Chapter 068 …
It felt exactly like when I used the skill “Prophecy.”
The edges of my vision twisted, and it seemed like I had lost consciousness for a moment.
“No, was it just a moment…?”
At some point, when I came to, I found myself in an entirely white space.
Voices reached me.
“You cannot. As pillars of this world, we must dedicate our strength for life—”
“And does anyone appreciate that? What kind of ‘great gods’ survive on trivial faith alone? Do you have no pride at all…?”
I heard murmuring from somewhere. I quietly moved toward the source of the voices.
In the white space, nine gods sat around a round table with a hollow center.
‘Are these the Forgotten Gods and Lumencia?’
In the middle of the table, a fire burned. The gods wore robes that hid their faces.
‘Weren’t there ten gods? Why are there only nine?’
Even though I boldly stepped forward in front of them, they didn’t notice me. Apparently, I was invisible to them.
“Do you not wish for a world where gods can exist without clinging to humans?”
“Have you still not realized that the power we’ve been given is meant to protect the weak? How arrogant the so-called sun of this world is!”
One of the seated gods silently listened to the scolding, then removed the hood of his robe. Yet, for some reason, his face remained invisible—like a human statue carved from plaster.
He suddenly rose, his anger directed at the other gods.
“Arrogant? You antiquated fools! The world is on the brink of destruction, and you dare to protect mere lowly creatures with such posturing!”
Bang!
Lumencia struck the table. Then another god spoke in a calm voice.
“If the possibilities vanish, then we can use our power to sustain the world for just a little longer. And with the time we’ve gained, we can seek another world.”
“Why must we sacrifice for that? If our role is to exist as supports to sustain the world, then I will step out of that role.”
“Lumencia.”
“Let that so-called world see for itself.”
Lumencia opened the door and left. The gods vanished like smoke.
‘I see. The Forgotten Gods opposed Lumencia to protect the world on the verge of destruction…’
Suddenly, I found myself in another scene.
“Lumencia…! You actually…!”
“You’ve allied with demons!”
“How could the Primordial God betray the world?”
The fallen gods pointed at the pitch-black figure standing before them.
‘So Lumencia betrayed the gods and allied with demons.’
A blackened plaster statue—Lumencia—muttered softly.
“I didn’t particularly like demons either. But if you had no other solution, I had to use the power of the demons to clean up this mess…”
He departed, and the gods convened the round-table meeting again.
“We must expel Lumencia.”
“Can we really let the sun be forgotten?”
“His power has become too strong. Not a sun that nurtures life, but a sun that scorches life to death.”
“The drought is severe… even my magic has its limits. Wouldn’t it be better to send another god to oppose Lumencia?”
“There are no suitable candidates among the gods.”
“There is. Someone like me… a mortal seeking transcendence.”
“Then it’s better to form a contract with him. If we contract with ‘Time’…”
What is this? A mortal seeking transcendence…?
I pondered carefully, but no one came to mind. Perhaps it wasn’t an NPC I knew…
“Yes. We must prepare a dagger to strike Lumencia.”
“We must also prepare relics in case of our defeat. The demons wield unpredictable power.”
Each god came to a conclusion, then left the meeting room. Soon, they vanished like smoke.
‘So that’s why the relics were created.’
The scene changed again. I saw Lumencia holding a sword, and eight gods lying defeated.
“Have you truly betrayed us, Lumencia?”
Lumencia gently wiped the blood-stained sword and spoke.
“The sword’s quality is impressive. One made by your followers. Betrayal? Really?”
He drove the sword into the back of a fallen god.
“Ugh—”
“Betrayal only exists between those who trust one another. After that meeting, you all quietly gathered power to exclude me. Did you really think I trusted you?”
“You’re not even a god… unworthy of being revered as one!”
“Do you think humans would care about you petty fools? No, they wouldn’t.”
Lumencia laughed.
“Foolishly, you will be forgotten, eroded by time, and become fertilizer for this soil. Humans will worship me, not you. Blame them, not me, soon-to-be-forgotten ones.”
Blood splattered. The scene changed once more.
The gravely wounded gods scattered the relics they had prepared across the land.
The land burned, followers of other gods were purged, and ruins were destroyed.
Lumencia devoured the bodies of other gods. The demon known as the Outsider consumed the souls Lumencia provided—more precisely, the “possibilities,” the futures of those souls.
“The last arrangement, for the gods…”
It was an unknown voice. The gods vanished like sand. From the white space, I returned to reality.
I felt like I had closed my eyes for just a moment. The snake’s glittering eyes remained scarred.
A voice boomed.
