Within the Greek world, rule-based abilities of this nature were consistently broken.
Sometimes, even entities as mighty as the King of the Gods could not resist these cheat-like transmutations that functioned like polymorph spells in a game.
As long as the specific conditions were met, all things could be turned into sheep.
No matter if you possessed the apocalyptic might to shatter the cosmos or forge entire worlds, once transmuted, you became nothing more than a helpless lamb waiting for slaughter, left entirely to the mercy of others.
Even a passing mortal could casually end your life.
Before unravelling the underlying principles of such power, Night found it impossible to grow overly arrogant even if he wanted to.
The waters here were far too deep for him to navigate recklessly.
However, thinking back to the connection he had previously sensed regarding Helena in Troy, a sudden possibility crossed his mind.
Every time he entered the simulated universe, assuming he occupied an identity, or to use the mythic term, a "status", the total number of statuses within the world was fixed.
Much like the Angel Fall ritual in a certain magical index universe, the seats of the angels in heaven were strictly numbered, but if a grand ritual cast one down, another individual gained the opportunity to occupy that vacant seat and ascend in their place.
A person's position in the world was fixed, but what if two individuals simultaneously laid claim to the exact same name and identity?
What kind of glitch would the world experience?
Would it format everything back to its original state, or would it exploit the bug, allowing the entity to persist in a unique, alternative manner?
It seemed that once he arrived in
Troy, he would have to personally investigate what was truly going on with the Helen of this world.
Just as Night's thoughts settled and he was on the verge of waking, an incident occurred around his physical body in the waking world.
An army dispatched from the royal city of Troy arrived to escort the two princesses and the hero Griffith safely back to Troy.
At that exact moment, Artemis came seeking to settle scores, forcing Athena to temporarily depart from Night's side after confirming that the troops were indeed Trojans.
From the previous dialogue between Night and Achilles, Athena had vaguely sensed that the identity of "Griffith" carried hidden layers.
With the intellect of the Goddess of Wisdom, she had long realized his relationship with Troy was far from ordinary, meaning she likely didn't need to worry about how Griffith would earn the trust of the Trojan heroes.
She believed Night could resolve those matters on his own.
For now, she had to handle the burning fury of Artemis.
As the two goddesses ascended into the starry sky for a peaceful exchange, the army on the ground began escorting Night's body and the two princesses away from the city-state, setting off on the road toward Troy.
However, halfway through the journey, Chryseis, who was intimately familiar with the route back to Troy, knit her brows tightly.
This was not the path leading to the city of Troy.
Where on earth were these men taking them?
A terrible premonition rose in her heart.
Chryseis quietly shared this discovery with Briseis, instructing her younger sister to take good care of Night while she prepared to step out of the carriage to assess the situation.
Briseis nodded anxiously.
In her panic, she wrapped her arms directly around Night's entire torso.
Women in ancient Greece wore no undergarments beneath their tunics, which was championed in those times as an embodiment of freedom and equality.
Consequently, Briseis's soft curves pressed firmly against Night's chest muscles, separated by only a single thin layer of cloth.
Watching her sister's form of "care" shift directly onto the man's body, accompanied by a sudden crimson blush spreading across Briseis's cheeks, Chryseis felt her vision go dark at how naturally her sister's body acted on its instincts.
Lord Hero...!
The hero she yearned for, the one she prayed for day and night, was currently in such a state with the sister she cherished just as deeply.
Chryseis was a gentle woman, and one who was far from eloquent.
Her past conversation with Night that night had already exhausted every ounce of her courage.
Facing the scene before her eyes, she was utterly incapable of pulling off the unconscious, shameless advances her sister managed so effortlessly.
She opened her mouth, but whatever thought crossed her mind brought a wave of embarrassment to her eyes.
In the end, she said nothing, turning to pull aside the carriage curtain and step outside.
Chryseis recognized the leader riding at the head of this army as the hero Cycnus.
He was a reinforcing ally who had only recently joined the Trojan faction, reigning as the king of the realm of Colonae.
On the Trojan battlefield, almost every hero or commander was a king or a prince in their own right, so it was hardly surprising that a monarch would lead an escort for Griffith.
Given that Griffith's combat feats were renowned across all of Greece among gods and men alike, his terrifying strength warranted supreme importance from any faction.
When Chryseis was originally sent over from Troy, Cycnus had been the one to escort her.
Because of that prior interaction, she had placed a fair amount of trust in this hero.
Likewise, Cycnus had been the one to inform her to come receive her sister and care for the hero.
Yet with their current route veering further and further off course, Chryseis could not help but harbor deep suspicions.
Before Chryseis could speak, the moment the young priestess showed her face, a squad of heavily armed cavalry rode forward, glaring with sharp, predatory eyes.
"Lady Chryseis, please return inside the carriage. We are still quite a distance from our destination, and the roads remain exceptionally dangerous."
"I understand..."
Noticing that the soldiers' demeanor had turned domineering, completely different from their humble attitude back at the city-state, Chryseis realized the truth.
Cleverly choosing to avoid an open conflict, she retreated into the carriage.
It was now certain that Cycnus had ulterior motives.
As a royal princess and a priestess of Apollo, no ordinary soldier in Troy would dare treat her with such blatant disrespect.
She simply couldn't comprehend why he was doing this.
Was his target the hero as well?
Connecting this to Goddess Athena's sudden departure,
Chryseis felt an ominous premonition tighten around her chest.
'Was I used as a pawn in this scheme as well?'
'Using my identity to gain the trust of Briseis and Goddess Athena, causing them to drop their guard, and then...'
If that was truly the case, now was not the time for self-reproach.
A look of firm resolve flashed through Chryseis's eyes.
She decided that she had to save her sister, the hero, and herself.
Her own power was far too fragile; whatever she attempted alone had an overwhelming probability of failure.
She was not a foolish woman.
However, the hero was different.
As long as they could awaken the hero, with his monumental power, he would certainly be able to guide them safely back to Troy.
Thinking up to this point, Chryseis spoke with urgency. "Briseis! Listen closely, right now we need to..."
After Chryseis explained the method to rapidly awaken and restore
Night, she began undoing her robes.
Briseis stood entirely frozen in shock.
When she finally came to her senses, looking at Chryseis who shyly crossed her arms to instinctively cover the vital parts of her exposed body, she was left completely speechless.
Sister... are you really going this far?!
.
.
.
(End of the Chapter)