Mystery: Good Witch

Chapter 1346 "Mother"

Upon entering the divine realm and seeing this deity, Angel recalled the statue of the "Earth Mother" that Klein had discovered in the Quaternary ruins beneath Backlund, and the woman with a concrete image, who was placed alongside the other five deities (excluding the "God of Steam") in different rooms, holding a baby.

Of course, at the beginning of the Fifth Age, in order to avoid concrete images taking root in the hearts of believers and causing them to be negatively affected by the anchor of faith while accepting it, the gods have completely replaced concrete divine bodies with abstract holy symbols. This image, which is close to the beautiful existence in people's minds, is no longer passed down.

On the contrary, there are murals in the temple of the "true creator" that vilify the six gods... I wonder how everyone will get along when the "ancient sun god" returns... Hmm, by then the storm and wisdom should have already fallen... Angel's thoughts quickly diverged.

The voluptuous woman walked slowly towards him, her figure gradually shrinking until she was about 1.7 meters tall, the same size as Angel, and she was surrounded by dark green vines, various herbs and flowers, and several golden ears of wheat hung from her brown hair. She was exactly the same as the image in the Holy Scripture of the Earth Mother, but she was shrouded in a faint, deep red light, like the red moon in the sky.

Angel understood that this was a change that occurred after the Earth Mother Goddess reclaimed the authority of the "moon," but the light still gave her some ominous thoughts.

Lilith came to her and made no move. The winding vines on the ground grew on their own and formed two single chairs. Lilith, holding the baby, sat on a very ordinary high-backed chair, while a rattan chair that looked like a single sofa appeared behind Angel.

Had He been watching me all along, or had He learned much about me from the Goddess? Angel sat down, full of doubt, and was surprised to find that the sofa formed from living plants was quite comfortable. Only then did he relax and look at the Earth Mother Goddess, whose face was radiant with maternal glow.

Angel's main purpose in visiting Lilith this time was to find out her current state, so as to prevent any unresolved hidden dangers within the Earth camp when the end of the world was approaching and a great war was about to break out.

This progenitor of the vampires, an ancient god who has lived since the first era, abandoned his ancient god status with the help of the goddess of night and the "ancient sun god" who had not yet reclaimed all his authority. He faked his death to escape and assassinated Omibella, the "goddess of harvest" who was just an angel at the time. He stole her fate and identity, became the queen of the giant king, and became a god of the "mother" pathway after her fall, and has been active in this identity ever since.

Although this was concealed from "King of Giants" Ormir and his offspring, who was also "God of War" Badhair, Omibella's identity was extremely special. She was the divine child born from the source matter torn into the barrier by the "Fallen Mother Goddess." This caused the barrier to weaken in the Fifth Age, and the Earth Mother Goddess was increasingly influenced by the Fallen Mother Goddess. Even the extraordinary beings of this path could not control her. Within the Earth Church, the gracious recipients of the "Moon" and "Mother" paths frequently received false and erroneous divine pronouncements from the Fallen Mother Goddess. These pronouncements required the countersignature of a divinely favored being from a non-adjacent path to take effect, resulting in great chaos in the management of the church.

But compared to the two paths controlled by the "Mother Tree of Desire," the "Mother" and the "Moon" have fared relatively well. At least the vampires have hidden themselves well in human society and have developed quite well, recently even returning to their progenitor... From this perspective, could the "vampire progenitor's" abandonment of His people be considered a brilliant move? Otherwise, when Lilith was in a bad state, this race would probably have long been controlled by the fallen Mother Goddess, becoming primitive Moon worshippers who had joined forces with the "Hedonistic Faction"... Angel pondered, seeing Lilith smiling, seemingly waiting for his question, and then spoke:
"You are the progenitor of the vampires? From that era that 'we' all know?"

She already knew the answer in her heart; she was just using this as a way to start a conversation.

Lilith, undoubtedly aware of this as well, smiled and nodded, saying:

"It's as you understand it, but unlike Amanisis, I am not a so-called 'time traveler,' but a survivor of that era."

The goddess of information had mentioned this before, but Angel still asked with great interest:
"Same as Fabti?"

“Yes, but it wasn’t a pleasant experience,” Lilith, whose soft features and somewhat fleshy face created a stunning beauty, explained. “At the end of that era, all I remember is the scene of the sky collapsing and the objects crashing down like giant mountains of flesh, and then it’s just a hazy, fragmented memory… When I woke up and truly had continuous memories, I had become a monster that sometimes showed its most beautiful form and sometimes became disgusting and terrifying, with only the thought of procreation. During that time, staying conscious was rare; acting on instinct was the norm.”

"Ultimately, driven by the instinct to reproduce, I expelled most of the excess traits, and the part belonging to the 'Moon' pathway became the earliest vampire members. They revered me as the progenitor, providing me with the initial anchor, allowing me to regain some of my humanity and balance the pollution within my body."

