Chapter 23: Secrets of the Gods
The number of gods in the Mycroft World is actually not small, but unlike the legends, most of the time they reside in the Boundless Heaven, silently watching over and protecting their followers.
These divine beings rarely actively perform miracles to expand their number of believers. Therefore, apart from the relatively well-known Seven Gods of Humanity, the Orc God, the Fairy King, and the Mermaid and Deep Sea Protector among other racial gods, the names of other deities are not widely known. Only true believers can access the power of these gods.
This might be because the gods of the Mycroft World do not actually require faith, so they have no need to deliberately spread their renown. However, based on the research of players from the previous life, these busybodies discovered that the truth is not so simple.
The gods indeed do not need faith, but the reason they do not interfere in the mortal world seems to be to abide by a covenant—a covenant allowing the civilizations across the continent to develop naturally.
Unless something like the Great Magic Tide or an Abyss invasion occurs, they will not overly interfere with the choices of mortals. Of course, if things develop to the point of extinction, then no covenant would hold any meaning. This is also why there have been several divine wars in history. Because of the expansion of orcs or humans, other races either submit or face annihilation, and an Abyss invasion is a calamity that threatens the entire world. No god would sit idly by while their followers are devoured by demons.
Speaking of which, there is an interesting fact: not all members of the Seven Gods of Humanity are of human origin. Among them, the God of Freedom and the God of Love are elves, while the God of Protection is a dwarf. This is why, in all human nations, elves and dwarves enjoy the same citizenship rights as humans. Furthermore, the Mermaid and Deep Sea Protector is not actually a mermaid; its mortal form is a gentle giant jellyfish. The mermaids have worshipped it since ancient times, and it has always protected their race.
But regardless, the name of the God of Despair and Fortune was something Joshua had never heard of in his previous life.
Of course, there are many possible reasons, and they are quite simple. The most likely one is that this god fell long before the Era of Falling Stars, left behind no powerful legacy before its fall, and the race that worshipped it was also exterminated. Thus, its name was buried in the dust of history.
"Despair, and fortune."
Contemplating these two words, Joshua found them easy to understand. Based on the scenes he witnessed in Moore's dream, he could easily infer the meaning of this god's title: "Fortune hidden within despair, good luck found in a desperate situation? What a strange title."
The divine duties of gods in the Mycroft World are mostly composite. The most common example is the Orc and War God, whose core is formed by race and the actions they praise. The full name of the Father of Nature is also the 'God of Nature and Elves.' The titles of the Seven Gods of Humanity are quite unique in comparison. For instance, the God of Might and Justice, and the God of Love and Decay, base their doctrines on their own set of logic, rather than pursuing the position of 'God of Humanity.' The God of Despair and Fortune is surprisingly similar to them.
—Perhaps in ancient times, there was some connection between them?
But who knows.
This thought flashed through Joshua's mind, but he quickly dismissed it. The warrior did not know much about the knowledge of gods. After all, even in his previous life, players had not reached that stage. And he himself was focused on challenging various powerful bosses, so he wouldn't pay much attention to such trivial setting details. Anyway, there would naturally be lore enthusiasts to research these things, and he could read their finished posts later. There was no need to focus too much on it.
"Making one recall their most desperate and most fortunate moment, and then reverse it?"
Based on the information currently available, Joshua speculated on the purpose of this Divine Calamity Mist. He frowned and murmured softly: "Success leads to greater fortune; failure leads to greater despair. Indeed, it fits the style of a Divine Calamity dungeon, and also matches this god's divine duty."
Judging by Moore's performance, he probably hadn't succeeded. The Orc Heavy Cavalry had still routed the human army. But it wasn't a complete failure either. Just like decades ago, he had luckily escaped. Next, the old mage should keep returning to the moment where his fortune and despair intertwined, experiencing it again and again, trying to change it, until he succeeds, or completely sinks into the dream, or until the warrior deals with the Erebus Box.
Turning his head to look at Robzek not far away, Joshua suddenly felt curious. What exactly was this great knight's trial?
Without any hesitation, he immediately walked towards the paladin.
