Chapter 49 Chapter 26 The Beginning of Life

Translator: 549690339

Since Cronus took the Life Vase from Gaia’s hands, decades had flashed by in the blink of an eye.

Near the abode of Mother Earth, the gods found a vast plain. They gathered there, and with the essence flowing from the Divine Artifact, they tried to create various forms of life.

Their choice of materials was quite arbitrary: mud from the riverbed, fallen leaves beside trees, soil and rocks on the ground, clouds in the sky. The deities shaped them into forms they desired, then merged them with the divine essence. If their creations conformed to the fundamental rules of life’s existence, a new species was born.

Thereafter, using the first as a template, countless similar beings would emerge.

However, easy as it may sound, the actual process was not so straightforward. The gods, inexperienced in creation, attempted many structures, but most ended in failure. For them, how to create the first was the greatest challenge.

At last, fumbling their way through nearly a century, a total of eight thousand four hundred new species appeared upon the Earth.

Be they of the heavens, the earth, the sea, each True God created a few. Although these life forms lacked souls at this point, from a biological standpoint, they were already living beings.

“It is finally complete.”

Looking at a strangely shaped ‘fish’ before him, the Ocean Deity Sovereign wrapped it with Divine Power to sustain its life.

For the first time in thousands of years since the Heavenly Father ascended, he showed a weary countenance. Though his Divine Power was still abundant, Oceanus felt his strength faltering.

“Metis, my daughter, let us stop here,” he said, shaking his head at the young and beautiful goddess beside him. Oceanus had no intention of continuing.

“Alright, Father, this truly is the limit of our abilities,” agreed the Goddess Metis with a hint of regret. Despite her belief that sea creatures did not require limbs, when it came down to practice, both she and her father had no idea how to go on with the ‘fish’.

“Not yet, Oceanus, we still have one species left to create,” Cronus remarked, unfazed, as he glanced at his former elder brother and niece.

Aside from that, the Divine King had no particular life forms in mind to create, as for the most of the years he mainly just provided advice to other divinities. Given that the Mount of the Gods had its limits, he had no plans to allow beings without godhood to enter his Divine Palace.

“These simple life forms already prove so difficult to create; to craft life in the image of the gods, even five hundred more years would not suffice,” declared Thaesis, shaking her head, no longer harboring any hope.

“Even if the Mother Goddess were to lend a hand, the Life Vase is after all her Divine Artifact, and she does not truly possess the godhood of ‘Life.’ While compatibility with ‘Plant’ and ‘The Earth’ runs high, when it comes to creatures similar to deities, I fear the Mother Goddess has little in the way of solutions,” she reasoned. Only those who have tried know the immense difficulty in creating life.

According to the original narrative, the God of Souls, Iapetus, created the Golden Humanity and the Silver Humanity, and some say it was Gaia who created the Golden Humanity. The myths merely skim over the process of their creation; no one knows how much effort these two deities invested in it.

The Water Goddess Thaesis quietly vowed that once this batch of created beings perished, she would never again undertake life creation herself. Such complex matters could be left to others.

With a slight frown, Cronus also found himself at an impasse. He now realized that his previous ideas had been too simplistic.

It seemed, to bring forth the quasi-god creatures he had envisioned, he would have to enlist the help of a specialist.

Thinking back on the Spirit Realm anecdotes Themis had once shared, Cronus secretly made up his mind.

“Iapetus, my brother, I fear I must trouble you to make another trip,” he said, turning to the God of Speech not far away. The Divine King’s smile was warm, yet his tone left no room for dispute:

“The creation is nearly complete, and it is time to invite Lady Laine. Aside from the matter of bestowing souls, there are quite a few things I’d like to consult her about concerning the last species we are to create.”

“Your Majesty, I think—eh?”

The God of Speech, about to be pressed into service once more, was on the verge of declining when, in the next moment, he along with the other deities present turned their gaze towards a place not too far off.

