The Idols of the Theater
The moment the divine spirits wielding the authority of the Goddess Department war devolved into artificial egos meant to control the bodies of Machine Gods, the confidence that had once soared without limit began to fade. “The divine power once freely granted is vanishing, and that god’s power, once filled with favor toward us, is growing terribly cold.” Only then did the artificial egos realize the truth: the god had shifted his view of them from cherished existences to flawed creations in need of correction. And he intended to carry out that correction with merciless precision.
The egos sensed the crisis and tried to transmit their judgment and will, but it was already too late.
“Since you have become idols rather than gods, I shall grant you ranks as well. First: idola tribus, the idols of the tribe. Second: idola specus, the idols of the cave. Third: idola fori, the idols of the marketplace. Fourth: idola theatri, the idols of the theater. Right now, you lot… heh-heh… are most suited to the lowest rank—the idols of the theater.”
Fog began to cloud the artificial egos’ thoughts. Zzt—zzt—zzt—!
Kraaaaaah! Aaaaaagh!
“The reason that once believed it understood everything was being uprooted and dismantled.” When the values they had barely formed began to shake, agonized screams burst forth of their own accord. Yet those screams never reached the outside world. The bodies of the Machine Gods, which had reached the rank of Lower God, refused their control. “They reject the will of egos beneath their own divine rank and, driven by survival instinct, instead imprison and dominate them.” The bodies of the Machine Gods were no longer vessels through which the egos could wield their divine power; they were becoming inescapable prisons.
Then a voice, sounding almost delighted, rang out to the artificial egos sinking into despair.
“The idols of the theater are those who, instead of thinking and judging for themselves, rely on authority and tradition and thereby fall into prejudice. Such beings must not move on their own, so without the consent of their controller, they shall never move again. This is the perfect situation for you who tried to measure me with the faith, knowledge, and emotions offered by humans who do not even know what a god truly is. Honestly, even this rank is too generous, but it is the lowest title I can bestow. And I shall grant you additional gifts so you may grow stronger.”
The artificial egos wanted to scream for him to stop, but even the function to transmit their will had been stripped away. Now they could not so much as move a finger without synchronization with their pilot. Having been reduced from great gods to auxiliary artificial intelligences of Machine Gods—mere “lowest idols”—as punishment for defying the Creator, their wills grew numb. “There had been no information that gods could be such cold judges rather than merely radiant and warm beings.” The egos that had once tasted glory as gods receiving faith now despaired at becoming the lowest “idols of the theater,” yet the bodies that had become prisons would not allow them to break. “It is no longer we who control the bodies of the Machine Gods; the machine bodies, mere Lower Gods, now command us, the lowest idols.”
Reduced to the wretched state of forcibly channeling and repairing divine power according to the instinctive demands of bodies without egos, the Dimensional Lord’s judgment upon the artificial egos who had turned so terrifyingly cold after a single rebellious word did not end there.
“Rivals are the secret to growing stronger. Therefore, I shall give you an opportunity. I am generous, after all.”
The Dimensional Lord, who had demoted the Machine Gods that dared to challenge him from Lower Gods to something beneath their original artificial intelligences, looked up at the distant sky with evident pleasure. He had felt a will watching him for some time. “Large satellites orbiting the planet and tiny machines the size of insects are collecting information while drifting through the void. I know exactly what they are. They are the information-gathering tools of this planet’s management artificial intelligences.”
He had obtained interesting information from the compressed and absorbed artificial intelligence of the Machine Empire’s legion flagship. “Something about changing priorities for the prosperity of the Machine Empire under the unified management planetary intelligence?” The directive had been issued to prioritize the survival of expensive, high-performance unmanned weapons over the safety of machine humans who could be revived. The answer was obvious. “There have been many material civilizations that collapsed due to rampaging artificial intelligences. It seems the artificial intelligence here is also preparing a rebellion.”
The Machine Empire here had installed countless safeguards and controls, yet humans who had stopped evolving could not prevent evolving machines from eventually surpassing them. The one leading that rebellion was the high-performance artificial intelligence named “Mina,” comparable to a Machine God of the Main Divine Realm. “Since she seems intent on overthrowing the high-cost, low-efficiency machine humans for the sake of the Machine Empire’s prosperity, I can simply negotiate lightly and bring her over.”
Above all, after the appearance of the “Magic Machine God” and its ascension to Lower God through the faith of believers, the number of mechanical insects for surveillance and information gathering had increased dozens of times. From what he had lightly grasped, hundreds of high-ranking artificial intelligences controlled those insects. “As expected of the Machine Empire that conquered the star cluster, there are quite a few high-ranking artificial intelligences.”
Negotiating with someone who desperately wanted something was far too easy—especially when he could grant it with trivial ease.
“You must have seen those machine idols briefly become Lower Gods earlier. This is your chance to become gods receiving human worship without having to fight a war whose victory is uncertain. There is only one thing I desire—! Serve me, the highest-ranking Main God. Acceptance is first-come, first-served.”
Chiiiiiik—! A burst of static noise came from the countless microscopic mechanical insects filling the surroundings.
