* * *

“You’re completely out of control now, aren’t you? Do rules mean nothing to you anymore?”

The embodiment of causality, Goddess Casuality, with her brightly braided hair, exploded in fury, her anger reducing Eridian’s lovingly nurtured flowers to ash in an instant.

“Do you have any idea how much care I put into those flowers?” Eridian finally sat up, though only enough to prop himself on his elbows.

“Don’t change the subject!”

“And what, write a heartfelt apology? Will that make it all better?”

“An apology isn’t going to fix this! Why do you keep telling mortals things they aren’t meant to know?”

The goddess chastised Eridian for his carelessness.

Only a handful of gods could reveal forbidden knowledge to mortals without consequence.

Eridian was one of the few—alongside a couple of slumbering primordial deities—who managed to remain unscathed despite his actions.

“Are you seriously asking because you don’t know?”

Instead of showing remorse, Eridian glared and retorted with equal indignation.

His question prompted the goddess to clutch her chest and shout.

“Of course I know!”

How could she not?

Since ascending to godhood, Eridian had been nothing but a headache for her, starting with his infamous outburst—demanding his lover’s resurrection, screaming, sobbing, and even grabbing her by the collar.

‘Do you think being popular is all it takes to be a god? Sure, you’ve got followers, but… Do you even know who you’re messing with?’

‘Do I care? What kind of god can’t even bring back a single human?’

‘Ugh! And what about your promise to wait? Are you just going to throw that away?’

‘…A promise.’

‘Yes! Your lover made you promise to wait, remember? To meet again in their next life?’

‘That’s right. My Ciel… promised to meet again after being reborn. I remember.’

Whenever Eridian teetered on the brink of madness from grief, the mere mention of that promise would momentarily restore the light in his eyes.

To causality, Eridian was a troublesome god.

He wasn’t particularly skilled at guiding humanity but had ascended through sheer determination and the overwhelming faith his deeds inspired. In truth, he was just a love-stricken fool whose actions had accidentally catapulted him to divinity.

Whenever Eridian’s anguish drove him to lash out, the mortal world suffered—lightning storms, months of torrential rain, wildfires.

The goddess had spent centuries soothing and restraining him, only to shudder at his relentless nature.

“Persistent little pest,” she muttered under her breath, shaking her head in exasperation.

“Woohyun has a right to know.”

“What right? Stop spouting nonsense.”

“Wait a second… Seems like someone annoying is clinging to him again.”

Eridian abruptly stood, his expression darkening as he looked down at the mortal realm, where Seo Woohyun’s group had joined forces with Habios’.

“Focus, will you? And weren’t you dumped? Why are you still watching them?”

The goddess glanced at the human world before waving her hand dismissively, deliberately disrupting his view.

To add insult to injury, she prodded at his sore spot.

“Why come here just to nag and rub salt in the wound?”

“Wait, are you seriously going to keep pestering him?”

“And what if I do?”

“Wow! The great Eridian, sulking and brooding like this!”

“Even if I’ve been rejected, he’s still my Saint. As his god, it’s my duty to watch over him and protect him from harm.”

“Since when have you cared so much about humans?”

“Since… a few months ago.”

“You’re insufferable. If you had fewer followers, I’d have cut you off long ago.”

The goddess clicked her tongue, frustrated.

She knew he was hopelessly consumed by love, but this level of obsession was unexpected.

At least he showed no signs of turning into a malevolent god, which was a small relief.

With his immense power, such a transformation would spell disaster.

“As a friend, let me give you some advice: clinging to someone who rejected you? Not a good look.”

“Shut up and leave. And don’t call yourself my friend.”

The goddess burst into laughter at his dismissive wave, amused despite herself.

For all his flaws, this stubborn fool’s straightforwardness was oddly endearing.

The gods frequently interact with the causality of other dimensions, yet they approach it with caution rather than ease.

Despite their reputation as omniscient and omnipotent beings, the truth is far from it.

The gods are most terrified of causality itself, which is born from the collective beliefs of the world’s inhabitants.

It is the only force that can impose restrictions on even the most exalted deities.

---

“This isn’t nonsense, so be careful. Stop descending, too. I’ve never seen another god descend for as long as you have.”