Similar to those hidden historical records, of course, the embellished history says that the progenitor of the vampires used his power to create this race, but in reality, it was "given away by exorcism potions"... Angel muttered a few words to himself, then pressed on with the question:
"Now that you've regained your senses, why did you abandon that identity and choose to become 'Omibella'?"

In her view, although the ancient gods were all gods formed by mixing the characteristics of adjacent pathways, they were not without the opportunity to regain their rationality, shed some of their characteristics, and re-incorporate their own pathway characteristics to become a single-path true god. Regaining rationality was undoubtedly the first and most important step.

Since Lilith already has her initial anchor of faith and has balanced the pollution, why bother changing her identity?

"On the one hand, the humanoid and non-humanoid camps were completely opposed at that time, and the demons and dire wolves stirred up trouble, causing a split within the humanoid camp as well, making it difficult to maintain. On the other hand, the two 'transmigrators' approached me and provided me with a solution that would allow me to completely rid myself of corruption and become a true god..."

“Grisha and Amanisis?” Angel asked back as if he had just realized something.

Lilith nodded slightly, tightened her grip on the swaddled infant in her arms, whose form was obscured, and continued:
“Grisha is planning a divine war that will involve me, the Destroyer Wolf Fregra, the Alien King Kvasitun, the Giant King Olmir, and the Phoenix Gregari, and kill at least one of them. Of course, I will also ‘fall’, and Amanisis will be responsible for keeping my existence a secret.”

"This will exacerbate the antagonism between the two factions, causing independent demons and dire wolves to suspect and hate each other, preparing for Grisha to save humanity and end the dark age of the Old Gods' rampage."

“This is only for their benefit, what about yours?” Angel asked.

"The death of the 'Progenitor of the Vampires' will end the conflict between the uniqueness of the two pathways within me. After that war, I will assassinate Omibella, the 'Goddess of Harvest,' who accompanied the Giant King in the war. She is the angel of the 'Mother' pathway, which is very suitable for me since I need a new identity. The authority of Grisha and Amanisis can cover everything for me, and even the Giant King will not find out."

Lilith replied with a smile.

"Furthermore, the 'Moon' pathway seemed to face even greater problems at the time, as it symbolized the existence of the Fallen Mother Goddess within the barrier, namely the 'Crimson Moon.' This is also the reason why my subordinate goddess at that time, the 'Blood Moon Queen' Ornia, eventually encountered problems."

The Night Emperor's wife, the vampire queen? It's said she died in the war between the Four Emperors, which seems to have many hidden stories… Could this be part of the reason why Trensost ultimately lost control and was abandoned by the gods? More questions arose in Angel's mind, but the question that finally slipped out was unrelated:

"Why 'Goddess of Harvest' Omibella? Wouldn't it be a better choice to leave behind an angel's or Sequence 1 characteristic rebirth than to replace the identity of an angel?"

Of course, looking back from the perspective of the Fifth Age, it seems that none of the Old Gods who did this met a good end...

“If we only consider the resurrection as a backup plan, keeping the Sequence 1 trait of this path is the best choice. But the most important reason for choosing Omibella is because of her hatred for me…” Lilith was unaware of Angel’s inner thoughts and answered in a gentle voice, “As the eldest daughter born from the ‘mother’s nest,’ Omibella naturally hates me for having the uniqueness of the moon and mother. If I am reborn with a different identity and regain the corresponding traits and uniqueness, I will inevitably be hindered by her.”

"Furthermore, Grisha has always suspected that there are some hidden problems with his offspring with the Giant King, such as Bradel and Badheir. By replacing Omibella, I can better investigate these matters."

Sure enough, it was all arranged by that ancient sun god after all. Perhaps He even considered the need for the "God of War" to fall so the goddess of night could ascend to the Old Ones… By the way, Omibella is the eldest daughter… Angel paused, then subconsciously asked:
"The 'mother nest' must have given birth to a brother and sister. Who is the other offspring?" "It's a name lost to history, the angel of the 'moon' pathway, Giddas."

Lilith answered without hesitation.

Giddas? Never heard of him. I'll ask Klein later, no, I'll ask Arodes… Angel muttered, sighing.
"This brother and sister, born of the 'Primordial God' and the 'Mother Nest,' actually perished in that dark age..."

"That God?"

For the first time, Lilith showed a surprised expression. Her captivating eyes widened slightly, but calmed down after a moment. It seemed that she had long anticipated that "Omibella's" identity was not so simple, but only now did she truly know the whole story.

"No wonder that at the end of the battle when the 'King of Giants' was born and Giddas was killed by Omibella, He uttered such a vicious curse... It was destiny."

The deity who inherited everything from Omibella murmured.

A curse? Angel looked puzzled.

She had learned from Klein that the "Primordial God" had given birth to offspring with the "Mother Nest" when he went mad while containing multiple source matter, but she had not heard anything about a curse.

