My Family in the Novel?

Chapter 204: Eris 2

Sitting upon a regal, grand throne that radiated a pristine white brilliance, Eris, the primordial goddess of light, peered down at Adrian.

It had been a while since their last encounter, and despite the passage of time, her beauty remained undiminished. An air of arrogance adorned her features, a familiar expression that had not waned.

Adrian couldn't help but wonder if his presence disgusted her as much as hers did him.

The sentiments seemed mutual, locked in a dance of disdain.

His recent attempt to test the limits of divine causality had summoned him before her, a confrontation that unfolded in her ethereal realm.

Reflecting on the situation, Adrian pondered the implications of the goddess's use of causality to redirect or teleport him away from potential harm.

The experiment had revealed a measure of their constraints, allowing him to discern the limits of the divine forces at play.

A smirk tugged at his lips, contemplating the possibility that their ability to manipulate causality was not limitless.

'Did they really have that much causality to spare?' he mused, surprised that the arrogant goddess would allocate even a fraction of their precious resource.

'It seemed Mother's relentless attacks had taken a toll, prompting the goddess to resort to such measures'

Adrian's gaze drifted upward, where the white sky stretched before him. His attention was drawn to a black crack that marred the pristine canvas, a testament to Mother's relentless onslaught.

The crack, slowly but steadily expanding, revealed a truth that even with the laws of causality at the goddess's disposal, she struggled against the relentless fury of Adrian's enraged mother.

"You...." Eris mumbled; her gaze fixed on Adrian. "What were you trying to do?" she demanded, seeking an explanation for his audacious actions.

"Trying to kill one of your apostles?" Adrian responded nonchalantly; his words laced with a hint of defiance.

Yet, before the echo of his words could fully resonate, a wave of pink divinity surged dangerously close, threatening to incinerate him.

Rumble...!

To his surprise, the threatening wave was intercepted by a golden barrier. Adrian turned his gaze toward Eris, who had meticulously raised her hand to shield him from the impending divine assault.

It became apparent that within the confines of this ethereal realm, the gods couldn't harm him outright.

'Or more like they can't afford to lose all the causality they have' Adrian surmised, recognizing the strategic restraint they exercised.

The consequences of him being harmed would unleash his mother's unbridled fury upon them.

"Valeria, restrain yourself!" Eris's authoritative voice reverberated through the celestial space.

Just a few meters away from Adrian, another goddess emerged, matching Eris's stature but distinguished by pink hair and a sensual figure.

Clad in a white dress adorned with pink and gold patterns, Valeria, the goddess of love, glared at him with evident anger.

"Sister, this arrogant human dares to harm my precious child..." Valeria seethed, her eyes glowing with an intense shade of pink. The force of her divine anger compelled Adrian to kneel, his heart pounding so rapidly that it felt as if it might explode under the weight of divine pressure.

The disconcerting grip of Love's divinity still lingered, and Adrian couldn't help but resent its influence.

The ephemeral glow of pink and gold clashed within the divine space, an intense struggle of wills and emotions.

The divine power associated with Love possessed a unique ability to manipulate minds and souls, a quality that had brought him to his knees.

"Valeria...! Do not make me say it twice!" Eris's roar reverberated through the celestial expanse, accompanied by golden lightning that crackled in the air.

The sheer intensity of her divinity could topple mountains, yet the protective barrier she had cast shielded Adrian from the overwhelming pressure.

Locked in a silent battle of glares, Valeria and Eris confronted each other. Their gold and pink eyes clashed in a contest of divine wills.

After a tense few seconds, Valeria relented, succumbing to Eris's demand. The divine influence she had cast upon Adrian gradually released its hold.

Coughing up blood, Adrian remained on his knees, his body aching, and his mind clouded.

'Fuck…'

The encounter with Valeria had taken a toll, her charm far surpassing anything Isabella had attempted earlier.

The pain lingered until a sudden surge of golden aura enveloped him, bringing solace and dispelling the discomfort.

"Heh~ I didn't expect you to be so sweet" Adrian remarked, addressing Eris with a wry smile.

The unexpected healing gesture from the goddess, considering their tumultuous history,

She looked at Adrian even more pissed off the golden aura wrapping around him disappeared.

"So, this is that human?"

"He sure is weaker than expected... but his core is dangerous."

"Wouldn't it be better to eliminate him now?"

A gathering of gods materialized around, their divine forms reminiscent of the statues adorning the sacred temple.

Though not matching Eris's might, the intricacy and peril of the concepts they wielded hinted at their formidable nature.

Among them, a hooded figure exuded an aura of darkness, unmistakably bearing the divine essence of 'Death'—a concept with which Adrian was intimately acquainted with.

"Silence!"

Eris commanded, quelling the speculative murmurs among the divine assembly. She scrutinized Adrian for a fleeting moment before lifting her hands, conjuring the holy sword into existence. The golden gleam illuminated the divine weapon as Eris regarded it pensively, her gaze eventually returning to focus on Adrian.