{“What do you think of the story?”}
“It’s absurd. Just because one Lumencia allied with demons—or rather, the Outsider—we’re at this point. It’s nearly 8 to 1, and it came to this.”
{“…”}
So, if I summarize that flashback, it’s like this:
The world is about to collapse.
If the server administrators (gods) work hard, the collapse can be delayed slightly. Gain time to find another game (dimension).
<Server Admin | Lumencia>: Why should I work hard? I’ll team up with demons. Yeah.
<Server Admin | Forgotten Gods>: No… we need a contingency against Lumencia.
<Server Admin | Lumencia>: I will betray them. Yeah.
Thus, all gods except Lumencia were betrayed and forgotten!
‘Looking back, it doesn’t seem like very useful information.’
The world is about to be destroyed? That’s not something I can stop.
Is Lumencia the mastermind? That’s also beyond my control.
I’m just a fraudulent “saint” preacher, barely managing to deceive one person at a time.
‘I only want to know why I ended up in this body, and why I have to complete these quests.’
{“When gods are forgotten, they lose their faith and thus their power. A weakened god has their abilities absorbed by a stronger one. That is why I can stand before you, thanks to previous arrangements and the pilgrim’s faith. I am belatedly grateful.”}
The snake bowed politely. But gratitude wasn’t what I needed now.
‘So, if I speculate…’
Ignoring the snake, I began thinking.
‘The Forgotten Gods, after being server-banned, are raising a sub-character (Cernuan Lumiere) to restore the Forgotten Gods’ history…?’
So all the hardships I endured—the stabbing, the mutilation, the grind—was because of them?
‘To live well in this Cernuan Lumiere body, I need to take out Lumencia first.’
It seems that’s Lumencia’s principle: Why should I invest effort in a doomed game? I’ll move to another game (dimension) instead.
‘Honestly, if I were a god, I might have made a choice similar to Lumencia’s…’
I could understand him.
But for now, this is just my speculation based on the memory replay.
“I have a few more questions.”
{“As long as causality allows, I will answer sincerely.”}
First question:
“Who is the transcendent mortal who made a contract with Time?”
The mortal mentioned in the flashback. If I ally with him… my future would certainly be easier.
‘I have no one in mind, so I must ask.’
The snake obediently answered.
{“I cannot tell you his real name, but I can tell you his alias. He is known as… the Demon King.”}
Demon King?
I was shocked; it was an unexpected name.
Was this why he seemed to favor me when I peeked via Prophecy?
One curiosity was resolved.
‘If this was why the Demon King wanted to meet me… then it’s worth trying.’
Allying with him would make taking down Lumencia easier. That must be why he wanted to meet me.
I asked the next question immediately.
“Why did I enter this body?”
The snake seemed slightly surprised.
{“Didn’t the children within you tell you?”}
“Children within me…?”
I have something inside me? I did expect that to some extent…
‘Children? Not just one?’
Creepy. They’ve been watching all my… antics? Until now? And said nothing?
“Yes. Within you—”
“…?”
What did he just say?
The voice cut off abruptly.
“What?”
{“You didn’t hear? This… causality does not permit it.”}
Filtered. I couldn’t be told. Fine. I didn’t expect to learn it all at once anyway.
“Why must I follow the orders I am given?”
The snake thought carefully. Probably trying to answer without breaking causality.
{“You are the joker on the gods’ final game board. And the last bastion to save the world. If you wish to live, you should follow the orders.”}
“Hmm…”
From the start, Cernuan Lumiere was destined to die.
Thus, the gods’ power entered to change that, and to patch their insufficient power, they gathered followers and relics. That’s why the quest took the form it did.
Summarizing the fragmented information:
I was possessed into Cernuan Lumiere’s body because of the gods’ wager.
From the formation’s perspective, I belong to the side of the Forgotten Gods vs. Lumencia and the demons.
I must complete the quest to survive.
{“Do you have no more questions? Then I have two proposals for you.”}
Proposals?
The snake gently set me down. My internal injuries had mostly healed, and I could move without issue.
{“First: continue the quest and become an opponent to Lumencia. If you successfully awaken the Forgotten Gods and defeat Lumencia and the demons, I will grant you one wish… Any wish you desire will be fulfilled. Do not worry about limits.”}
A wish… But there’s too much to do before I can even ask for it.
Becoming an opponent, semi-resurrecting the Forgotten Gods, becoming a god-slayer… a final-tier quest is absurd.
I asked:
“And the second?”
{“Second: erase all memories of the truth and this world, and return to the real world.”}
The snake watched me with its scarred eyes and asked:
{“You could return home immediately, if you choose.”}
