Myth: The Ruler of Spirituality

In the stands, each contestant had their own thoughts, while in the hall, the voting was drawing to a close.

On the tally of votes, the black number six card, previously supported by Iapetus, had not been chosen. It seemed that the majority of the audience didn't favor this number, with the highest scoring being the twelve and seven cards.

The reason was quite simple. Due to the significant influence of their southern neighbors, and as the presence of Alchemy Constructs in Athens became more prominent, '7' became widely recognized as a symbol of 'mystery,' 'transformation,' and 'spirituality.' It was even considered a lucky symbol by many.

As for '12,' that was influenced by traditional Chaos culture. It represented 'perfection' among numbers, as there are twelve months in the year and twelve Principal Gods on Mount Olympus.

The support for the two questions rose at almost the same rate, each garnering tens of thousands of votes, filling the hall with silver and purple cards. However, as time passed, a victor was eventually decided. The surge in votes for card number seven once outpaced number twelve.

Then, in a place imperceptible to ordinary people, a flash of lightning seemed to make the Alchemy device used for counting stutter, and in the end, the twelfth question won by a narrow margin.

"That was... the Divine King."

The sentence structure was questioning, but the tone was certain. Despite being subtle, the fleeting spark of lightning did not escape Iapetus's eyes.

In this era, the All Gods could not descend their power or avatars at will. If it wasn't their true body present, they would need an adequate vessel or mediator to interfere remotely with a certain place.

Without a doubt, the temple opposite the Parthenon Temple, used for worshipping the Divine King, and the senior Priest who came to Athens and brought about this great assembly, were the best mediators for Zeus. However, limited by the quality of the mediator and their connection with the Divine King, this descended power was somewhat conspicuous to those who were truly attentive.

"Yes, it must be 'His Majesty, the Divine King.' Heh, a bit petty, isn't he? To interfere even with a number, to want to alter even a mortal's selection of questions."

Laine, who had also noticed this event, shook his head slightly.

He had not seen what the lightning did, but knowing Zeus, he suspected that the content of the twelfth question had likely been covertly replaced.

"... Whatever the Divine King does, he has his reasons. But you, who exactly are you?"

Without continuing the conversation, and with Iapetus's interlocutor showing blatant disrespect for Zeus, Iapetus felt an even greater headache coming on.

First the figure resembling Gaia appeared, and then Zeus suddenly covertly altered the course of the human assembly. Just with these two points, Iapetus was certain of the assembly's extraordinary nature.

However, compared to that, he was more curious about the identity of the young man he had inadvertently encountered. After all, regarding the assembly and Athens, he was currently just an outsider, while the person beside him was even more elusive.

The other party claimed to possess the ability of Prophecy—Iapetus hadn't witnessed this. By discerning Speech through his Godhood, he could roughly confirm that Laine did not know they would meet here.

But whether one can prophesy isn't important. After all, Wizards who studied astrology, those who know how to dream walk into the Spirit Realm for divination, and some beings from the Northern Lands who belong to the Fates know how to peek into the future. Even Iapetus himself had some skill in this.

But 'can' and 'accurate' are different, and 'accurate' and 'can interpret' are yet another. Iapetus, who had once accidentally glimpsed a piece of the future in the Spirit Realm but only truly understood the content of the Prophecy at the turn of an era, knew this all too well. Therefore, even if his Godhood instinct told him the other wasn't lying, he didn't take this claim of 'Prophet' to heart.

At this moment, he wanted to know whether the other party was simply an acquaintance or the chosen of someone's favor?

```

"Do you come from the Underworld, have ties with the Church of Eternal Night, or hail from the Spirit Realm?"

Iapetus spoke gravely, decisively narrowing down the options to three.

The authority of a deity and a Divine Artifact are both absolute within their corresponding domains, unless there is a drastic difference in strength between the parties, the gap in power is not enough to ensure victory in the domain the other excels in.

The Helmet of Invisibility from Hades, the Eternal Night Church that worships Mother Night but hardly ever receives a response, and some entities from the Spirit Realm—these were the beings Iapetus knew possessed such authority.

He was unclear whether these were all the entities in the world; ever since the Mother Tree descended, Iapetus felt the world was becoming increasingly incomprehensible to him.

"None of the above."

In response to Iapetus's inquiry, Laine gently shook his head.

"The reason I evaded your perception is not directly related to the three options you mentioned... Rather than focusing on that, you should quietly prepare for the debate."

"You should be able to win, at least, you shouldn't lose."

Laine wasn't lying; his ability to conceal his tracks indeed had nothing directly to do with any of the three mentioned. Just as if Apollo were to grant a boon related to the Sun domain, that would have no direct connection to Hyperion either.

After verifying his own domain's authority, Iapetus reluctantly accepted Laine's explanation. Since he couldn't glean any more information, he turned his head to look towards the center of the venue.

While the two had been conversing, the elder who had been presiding over the convention had already moved beneath the twelfth topic on the floating platform. As the voting came to an end, with a gesture from him, the eleven unchosen topics instantly turned to ashes in flames.

The remaining scroll moved from the corner to the center, as if pulled open by an invisible hand. It unfurled slowly in the air, revealing its content to all the attendees.

Standing on the platform, the elder prepared to read the topic out loud.

As the presiding judge of the assembly and the city of Athens' chief magistrate, Modia had of course seen all the topics. He remembered that number twelve was a discussion about a famous judgement that still elicited debate to this day.

The content of this topic was to use that case as a basis to debate the laws and political systems of that country at the time, and whether the final judgement was just. If not, what would be fair? If it was, then how to refute the previous controversial speeches?

In this process, each contestant's knowledge of laws, state governance, and history would be tested, and their exposition of justice would reveal their thinking. The debate doesn't necessarily require opponents to admit defeat—the key is to persuade the audience, as if the majority doesn't acknowledge something, it's likely not considered just.

"Ahem—"

With a light cough that echoed throughout the venue, thanks to the amplification runes, the elder signaled for the audience to be quiet.

Facing the unrolled scroll, he prepared to recite aloud...

"Ladies and gentlemen, by unanimous vote from those present, the final debate topic for this convention is... Hm? What is this—"

