"How should I address you, goddess who oversees the Nether Moon?"
As she followed the black-robed girl through the portal, Themis did not rush to look around but rather inquired about the name of the unfamiliar deity.
In the current narrow 'divine circle' of Chaos, the sudden appearance of an unseen god inevitably aroused her curiosity.
"My lord has named me Liana."
The girl's voice was very soft, but when it entered her ears, it imparted a sense of full authority. Themis knew that this was the influence of the Nether Moon godhood.
In today's Underworld, aside from the recently emerged Goddess of Oaths, Styx, there were only the occasional descendants of the Twin Gods of the Dark Night.
But Styx had just been born, and the six offspring of The Dark Overlord who wielded doom, destruction, decay, sorrow, deceit, and lust were not very powerful. The Nether Moon was subtly the ruler of the Underworld.
Even in later generations, the original Nether Moon and the Goddess of Crossroads became viceroys of the Underworld, possessing authority second only to Hades. From this, it can be seen that the Nether Moon held an extraordinary position in the Underworld.
Therefore, under the influence of the godhood, Liana's voice naturally carried a hint of royal bearing, much like the Ocean Deity Sovereign who now presides over the sea.
Upon hearing this, Themis nodded but had taken only a few steps when she suddenly stopped. Hearing the silence behind her, Liana in front turned around, her gaze inquiring why the Goddess of Justice had halted.
"I am terribly sorry, but may I ask what this is, Princess Liana?"
She had been preoccupied with asking for Liana's name, but as Themis observed her surroundings, she was surprised to find herself in a special place.
Everything around her seemed not much different from the external Underworld, and if not for the sudden change to a world of black and white, Themis wouldn't think she had moved at all.
Looking around, she saw transparent creatures resembling umbrellas floating in midair. 'Floating' about, many tentacles hung down from beneath the umbrellas, seemingly extracting something from their surroundings.
Themis could sense that this might be the power known as 'Spirituality'.
Although she had never seen them before, the goddess was certain that these strangely shaped things were indeed a form of life, different from the gods.
They had no divinity; the mere passage of time could leave marks on them or even erase their existence. But undoubtedly, these peculiar life forms she was seeing for the first time also possessed thought, though still very rudimentary.
This was what she found most incomprehensible. In the current Chaos, no non-divine intelligent life existed, even in its most primitive form.
"This is a type of 'Ghost Jellyfish,' the weakest of the 'Wandering Jellyfish'," Liana explained gently.
"In the first layer of the Spirit Realm, the Illusory Spirit Realm, they are the lowest level of the food chain yet reproduce quite easily. Look—"
Following the direction of Liana's finger, Themis noticed a larger transparent creature nearby that was splitting in the middle.
The splitting process was slow, lasting about fifteen minutes. When the last bit of attachment broke apart, the transparent creature completely divided into two.
Immediately after, countless transparent filaments emerged from the split sides of each half, reconstructing the missing halves of their bodies. Both 'halves' reduced in size, but as time passed, they each regenerated the missing parts, becoming two smaller complete beings.
"The lord says this is 'mitosis'," Liana introduced earnestly. "It is a primitive yet efficient form of reproduction. If the concentration of Spirituality is high enough, they can double in half a day's time."
"...Mitosis?"
This brand-new term challenged Themis's worldview. As the Master of Law and Justice, she was usually reticent and maintained a strict demeanor, unaffected by external things. But today, she was genuinely surprised by what she had learned.
"Yes, mitosis," Liana corrected. "Didn't you see the Spirituality filaments that came out when they were regenerating their bodies?"
"..."
The Goddess of Justice remained silent, seemingly uncertain about what to say.
"Let's go." Seeing that Themis had no more questions, Liana gestured, and another gate of light emerged before them.
Themis could distinctly feel that the force referred to as 'Spirituality' was incredibly dense beyond the gate of light, more than ten times denser than where they currently were in the 'first layer of the Spirit Realm'.
"This is the gateway to the second layer of the Spirit Realm, the Communicative Spirit Realm, also known as the True Spirit Realm. Normally, only a few places in each layer of the Spirit Realm are interconnected, but the barriers between the first three layers are intentionally set weaker, making them easier to breach. Plus, since you are an invited guest, we'll just take the express route."
Following Liana through the gate of light once more, Themis was just about to acknowledge her understanding when she was once again stunned by the scene before her.
In the first layer of the Spirit Realm, despite everything being 'black and white', and her initial startling encounter with the peculiar 'Ghost Jellyfish' and 'mitosis', it was still within Themis's comprehension.
They were nothing but special creations. Hearing that the God of Spirit had borrowed the Life Vase from Mother Earth and that the birth of new life forms other than plants was not too strange.
But now, what appeared before Themis was a scene she had never before seen.
Two silver crescent moons hung in the sky, where many winged creatures chased each other in flight. The ground was covered with a variety of strange plants, exuding an air of spirituality, and there were at least more than ten types of new creatures with fur or phosphorescent shells walking on the land.
Not far away, around a kilometer off, there stood a small lake. Many scaled beings swam within it, and at the bottom, there was an odd creature that kept opening and closing, with a bright pearl forming inside.
"... Are these all creations of Prince Laine?"
Witnessing everything before her, the Goddess of Justice asked incredulously.
She had already thought it a monumental feat when Mother Earth created plants, but only today, seeing these special creatures, did she suddenly realize the desolation on the Chaos Terrain.
"Yes. The Sovereign used seven days to create the world; these are the creatures of the Spirit Realm that the Sovereign created on the fifth and sixth days."
Pleased with the 'foreign god's' astonishment at the Creator's mighty power, Liana explained with a smile.
"..."
After a moment of silence, Themis promptly spoke, "May I approach and take a closer look at them?"
"Of course, but——"
With a slight wave of her right hand, Liana summoned a third gate of light. This time, Themis couldn't feel any presence from behind the gate.
"It seems you plan to stay here a bit longer, so we can't go up layer by layer."
"I'll wait here for you, and later, we'll go directly to the seventh layer of the Spirit Realm, to the Sovereign's palace."
"Then, you'll be able to present your reason for coming here to the Sovereign."
"..."
Only then did she remember that she had actually come to borrow the Oracle Stone Tablet, but after hesitating for a moment, Themis still headed towards the multitude of Spirit Realm creatures.
Such unique non-divine beings with minds of their own greatly intrigued her.