The Four Divine Books! The Book of Wisdom: recording all the wisdom of the living, once held by Metis, and now in the hands of Hades.
The Book of Memory: recording the memories of humans, gods, the dead, monsters, and even the Ancient Gods.
The Book of Omniscience: containing all the wisdom of the dead.
The Book of Knowledge: perhaps the most unique of the Four Divine Books.
The Four Divine Books!
The Book of Wisdom and the Book of Omniscience represent the living and the dead, respectively. Combined, they record everything about life and death. The Book of Memory documents everything in the mythological world, even including the Ancient Gods.
Of course, even though these records exist, whether one dares to read the memories is another matter. The Ancient Gods are so unique that even reading their recorded memories would alert them, leading to consequences beyond imagination!
Lastly, the Book of Knowledge is equally special. It contains the wisdom of gods, humans, the dead, and monsters—all recorded within its pages.
Furthermore, the Book of Knowledge's records span the past, present, future, and all the multiverses encompassed by the mythological world.
In other words, within the Book of Knowledge, one could find the achievements of human industrial revolutions—first, second, third, fifth, tenth, even twentieth, and so on. Any technology developed within the multiverse can be found there.
Additionally, one can find all human-created martial arts, divine techniques created by gods, including Coeus's God-Slaying Thunder.
In essence, anything one seeks can be found within the Book of Knowledge. This is why the hierarchy of the Four Divine Books is quite simple: the Book of Knowledge > the Book of Memory > the Book of Wisdom + the Book of Omniscience.
Hades had obtained the Book of Wisdom and knew that the Book of Memory was with Mnemosyne. Acquiring this book in the future wouldn't be difficult.
As for the Book of Omniscience? That was another matter.
Finally, there was the Book of Knowledge. The Titan goddess of knowledge, Theia, was its owner.
At this moment, Theia stood before Hades, her hand open as the immense divine book emitted an endless radiance. In the brilliant light, countless words flowed out, and under the vast divine power of the three Titan goddesses, special formation barriers emerged.
In a brief span, even Hades felt his divine power and laws being suppressed. The seals and restraints were comprehensive, inescapable by any god.
"Hades!" Theia said sternly, "With knowledge spanning past, present, future, and all beings—gods, humans, the dead, and monsters—can you resist?"
Hades did not answer her, instead examining the flawless formation barrier. As time passed, the formation's perfection became evident, confining him completely.
In the vast river of time, combined with endless space, the resulting knowledge was absolute. Within the Book of Knowledge lay infinite wisdom.
However, despite the truth of this, Hades quietly observed Theia and said, "Theia, how long can you sustain this? The Book of Knowledge contains infinite wisdom, but you haven't mastered it. You're merely using it forcefully, depleting your divine power. How long can you last?"
Hades had immediately seen the issue.
The Four Divine Books—The Book of Wisdom, The Book of Memory, The Book of Omniscience, The Book of Knowledge—were terrifyingly powerful, but not without side effects. You could forcibly use the recorded knowledge, but if you hadn't truly mastered it, you couldn't fully control it.
This meant that without mastery, using the book drained immense divine power.
"Hades, don't concern yourself with that," Theia replied calmly. "I have my methods. Your life ends here. Don't waste time; I have endless time."
Indeed, from the beginning, Theia seemed unaffected by the book's drain. This indicated she had a backup energy source. It wasn't Theia herself sustaining the Book of Knowledge but something else, though Hades didn't know what.
"Faith power, Theia," Hades said after a moment's observation. "You're using the faith power from the Earth Temples, drawing a portion of their divine power to sustain the Book of Knowledge."
"Figured it out?" Theia was momentarily surprised, then regained her composure. "But Hades, even if you know, it changes nothing. This nearly perfect method is enough to..."
"Foolish!" Hades's tone briefly carried rare derision before he calmed again. "Theia, you and this Titan war will be pivotal. Because of your arrogance and foolishness, the Titans will ultimately lose."
Hades looked at Theia with a sense of helplessness rather than joy.
From Kronos's perspective, he had prepared meticulously, accounting for everything—except Mnemosyne's betrayal and Theia's foolishness. These two foolish Titan goddesses had tipped the balance, leading to an inevitable conclusion for the Titan war.
"Enough," Hades said softly. "This has nothing to do with me. Show your cards. Your current methods can't kill me."
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