"What are you saying..."
Cecilia looked at Elashia, then at the Iron Empress, and finally at Candice.
The three wore extremely serious expressions, not a single smile on any of their faces.
You must be joking...
Cecilia's eyes were filled with disbelief.
"Impossible!"
Cecilia exclaimed.
Cecilia sincerely hoped that these three people were actually deceiving her.
But reason told her—this was the truth.
Why the Iron Empress didn't kill her back then, why Elashia chose to stage a coup recently, why the Iron Empire's spies didn't sabotage Elasia, why Elashia chose to cooperate with the Iron Empire... now everything made sense.
"The Goddess created this world and created humanity, why would she create such a disaster!"
In the perception of the people of the Abyss Marsh continent, the Goddess was a loving deity, and an omnipotent spirit.
So people believed in both the Goddess's existence and her benevolence.
Except for the Iron Empire where religious preaching was forbidden, followers of the Goddess's religion were spread throughout almost the entire Abyss Marsh continent.
The Holy Kingdom even established the Goddess religion as the state religion, with almost the entire country operating with the Goddess religion at its center.
Although the Goddess religion didn't receive official recognition in Elasia, many people still believed in her existence.
Including Guardian Knight Cecilia.
"Impossible! God loves all people! Impossible... this can't be..."
Seeing Cecilia's dejected state, before Elashia could speak, the Iron Empress said:
"What makes you think—that the Goddess who created humans would love humans?"
This question plunged both Elashia and Cecilia into deep thought.
Who says a mother must love her child?
Right before them was a "mother" who had nearly destroyed her daughter's soul for the sake of humanity's survival.
Love between people is mutual, let alone between beings with such vast status differences as the Goddess and humans.
In the game, there was a strange route.
When "Elashia" pushed her morality value too high at the beginning, she would subconsciously choose to reject the [Mind Control] talent due to strong aversion.
That way, "Elashia" would not awaken [Mind Control].
Then, her soul would be destroyed by the Iron Empress through [Soul Capture].
At that time, the Iron Empress knew very clearly in her heart—"Elashia" was her daughter, and she had her own soul and people she cared about.
But she still did it.
Back then, Elashia thought this woman was as ruthless as she appeared.
But by the middle of the game, "Elashia's" position in the Iron Empress's heart would change dramatically if she took the human route.
In a few rare routes, the Iron Empress would even choose to sacrifice the entire world for "Elashia."
Elashia felt the reason was actually quite simple.
Only when something is lovable will people love it. Only when something is hateful will people hate it.
The Iron Empress only came to love "Elashia" after seeing the wonderful qualities in the human-route "Elashia."
All qualities in a child, whether good or bad, will be infinitely magnified by parents.
But sadly, they often define a child based on certain good or bad qualities they see.
While Elashia was immersed in thought, the Iron Empress continued to address Cecilia:
"Moreover, you should know that 'God loves all people' is just a fairy tale invented by humans. If she truly loved humans, how would there be these unending natural disasters and tragedies?"
The Iron Empress continued:
"In the past, I believed—if the Goddess is truly omnipotent, then she certainly doesn't love humans, and if the Goddess loves humans, then she is certainly not omnipotent."
"I don't know whether that so-called 'Goddess' representing the world's will is omnipotent or not."
"But now, I clearly know—"
Facing Cecilia's devastated gaze, the Iron Empress enunciated each word:
"The Goddess certainly doesn't love humanity."