Chapter 952 — Casual Talk

The Dragon God fell silent at once, her gaze suddenly becoming exceptionally deep. She seemed to fall into brief but intense thought, until several seconds later she softly broke the silence: "The God of Nature... so he is indeed still here."

"From the God of Nature's perspective, he is no longer here; but from Amon's perspective, he is still alive," Gaoyang nodded. "However, for the time being he maintains a imprisoned posture, and it is likely he will have to maintain this state for a long time to come. For now he does not wish to return to the mortal world—I think so too."

Yet the Dragon God suddenly seemed to take great interest in Amon's state. For the first time, she began to take the initiative in asking Gaoyang questions: "Amon retained his self after leaving the divine seat, is that right?"

Gaoyang was of course glad to answer her questions—in this essentially unequal "conversation," he needed to grasp as much "conversational capital" as possible to exchange with the deity before him. Having the initiative of questions in his own hands was something he could only wish for: "It seems so—though I do not know the God of Nature when he was still in godhood, from his current state, apart from being unable to move, his situation is quite good."

"It seems he... he told you many things. As a former god, he seems to trust you quite a lot."

"Perhaps because there are too few people who can communicate with him," Gaoyang said with a slight joke. "Although he has left the divine seat, he is still a 'god' who retains a divine body. Not every mortal can walk up to him and talk with him."

At this point, he noticed that the Dragon God seemed to be thinking, so he took the initiative to stop and wait for the deity to speak herself.

After a moment, the Dragon God raised His eyes again, and asked what seemed an unrelated question: "I hear you held a funeral for the Goddess of Magic."

Gaoyang cleared his throat at once. "That... that is true."

"You held rites across the whole nation, scattered 'sacred ash' before millions of your people—and you even wrote a eulogy for a deity with your own hand."

Gaoyang could not help but clear his throat again. "That... that is also true. But I did it with a purpose. It was to—"

The Dragon God cut him off. "The Goddess of Magic is in truth no different from the God of Nature—she is only looking for a way to shed her divine station. Is that not so?"

Gaoyang felt something strange, but under the gaze of Enya the Dragon God, those eyes like bottomless abysses, he at last gave a small nod. "That is indeed how it is."

The Dragon God fell silent for a moment, then suddenly murmured, as though with a sigh: "Then it seems She truly succeeded..."

Whether it was an illusion or not, Gaoyang actually thought he heard a certain envy in that sigh of the Dragon God.

He did not press further on the matter, for instinct told him that the other would never give a straight answer to questions of that kind.

The Dragon God's gaze then turned to Virodai, who had not spoken at all, and who sat there scarcely moving.

"Frankly, when I invited 'Gaoyang Cecil,' I did not expect to meet a living 'Gondorian' as well," He said, favoring Virodai with a faint smile, His tone mild and unhurried. "I am glad of it—to me this counts as an unexpected gain."

Virodai frowned at once, his fingers seeming to tighten unconsciously. "You... you can tell?"

"Do not imagine me too cloistered and blind," the Dragon God said. "Though I dwell deep in these ancient palaces, my eyes are still sharp enough. That brief and splendid mortal empire left a deep impression on me; I once thought it would even grow to—but alas, everything ended all at once."

Here the deity shook His head, seeming genuinely to grieve over the fall of the Gondorian Empire seven hundred years before, and only then did He look at Virodai and continue: "You were once a pearl among those humans, so bright that you drew even my notice. I looked at you once from afar—but only that one glance.

"When that splendid empire of yours perished, even Tarrande shuddered; without your knowing it, there were dragons who mourned for you.

"I do not know how you 'survived.' Your present state seems to me somewhat... curious, and my gaze cannot pierce to your deepest depths. I can see only that there is something discordant in your soul... Would you care to explain?"

Virodai looked into the Dragon God's eyes, and only after a long while did he lower his lids, speaking slowly and resolutely, as though fighting down some impulse: "Merely the price of survival."

"Since that is so, I shall not ask further," the Dragon God said with a most agreeable nod, and indeed did not press Virodai again, turning His gaze instead to Amber, who sat cradling her teacup and taking slow little sips. "You are the other surprise... an interesting little girl."

"Hey," Amber set down her cup at once and sat up a little straighter, nervous, then could not help leaning forward again. "How am I a surprise?"

"Who put you into this body?" the Dragon God asked with curiosity.

Amber froze on the spot.

Two seconds later the half-elf lady's eyes went wide. "Someone from the Shadow Realm asked me that before too! How... how did you tell—"

"It happens that I know a few things about the Shadowlands—though I am not a deity who holds authority over shadow," the Dragon God broke in. "Someone from the Shadow Realm, then... that is why I was rather surprised when I saw you. Child, who infused you into this body? That is no small accomplishment."

"It has to do with a secret experiment from the Gondorian era," Gaoyang said, glancing at Amber, and only when he had confirmed that the scatterbrain showed no reaction did he answer. "An experiment to transform and fuse living beings between the Shadow and the waking world. Amber is the only one that succeeded."

"...Gondor again," the Dragon God said, shaking His head slowly. "Then all the more is it to be regretted."

Just then Amber seemed to think of something, and she burst out with some excitement: "Oh, right—speaking of deities who hold authority over shadow, can you tell what relation I have to the Goddess of Shadow? I tell you, I am the Chosen of Shadow! Do you know the Goddess of Shadow?"

"The Goddess of Shadow? The Lady of Night?" The Dragon God paid no mind at all to Amber's sudden, slightly presumptuous outburst; hearing her words, He seemed to take some interest, and looked her over carefully twice more—then shook His head. "There is indeed a most powerful shadow patronage upon you, but I see no bond of faith between you and any deity... not the faintest trace of one."