Inside the ancient and magnificent stone temple, Lorne held little Medusa's hand and followed the stream of worshippers into the main hall.
Morning light poured through the oculus in the dome, casting its glow on the marble throne ahead.
There stood a grand statue, crafted with fragrant wood and gold, its exposed "skin" carved from ivory, luxurious and imposing.
The Lady Sovereign wore a bronze helm atop her head, long hair with distinct texture cascading like a waterfall down her back.
A carved wooden owl perched on her shoulder.
Her upper body was clad in a snake-patterned breastplate, right hand gripping the Spear of Victory, left hand bearing the divine aegis, Athena's golden-tassel-fringed goatskin shield.
Her tall and graceful figure radiated a chilling majesty and a sacred aura of inviolability.
The Minoans worshiped goddesses.
Though male gods were occasionally mentioned, their religion overwhelmingly favored female deities, such as the Mother Goddess of fertility, a female ruler of animals, protectresses of cities, households, harvests, and even the underworld.
Some scholars believed these were merely different aspects of the same goddess. These goddesses were often symbolized with animals, snakes, birds, and the like.
All these echoes converged upon the image of Athena, the Olympian goddess of snakes and owls.
As the crowd bowed their heads in prayer, the blasphemer among them subtly raised his.
His gaze drifted past the humbled masses, each willingly offering their wealth and devotion, and quietly landed on the Lady Sovereign upon her throne, casually, even a bit disrespectfully, sizing up the goddess's visage.
The surroundings were silent.
The statue stood firm.
No reply to the prayers.
No comfort for the suffering.
No punishment for the insolence.
No wrath for the impure.
Lorne gently tightened his grip around Medusa's small, trembling hand, then turned his head to look at the cowering gorgon beside him, who dared not even lift her head.
He winked.
See? Told you it'd be fine.
Perhaps affected by his calm demeanor, Medusa mustered up her courage and slowly lifted her little head, her pair of reddish-purple pupils sneaking a glance at the face beneath the war helm.
Due to the divine faith poured into the statue, enhanced by godly essence, its features appeared hazy from a distance—shrouded in a fine mist, making it impossible for mortals to fully behold the sacred visage of a god.
But a statue was still a statue after all. It stood tall and unmoving on its divine throne, posing less of a threat than a stray dog that might bare its teeth on the roadside.
Strangely, the fear that had long weighed on young Medusa's heart dissipated like smoke, and the long-held gloom on her face lightened a lot, revealing more of her original self.
"This place is so boring. When will it end? I'm hungry."
The gorgon girl rubbed her little belly as she tugged on Lorne's hand and muttered quietly.
"Soon…"
Lorne gave a side glance at the true "big glutton" beside him, and once he heard the mental chime indicating the end of the task, he pulled Medusa to properly follow the donation and worship procedure, exiting through the rear door of the temple.
At the moment he crossed the threshold, he paused slightly and looked back at the crowd of poor-faced believers, clothes bleached pale from repeated washings, who still offered everything they had to the gods in hopes of a better life. Then at the lavish and exquisitely expensive statue in the hall, one that could've fed dozens of families for years, he gently shook his head and murmured silently.
Do you really love humanity that much, Athena?
The statue gave no response.
But in Lorne's memory, there was already knowledge of what lay ahead for the Minoans:
The eruption of the volcanic island of Thera, the great tsunami from Oceanus, acid rains that lingered, and unending clouds of ash, all signs of the so-called [wrath of the gods] would toll the death knell for their civilization.
And eventually, the Mycenaeans from mainland Greece would invade and rule over the entire Crete, burying both the goddess's worship and the Minoans' future beneath their conquest…
Perhaps you were never really worthy of all that reverence…
—My dear… sister?
Outside the temple, Lorne snorted and shook his head.
He quietly slid his hand back into his pocket and tugged along the fidgeting glutton at his side, heading toward the bustling city below the hill.
Under the shade of a roadside tree, Medusa stared in disbelief.
"What?! The lunch money's gone?!"
"Of course. Worship the gods isn't free. I have already given today's lunch to the great Lady Sovereign."
Lorne spread his hands innocently, though behind his clear eyes was a sly glint of amusement.
"…"
Faced with such a devastating blow, Medusa's face, which was originally full of expectations, couldn't help but crumple.
