Myth: The Ruler of Spirituality

With a clanging collision, the bronze sword sank deeply into the boulder, a feat not achievable by ordinary Bronze Humanity but one result of the years Evans had spent refining himself.

“Honestly, I’m not too fond of those priests nowadays. The creator is gone, and everything seems to have undergone a massive change. Yet for me, even if I could split this stone with one sword strike, it wouldn’t change anything, but you’re different.”

Turning to gaze into Cohen’s eyes, Evans said solemnly,

“Your power is enough to shatter hills, sever rivers, and if you wish, you can put an end to the priests’ actions that you find dissatisfying. If you’re unhappy with the current state of Aurora, you could replace those priests and steer the human tribes in the direction you believe is right. If that is the case, why don’t you do it?”

“…”

After a long silence, under Evans’s expectant gaze, Cohen exhaled deeply.

“Because I don’t know what is right, Evans.”

“But you once told me about the Golden Age…”

“The Golden Humanity had unwavering faith, they believed that the gods were omniscient, omnipotent, and that they were flawless. This is how they understood the divine and how they expected themselves to be, which resulted in the Golden Age I told you about.”

Cohen looked at his friend and asked earnestly,

“What about you? Can you find an object for your thoughts now, telling yourself, ‘Striving in this direction is definitely right’?”

“…I cannot.”

The image of the Goddess of Hearthfire flashed through his mind, but Evans truly couldn’t convince himself as the goddess no longer responded to humans.

“That’s why I’m somewhat aimless. I don’t know what is right. Just like now, even if I replaced the priests by force, how could I ensure I would make humanity better rather than worse? At least now, everyone can live normally, even if things are somewhat worse than before.”

“Striving in the wrong direction only leads to the wrong outcome. The harder you try, the more incorrect it becomes. That’s another reason I feel lost.”

Shaking his head slightly, Cohen no longer dwelled on such gloomy matters but shifted the conversation.

“Alright, enough about that. I’ve recently discovered that letting the energy inside the body oscillate in a specific rhythm can unleash greater power. However, if the rhythm is off, it can harm oneself.”

“I’ve already tried it, do you want to give it a go?”

“…Of course, I too dream of one day battling the wild beasts outside the wilderness!”

Cohen’s change of subject was abrupt, but Evans roughly understood his thoughts. Perhaps having grown accustomed to faith, even though now freed from its shackles, it was hard to regain confidence in their own decisions for a while.

In this regard, Evans wasn’t much better off than Bronze Humanity; they followed the guidance of the priests because of their close relationship with the gods and the creator. Even though one had abandoned them and the other had left, humans still instinctively chose to obey.

If decades were like this, think of millennia.

So the sounds of practice resumed, as if the earlier conversation had been forgotten by both of them.

However, at night, when Cohen was lying alone in his bed, he couldn’t help but think again about these issues.

Lately, he had been lacking direction.

“Perhaps humans do need a ‘god,’ but certainly not those entities with thoughts like those of ordinary people.”

Musing silently, Cohen questioned himself.

Faith in the Mythic World held power, but even discounting that power, it could still fill people with hope and offer solace. Yet the prerequisite was that the object of this faith, and those guiding people towards it, harbored no ill will.

“He should be great, perfect, like the world itself. He brings down thunder and dew not to express delight or wrath towards mortals, but simply because He wishes to, with no other reason.”

Muttering to himself, Cohen couldn’t help but compare the Olympian Gods.

“Such a god, perhaps, is the true ‘god’.”

Maybe the god worshiped by the Golden Humanity never existed, as this world may not harbor a being that aligns with human morality yet wields incomprehensible power.

Cohen sank into contemplation, and at a certain moment, he felt a thread of faith towards the world itself, which then quickly broke. However, once faith had arisen, it did not dissipate, and since Chaos would not accept faith, the power began to divide.

Some of it reached the earth, but Mother Earth was still slumbering, unaware of this slight occurrence. Some drifted into the Spirit Realm, but as Cohen was already a semi-devotee of the Spirit Realm, this raised no attention.

Yet some ventured into places they shouldn’t have.

At the far reaches of The Sky, beyond the touch of mortals, when this faith connected, a vague concept suddenly stirred.

This powerful and pure faith, brief as it was, seemed to break an equilibrium, making a colossal entity’s finger twitch unconsciously.

No one noticed this scene, only Atlas felt momentarily compelled to kneel down under the heavy pressure and then vanished quickly, leaving Atlas to wonder if it was merely an illusion.

“This… is….”

“…I…”

“…”

“…”

Imperceptible voices echoed at the edge of the heavens, then fell silent once more. Cohen’s contemplation was brief, and soon, everything returned to normal. As if nothing had happened, only the world itself bore witness to it all.

As the integration of the Nine Realms elevated the Origin of the world once more, the destiny that had seemed set in stone was rewritten yet again.