Chapter 509

【 SUSPICIONOF IDENTITY 】

“It appeared in the Desert of Death?”

Seated in the main seat of the Temple of Life, Eve, under the guise of Zero, absently rubbed the intelligence report that Dongdong had handed over, lost in thought.

“Miss Dongdong.”

She turned her gaze back to the player, Dongdong.

Dongdong instantly straightened her posture, eyes bright with anticipation.

“Yes!”

After all, Zero was one of the most popular NPCs, known for giving hidden, important questlines that are integral to the overarching storyline of the game. Even if she could squeeze the tiniest bit of reward from this encounter, it would be a huge win!

However, Evé did not mention any rewards just yet. Instead, she asked softly,

“When did you learn this information?”

“Today Lady Zero! I was afraid of missing something important, so I came straight away as soon as I heard about it.”

Dongdong replied promptly.

Evé nodded.

She pondered for a moment, briefly sitting still in place.

“I’ll take a direct look at it…”

With a slight shift in her thoughts, Evé gently closed her eyes.

While discreetly channeling her divine power, she entered a mysterious state. Deep within her core, the divine power of life stirred as her vision soared and swept across the vast land in an instant.

She saw her true body, the enormous tree concealed within an isolated pocket space, then saw the City of the Chosen along with the lush forests in its surroundings…

Her vision continued to expand upwards until the entirety of Elven Forest finally appeared in her view.

Then, Evé finally halted taking in the sights before her.

“Divine True Sight”

She murmured within her mind.

In response to her will, her vision shifted dramatically.

[Divine True Sight]

If priest-class players possessed the [Eye of Faith], which was capable of perceiving a person’s level of faith, then [ Divine True Sight ] was its divine counterpart, the higher form of [Eye of Faith].

In that moment, Eve’s gaze seemed to penetrate through space itself, revealing a world bathed in brilliant, scattered radiance.

In her view, the entire Elven Forest was enveloped in shimmering specks of moving light, divided into blue and green hues.

The blue light was the most prevalent, scattered across the vast forest, while the green was less frequent, mostly concentrated in the city of Florence.

These lights were the representation of the players and native elves.

Through the use of [Divine True Sight], Evé was able to perceive the consciousness of the players, the faith of her believers, and the intricate network of faith that connected them to her, which were facilitated through the interlinked game and faith system.

But that was not the reason she had activated this divine ability of hers.

This time, Evé shifted her gaze toward the Desert of Death and as she expected, this whole region was veiled in a hazy silver radiance.

It was the power of Uller, the God of Winter and Hunt, obscuring her from spying upon his territory.

This was a capability possessed by all true gods, which allowed them to exert divine influence within their own territories. By utilizing their believers’ faith and manifesting it as a protective barrier of divine energy, deities like them would be able to conceal what was happening inside their domains from the prying eyes of others.

However, this barrier was not meant for defense against mortals or even believers from other faiths but instead, it warded off the prying eyes of mythical entities…

At the same time, this very power was what blocked the usage of spatial teleportation abilities within the region.

Nevertheless, there are ways to bypass this protective barrier.

Evé focused her vision on a particular location within the Desert of Death.

Roughly 1,500 kilometers from her true form, it was the farthest point players had reached since that area was unlocked on the game map. There, a flickering green radiance stood out amidst the desolate sands.

Even though the overwhelming silvery protective barrier tried to suppress and conceal it, a cluster of brilliant green glow remained unmistakable within that area, like a beacon in the darkness, clearly visible to Eve.

And within that radiant cluster, Evé sensed something familiar which was akin to a distant, lingering call…

—A divine resonance of some sort.

It was a divine power with the same essence as hers.

An overwhelmingly pure and concentrated essence of Nature and Life!

Piecing it together with the intelligence report Dongdong had provided her, Evé now understood the gist of what’s going on.

A flicker of astonishment crossed her mind.

Could it really be… the Divine Kingdom of her predecessor?

A deity’s divine power was never easy to preserve.

Aside from true gods and imbuing it into divine artifacts, only a god’s innate divine kingdom could store such pure divine power over a long time.

But just as Evé focused her gaze on that particular location, the silver radiance shrouding the Desert of Death suddenly intensified.

The light grew increasingly brilliant, completely suppressing and concealing the cluster of green energy, erasing it from Eve’s view.

