Chapter 952 — Casual Talk
Blade of Dawn · Page 3 of 4
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."