A transparent, golden eyeball, resembling a strange crystal.
The radiance it emanated drew even the gods' attention.
Of course.
This did not include the two Supreme Beings and the wise man who had once endured temptation and repeatedly severed it.
Looking at the radiance emanating from the eyeball, the two Supreme Beings seemed to understand something.
They gazed at Alka with astonishment.
The Virgin Mary also understood something in an instant, as if all the doubts she had about Alka had been completely resolved in that moment.
Everyone else stared intently at the eyeball, its allure growing stronger.
"Wake up!"
A loud roar.
It reverberated like thunder in everyone's ears and minds, shaking their very souls.
Everyone felt as if they had just awakened from a dream.
They panted as they gazed at the eyeball, still holding a fatal attraction. Yet, something seemed to insure their souls, preventing them from losing their minds even when captivated.
The Virgin looked at the eyeballs and then at Alka.
"What is that? It's Mother's authority, a familiar yet seemingly unprecedented authority."
It was a profoundly hidden secret; even the Supreme Being, born from this world, could not discern its past existence.
Their status alone allowed her to discover some clues, connections to past doubts. But the specifics and details remained invisible.
Only the wise man spoke: "That is a secret, something I once possessed in ancient times. It was the source of Mother's destruction, the greatest sin I have ever committed."
The cause of everything.
Some seemed to understand something, while others remained bewildered, unsure of its true nature.
But the three gods understood it easily.
Alka grasped the eyeballs.
With force.
With a snapping sound.
The eyeballs shattered.
A certain power within them dissipated, and under Alka's guidance, flowed into the crack.
Returned to the world.
Then, dense threads began to spread across the crack, weaving furiously, like a sewing machine, mending the wound.
"Born from the world, the source of all problems. Finally, it will return to the world, repairing the greatest wound.
It's fitting, isn't it?"
Alka smiled.
Aside from the Four Gods, the others couldn't understand what Alka had given up. But they knew that Alka had voluntarily given up such a tempting existence, such a temptation to life's instincts. This was enough for them to admire.
The crack was mending.
The world was undergoing a perfect recovery.
Everyone seemed to sense it.
The crowd gathered around, waiting.
They watched the crack mend, watched it close.
In the ocean of world consciousness.
The waves surged.
The pain seemed to recede.
A gigantic white mist serpent entered this ocean of pain.
More ancient, gigantic dream kings were entering this ocean of pain.
"Our new compatriot has fallen."
"Indeed."
"Yes."
"A remarkable being."
"Now, it's our turn."
One after another, these incredibly powerful dream beings surged in the ocean of painful consciousness, beginning to help the world share its suffering, just as they had before.
Now.
This pain no longer accumulated eternally.
Instead, it would slowly recede.
As the pain subsided, it became shared.
The world seemed to open its eyes.
"Mother, Mother has awakened."
Beside the mended rift, life cried out in surprise.
The world was awakening.
A gentle breeze seemed to pick up, the chaotic surroundings completely suppressed.
The chaos of the boundless ocean was slowly returning to normal.
The eternally swirling waters were calming.
The islands, following the sea's endless movement, seemed to have stopped.
Plants swayed in the breeze.
Animals and life poked their heads out from the trees.
They chirped and sang.
They all cheered.
Cheering at the awakening of the world.
An invisible shadow coalesced before everyone, its invisible surroundings enveloping a humanoid form. Alka could clearly feel his heart pounding, and nervousness began to surge into his head.
How long had it been since he had felt this way?
It wasn't just him.
The nervousness seemed to be spreading.
The invisible mist dissipated.
A solid figure emerged.
She was dressed in a simple, pure white dress.
She had an ordinary face and long gold hair.
She stood there like an ordinary mother, neither beautiful nor ugly, neither old nor young.
Calm and peaceful.
A sense of peace and tranquility that made one feel grounded.
She opened her eyes.
Those eyes were just like those of an ordinary person, nothing special.
She turned her head and looked around.
A smile appeared on her calm face.
Gentle.
One after another, the figures of gods appeared around them.
They were beings that had previously protected the outer world.
Among them was the Flower Fairy.
Even now, this goddess retained her former darting spirit.
She was the first to leap forward, hugging her mother's waist.
"Mother."
Only then did everyone realize.
This woman's height was unnatural, standing a full three meters tall.
The Flower Fairy, maintaining a normal build, looked like a young girl, only reaching up to her waist.
She squatted down and embraced the Flower Fairy.
"Good child."
Then she stood up and pulled her aside.
She came to the side of the Virgin Mary.
She stood beside her and opened her arms. The Virgin Mary took two steps forward and gently embraced her.
Then she let go.
A hint of melancholy crossed the world's normally gentle and calm face.
Like a mother troubled by her child's overly cold personality.
"Not at all like a mother."
Hearing this, the Virgin Mary glanced at her and silently moved away.
The world simply sighed and then came to Life's side.
He smiled, squatted down, and gave Life a tight hug.
Life's expression seemed pleased.
Next came the burly-looking Sea God.
When the world reached him, a hint of disdain inevitably crossed his face.
Facing the Sea God, the world's action was to forcibly pull him in for a hug.
The Sea God, feeling humiliated but unable to resist, smacked his lips.
Then he was slapped hard on the head.
Finally, it was the Wise Man.
Facing the Wise One, the World simply pondered in distress, finally patting his head. Clearly, the Wise One did not appreciate hugs.
