Chapter: 158
Having been enthroned as the King of the Gods, Baal diligently carried out his duties.
Looking down from the sky, he took on the task of managing countless gods.
From minor squabbles between the gods to desperate battles where they seemed ready to kill each other, Baal started suppressing each and every fight as he managed the gods.
Of course, those snooty gods weren’t about to let anyone manage them easily, but as the Sky God, there was no way Baal couldn’t subdue just about any petty deity.
Before Baal’s lightning, any god was equally at risk of being zapped.
After running back and forth managing an uncountable number of gods, Baal finally made his way to Sagarmatha’s room, where I was staying, and began to whine.
“I’m so tired….”
“Yeah, it’s a tough gig.”
Baal swanned in, voicing frustrations like a moody teen.
“Aren’t I a higher god? So why the heck don’t they listen to me? Are these gods deaf with their ears all plugged up? Or do my words just flutter off to die? Why can’t they ever take me seriously?! Does the King of the Gods have zero authority?!”
With all that complaining, he sounded like a tiny bird having a meltdown.
“That’s just how gods are in general.”
The ego of gods, born from all those human thoughts, is pretty hard to shake off.
They were born from humans’ fears and desires for things they can’t grasp, remember? Always floating above humans from the start, they naturally think they deserve to be above everyone even after they find their identity.
Thank goodness Baal is the King of the Gods. Had it been me handling it… oh, I would’ve probably smashed every last one of them into tiny divine pieces.
“But still, don’t some gods listen to you nicely?”
“Some gods…?”
“Right! Some of the mountain or river gods probably follow your orders without a hitch.”
At that, Baal gave a tiny nod.
“It’s a droplet in the ocean, but at least some do listen to me.”
Those ones have no choice; they used to be dragons who lost their bodies and turned into spirits, and they managed to settle down and become gods before totally blanking on their past.
These are the same ones who became gods through rigorous processes like Yama, the mountain god of North Mangsan.
But boy, that’s just a super tiny portion; the majority have completely forgotten they were once dragons.
“But that’s still just a handful! The rest completely ignore me like a dog barking! Ugh, it’s infuriating!!!”
Now Baal was sprawled out on the floor, grumbling in exasperation. Poor guy must really be having a rough time.
I might as well throw him a lifeline.
“You want an easier way to handle those types?”
“Yes! I’m done with this whole being ignored thing! But I can’t just smash them to ash either! Got any bright ideas? Spill it!!”
Baal, who had been moping on the floor, sprang up and clung to my legs like a kid desperate for candy.
He seemed quite desperate indeed.
“Pompous gods won’t bow down to brute force constantly, so it’s better to use a different strategy. For example… spread some rumors about that god among humans.”
“Rumors?”
“Yeah! Didn’t you use that tactic when you gave birth to Nyx?”
“With Nyx… Hm, so I just spread rumors like that?”
“Exactly! Use those whispers to steer the situation in your favor. Gods are bound by human thoughts after all.”
This method might work only because the rumors hadn’t spread too far yet.
But unless you are completely separate from those rumors, you can’t help but get affected.
“You could also tweak the essence of that god just a little or turn it upside down, then threaten them. But you know, it’s totally up to you.”
These gods tied to human perception can be reshaped by humans.
If a solemn and strict god suddenly turns into a goofy clown and realizes it… the emotion they’re likely to feel is definitely fear.
If they know that their very nature is being manipulated by humans, they’d have no choice but to freak out.
There’s power wrapped in that sort of intimidation, ya know.
“Or you could spread rumors about creating another god to replace the rebellious one, wiping them out and making a new one.”
Though, it takes quite a while for gods to pop into existence from human thoughts, so this would have to be a last resort.
“Isn’t that a bit extreme…?”
“Well, desperate times call for desperate measures. Hmm. If that isn’t your style, maybe think about splitting the god?”
“Splitting? Into two?”
Like chopping a sword to make a pair of twin blades… okay, now we’re just getting silly.
I cleared my throat and elaborated.
“Gods typically have more than one aspect, right?”
For instance, there’s me—the Goddess of Life and the Creation Dragon God. Plus the Destruction Dragon God, and Gaia, the Earth Goddess… and… wait, why is there also a God of Hunting? Is that some elf vibe?
Anyway, most gods usually have varying aspects, so dividing those aspects could be a valid way to sap their strength.
Sure, you do have some gods who cling to extremely limited essences, but usually, they’re the weaker ones.
Those kinds would probably grovel and obey Baal at the mere mention of his name.
“Splitting a god… I never even considered that.”
That’s understandable. Who would think of slicing a god in half?
If I hadn’t started toying with my aspect as the Goddess of Life for an automatic response system, I wouldn’t have come up with it either.
By the way, my auto-response system for prayers is still very much a work in progress. Not an easy task, that.
“Just remember, since it’s about chopping a perfectly good god, you’d better tread lightly. If it goes sideways, you might be in for big trouble.”
“Uh-huh… so I’ve got to use this with care. Got it. I’ll save it for when I really need it.”
Unless the god is truly rebelling or about to start a coup, it’s probably best left on the shelf.
Taking a divine being and splitting it into several parts could lead to some pretty hefty issues.
If the absolute last resort is to wipe out a god and recreate them, then this method is definitely a close second.
“But if we can split gods, can we fuse two gods together instead?”
“Hmm, hard to say.”
If we can do one, there’s a chance we can do the other, right? But how would that shake out?
“I haven’t tried it, so I can’t say for sure.”
There’s potential, but I’ve never done it myself.
As Baal and I bantered about these ideas,
“I’m back.”
Sagarmatha, the room’s owner, re-entered.
After quickly darting off to handle the prayers from a bunch of dwarves, it seems she finally wrapped up her business.
“Welcome back, Sagarmatha.”
“Yeah. I’m beat….”
As she made her way to my side with a curt remark, she noticed Baal and her expression froze.
“You. Why are you here?”
She said it in a chilly whisper.
“I was seeing Gaia for some advice.”
“This is my room. You have no business here. Leave.”
Her voice low and icy. Baal, not taking the hint, coolly waved her off.
“Well, I finished what I needed to say, so I’ll be off. Gaia, I’ll pop by again.”
“Don’t bother coming back.”
Taking Sagarmatha’s increasingly sharp words in stride, Baal exited the room at a brisk pace.
Seriously, why are these two at each other’s throats? Is it because one is the Sky God while the other’s the Earth God? Or is there some deeper drama involved?
I just wish they could see eye to eye.
Once Baal had skedaddled off, I offered Sagarmatha a comfy lap pillow and said, “Can’t you at least be a little more friendly with him?”
“No way. That’s impossible. I can’t share the same sky with that jerk.”
Wow, talk about hatred levels off the charts!
What on Earth did Baal do to provoke such disdain from Sagarmatha? I’m at a total loss here.
– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –
The hunt for clues about the name Baal and the Sky God was still in full swing.
I wasn’t getting anywhere with the records I had, so it was time to search elsewhere for leads.
Checking records from other races seemed like a solid next step.
If any race had a rich history, it’d have to be the elves, who live for centuries. But sadly, out of luck here; Alfheim, the city of the elves, isn’t exactly open to all wanderers.
On the flip side, I could try hitting up the dwarves. As it so happens, I had lent a hand to some dwarves in the past.
Dwarves are notoriously meticulous when it comes to debts. If I remind them of my earlier help, they won’t think twice about returning the favor.
And while they might not live as long as elves, dwarves have a much longer lifespan than humans. So… who knows? They might hold some bits of info about the name Baal or the Sky God.
With that hope in mind, I set off for the dwarven capital, Nidavellir.
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