The Goddess of Space took a shuddering breath, as if she needed to compose herself. Just talking about this being had drained her considerably.

But she still had a lot more to say, so she went on.

"She’s so terrifying that past records state she has already taken the lives of many Goddesses who went against her."

She shook her head. "It really was no competition at all. As long as she thought about it, that person was simply wiped out from the universe itself."

Luca gulped audibly. He could only imagine what kind of entity could treat goddesses like meaningless chickens slaughtered on a whim.

"The fact that the Goddess of Fertility even managed to survive meant that the Primordial One had given her mercy."

The Goddess of Space added.

"Otherwise, she would have been vaporized from existence completely—so much so that even the memory of her in the minds of every goddess would have been wiped out."

Luca leaned back, his face pale.

"She’s that scary?" He said, his voice wary.

The Goddess of Space nodded.

"Mortals have their own bedtime stories to make children fear the dark and follow the rules."

She gestured toward herself. "It is the same case for us. But instead of monsters and boogeymen, we have the Primordial One."

She spoke under her breath, her voice so quiet it was barely audible.

"My own sister, the Goddess of Equivalent Exchange, who’s one of the most powerful entities in the entire universe always spoke to me with warning whenever I mentioned the Primordial One."

"When I was young, she would always tell me to never utter her name casually." She shuddered. "She said that if I caught her attention, I wouldn’t even know why I died or why I even existed."

"I would simply be wiped out."

Luca could see genuine fear on her face.

Her complexion had gone pale, and she looked less like a Goddess and more like a mortal facing her own mortality.

"Even a Goddess as powerful as you is afraid." Luca observed softly.

"Of course I am." She nodded, not even trying to deny it. "Every single being in existence, from the lowest mortal to the highest goddess has reason to fear her."

"She is the ultimate power, the final authority, the one who decides the fate of everything."

Luca fell silent, processing all of this new information.

A being so powerful that the universe itself couldn’t control her.

A being who could wipe out Goddesses with a thought.

A being who had existed since the beginning of time itself.

And as he thought about such a powerful existence, something else occurred to him.

His brow furrowed, his expression growing increasingly contemplative.

He kept nodding to himself, then shaking his head, then nodding again—as if he were testing out an idea, rejecting it, then reconsidering.

The Goddess of Space noticed his strange behavior.

"What’s wrong, Luca?" She asked, tilting her head. "What exactly are you thinking about?"

She let out a soft chuckle, trying to lighten the mood.

"There’s no harm in accepting the fact that you’re also scared right now. After all, even a Goddess such as myself feels fear toward her. So it’s only natural that you would be scared of her too." She smiled gently. "I won’t mock you for admitting that."

But Luca didn’t respond. He seemed completely lost in his own thoughts, his mind churning with possibilities that both excited and terrified him.

Finally, as if he had come to a decision, he looked at her with a slightly awkward expression—conflicted, uncertain, almost embarrassed.

"Forgive me for asking this." He said slowly, a small, hesitant smile on his face. "And this might seem a bit strange and childish."

The Goddess of Space leaned forward curiously, her interest piqued. 𝗳𝗿𝐞𝕖𝘄𝗲𝕓𝗻𝚘𝚟𝕖𝐥.𝚌𝕠𝕞

Luca hesitated for just a moment longer. Then, with a slightly embarrassed expression, he asked,

"The so-called Primordial One that you’re talking about...could she possibly have two long horns?"

He put two fingers on his head, pointing upward like horns.

"Like, on top of her head? The kind that would make her look quite scary?"

The question was honestly very simple. Almost childish in the way he asked it, like a child asking about a monster under their bed.

But the moment the words left his mouth, everything changed.

An uncontrollable amount of pressure descended upon them. It was as if a massive burden had been thrown onto their shoulders, a weight so heavy it made breathing difficult.

And the Goddess of Space, who had been looking so casual just a moment ago, immediately had a horrific reaction.

Her eyes started to tremble. Her hands began to shake uncontrollably. She was physically heaving right now, her chest going in and out in rapid, panicked breaths.

She looked like she was going through a full-on panic attack just from hearing what he had said alone.

Luca’s eyes trembled with genuine concern as he watched the Goddess of Space’s reaction.

"Are you alright?" Luca asked urgently, leaning forward. "Do you need some water? Wait—do Gods even drink water?"

But the Goddess couldn’t even respond. She was completely frozen in her panic, her gaze fixed on him with new eyes—terrified eyes.

She was looking at him as if he were some sort of entity she didn’t dare to think about, as if the words that had just left his mouth had transformed him into something utterly incomprehensible.

Finally, after what felt like an eternity, she managed to catch her breath.