“If you total up the time other gods spend descending and divide it over 1,215 years, let me know if you can’t calculate it. I’ll do it for you.”

“I can do that much on my own!”

“Then why are you nagging me?”

“You know nothing good ever comes to humans when a god lingers near them for too long!”

“Well… I suppose I won’t be descending anymore. I’ve been dumped.”

Erdian, gently brushing a strand of his long, meticulously tended silver hair, flopped onto a cushion with a heartbroken expression.

He absently swept a finger over the spot where flowers had burned to ash, coaxing a new sprout to emerge.

“The flowers I worked so hard to grow for Woohyun are gone, and now Woohyun says he hates me… What am I supposed to do now…”

His voice was so utterly drained of power that Causality cautiously approached him.

Memories surfaced—those days when Erdian threatened to abandon his godhood and reincarnate as a mortal.

If Erdian were to truly relinquish his divine status, no one could shoulder the immense duties he handled.

That would be… problematic.

Causality, softening slightly, asked in a gentler tone:

“Hey… is getting dumped really that devastating?”

“I only accepted this godhood to wait for my Woohyun. From the start, I had no interest in cleaning up after humans.”

“Oho, your worshippers would weep tears of blood if they heard that.”

“Let them. I never made any promises to those worshippers anyway. The only promise I’ve ever made is one.”

“Why not just become the god of irresponsibility while you’re at it?”

“You’re trying to dump more work on me while I’m already like this?”

His irritation betrayed no sign of abandoning his godhood just yet.

Causality folded her arms, deep in thought.

Despite Erdian’s occasional antics, their long companionship had fostered a peculiar fondness.

Seeing him so dejected stirred something within.

“Anyway, Erdian, your warnings are seriously piling up. If you reveal another forbidden truth to a human, I won’t be able to cover for you anymore.”

“I might as well just die. I’ve been a god, but I’ve never died before. Could be an interesting experience.”

Hearing Erdian’s apathetic mutter, Causality let out a deep sigh.

It would be more beneficial in the long run to pacify him and assign tasks than to leave him unchecked, potentially creating havoc.

“No, seriously. Is being dumped really that big of a deal? Just try again. What was his name? Woohyun? Seo Woohyun? Anyway, didn’t you say he drooled just from looking at your face?”

“Don’t fabricate nonsense. My Woohyun doesn’t even drool when he sleeps—he breathes softly, like a baby angel.”

“Ugh. You’re delusional. My point is, even if he rejected you once, if you approach him seriously before he starts dating someone else, he might reconsider.”

“Do you think that’ll work? He got so angry because he thought my intentions weren’t sincere.”

Erdian’s uncharacteristically morose demeanor was oddly entertaining.

“For a god, you’re not bad, you know. And apparently, he’s weak to good looks. If you’re really worried, just give it some time and approach him again, carefully.”

“He might hate me for being clingy.”

“Isn’t there a saying? ‘Fortune favors the bold,’ or something?”

“Why is Woohyun fortune now?”

“Anyway, chin up. Stop pulling reckless stunts that’ll erode your divinity. If he does take you back, you’ll want your full strength to shower him with everything he deserves.”

“….”

“Pining for 1,200 years only to mope after being dumped? That’s not the Erdian I know.”

The words barely left Causality’s mouth before a vein popped on Erdian’s forehead.

His fiery temper made him a fun target to tease.

“Ahahaha! Well, I’m off!”

As Causality made a hasty exit from the garden, Erdian let out a long, heavy sigh, now alone.

Being dumped was bad enough, but to have beings who weren’t even human rubbing salt in the wound under the guise of comfort?

His gaze drifted back to the human realm, where Seo Woohyun sat by a campfire, quietly eating.

He had always been within reach before. Now, all Erdian could do was watch.

As the restrictions Causality imposed played in his mind—banning descents, even silencing his voice—Erdian scowled.

“That insufferable child, always pulling such creepy stunts with that innocent face.”

Suddenly, his hands clenched into fists.

“And now, what’s that little brat doing stuck to Woohyun’s side again…”

Perhaps he should have told Woohyun to never let anyone else get close to him.

Swallowing his petty thoughts, Erdian sighed deeply.

* * *