Chapter 600: A Tale of the Past. The Old Testament - 7
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 600: A Tale of the Past. The Old Testament - 7
What? This is ridiculous.
This happened in the past, didn't it? This is inside ‘Noona’s’ memories, right? So how did she find me?
Don't tell me she predicted my existence?
“These are my words to the King of Humans. I do not know if you would reach this place, my King… but if you are witnessing this scene, then it must be you.”
She didn't know if I would come, but she knew that only the King of Humans could witness this scene. The Saintess of Origin had foreseen my existence.
“Does that mean you also foresaw that I have the ability to read minds?”
“Light is the element of knowledge and awareness, but it is for humans to observe and realize. I am the Divine of light and knowledge. I may not know your circumstances, my King, but if this scene is being observed, then I, too, can know.”
“What kind of cheat-like ability is that?”
She can see me because I am observing this memory? Even if it’s true, it’s too bizarre. It makes no sense.
“Wait a minute. I still don’t believe it. Isn’t this some kind of scam? Like a mental image hidden in Noona’s memories?”
“And you, my King, who has insight into all humans, must know that this, too, is the truth.”
“Tch.”
She was right. This was ‘Noona’s’ memory. So while I could feel Noona’s emotions, I couldn’t read the thoughts of the Saintess of Origin.
In other words, this was a scene that existed only in the past.
Was it for real? The past, from thousands of years ago, was speaking to me? No, I couldn't believe it. Prove it.
“Then, for more solid proof, shall we play rock-paper-scissors? If you can truly read the future, then beat me.”
“I regret that I cannot answer such a request. The future is like a reflection on the surface of the water. If you dip your hand in, it ripples violently. The more observers there are, the more inaccurate and blurry the future becomes. That is why prophecies are difficult to share with others.”
“What? Are you backing out? That’s a pretty cowardly excuse.”
But I had an inkling of what she meant. If this was truly an image from the past, she couldn’t possibly react to my every spontaneous action. The past couldn't be changed.
What a shame. I was planning to throw scissors first, then shamelessly change my hand after seeing what the Saintess of Origin threw. In the first place, my suggestion to play rock-paper-scissors was a spontaneous act, so it would have been difficult for her to read it anyway.
Then, the Saintess of Origin replied nonchalantly.
“And I will throw scissors. You may decide the outcome as you wish, my King.”
…She got me.
She might not have won the game, but she had certainly beaten me. How malicious, to intentionally force a draw.
“Tch. Fine. I’m not the kind of guy who’s desperate to win against a woman.”
Because I felt like I wouldn’t be able to win even if I tried desperately. Her power was just too much of a cheat.
After declaring my defeat as if I were letting her win, I looked around and asked.
“What about Noona?”
The Saintess of Origin gave a sorrowful smile. Her expression said more than words ever could.
“It was an ambush. Did they blind her with light and stab her in the back? Even so, it wouldn’t have been easy.”
“My warriors learned Qi Art. In this era, they are stronger than anyone.”
In ‘Noona’s’ memories, Qi Art appears as suddenly as a sunshower. At first, no one knew of it, but at some point, everyone was practicing it.
Knowledge unknown even to the king’s warriors, who stood at the forefront of civilization, had suddenly spread far and wide. I couldn't help but think it was artificial.
As I stared at her questioningly, the Saintess of Origin nodded.
“Yes. I was the one who found Qi Art.”
“Why Qi Art?”
“It is a power that humans can attain by purely honing their skills, without the intervention of the Divine. The pinnacle of true enlightenment found within oneself. To gain its power, no means are necessary other than self-sacrifice.”
The source of Qi Art is the vital essence of life. It is the conscious use of that essence, processed within the body in the form of ‘qi’.
The Saintess of Origin had gathered all legends and knowledge to forge a single technique from fragments of a miracle that might only appear if a talented person were to devote themselves to a meaningless task.
“Then there would be no need to risk committing an Anathema to gain power.”
“There will always be those who covet power. They are full of desire, but if there is a better way, they will not go out of their way to commit an Anathema. Of course, hundreds of millions of people will die because of the Qi Art I created… but even so, I believe there are things that must be protected.”
The order obtained by Splicing humans desecrates birth. A newborn’s cry will no longer be a shout to the world, but a test that determines the life or death of that fragile life.
The order obtained by devouring humans through Gluttony makes humanity its own enemy. From now on, humanity will fall into the shackles of an Ouroboros, forced to devour one another just to avoid being eaten.
The order obtained by Grafting humans negates humanity. The boundaries between species will blur, and humans will no longer find a reason to protect themselves.
So, the Saintess of Origin erased them all.
By making Qi Art known and designating all opposing sorcery as Anathemas.
