Chapter 17
Chapter 17
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 17
Chapter Title: Secret of the Ancient Gods
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How was this world, the one we stand upon and live in, born?
The Triune Church says this: At Goddess Nemi's command, the earth came into being; at Ellicia's cry, there was light; and with Hilai's presence, life arose.
However, strictly speaking, that is nothing more than demagoguery and fabrication spun by the temple.
It is merely a creation myth that started as a tale someone spun in ancient times, gradually fleshed out as the years passed. Yet sometimes, certain falsehoods cannot be casually dismissed as lies.
The only ones who could deny this creation myth crafted by the Triune Church were its own followers.
"Ancient Gods are the first deities born at the very moment this universe came into existence. We call them gods, but they differ greatly from the divinity we imagine. They share only the name with the goddesses—they are entirely different beings from top to bottom. Truly different."
As Ruehheim unpacked her bundle of stories, the hero party listened with keen interest.
Myths are always entertaining. Tales of gods have captivated human curiosity since time immemorial.
"In other words, the Ancient Gods are the axis and pillars of the universe, born alongside it. They emerged at the dawn of creation and will vanish only at the end of all things—beings so profound that we cannot comprehend them."
The Ancient Gods, who predate the gods themselves, are in truth not gods at all, but the universe incarnate.
Each one embodies one of the universe's countless laws, and thus, as long as the universe exists, they are absolutely eternal and indestructible. They transcend concepts like life and death, simply existing forever.
"Such beings truly exist?"
Araidel was startled. She had always thought legends of the Ancient Gods were just that—legends—and never once imagined they might actually exist.
No one had ever spoken of hearing even a single whisper from them. The goddesses do exist, and they occasionally bestow revelations upon Araidel. They even manifest before her in visions. But the Ancient Gods were passed down merely as figures in stories.
"Look, there's a person here."
At those words, Ruehheim simply smiled faintly.
"And over there, beyond the sky, lies the sea of stars we call the universe—an infinite expanse. Now, the person calls out to the universe: 'Hey, I'm here! Can't you see me?'"
Would the universe reply?
The cry echoes emptily through the void, never reaching it. The Ancient Gods are so vast that even if a human screams until their throat bleeds, the sound does not touch them.
That's why it doesn't matter if we ignore them.
They offer not a whit of help anyway.
The Ancient Gods, who exist eternally without the slightest connection to me, are beings humans cannot interact with. Whether we wish to or not, it's simply impossible. Our levels differ, our hierarchies differ, our origins differ—and above all, laws are merely laws.
"Saintess, the universe is utterly impartial. It does not sway with emotions like a person. The laws of the universe simply exist unchanging, so the Ancient Gods lack ordinary egos. Even if an ego somehow sprouts, it cannot overcome its own sense of self and inevitably collapses."
How vast is this universe, truly? How immense is the concept of its laws?
It is a burden no sentient being can bear. One would feel scattered across the entire cosmos, but humans, bound by our mortal limits, cannot even imagine such a sensation.
One thing is certain: the Ancient Gods are wholly unlike personal gods.
It is not a matter of superiority or subordination—they are simply different. Unlike personal gods, who possess clear wills, human-like personalities, who sometimes rage and sometimes show mercy, the Ancient Gods can never be masters of history. They do not steer fate to their whims.
They are mere backdrops—the backdrop of the universe, yet also its pillars.
Naturally, they are the sort to discard human faith if offered. Its presence or absence changes nothing about their power. From the start, they likely lack even the ego to receive it.
"But in this world, there are always exceptions."
However, if—
Truly if—
An Ancient God, for some reason, awakens an ego and takes a liking to a human, granting them power.
That person would bypass the usual church hierarchies and become a saint or saintess outright.
For the Ancient Gods do not bestow power unless they are truly pleased.
Even if they awaken an ego, it would soon crumble under its own weight—but "soon" by their standards spans generations by human measure.
"Such events are exceedingly rare, with only a handful of cases across humanity's long history. But if someone earns an Ancient God's favor, what they could achieve defies imagination. After all, this universe—or rather, a part of it—would heed a single person's prayer."
The universe does not answer desperate pleas,
But if it truly did? If the axis and pillars of the universe moved for you?
History would flip lightly, and the rise and fall of races would be decided. This is no idle hypothesis—precedents exist. Races that should have perished survive to this day because of one individual.