Clearly, Uller had finally noticed her intrusion.

True gods could naturally sense the attention of other divine beings.

The moment Evé cast her gaze toward the desert, the dominion’s master decisively invoked his divine power to obscure her vision.

Even if doing so required expending several times the divine energy Evé had used.

A thought stirred within Evé.

“He obviously doesn’t want me to see what’s happening on that area.”

There could be many reasons for such secrecy….

Perhaps he was hiding something.

Or perhaps he was scheming something.

However, considering Uller’s divinity, his ambitions, and Eve’s own speculations, there was only one plausible conclusion she could come up with.

Uller was also after that remnant Divine Kingdom of the World Tree.

His divinities of Winter and Hunt were both subsidiary aspects closely linked to the divinity of Nature. Therefore, by seizing her predecessor’s divine kingdom and absorbing its essence would significantly enhance and refine his own divinity.

Thus, he sought to conceal any information about the remnant divine kingdom, especially from Eve, who wielded authority over the divinities of Life and Nature.

For most beings, entering a fallen god’s divine kingdom was nearly impossible. Even for a deity, breaching such a sacred domain required either a direct connection to its essence or an immense expenditure of divine power. Moreover, Uller’s true form also currently resided in the Heavenly Realm. So to manifest an incarnation of himself strong enough to force entry into the divine kingdom, would be a daunting task.

In contrast, Eve, who reigned over the laws of Life and Nature, shared the same divinity as the former World Tree. As such, it would be far easier for her than for any other god if she wished to enter that divine kingdom.

Furthermore, her true form was also present in this realm, and her recovery rate was astonishingly fast. Unlike other gods who relied on their divine incarnations to manifest themselves, she existed here in her full glory, unrestrained by such limitations. As a result, her divine power was more readily available, making her, without a doubt, the strongest being in Seigües at this moment.

Hence, if she were to uncover the truth behind this remnant divine kingdom and decide to seize it for herself, Uller would have no way of stopping her once she utilized her true form.

At least, that was how Uller might have probably perceived it.

Of course, Eve’s true form was confined to the isolated pocket dimension she had created, but she didn’t need to leave it anyway—unless the worst-case scenario arose—since she could instead rely upon the new incarnation she acquired from Ouros, which was capable of wielding power at the divine level.

“Heh… does he really think this will stop me?”

“My predecessor’s Divine Kingdom, huh… Heh, Uller lacks crucial information, so he doesn’t really know who I truly am…”

“If he did, he wouldn’t think that simply hiding it would be enough to stop me.”

Evé shook her head.

She was the current World Tree.

Hence, by all rights, the divine kingdom of the former World Tree should rightfully belong to her to inherit.

As long as she could locate and get close enough to it, she would be able to connect her faith network to it and receive the legacy inside that divine kingdom in a matter of moments.

Of course, this depended on one crucial factor…

That is, it had to still contain divine power and maintain some level of activity. But her earlier observations had already confirmed that fact, as evidenced by those clusters of green radiance.

Which meant that if Eve rushed over now, she had an extremely high chance of taking control of that divine kingdom!

However, there was also an enormous risk if she proceeded with this, as it would mean exposing her true identity. However, Eve believed that as long as she was careful enough, she could mitigate any danger that might arise along the way.

Yet, just as she was about to proceed with her plan, a sudden unease crept into her mind, accompanied by a growing sense of alarm akin to a premonition.

“No… something’s wrong.”

“If Uller truly wanted to prevent me from seeing the Divine Kingdom, then why did he wait until I was already spying on that area to obscure it?”

“Also, why did he allow people from other factions, especially elves, to learn about it at all in the first place?”

“No—it’s not that he wanted to hide it per se, but rather that he intentionally wanted me to see it for myself.”

Evé lips narrowed to a thin line.

“This is a trap.”

“He’s definitely trying to lure me in.”

“There surely must be an ambush waiting for me in that area!”

As if finally piecing everything together, Eve’s mind cooled once more.

And within that clarity, another question arose within her mind.

“Something else is off…”

“If the divine kingdom of my predecessor has truly reappeared here in Seigües then—Why did I not sense anything at all?”

“Regardless of anything else, I am the World Tree’s successor.”

“Even if I had never been linked to the previous divine kingdom, I should have sensed something through my connection to Seigües’ provenance if it had truly reappeared upon this realm—especially in an area so close to where I am.”