```

The expression on Modia's face changed abruptly, and he fell silent suddenly; at the same time, the venue erupted into commotion.

Subconsciously, as the host of the competition, Modia was prepared to discard this question, but hearing the sudden burst of discussion, he instantly understood that it wasn't just him who had seen the content of the question—it was meaningless to change it now.

At this moment, the only thing he could do was to continue the procedure of the contest and announce the content of the question.

"Eh, so it has been changed to this... Is it because, as trade with Silver Moon City has increased, many of the histories of old times have been passed down... So tell me, Count Ilos, which side do you plan to choose for this match?"

Sitting in the stands and looking at the question scroll displayed to all spectators, Laine asked with a smile.

"..."

"Is it that conflicting for you? This kind of matter - surely you must support the gods, right?"

"...No, as a human, I naturally choose the side of humanity."

Speaking in a deep voice, although he did not know whether this mysterious person had seen through his true identity, Iapetus still said so.

If it were any other question, the God of Speech, no matter how much time he spent with humans, would never betray his own class and say 'I stand on the side of humans.'

Alas, the subject of this question was none other than his own son.

"Ahem, ladies and gentlemen, this is the final selection of content for our debate topic."

On the high platform, Modia paused to steady his emotions, and amidst the tumultuous noise of discussion, he began to read slowly.

[Topic No. 12/Final]

[Since ancient times, both humans and gods have pursued fairness and justice without end. It wasn't until the Divine King generously shared his authority with the twelve Principal Gods that divine justice finally emerged.

However, in the ancient past, in the Bronze Age, the savage and mad God who held up the heavens, Atlas's eldest brother—the presumptuous and ignorant God of Punishment, the Fire Thief Prometheus—incited mortals to deceive the gods, ultimately causing the Celestial Gods to send a great flood that wiped out the Bronze Humanity]

[Looking at the outcome, humanity was wiped out, but from the perspective of the process, there's a cause for every destruction. Please speak freely, under the watchful eyes of the gods, recount the fairness and injustice of this event. And based on the performance of the contestants in the debate, the audience will give the final judgment]

...

At the same moment, in the contestants' waiting seats.

Andrea covered her mouth with her hand, trying her best to hide her surprise at this time, while the reactions of the rest of the contestants were even more intense than hers. Stay updated with My Virtual Library Empire

What kind of topic is this, discussing the justice and injustice of the destruction of the Bronze Age... This is simply a provocation of the deities.

"...No, it's not, it's just a criticism of that Fire Thief."

Regaining his composure from the shock, Odysseus immediately spoke up.

And with his reminder, the other contestants also came to their senses.

The content of the topic had said, 'under the watchful eyes of the gods,' 'recount the fairness and injustice of this event'... Although there's no strict requirement, surely no one would blame the gods. And as members of humanity, even if it was a subconscious choice, they likely would not blame humanity itself.

So the question arises, if the gods are not at fault and humans are not greatly to blame, then who is the guilty party?

Naturally, it would only be Prometheus.

In recent years, due to Athens pioneering trade with Silver Moon City, many texts from the old age had also made their way into the countries of humanity.

Despite the reluctance to admit it, after multiple validations, many renowned scholars believe that those records are probably not fabricated, but indeed true events. Thus, regarding the destruction of the Bronze Age humans, many questions have arisen.

Though it has never been a mainstream thought, it exists nonetheless, and many of the contestants present also harbor doubts about it. But now looking at it… which side will they have to take in the debate?

If everyone sides with the gods, given the similarity of position, it's likely that the content of the debate will not be 'whether Prometheus is guilty or if he is the primary cause of Bronze Humanity's destruction,' but rather 'what crimes Prometheus committed, and whose listed crimes are the main factors.'

'Shocking, is it really so outrageous that my first time debating I have to face such a topic?'

Completely unsure of what to say, Andrea decisively sought help.

"Hey, can you hear me? Which side should I take, regarding the Fire Thief's crimes, I don't know much..."

"...I can hear you, but I'll pass you over to someone else to decide what you'll say next."

"What?"

Startled for a moment, not expecting her lifeline to be switched, Andrea didn't have time to ponder it further.

Soon, she felt that the voice emanating from the rune in her heart had become that of a middle-aged man.

"You must be Miss Leah onstage, correct?"

Sitting amongst the audience, Iapetus's face showed no emotion.

"Just as the topic states, the gods are just; they would not punish the Mortal Realm for a debate."

"So remember, our stance in the debate will be on the side of humanity."