Then, she gritted her fine silver teeth and turned her head angrily.
"Where are you going?"
"To get it back!"
"…"
Seeing the just-awakened, still-green Medusa suddenly shift from her fear of the gods to overcorrected fierceness, Lorne froze, broke into a cold sweat, and quickly grabbed the gorgon girl who looked about ready to storm up the mountain and rob the temple.
"No need, no need! Let's just cover it for now, lunch's on the emergency stash. I'll go buy more right awayl"
He then pulled a few fragrant, delicate pastries from his pocket and handed them to her.
"Try it, it's really good."
Medusa sniffed with her dainty nose and took a tentative bite.
Almost instantly, a sweet and refreshing flavor burst across her taste buds, filling her heart with delight. Her young eyes lit up, sparkling with joy, and she couldn't help but exclaim in praise.
"Delicious!"
"Of course," Lorne nodded without surprise, casually picked up another piece and popped it into his mouth. The corners of his lips curled with satisfaction as he said leisurely,
"This is top-tier tribute for the gods. Of course it tastes amazing."
Hearing his casual words, Medusa, who had been wolfing down the pastries, suddenly froze.
She looked down in shock at the emblematic serpent patterns and olive leaf designs on the pastry in her hands as her tiny body shuddered instantly.
"You stole the goddess's offering?"
"Stole? What are you talking about? I paid for this. Fair trade, honest business,"
Lorne corrected her righteously, popping another piece into his mouth.
Medusa instinctively hugged the remaining pastries to her chest, then asked in confusion, "But… wasn't our money supposed to be offered to the goddess?"
"Exactly. We made an offering to the goddess, and she accepted it.
That means she's willing to help us solve our problems and offer her protection,"
Lorne nodded to himself, his smile growing brighter.
"So now here's the question, what was our problem at the time?"
"...We were hungry?"
Medusa thought for a moment, then murmured while rubbing her stomach.
Lorne clapped his hands and explained with a grin, "Exactly. So you see? We offered what we had to the goddess as a sign of faith, hoping for a solution. The goddess gave back what she had to show mercy and offer aid. Fair trade, honest deal, doesn't that make perfect sense?"
"..."
Faced with this seemingly logical reasoning, Medusa was a little confused.
It took a long time for her to come back to her senses before she snorted coldly.
"Did you ask the goddess?"
"Of course!"
"And what did she say?"
"She gave tacit approval,"
Lorne said solemnly, though in his heart he was smugly thinking:
Today I not only finished a weekly dungeon, but I also knocked out a daily one. The money wasn't wasted, and I got to taste some top-notch palace food. Total win.
At this time, a smile that was brewing joy quietly appeared on that face, invisibly exposing someone's nature.
Though it seemed like he was being dragged along by that cursed die, every decision had been made by him personally.
Lorne, a soul from the future, held little real reverence for so-called gods or fate.
And as his true nature began to surface, he started to genuinely enjoy these little blasphemies, mocking the divine while blaming the dice, and dragging Medusa along for the ride.
After all, this little snake-haired girl would one day be slain by a demigod hero. Even her head would be mounted on for the shield in the hands of goddess Athena's.
So… consider this an advance on collecting interest from the goddess.
But obviously, unlike Lorne, who was happily embracing his inner troll, the little one, who still harbored a deep-rooted fear of the divine, couldn't help but mutter uneasily,
"The goddess had better think that way."
"Don't worry. The great Lady of Wisdom is kind and generous. How could she possibly watch her devout believers go hungry?"
Lorne said this with a totally straight face while praising the temple statue he'd just stolen from.
"Speaking lightly of the gods does not make one devout. Without true sincerity, what right does a believer have to demand blessings from the divine?"
Just as the two were whispering, a faint whisper came from the stall on the side.
Turning toward the voice, they saw a girl with long silver hair draped over her shoulders, wearing a finely embroidered white silk dress.
She had just set down something she was picking from a market stall and was now looking toward them.
Her violet eyes were deep as night and glittered like stars.
Behind her stood a blonde, blue-eyed little girl with a floral crown on her head, clutching the hem of the older girl's skirt as she smiled and stuck her head out, looking at the opposite side with a gloating look.
(End of Chapter)