Ranni fell silent. She found she could not answer at all.
Because when it came to ideals, and to the mother she revered, her heart could not help but tremble.
That mother, if she truly awakened, might destroy the convictions Ranni had held onto all this time.
Yet she could not understand why, if Ymir was telling the truth, her mother had never told her.
The elder's knowledge left Ranni speechless.
Eternal Demigod or not, compared to those old monsters who had lived for thousands of years, she was still far too young.
The Lands Between had five thousand years of history behind it, and the High Priest before her had been exploring the starry sky and pursuing traces of the gods since the Age of the Stars.
Across the vast Lands Between, perhaps few understood the cosmos as deeply as he did.
Only when the Impaler's Army slaughtered the Hornsent, when Marika split the earth, and when countless people were veiled by the Shadow did this High Priest disappear from public sight.
But the greatest problem was that Ymir's words did not suit Ranni's wishes.
The boundless cosmos might be vast, and the stars that filled the sky might be beautiful, but they still seemed unable to escape the Greater Will's control.
The Greater Will created the world and drove the beasts that ravaged the planets. Ranni could only escape His influence and restraint by fleeing this world.
Yet she could imagine leaving this land, but not how to escape this world itself. All she felt was confusion and helplessness.
That was what terrified Ranni most. The existence of the Greater Will made her feel a profound powerlessness.
Ever since she had devised that mad plan to flee the land, she had been working toward it.
But in the end, the obstacle she encountered did not come from enemies on the path to godhood. It came from a fundamental mistake.
Leaving did not mean freedom!
Even if she abandoned her body, her soul still originated as an extension of that Being.
That Supreme Deity seemed to be the source of everything, and Ranni had no idea how she could abandon her soul.
More than that, the soul was the foundation of existence. If she cast it away, would she still be Ranni? Without a self, how could there be freedom?
Ranni had no idea where to even begin with such a situation. Her only choice was to seek out her mother.
This was her final hope. She could only pray that the Great Queen would give her a different answer.
What a desperate hope it was. And what helplessness.
Ymir could not help sighing. "Renna, that girl so full of curiosity, has become the queen who conquered Liurnia of the Lakes."
His voice seemed heavy with nostalgia for that history.
"If the Age of the Stars had had a child like her, and had been led by such a Lord, perhaps the Eternal City would have met a different end."
Ranni remained withdrawn. Even when he praised her mother, she paid no attention, as if she were no longer in the same world as everyone else.
Instead, Nolan, who had not spoken in some time, raised his eyebrows slightly. He had gained a new understanding of that queen.
As far as Nolan knew, the Eternal City had been destroyed by Astel.
But from Ymir's words, it was clear he believed Renna possessed the power to withstand Astel.
That made Nolan rate the queen even more highly, though it also left him with a trace of regret.
That woman had used one corner of land to hold back the Golden Order Dynasty's armies right at Marika's doorstep. It was a pity he had never seen her in her prime.
"Your Majesty Nolan."
Seeing that no one was interrupting him at last, Ymir cleared his throat again, composed himself, then spread his hands and said solemnly,
"This is the truth of the world."
I know. Nolan looked at Ymir without expression. He had spoken with this priest before coming to this world, so this was hardly enough to shatter his worldview.
Seeing that Nolan showed no reaction to his words, Ymir did not feel the slightest embarrassment. He continued,
"I believe Your Majesty has seen it all with your own eyes. The lies and contradictions of the Erdtree era, the ignorance of the people, and the endless suffering of all living beings."
Ymir's voice carried a hint of helplessness and grief, like every skilled orator. "But none of this was what the Supreme Deity wished to see."
"The Deity's words and rod were mercy and love, meant to guide this world onto the proper path. Yet why has this world fallen into such despair? The root of it all lies with His children."
"From the very beginning, destruction and disorder existed in this world. And the ones who caused it all were Marika, the Fingers who guided her, and the mother of those Fingers."
Ymir's tone grew more impassioned. "Metyr, the radiant daughter of the Supreme Deity. She is the mother of all the Two Fingers. She should have conveyed the Deity's will, but she was damaged, and failed to bring the Deity's true teachings!"
"Those Fingers believe they are conveying the will of the Supreme Deity, but in truth, they are not. All they follow are twisted thoughts. How pitiful."
"They are the abandoned children of the Mother of Fingers, and pitiable victims as well. That only proves how important the role of a mother is, don't you think?"
At this point, he raised his voice and cried out fervently, "We urgently need a true, new mother who will not give birth to ruin!"
"And this mother is... you?" Nolan asked meaningfully.
"That is correct, honored Your Majesty. Please believe me. I can fulfill this duty and become a worthy mother."
His voice was gentle at first, but as he went on, it gradually rose, growing bright and resonant.
In the end, the entire church hall echoed with his impassioned words and his final plea.
"So... I hope you will do me a favor, Your Majesty! I beg you to kill that damaged mother. Kill Metyr!!"
"As thanks for your help, please allow me to offer you the Sorceries that moved even the great gods."
Ymir slowly spread his arms. In that moment, the expression on his face, mingling a mother's tenderness with a madman's fanaticism, was laid bare.
The man was clearly utterly devoted to his pursuit. His wish to replace Metyr and become the Mother was both insane and exalted.
But this display could not move Nolan. How much of what Ymir had said was true remained up for debate, and Nolan would not obey a stranger just because of a few words.
He had, after all, lived through the golden age himself. At the very least, before Marika went mad, the Golden Order Dynasty had not been as dreadful as Ymir claimed.
From a modern perspective, the Golden Order Dynasty might have been backward, even barbaric, but compared to the dynasties before it, it could certainly be called a "golden age."
If Metyr were truly as twisted as Ymir said, she could not have created a dynasty that people praised as "beautiful."
"As a reward for what you just told me, I can take you out of the Land of Shadow." Nolan glanced at the doll on his shoulder, who seemed to be questioning the meaning of life.
"And Metyr?" Ymir asked urgently. Whether he stayed there or not did not matter to him. From beginning to end, he had only one goal.
"Existence and extinction each come with their own choice," Nolan said softly.