Chapter 274 - 267. Sparks of Hope
Comparatively, the treatment he received in this Temple was vastly different from the one in the Temple of Mago--mainly because of the Saintess. But that didn’t mean his opinion would change.
For him, it was the Celestial Beings who were responsible for this whole situation with the dungeons and the different zones. They were the ones who were responsible for the death and misery the whole planet suffered.
They were the root of the misery he suffered.
[Don’t misunderstand us, Luzein] the Goddess said. Her tone was dry, but she didn’t seem to be angry or offended. She looked calm, like a veteran mother facing a tantrum child. [We are here to atone for the collateral damage we created. We are not here to grant benevolence or bestow punishment--that is a boundary we all must keep]
At that moment, Zein blinked as he mulled over the words. Boundary. He didn’t think of this. The Celestial Beings, the Deities, the Gods and Goddesses--they gave power to mankind, but never asked to be worshipped. At least, most of them never did. The Tower and the Temple was separate entity from the rest of the world; almost sentient in their existence.
Everything in the world had always been give and take, at least in Zein’s experience. Radia Mallarc was the embodiment of this; as long as you give him benefits, he would help you and stand for you.
Who’s to say the Celestial Being wasn’t like that?
They took from this planet, and They gave the power to mankind to fight back. And that was as far as They could go; as far as They thought they needed to go. In their eyes, It was enough. But if They were to do more, if They were to grant more...then They could demand more.
Demanded everyone to worship Them, dictated what the mortals could and couldn’t do...
[Judgment upon the actions of The One’s creations was not in our pledge] she continued, smiling rather sadly. [We give our proxies the authority and power to move, but it’s on them to actually move]
Zein raised his brow. Was she implying that she--and the other Goddesses--had given authority to the people maintaining the Temples and yet...and yet those people didn’t do anything about the condition faced by the other guides?