Chapter 11: Thought Particles
After the Great Magic Tide descended in his previous life, a surge of interest in exploring ancient history swept across the world. With the tacit approval of the Church of the Seven Gods, many records containing information about ancient deities were unearthed from forbidden archives, and thus the names and divine offices of numerous gods from the Era of Radiance became known to the world.
The subordinate god of the Earth Mother Goddess, the River God Shinur, was a relatively well-known deity in the central continent during the Era of Radiance. His original form was a 'Water Spirit' born at the confluence of several rivers. His faith spread through many riverside towns, granting protection to fisheries and transportation. Overall, he was a benevolent god who guarded his domain, with almost no misdeeds to his name.
Logically, to see through the true identity of a god within the Divine Calamity Mist, a trial participant would need to push through to the very end and witness the god's imprint itself. Joshua had not paid attention to news about the Divine Calamity Mist in his previous life, so he should not have known that this mist belonged to the River God. Yet, for some reason, he could clearly discern the essence of the mist before him and call out the god's identity in one breath.
This was because he 'saw' it.
At this moment, in Joshua's eyes, all things decomposed and disintegrated into fundamental particles. Invisible arcane elements and energy fluctuations manifested in different colors within the atmosphere. Sunlight enveloped the land, and transparent ripples spread outward. These incredibly complex entities scattered and coalesced, forming the essence of all phenomena.
He was not using his physical eyes; the warrior had long abandoned such primitive means of observation. What he saw now was a vision analyzed by the 'Steel Force'.
In his sight, upon the earth, countless members of the knight order participating in the trial, along with students from Winterfell Academy, stepped into the range of the mist. Most knight order members could penetrate several hundred meters deep into the mist, while ordinary students generally stopped at the edge, a dozen meters in, falling into dream trials. However, some exceptionally talented youths could barely push a hundred meters in before standing dazed in place.
What caused them to halt was this silver mist—in Joshua's vision, the mist, which originally seemed like a silver sea, completely differentiated into an endless sea of semi-transparent particles. These particles spontaneously absorbed ambient free energy, sustaining their existence, slowly expanding, and recovering their strength. They were extremely inert, hardly reacting with anything, with the sole exception being 'thought'.
Or rather, the soul.
As the trial members entered the mist, the countless particles composing the silver sea, like sharks smelling blood, began to surge rapidly into their bodies. Those with stronger strength attracted more particles, and vice versa. They ignored all barriers, whether walls of Battle Qi or magical equipment, unable to hinder them in the slightest. When the mist particles within each person reached a certain threshold, their thought fluctuations began to resonate with the divine imprint at the core of the Divine Calamity Mist, thus plunging them into the trial dream.
With a casual grab, Joshua snatched a handful of scattered Divine Calamity Mist from the air. The silver particles spun and moved rapidly in his hand, seemingly trying to burrow into his body, but a force akin to life energy, yet far superior, resisted these originally unstoppable particles, binding them within the warrior's palm.
[I am Shinur of the Surging Rivers!]
[God of Rivers, God of Fisheries and Ships!]
[Third Seat of the Earth God Pantheon, Master of Rivers and Streams!]
Countless fragmented pieces of information flowed out from these particles, 'seen' by Joshua at this moment. This was why he could identify the god's identity from the very beginning. The warrior stood atop the Black Dragon's head; Joshua's soul itself was already powerful enough.
The originally dense Divine Calamity Mist had begun to thin, because a large number of soul particles were coalescing around Joshua's body.
But this was not enough to achieve his goal. The warrior slightly mobilized his own soul, imitating the fluctuations transmitted by the halo of soul particles around him, and began to resonate with the imprint at the core of the mist.
Thus, light and shadow shifted.
All kinds of bizarre and illusory visions came flooding in.
The moment Joshua connected with the divine imprint, it was as if he saw memories from this River God—five rivers from the snowy mountains converged and merged in the center of the continent, forming a vast river stretching thousands of miles. Countless ice and water elements gathered and drifted at this confluence, allowing a nature spirit to slumber and gestate amidst the waves. Time passed, rivers changed course, and the nature spirit also shifted its position. With the worship and prayers of countless fishermen and living beings, this nature spirit gradually developed a hazy consciousness and a chaotic soul.
Joshua saw the earth tremble. A slender arm, composed of lava and ironstone, reached out from deep within the crust like a dream, touching the hazy and chaotic water spirit. Vast divine power instantly perfected the nature spirit's consciousness.
Thus, the prototype of the River God Shinur was born.
The illusion vanished, and the rumbling sound of a rushing river echoed in his ears. Joshua opened his eyes. Before him was no longer the vast land of the Ural Plains, but a boundless, majestic river. The icy river water crashed against the rocks on the bank, and splashing droplets landed on the warrior's hand. Joshua raised his hand, watching the water droplets slowly slide down, then lifted his head to survey the world around him.
A primal, savage aura emanated from the surrounding tall forests and hills. The flames of civilization had not yet reached this place. Countless ferocious beasts prowled through the woods, and wyverns roared in the sky above.
This was...
The Era of Radiance.