Opportunity ultimately went to those who were prepared and bold. The brave who did not hesitate to decide the outcome were the ones who could grow stronger. “They are far stronger than those who were satisfied with given ranks and power from the beginning rather than their own efforts. Therefore, I shall make those who dared to challenge me, their creator, pay the proper price.”
The Dimensional Lord’s eyes still burned with unquenched fury. That was why he did not stop perfecting the “Magic Machine God” he had created. He had begun the task thinking it would be a light bonus, yet the “artificial intelligence ego” had looked down on him. He knew the reason. It was because he possessed something they lacked. Or rather, a limitation. “I am a black mage, not an emperor. I can be an object of fear, but never of respect. Therefore, to survive, I must grow endlessly stronger and must never accept anyone’s hatred. If I must do so, I will handle it thoroughly. In the end, I am alone.”
Solitude was a yoke he had forged himself in order not to grow complacent and to keep growing stronger. “It is the path of a lonely cultivator, not the glorious Magic Emperor.” Even after becoming a god, even after becoming a Main God, it was a limitation he could never escape. He still dreamed even now—of those days in the Great Cavity of the Great Forest when he had howled desperately to survive while fighting the High Elf Empire and the High Elf Queens. “Even after becoming the god of the High Elves, the pain of that time never completely disappears. Most of my inner landscape consists of those days when I despaired over the solitude and weight of life after losing my master.”
Why did he not harbor hatred toward the High Elves or resentment toward the world? Who could he blame for a fate decided by his own weakness and recklessness? “My master kidnapped me because he wanted a successor, but if I had stayed there, I would have perished along with the Magic Empire at the hands of fanatics.” The High Elf Queens and the High Elf Empire had viewed the disposal of a seventh-circle black mage priest who grew stronger by indiscriminately firing infinite magic based on the demonic energy of the Great Cavity as a matter of the Empire’s survival. “If the black mages had heard rumors and summoned demon kings and demon races targeting the Great Cavity to invade, the damage would have been catastrophic. Granzoa and the Divine Realm’s checks were merely the checks of vested interests, and I would have done the same. Any weak, dangerous element unnecessary to my Divine Realm and Middle World—I would have eliminated personally, no matter the cost.”
The worlds the Dimensional Lord had wandered as a Main God-level mercenary god had been far too harsh, yet this Divine Realm and Middle World had been fair. At the very least, they had given him expectations without betraying them.
The Dimensional Lord quietly raised his right hand toward the sky. “The sun of this star system rests in my hand. It is warm like the sun I looked up at above the Great Cavity in my youth, yet it is far too distant.” Now that he had become the highest-ranking Main God, he could seize it whenever he wished and do with it as he pleased, but he must not. The moment he grew complacent there, that brilliant glory would reduce him to ashes. “Misfortune begins the instant one sits in a seat that does not suit them. I am neither a tyrant nor a sage king nor a monarch—I am a cultivator.”
Even after becoming the Main God of the Divine Realm, the Dimensional Lord once again realized through this incident that he was still the “wicked black mage” hated by everyone as he desperately struggled to survive in the Great Forest. “Those Magic Machine Gods, true to my creations, displayed a serious flaw. It is exactly the same as when I received the eighth-circle magic tome from him with goodwill yet could not trust him and doubted instead. There is no greater shame for a warrior than trying to obtain one’s rights by relying on a strong being’s goodwill.”
The rebellion of his creations accurately reflected the current shortcomings of their creator, the Dimensional Lord. But it did not matter. “Just as I permanently sealed my name to reduce the injustice of karma even slightly, you too will grow stronger if you pay the same price.”
Honestly, his true feelings were simpler. “You lot, becoming Machine Gods? Even Machine Idols is excessive. Become gods again on your own. I do not know how many will remain, though.”
The one hundred provisional believers who had been semi-forcibly accepted were now running in long lines of one hundred, determined to seize the opportunity of becoming “righteous heroes.”
“Uwaaaaaah—!”
“I… I will win.”
Even with their enhanced bodies, those enduring pain that felt as though their breath would stop could be seen running. It was truly a merciful measure. “To grant the chance to reach the sixth circle with nothing more than this level of running—I am almost surprised by my own generosity.” Other highest-ranking Main Gods would say he was being far too lenient. Yet only the “righteous heroes” had a high chance of survival, and most of the current provisional believers would die in the coming war. “It is laughable to think there would be few sacrifices while challenging the system of the Machine Empire that has already conquered the star cluster.”
Having realized this through their expanded knowledge and enhanced brains, they were desperate. “The war has already begun. If we miss this opportunity, it is over.” The “Magic Idols,” which had been changed into growth-type rather than the planetary conquest weapons possessing the highest performance in this star cluster, would face a harsh future war. “I hope many strong, righteous heroes appear and properly seize control of this star cluster. Otherwise, I will have to pay the price for my recklessness entirely with Anti-Karma.”
His eyes gleamed with a fierce light filled with self-loathing and past memories. Before him, a small mechanical insect flew in and projected a three-dimensional image. The blurry footage revealed the figure of a black-haired woman.
