Chapter 893 — Double Chains

"Only not yet. I hope this 'not yet' can be prolonged as much as possible, and yet before the measure of eternity, all mortal 'not yet's are brief—even when it stretches three thousand years," Amon said gravely. "Perhaps one day mortals will again fear this world, will face the unknown environment with piety and dread; blind reverence and terror will replace reason and knowledge and blind their eyes, and then... they will again welcome a God of Nature. Of course, by then this god may no longer bear that name... and it will have nothing to do with Me."

Gao Yang fell silent for a time, not knowing how to answer. Only after several minutes, when the many thoughts in his mind gradually quieted, did he raise his head again: "You mentioned a 'deep sea' just now, and said that all the 'tendencies' and 'elements' of this world surge within that deep sea, and that mortals' currents of thought reflect into the deep sea and give birth to the corresponding gods... I want to know, what is this 'deep sea'? Is it a concrete existing thing? Or a concept you proposed for the sake of description?"

"It certainly exists, it is everywhere... everything in this world, including you and Us... is steeped in that heaving ocean," Amon explained some abstruse concept like a very patient teacher. "Planets move within its ripples; humans think within the sound of its tides. And yet even so, you cannot see or touch it. It is formless and without substance; only the reflections... all kinds of complex reflections, will reveal a part of its existence..."

Gao Yang blurted out instinctively: "Cosmic background radiation?"

"Hm?" For the first time a note of puzzlement entered the Giant Deer Amon's voice. "An interesting phrase... how did you come to combine it?"

"No... I merely made an association from your description, then cobbled it together clumsily," Gao Yang quickly shook his head. "Just treat it as my imagination regarding the starry sky beyond this planet. Pay it no mind."

Amon seemed to smile again: "...Interesting. As it happens, I do mind, but I respect your privacy."

Gao Yang did not press this topic, and followed the thread onward: "Let us return to the beginning. You wish to break the cycle. So in your view... has the cycle been broken?"

"At least in My case, at least for 'the time being,' the cycle belonging to the God of Nature has been broken," Amon said. "And yet many more cycles continue, with no hope of a breakthrough in sight."

"Are the other gods also attempting to break the cycle? Or rather, do they wish to break it?" Gao Yang asked the question he had been wanting to ask all along. "Why are you the only one who has taken action?"

"Gods... mortals coined a lofty word to describe Us, and yet gods and gods are not the same," Amon said, as though with regret. "Divinity, humanity, authority, laws... too many things bind Us. Our every word and deed can often only proceed under a specific logic. In a sense, We gods may be even less free than you mortals.

"There must be gods who wish to break the cycle as I do, but I do not know who they are, I do not know their thoughts, and I do not know what they would do. Likewise, there are gods who do not wish to break the cycle, and even gods who try to preserve it, and of them too I know nothing."

"You are all gods—do you have no contact with one another?" Gao Yang looked at Amon, somewhat puzzled. "I assumed you would be close... er, I mean, that there would at least be some communication..."

"How would We communicate? Like two mortals living next door, knocking on a neighbor's door and stepping in for a few pleasantries?" Amon actually made a joke. "Impossible. In fact, it is quite the opposite: gods... find it very difficult to communicate with one another. Though We know of one another's existence, and even know the location of one another's 'divine kingdoms,' We are separated by nature. Communication is either fraught with difficulty, or it invites disaster."

This was yet another crucial piece of intelligence concerning the gods.

Gao Shao committed the key clues Amon had mentioned to memory and wore a thoughtful expression, and then Amon's voice sounded in his mind: "I suspect... you are considering your 'Defiance Plan.'"

Gao Yang was startled. At this moment, nothing could have shocked him more than hearing a god suddenly expose the Defiance Plan to his face. Without thinking, he blurted out: "Could it be that you also possess the authority to read human hearts?"

"I do not, and I very much doubt whether you truly have a 'human' heart. I merely guessed at your current thoughts," Amon said, as if murmuring. "I know what this facility is researching, I know what the mortals wish to do, and I can guess what you are doing... Upon suddenly learning that many gods are themselves striving to break free of their predicament, you have wavered regarding your Defiance Plan—perhaps only a little, but you, a mortal, or at least one who claims to be mortal, have come to feel a certain... sympathy for the gods who were once supreme."

Gao Qi furrowed his brow. He did not deny Amon's words, for that moment of reflection and hesitation had indeed existed—only he soon steeled his resolve once more and, from the standpoint of reason, found grounds to continue the Defiance Plan.

He could not stake the lives of millions upon trust in the gods and hope for the future—especially when those gods were themselves steadily sliding into madness.

So long as even one god remained upon the divine seat with an unclear stance, the mortal Defiance Plan absolutely could not stop.

He was willing to converse with friendly and rational gods—provided he held a blade in hand.

And this, too, had always been his guiding principle.

"Judging by your eyes, I need not worry overmuch," Amon said softly. "Humanity in this era has a leader both resilient and rational enough. That is a good thing."

"I shall take that as praise," Gao Rong smiled and gave Amon a slight nod. "Then I have one last question."

Amon responded at once: "Our conversation has been rather pleasant, so I do not mind saying a little more."

Gao Yang raised his head and gazed into Amon's eyes.

Those eyes brimmed with radiance—warm, bright, rational, and calm.

Though He proclaimed that "the God of Nature is already dead," those eyes still conformed to every imagining the followers of Nature once held of a deity—because those eyes had been shaped precisely to answer such imaginings.

"What will you do from now on?" Gao Yang asked, his expression stern. "Continue to slumber here?"