In the desolate space where no soul wandered, my <Sanctuary of the Soul> was in absolute disarray. The walls and ceiling were covered in cobwebs and mold, resembling an old haunted house, and an enormous cocoon of indeterminate origin still clung stubbornly to a corner of the ceiling.
No one in their right mind would ever say I had a “pure soul” looking at this mess. Well, I guess that saves me a lifetime of people asking, “Have you found enlightenment?”
“What are you looking around for? There’s nothing worth seeing.”
Apollo spoke while shaking his leg, seated on a gilded chair with his arms crossed. Beside him floated Hermes, drifting freely through the air, and Anubis, in his jackal form, lay quietly curled up.
Seeing them living so peacefully inside my soul brought an odd mix of feelings. I couldn’t exactly kick them out either.
“Why are you so harsh? My soul can hear you, you know.”
Apollo clicked his tongue, clearly unimpressed.
“Hmph, but it’s true. Did I say anything wrong?”
“Did you come just to nag?”
I said, exasperated. Seriously, he had to be here just to nag, right? Otherwise, what could they possibly want by randomly dragging me inside this place? Well, I did have something I wanted to experiment with in here, even if they hadn’t called me.
“Apollo~ You really shouldn’t talk so roughly to Ga-hyeon~.”
“When did I ever say anything rough, huh?”
Hermes, floating as if doing a backstroke in the sky, looked at Apollo upside down. Oddly enough, his hat never fell off. Its winged brim fluttered gently.
“Talking like that isn’t going to earn you any gold-star stickers, you know.”
“So I’m supposed to coddle him now?”
“You never know. Maybe if you did, you would get a gold-star sticker. Besides, don’t you already coddle him pretty well?”
“Oh, shut it.”
Apollo waved Hermes off like he was being ridiculous. I let out a sigh.
“So, what’s the point of all this?”
“Oho? That’s a pretty disrespectful attitude, huh?”
I responded without missing a beat.
“What, should I call you Daddy or something?”
“I really should’ve recorded the way you acted the first time we met…”
“Let’s not bring that up like civilized humans, yeah?”
Apollo scoffed.
“Civilized? I’m a Constellation, remember?”
From the floor, Anubis spoke up in a voice filled with disbelief.
“You’re both. So childish.”
It really felt like I was constantly getting dragged into Apollo’s childish pace. Even knowing he meant well and had helped me, I couldn’t help but find him infuriating. If I could, I’d clock him once just to get it out of my system, but who knew what disaster that would cause.
Anubis continued.
“There is. A reason. We called you.”
“Indeed. We have descended upon this miserable place to bestow a special blessing upon a pitiful mortal.”
Apollo’s voice dripped with smugness. His words and demeanor exuded arrogance from every angle.
“A blessing?”
“Even if part of it is tainted, it’s unacceptable to leave your soul’s space in this state. Doesn’t your soul look pathetic to you?”
“What am I supposed to do? I don’t have any Coins.”
Maybe if I had Coins to throw around like the other Constellations. But all I had were 12,500 Coins. Not even enough to buy one of the statues in Apollo’s domain, let alone clean up this whole mess.
I had to admire myself—how is it even possible to be this consistently broke? Sensing my thoughts, Apollo frowned.
“What dumb thing are you thinking now? That’s why I’m telling you we’re giving you a blessing. You don’t need Coins. This is a unilateral blessing from us, as Constellations, to a human.”
“A unilateral blessing from Constellations to a human?”
Hermes grinned like he was having fun.
“To be more specific, we’re here to give you a Sou-Dec!”
“What the hell is a ‘Sou-Dec’?”
“Soul Decoration, of course.”
So they dragged me in here just to talk about some nonsense like soul decoration? What a waste of time.
Judging by how Hermes started giggling, he must’ve read my thoughts clearly. He began pulling something out of his pocket.
At first, I wasn’t sure what it was. But then I saw it and instinctively stepped back, my mouth agape.
“…What is that?”
To my shock, Hermes had pulled out a statue of himself. One leg stretched backward, one arm extended upward, the other holding a staff entwined with two snakes.
The muscular detail was so pronounced it defied description.
I reached out toward the statue and touched it gently.
[Statue of the Messenger God Hermes A]
[A bronze statue modeled after Hermes. His sculpted bronzed thighs and ribcage stand out vividly, evoking a sense of freedom as though he’s flying through the sky. When placed within the designated range, the body feels lighter. (Effect applies upon placement)]
“What else? This is the ‘blessing’ we were talking about.”
