It’s Not Night - Chapter 210.1

Side Story 5: The God of Greed and Conflict, Nera

I was born from my mother’s obsession and grew up devouring chaos. My surroundings were filled with destruction, and I lived by consuming everything that spilled from the fragments of that destruction.

My mother called it greed, and sometimes, when things didn’t go my way, I would take from my sisters to expand my size. This she called conflict.

Thus, I became the god of greed and conflict.

In the time when the world was just beginning to take shape, my life was dull and monotonous. Unfortunately, my older sisters, who were born before me, were too busy helping our mother to spare any time to be with me.

I had no choice but to wait for my mother’s will to move me, while I consumed the failed byproducts of creation.

The fifth sister was born unexpectedly. Our mother called her the god of neutrality, and I was happy to have a sister to play with.

However, contrary to my expectations, the god of neutrality soon became just as busy as my other sisters, and I was quickly disappointed.

Once again, I was left alone.

In the emptiness of the womb, I curled up again, waiting for my mother and sisters, hoping for the moment when someone would wake me.

After what could have been an endless cycle, the sixth sister was born while I was asleep.

I opened my eyes to a strange presence, and there, staring at me, was a sister with a face just like mine. When our eyes met, she told me without using our mother’s voice that she was the god of wisdom and ideals.

[I am Anat. My sister, what is your name?]

Anat.

The moment I heard that name, I knew instinctively. This was the sister I had been waiting for all this time.

[I am Nera. I am Nera, my sister.]

* * *

Anat knew so much, even without our mother telling her. She even knew how to escape the divine realm, where I had been trapped.

So, I led my sister and, avoiding our mother’s gaze, we roamed and asked many questions. I loved the sound of her cheerful voice.

As time passed, Anat’s knowledge accumulated within me, and the fragments I could consume grew in number. I also started to hear the voices flowing from the failed byproducts. I was pleased with my growth.

But, my joy was short-lived. The seventh sister was born.

She was the god of justice and harmony.

She possessed the opposite power to mine. The moment we saw each other, we both understood that. So, my sister and I kept our distance from each other.

Of course, I didn’t hate the god of justice and harmony. I simply realized we needed to stay apart.

I loved all my sisters. And that was true for all of them. Born from our mother’s vast womb, we were destined to love one another, so none of us hated each other. We understood what was best for each other, which is why my sister and I chose to part ways for each other’s sake.

But whenever Anat played with the god of justice and harmony, I felt a strange dissonance. I also noticed the voices of the failed byproducts growing louder.

I didn’t want to hear anything anymore, so I swallowed everything in sight and gazed at the world that was gradually taking shape. After devouring all the voices, I found myself craving more pieces of different fragments.

[Nera, it won’t be long now. The day we can move freely is near.]

I was standing at the edge of space, dipping my feet into the darkness, peering into the things that lay within. From behind, I heard Basham’s joyful voice.

Basham, the god of mischief and love, had been born after the god of justice and harmony, and like Anat, she was one of the sisters I felt the most in sync with.

[Move aside, Basham. I’m busy.]

[Oh, my sister. What’s so fun about staring into that unseen darkness? Come play with me. It’ll be much more fun.]

Basham, always up to something, frequently came to coax me with her worldly ways. At first, I would resist, but once she managed to tempt me even once, it would become easier the next time, and then again and again, until I could no longer resist.

As I’ve said before, Basham was the sister I was most in sync with after Anat, and she knew well what I wanted.

[Even with the ninth sister about to be born?]

[…How do you know that?]

[I asked Anat. Anat knows many things.]

[Where is Anat?]

At my question, Basham merely smiled.