Her hands pressed down onto her thighs, gripping the fabric of her robes so tightly that her knuckles turned white.

She was trying to calm herself down, to compose herself, but she couldn’t fully manage it.

She looked at him with a weak, terrified gaze, her voice barely above a horrified whisper.

"How...How...How did you know that?"

Luca tilted his head, genuinely confused. "How did I know what?"

The Goddess’s voice rose in pitch, cracking with terror.

"How did you know that the Primordial One has horns on her head?!"

She was shouting now, her voice echoing through the abyss around them.

"No one should know that! The ones who have properly seen the Primordial One have not lived to tell the tale! Most of the Heavenly Realm doesn’t even know how she looks!"

She was practically hyperventilating, her words tumbling out in a frantic stream.

"The only reason I myself know is because my sister told me about her appearance when I was young—just in case I would ever see her, so I wouldn’t provoke her by accident!"

"Even I have only heard about her appearance before!"

"So how does a mortal like you..."

She pointed at him with a trembling finger, her eyes wide with horror.

"...know how the Primordial One looks like?!"

The weight of her words hung in the air like a death sentence.

The Primordial One was a taboo topic, something that no one should even mention or talk about.

And yet here he was, casually describing her appearance as if he already knew her intimately.

The Goddess stared at him, waiting desperately for an answer.

Depending on what he said, everything would change.

If he really was someone linked to that terrifying entity, then she would have to completely reevaluate her relationship with him.

She would have to become the subservient one—because anyone linked to the Primordial One was not someone she could mess with at all.

She expected him to admit it. To confess that he did have some connection, some link to that terrifying being.

But to her utter shock and dismay, Luca put on the most innocent look she had ever seen as he said,

"I have absolutely no clue what you’re talking about right now."

The Goddess blinked. "What?"

"This is honestly the first time anyone has even brought up the topic of this so called Primordial One."

Luca continued, his tone light and conversational.

"And everything you’ve told me about her—this is all the first time I’m hearing about it." He spread his hands wide. "So how could I possibly have some sort of relationship with such a scary entity?"

The Goddess stared at him, utterly baffled.

"But...But you clearly described her appearance right now! That’s something that no one normally knows"

"Even if you brought a higher god and asked them to describe her appearance, they would have no idea at all!"

She pointed at him accusingly.

"But you—you definitely knew! You knew she had horns on top of her head! So how is that possible? You definitely have to have seen her before, right?"

Luca shook his head again, his expression still perfectly innocent.

"The only reason I brought up horns..." He said calmly. "...is because back in the mortal world, we used to say that the devil always has horns on top of his head."

"It gives quite a scary image."

"And the way you described her..." He shrugged casually. "...it almost seemed as if she was some sort of devil herself. So I just joked around, asking if she also had horns."

"That’s simply all there is to it."

The Goddess’s frantic energy began to drain away, replaced by confusion.

"R-Really?" She asked slowly. "Is that really all there is to it? You had no intentions other than that?"

"Of course!" Luca said, tilting his head as if it were obvious. "Do you really think a mortal like me could actually meet such a powerful entity?"

"And even if I did, do you really think I could escape scot-free and talk to you right now?"

The words hit the Goddess like a bucket of cold water.

She realized, with dawning clarity, that what he was saying made perfect sense.

Even the Goddess of Fertility, who had taken on the Primordial One directly, had suffered such a catastrophic injury—her soul fractured, her mind shattered.

How could a mere mortal possibly meet such a terrifying person and be left alive?

She let out a massive sigh of relief, her entire body slumping back into her seat.

A forced smile spread across her face—a shaky, trembling thing that was only barely holding together.

"Of course." She breathed. "Of course."

She slapped her head in dismay.

"What am I even thinking about? Of course you wouldn’t have met her! You’re a mortal, after all—perhaps a stronger one than the rest, but still a mortal."

"How could you have possibly meet the Primordial One?"

She shook her head slowly, a self-deprecating laugh escaping her lips.

"My fear of her made my own thoughts scatter all over the place. I really should be ashamed of myself." S

he laughed again, the sound tinged with nervous relief.

"Yeah, it’s ridiculous." He agreed, his voice filled with sympathy. "But don’t blame yourself. It’s just all the stress from what’s going on. It seems to have taken a toll on you. You really need a break."

The Goddess chuckled, her body finally relaxing.

"A break? Yeah, I definitely need one." She shook her head ruefully. "I can’t believe my sister gave this damn responsibility to me and I’m the one suffering right now. It’s completely unfair."

Luca nodded sympathetically, his expression perfectly appropriate for the conversation.

But in the depths of his eyes, there was a certain glint, a flash of something that the Goddess, still recovering from her panic, completely missed.