Chapter 127: Ch 126: Almost like a Warning

It did not take long for Aiden to put the entire local god council under his control. Their loyalty was secured by a system-bound contract and oaths, and now he had an information network that would span across other gods’ domains.

That happened on the first day of the council meeting. But seeing how it was a three-day meeting held by false representatives, it was easy to tell what the rest of the time was spent on.

Still, playing around was one thing, but gambling was another.

But even the excuse of serving a god did not stop these people from playing cards once the air became lighter.

"I will then go all in."

"I will fold."

"Tsk, I had a killer hand. But now I no longer know..."

The gods were busy gambling in front of Aiden, but he did not participate. He did not want to partake in anything where he had nothing to gain.

Instead, he heard the other priests complain and picked up information from their complaints.

"Ugh, I fold. But honestly, did God Vital’s remaining followers have to stage a coup? I heard they were totally crushed."

"Well, they did lose their god, and their god was absorbed into another religion."

"What about Goddess Flora—"

"Shhh! She was cursed. Don’t say her name or we will be cursed as well—"

Aiden watched all this as his goddess went to sleep. He kept quiet until the topic circled back to God Vital.

"By the way, I did not think of God Vital as a fool who would attack another god’s territory unprovoked. He was about to evolve into a god who could join our council soon. Why do you think he did it?"

"Well, isn’t it obvious? It must be because he was being backed by someone else. I heard that he used to be close with Goddess Serenity."

"Goddess Serenity? You mean, that Goddess Serenity? That ancient one who was bitter about not becoming a foundation goddess because she was beaten by that ancient snake goddess? Then it makes sense."

"Tsk, just because they are both snake goddesses does not mean they are both the same. I’ve heard stories about that ancient snake goddess and the kind of miracles she could perform. She was no ordinary goddess..."

Aiden did not disturb these people to ask more because he was afraid they would get nervous and stop talking. But he listened carefully and stored all this information in his brain.

He was aware that his goddess was awake as well and listening in.

She might pretend otherwise, but Aiden could tell that she was interested in knowing more about her past as well.

His goddess had not told him everything, but he got the feeling from her that some of her key memories were missing. But they were not lost permanently.

The game continued and topics kept shifting until it was time for them to head back to their rooms. And Aiden quickly locked his own before he allowed his goddess to get down from his neck.

Goddess Apophis stretched before she took her human form and swiftly climbed onto the bed.

"What did you think about that story, Aiden? Do you believe that Goddess Apophis and Goddess Serenity had bad blood?"

The fact that his goddess was asking such a question likely meant that she felt conflicted. And as her priest, it was Aiden’s job to make her feel more secure.

"I am sure there were circumstances. Or if we believe the story, Goddess Serenity was just being a sore loser who wants to be petty. We should just ignore such people, my goddess. But if you are truly worried, I can look more into it—"

"There is no need to do that. Knowing you, you would get yourself into even more trouble trying to help me. It would be for the best if you don’t even try."

His goddess reminded Aiden, and he nodded to show that he understood.

He understood that his goddess wanted him to stay safe and that was why she was holding him back, but he still wanted to help her out. So he decided he would do it from the shadows where she could not see.

If his goddess’s biggest fear was him being hurt, then Aiden would eliminate that possibility.

That night, Aiden was simply sleeping in his bed when he felt a movement in his room again. He quickly opened his eyes and noticed that it was another intruder who dared to come after his life.

He yawned and stretched before taking care of this intruder and knocking the man out. But when he pulled the face protector down, he noticed something—the man had already taken his own life before he could be made to speak.

"This is..."

Aiden looked down at the dead body before he decided that it would be for the best to dispose of it as well. Especially before his goddess woke up.

But before that, he wanted to take a better look to see if he could uncover any secrets from this body.

"Hmm, let’s see..."

There was a mark on the back of the man’s neck which looked like a snake being strangled by something. It was a pretty mark, but Aiden could not help but feel like it was an ominous sign toward his goddess...

Almost like a warning.

"Tsk, so it was not a coincidence that this man decided to attack us? Let me sketch this mark and see what it matches."

Aiden had a feeling that it could be Goddess Serenity. But from what he had read, Goddess Serenity was a Greater Goddess who was ranked above his goddess. If she wanted Goddess Apophis dead, she did not need to go through all this.

Unless...

"Did one of her subordinates take it upon themselves to get rid of Goddess Apophis and get in Goddess Serenity’s good graces? What a hassle...but I guess this is something I should expect at this point."

The world of gods was not black and white but filled with all shades of grey.