How strange.

This was very strange.

And as the realization that it was most likely a trap settled in, Evé let out a soft chuckle.

She understood now.

“I see…A fake divine kingdom.”

“So that’s how it is…That Divine Kingdom must be an illusion crafted using a divine artifact and a pocket dimension, meant to lure me in.”

Evé withdrew her gaze, her consciousness returning to her true form.

After shifting her consciousness back into Zero, Evé finally reopened her eyes.

This time, however, her expression was a lot calmer.

This whole situation was definitely a trap.

Uller was using the pretense of the ‘World Tree’s Divine Kingdom’ reappearing in the Desert of Death as bait, trying to provoke her into taking action.

And this so-called divine kingdom?

It likely wasn’t a divine kingdom at all.

Thinking about it, if she were to devise such a trap, she would probably do so by using a divine artifact imbued with vast amounts of life essence. By placing it within a carefully crafted pocket dimension, one could use the artifact as a catalyst to replicate the divine power of the former World Tree, thereby effectively faking the existence of its divine kingdom.

However, she knew for certain Uller himself didn’t possess such an artifact.

But certainly… other gods did.

In fact, Evé had previously heard from Hela that Lóðurr, the God of War and Destruction and the leader of the divine faction to which Uller belonged, possessed a divine artifact that had once belonged to the World Tree—the Crown of Nature.

Although Uller and Lóðurr were rumored to have a strained relationship nowadays, Hela had once told Evé during an information exchange that her archnemesis, the Lord of Darkness and Shadows, Hodür, did have some form of friendship with the God of War…

And this time for sure…

The Dark Lord had clearly intervened.

“I can’t rule out this possibility…” Evé murmured.

Of course, if her enemies were using a divine artifact from the former World Tree, it would be highly tempting for her to claim it.

But…

One must never underestimate a true god.

Especially an Ancient One, at that.

Eve was certain.

If this was really a trap, then the real masterminds behind it were beyond her current strength to resist.

When she had sealed Azazel during the war underground, she had, whether intentionally or not, revealed the extent of her lesser divine power.

If her enemies still dared to plot such a trap despite knowing that she have that kind of strength, then it could only mean one thing…

They had a trump card capable of overpowering and subduing her.

There was undoubtedly a pocket dimension hidden within that area.

If she stepped in rashly, she might inadvertently walk into a cage meant to entrap her.

Of course, even if Evé did have some plans to claim that artifact, she would only do so by utilizing her divine incarnation.

But even so—

She wasn’t about to let her precious incarnation fall into danger out of sheer greed.

That would disrupt too many of her plans.

“The things that should originally belong to the World Tree…I will reclaim them eventually.”

“But for now, I must remain calm.”

Eve reassured herself, suppressing the urge to act.

She had already made up her mind to ignore this whole situation, to pretend this never happened at all.

She would continue as planned, steadily pushing the war forward in the Desert of Death, growing stronger step by step.

However—

Just as she was about to ignore the so-called ‘World Tree’s Divine Kingdom’, she suddenly froze.

A long silence followed as her eyes became uncertain in an instant.

After a while, her expression became more increasingly grim.

In that instant—

The entire Temple of Life became heavy with an overwhelming sense of oppression.

“Lady Zero? What’s wrong?”

A concerned yet curious voice called out beside her.

It was Dongdong.

“It’s nothing. You did well. You may leave now, this is your reward. I’ll handle the rest.”

Evé shook her head, casually handing out a generous reward, then subtly dismissed the girl.

Dongdong looked a little disappointed at not triggering a hidden quest but the moment she saw how much she had been rewarded, her face lit up with joy.

“Thank you, Big Sister!”

She gave an enthusiastic bow, then bounced out of the temple with excitement.

In the side hall of the temple, Evé was now alone.

And in that moment, she suddenly crushed the armrest of her seat.

Her teeth clenched in frustration.

“I walked right into it…”

Her gaze snapped toward the Desert of Death, her expression turning heavier than ever before.

“This isn’t just a trap…”

“It’s a blatant, multifaceted conspiracy.”

༺⟐༻

Somewhere within the cosmic void—

Within a secluded pocket dimension, several mythical figures stood gathered.

Uller slowly dispersed the divine illusion he had been projecting.

