Grey rolled the beads between his fingers, trying to gather his thoughts and decide what to do next.
The bracelet Kaguya had given him always calmed his restless mind. Every smooth, round bead was more than just something precious. It was a reminder of his family. Even now, far away from them, he could still feel their presence and support, filling him with confidence for tomorrow.
"Maybe we should ask Lady Veronika for help?" Senior suggested. "After all, she's a priestess of Venus, an orthodox god of the Roman Empire. I doubt she'd pass up the chance to punish those scumbags while boosting her own reputation. We could just sit on the fence and watch the tiger hunt the lambs."
"You're too optimistic," Junior said, shaking his head in obvious disagreement. "We're in territory controlled by the Magic Empire, not Rome. The priestesses of Aphrodite have about as many rights here as the cultists themselves. I doubt the Church of the One God would approve of her getting involved."
"By the way, since you brought it up... why do the Roman gods have two names? Venus and Aphrodite, Mars and Ares, Zeus and Jupiter..." Senior asked carefully, trying not to reveal how nervous he was.
That question had been bothering him for a long time, but he had never found the right moment to ask it. He didn't want to reveal too much about his home world. Not because he didn't trust Junior, but because he was afraid of raising unnecessary suspicion.
After all, his transmigration was an incredible mystery. Reincarnating with all his memories intact was no small matter. Only a Sky-dweller should have been capable of such a miracle, yet Grey had been nothing more than an ordinary mortal with no chance of being reborn. Perhaps some powerful being had helped him for reasons of its own.
The gods who had been known even on Earth were the ones he suspected the most.
If Grey had been an ordinary child, Senior wouldn't have hidden anything and would have told him the truth. But Junior hated the gods with every fiber of his being, and Senior was afraid of ruining the relationship they had built.
"Hehe, that's a pretty long story. Are you sure you want to hear it now, when we still have to figure out what to do about the cultists?" Junior frowned.
"I think it's important. I need to learn as much as possible about the gods, the way they live, and their goals. I have to understand how they think so I don't overlook anything vital," Senior explained calmly.
Junior nodded.
He understood that Senior always wanted everything under control. It wasn't strange that he wanted to learn more about the gods whose followers they would soon have to face.
He fell silent for a minute before he began his explanation.
"Your question isn't easy to answer. To understand the causes and consequences, you need a solid understanding of Eridania's history. An ordinary plebeian wouldn't know any of this, so be careful and don't go talking about it."
"Alright," Senior agreed at once.
"Then I'll start from the beginning. According to the legends, there have only ever been three eras.
The First Era, the Era of the Gods, dates back to the creation of the world. Um... I don't know much about that period, and neither does anyone else. Only legends have survived to this day.
Back then, the gods freely walked the world, doing whatever they pleased as they tried to establish order and protect their own interests. Naturally, that led to countless conflicts that made today's wars look like children's games.
The Titans were sealed away in Tartarus... Lucifer betrayed the Father and chose the path of evil... Jotunheim invaded Asgard...
And that was only a small part of the chaos that consumed those times.
The entire world was engulfed in disasters. It eventually reached the point where the world itself stood on the brink of destruction. The situation grew so dire that the pantheons were forced to leave the mortal world forever.
Since then, they have only been able to answer prayers from time to time. They can no longer descend in their physical bodies."
A chill ran down Senior's neck.
It was one thing to hear stories about the legendary deeds of famous gods when there was no proof they actually existed. In that case, they were nothing more than fascinating fairy tales adults had invented to teach disobedient children a lesson.
But when you knew the gods truly existed and could destroy your ordinary life in an instant, those harmless stories suddenly became the plot of a terrifying horror movie.
Junior noticed Senior's hesitation but chose to remain silent because he felt much the same.
"Don't ask for details. I don't know them.
Everything I've told you comes from the official teachings of the churches. History is written by the victors, and I can't be certain any of it is true. The details of those events could just as easily be fiction, lies, or the result of generations of misunderstanding...
Now, back to your question. The answer lies in the history of the Second Era, the Wild Era.
When the gods disappeared and the world lost its mighty rulers, civilization fell into decline. Contact between the continents was completely severed, turning each one into an isolated world of its own.
The different races gained their freedom, but they had no idea how to use it.
There was no common language, and they couldn't understand one another at all. Even the smallest disagreements turned into brutal conflicts as every race fought to claim its own place beneath the sun.
Every race needed unique resources to survive, and they would stop at nothing to obtain them.
For example, vampires needed fresh blood, making them the natural enemy of humanity. Werewolves relied on the power of the moon, which only appeared at night. Vampires couldn't survive under the sun. It was only natural that those two races would clash over the best lands to live on.
There were countless examples like that.
The reasons varied. Divine legacies, rare resources, or even a miserable patch of land. But the fact remained that after the gods vanished, some races rose to power, others were forced to bow their heads, and still others fell into irreversible decline.