"So, you became its master? The amount of providence you've distorted and stolen really brings into account your title, Anomaly" she remarked, her eyes fixed on Adrian as if finding it absurd that he held such a weapon—a weapon she probably personally created.

Eris persistently labeled Adrian as an anomaly, a term he had grown accustomed to, yet the goddess had not provided a satisfactory explanation for why he was considered an anomaly in the first place.

Adrian found himself trapped in a realm of divine mysteries, lacking the understanding of why he had been transmigrated into this world, let alone why he inhabited the original body of Adrian.

However, the weight of Tristan's fate, forcibly placed on Adrian's shoulders by Eris, seemed to shatter the grounds for her claim of him being an anomaly.

'Even though I only wanted to live my new life quietly away from the story if possible... she had to interfere'

Adrian, who had been attempting to live a quiet life before his inevitable ascension, now viewed Eris's interference as the catalyst that disrupted the harmony he sought to maintain.

"Wasn't this all part of your plans to begin with? After all, you gave me the system and all. You even gave a set of quests and missions to fulfill," Adrian questioned Eris, a tinge of sarcasm lacing his words.

He couldn't fathom her surprise at him claiming ownership of the holy sword; it was, after all, an inevitability the moment she bestowed upon him her divine authorities. He merely hastened the process.

Moreover, with Tristan absent from the equation, the sword of light would have been left dormant, lacking the necessary divine power to be wielded effectively.

"Yes, but you didn't do any of them," Eris retorted, her tone holding a note of disappointment.

"Hey, I did complete some of them…" Adrian defended himself, a hint of defiance in his voice.

"The mundane ones, yes…" Eris responded dismissively. While it was true that Adrian accomplished certain tasks, Eris seemed unimpressed, considering them inconsequential compared to the grander divine plans she had envisioned.

Adrian, however, reflected on the irony of it all. His meticulous plans and efforts to fulfill the assigned missions were driven by the fear of Eris's looming consequences.

Had he known that he would face no repercussions for failing these missions, he would have abandoned the system's quests from the very beginning.

The realization left a bitter taste, rendering his previous strategies and efforts seemingly futile in the grand scheme of things.

'What did she even hope to achieve?' Adrian pondered as he observed the primordial goddess of light, Eris, sitting on her grand throne. It had become evident that her attempts to harm him had painted her into a corner. The impending arrival of his mother in this realm cast a looming shadow over Eris's existence. Despite understanding the inevitability of her demise, Eris clung stubbornly to futile resistance.

'Even if she calls for help from other pantheons, the ending has already been decided once mother arrives it doesn't even matter how many ruler gods arrive'

From his perspective, she served as nothing more than additional sustenance for his approaching mother.

Her fate appeared sealed, yet she persisted, desperately holding onto the illusion of control over him, refraining from direct harm now that she was aware his family surrounded him.

Suddenly, Eris threw a holy sword towards Adrian.

Swoosh…!

The weapon halted abruptly before him, slowly dissipating into nothingness. Adrian couldn't shake the curiosity about her motives.

"Eris, what exactly do you want? You realize everything you do now is pointless, right?" Adrian voiced the inquiry, attempting to pierce through the veil of Eris's obstinacy.

In response, the atmosphere grew denser, a palpable weight that forced even the surrounding gods to shield themselves with their divinities to avoid being crushed.

Adrian recognized it as the unmistakable manifestation of power emanating from a primordial goddess. As expected, Eris wielded a force capable of exerting tremendous pressure on the very fabric of reality.

Despite the oppressive weight that hung in the air, Adrian remained unaffected. In her fury, Eris had provided a divine barrier around him.

Even in her wrath, a shred of rationality lingered, preventing her from causing direct harm.

"You arrogant mongrel, how dare you say my name with that insolent mouth of yours?"

"Why are you so mad~? Aren't we close enough to call each other by name now—"

Boom…!

Before Adrian could finish his jest, a blinding beam of light streaked past him, creating a thunderous explosion just behind.

It seemed he had struck a nerve, provoking a reaction that materialized in a spectacular display of power.

But as expected...

Unfazed, he smirked, acknowledging that the goddess's rage couldn't harm him.

As the dissipating echoes of the explosion lingered, Adrian, with an air of nonchalance, strolled closer to the seething deity.

"Kneel, human," she commanded with her divine voice, a futile attempt to assert dominance.

Despite her authoritative tone, she refrained from letting the command manifest into any tangible harm. Adrian couldn't help but revel in the unspoken admission of fear.

"Get back!" she exclaimed, unleashing a condensed burst of radiant energy. Adrian took the hit, allowing the force to push him back several meters.

The impact was a mere inconvenience, and he chuckled at the goddess's desperate attempt to create distance.

'Haha…'

This encounter was markedly different from their initial meeting.

The goddess seemed constrained, unable to manifest her full strength.

Adrian discerned that a significant portion of her power was likely focused on repairing the breach his mother had created.

In this weakened state, the goddess remained powerless to harm him, no matter how fervently she tried.

Adrian continued to dance along the line, teasing the goddess with his presence.

He knew that as long as he avoided crossing the threshold of no return, the divine entity before him remained impotent against him.