Greek Mythology: The Spiritual Dominator.

Chapter 581 Paradox
"Well……"

"Another god on earth... and he looks really serious..."

"With her around, I probably can't do anything... But I still want to catch that guy, what should I do... Hmm, I'm so conflicted..."

The voice was childish. In the [Dream Spirit World], Iselania rolled in the dreamy and magnificent ocean of foam, splashing waves.

Bai was about to reach out her paw as if she had found some interesting toy, but she hesitated.

A flawless mind reflects everything. The more complicated the thoughts are, the more unable to resist the power of dreams and the mind.

But in Iselania's eyes, the goddess with a sword on her waist was indeed an exception.

Seriousness is only an appearance; a pure heart is the strongest tool to resist the power of the mind.

There was a rare trace of worry in his sparkling eyes. Looking at the vaguely strange god, the more Bai looked at him, the more he wanted to catch him and take a look at him.

Do what you want, do it when you think of it. If it were someone else, they would probably give up because they couldn't find anything wrong, thinking it was just their own illusion. But in Iselania, there is no such concept as "illusion" in the world.

If Themis hadn't been there, she would have grabbed it long ago without any hesitation.

"How about just snatch him away?"

"Hmm... let's not do that. Curiosity kills the cat... but I don't think I'm a cat, eh?"

"Damn it, that's why Ryan refused to leave that mirror to me. If I had it, I could have whatever I wanted, and no one could stop me!"

If the all-pervasive power of the mind were combined with the spatial power of the [Mirror of Spreer], then the White Dragon might really be able to achieve his wish.

Feeling angry, Iselania rolled over again above the Sea of ​​Dreams.

In an instant, countless lives in the world were awakened by this, but they were all confused after waking up.

Fortunately, this was a dream. If it were the human world, this would be a natural disaster... However, Bai's temper came and went quickly. In the blink of an eye, she was no longer angry, but blinked her eyes and used her brain, which she never used.

The sea of ​​dreams flickered between breaths. Endless inspirations emerged in his heart, turning into dream bubbles floating around Bai.

With joy in her heart, Iselania immediately spread her wings and soared above the Dream Sea.

"Hehehe... I knew that there is no problem that Lord Bai... Her Highness Ysera cannot solve."

"I almost forgot that the sneaky-looking guy still had a lot of divine power left in the Dream Spirit World."

"With its help, it's easy to control a mere god!"

As soon as the thought came to mind, gray fog suddenly appeared.

It passed through several spiritual realms and headed towards the human world, silently causing Dionysus to fall into a deep sleep while standing.

Above the valley, in a small space created by [Changing Space] with [Golden Balance] as the cornerstone, the Goddess of Law glanced sideways.

The eyes under the black cloth seemed to see something...but she did nothing in the end.

It's just a dream.

As immortal gods, this was never a threat.

······
"You've already answered the first question correctly."

"Although I didn't use my full strength... you have proved that you are not a delusional person."

"In that case, human Hercules. From now on, you have the qualifications to leave my domain alive."

"This is determined by the rules. Even if I am its owner, I cannot change it."

"But if you answer the remaining two questions incorrectly, you can only take your life with you... and the rest will remain here."

The sound was low, causing the surroundings to rumble.

In the valley, the question and answer conversation between the hero and the demon continues.

However, the sphinx that was originally lying on the ground had sat up and was looking at the human in front of it who was very small compared to its size with its sharp eyes.

As Sphinx had said before, it didn't have any powerful solutions for its first problem.

Not only does it allow Hercules to choose one answer to two questions, but the loopholes are far larger than expected.

Many people present had already guessed it, but the hero just disdained to choose that method.

But now, it's getting serious.

“Young man, the victory or defeat of a quiz game often does not lie in the puzzle itself.”

"The real killer is when your answer itself is wrong."

"The previous one was just the beginning. As the son of the God King of Mount Olympus, you actually have a shortcut."

"Not choosing this easy path really proves your wisdom, but there won't be such a good opportunity next time."

"So tell me...young mortal."

"Are you going to take this as an honor, or continue answering my questions?"

“Moving forward is not necessarily reckless, and retreating is not cowardly.”

"Heaven and purgatory may sometimes be as close as one."

"And the path leading to both is now in front of you..."

"No need to say more, I choose to continue."

Speaking calmly, the great hero interrupted the Sphinx's temptation.

When the Sphinx saw this, it just shrugged its shoulders and was not very scared.

"Okay, since this is your decision, please listen to the question."

"Human named Hercules, your previous answer was indeed clever."

"Your answer involves the spirit world, but never involves the master of the spirit world. This is something that other primitive gods cannot match."

"After all, you know that dreams exist in the world and that their number is incalculable. The primitive ancient gods did not forbid people to mention the existence of dreams, so you can use it to describe the stars."

"But under the cover of darkness or eternal night, no one knows what is inside. Even if you know, you dare not use it as an analogy."

"This is a reflection of your wisdom. I have nothing to refute... But since you mentioned the spirit world, I also have a story to share with you."

"Silvermoon City - you must have heard of it. In the distant past, there were so-called 'angels' who came there."

"These perfect beings possess power comparable to that of gods, yet have faith equal to that of fanatics... Young human, the story I want to tell you is related to this."

His expression remained unchanged, but the hero was secretly alert in his heart. Tell a story before asking questions. This may not be that simple.

However, the rules of the Sphinx's domain do not prohibit it from telling a story before asking a question. After all, the story itself may be part of the question.

So Hercules just nodded without raising any objections.

"Go ahead, I'm all ears."

