CHAPTER 122: CHAPTER 121: OLD GODS

Ethan searched all the shelves and finally found a parchment book titled "The Departure of the Upright Gods: Prophecy of the Day of Destruction." Just a glance at the title was enough to understand why it was listed as a forbidden book. If the author hadn’t been Saint Hilman, anyone would have considered it an evil tome.

It’s no wonder the first King reprimanded Saint Hilman more than once. At the founding of the Empire, everything was thriving. A prophecy about the Day of Destruction from the Empire’s first Archbishop would undoubtedly deliver a heavy blow to people’s confidence.

In the opening of the parchment book, Hillman expressed understanding of the first King’s decision, which is why he wrote all his research and investigations into this book.

In his twilight years, Hillman resigned from his position as Archbishop, returned to his hometown, and left this forbidden knowledge in the cathedral’s library. He hoped it would be discovered by future followers of the Goddess of Life, who would continue his unfinished research and warn the King and the church of the approaching Day of Destruction, preparing them for humanity’s final battle.

Ethan thought Mr. Hillman could never have imagined that centuries after his death, the one browsing this book would be a non-believer.

In the parchment book, the Evil God, represented by the old artist Bazatous, was classified among the Old Gods. This was a concept proposed by the Elemental Shapers, who ended the Dark Ages and founded the academy. Nowadays, most people in the Empire believe "Old Gods" refers to the end of the Dark Era. However, Hillman discovered clues after visiting many ruins.

For this, Hillman specifically visited the academy to apply for access to the ancient knowledge stored in the academy’s library. When he compared word for word with the originals, he found that the greatest difference between the "Old Gods" and the "New Gods" lay in their manner of existence.

The founder of the academy, the first ’Hermit’, believed that the Old Gods were beings born before civilization. Compared to them, human history was just a spark in the river of time. Yet, it was precisely the appearance of humans that tolled the death knell for the Old Gods.

All upright and middle-level gods were classified as "New Gods" because nearly all the legends about them began after the dawn of humanity.

As early as the First Age, the ’Hermit’ did the same as Saint Hilman; this was the conclusion they reached after their long travels.

Thus, the ’Hermit’ proposed a hypothesis.

Perhaps the "New Gods" were actually a group of more powerful humans. When they contended with the Old Gods, they became the opinion leaders of humanity, using incomprehensible powers to lead humans out of darkness.

This led to two possibilities.

First, above the Saints, there existed a pathway to a higher rank unknown to them.

Second, although the "New Gods" had l vastly longer lifespans than humans, there was still a limit. After the Twilight War, they hurriedly divided the paths and left ascension channels, knowing that one day they would perish, and the Old Gods, who vanished after the Twilight War, would stage a comeback.

In today’s world, many eras later, Ethan had the same conjecture.

After dazzling the old artist Bazatous, he sent his servants to tear open a crack near Ximu Town. Now, there appears an unknown identity, an Evil God claiming to be Kane.

Yet, the great Master of Knights remained silent, and the Neseriel Sanctuary had not even discovered the fact that the Knight Commander had broken his oath by the end.

The hypothesis proposed in the parchment book confirmed Ethan’s suspicions.

However, Saint Hilman, after all, was a devout believer. He refused to believe the Goddess of Life had long perished and clung to the beautiful hope — he believed the upright gods found a way to extend their lives, at the cost of falling into slumber until one day in the future, when the Day of Destruction arrived, they would lead humanity to war once again.

It would be a war sweeping the entire world, where countless would die on battlefields akin to meat grinders, with entire cities possibly erased by the power of the Old Gods.

Hillman hoped someone would inherit his research, aware of the resurgence signs of the Old Gods, and hand over this forbidden knowledge to the King and the leaders of the Neseriel Sanctuary.

Regrettably, Mr. Hillman’s hope was destined to be in vain.

The Empire’s development was vastly different from what he had imagined; now, there’s no need for sages. The signal of Old Gods’ resurgence is so loud that even the security captain of a border town can hear it. However, the current Archbishop remains immersed in the power struggles within the Imperial Capital.

But the knowledge in the book gave Ethan some new inspiration — a method of ascension still existed above the Saints?

According to the view of the first ’Hermit’, he seemed to think that as long as one crossed that final pathway, one could ascend to the ranks of the Divine Spirit in human form.

Just as Ethan was about to continue reading, he received a signal from Lindong.

Someone was coming!

The footsteps approached directly, seemingly targeting him.

He quickly put the parchment book back on the shelf and hid in the shadows. Shortly after, an elderly Priest came directly in front of the shelf, then stood there puppet-like, with empty eyes, not even intending to flip through the book. But then, "The Departure of the Upright Gods: Prophecy of the Day of Destruction" rose into the air and moved strangely.

A fellow ally?

Ethan suddenly remembered that the herbal store owner said someone had been purchasing large quantities of rare herbs required for invisibility potions before him.

Evidently, the person flipping through the book also sensed something. A woman’s voice came from nearby, "Has anyone been here recently?"

"No...one..."

The elder Priest replied sluggishly.

This answer immediately alerted the book flipper. She quickly closed the book, stuffed it into the inner pocket of the Priest’s robe, and guided him out of the library’s forbidden area like manipulating a puppet.

Long after the Priest left, Lindong’s voice suddenly sounded next to Ethan’s ear, "How about it? Do you want to pursue them?"

The sudden hot breath on his ear startled Ethan, "No need, I’ve seen most of the content in the book... how did you know I was here?"

In fact, he always felt Lindong could see him during the journey.

"Secret."

Lindong chuckled, "A teacher must always have some skills at the bottom of the box. It’s about time; if you don’t want to suddenly show an arm on the way, come back with me."

Lindong was very pleased with today’s trip, venturing into the forbidden area after a long absence and giving her good student Ethan a taste of this inexplicable thrill.

There were no twists on the way out of the church, until Ethan suddenly asked casually, "By the way, teacher, what book were you reading just now?"

The atmosphere suddenly fell into a dead silence.

"...Teacher?"

"Forbidden book."

After a long time, a guilty voice came through.

That tone...

Ethan frowned, suddenly feeling that things were not so simple.

What did the teacher actually read?