The gods nodded warmly to Lin Xiang, acknowledging her presence. Her power surpassed that of all the deities present, and it was this strength that commanded their respect. The old gods understood well that power was the foundation of earning reverence.Queen Sheba's brown silk dress swayed like waves as she initiated a conversation with Lin Xiang, using the topic of silk as a bridge. Lin Xiang responded amicably, while Ame-no-Uzume tactfully accompanied the two more powerful deities. The House on the Rock housed a collection of artifacts from around the world, and Lin Xiang, visiting for the first time, couldn't help but be captivated by the exquisite items.The decor of the House on the Rock was antiquated, with faint mold spots visible in some inconspicuous corners. Yet, upon closer inspection, these aged objects exuded a certain allure, drawing the eye subconsciously.Leading Lin Xiang to the display case housing the Lu Ban lock, Ame-no-Uzume whispered, "You will surely appreciate this." Lin Xiang examined the box, which was meticulously assembled using mortise-and-tenon joints, and marveled at its craftsmanship. The reddish-brown wooden strips still emitted a faint fragrance, preserving the subtle and refined beauty of the East despite the passage of countless years.After touring the place, the three goddesses returned to the carousel's fortune machine. Lin Xiang gazed thoughtfully at the female doll in the glass case, a remnant of a goddess of fate. Though she had lost her followers, she still retained a semblance of life in this form.Sweeney, Laura, Shadow, and Odin arrived fashionably late, and everyone sensed the strange atmosphere among them. However, the gods present paid no mind.Odin, fresh from his victory, regaled the old gods with tales of the new gods' humiliations. While Anansi clapped and cheered, the other gods remained indifferent, offering no comment.Undeterred, Odin spread his palm and invited the gods to each place a gold coin into the fortune machine. The withered hair of the goddess of fate stirred as the divine power of the coins awakened her. The fortune machine returned a card inscribed with an omen to each god who had inserted a coin.Lin Xiang was unsurprised to find her card covered in chaotic ink blots. She glanced at the lifeless Norse goddess in the display, crumpled the card, and laughed it off.The gods gathered before the carousel, which, until then, had been silent. As they took their seats on the horses of their choice, the carousel lit up. The lifeless steeds suddenly came to life, spreading wings and carrying the gods into the resplendent nebula.A sea breeze, redolent of salt, blew in, and Lin Xiang found herself on a desolate shore. The aurora in the sky felt familiar, and she stood on the barren coast, gazing into the distance.Queen Sheba joined Lin Xiang, her expression complex as she looked toward the horizon. The desert that existed in her memory was now out of reach.Shadow opened his eyes, the sensation of gravel and the cold of the sea water jolting him awake."Where are we?" Shadow murmured, his face a mask of disbelief as he took in the desolate landscape. "Is this in Odin's memory?""Both and not," Queen Sheba replied, turning and walking toward the majestic temple on the rocky hill. "If it were my doing, we'd be in a warm desert, on a bed of silk."The Valhalla temple, though cracked at the top with patches of sunlight streaming through, appeared somewhat forlorn. Yet, the grandeur of its columns and sculptures still hinted at the former glory of the Hall of the Slain.The gods shed their mortal disguises, revealing their resplendent true forms. They gathered around a bonfire, listening to Odin's pre-battle speech.Lin Xiang could see that Odin's impassioned words did not move them. Apart from Anansi, none of the gods present seemed eager for battle.The goddess of destruction, Kali, could not contain herself and interrupted Odin. "Time erases all that is new. We need only wait for the new gods to lose their followers and be forgotten like us. This war is meaningless!"In Hinduism, the worldview is one of change and cycles. Like the tides that ebb and flow, destruction is followed by rebirth, a continuous cycle of renewal.Queen Sheba countered Kali's argument. "If we do not wage war on the new gods now, they will continue to gain followers through their technological products, growing stronger while we wither away, losing our believers."Before Kali could retort, Shadow interjected, "Technology has made life convenient but has caused humanity to lose their faith.""Even I, a mere mortal, stand in the Hall of the Slain among all you revered gods. What reason do you have to be more cowardly than I?"The gods were left speechless, but the bonfire in the center blazed fiercely, a clear show of support for Odin's proposal.After leaving the Hall of the Slain, the gods dined at Kali's roadside diner, a chain restaurant that the goddess of destruction had opened, clearly having adapted to