A exquisitely beautiful figure shrouded in divine radiance sat atop a Divine Seat.
Her exquisitely elegant, luxurious gown cascaded like flowing water, her snow-white hair trailing down like a galaxy. Her golden eyes seemed to contain the trajectories of moving stars, and her flawless, delicate beauty made any words pale in comparison.
Behind her, twelve pure, flawless white wings spread gently, unfurling in layered, perfectly harmonious rhythm. Sacred and solemn, she radiated a holy aura that allowed no hint of desecration.
The Goddess of Light—Iluvia Devilitafil!
Sitting atop her Divine Seat, a faint, gentle smile touched her lips—warm and elegant, yet carrying the inherent majesty unique to a deity. Her ethereal, sacred voice echoed slowly:
“God-Chosen Ones...”
“We...”
“...meet again.”
The voice sounded as if it descended from the highest heavens, yet also resounded directly from the depths of the soul.
Nan Cheng stood dazed on the spot, staring up at the Goddess on her throne, his mind going temporarily blank.
Even though he had seen her with his own eyes before, facing this ultimate purity and breathtaking beauty once again left him deeply shaken, his heart skipping a beat.
Meanwhile, the bullet comments in Nan Cheng’s livestream chat blew up, threatening to shatter the screen as the stream's popularity exploded instantly:
“Whoa, whoa, whoa! It’s Goddess-sama! A live Goddess-sama!”
“Sob sob sob~ Wonderful! Goddess-sama, we finally meet again! Do you know how I lived these past three days? I wished upon that stone statue in camp every single day!”
“Since our last parting, three days felt like three eternities! Oh, my fragile maiden's heart!”
“??? Did something weird just creep in there?”
“Goddess-sama is the best! Her beauty is making my eyes tear up!”
“Huh? Why can't it be your nostrils tearing up?”
“666, leaking out your nostrils~”
“Holy crap! Why can I hear audio from the guy above me?!”
“We meet again, Aqua.”
“We meet again, Gold-qua.”
“??? What the hell is Aqua and Gold-qua? Those two useless goddesses dare compare themselves to my Goddess of Light?”
“Exactly! My Goddess of Light is amazing! Is it polite to blurt out Useless Goddess and Money Goddess?”
“Agreed.”
“Agreed +1”
“Agreed +10086”
Of course, those were the relatively normal ones. The tone gradually derailed into complete madness:
“Mommy!”
“Mommy!”
“Mommy!”
“?????”
“Wait, what? Why are you guys calling her Mommy? Weren't you calling her 'Wife' before?”
“Fun fact: 'Wife' can also mean 'mami', so she's Mommy. Logic checks out.”
“Groundbreaking discovery!”
“Duly noted in history.”
“Tale as old as time.”
“As the ancients once said 😛”
“True, but not really a fun fact.”
“???”
“Damn, you guys are absolute geniuses!”
“Hiss... but I feel calling her Mommy is very sacred. It feels like being bathed in the warmth of maternal love.”
“The guy above is quite a character.”
“Sacred my ass!”
“666, a mama's boy is a mama's boy, but you make being a mama's boy sound so poetic and holy.”
“Ah, this...”
...
Iluvia had no idea Nan Cheng was currently streaming, nor did she know that the chat was arguing fiercely over what "pet name" to give her.
Because the one standing before Nan Cheng wasn't her in person. To be precise, everything in front of him was merely a cinematic image Iluvia had pre-recorded by expending her divine power.
However, even as a pre-recorded image, Iluvia could still clearly perceive and know every single action of every player.
And the location where she "recorded" this story cutscene was none other than Iluvia's consciousness space.
That's right, the players were actually inside her consciousness space at this moment.
Everything here had been projected by her based on memories from the former Goddess of Light's inheritance regarding the Divine Kingdom of Light and Angels—specifically the temple within the Divine Realm—though she had made a few modifications to the actual scene.
It had to be said that the consciousness space was a wonderful thing.
Iluvia's current condition was far from ideal, preventing her from using too much divine power. But inside the consciousness space, things were different—everything relied on imagination. Starry skies, temples, holy light, divine seats—whatever she wanted manifested at a single thought. Calling it the ultimate venue for fooling players wasn't an exaggeration at all.
Ahem... Of course, calling it "fooling" was just a joke; it was actually a form of necessary guidance—at least, that was how she viewed it.
In choosing to actively appear this time, Iluvia had her own considerations.
The players' growth in strength and their engagement in this "game" were tightly bound to the recovery speed of her own power. In the early stages especially, this was of utmost importance.
Her appearing at the right moments to offer guidance could prevent many issues. After all, while these players were brimming with enthusiasm, their style of doing things was sometimes... well... a bit too wild and unpredictable.
Otherwise, if handled improperly, it could easily disrupt her overall plans and future development for the players.
Furthermore, as the leader of the faction, it was indeed necessary for Iluvia to reinforce her presence among the players.
She wasn't just the mastermind behind this cross-realm "game," but also the core "NPC" leading the players forward. A decent amount of screen time and in-game interaction was necessary. Only then would players truly support and embrace this "game," accept this faction, and acknowledge... her as their Goddess.
And of course, the most important part was making them willingly grind their hearts out.
And after her previous appearance, Iluvia could tell—the players had a... well... unique kind of affection for her.
Granted, they might simply be superficial fans of her appearance—in other words, "face lovers." After all, she wasn't so narcissistic as to think everyone instantly loved her for who she was.
But that didn't matter.
Liking her looks was still liking her, which was clearly beneficial for Iluvia. Being liked was always better than being hated, and even superficial fondness was a good starting point.
These days, being able to rely on one's face to make a living was a skill in itself.
At this thought, Iluvia couldn't help but recall what she had discovered a couple of days ago while surfing the internet through the network channel.
She had stumbled upon a review video of Glorious Era made by the gaming streamer Nan Cheng.
In the video, Nan Cheng fervently praised the game's realism, revolutionary black tech, realistic sensory feedback, and even the ability to taste food. The attached recorded gameplay footage had created a massive uproar back on Earth.
And as the leader of the game's faction, Iluvia had naturally been mentioned repeatedly, complete with exquisite screenshots.
The comment section was filled with overwhelming praise like “Goddess-sama is peerless!”, “In love with her! Iluvia is literally a god!”, and “Goddess-sama is the best!”
To be honest, seeing those blunt yet passionate compliments made Iluvia feel a little embarrassed. Being praised simultaneously by so many people was... well... quite a novel experience.
However, what gratified her was that without her even needing to actively promote it, Glorious Era had gained immense popularity and sky-high gaming hype.
High playability was one reason, but she herself had obviously played an indispensable role as well.
Rate on N.U.