By the end of the Wild Era, humanity had firmly established itself on two continents: Alaz and Pratos. Even so, our race was far from united.
There were countless powerful families, city-states, kingdoms, and tribes. Each had its own leader, its own laws, and its own army. They could unite against other races, but in times of peace they competed fiercely with one another. Everyone wanted to grow stronger and live by their own rules.
That was when humanity's greatest genius appeared...
Alexander the Great..."
Junior's throat went slightly dry as he spoke that name. Such was the legendary life of that man.
Meanwhile, Senior felt the back of his neck go numb, as if he had just been struck by lightning.
'Alexander? Alexander the Great?! THAT Alexander?!' He wanted to grab his head and scream.
'What kind of nonsense is this? Why is a real historical figure from Earth famous in this world too? Am I not the only reincarnator? Or is it just a coincidence...?'
If Senior had been controlling the body at that moment, he would have forgotten to breathe. He listened to Junior with absolute focus, terrified of missing even a single word.
It was one thing to hear the names of familiar gods in this world. That kind of coincidence was strange, but he could at least accept it because they were gods. But hearing the name of a real historical figure was something else entirely.
Meanwhile, Junior ran his tongue across his dry lips. His eyes blazed, and even the whisper in which he spoke had grown slightly hoarse. He had never spoken about even the gods with such profound respect.
"Alexander's bloodline traced all the way back to Zeus himself. His ancient ancestor was the legendary Heracles, who had earned everlasting fame during the Era of the Gods. But countless generations had passed since then, and only a fraction of that former glory remained.
At the age of sixteen, he became the ruler of a modest city-state on the coast of Alaz.
That was the beginning of his rise.
His charisma and personal strength were truly unmatched. He expanded his territory as easily as if he were scooping up sand. Anyone who fell under his gaze had only two choices: submit completely or lose everything.
His name became synonymous with invincibility. Under his banner, all of humanity united, just as the demons had once united under the Demon King Gitrelon, and the vampires under Vlad Dracula Tepes.
In the end, Alexander became so powerful that he could make decisions on behalf of the entire human race. With his approval, humanity joined the Alliance of the Higher Races, marking the beginning of the Third Era, which continues to this day, the Era of Civilizations."
Senior sat there in stunned silence.
He kept hearing familiar names from Earth over and over again, but he still remembered to ask,
"Wait. I don't understand why you're telling me Alexander's story. Are you saying the gods changed their names because of him?"
"How about you let me finish first? I was just about to explain that."
"Sorry, sorry. I'm listening."
"So, Alexander brought unimaginable glory to all of humanity, but that glory came with a problem.
His fame surpassed that of the gods themselves. Many of them were forgotten entirely, while others came to be seen as nothing more than his subordinates.
Naturally, that made them furious.
Even Olympus, which had always supported Alexander, could no longer tolerate the situation.
Since when should the 'mighty' Zeus be treated like a mere subordinate of his long-dead descendant?"
Grey's words carried unmistakable sarcasm and resentment whenever he spoke of the Olympian gods.
"Although the gods could no longer interfere directly in the affairs of mortals, their influence still remained. They still cared deeply about the number of their followers and their reputation. But changing the way society viewed them wasn't easy.
Olympus found itself facing a dilemma. On one hand, Alexander had brought them glory across the entire world. On the other, he had offended the interests of the other pantheons and had grown far too confident.
In the end, the gods decided to get rid of him.
However, Olympus couldn't betray its own believers. It was one thing to toy with the life of some unknown, powerless mortal. No one would pay attention. Even if the truth came out, it would only remind everyone of the gods' overwhelming power.
But Alexander was different.
He was the pillar of all humanity. Powerful and unstoppable. Legends say that at the height of his glory, he may have been stronger than many gods and far more influential. On top of that, it was he who had made Olympus famous throughout the world.
If the gods had suddenly abandoned him back then, they would have done nothing but damage their own reputation.
It was an impossible situation.
But they found a solution...
They renamed their own pantheon. They created a second identity and supported the independent city of Rome.
Alexander died under mysterious circumstances while setting out to conquer the Empire of the Six Pillars. He left no heirs behind. His great empire shattered into countless kingdoms and gradually faded into the river of history.
That was how Alexander became the man who forced the gods to change their names."
Senior remained silent.
Senior didn't even know what to think. His mind was a complete mess. It felt as though he had been thrown into a game created by a terrible historian.
The characters were familiar. The mythology was familiar. Yet all logic had been thrown out the window.
He felt like he simply lacked the imagination to understand how his home world was connected to all of Eridania.
Was this really the same Alexander? Were these truly the same gods? Why was he here? Were there other transmigrators?
Senior couldn't come up with an answer. His thoughts froze like an old computer.