"The elves' World Tree is a tree born from an Ancient God's blessing. Thanks to its power, the elves have escaped earthly wars and enjoyed eternal peace."
From Ruehheim's perspective, she was merely sharing ancient tales that held no one to tell anymore. The saintess listened in awe, letting out gasps of admiration at the knowledge she unfolded.
Even the goddesses are nothing compared to the Ancient Gods? So what?
The Ancient Gods are the universe itself—nothing to be done about it. Their intangibility made it feel irrelevant. That was how nebulous the Ancient Gods were.
"What an amazing story."
"No such tales have been passed down in the Western family either..."
And that was how irrelevant they were.
A god with no need to communicate with people, lend power, or mete out punishment.
What difference is there between such a god and mere wallpaper? No one takes them seriously.
The World Tree is a tree that sprouted millennia ago. The last priest of an Ancient God was active around that time as well. It was no wonder the hero party seemed unimpressed.
The Triune Church, fearing the Ancient Gods threatened the goddesses' authority, tried to hide the truth—but upon reflection, it was mere overreaction. Faith in this world is purely transactional.
If something goes out, something must come in. People worship the Three Goddesses because they grant blessings and divine power.
Blessings be damned—the Ancient Gods couldn't even cover lunch. The hero party didn't take them seriously. As long as they exist as laws rather than gods, that won't change.
Yet one must hear people out to the end.
"Anyway, because they are such beings, the Ancient Gods have no need for our faith. Unlike the goddesses, who draw power from people's belief, they were born with the universe itself."
Surely those words emerging from Ruehheim's mouth sounded familiar.
No need to ask who had said her lord required no faith. The three pairs of eyes widened almost in unison.
"Even with zero believers, it makes no difference?"
"Exactly, Saintess. Zero or one—it changes nothing for them, adds or subtracts no power. The Ancient Gods simply exist, and human faith has no impact on their being or essence."
"Wow, that's somehow scary. Even lesser gods, barely worthy of the name, need faith from a village or hamlet to maintain their state, right?"
The saintess, blissfully ignorant, smiled brightly and drove the point home.
Personal gods, who sustain their divinity through faith as fuel, absolutely require belief—unlike the Ancient Gods. Of course, faith from one person alone wouldn't even qualify as a god.
At minimum, an entire village must unite in devotion for it to barely count as a god. Even then, it's prone to degenerating into a mere spirit.
Stability comes only at the hamlet level or above, but the primal ancestor gods or savage deities they worship are frankly deficient as gods. They amount to little more than village guardians or household protectors, with disappointingly meager abilities.
"Saintess, um... may I ask one thing?"
"Oh, yes! Ask away, Lady Lucia!"
"Can a god have just one worshiper?"
"Naturally not. A single believer as the condition to maintain godhood? If it were that easy, I'd become a god the moment you worshipped me, Lady Lucia?"
Whether a mortal seeks apotheosis or a god seeks to preserve their status,
One person's faith is frankly worthless anywhere.
That is why all gods seek to expand their flocks. Even cults and fringe faiths have the core goal of gaining followers. Without divine power replenished through faith, gods weaken over time and devolve into petty spirits.
They share divine power with believers and appoint priests to bestow blessings precisely for that—for the sake of growing flocks and expanding influence!
But for a being needing no faith from the outset,
There is no need to distribute power among many; one follower suffices.
The three realized this almost simultaneously. Lucia Western sighed and whispered.
"Hey, Yurinel. We're pretty much screwed."
Naturally, the hero party's trio couldn't smile as brightly as the saintess. Parnel sidled up to Yurinel, tugging his sleeve and muttering.
"The god she worships—is it possibly an Ancient God?!"
"Who knows? No, she probably doesn't even know herself."
Yurinel wore a bewildered expression. If Ruehheim was right, it explained why the saintess of the Three Goddesses performed so disappointingly!
It wasn't that the saintess was weak,
Not that she lacked ability,
Simply that the one behind Kyle outclassed hers by far.
Yurinel clutched his head unthinkingly and blurted out.
"I'm going insane."
It was too late to re-recruit Kyle now. Not even they knew where he was.
The members had changed; swapping again was impossible. They had no choice but to press on. The past choice was irrevocable.
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