These five were once children.
Alka finally understood why the gods felt a mixture of love and hate for the World Mother.
She considered their feelings and loved them, but sometimes, like an ordinary mother, she didn't care about their dignity.
It was nothing like the normal affection between gods.
It was like...
An ordinary family.
Alka knew it without even turning around.
The expressions of Sofia and the others behind him must have been nearly shattered.
Then the World turned to look at Alka.
Faced with that gaze, Alka inexplicably took a step back.
Although he was now blind and his eyelids were tightly shut, for beings like them, eyes were no longer their only means of perceiving the outside world.
The world slowly approached Alka.
Alka's height forced him to raise his head slightly, facing her through tightly closed eyelids.
The world raised a hand slightly, placed it on his face, and touched his closed eyes.
"What a good child."
"You gave me eyes that could see through secrets. I will give you eyes that can no longer be deceived."
The world's hand rested on Alka's face, its thumb gently pressing against his eyes.
A faint light, flowing from the surroundings, gathered in Alka's eyes.
Penetrating through his tightly closed eyelids, it sank deep into his eye sockets.
Alka could feel a spherical connection forming in his previously empty eye sockets, a brand new eye appearing within them.
When the light faded.
Alka frowned, then blinked slightly and opened his eyes.
A pair of eyes.
Eyes no longer blinded.
They could see through all lies, all falsehoods, all concealments.
The sight of truth.
Watching Alka's eyes reopen.
The world, bent low, straightened itself again, gazing upon the battlefield around them.
Looking out at the boundless wilderness in the distance, the land, newly emerged from chaos, lay dead silent. There lay the bodies of those humans who hadn't been carried away.
The demon's corpse had dissipated.
What remained was the husk of a warrior.
The world watched, calmly, unable to sense her emotions.
"I'm not a good mother."
She spoke quietly.
Across the distant plains, one figure after another in black robes, aboard illusory canoes, vanished, carrying a trail of souls with them.
Ten years later.
The cycle of reincarnation had gradually begun to take on a regular pattern.
Though it wasn't perfect yet.
"I know everything you've done for me. Pain keeps me from waking, and sorrow fills my heart.
My self-destructive tendencies have even affected you. I'm sorry."
She turned to look at the Virgin Mary and the other gods.
"You've grown, grown into beings I'm proud of. But I, a mother, remain stagnant, even holding my own child back.
Letting my child sacrifice for me, a parent, is such a failure.
Perhaps, I should grow up too."
...
Outside the world.
The awakening of the world's consciousness caused the entire world to tremble.
The gods outside clearly sensed the awakening of their former mother. They sensed her will, the awakening of that dormant consciousness.
"Mother... Mother has awakened. What should we do? She's awakened in agony, and we're about to leave her utterly ... From ten thousand years ago until now, their unwavering goal has been survival—free survival, powerful survival.
Even the mere presence of Alka made them afraid to rush forth into the world in full force.
Because Alka had proven that he could steal more than just the divinity within them. In certain circumstances, he might even be able to steal the very divinity they themselves had constructed as a backup plan.
This power frightened them and held them back.
As for the closing of the rift, it was fine.
They could open it again. They could create another breach in their mother's body, allowing the virus to enter.
"Mother has awakened. Let's go. She will let us go, and she will let us leave with our divinity," a god said.
Their mother was so doting. Even now, they felt the same way.
The God of War gazed grimly at the vast, boundless world below.
"No, our mother is indecisive, her heart filled with weakness. Otherwise, how could we possibly destroy her?
That is her nature. Someone as kind and weak as her should be destroyed by us. She will watch with a smile, as she once did, awaiting her own death.
Watching us slaughter each other in sorrow and pain. We still have a chance."
He did not want his body and soul to be reclaimed at any moment.
The best solution was complete destruction.
Otherwise, they would not have reached this point, so there was no way out.
"No, I've had enough. Even if my divinity is reclaimed, it doesn't matter. I'm leaving here.
I'm leaving here, never returning. I never want to see this world again."
A god made up his mind and turned to leave. A spear instantly pierced his chest, and then another hand pierced his heart, grasping for something within him.
"Leave? War doesn't allow deserters, coward! Since you're leaving, leave your divinity behind."
The sudden attack, coupled with the God of War's apparent knowledge of the god's weakness, instantly killed him with a single blow. Even the spear he wielded seemed custom-made for this god.
This had been a long-planned move.
With lightning speed, he forcibly ripped the power from his body.
In front of the gods, he devoured the power.
His lips were still stained with the god's golden blood.
With bloodshot eyes, he stared at the god before him.
"Now, join me in destroying the world."
It was no longer a negotiation, but an order.
Some of the gods before him were terrified, while others frowned, seemingly unable to endure the situation.
"I've had enough of you. If you want to stop me, then come on."
A god clad in black armor drew a longsword.
He instantly engaged the God of War in battle.
But the God of War's ability to lead them stemmed from nothing more than his ruthlessness, his cunning, and his immense power.
He quickly subdued the god before him through targeted tactics.
"What are you all just standing there for? If we all attack together, can he still kill us all? Do you really expect him to spare us?"
However, his words were meaningless.Just as the spear blade was about to pierce him, a hand gently grasped the base of the spear, blocking the final, fatal blow. Before them appeared: an ordinary female figure dressed in white. The female deity, who had been frightened just moments ago, widened her eyes and trembled, "Mother... Mother."