"If I achieve something, is there any reward?"
"How about if I give you a yz rope set?"
Looking at his teacher’s insincere smile, Nero shivered and dashed out of the courtyard as if his feet were on fire.
Luo En shook his head and stepped towards the Kabbalah Tree of Life.
At dusk, in the Garden of Eden beneath the Kabbalah Tree of Life.
An ancient stone altar stood on the verdant grass, surrounded by a stone circle sculpted by time.
The night fell, and the stars, like scattered diamonds, were embedded in the deep sky. The silver-white moonlight spilled onto the altar, elongating twelve varied figures of different heights and sizes.
They were the twelve Fate Goddesses from the Four Great Divine Eras of Greece, Nordic, Celtic, and Rome.
The alignment of the stars was just right, and the time was perfect.
The twelve Fate Goddesses nodded at each other, and raised their arms to embrace the starry sky, chanting a solemn ode belonging to fate:
"We are the Alpha, I am the Omega."
"We are the first, we are the last."
"We are the beginning, we are the end."
"We were, we are, we will be forever!"
"We support the world here, we connect fate here,"
"— here we engrave questions, here we seek answers!"
As the chant echoed, the berries of twelve shrubs beneath the Kabbalah Tree of Life alternately decayed and reborn; the grass sometimes withered and sometimes flourished.
The light points in the sky jumped and intersected, forming many charts predicting the future.
Countless streams of light representing [Possibility] fell from the rising night canopy, interweaving and converging on the figure in the center surrounded by the twelve Fate Goddesses.
Let me see, what kind of future shall we have.
In a low murmur, Luo En gently tossed a twelve-sided bronze die upward with his right hand, drawing a graceful arc, which landed on the Star Disk amidst the constellation light and began to spontaneously disassemble.
The twelve faces of the die reflected different folds of time: the first cry of a newborn, the last sigh of the dying, the splendor and decline of the Titans, Nordic’s extinction and rebirth, the steadfastness and glory of the Knights, the rise and fall of the Empire, at different angles, different sides, and different times, interwoven, overlapped, and merged.
Eventually, countless possibilities closed into a single point, emitting a supernova-like shock wave that instantly annihilated the figure in the void.
Standing within the Magic Array, Luo En suddenly opened his eyes and knelt down, golden-red tears flowing from his eyes, panting heavily, as if extremely exhausted.
The twelve Fate Goddesses halted the ritual upon seeing this and disregarded the backlash they suffered, hurried up to support this Origin God.
"It’s fine, I’m fine..."
Luo En waved off the Goddesses’ support.
Then, he wiped away the bloody tears from the corners of his eyes, stood up alone from the ground, and showed a gentle smile on his face:
"Ladies, I’ve found the answer I was looking for. However, I need to sort out my thoughts first. You have also exhausted yourselves today. Go rest first. If I have any insights or discoveries, I will inform you immediately."
The twelve Fate Goddesses nodded in agreement, supporting each other as they headed towards the Temple in the Garden of Eden.
Watching the twelve figures gradually walk away until they disappeared from his senses, Luo En’s smile quickly faded.
"It seems the observation results are not ideal."
A dim voice came from behind the tree as Hecate stepped out of the shadows, arms crossed.
Luo En nodded, his eyes showing a hint of gloom, speaking contemplatively: "At that instant, I observed 14000605 futures."
Hecate asked, "How many times did we win?"
Luo En slowly extended one finger.
"Once? So few?" Hecate frowned, evidently dissatisfied with the result.
However, Luo En shook his head and said:
"It was not even once!"
Hecate gasped in surprise, her face full of shock:
"14000605 futures and not one with us winning? How can that be?"
"No need to be so surprised, that’s just the reality."
Luo En sighed and explained,
"Not to mention anything else, just comparing the highest combat strength of both sides: Zarvan, after merging with Canaan’s World Essence, should be on par with me; Shiva, Enzambi, and Nun are all relatively ancient Origin Gods, while Altria and Venus have just stepped into origin, and Tiamat has lost Babylon as her world base. In a head-to-head clash, you might not be a match for those three.
In addition to this, the number, lands, cities, and personnel size of the deities of Persia, Egypt, West Africa, and India far exceed ours. We are at a comprehensive disadvantage in data, which is an indisputable fact.
Winning is an exception, losing aligns with logic."
Hecate paused, showing a bitter smile.
These words had indeed awakened her.
One victory after another, dubbed a miracle; repeated impossible successes almost made her forget the gap in strength between them and the iron rule of strong prevailing over the weak.
And breaking these [Certainties] was all achieved by the die representing [Chance] and [Possibility] before her.
Hecate looked at Luo En, her eyes showing a hint of hope:
"Even you can’t do anything?"
Luo En shook his head and sighed helplessly:
"We are likely to lose, I had already sensed this. But I didn’t expect that in 14000605 futures, we hadn’t won even once."
In his concept, as long as the winning probability isn’t 0, there’s infinite possibility.
Even if there’s only a one in ten thousand chance, he might not be unable to create 100% success.
But this time, the winning probability was precisely 0.
That is to say, even with all the power and means of the current Five Great Divine Eras in Europe, it’s impossible to defeat the formidable Persian army on the future battlefield.
Luo En sat under the Kabbalah Tree of Life, his chaotic thoughts surging.
Like a gambler sitting at the table.
He could win countless times, but eventually, he would also face the moment he loses everything.
Perhaps the upcoming Divine War is the gambler’s ending.
Feelings of defeat, pain, confusion, and more filled his heart, and Luo En felt an unprecedented fatigue, with his body and spirit continually sinking into darkness, sinking...
Until a pair of arms stretched out from behind and held him tightly in an embrace.
Just like before, just like their first meeting.
"You’ve done more than well enough, whether as a king or a god, no one is more outstanding than you! If even you choose to give up, then we and our world are truly doomed."
Hecate embraced her disciple and whispered softly yet firmly.
Feeling the strong support behind him, Luo En received some consolation, yet his tone remained somewhat dejected:
"But I really have no solutions now, nor can I see any hope."
"Then just wait. As long as the cards haven’t been revealed and it’s not the final moment, victory isn’t fixed. We might still have a chance!"
Hecate replied with a smile, showing no disappointment at the news of defeat.
Because their king, her disciple, would surely bring a [Miracle] at the final moment.
Feeling the fiery yet pure trust, the gloom in Luo En’s heart was dispelled a lot.
He stood up vigorously from under the tree, dusted off the soil from his clothes, and said:
"You’re right! I’ll go reorganize the intelligence and see if there are any other factors to increase our winning odds!"
"Don’t rush; there’s still a long time before the Persians make their move. You’ve just glimpsed too many futures and suffered considerable backlash, and now you need rest and relaxation most."
Hecate answered solemnly, pressing Luo En back to his original position.
Is this shabby place suitable for a good rest?
Luo En looked at the empty surroundings, somewhat puzzled.
Yet at that moment, seeing Hecate tie up her long hair from behind and lower her head, he immediately understood what "relaxation" meant.
Tsk, this shabby place can be fun!
Just as Luo En was experiencing pain and pleasure simultaneously, several discontented voices came from behind him:
"Hiding here to snack? That’s too much!"
Looking back, he saw numerous Light Gates open behind the Kabbalah Tree of Life, and Athena, Thetis, Hestia, and other Greek Goddesses walked out.
What can I say, truly a product of Greece.
They all think alike.
In that case, let the storm come more fiercely.
Luo En hardened his heart, and a massive Magic Barrier unfolded.