"Progressive Designated Character Template... this thing looks interesting."
[Progressive Designated Character Template: Designate a character template currently being fused. Upon completion of that template's fusion, a random character template more advanced than the designated template will be drawn for you.]
"A character template more advanced than Garp's..."
Jaden paused for a moment.
"Sounds good. But unfortunately, I might get stuck on the Garp template's special mission."
He didn't choose to use it right away.
After all, he hadn't even figured out how to complete the special mission on the Garp template yet. Thinking about anything beyond that was pointless.
So he decided to save it for now.
He would wait until the Garp template found an opportunity for complete fusion, or until a new template was drawn.
He treated it as one of those "buy one, get one free" items.
With that thought, Jaden closed the system page.
Then he stood up from the throne.
He planned to leave the Royal Court and take a look around.
Because of the strange, dream-like sensation when he arrived here, Jaden already had a relatively complete understanding of the situation of this great kingdom.
Unlike the future world, during this era, the name was simple.
The Realm of Humanity.
As for why it was called that-
The reason sounded absurd.
According to the memories he had inherited, this era seemed to be one in which creatures called Gods existed.
If the "self" in these memories wasn't a mentally deranged lunatic, then this period-never recorded in later human history-was likely an age where humans and Gods coexisted.
Humans walked the earth.
And the Gods looked down upon it.
Although no God had ever appeared directly in Jaden's memories, the priests of the great kingdom regularly offered sacrifices to the Gods.
If the Gods liked the offerings, they would take them and bestow divine favor.
If they disliked them, the offerings would remain untouched until they rotted away.
In the beginning, people did question the meaning of such sacrifices.
But later, when an actual miracle confirmed that these offerings truly reached something beyond humanity, the practice became customary.
From that point on, the era of humans and Gods coexisting was established.
Jaden's expression became a little strange as he thought about this setting.
Because when it came to Gods, the first thing he thought of was the individual who had once called himself Zeus and fought him.
If all Gods were existences like that...
Then were they really worthy of being called Gods?
-He genuinely hadn't heard of Gods that weak.
With that thought, Jaden decided to go out and see for himself what this so-called only human kingdom in the era of humans and Gods actually looked like.
However, at that moment, a golden-haired attendant entered the hall and knelt before him.
"My King, the priests report that a divine miracle has occurred. Would you like to go and see it?"
Jaden's gaze fell on the attendant.
Before coming here, both Sanzenin Mikado and Tenousu Athena had told him that the Royal Court Trial existed only for him to make a choice.
And even before he had sought out Mikado, Old Man Atem-the Pharaoh-had personally sought him out to give him a reminder.
Now, right after his arrival...
A so-called divine miracle appeared.
Jaden didn't believe this was a coincidence.
The "choice" he had been warned about was probably connected to this divine miracle.
More importantly-
He was also curious.
What exactly counted as a God?
So he made his decision.
"A divine miracle?"
Jaden stood up.
"Take me to see it."
...
In this era, divine miracles were broadly divided into three categories.
The most inconspicuous and common kind was when the Gods silently took the offerings and casually fulfilled some trivial human wishes.
Slightly more noticeable were miracles like favorable weather, bountiful harvests, or assistance in resolving natural disasters.
And the most conspicuous-
The greatest divine miracle-
Was the situation unfolding right now.
The clouds in the sky parted.
Light poured down from above, forming a radiant path that resembled a stairway descending from the heavens.
This kind of divine miracle did not solve humanity's problems.
Nor did it bring good weather or plentiful harvests.
It only symbolized one thing.
-A God had descended.
Jaden rapidly skimmed through more than twenty years of memories from this era.
In all of them, there was no trace of a God's shadow.
Even the deceased former King of Man had reportedly never seen a God.
By calculation, it had been nearly a hundred years since a God last descended upon the world.
Before today, such a miracle had only existed in legends.
And so, when this miracle truly appeared, the masses-led by the priests-immediately knelt to the ground.
Some people had tears in their eyes, anticipating the descent of a God.
Others didn't even dare to look up.
Among all those kneeling figures-
Jaden stood out the most.
He remained standing among the crowd, his gaze fixed on the sky.
There was no reverence in his eyes.
Ah.
This...
The kneeling priest was the first to notice that his King had not knelt.
His expression changed instantly.
He reached out, trying to pull Jaden down.
But a single glance from Jaden made him freeze, his hand withdrawing on instinct.
By the time the priest came back to his senses and wanted to do something else-
It was already too late.
Light connected heaven and earth.
Wearing exquisite plate armor, with long, smooth hair, and a face that lacked any heroic warmth-
The Goddess who descended from the sky gave off an overwhelmingly sharp impression.
"The Valkyrie..."
Someone gasped.
"It's Lady Brynhildr!"
In an era where humans and Gods coexisted, the priestly lineages preserved records of many Gods.
Clearly, Brynhildr was among those known.
"Hm?"
Brynhildr walked down from the sky.
She showed no emotion as she looked at the kneeling humans below, merely nodding in acknowledgment.
But when her gaze landed on Jaden-
She paused.
A clear look of surprise flashed across her face.
Then-
Appreciation.
And confusion.
"King of Man," she said calmly, "you show no respect upon meeting a God?"
Hiss-
At those words, the surrounding people lowered their heads even further.
The priest felt his heart nearly stop.
He hurriedly tried to speak, wanting to explain.
But before he could utter a single word-
Jaden spoke first.
"Have the Gods done anything worthy of my respect?"
The moment those words left his mouth, the surroundings fell silent.
Brynhildr blinked.
Then she smiled.
"Perhaps they have... in the past."
Her tone shifted slightly.
"But now?"
She paused, as if thinking.
"Hm. You're right. They are indeed not worthy of respect."
Then she raised her voice and addressed everyone present.
Her words rang clearly across the entire area.
"Humanity."
"You are in great peril."