To become Heaven's vessel.
To overturn Heaven and Earth itself.
To manifest the Heavenly Realm into the mortal world.
Such a thing sounded utterly absurd.
Yet, in theory, it wasn't impossible. The Heavenly Realm, after all, was an illusory space formed from the interwoven authorities of countless gods—an intangible reflection of their divine essence.
If gods could inhabit mortal vessels, then logically, the Heavenly Realm—sharing their nature—could do the same.
But "not impossible" didn't mean it was easily achievable.
Even for a god to possess a mortal required extraordinarily stringent conditions—a human whose "wavelength" matched theirs perfectly.
And the Heavenly Realm, an imaginary space entwined with the essences and authorities of countless gods, had infinitely more complex wavelengths.
Finding a compatible vessel for something like that was virtually impossible.
Yet, now…
Under Rovi's will, the [Chains of Heaven] tightened relentlessly around him, pulling taut. High above, the Heavenly Realm itself—the divine dwelling of the gods—began to shudder violently.
With a power vastly surpassing their previous attempts, they were truly touching the realm of gods.
Using the [Wedge of Heaven] as an anchor—this divine spike driven into the mortal realm by the gods themselves—then binding it securely with the [Chains of Heaven], and finally breaking through the boundary separating humanity and Heaven with the [Key of Heaven]—
Thus forcing Heaven itself, in a state of possession, to plunge into the mortal realm!
"No… Impossible!"
Sky God Anu forcibly calmed himself, staring down at Rovi through the eyes he still had lingering in the mortal world—at Gilgamesh, and especially at Enkidu. "Bringing down the Heavenly Realm to possess reality… You cannot possibly achieve such a thing!"
Because even thinking of such an act was something the gods dared not do—let alone actually attempt.
"Exactly! They must be bluffing!"
Nearby, Ishtar's true form also chimed in, panic audible in her voice.
The gods were terrified.
Though they originated as mere manifestations of nature, belief had granted them self-awareness, and thus, instincts akin to living beings:
The instinct to survive.
The fear of death.
The stubborn refusal to accept their own annihilation.
But facing their frantic cries, Rovi didn't respond; he merely raised his hand, ready to act.
He stood silently at the center of the spiraling flower formed by the intertwined [Wedge], [Key], and [Chains of Heaven], suspended high above Uruk, eclipsing even the sun and moon.
He had no obligation to explain himself to them…
Yet, even though Rovi stayed silent, someone else spoke loudly:
"Bwahahaha! Foolish gods! How could your limited minds possibly comprehend the boundless wisdom of this king and his companion?"
Gilgamesh stood proudly atop his star-chariot [Vimana], hovering arrogantly above the Bull of Heaven, arms crossed in disdain.
"Very well, you fools—witness clearly the brilliance of this king's friend!"
"Rovi! Enlighten these gods!"
"Let these idiots know just what a magnificent scheme you've devised!"
In reality, Gilgamesh himself wasn't entirely clear on the details.
He was merely the executor, not the architect of this grand strategy.
Otherwise, he would have boasted about it long ago.
Enkidu also lifted her gaze toward Rovi, smiling gently:
"Rovi, if you wish to speak, that's fine too."
"No matter what you choose to do, I'll support you."
The divine doll's words were exceedingly gentle.
Rovi hesitated briefly, instinctively thinking that villains who spoke too much always died first—but then paused… Wasn't that precisely the point?
Dragging the gods down to the mortal world had always been meant to force them to kill him.
The outcome remained unchanged.
Thus, he suppressed his initial impulse to strike immediately.
"You want to know?"
Rovi lightly brushed dust from his robe, smiling brightly beneath the gaze of the gods.
Without beating around the bush, he stated plainly:
"I'll tell you. I know roughly what you're thinking—and yes, it's exactly as you've guessed."
"Compared to possessing a single god, possessing the Heavenly Realm—which carries the essence of countless gods—is infinitely more complicated, with far more demanding conditions."
"That's why…we acted in the name of gods!"
Rovi's smile intensified brilliantly.
What, exactly, was the essence of gods born from nature?
Authority? Natural phenomena?
No—the essence of gods was the consciousness bestowed upon them by mortal belief. It was the "name" humans gave to planetary phenomena that originally had no life of their own.
Ancient magi invoked the "names" of gods precisely for this reason, manifesting divine power in the mortal realm.
Compatibility with the names of gods itself was the necessary wavelength for possession.
Therefore, from the very beginning, Rovi and the others never intended to erase humanity's faith in the gods. They never sought to discard the practice of chanting gods' names.
The names of gods were themselves the original form of "mystery."
Acting in the name of the gods wasn't just for smoother execution of their plan—it was also to preserve the presence of those divine names in the mortal world, maintaining precisely this wavelength in reality.
Indeed, a few scattered believers chanting a god's name could never have achieved this effect alone.
But this time, Heaven itself would inhabit the entirety of the human world—the entire Mesopotamian plain.
Unified beneath three kings, the mortal realm had now perfectly met the necessary conditions.
The stronger the belief the gods left behind in humanity, the more widely their names were known, the more closely matched the wavelength became.
The possibility of possession thus increased dramatically!
In other words—
"Unless you abandon your believers in the mortal realm, discard your own names, and forsake the foundation of your dominion—this possession is inevitable."
"The Bull of Heaven, Humbaba, everything that has occurred…"
"From the very start, we've used the very pit you dug yourselves, forcing you to leap into it!"
"The 'Child of Man's Cannon' we fired toward Heaven just now also carried humanity's faith in gods—now saturating every inch of the land, permeating every space and corner of reality."
"This has raised the wavelength compatibility to its absolute maximum!"
"People resist precisely because they believe."
"They achieve the impossible even knowing it cannot be done—"
"This is humanity's hymn—their true courage!"
"Bwahahaha!"
Are you angry now? Furious, perhaps?
Rovi laughed aloud, his voice full of mockery and reckless abandon.
He had to admit, openly laying out such a meticulously calculated plan to its intended victims felt utterly exhilarating.
In truth, this wild scheme had begun forming in Rovi's mind ever since their insane attempt to challenge the gods at the Monster Forest.
That failure taught him the harsh lesson that, at the time, their combined strength was insufficient. Whatever they sought to achieve, power capable of reaching the Heavenly Realm was fundamental.
But it also revealed another crucial insight: ordinary methods would never suffice.
To court grand death, one must perform grand deeds.
To accomplish grand deeds, one must tread extraordinary paths.
Thus, from that moment onward, Rovi never stopped contemplating.
From Ishtar-Rin and Eresh, he had gained inspiration—
If gods could possess humans…
Couldn't the Heavenly Realm itself possess the mortal world?
And at last, that momentary spark of madness had, right now, become reality.
---
T/N: wow author chaning it to chains of heaven now instead of lock FUCK YIOU oh well its okay i love you (i changed it for the earlier chapters for webnovel)