"very good."

With a grin, the Sphinx immediately began to narrate.

"The story is very simple. It starts like this."

"It is said that one day, the angel of the Lord, the faith of Silver Moon City, will descend upon the earth."

"The boundless moonlight shines on the earth, turning the gray hair of the old into black and making the sprouting grass grow. Broken limbs can be regenerated and the sick can be healed without any illness."

"Under this true miracle, countless mortals knelt on the ground, thanking the grace of the gods and the greatness of the angels."

"There was even a fanatic who knelt before the angel and told him his wish."

"'O Lord, incarnate on earth,' he said, 'I have seen your power, which the false gods of Olympus have never given to mankind. I wish to worship the Almighty Lord with all my heart in gratitude for His great mercy.'"

"'But, Your Majesty, please forgive my ignorance - I have seen your power, and therefore I understand your might... Therefore, I have the ability to praise you in songs and poems, and the courage to commemorate you in paintings and reliefs.'"

"'But venerable angel, holy and glorious. The great Lord has His ways in heaven, but I cannot see them; He has His ways on earth, but I cannot perceive them. As a believer in the Lord, I cannot know His power. This must be my fault - but this is also beyond my ability, so I want to ask you for advice.'"

"As I said, young human, this devout believer asked the angel for the Lord's power. And under the moonlight, in the dream, the angel answered his question."

“She told this believer that the Lord who sits behind the seven veils is the beginning of His kingdom and the end of His kingdom.”

"Within His realm, He can be both omniscient and omnipotent."

After a slight pause, the Sphinx smiled when he said this.

Its fingers moved slightly and placed a stone in front of Hercules.

"It's just a story. I don't know whether it's true or not. But young human, at the end of the story, a non-believer who heard about it raised a question."

"He first expressed his admiration for the Lord's greatness and then praised the angels' kindness. But in the end, he still doubted the Lord's power."

"Because 'omniscient, omnipotent' - what a great title."

"He didn't dare to deny it, nor did he want to deny it. What made him wonder was, could this omniscient and omnipotent Lord... create a stone that even He Himself couldn't lift?"

"If it is possible - then since there is a stone in this world that even the Lord cannot lift, His omnipotence may be tarnished."

"If not - then since there are things in this world that even the Lord cannot create, His omnipotence seems to no longer be absolute."

"After he raised this question, countless people tried to refute him. Some tried to divide the past and the future from the perspective of time, while others tried to divide the subject and the object from the perspective of independence."

"But no matter how we divide it, it seems that this 'division' itself has tarnished the Lord's sovereignty. So to this day, there is no answer that can convince everyone."

"Such a young human... That's my problem."

"In your opinion, is the 'Lord' worshipped by Silvermoon City all-knowing and all-powerful?"

"..."

The question was asked, and the sphinx lay down with a smile.

When this question is raised, victory or defeat is no longer determined by the question itself.

It knew, and Hercules knew, that as far as the answer to the question was concerned, the Sphinx had already lost before it even began.

Because just like the previous dream, the other party's "rules" could not shake the power of the master of the spiritual world.

So no matter whether the hero answers 'yes' or 'no', he will win in the end.

However, as the Sphinx warned before...the outcome of a quiz game often does not lie in the puzzle itself.

The real killer is when the answer itself is wrong.

For Hercules at this moment, the threat is never in the answer, but in the area beyond the question and answer.

What a story, what a believer.

Perhaps the first half of the story is true, but the discussion it caused in the second half must be groundless.

No believer would allow the matter to be discussed, and no intelligent person would question it.

So from beginning to end, Hercules was the first and only person to answer this question.

In this case, there is no predecessor to serve as a comparison, no outcome to refer to, and unlike the answer about "dreams", it is just an indirect approach but never really touches on the original god itself.

If he chooses to answer 'no', he is denying the authority of the original god and challenging the faith of the angels in the spirit world. Not to mention going to the spirit world to find the answer to resurrection from the dead, no matter how powerful the great hero is, he may not be able to come out of the spirit world alive.

And if he chooses to answer 'yes'...it doesn't mean nothing happens.

After all, even the Lord of the Spirit World himself might be curious about how this "is" was obtained.

Moreover, unlike the previous question, as the questioner, the Sphinx did not know the number of stars and earth and rocks, so Hercules could also not know the number of dreams when answering.

But the Sphinx's description of the second question is very detailed, so the great hero also has to give a process.

Although the logic of the process is not important, after all, 'yes' or 'no' is the answer itself, and 'rules' cannot verify right or wrong.

But if Hercules really gave a ridiculous logic to prove the 'omniscience and omnipotence' of the Lord of the Spirit World... then the result can be referred to the former.

What the original god himself cares about may be random, but what the angels care about may be almost inevitable.

A dilemmatic answer, a paradoxical story, a question that may not have an answer at all... No matter how it is solved, it seems that there is a star of doom shining ahead.

The only solution seemed to be to resign and admit defeat. With one win and one loss, the hero could still give up the third question and leave the valley in one piece.

"…but it also says, 'Heaven and Purgatory are sometimes so close that they seem to be one.'"

"Perhaps its rules do not allow such a situation where the whole game is a kill. Instead, a path must be left."

“So I can’t limit myself to this problem, but I have to think beyond its limitations… The paradox may have no solution, but I can try to prove that the paradox itself cannot exist…”

Not knowing whether his idea was correct, the great hero could only think this way for now.

Is this the riddle of the Sphinx? At this moment, Hercules had to admit that he would rather face the giant lion and the hydra than the sphinx.

(End of this chapter)