Chapter 280: Death Will Not Tolerate Blasphemy!
Thanatos said in an extremely serious tone: “The solemnity of Death originates from absolute Equality and the irrevocable!”
“If today, because of a moment’s Compassion and Mercy, I show Partiality.”
“Then in the future, perhaps I will once again show Partiality because of Fear, because of Profit, because of other Selfishness.”
“By that time, ‘Death’ will become the most hypocritical and ridiculous thing in this Universe.”
“Because that means, as long as someone can move me, as long as someone can please me, even threaten me, then ‘Death’ can be Negotiated, ‘End’ can be Transacted.”
Thanatos suddenly countered, his voice not loud, yet every word like a hammer: “Prometheus, do you really think that would be a Good Deed?”
“By that time, all Living Beings will no longer think about how to do more meaningful things in their limited Life; they will no longer think about how to avoid the Arrival of Death as much as possible.”
“They will only think about how to move me, please me. They will try every Method to turn this predetermined Death into a Bargaining Transaction.”
“If today an Exception is made because of Emotion, then the hearts of Living Beings will take this as precedent.”
“If life and death can be exchanged with Goodwill and Affection, then there will certainly be Living Beings learning how to move me with Behavior, Performance, Strategy, to request special pardon.”
“When that truly happens, will there still be True Affection in this world? Will Sincerity be exterminated? Will Affection be Blasphemed?”
“Will everything not lead to the most thorough Hypocrisy and Calculation?”
“Think about it, the aspirations of the world will no longer be ‘how to do meaningful things in the limited’, but turn to ‘how to win pardon, how to flatter the Judge’.”
“Sincerity and good deeds will be covered by the Mask of Profit, Begging and Flattery will replace self-reflection and Effort.”
“How dirty and Terrifying that would be!”
Prometheus’s face was heavy with pain, speechless.
And Thanatos continued speaking.
“Right, you might say, I can uphold my Kindness and Compassion, only making exceptions for those of high Virtue, Goodness, and love.”
“But, Prometheus,” Thanatos’s Gaze became extremely Sharp, “My Great Father God’s Holy Justice Order, is it merely empty words?!”
This question made Prometheus’s already Heavy face instantly turn deathly pale.
He hurriedly said: “No! I absolutely would not have such an extremely Stupid idea!”
Thanatos did not respond, but continued sternly:
“Do you think everything you do is certainly right?”
“No, certainly not.”
“Then, I am the same.”
“We will all make mistakes, and we all have Selfishness.”
“Selfishness leads to Partiality, Partiality will certainly Disrupt Order.”
“Prometheus! Everything has Order. If Laws can make an Exception for Selfishness, that Exception will ultimately become the new norm, and Order will gradually Disintegrate, until complete End!”
“You must know, the destruction of Order is irreversible; once it begins, no matter how small at first, it will ultimately completely Collapse!”
“I am ‘Death’, but I do not decide whether a Living Being ‘should’ die; that is not something I can determine.”
“Heavenly Dao Order is there, Destiny Threads are always Weaving forward.”
“I only responsible, and can only responsible, for bringing those Living Beings whose Destiny Threads have already broken back to the Netherworld.”
“If Gods use personal good and evil as the Scale, rather than Sacred Justice Heavenly Dao Order to Judge right and wrong, that will be the Beginning of Disorder!”
“Even if you love them, you absolutely cannot take destroying Rules and disrupting Order as the price!”
“Forcibly reconnecting Destiny Threads that have already broken, that is not something I can do, nor something I should do.”
“Even the great Fates, that noble and prominent Paradise Vice-Regent Sacred Justice Order’s daughter, they also absolutely do not allow themselves to do such things.”
“What great Authority do the Fates possess? But they can only Comb the Destiny Threads, and never allow arbitrary fiddling or Weaving.”
“Everything follows its natural course; they only provide necessary guidance and Combing.”
“My Great Father God’s Heavenly Dao Order encompasses everything, utterly impartial and just.”
“Everything He does, every Sacred Order He establishes, has its Justice, inevitability, absoluteness!”
“All for the Universe to develop more Prosperously, for the overall, all Living Beings to live better!”
Thanatos looked at Prometheus, whose face had turned pale from this speech, drenched in cold sweat, and softened his tone slightly.
He could understand Prometheus’s love for humans.
He exhaled, then continued slowly: “Respected Prometheus, you are a God, and a Great God of Wisdom. You are the Son of the Cycle, and also my Great Father God’s Advisor.”
