pause, the green-haired, green-eyed girl appearing on the stone statue glanced at Violet, who just shrugged nonchalantly.

In fact, although the priestess had decided to intervene to stop Seth, she hadn’t deeply considered how to handle the situation. Whether it was killing the goddess or resealing her as Sethlin had suggested, as long as they didn’t simply release her, Violet would be fine with it.

Seeing the black-haired girl’s tacit approval, Sethlin pondered for a moment.

“What you’ve done is outrageous. We’ll probably split the divine essence again and reseal all parts, including you….”

For some reason, both parties fell silent at the same time. Finally, it was Seth, representing the consciousness of withering, who softly spoke up.

“Is that so? So, among these, it also includes you, doesn’t it?”

“What are you talking about? I never left the seal to begin with.”

“Hah… You can deceive that person called Violet, but you and I are one. We both understand the essence of this seal. In fact, since the moment of awakening, the so-called seal has been nothing but a mere facade, hasn’t it? You’ve just chosen to remain inside deliberately.”

Huh? Is that so?

Someone on the sidelines was momentarily stunned.

Sethlin quickly turned back, explaining somewhat nervously.

“Don’t, don’t misunderstand, Violet. I really didn’t intend to deceive you. Although I did gain the power to break the seal when I woke up, nurtured by your soul, I hesitated because doing so might attract trouble. I originally planned to do it only in a dire situation…”

“Hmph, quite the schemer, huh? Truly worthy of being a deity who has lived tens of thousands of years~”

Although she spoke with a displeased expression and hands on her hips… After the initial shock wore off, Violet wasn’t particularly angry.

Although Seth and her were good friends, there were still boundaries in friendship, just as the priestess concealed various secrets such as her time travel and her own abilities.

Do unto others as you would have them do unto you, as long as there was no deliberate attempt to harm her, things were generally fine.

“You two have such a good relationship…”

The goddess couldn’t help but look at them with a hint of jealousy and murmured softly.

“The divine fragments are originally from the same source, connected to each other. Once a part breaks free from the seal, it will inevitably pull the others, and awakening is only a matter of time. So if we want to reseal the Goddess of Earth, both [Withering] and [Life] will have to fall into slumber again.”

With a mocking smile, she continued, “Not only that, if what you said is true about the being beneath the abyss collecting some of the divine fragments, we’ll have to seal those in their possession as well. But who knows where those creatures have gone? Hehe, quite the predicament. Life, it seems your plan might be a bit difficult to achieve.”