Space trembled, and under the watchful eyes of three mighty deities, Laine’s figure quietly emerged.

“No need to trouble yourselves, I have already arrived.”

With a gesture, Laine smoothed out the ripples he had created in space, laughing as he spoke.

“Prince Laine’s control over destiny is truly astonishing,”

Thaesis remarked with emotion. If it weren’t for Laine’s rarity in the mortal world, she would have long since wanted to exercise the traditional talent of the Ocean deity lineage to introduce a goddess to this most ancient of divinities.

Regrettably, unlike other deities from Chaos, this Ancient God who resides in the Underworld seemed to have little interest in banquets and entertainment. At least, Thaesis had never seen him in any deity’s palace throughout these years.

Of course, if Laine knew what she was thinking, he could only say it wasn’t that he lacked interest in entertainment, but rather that he found no interest in the entertainment of the present.

In an era when music and dance had not yet been invented, what was Laine supposed to do in other deities’ palaces, if not to drink a few cups of poorly made nectar?

“Haha, since the Lord of the Spirit Realm has already arrived, it seems our final creation is about to be completed,”

Even though Cronus’s corner of the eye twitched when he saw the spatial fluctuation, he still laughed heartily to welcome Laine’s arrival.

Over the years, Cronus had gradually come to accept the facts. He no longer gritted his teeth upon hearing Laine’s name, as he had once done before Themis.

“Yes, to create humans, that is exactly why I have come.”

Nodding, Laine looked at the strangely shaped ‘fish’ in front of the Ocean Deity Sovereign with an interested expression.

“So this is the life created by Lord Oceanus, isn’t it? It certainly looks peculiar.”

At these words, the expression of the Ocean Deity Sovereign became somewhat unnatural. Much like Uranus detested the Titans, for the current deities, ‘ugliness rejection’ was entirely normal.

“Cough, this indeed is the creation of the Lord of the Outer Seas and his daughter, though it has not yet been perfected. If Prince Laine is interested, he could also help refine it.”

“Then let’s do just that. Metis of Wisdom, I have long heard of your great reputation.”

Laine nodded slightly and greeted the goddess beside the Ocean Deity Sovereign. Metis also responded with a smile.

He knew what Cronus intended; the other wished to further confirm Laine’s proficiency in the field of life.

After all, hearing is one thing, seeing is believing. Nevertheless, Laine shared this desire. At the very least, he was very interested in getting directly involved with the first generation of humans.

Extending his right hand, a vibrant light emerged in Laine’s palm. Although he only mastered that part of life authority related to ‘Spirituality,’ it was originally one with what remained in the Life Vase; in the field of life, even Gaia might not match him.

Besides, for Laine, creating life was also akin to a bit of homework copying.

With the light of life contained in his hand, Laine gently brushed it over the ‘fish.’ As the light entered its body, the previously visible spines disappeared, and the warped spine straightened out.

The ‘arms’ used to move water transformed into fins, the surface barbs into fish scales, and the body became more compatible with fluid dynamics.

In almost the blink of an eye, the ‘fish’ that previously had a Lovecraftian visage had turned into a regular animal, leaving the surrounding three deities of the Ocean lineage dumbstruck.

If the ‘fish’ had not been something they had created incrementally themselves, they would not have felt so surprised. But having had a little experience, they could truly appreciate the finesse of Laine’s proficiency.

Seeing this, even Cronus was taken aback. He had never believed the sayings about ‘world creation in seven days, and on the fifth and sixth days, creation of all living creatures.’ The Divine King thought that if Laine took a few days to improve the ‘fish’ to look better, he would be competent enough to lead the creation of quasi-god life. But he never expected it to take less than a minute.

“It’s passable for such a rushed job,”

Laine seemed to still be dissatisfied with his work, but he made no further move.

He looked towards the Divine King, laughing as he said, “Destiny has guided me here for the birth of humanity. Since everything is ready, we should begin the creation, shouldn’t we?”