Chapter 1548: Chapter 1548

Sukra nodded and continued explaining to Wayne the basic knowledge of Hades.

Hades is a vast space, resembling an hourglass from top to bottom, where only the purest souls can enter the twelfth layer.

These twelve layers are, in order: the Mist of Forgetfulness, the Sea of Tranquility, the Forgiveness Forest, the Lake of Wisdom, the Fire of Greed, the Ice of Envy, the Swamp of Sloth, the Peak of Pride, the Valley of Hope, the Bridge of Mercy, the Only Cosmos, and the Eternal Hall.

"Souls are purified step by step, igniting the fire of hope, regaining faith and longing for beautiful things, learning humility and moderation, understanding love and sharing..."

"Experiencing the feeling of merging with all things in the universe, no longer having boundaries and separations, deeply realizing ’the oneness of self and universe’ to obtain eternity, entering the twelfth layer, returning to the eternal embrace of death..."

"Becoming part of the universe, wisdom, truth, and eternally indestructible!"

Shukra excitedly pumped her fists, turned to Wayne with pride, and said: "How about it, isn’t Hades grand? Don’t you feel particularly proud?" ʀᴇᴀᴅ ʟᴀᴛᴇsᴛ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀᴛ NoveI-Fire.ɴet

It’s alright, it feels pretty much the same as the Seven Virtues and Seven Deadly Sins setup.

Wayne shrugged: "It sounds great, but it’s too difficult. Is there really a soul that can reach the twelfth layer and return to the embrace of the Goddess?"

Wayne, having experienced both Hell and Heaven, knew a bit about how Divine Nations operated.

Hell is sealed off; outsiders can’t get in, and ghosts inside can’t get out, so let’s not mention it. Let’s just take Heaven as a reference case.

It’s not that all believers can enter Heaven; the so-called ticket is largely controlled by the Papal State. In short, devotion doesn’t matter as much as your connections and understanding of fist power.

He figured that Hades was likely similar; an ordinary person’s soul, even after a lifetime, couldn’t enter Hades. If they wanted to return to the Goddess’s embrace, they could think about it without committing any crimes, just think slowly by the side.

Anyone qualified to return to the Goddess’s embrace must be a Legendary Mage at the very least.

Upon hearing Wayne’s skepticism, Sukra placed her hands on her hips, trying hard to be more convincing: "The Death Bible comes from Hades, and every description and record is accurate. You may not believe me, but you can’t deny the Goddess’s compassion for all beings. You yourself have said that in the face of death, everyone is equal."

"It’s just propaganda. If you look closely, you’ll find a small line that says, ’Images are for reference only. Everything is subject to the actual product.’" Wayne sneered.

Sukra puffed her cheeks in anger: "You are the Death Knight; you shouldn’t speak such blasphemous words about the Goddess!"

"Isn’t it possible that I’m just speaking the truth?" Wayne raised an eyebrow.

"Absolutely impossible."

"Want to make a bet?"

Sukra was about to agree but suddenly thought of something. She crossed her arms over her chest and stepped back several paces, looking at Wayne with a wary expression.

Finally, after keeping a low profile for so long, the evil claws were reaching toward her innocent self!

"What is that look? Don’t think that just because I’m wearing an eye patch I can’t see what’s going on."

Wayne snorted and rubbed his hands like a fly as he approached: "Suddenly realized, in this ghostly deserted place, even if you scream your lungs out, no one would notice. I might just do something."

"Uh, don’t use this kind of thing to scare me. I know you’re not that kind of person," Sukra replied helplessly.

"Do you really know me?"

Sukra was slightly stunned. Seeing Wayne pretend to pounce, she wailed and turned her head to run.

Wayne leisurely followed behind. Whenever Sukra stopped, he would stomp heavily on the ground, urging her to quicken her pace and finish traversing the twelve layers.

In Wayne’s view, the so-called twelve layers of Hades were at most a tourist attraction used for external promotion, meant to attract believers. The Goddess of Death Aztemo’s manipulation was nothing more than recruiting a few more filters.

Cattle and horses need to have the awareness of cattle and horses. Though the people above draw pies, believing them is your own fault.

The two walked and stopped, passing through the Forgiveness Forest, the Lake of Wisdom, crossing the fire of Greed, the glacier of Envy, the Swamp of Sloth, the Peak of Pride, then traversing the Valley of Hope, the Bridge of Mercy, reaching the eleventh layer, the Only Cosmos.

The cosmos, filled with starlight, flowed slowly, gradually unveiling a mysterious and magnificent scenery.

Strands of radiant ribbons stretched across the starry sky, resembling rainbows bridging the path forward.

"Strange, after walking for so long, why haven’t we seen a single soul?" Wayne spoke with a tone neither here nor there.

"What’s so strange about that? The three Subsidiary Gods rebelled and the Goddess fell into slumber; the Divine Nation’s operations stopped."

"Want to make a bet?"

Sukra shook her head decisively, not for lack of faith, but because Wayne was too uncanny. She had seen with her own eyes that no one who bet against Wayne ended well.

The latest unlucky one was Dreyne, who lost so much he even took off his pants.

Ignoring Wayne’s odd remarks, Sukra pointed towards the Bridge of Streaming Light with excitement: "According to the Bible, the Eternal Hall is located at the center of the starry sky. We are about to meet the Goddess."

"Wake up, your Goddess is sleeping, guarded by three traitors by her coffin!"

What do you mean by ’your Goddess,’ as if you had no part in it.

Sukra muttered in her heart and calmed herself, saying: "I understand why you insisted on bringing me into the Divine Nation. You plan to awaken the Goddess through me, to have her descend into my body, waking in another manner, right?"

"I had that thought, but not now..."

Wayne gently shook his head, looking towards the boundless Stars Cosmos.