the country.As they feasted, an unexpected event occurred.Accompanying the sound of shattering glass, bullets forged by the deceased god of the forge, Vulcan, whistled in. The gods, caught off guard, could not withstand these divine weapons and hastily overturned tables for cover.Lin Xiang only had time to shield herself and Ame-no-Uzume with divine power, watching helplessly as the twilight goddess Zorya was struck in the chest and collapsed to the ground.After a round of gunfire, the attackers outside the restaurant quickly fled. The gods were furious over Zorya's death, except for Shadow, who dashed out the side door in pursuit.Zorya's eyes closed forever. Chernobog threw himself beside the goddess, wailing in grief. Laura was puzzled, "Don't you gods have the ability to be reborn from faith?"Lin Xiang sighed with closed eyes, "There is no one on this land who still believes in Zorya. Her last follower is dead. This death will be a permanent end."Chernobog's eyes bled as he swore to avenge Zorya. "Whoever orchestrated Zorya's death will pay dearly!"The gods who had narrowly escaped the attack were ablaze with anger, and now wholeheartedly agreed with Odin's proposal for war.Odin realized that Shadow, who had gone in pursuit, had not returned and immediately set out to find him. Laura also came to her senses and followed Odin to track down Shadow.Laura's resurrection was due to Shadow placing the gold coin he had won from Sweeney into her chest. The coin's owner was still Shadow, and in Laura's monochromatic vision after death, a golden light shone from Shadow's body, leading her to him no matter where he was.Lin Xiang, surveying the devastated restaurant, comforted Ame-no-Uzume while also casting a suspicious glance at Odin, whose face was etched with pain.After leaving the House on the Rock, there was a banquet arranged by Odin. How could Kali's restaurant have been targeted by the new gods so swiftly? The unusual nature of the event made it hard for Lin Xiang not to suspect Odin's involvement.Zorya's death had inflamed the gods' sense of justice, and enmity with the new gods seemed inevitable. This was precisely the outcome Odin had sought with his gathering, and he had played a less-than-honorable role in it all!
Queen Sheba also harbored doubts. As a spy, she had no knowledge of the impending raid. The gathering at the House on the Rock was no secret among the old gods. If Mr. World had orchestrated the attack, he could only have obtained the information from her.The two goddesses exchanged glances, both thinking of Odin.Lin Xiang helped Chernobog to lay out Zorya's body and then approached Odin, whose face was etched with sorrow. She whispered, "Now I understand why my sister was unwilling to trust you.""To achieve your goals, you wouldn't care about anyone's sacrifice, would you?" Lin Xiang calmly concluded Odin's actions. "Our deal is over, and your credibility is completely gone.""Stop scheming against us, or I will tell the new gods everything I know! Shadow's identity, the reasons for Vulcan and Zorya's deaths— these are things you wouldn't want Mr. World to find out!"Leaving an unmistakable threat, Lin Xiang rose and prepared to leave.Lin Xiang felt utterly disappointed. Odin's strategic skills were far above average, but his ruthless and unscrupulous nature made Lin Xiang wary.When the paths diverge, one cannot travel together. Lin Xiang decisively, like Ostara, drew a clear line with Odin.Odin's face still wore that sorrowful expression, and Lin Xiang was even more certain that her decision was correct. She resolutely left Kali's restaurant."Anansi, the master of sophistry, you had better give me a reasonable explanation."Looking at the tiny spider silk on her skirt, Lin Xiang frowned and asked."O goddess from the East, please forgive me for contacting you in this way."A small spider descended from Lin Xiang's hair, "Perhaps I know who can answer your questions.""You know where the Yoruba gods are." Lin Xiang was somewhat surprised. Although the Yoruba gods, like Anansi, originated from Africa, their mythological origins were not the same.The trickster god Anansi enjoys widespread worship in Africa. This prankster is a popular national hero in his homeland of Ghana. Many children on the African continent have heard stories from their grandmothers about Anansi bringing the sun, moon, night, and disease to the world; according to legend, he knows everything and bestows wisdom upon his followers."Go see Oshun, the goddess of the sea. She will answer these questions for you."After speaking these words, Anansi's avatar disappeared. Oshun originated from Nigeria and is a powerful goddess representing love, family, and destiny. An administrative district in Nigeria is even named after Oshun, showing the influence of this goddess.During the Civil War, Oshun did indeed appear several times and was implicitly the spokesperson for the African Orisha gods.Lin Xiang had thought that Anansi was playing these tricks