Chapter 136 (2/2)

And my blood droplets, which gave me directions and spelled sentences, were scattered in the air. Heart vines that covered the floors, walls, and ceilings had also withered. The pain in my fingers completely disappeared. When I returned, as I held the devil’s sword, it spoke the following words:

‘The sacred power that filled the surrounding area has completely disappeared.’

Afterward, as it heard the explanation together with my colleagues, it added:

‘It fused the Orb in your soul?’

It sent a mental wave in a shocked and wondering tone.

‘I don’t know if it’s fortunate or not, but I can’t feel anything. There is no indication of an increase in sacred power or an increase in one layer of other properties.’

Indeed, it didn’t even feel the trace of the ‘god of time’ from the beginning. The god of life seemed to have left a similar level of trace in my soul. It was clear that it was harder to detect than the one that recklessly engraved three holy scars on my body.

“Hmm.”

Nate murmured with a serious look.

“… Isn’t this a good thing? If Jin-Wook died first, I was going to make him into my subordinate, but this is much better than that.”

“I’m pretty sure I told you I don’t like that offer, didn’t I? Anyway, this is not a good thing either. I did get my hands on immortality, but I’ll be a slave to a god forever in return. There will be no instance that I will use this.”

The devil’s sword on my back muttered sarcastically.

‘I think someone said that when he got three holy wounds from the god of magic.’

Ignoring the echo, I thought about it. I couldn’t say it in front of them, but there was a decisive reason to refuse immortality. If I didn’t die in that life, it meant that I would be blocked from reincarnation and regression as a successor. Even if I considered the pros and cons, there was no reason for me to activate the Orb.

“Mmmm.”

Euclid, who was listening to the conversation, thought hard before speaking.

“I’m for it, too. The gods of this age, anyway… are those that don’t benefit anyone by being involved with them.”

I suddenly got curious when I heard that.

“To the dragon kind, how is the nature of the entities called gods regarded?”

She said as she fumbled through her memory.

“As I said, we were also in the tutorial stage. The gods couldn’t interfere properly, but… The long-lived ancient dragons came in and out of other dimensions even before the Gates were opened. Thanks to that, they gained information to some degree.”

Euclid continued in a tone that seemed to tell an old tale.

“In the distant past… They said that space was not as divided as it is now. There was only one dimension in the world.”

A phrase came to mind among the words of ‘Rom’ that I heard in front of the idol.

‘Space has split into numerous debris and scattered.’

The dragon locked her glance on each one of us.

“It was a world where ideas and materials were not completely distinguished, was it? When emotions flowed like mud and thought had mass. Anyway, we call it the mythological era. And the gods were, of course, the rulers of the mythological era.”

She also said that the end of the mythological era was due to the war between the enemies of unknown identity and the gods. I remembered something similar to the tale I knew from her story.

‘It is similar to the story of the Sebrarian Empire… which collapsed after the final war with unknown beings.’

However, it was different in a way that the end of the mythological era was a distant past, and the collapse of the empire was a distant future. Although for those who didn’t know the truth, the former must be in a distant past, and the latter was a past closer than that.

“Forcing to end the mythical era, they exiled the gods.”

Since then, the deities had been prohibited from directly interfering with the world.

“And then what was created was the current world, the material world; the place where we live. Something must have happened at the end that caused the dimension to be broken into countless pieces. The mortals were scattered in each dimension as well.”

From Nate’s perspective, it seemed to be a fascinating story. He even asked a question with sparkling eyes.

“So, where are those gods? What about the enemies that fought and won?” “I don’t know about either of them.”

She stammered through her memory and continued.

“What is certain about the gods is that, at the same time as when they were exiled, most of their ‘true power’ and ‘memory’ had been taken away. Due to that, in order to spread influence in the physical world we live in, they have no choice but to use indirect methods.”

They did that by increasing the number of mortals who devoted their faith to them or by creating incarnations. Hibiki, who was quietly listening to the story, spoke in a strange manner.

“However, considering what Mr. Jin-Wook just told us, as well as what happened in that incident with the magic god… I think nothing good ever comes out of serving the god from a mortal perspective. Rather than protecting and guiding the living, I think they’re regarded as tools.”

Euclid nodded.

“Yes, I understand that. I’m on the same page. However, after finishing the tutorial, the divine power seems to come quite handy. Just as gods see the mortal as a tool, should I say, it is also a symbiotic relationship that the mortal uses that power as a tool?”

Then I tried to choose my words for a while.

“Of course, I think that’s dangerous, too. It would be perfect if the process of devoting faith and gaining divine power were just and reasonable. But… what if the transaction subjects are not trustworthy?” “Why don’t you believe them?”

The dragon answered Nate’s question.

“The gods perceived by us dragon kind… well, simply put it…”

She kept trying to figure out the words before finally continuing, clapping her hand.

“Yeah, like an old person with dementia!”

Our faces were distorted in unison. What? God’s got Alzheimer’s?

“I told you earlier, right? The divine beings lost most of their true self and memories when they were exiled. As a result, the only memory fragments left are thought to be very intense and distant. But when the true nature was broken, the ability to build new memories also became problematic.”

She must be saying that the new memories earned from that point on had become volatile.

“In the end, they keep forgetting. Of course, that memory span isn’t comparable to the mortal standard.”

They must’ve been in a state that although the old person didn’t forget his or her childhood memories, they were still unable to recognize the people around them then.

“This point has been proven through numerous scriptures produced by the species that entered the main quest.”

She gave an example.

“From what I heard, they seem to be on and off a lot. They confuse those who devoted a prayer thousands of years ago with those who prayed now… and others deny what they said hundreds of years ago. Anyway, I don’t think the gods should be too trusted or be too dependent on them.”

I was looking at the bonfire, and I solidified a decision that I had already made. Neither Igras-Sho’s Stain nor Rom’s Orb should ever be touched. Of course, the Orb would inevitably be charged by itself as a result of future battles.

‘Oh, come to think of it.’

I suddenly wondered.

‘What’s the standard for taking life with my hands? Does it mean that even if I unconsciously evaporate a single microorganism, the count goes in?’

The answer to that question was confirmed the very next day.