As soon as he approached, the warrior felt a wave of heat surging from all directions. Sacred light, carrying the power to purify everything, simultaneously scorched the bodies and souls of the unclean.
This was Robzek's protective Holy Light. As an Ultimate-rank Paladin, his protective Holy Light could easily dispel Gold-rank evil spells and negative statuses. Even a Greater Disjunction couldn't directly penetrate this level of protection. However, those who also possessed Holy Light would not only be unaffected but would receive a great boost. This was the unique ability of the Paladin's advanced class, the [Holy Guardian Knight]: drawing power from Holy Light to protect companions and strike down enemies.
But even so, the paladin had fallen prey to the Divine Calamity Mist. He had no way to guard against divine power.
As for Joshua, under the illumination of the Holy Light, he only felt a bit of heat and didn't find it particularly uncomfortable. Although his charm was as low as negative two hundred and nine, being fierce-looking didn't mean he was evil. The warrior also carried the Order Force of the Azure Orb, which granted him extremely high resistance to Holy Light. Coupled with the two rows of buffs that Sa Ya had cast on him earlier, Joshua was currently almost immune to Holy Light.
The warrior arrived in front of Robzek. The paladin's body was emitting a burning silver-white flame, boiling the surrounding black mist. Like Moore, although Robzek was trapped in a dream, he still stood straight. The usually cheerful middle-aged man now stood solemnly in place, maintaining the defensive posture he had assumed before entering the dream.
His expression was much more relaxed than Moore's, suggesting that the difficulties in his dream were not insurmountable. If given some time, Robzek might be able to complete the challenge of the Divine Calamity Mist. But even if Joshua intended to give the paladin some time, those waiting outside would not agree. So the warrior decisively stepped forward, grabbed the other's belt and collar.
During this process, Robzek's body even instinctively launched a counterattack. The scorching flame-like light flowed like liquid onto the back of Joshua's hand, as if trying to burn it away. But Joshua easily dealt with these minor issues and, using the same posture, hurled the paladin forcefully outward—
Suddenly, a silver-white small sun appeared in the sky above the Truth Avenue in the Imperial Capital. The holy light instantly illuminated several city blocks, attracting the attention of many citizens who were urgently evacuating and the City Guard. But this sun flashed and disappeared. A few seconds later, it fell towards the location of the church personnel.
Having learned from the previous experience of the old mage being thrown out, the church personnel were well-prepared. Under the soft instruction of High Sister Sa Ya, several church knights steadily caught Robzek's falling body. Having left the harsh environment, the paladin's protective Holy Light vanished. Taking this opportunity, the knights quickly checked their commander's condition and reached the same conclusion as when they had examined the old mage's body earlier.
"High Sister, the commander has also fallen into a dream due to that strange force!"
Hearing the knights' report, Sa Ya was silent for a moment. She had already seen Moore's condition before this. She had no way to resolve this problem either. Neither blessings, dispels, nor protective divine spells had any effect on this power. Only pure Holy Light could slightly suppress its activity, but that didn't solve the root problem.
What kind of power could be immune to both magic and resistant to divine spells? She had some vague guesses in her mind, but Sa Ya didn't intend to explain them to these distressed knights, lest they become even more nervous.
"...We can only wait."
Turning to look at the churning black sea of mist, she let out a soft sigh. The High Sister's tone seemed somewhat helpless: "We can only wait for Lord Radcliffe to resolve this matter... He is immune to the power of this mist. Perhaps he can find the cause of this sudden incident and awaken Commander Robzek."
Having said this, Sa Ya fell into deep thought.
Earlier, when they met at the Morlai Palace, the nun had specifically taken the time to look into the warrior's deeds. As a result, she saw a series of remarkable achievements that seemed fit for legendary tales.
—Single-handedly resisting the Black Tide, closing a spatial rift, single-handedly exterminating an entire White Dragon's lair... This count from the north was already shrouded in enough mystery. Even within the church, many people knew Joshua's name and were curious about the source of his power.
And now, the warrior was even immune to divine power.
The High Sister let out another soft sigh.
—Truly, intriguing.