under Odin's orders, but now it seemed that the old gods were not as united as Odin believed.Reaching out to remove the spider silk from her skirt, the almost invisible thread extended into the wind, pointing to an unknown distance.Lin Xiang already had a guess. If Shadow's background was really as she suspected, then he was indeed a key figure who could sway the outcome of the war. As for the Yoruba gods, it was not yet time to meet them. Lin Xiang released her fingers and let the spider silk drift away with the wind.To confirm this guess, the information held by the Yoruba gods was indeed indispensable, but Lin Xiang wanted to take the initiative back into her own hands.In the following days, the media's power began to take effect, with news and pop-ups flooding people with revelations about the plight of black people.Before the official announcement of the Emancipation Proclamation, black slaves were merely production tools that plantation owners in the South needed to buy in large quantities. It was a common occurrence for them to starve to death in the fields.Several of the nation's founders believed in natural rights, in a Creator, and in the rights that this Creator had given to all people for freedom, equality, and happiness. Therefore, they established this "ideal country." However, these founding fathers and the people under the protection of this one God did not include the oppressed and enslaved black slaves. Their status was equivalent to livestock, and even their own children could be bought and sold at will, tearing families apart.Cotton made the plantation owners in the American South extremely wealthy, and this wealth was built on the blood and sweat of black slaves. Blood stained the Mississippi River, watering the white cotton on both banks.The situation of black people, who were immediately subjected to discrimination, was quickly improved. As the most influential religious belief among black people, the Voodoo gods and the Yoruba gods soon noticed the anomaly.The Voodoo gods all believed that this was a gesture of goodwill from the new gods. They had not yet heard the news of the media goddess's demise.The god of technology quickly stepped forward to investigate these messages, trying to find the source of the information to determine the location of the new media goddess. The quiet demise of the media goddess had the god of technology, under the orders of Mr. World, searching for the missing goddess. The young god of technology originally thought that the media goddess had been intimidated by Odin's dominance and was hiding in some unknown place to calm her fears.But after Mr. World had his men attack Kali's restaurant and killed the twilight goddess Zorya, causing widespread outrage, Odin stood up and announced that the new gods had already paid the price for Zorya's death.This news immediately put the new gods on edge. The long-unseen media goddess was probably in trouble. This made Mr. World very angry. The role of the media goddess was irreplaceable. Only she could control those capricious evil gods. But now the media goddess had not been reborn, which was clearly not normal.Mr. World already had a bad feeling in his heart. For this reason, he specifically asked Queen Sheba about Odin's movements. The queen, of course, did not know the truth about the media goddess's loss. After being scolded with words, she reluctantly came to the casino.Lin Xiang, with Vivian's face, listened to Queen Sheba's complaints, "Just because I don't know what happened to the media goddess, he scolded me for not trying hard enough!"The queen angrily drank a glass of strong liquor, her eyes almost spitting fire, "When he sent people to raid Odin's gathering, why didn't he think that I was also on the scene!""He also pretentiously warned me that I could only choose one side between the new gods and the old gods, otherwise I would be the first sacrifice!"The wine glass in her hand fell to the marble floor and shattered into pieces. Queen Sheba's beautiful face twisted, her expression changing several times before finally returning to helplessness.Lin Xiang took a glass of champagne from the waiter's tray and placed it in front of the queen, "Your faith originated in Ethiopia. Why did you join the new gods' camp instead of seeking help from the African gods?"The legend of Queen Sheba has two sides. She was a female prophet who once prophesied that Jesus would suffer on the cross. However, in non-Christian beliefs, her reputation is not very good. Judaism depicts Queen Sheba as a demon with furry feet and denounces her as a temptress in Assyrian and Babylonian mythology.In Islamic legend, Queen Sheba is even more disparaged. She is called "Bilqis," which means "demon," and it is said that most of her actions mean disaster for humanity.Lin Xiang never thought that the queen was a foolish deity. When the new gods were dominant, Queen Sheba could endure humiliation and preserve herself. Her mind should not be underestimated.