Wayne curiously looked at the Goddess of Sky with bright eyes. Elderly wisdom was an inexhaustible treasure trove. He immediately said, “Goddess, you met your demise in the War of Faiths. Who did it? Have you gotten on the Goddess of Darkness’s bad side?”

“If you’re talking about the Plague of Stars, there is no bad blood between us. Quite the contrary, we were quite close.” The Goddess of Sky shook her head. “Stars exist in the sky, and the sky is influenced by stars. Plague of Stars and I work together. I need her power, and she needs mine. We’re close allies.”

Wayne saw the light of unintelligence in the goddess’s eyes. Yes, they were indeed ‘allies’. The Goddess of Darkness had lured him here to discipline Her once-ally through him. Perhaps the Goddess of Sky considered their relationship a friendly one, but the reverse might not be true. Perhaps the Goddess of Darkness had long since developed resentment for the Goddess of Sky, only She hadn’t had the chance to retaliate.

While Wayne speculated about their disingenuous sisterhood, the Goddess of Sky continued, “As for my fall, it was due to my failure in fighting for faith. My enemy, the Master of Storm and Thunder, struck a heavy blow and took my divine power from me...”

It was such an unpleasant part of her past that the Goddess of Sky trailed off and fell silent.

Master of Storm and Thunder... later the God of Storm and Thunder!

Wayne nodded to himself. The name almost remained the same, so he could put two and two together.

Thinking back, the lightning and hurricanes that the Goddess of Sky had unleashed were similar to those of the God of Storm and Thunder. The two deities overlapped to a large degree, but there was only one path of evolution for one to go down. Of course they would fight to the death for it.

Based on what the Goddess of Sky said, Wayne realized that the War of Faiths was more complicated than he had thought, and many more deities had been involved.

The Goddess of Darkness was once known as the Plague of Stars, and there had been numerous deities related to darkness. She had to have taken out quite a lot of competitors to claim darkness as hers. Following that logic, the deities of Nature, Sun, and Moonlight must have fought and earned their current status in that chaotic time, and so had the Heavenly Father.

That begged the question: could the Chosen Land endure a war of so many deities?

Wayne cocked his head thoughtfully. Perhaps the deities hadn’t been as powerful as They were now; only through acquiring rival companies did They establish Their absolute monopoly.

Whatever the process might be, the results were set in stone: the Chosen Land was the Heavenly Father’s territory. He had been the one to laugh in the end.

The Goddess of Sky stayed silent for a long time. Then She asked reluctantly, “How’s the Master of Storm and Thunder? After gaining my power, has he gained incredible might and achieved his ambition?”

No, he’s become a stone tablet with an unwavering blank state of emotion, with no ambition to speak of!

Wayne lamented, “As you suspect, Goddess, your power enabled the Master of Storm and Thunder to achieve glorious greatness. His prowess is known to all. You, on the other hand, have fallen into obscurity, so I had never heard about a Goddess of Sky. If not for your self-introduction, I wouldn’t have known about your existence in history.”

“Bastard, he must have erased my traces!” The Goddess of Sky clenched Her teeth, staring at Wayne’s mutated tentacles and warring with herself about the pros and cons of her options.

Holding his breath, Wayne stared at the Goddess of Sky. To prevent Her from giving up on revenge, he said solemnly, “Goddess, while I had not heard of the Goddess of Sky, the scriptures of the Church of Storm and Thunder did mention a Witch of Sky. It says... well, forget it. None of the words are kind, so I don’t think you’d want to hear them.”

“Tell me. I want to hear it!” The Goddess of Sky scowled.

“According to reliable sources, the Goddess of Sky is an evil, hideous old witch with a hunchback, her skin dry and loose, covered in wrinkles and spots. Her hair resembles dry weeds. Her chin and nose are pronounced and tapered, and when she smiles, dear me...”

“There, her two large yellowed teeth are revealed!”

Wayne made up colorful descriptions like he was doing standup. After writing all the diary entries, he had gotten good at making up outright lies on the spot.

“The church’s scriptures also describe the Witch of Sky as having a hoarse voice and pointy, black nails, with black sludge and worms stuck underneath.”

“The witch dons a long black robe and has a penchant for flying around on a broom, cackling as she spreads storm and lightning to masquerade as the divine grace of the God of Storm and Lightning. It’s her way of stealing faith.”

“Damn it, how could he make up stories about me like that? I’ll make him—”

“Not so fast. Let me finish talking first.” Wayne was feeling inspired, so he stopped the goddess from interrupting and continued his story at rapid-fire speed, his expressions lively. “The old witch lives in a dim, damp cave filled with all kinds of strange bottles. Pungent odor lingers all year long, attracting swarms of flies...”