Seeing her surprised expression, Lilith continued to explain:
"When the two pillars fell at the same time, and the world fell into endless killing among the extraordinary races, Omibella, the 'Mother' pathway angel, was influenced by instinct and wanted to end this era. She helped Olmir, who was not yet a god at the time, to regain his rationality. Through the battle in which she killed her own brother, she made the 'King of Giants' truly a god. The birth of this ancient god also meant the end of the chaotic era and the arrival of the second era."

"When Giddar died, He uttered the most vicious curse to His sister, wishing that Omibella would also die at the hands of her own loved ones, just like Him."

For a brother who died at the hands of his own sister, this was indeed his only wish... So the "Giant King" was the first ancient god to be born, followed by elves, dragons, and other races? No wonder the Giant Language is the oldest and most widely spoken language, the source of all modern languages, and possesses mystical characteristics, capable of mobilizing the power of nature... Many isolated pieces of knowledge in Angel's mind were connected by this information.

She gathered her thoughts and asked, puzzled:

"But what does this have to do with fate? Because Omibella's broken body, stripped of its identity and destiny, ultimately died at the hands of the Silver Kingdom's inhabitants, whom it once considered its people?"

“I initially thought so too, but as the last piece of the historical puzzle was put in place, Giddas’s curse became more vicious and precise…” Lilith’s all-encompassing smile disappeared, and she said somewhat seriously, “That ‘God’ gave birth to Omibella and Giddas, the brother died at the hands of his sister, and cursed his sister to die at the hands of her own loved ones as well… As for Omibella, she died under the scheme of the ‘Ancient Sun God,’ or rather, she was utterly deprived of her destiny and identity in the most tragic and helpless way.”

The ancient sun god Grisha… He was the resurrected contingent of that "God," and to some extent, represented the pillar who gave birth to Omibella? In the eyes of this son of God, he died due to his own father's conspiracy? No wonder the "Gift of the Earth" brought the curse of patricide to Silver City; it was Omibella's resentment towards her father…

Angel felt a chill run down her spine, but then quickly relaxed.

This is, after all, history from thousands of years ago. Although the curse of patricide continues to this day, it will not affect what is about to happen.

For Lilith, who has taken Omibella's place, the most important thing is that this identity is now deeply bound to her, which will deepen the influence of the "Mother Nest" on her, thus allowing the "Fallen Mother Goddess" to influence this true god and the corresponding two pathways through the barrier.

"To what extent has that Outer God influenced you now?"

Angel asked tentatively.

The Earth Mother Goddess remained silent, but instead released the swaddled infant from her arms, letting it float in the air. Then, she naturally unfastened the front of her long robe, revealing her broad chest and fair skin.

Angel's gaze lingered unconsciously on the swaddling clothes that floated in front of her, only to find them empty, not the baby she had imagined. Then her gaze fell on Lilith, and her eyes suddenly sharpened.

Where the clothing concealed, half of the skin remained as white and translucent as the exposed portion, while the other half writhed with terrifying fleshy buds, resembling the manifestation of an extraordinary being on the verge of losing control. Even more horrifying, different reproductive organs twisted and protruded from deep within this skin, like petals about to bloom.

“I haven’t regained my senses yet, and when I act purely on instinct, this form occasionally manifests.” Lilith wrapped her robes properly and said calmly, “Of course, what you see now is not my true flesh and blood body, but merely a manifestation of the concept of ‘contamination.’ Although I can suppress it now, it only appears to be fine on the surface. In reality, many gracious recipients have already been affected, including some high-ranking members of the church. Only the vampires have been less affected due to their separation by faith.”

Angel withdrew his gaze, his expression somewhat sorrowful.

"Is there a way to cleanse the pollution and isolate its effects? Like entering a deep sleep like Fabuti, separating the pollution from the body?" she asked urgently. "Dealing with the Outer Gods will take more time, and the closer we get to the end of the world, the greater their impact on Earth will be..."

Perhaps when the barrier breaks and the battle with the Outer Gods begins, you will become a puppet of the "Fallen Mother Goddess"—Angel didn't say this aloud.

Lilith carefully cradled the empty swaddling clothes that held the false infant again, and shook her head, saying:
“I’ve tried many methods and communicated with Amanisis, but none of them have made any sense. The path determines everything, and inheriting the identity of ‘Omibella’ reinforces this point… The fate of ‘Demon King’ Fabti may be better than mine. Although he was also affected by the ‘Mother Tree of Desire,’ the corresponding source material ‘Shadow World’ is stronger than the ‘Mother Nest’.”

"So you helped Fabti so that He could be isolated from the influence of the Outer Gods?"

Angel took the lead thoughtfully, and suddenly a bold idea came to him:

"If that's the case, why not give up the identity of 'mother' and return to the 'moon'?"

(End of this chapter)