The Curse

“Looking back, though I could read minds, I never truly saw into the heart of humanity…”

In the boundless divine sea, Hestia’s presence was like the only flickering firefly on the surface of the ocean, emitting a soft light. She gazed at the myriad souls slumbering within the divine lamp she had carried for ten thousand years.

Her pale purple eyes held only guilt and helplessness.

“This isn’t your fault, Lamia, she…”

Selina was about to offer some comfort but then suddenly paused.

Right, what right did she have to offer comfort? She hadn’t even participated in that divine war, having only caught a few fleeting glimpses in her memories. What right did she have to speak so grandly here?

“Selina, I know your good intentions, but both gods and humans must admit their own mistakes…”

Hestia shook her head, her voice even and calm.

As a deity, she had actually been quite derelict in her duties to her believers. She only wanted to measure the land of this continent with her own feet, and she only wanted to illuminate the still-dark earth with the lamp in her hand.

Her conviction, her path, led her to ascend to godhood, causing countless believers to follow her actions and believe in her.

Countless lamp-bearers emulated her actions, holding candles and using light to dispel their own confusion and that of those behind them.

But she always forgot that she was a deity, and those believers behind her, even with the firmest faith, were still human.

As long as they were human, there would be times of confusion; as long as they were human, there would be times of making mistakes.

She believed her own conviction would not melt or waver even when scorched by high-temperature divine fire.

Thus, she simply and purely believed that her followers would be the same.

Even though the human heart held a myriad of complexities, she had never once suspected that Lamia, the Saintess who followed her, would one day betray her.

“I never suspected it; that was the biggest mistake…”

“I failed to fulfill a deity’s proper duties. A deity should not only expand the territory of their authority but also pause their steps to resolve the confusion in the hearts of those who cannot keep up.”

Perhaps it was her nature, she always blamed herself, but at the same time, she grew more resolute.

Deities might also make mistakes, but they would not be as stubbornly misguided as some individuals.

“From the moment the Saintess betrayed and embraced the Demon Tribe, the river of faith was irreversibly corrupted. All believers at that time were cursed. Among them, some had their souls perish on the spot, some had their bodies mutate and degenerate into demons, and some…”

As Hestia spoke, a hint of unbearable sorrow flashed in her eyes.

“Just like your Master, possessing firm conviction and formidable strength. The curse could not make them perish on the spot, nor did their bodies degenerate into demons due to the resistance of their own power. But they themselves had to endure the excruciating pain of their bones being boiled and marrow being consumed throughout their lives.”

“Even after death, I was unable to guide some of their souls into reincarnation…”

Most of the souls of believers who died in the divine war were temporarily settled by Hestia in the divine lamp.

But now, her power was insufficient to guide a large number of souls back into reincarnation. Moreover, many of these souls understood that the deity they once believed in would cease to exist.

The responsibility of the deity and the faith of the believers formed an extremely fragile balance.

“Then can you still recover to your former peak state?”

“Yes, and no.”

“Why? Is it that my faith power isn’t enough?”

There was a time when Selina had asked Hestia if she wanted to develop a few believers offline, after all, she was the only one believing in the Goddess of Lampfire, and the efficiency of generating faith power was too low.

But Hestia had refused at the time.

The reason was simple: because the Descender’s soul was too strong, the faith power generated by just one person was enough to supply Hestia in her current state.

If the efficiency of an ordinary person generating faith power was compared to the speed at which a person could walk, then some people could barely cross the Northern and Southern hemispheres in a year.

For Hestia, the speed of one person walking was currently enough to meet her needs.

In Selina’s case, it was like a plane, only needing a few steps to achieve the same result.

In short, there was a good reason why Descenders were coveted by deities.

“No, your faith power is pure enough and sufficient for my power to recover, but now, only you can withstand it…”

“What do you mean?”

Selina frowned, instinctively feeling a bad premonition.

“The curse from back then has not been completely removed. If ordinary people were to believe in me, they would be affected by the residual curse power in the river of faith, either rapidly decaying or mutating into demons. You, however, are blessed by Themis, the God of Elements, and possess the stable foundation of a Descender, allowing you to be deeply bound to me without being affected.”

Hestia’s words filled one with a deep sense of despair.

“Then how can the curse be completely removed?”

Hestia was deeply bound to her, and she was the only believer and Saintess of the Reincarnation Cult. This matter had to concern Selina.

“The curse comes from Demon God Lilith. If she were to personally remove it, that would naturally be the best method.”

“Isn’t that a vicious cycle? To remove the curse, Demon God Lilith must act. But this curse was cast upon you by Demon God Lilith. Without removing the curse, you can’t restore your peak strength. Without peak strength, how can you force her to remove the curse for you?”

Selina rubbed her aching forehead, her head buzzing with dizziness.

“Perhaps, there’s another possibility…”

“What possibility?”

“That is, the former Saintess Lamia, now the Demon Queen. If she can be made to fully cooperate, then there is still a possibility…”

Hestia’s reminder suddenly plunged Selina, who had thought it was unsolvable, into deep thought.

“Your Highness, Your Highness, something terrible has happened!”

The red dragoness Norin burst into the dormitory in a panic, clutching a piece of unusually crafted paper in her hand. She rushed to the side of the Dragon Saintess, who was just preparing to paint.

The carefully mixed paints placed on the Dragon Saintess’s lap were knocked over by Norin, and a helpless expression immediately appeared on Aurelia’s calm face.

“What’s wrong? What has you so flustered?”

“Your Highness, a secret order has come from the Dragon God Cult saying that you have desecrated your sacred office, disrespected the Dragon God, and usurped your position through cheating, and they will publicly conduct a Dragon God Trial against you!”

At this moment, Norin’s face no longer held its usual cheerfulness and foolishness.

She was genuinely worried for Her Highness.

Although she was merely an ordinary attendant given to Her Highness the Saintess by the previous Saintess before her departure, Norin was perhaps the only dragon constantly thinking of Aurelia.

Aurelia listened to the red dragoness’s brief summary, then took the secret order and read it carefully. Her previously calm face immediately darkened.

“Pack your things. We’ll apply for leave from school tomorrow morning.”

“Your Highness, the situation is urgent! Why don’t we leave now? We can submit the leave application later from school.”

Norin was anxious beyond measure at this moment.

She felt that only by Her Highness the Saintess rushing back to clear her name could this situation be appeased.

And the sooner this matter was settled, the better, otherwise, the more it dragged on, the bigger the trouble would become.

“Since the matter has already happened, there’s no need to rush. The Dragon God Trial is three days away. Even if we could rush back tonight, all we would gain is being confined and interrogated.”

Although the turn of events caught her off guard, Aurelia’s expression never showed any panic. Past brushes with death had long trained her composure far beyond that of her peers. This slander also failed to throw her off balance.

“Then, Your Highness, now what do we do?”

“You help pack my things. I’m going out to bid farewell to a few friends.”

As she spoke, the Dragon Saintess removed the palette from her lap and, disregarding the various paints on her clothes, pushed open the door and walked straight out.