“Please set aside that narrow Mercy for individual creations, and cast your Gaze toward the Development of the entire Universe.”
“If ‘Death’ can be arbitrary, then can ‘Destiny’? Can ‘time sequence’? Can ‘Order’ itself?”
“Can all Gods be arbitrary?”
“And if all Gods can be arbitrary, for these Fragile Mortals, is it really… a Good Deed?”
“You love these Mortals of yours, you can save them arbitrarily.”
“Then if some God dislikes them, can they also destroy them arbitrarily?”
“Disrupting Rules, acting arbitrarily… you should know what this is called. This is called ‘Disorder’, this is called ‘Disorder’!”
“And what will Disorder and Disorder ultimately bring? You know better than I.”
Thanatos’s questioning was not rebuke, but a warning.
Prometheus’s face was ashen, unable to utter a word.
Because He knew very well that everything Thanatos said was right.
Thanatos did not refuse Mercy; what He wanted to protect was Order itself, the vast Freedom for All Spirits to unfold within Rules.
The God King’s Order was not wrong.
Then He, who attempted to Disrupt Order, was wrong.
Destiny Threads weave everything.
All this is the inevitable Development of the entire Universe.
The Fates also never arbitrarily fiddle with these Threads; they only provide overall guidance and comprehensive Combing.
How specifically? It still depends on All Spirits themselves.
All things and All Spirits are developing naturally by themselves.
Great rain falls equally on all Living Beings, sunlight also shines equally on all Living Beings.
If All Spirits do not want to get wet, they should find Methods to avoid the rain themselves; if they feel the sunlight too hot, they should find Methods to shield themselves.
Rather than praying to Gods to disperse the rain clouds or retract the sunlight.
Prometheus’s Gaze was Heavy and sad; the End of this Child’s Life was neither Gods’ jest nor Destiny deliberately snapping his Thread.
The most direct reason was his Mother, and all in the Tribe responsible for caring for the Child, did not fulfill their Duty.
They were always too Careless, lacking true Reverence for Danger.
But is this really the entire reason?
Deep in Prometheus’s Divinity, a colder Voice questioned: why? Why do humans treat potentially fatal Dangers so Carelessly?
This Answer was what Prometheus dared not think deeply about; this Answer made His Divinity fearful, drenched in cold sweat.
But no matter what, this matter was not the fault of Order, nor of the God of Death and Destiny.
If because of this, Gods Disrupt Order, and Gods really Disrupt Order, that would be the most Terrifying Disaster for all Living Beings.
But how could He accept this shocking tragedy before His eyes?
Yes, He was wrong, that Mother was wrong, even the Tribe members caring for the Child were wrong, but the consequences were too severe, too Grief-stricken.
These humans are His Children!
They are His most Glorious creations, the Living Beings into which He poured all His heart and soul, His most cherished.
They are the ones He has Accompanied from the Beginning, teaching them how to survive in this barbaric World.
He watched with His own eyes as ignorant humans staggered step by step, gradually growing.
When the first human Child was Gestated, under His personal Care, that Fragile newborn little Life smoothly took its first Breath in the World.
Humans cheered and jumped for joy for this first infant, and He, the Creator, did the same.
At that moment, unparalleled Happiness and Satisfaction filled His Divinity, even making His long and immortal divine life feel it had gained some deeper, more important Meaning.
Humans… these are His most beloved Children, the offspring He taught and cared for with all His effort, treating as His own!
How could He watch such a vibrant little Life thus fall into eternal Darkness?
Thanatos looked at Prometheus’s dark and Grief-stricken Expression, and gently sighed.
He softened his tone and continued: “Respected Prometheus, before my Birth, the world’s All Spirits actually already had too many Opportunities to know Death.”
“They had too many Flukes, even personally experiencing fatal Dangers and escaping.”
“My Sister, Goddess Keres, has never truly fulfilled her duty of ‘violent death’.”
“This is both because I did not exist, so she herself was incomplete; and because she too was unwilling to do such Sadness-inducing things.”
“But precisely because of this, too many Living Beings have long lost their Reverence for nature.”
“Carelessness, Carelessness, Disregard… they think in their hearts: anyway, at worst just some suffering, what can happen?”
“There will always be Gods to save them.”
Thanatos’s sharp Gaze fell on Prometheus like a cold blade, his Voice though soft, carried an unquestionable Power: “And among this, what exactly is the reason, perhaps you should also seriously reflect on it.”
