However, the wave suddenly vanished. When they saw the huge spread of green things floating in front of them and the divine, powerful being who rose from the waters, their panic and terror were quickly replaced with profound respect.
On the other hand, standing next to the Petrachelys on the ocean, Hao Ren was dumbfounded by the thoughts he had read from Eva. He never imagined that the innocent Spirit of the Ocean would leave so suddenly only to bring food for the ark people—she had heard Hao Ren's story and remembered the part about them needing food. Hence, she responded in the most basic way, which was to bring the most easily acquired source of food she knew of to the refugees.
Eva was not angry, and she did not resist the newcomers. In fact, she probably did not understand the idea of "intruders". Hao Ren maintained his mental connection with Eva for a while longer to understand her better—it seemed that the Spirit of the Ocean was not acting out of kindness or malice, but was only responding instinctively with the best course of action she could think of. If one insisted on putting a motive behind her actions…
Just as she grew the scraps of moss into seaweed to feed the fishes that lived near the surface, she thought of the humans on the ark as a bunch of tiny, hungry animals of the sea and decided to feed them with seaweed—almost like a gardener.
Hao Ren wanted to laugh at the logic behind her actions, but he thought it best not to share the truth. Eva's worldview was vastly different from common beings. Normal people would find it difficult to understand her.
His mental connection with Eva was cut off by a voice from his communications channel. Lorenz asked anxiously, "What's going on? That… giant, what is it doing? Is she the planet's… owner? What does she want?!"
At the edge of the floating city, where the humans were closest to Eva, people were already kneeling before the mysterious and seemingly invincible being. The first reaction of these superstitious and ignorant people was to beg for safety. They thought Eva was a furious god and said that she was demonstrating her powers to them at the edge of their old world. Thus, they quickly started to pray to her, hoping that she would be pacified, and perhaps spare them. This benighted reaction was not their fault—their entire culture was founded on superstition after all.
Vivian and Lily stood beside Lorenz. They were also caught off guard by the giant wave, but they certainly did not consider Eva as some kind of "furious god". Vivian already had a good guess of who the figure was, but she was finding it hard to believe.
Hao Ren's voice came through the comm device just then as he yelled at Lorenz, "Tell them it's a gift from the god of the sea!"
A swarm of autonomous robots flew towards them from the Petrachelys and dispersed themselves into every corner of the floating city. Each autonomous robot projected a large holographic image of Lorenz. Since the ark's transformation had damaged the ark's fragile communication network, Lorenz's only means of communicating with the people was through the bots. Hao Ren arranged the autonomous robots around the city as he briefly explained Eva's origin to Lorenz. "...In any case, she is for all practical purposes a god of the sea for your people. The seaweed that she's brought here is food…"
Lorenz had to make the announcement without any preparation, but he did manage to keep himself composed. His image was projected throughout the city as he began to explain to the people about Eva. "The god of the sea, Eva has brought to us…"
Eva studied the people in the city curiously. She was also particularly curious about the tiny autonomous robots flying around every little corner of the city. She even tried to catch one to have a closer look. Hao Ren noticed it and quickly jumped into the sea again, reaching out to her. "Eva, don't move! Just maintain your position..."
He then turned to Nolan and said, "Turn off the ark's water pump. If Eva gets interested in that, she might find her way into the ship's reservoir!"
He turned to Eva again. "Good girl, don't touch the ship! It can't survive any more rocking from you!"
"Nolan, open up the hulls of the other ships. Find a way to keep Eva distracted!"
"Eva! Don't touch that! That's the fusion reactor!"
He was all over the place. Hao Ren had to prepare for Lorenz's speech, ask Nolan to maneuver the arks, and figure out how to keep Eva from acting on her burning curiosity. After everything was finally settled, he was as tired as a dog and soaked in the ocean's water. "...F*ck, I've never seen such a giant baby…"
No one knew that years later, the new generations of the ark people would worship their three gods because of this—the goddesses of fire and ice, who created their world, and the protector of all life, Eva…
When Hao Ren and the rest settled everything, it was already late in the evening.
Io's sunset was matched with clear skies. The brightest stars were already visible in the horizon. The people on the floating city were about to welcome their first starry night in 10,000 years. The Petrachelys hovered a few dozen kilometers away from the city. Hao Ren and his gang were gathered on the ship's viewing platform, saying goodbye to Eva. She did not express anything out of the ordinary in regards to their departure. She wandered happily around in the water, creating waves here and there, as well as joyful splashes. Vivian stood beside Hao Ren as her attention lingered on Eva. "To think that we would see her again… She's not the same as before."
"She had the power from an entire planet and could make quite a scene." Hao Ren grinned. "Now, she probably doesn't even have one percent of that power."
"She seems to have taken a liking to the ark people." Katreina smiled as she looked at Lorenz. "I wonder what your time with her will be like."
"The goddesses of fire and ice, as well as the generous and bountiful god of the sea—my people will remember these three gods forever. The god of the sea is the most tangible and closest presence to us." Lorenz returned her smile. "I never expected that our civilization would continue and recover in this manner. This will change our recovery plans entirely. However, given the current circumstances, we must be friendly with the god of the sea. Frankly, we don't know much about this particular god, but she's not wild or malicious. That's very fortunate."
"Eva was never evil, but she still has a lot to learn." Hao Ren looked at Eva, still fooling around in the sea. Lil' Pea had joined in on the fun. The young mermaid leaped out of the water again and again, her golden-red tail shimmering against the sunset. "I've done my best to teach her some things, but she and I have very different ways of reasoning. It's hard for me to understand her thoughts too. She'll have to slowly form her own worldview, and that will happen when she's living alongside your people. If you are kind, she will be kind; if you are tyrannical, she will be as well."
Lorenz bowed his head solemnly. "I will remember that."
"Try out the seaweed when you get back." Hao Ren smiled. "It's hard to grow crops on this planet."
Lorenz left soon after. He could not stay with the group for long since the people were waiting on him for further instructions to build their new home. In the years to come, the old man would be very busy. When Lorenz took his leave, Vivian threw a thoughtful glance at the Royal Throne. "'If you are kind, she will be kind; if you are tyrannical, she will be as well.' What you said is true. But what if they lie to this 'god'? Eva is like a child right now."
Hao Ren pointed at the sky. As the star clusters became visible, something else also twinkled amongst them.
"One thousand two hundred drones will fire in the name of humanitarianism."