“Flies and maggots are the old witch’s favorite pets, but also favorite meals. She knows a hundred ways of cooking mag—”

“Enough, enough already!” the Goddess of Sky snarled, glaring at Wayne.

“Why are you staring at me? Those aren’t my words, but what I read from the Church of Storm and Thunder’s scriptures. Would I lie to you about that?” Wayne stared back at Her with widened eyes. Since a goddess was also a woman, he was able to use his expertise to easily fool Her.

“Have you had enough?”

“There’s one other thing. I’ll stop once I say it.” Wayne took a deep breath before launching into a breathless spiel, “The old witch, you, are adept at stealing faith with storms and thunder. The God of Storm and Thunder had had enough, so he descended to the world as an incredibly handsome prince and, wielding thunder, burned the old witch—you—to a crisp.”

“Are you done?”

“You fell into a pit of feces with a shout.”

“...”

The Goddess of Sky trembled with fury, Her translucent body wobbling. Almost crushing Her teeth in the heat of the moment, She raised Her hand and grabbed the tentacle...

...But did nothing. She gave up, dejected. “What am I going to do even if I return to the world? My enemy is too mighty, and I’m as powerful as an ant before him. Why should I try again, only to face failure once more?”

Hey, woman. Have I told the story for nothing?!

Irritated, Wayne spoke like he was thinking for the Goddess of Sky’s benefit. “Goddess, we may be brought to our knees, but we must not stay on our knees. No matter how many of our bones are broken, our backbone must remain strong. It’s true even for humans, and you’re a god!”

“Failure isn’t anything to fear. As long as there is will, there is a way to fulfill your dream. The worst that could happen is starting over. What’s more terrifying is giving up!”

“Think about it. Why has the God of Storm and Thunder been making up such blatant lies about you? Because He respects you as a rival?” Wayne pounded on his chest. “No, He’s pinning you on the stake of history to humiliate you repeatedly. If I were you, I would unhesitantly fight back as long as there’s a chance of turning the tide, even if the chance of success is one in ten thousand!”

Forbearance will lead to ovarian cysts, and taking a step back will lead to fibrocystic breast changes[1]. For the peace of your divine body, come back to life and fight him!

The pep talk effectively riled up the Goddess of Sky, and She nodded in agreement. “You’re right. I’ve only failed once. I’m still alive, and I won’t keep failing.”

“Good. That’s the Goddess of Sky I know. That makes my years of worship worth it.”

“Didn’t you say that you had never heard of me?”

I was just saying whatever. Why did you take me seriously?

“...” x2

The goddess and man stared at each other. She pulled Her hand back before She could touch the tentacle.

“Do you not want to have your revenge anymore, Goddess? Do you want to be an old witch your whole life, in the company of maggots and dying in a waste pit—”

“Shut up!” The Goddess of Sky glared at him. “You’re scum, too!”

That I am, but are you really in any place to say that?

Wayne understood that the goddess was used to being superior, but he wasn’t going to indulge Her. With a smile that didn’t reach his eyes, he said, “Goddess, since you call me scum, I’ll stop acting. Either accept my evolution and be my lapdog, and I’ll give you a chance to have your revenge, or... haha, I’ll trap and move you to the Divine Realm of Storm and Thunder. What do you think your cage will be then?”

The Goddess of Sky gritted Her teeth and took two steps backward.

“Yes, a waste pit!”

Thunder rumbled. The Goddess of Sky’s translucent body entered self-detonation mode once more. Wayne picked at his ear, flicking a piece of white foam at Her. If the goddess were willing to detonate Herself, She would’ve done it already. He bet twenty sillings that She wouldn’t follow through.

As he thought, the Goddess of Sky terminated her self-detonation after all the lightning effects, glaring at Wayne in a silent question: Why didn’t you stop me?

You spoiled goddess! Wayne offered a tentacle to the goddess. “I’ll get to the point. Accept evolution and work for me from now on, and you’ll get your rewards.”

The Goddess of Sky’s expression changed several times until She lowered Her pride and sighed, saying matter-of-factly, “Lord of the Void, I’ll no longer be myself after accepting your evolution. What would I stand to gain?”

“Knowledge!”

“I no longer crave that.”

“Revenge!”

“...”

When the Goddess of Sky fell silent, Wayne said earnestly, “Goddess, I swear on my evolution path that as long as you accept my offer, there will be no God of Storm and Thunder in the world. That is a promise.”

“Do you really swear it?”

“Oath has weight, especially an oath sworn on evolution. How could I fool you in this case?”

You’re right!

1. A play on the common saying, Forbearance will find you calm and peace; a step back will give you perspective, emphasizing the importance of tolerance and forgiveness. Ovarian cysts and fibrocystic changes are used as expressions to convey anger and frustration since stress is often connected to these conditions. ☜