Chapter 46, God and Dependents

Translator: Kazumi

Editor: Silavin

 

After conquering Gazenran Tower and ascending to Godhood, Asura initially made her divine name known throughout the world. However, during this period of her reign, a profound change began to transform the very fabric of reality. It was a change so subtle that even Asura, despite her newfound Divine Powers, failed to notice it at first.

 

By the time she became aware of what was happening, it was already too late to intervene.

 

The change in question was the fundamental separation of Holy Power and Magic Power. During Asura’s early rule, these two powers had been treated as a single, unified energy. It was chaotic perhaps, but undivided. The gradual split that followed altered the world so completely that Asura could no longer trace its origins, nor could she halt its progression once she finally recognized what was occurring.

 

From Asura’s perspective, the separation itself posed no inherent problem. If this transformation represented the world’s natural evolution, she was prepared to accept it. However, one devastating consequence accompanied this change: countless species were lost forever as the unified power they had depended upon vanished from existence.

 

“Back then, using that power was as natural as breathing,” Asura explained, her expression taking on a nostalgic quality. “My race possessed this ability, as did many others. When that power disappeared from the world, the races that had evolved to use it naturally vanished as well.”

 

Kousuke studied Asura’s face carefully, searching for signs of regret or sorrow, but found none. Noticing this scrutiny, Asura simply shrugged.

 

“When do you think that was? I resigned myself to it long ago. Or rather, I took specific action to ensure my resignation to the fact was complete.”

 

“What kind of action?” Kousuke asked.

 

“I erased all traces of my existence from the world.”

 

Kousuke blinked in surprise. He could see no logical connection between the disappearance of the unified power and Asura’s decision to erase herself from history.

 

“You don’t understand yet?” Asura continued. “I manipulated events to make it appear that the disappearance of that power was directly caused by my own disappearance. In reality, the two events were completely unrelated.”

 

Through careful manipulation of Eris and others, Asura had systematically eliminated all evidence and traces of her existence. This created the illusion that her disappearance had triggered the loss of the unified power, making her appear to be just another casualty of the great change rather than its helpless witness.

 

Regardless of the complex process involved, the ultimate result had shaped the world that Kousuke now knew. However, these events had occurred in an era even more ancient than the mythical age they were currently discussing. Nothing remained from that time. Not just Asura, but entire civilizations and ways of life had been lost to history.

 

Observing how casually Asura spoke of these distant events, Kousuke realized that the Goddess truly had moved beyond them. For Asura, this was ancient history, fully processed and accepted.

 

Seizing the opportunity to shift the conversation, Kousuke addressed another realization. “I finally understand why you don’t call Eris and the others Goddesses but celestial maidens. They’re your dependents, aren’t they?”

 

In the world of Earthgard, Eris and her companions were indeed recognized and worshipped as Goddesses. However, examining their nature more fundamentally revealed them to be divine dependents rather than True Gods. It was similar to how Kouhi and Mitsuki served Kousuke in that capacity.

 

“Exactly,” Asura confirmed. “And knowing you, Kousuke, I suspect you’ve deduced something else as well.”

 

Having recognized the true relationship between Asura and the ‘Three Great Goddesses’, Kousuke nodded. “You conquered Gazenran Tower, not Amamiya Tower.”

 

“Correct again.”

 

This revelation made perfect sense when considering Asura’s bold decision to erase her own existence from history. Under normal circumstances, one would expect the world’s Supreme God to have conquered Amamiya Tower, which stood at the center of the world, rather than Gazenran Tower on the western continent.

 

Kousuke had suspected this discrepancy and believed he understood the reason. “For you, Gazenran Tower was the center of the world at that time, right?”

 

Asura’s face lit up with delight at this correct deduction. “Yes. So tell me, what defines the world’s structure now?”

 

“Floor synthesis.” Kousuke answered immediately.

 

“Also correct.”

 

Asura’s obvious pleasure at Kousuke’s quick understanding reflected the elegance of the solution. The concept was remarkably straightforward once properly considered. Asura had previously mentioned being the Goddess of multiple worlds, which meant she managed worlds beyond Earthgard. This naturally led to the conclusion that Earthgard itself had not originally existed as a single, unified world.

 

Kousuke had long theorized that Tower management served either as training for world governance or as the actual mechanism of world control. The requirement to achieve Godhood before advancing Tower Floors had always seemed like a prerequisite for world management. Asura’s explanations had now confirmed all of these theories.

 

Returning to the main point, the current world of Earthgard represented a synthesis of five separate Floors in Tower terminology. This explained why travel was limited to the four cardinal continents and their Central Tower. It was not because passage beyond them was impossible, but because nothing existed beyond those boundaries.

 

Asura managed multiple such worlds, just as Kousuke controlled a hundred Floors within Amamiya Tower. Asura might even possess additional Towers or similar world-management systems.

 

However, these broader implications held little relevance for Kousuke at present. He had no desire to shoulder the burden of world management, nor did he wish to become deeply involved in the fundamental nature of reality itself.

 

***

 

Having satisfied his curiosity about the past, Kousuke decided to address more immediate concerns. “What about your future plans, Asura?”

 

The practical issue remained that any adventuring party reaching the seventieth Floor would immediately discover the temple. While no current party possessed the strength to advance that far, this merely delayed rather than solved the problem. Eventually, someone would reach that Floor.

 

Asura shrugged in response to Kousuke’s question. “I’m not particularly concerned either way. The time for such worries has passed.”

 

“But what about the temple itself?” Kousuke pressed.

 

Before Asura could respond, Eris, who had been listening silently, interjected. “Kousuke-sama, if you activate the mechanism again, the temple will return to its original hidden state.”

 

“Really?” Kousuke asked in surprise, having completely missed this detail.

 

This revelation certainly provided a means to completely erase all traces of Asura’s presence, just as had been done before. After all, revealing the temple required someone of divine status to activate the mechanism in the first place.

 

Ultimately, Kousuke decided to postpone the decision about whether to keep Asura’s existence secret. Even though Asura had given him full authority to decide, he recognized this was not a matter to be resolved hastily.

 

Furthermore, Kousuke’s companions, including Lirica, already knew about Asura’s existence. While he trusted them not to reveal the secret, unpredictable circumstances could always arise. He had no intention of asking them to guard this knowledge at the risk of their lives. Such a dramatic approach seemed both unnecessary and unfair.

 

Given these considerations, he needed to have thorough discussions with his companions about the situation. When that time came, he would need to carefully consider how much information to share with them.

 

In any case, this was not a burden that Kousuke should bear alone.