Chapter 130: The Debate Over God Position Inheritance
Lei Chen's words were like a massive rock thrown into a placid lake, stirring up ripples upon ripples within this golden space constructed from the laws of emotion.
Upon hearing the words "repair divine consciousness," "reforge a divine body," and "truly resurrect and return," the cluster of golden energy representing the Goddess of Love's final consciousness trembled violently, its light flickering unsteadily, like a heartstring suddenly plucked.
The atmosphere within the space instantly solidified. The pervasive warmth of floral scents and sweet air seemed to freeze, leaving behind only an indescribable heaviness and silence.
Lei Chen did not press her, merely watching the cluster of light calmly, waiting for her to recover from this immense shock.
A long time passed, or perhaps only a moment—in this oppressive silence, the sense of time had already blurred.
Only then did the Goddess of Love's cool, detached divine sense slowly sound out, like a faint glimmer of light piercing through eons of ice:
"Resurrection... is it?" The golden energy cluster contracted slightly, condensing into a somewhat clearer female silhouette. Though still blurred, one could sense the directness of her gaze. "Like... what you did for that Necromancer Saint God?"
Her words carried a trace of indescribable complexity.
The planar perspective Lei Chen had opened for her allowed her to witness, like a transcendent observer, the upheavals of the Douluo Plane over these past years. This naturally included how Electrolux, from a wisp of a remnant soul, had, under Lei Chen's intervention, reassembled his divine soul, remolded his body, and ultimately reappeared in the world in the complete form of the Necromancer Saint God.
It was a process akin to a miracle, forged by the hand of this unfathomable Plane Master.
"Correct," Lei Chen admitted frankly, his tone still even yet imbued with a convincing power. "While Electrolux's ability to regain new life is partly due to his own unyielding obsession, since I could aid him, I naturally possess the ability to aid you as well. If you are willing, a complete Goddess of Love is not an unattainable fantasy."
However, faced with this promise enough to drive any remnant soul mad, the golden female silhouette merely swayed slightly, as if shaking her head. The divine sense transmitted through the light carried a bone-deep weariness and an utterly indifferent apathy:
"Thank you for your kindness, Plane Master... but, let it be." "That Necromancer Saint God... he still harbors unfulfilled obsessions in his heart. He has a legacy he wishes to protect, a desire to continue exploring the mysteries of magic... That is why he was willing to return to life. He still possesses the will to live."
"But what about me?" The Goddess of Love's divine sense revealed thick self-mockery. The blurred silhouette seemed to raise a hand, pointing towards the intangible void, or perhaps towards herself.
"I long ago lost anything worth clinging to, any reason to continue existing. Even the will to live has been extinguished. Even if you possess heaven-defying power and forge a perfect divine body for me, to me, it would merely be a gorgeous yet hollow cage. What meaning would it hold?"
Hearing the Goddess of Love's pessimistic words that even rejected the survival instinct, Lei Chen couldn't help but frown slightly. A flash of understanding passed through his eyes, but more so, it was a sigh of helpless sentiment.
He shook his head gently and sighed, "I understand."
He could comprehend the Goddess of Love's stance.
A deity who wielded the law of 'Love,' ultimately falling due to the betrayal of a beloved—this in itself was a great irony, the most fundamental and cruelest negation of her divine authority. The despair born from that collapse of belief was far more absolute than the annihilation of her divine body.
After tens of thousands of years of solitary sedimentation, it was only natural for this remnant divine consciousness to choose complete passivity and self-exile, unwilling to face the world that had broken her heart. Forcing her resurrection truly held no meaning.
Since the first path was blocked, Lei Chen tactfully retreated to the second-best option, no longer dwelling on the matter of resurrection. His gaze sharpened slightly, his tone shifting to a more pragmatic, yet still core-piercing steadiness, with no further circumlocution:
"Since Your Excellency's resolve is firm and you have no wish for rebirth, I will not insist. Matters of life and death ultimately lie in personal choice."
He shifted the topic, his voice echoing clearly within the golden space: "Then, let us discuss another matter. I can respect your unwillingness to live."
"However, this First-level God Position of yours, which embodies the fundamental source of the universe's law of Love, was formed from the faith in love of countless living beings. For it to fall into complete silence along with you would be a great pity."
"Why not settle for the next best? How about you pass on your God Position?" Lei Chen's gaze was sharp, as if it could pierce through that golden energy cluster to see the deepest part of the Goddess of Love's consciousness.
"Select a suitable successor within this plane to inherit the position of Goddess of Love. Let this authority and law continue, rather than vanish into nothingness with you. That should be acceptable, shouldn't it?" Lei Chen's thought was direct: You may not want to live, but surely you can leave behind this 'legacy' of the God Position?
However, the Goddess of Love's response once again took him by surprise. The golden silhouette emitted an extremely faint, ice-cracking-like sneer, her divine sense saturated with pessimistic fatalism:
"Inheritance? Even if I pass on the God Position, what meaning would it hold?"
"The essence of love is nothing but an illusory bubble, fleeting sweetness wrapped around eternal bitterness. After the initial palpitations and joy, all that remains is suspicion, betrayal, and endless pain. I am the best proof."
"My successor... heh, will only endlessly repeat my tragedy. Since the ending of despair has already been foreseen, why make a later generation personally taste this gut-wrenching poison? Isn't that an even deeper cruelty?"
Her tone was resolute, carrying an assertion born of seeing through worldly affairs and utter apathy, as if the word 'love' was, from its very root, synonymous with fallacy and pain.
Hearing the Goddess of Love's words that wholly negated 'love' and imposed its tragic fate upon a future successor, Lei Chen's gaze abruptly sharpened. The peaceful aura around him instantly turned as keen as an unsheathed sword, causing the entire golden space to tremble.
He took a step forward, his gaze like lightning, staring directly at the golden energy cluster. His voice suddenly rose, carrying an indisputable authority and profound rebuttal:
"So, Your Excellency Goddess of Love, you believe your future successor would only covet the sweetness of love but be unable to bear its bitterness? If that is truly your belief, then you are gravely mistaken! It is the greatest misunderstanding and blasphemy against the law you once wielded!"
His voice was like thunder, exploding within this enclosed space, causing violent ripples across the golden energy body.
"You only saw the bitterness brought by betrayal and assumed that was the entirety of love. Yet you have not seen, or perhaps refuse to acknowledge—"
Lei Chen's tone softened, yet carried even greater force, each word striking like a heavy hammer against the Goddess of Love's Spiritual defenses.
"How many people in this world, even after being covered in wounds, tasting the full bitterness and hardship of love, understanding its risks and helplessness, still choose to believe, to give, to embrace it!"
"Their love may be clumsy, may be full of flaws, but the very courage to still choose to love after understanding its bitterness—that itself is the most sublime interpretation of 'love.'"
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