I scratched my head and replied.
“Don’t worry about it. A tool is just a tool. Qi Art was a useful tool, and thanks to it, more lives were probably saved than lost. It was definitely more useful than the other Anathemas.”
After all, if more people had died from Qi Art than had been saved, humanity wouldn't have survived.
I tried my best to comfort the Saintess of Origin, but unfortunately, it seemed my words didn't reach her. She still wore a sad expression.
“You still say such things. That what I created was not a principle but a tool, and its use is up to the user.”
Or maybe my words reached her all too well? I scratched my head and continued.
“Was that not comforting? Uh, I was trying to say it for your sake.”
“The Sky God, principles, Qi Art. Are they all just tools? Still?”
“‘Still’? They were made that way from the beginning and are used that way, so of course they’re tools. No matter what you call it, the essence doesn’t change.”
I didn't know why I was having this conversation. Right in front of the person who created it all.
“You’re the one who made it in the first place. You, of all people, should know that best. Why are you asking?”
The Saintess of Origin replied with a lonely voice.
“Do you know of the fourth Anathema?”
“You mean Heresy?”
“Yes. When many grow up seeing, feeling, and learning the same things, and come to observe the world with the same way of thinking… the many become different from others. They share power through a strong bond. The Order of Light was able to possess outstanding knowledge and insight thanks to sharing their vision through the ritual of gouging out their eyes.”
The Order of Light also shared their vision and knowledge in that way. The Saintess of Origin confessed it frankly.
It sounded grotesque, but it wasn't that surprising. I had already witnessed such a method.
The single Unique Magic shared by many, possessed by the signallers in the Military State. That was a prime example of the result of Heresy.
And it wasn't just Heresy. They were also researching Gluttony and Graft, so it could truly be called a nation of Anathemas.
“I, too, am one who received a prophecy from the future Heavenly Lord of Light. As I became a lorekeeper with that knowledge, I realized that the Anathemas would change humanity. The three Anathemas of Gluttony, Graft, and Splice would only bring misery and suffering to humanity's future. However, the last one… is different.”
That said, it would be a bit unfair to call the Military State an ‘axis of evil that committed Anathemas on a national scale!’
Saintess Yuel, the founder of the Military State. What did she see and learn from? A convent that raised diligent nuns through strict discipline and systematic training. The signallers were just a slightly modified, Military State version of that.
“Do not harm one another, do not be jealous, do not covet, do not deceive, do not torment. A commandment that all can accept, for humans to protect one another. If all humans believe in it, protect it, and follow it, if they act and believe with a common consciousness, then one day, all humans can be changed into more noble beings. That is what I believed.”
That's right.
The greatest Heresy in the world is the faith of the Sky God. Those who share the great consciousness of the Sky God, who believe in and follow it.
Those who distance themselves from the Anathemas and abide by the commandments left by the Saintess of Origin are the believers, and they are the power of the Sanctum.
That strange power called Holy Power is also drawn through the non-unique Unique Magic that is the Sky God.
“Once a consciousness shared by all is born, all humans will change, and thus the King of Humans will change as well.”
The Saintess of Origin had ambushed ‘Noona’ and then waited, standing where the king had fallen. For my existence, which would arrive as a result of that outcome.
“However, no matter how I searched the future, it seems it was impossible for all humans to embrace the ideals I wished for.”
She dreamed a truly grand dream. A wish to change humanity itself. It was something no one had ever dared to imagine. Even the most reckless person I had ever seen tried to change the King of Humans rather than humanity itself.
“Yes. Humans are still the same. They treat commandments, order, laws, and ideologies all as tools for their own actions. They attach reasons when they show goodwill and when they show hatred. As if doing so makes them some kind of rational, higher-dimensional being.”
“Even though they are still nothing more than beasts?”
“Yes. Even though they are still nothing more than beasts.”
No, perhaps she almost succeeded. Shei said that in the future she saw, the King of Sins would be born. I didn't know if that was the future the Saintess of Origin wanted to prevent, or if it was the future she wanted to bring about, twisted.
“The Divine changes the framework of the world. My observations are distorted by the Divine. A conclusion I thought ideal becomes the right course of action under the Divine.”
“You foresaw even your own failure?”
“That alone is not a prophecy. It is in the realm of prediction. I cannot understand the other Divine. If the framework of the world changes drastically, if the future I saw was tilted from the very beginning, then I cannot perceive that tilt.”
Even if one could see the future, it was through a human perspective. In an era where the human perspective itself has been altered, one cannot even distinguish between right and wrong. As much as the Saintess of Origin seemed like a god, her vision had its limits.
“So you were only human, after all.”
At my words, the Saintess of Origin smiled and replied.
“I have been from the very beginning, my King.”