“She has noticed the ‘divine kingdom’ now.”

With that, he turned toward the shadowy figure seated at the head of the assembly and let out a small sigh.

“I never expected you to be able to borrow the Crown of Nature from my faction’s leader…”

“I once requested to borrow it myself to refine my divinity, yet I was refused outright.”

There was a hint of resentment in Uller’s voice, not toward Hodür but the God of War instead.

Hodür easily picked up on Uller’s frustration but he merely chuckled and replied:

“I only called in an old favor he owed me. Besides….This time, it serves his interests as well since there’s something he also wants to confirm.”

“Something He wants to confirm?”

Uller frowned slightly.

After a brief hesitation, he continued:

“Lord Hodür… I’ve already prepared the ambush, but this plan has so many glaring flaws. Do you really think that heretic, Eve, will fall for it?”

Hodür let out a soft laugh.

He cast a glance at Uller, his ancient voice carrying a sense of absolute certainty:

“Why, of course she will.”

“A true god whose mind has already been tainted by faith will lost their ability to think rationally.”

“She will come without hesitation even if she suspects this might be a trap, as long as there’s even a 50% chance that this is the real World Tree’s Divine Kingdom.”

“After all, she is the current reigning Matriarch of the elves. The heir to the World Tree. Even a sliver of possibility is enough to drive her into action.”

Hodür smiled coldly.

“I’ve lived for far too long…I’ve seen many gods fall to the corruption of faith. More than I can count.”

“Pitiful creatures…slaves to their own believers. I know them better than they know themselves.”

“But what if she doesn’t come?”

A voice, laced with amusement, interrupted.

It was Luria, the Fallen Angel.

Hodür glanced at him, his gaze turning deeper, unreadable.

“That… would be even more interesting.”

“Truthfully, I’d rather she not come.”

“Because if she doesn’t… then a certain suspicion I’ve long harbored may finally be answered.”

“Oh? And what exactly are you suspecting?”

This time, it was Alisa, the Queen of Pain, who asked with curiosity.

Hodür gave a slight smile, his sharp eyes gleaming with intrigue.

“Ever since the war Underground, I have been closely observing this so-called new Goddess of Life, Evé.”

“And the more I investigate… the more intriguing she becomes.”

“She first appeared in the realm of Seigües in the spring of last year and right after her emergence… the mana of that realm began to rise once more.”

“At the same time… those strange elves have also began appearing with their numbers increasing at an unnatural rate.”

Hearing this, Uller’s eyes twitched.

“…What exactly are you implying?”

Hodür didn’t answer immediately.

Instead, he abruptly changed the subject:

“Uller, tell me—if she chooses not to act, what do you think the reason will be?”

Uller hesitated before responding:

“She saw through our scheme?”

Hodür nodded before shaking his head.

“Based on our assumptions, currently her mind has already been corroded by the power of faith. Thus, her personality is exhibiting traits of being extreme and radical.”

“Therefore by this assumption, it would be highly improbable for her to see through our scheme.”

“But if she did managed to see through it… then that would mean one of three things.”

Hodür’s voice grew slower, deliberate:

“One….she is not actually corrupted by faith at all.”

“Two…she recognized that our ‘World Tree Divine Kingdom’ is fake.”

“Three…she simply cannot act.”

He paused, then asked meaningfully:

“Tell me, Uller…”

“Do you think a new god untainted by faith could rise and attain such power in such a short amount of time?”

“Do you think an ordinary Goddess of Life could immediately recognize that our divine kingdom was fabricated using the Crown of Nature?”

“And do you think that a being capable of rapidly increasing her strength while also remaining fully attuned to her true self, who can rationally discern the truth from illusion, who has the means to create masses of elves, and who may very well be tied to the sudden resurgence of mana in Seigües—”

The projection of Hodür smirked.

“—Do you think that such a being… is really just a mere ordinary ‘Goddess of Life’?”

“If she don’t act at all… then the question is, what could that entails?”

Hodür’s voice lowered, carrying a chilling undertone.

“What if…”

“What if those elves’ strange ability to resurrect infinitely doesn’t actually come from Hela at all?”

“Tell me, Uller…”

“Is Hela the only one in this whole universe with the knowledge over the laws of the soul and the power to revive someone?”

At these words—

Uller’s pupils suddenly contracted.

— 509 —

— —

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep