2 The Mother of Evil Gods

Saigou was utterly bewildered.

As an ordinary person who had once lived in Earth, he found himself transported to this seemingly familiar yet alien Earth, and had been reborn as an infant.

Originally, his full name was Saigou. Even in his previous world, the surname Saigou was quite rare.

Saigou had read many novels about reincarnation and was not unfamiliar with the concept.

What set him apart from other reincarnators was that he felt no excitement about his new life, but rather a sense of irritation.

In his previous life, Saigou was considered a successful individual. By the age of thirty, he had achieved modest success, buying cars and houses that placed him ahead of most of his peers.

But in this seemingly altered Earth, who could say if the memories in his mind would be of any use in this different dimension?

The results of years of hard work seemed to be for naught, and everything had to start from scratch. Anyone would feel frustrated in his position.

The only consolation was that living this second life meant gaining over twenty more years, which was some comfort.

However, this frustration quickly dissipated when Saigou discovered the true nature of this world, replaced by a profound shock and exhilaration.

This world was, in fact, the world of Mondaiji-tachi!

Saigou had once been a fan of anime, though his interest waned as his career became more demanding. His knowledge was limited to older series, and he was not well-versed in new releases.

Mondaiji-tachi was one of the series he had seen.

Though he had only watched the anime and was not entirely familiar with the full development of the story, he was clear on the basic world view and settings.

At the very least, Saigou knew who the protagonist of the series was—his foolish younger brother, Saigou Iyazoi!

In a world where gods and demons coexist, and monsters roam, everything is multifaceted, and life naturally becomes resplendent and colorful.

At least after realizing that his younger brother was the protagonist, Saigou adopted a mindset of leisurely relaxation, prepared to drift along and see where life took him.

After all, his life was bound to be more exciting than his previous one. If he could gain some extraordinary abilities beyond mortal comprehension, that would be a fulfillment of dreams that seemed impossible in his former life.

As for standing out or achieving greatness, Saigou rarely gave it any thought.

Only after his reincarnation did he grasp how perilous this world of gods and demons truly was.

It was only natural for anyone with average intelligence, upon discovering they were an ordinary person in such a world, to first consider how to survive.

So, taking it easy and drifting along wasn't a bad idea. After all, as an ordinary person, he had no influence over the affairs of gods and demons.

However, all of this was abruptly shattered during the Stellar Particle experiment.

When the brilliant thread of stardust was infused into Saigou's body, the agony that tore at both his soul and flesh overwhelmed him entirely.

He immediately lost consciousness, his vision turning to darkness.

Yet, Saigou was aware that he had not died but had been thrust into an eerie, inexplicable void of darkness.

This place was an abyss of darkness and stillness, devoid of any living creatures, and even the concepts of time and space were absent.

The only sensation Saigou's consciousness could grasp was a profound sense of wonder akin to the birth of life, accompanied by an indescribable heartbeat.

Indeed, Saigou knew he should not have a heartbeat now.

Yet, he distinctly felt it, as if his heart was synchronizing with the primordial essence of life that permeated this space.

The rhythm between them achieved a perfect balance, as if he were one with this desolate, dark void, and the darkness itself was a part of him.

"So, where exactly am I? Is this some kind of breathing technique?"

Saigou muttered to himself.

His thoughts never ceased. He feared that if he stopped thinking, his will might be completely worn away by this darkness, leading to madness or death.

Only through constant contemplation did he feel a semblance of life, as if he had become a creature of thought.

Yet, his knowledge was limited, and despite thinking for what seemed like an eternity in this darkness, he couldn't make sense of it.

Just as the fear of his impending madness began to consume him, a pair of beautiful, sorrowful eyes, like red jewels, suddenly appeared in the void of nothingness.

Those eyes were so immense, it seemed they filled the entire darkness.

Before those supremely beautiful eyes, Saigou's will was completely frozen, as if he were an ant in the presence of a towering deity.

Or as if he were facing a benevolent yet sorrowful mother.

In that moment, endless fragments of memory surged into Saigou's consciousness.

It was battle, an endless struggle spanning thousands, tens of thousands, even hundreds of millions of years!

It was the cosmic law, the absolute fate borne by a woman who continually fought!

For she was the woman born to fulfill the universe's least common multiple, a divine being burdened with everything from the dawn of the world!

Light and darkness, good and evil, creation and destruction, male and female—these are the least common multiple, the essence of duality!

She wept as she fought, piercing through the hearts of heroes, covering her face, which seemed to embody all the beauty of the world, with blood-soaked hands, crying countless times.

In a daze, a voice seemed to question her.

It sounded like Saigou's own voice, or perhaps he was merely following some cosmic law of fate as he spoke.

"Are you saddened by your hatred for battle?"

The woman shook her head.

"Are you saddened by killing your enemies?"

She shook her head through her tears.

"Are you saddened by the irreconcilable enmity?"

She continued to shake her head.

"Then why are you sad?"

The woman ceased her crying. With her lips slightly parted, she quietly responded.

"..."

The words were inaudible to Saigou, obscured and beyond his hearing.

The woman closed her red-jewel eyes in sorrow, and Saigou's consciousness once again fell into silence.

In the final moment before his awareness vanished, Saigou finally understood who the woman was and learned her name.

The Mother of Evil Gods, Ahriman!