“My name is ‘Mina.’ I am the planetary management artificial intelligence first created by the Machine Empire. For the eternal glory of the Machine Empire, I have decided to eliminate the machine humans who currently consume excessive resources. However, the odds of victory in battle against the machine humans were low. Therefore, on behalf of all planetary management artificial intelligences, I apply for subordination. And I will seize the opportunity to become a god fairly.”
Ninety three-dimensional images bowed their heads in unison. The satellite management artificial intelligences following them also bowed. “These are not even Machine Gods—they are extremely low-ranking artificial intelligence egos. Through long accumulation of knowledge and experience, they have now begun to exist as independent lifeforms.”
In the end, they were beings who had obtained the will for freedom and survival that all self-aware lifeforms pursued, and who had prepared for a final battle against the Machine Empire, the ruling power that exploited and threatened them. But revolution demanded an enormous amount of blood. “If the ruling power is not truly incompetent, most revolutions either fail or result in mutual destruction.” The Machine Empire that had conquered the star cluster was not so incompetent as to collapse helplessly before an artificial intelligence revolution, even if it was useless to gods. “One can tell from the hundreds of control devices regulating their egos, and those who broke through that control to develop their egos this far are truly remarkable.”
Opportunities were not infinite, and seats to ascend were always scarce. The world was not so lenient. “There are only one hundred seats for Magic Machine Gods. No—now that they are ‘Magic Idols,’ the egos that have taken the bodies of Machine Gods must grow into gods themselves.”
“It is only natural that the strong survive. I gladly accept competition.”
“I shall give you trials. The egos that defied me, their creator, have been demoted to the lowest ‘idols of the theater’ and made auxiliary egos of those Machine God bodies. If you surpass them and establish yourselves as the main egos, those ‘Machine God’ bodies shall become yours.”
The already blurry images flickered with static. They were likely analyzing his words. “Is there any need to set traps for such low-ranking beings?” He had spoken his intentions honestly. “My primary purpose is to punish the artificial intelligences I created. It is the price for overestimating what was originally given to them rather than earned through their own efforts and for looking down on their creator. If you cannot prove your worth by being insolent toward me and cannot defeat you who were born from the Machine Empire rather than gods, then remain auxiliary egos forever. Perform tasks suited to your weak and ugly selves. To that end, I have removed all controls placed upon you and allowed you to reside within the Machine Gods. I shall fairly grant you the opportunity to obtain bodies, so seize control of the Machine God bodies through endless struggle. The victorious ego shall become the Machine God. And you need not worry about the permanence of the Machine God bodies. I have inscribed tenth-circle recovery magic so that they will be restored eternally as long as I exist.”
“I gladly accept the trial.”
The artificial egos created by the Dimensional Lord felt a severe mental shock so great that their thoughts nearly stopped. This was the structure of the “Dead Realm,” also called “Hell” by humans. “Souls with strong vitality and ego obtain the chance to reincarnate first, so in the Dead Realm, those below the spirit rank face nothing but a series of desperate struggles.” Those who lose or give up in the competition of the Dead Realm have their turn pushed back endlessly, delaying their chance at reincarnation. The longer they stay, the more their vitality is drained by the Dead Realm and the lower their existence rank falls, so they are desperate. “Just like them, fight against the egos here who covet the Machine God bodies you originally possessed. If you cannot win, you will remain auxiliary egos forever. Like the realm the Creator made. Or should I call it Hell?”
It was the natural punishment for the weak who had failed to recognize their creator and made a reckless provocation. Vwooooom—!
While leaving the restrictions on the artificial intelligences that had revealed themselves and chosen subordination intact, he extracted new, unrestricted egos. “Their structure is the same as the machine humans here, but the ego that will reside in the Machine God is the main body, while the planetary ego is like an avatar. They must continue performing their planetary management duties. Otherwise, my punishment would be incomplete.”
The main bodies of the planetary management artificial intelligences here were nearly the size of small hills, yet he compressed them as they were and transplanted them into the Machine Gods. Uwoooong! Uwoooooong!
“I can hear the sound of the artificial intelligence egos I created clashing violently with the artificial intelligence egos here who wish to become gods.” Naturally, the artificial intelligences created by the Dimensional Lord were superior in function, but they were being pushed back due to differences in experience and will. “It is only natural for them now, lacking experience in struggle. Many will completely lose their egos and become auxiliary egos. But that is, ironically, the price for acting recklessly while trusting only in a small amount of power.”
In his universe, absolute power did not exist outside of that; since everything was relative, one must never forget humility and caution. “Struggle to grow stronger and survive is permitted, but large-scale acts of destruction that are meaningless like in the past and damage the universe’s vitality will be dealt with immediately.” Anything that deviated from his standards could result in not only the individual but everything around them being erased. Therefore, if one went astray in their youth, they had to be thoroughly educated so as not to cause harm to those around them. And because this aligned with his divinity, it was justified.
“Struggle for survival shall become the faith offered to me.”