I let out a genuine yet light remark.
“Feels like I just stole something from the Louvre.”
“Pffft—!”
Hermes chuckled gleefully, clearly amused. I looked at him, dumbfounded, then turned back to inspect the statue. Even with my utter lack of artistic sensibility, I could tell this was flawless—no extraneous detail, just pure perfection. It almost felt…
“Did Hephaestus make this?”
“Wow, nailed it on the first try?”
Hermes said with impressed admiration.
Hephaestus—god of fire, sculpture, and smithing, born from Hera and Zeus. Despite his innate craftsmanship, he was ridiculed for his unattractiveness and lameness, which even led his wife Aphrodite to cheat on him with Ares.
Still, Hephaestus was brilliant enough to craft Hermes’ winged shoes and hat, Eros’ bow and arrows, and even Zeus’ thunderbolt.
And now he’d made this statue.
“After hearing about the Destruction, he specially made it for you. To help Ga-hyeon.”
“For me?”
“Keeping this statue in your soul will make battle significantly easier. Think of it as a blessing we’re bestowing. It should also help suppress some of Angrboda’s interference.”
Truly the kind of thing only a Constellation could do. To barge into someone else’s soul and just drop off a statue of themselves? I stroked my chin as I looked at the Hermes statue—sculpted in full detail, down to the groin.
“Then… don’t tell me… the others too?”
Apollo laughed under his breath.
“Hmph.”
Striking a majestic pose, he tilted his head back, golden hair cascading behind him, still seated in his chair with theatrical flair.
“My statue? It’s in a completely different class from Hermes’.”
“Um, Apollo? Brother? I’m standing right here, you know?”
“You’ll be overwhelmed—brought to your knees by sheer awe the moment you lay eyes on it.”
“I already want to look away, honestly.”
“Look forward to it!”
Apollo stood up and reached inside his robe.
“Behold! The magnificent statue of this divine body!”
Thud! A massive statue hit the ground with a seismic impact.
[Brilliant and Glorious Golden Statue of the Sun God Apollo S]
[A golden statue modeled after Apollo. Radiates his majestic and awe-inspiring aura. Just being near it brings a warming sensation throughout the body. When placed within the designated range, physical strength is enhanced. (Effect applies upon placement)]
For a moment, I was speechless. The radiant statue was made entirely—literally—of solid gold, from head to toe.
As my eyes slowly scanned over its gleaming surface, I found myself utterly dumbfounded. Even Hermes had gone quiet.
Anubis blinked once, then turned his head sharply away, as though he’d seen something he shouldn’t have.
“What’s with those reactions?”
“I mean… sure, I get that you were aiming for extravagance with the gold, but…”
I glanced down toward the statue’s lower half and squeezed my eyes shut.
“Isn’t it… way too big?”
“Too big? It’s a perfect match for the great deeds of this divine form! What? Why are you looking away? Face it directly!”
Clutching the shoulders of the statue—identical in size to himself—Apollo shoved it toward us.
“BEHOLD THE MAGNIFICENCE!”
Hermes, thoroughly fed up, muttered,
“Honestly, the fact you actually commissioned Hephaestus for this is even more disgusting.”
“Hideous…”
“What’s so hideous about it? Hmph.”
Apollo scoffed.
“The fact that you can’t recognize the grandeur of Apollo…”
“No, forget grandeur or whatever. Are you seriously saying I have to keep this in my soul?”
I spoke hastily. Hermes turned his head away, pretending not to hear.
“This gold monstrosity with an unnecessarily exaggerated crotch? In my soul? As if that weird cocoon Angrboda left wasn’t enough?”
“Accept it. Surrender.”
Anubis, watching my existential meltdown, spoke with calm finality.
“Sometimes. One must learn. To endure.”
“You want to take it instead, Anubis?”
“Then. It is time. To reveal my gift.”
“Wow. Look at that smooth deflection.”
Wearing an expression of utter innocence, Anubis rose to his feet. From his previous four-legged beast form, he swiftly shifted into a humanoid figure with a jackal’s head. Smacking his lips a few times, he pulled something out from within his robes.
This time, my reaction was even more extreme.
“A… coffin?”
“Not just. Any coffin.”
Anubis gently opened the lid, explaining with serene patience.
“This is for when. You die again. So that. You’ll have. A place. To lie down.”
Without hesitation, I lifted Apollo’s statue and slammed it down on the coffin.
