Ouranos looked at Freya, who was beaming, and then at Hermes, who was covering his face in silence.
"Freya, is this truly your choice?"
"Yes."
Freya didn't hesitate at all. She understood the weight her decision carried for her Familia, but she was willing to take a stand to get the answer she sought.
"I'm willing to contribute to the stability of Orario."
"In that case, as you wish."
Ouranos already understood the reason behind her words, but the benefits were clear, so he chose to accept them.
Hermes, standing nearby, couldn't bear to watch and covered his face.
He knew Ouranos had made the right call. Freya's support would greatly strengthen their side—it was the right move in dealing with both Orario's issues and the Black Dragon problem.
The subjugation of the Black Dragon would definitely need Bell, but they couldn't rely on Bell alone. Venturing into the Deep Floors of the Dungeon would require support from others—not just Bell.
However, Freya's help would come at a steep price, and there was also the matter of facing Hestia's fury.
'Hestia, this really isn't my fault.'
All Hermes could do now was pray that Hestia wouldn't explode when she found out.
Hestia had always kept her distance from Freya—her reclusive behavior made that clear.
But this time, Freya had approached on her own, clearly intent on forcing the issue. She wasn't going to let Hestia avoid her anymore. She was marching straight into Hestia's camp.
With Ouranos' approval secured, Freya turned to Hermes, still smiling.
"Hermes, you don't have to keep it secret anymore, do you?"
"Can you share the intel you got from Loki?"
"...Alright."
With a helpless expression, Hermes pulled out a special Rune Stone from inside his robe.
"This is the 'Recording Crystal' Loki gave me. It contains rare and important footage—I believe it can answer many of our questions."
"Hermes, I think you should explain clearly what kind of footage is stored in there. Just saying that will only leave people confused."
Ouranos's eye twitched slightly, but he didn't interrupt. He simply sat silently in his seat and listened.
That only made things harder for Hermes. As much as he wanted to avoid it, he had originally planned to hand over the Recording Crystal and slip away. Who knew Freya would pull him into the spotlight?
But there was no escape now.
Freya was staring at him with that cheerful grin—what could he possibly say? What dared he say?
He had no choice but to give a proper report.
Hermes took a moment to collect himself, then explained:
"It's not that I don't want to go into more detail. I just haven't watched the contents since receiving this crystal from Loki. I have no idea what's recorded inside. But Loki did tell me—it contains the meaning of our existence as gods, and it reveals a truth that's extremely unfriendly to us."
Freya's interest deepened.
She knew perfectly well that this "Recording Crystal" was created by that child, which meant everything recorded in it was something he had deliberately chosen to preserve. Hermes's words carried significant weight.
The meaning of the gods' existence—a truth that was hostile to the gods.
If Hermes wasn't exaggerating, then this was a truth unknown even to the gods themselves.
Had this truth been uncovered by that child? Freya's curiosity was now fully ignited.
Ouranos, on the other hand, hadn't expected that child to have already reached such a conclusion. He had no idea where the answer could have come from.
"Hermes, show us."
There was no longer any need to hold back from Freya. It was likely she had made her decision solely to obtain this answer. Ouranos understood that, so there was no point in keeping such secrets any longer.
Hermes didn't resist any further. He activated the "Recording Crystal," projecting the captured footage.
A projection appeared.
A boy, tightly cloaked, stepped out of a spatial rift. The place he emerged into was completely white and unnatural, bearing no resemblance to any real location. But what truly stood out wasn't the space—it was the creature facing him.
Even through the image, the monstrous vertical pupils radiated such ferocity that all three gods present could feel it clearly.
"!?"
Freya froze for several seconds before snapping out of it.
'What an astonishing image.'
She hadn't expected that child to have actually confronted the Black Dragon—and even left behind footage like this. It was undoubtedly a rare and priceless record...
"My nemesis, you've finally arrived."
The Black Dragon's words made Freya's eyes sparkle with amusement.
'So my guess was right. That child really is something special.'
That single phrase confirmed all of her previous suspicions.
Freya didn't interrupt the video. Her gaze remained fixed on the child's back.
The footage was recorded from Bell's perspective, so the view showed everything from a 45-degree angle behind him, never revealing his face—but that didn't hinder Freya at all.
"It was the world that gave birth to us."
"We are the antithesis of the gods—we are gods in another form."
"And so…"
"…gods cannot kill you."
"Because we, too, were born from the world. Just like you."
"Unless the world itself chooses to destroy you, neither side can kill the other."
"Roar~ I didn't expect you to come to that conclusion."
"That makes you a true test bestowed by the world."
"If the gods and humanity fail to overcome it, the world will undergo a complete reset."
"Humans, gods, monsters—none will be spared from the end."
This sequence of images and declarations gave Freya a full understanding of the current situation. She never imagined this was the truth of the world—that this was what defined their existence as gods.
'No wonder Hermes looked so uncomfortable. He avoided the question on purpose when asked. It really is a shocking revelation.'
Indeed, to the gods, this was an unbearable truth. But Freya wasn't like the others.
She hadn't spent even thirty seconds contemplating the meaning of a god's existence or fretting over being manipulated.
Because there was no point in seeking meaning in meaningless things.
A god who worries about the meaning of their existence is a fool. If you can't even understand your own existence, can you truly call yourself a god?
You're just a different kind of idiot.
Compared to some revelation that could shake the gods' worldview, what intrigued Freya most was Bell—the one who had uncovered this conclusion.