# Chapter 10: The Struggle of Order
Joshua scratched his head, and as his fingers rubbed against his hair, a series of electric sparks burst forth.
Joshua pondered for a moment. Even a blind man could tell that he was deep in thought right now.
Joshua rubbed his chin with his right hand and finally let out a sigh.
"Forgive my bluntness, Your Majesty Yue Ai, but regarding this order of yours, I don't think it works."
He said this, his tone sincere and earnest: "To be honest, it's a bit foolish."
"Oh?"
The God of Love and Decay raised an eyebrow. She spoke softly: "Then, where exactly is it foolish?"
Neither of them paid any attention to the Pope, who was frantically gesturing from the side. Yue Ai chuckled softly, seemingly not angered by Joshua's bluntness: "Debates between orders are something we often do. Don't worry about harsh words. To a deity, this is of no consequence."
"It's been foolish from the very beginning."
The warrior lowered his head—because at this moment, Yue Ai was very close to Joshua, and given Joshua's height, he had to look down to meet her eyes. He said in a deep voice: "As long as the one making the choice is still a 'human' and not a purely logical machine, then whether one chooses to love or not to love is merely the result of hormones secreted by the brain at the moment of making that choice."
"A student skilled in painting, driven by a momentary impulse or urged on by friends and parents, chooses to love literature. The son of a mage who excels at archery, forced by family circumstances to become an alchemist. If these people never discover what they truly love and are good at, and out of a momentary rush of blood to the head, choose to 'love' things they are not good at and do not like—can this kind of love really be considered freedom?"
Joshua loved battle and was skilled at it. He knew what he wanted. This was an answer he had arrived at after experiencing the battlefield and challenging countless opponents.
But what about others? Do they truly know what they are good at and what they love? Are the convictions in their hearts truly not just momentary impulses?
"People need a remedy for regret, but the order Your Majesty has established only allows one to walk down a single path to the end."
The warrior raised his head and looked around at the streets. The ordinary people of Moldavia Territory had gathered together, watching the spectacle. Joshua gazed at these ordinary people and said in a low voice: "This is just avoidance on your part."
"Making humans avoid conflict, using the divine power and authority Your Majesty has bestowed upon them to escape from the struggle with the self and with desire."
"Because there is a divine gift that grants the ability to choose love or not, humans no longer need to fight against their own instincts, no longer need to contemplate their own path. Instead, they can take shelter under the name of a god and enjoy a happiness that is called 'freedom' but is in fact just 'escape'."
The God of Love, manifesting in elven form, gazed at Joshua at this moment.
Her eyes were burning. Faced with the warrior's accusations, Yue Ai paused for a moment, then replied in a natural tone: "But regardless, this is still the path that life has chosen for itself, isn't it? It's not about saying that because one is good at something, one must do it. Choosing a path one is not good at and does not understand is also a human freedom. The power I grant is merely to allow them to make their choices more firmly."
"And besides, no matter what, there will no longer be any crime or darkness in this world, because everyone—even those with innate antisocial tendencies—will choose a path that treats all people equally. Doesn't this solve all the internal conflicts of civilization once and for all?"
To this, Joshua shook his head and replied coldly: "Since when can freedom be bestowed by others? And since when does 'choosing' between good and evil require divine power granted by a god to be accomplished?"
"With the progress of social systems, the popularization of civilized culture, and the elevation of moral standards, these things will one day be achieved without any external force, relying solely on the development of civilization itself. Just like humans—people should indeed control their desires, fight against their instincts, and struggle against all the unfreedom that exists in this world. But."
Joshua emphasized his tone at this point. He took a step forward, greatly closing the distance between himself and Yue Ai. He bent down, facing the God of Love, and said in a deep voice: "Your Majesty, it should be humans themselves who accomplish all of this. From drifting with the current as ignorant children, gradually growing into strong individuals who can swim against the river of fate and seek their own destiny."
"And this process is called growth, called life, called the life of battle!"
At first, Joshua had indeed been almost persuaded by the God of Love and Decay. Because the concept she spoke of—the belief that 'love is order'—did resonate with a warrior who purely loved battle.
Only with love can one be steadfast. Only with love can one be tireless. If one does not truly love something, how can they invest one hundred percent of their energy into work or battle?
But the future world that the God of Love subsequently described made Joshua frown deeply.
Because that logic was not the logic of intelligent life at all.
And it was at this moment that Joshua realized this was actually a battle.
A battle that did not require fists or energy, but one that required the articulation of one's views and the expression of one's ideals—a battle called the 'Struggle of the Great Path.'
The Seven Gods who protected the Mycroft Civilization each held their own order. The God of Might and Justice had already found his successor, Emperor Israel of the Empire. These two powerful existences were shaping a world of 'Order of Might' across the entire Northern realm.
And the God of Love and Decay had found him. She hoped he would join her in constructing a world of 'Order of Love.'
Undoubtedly, the other gods, who seemed to observe the cycle without any action, were also searching for their own companions, preparing to construct their own orders. They did not influence the world or spread faith, because this was meaningless. Fanatical believers were the farthest from the gods, because if one did not carefully contemplate the teachings of the gods, understand the logic behind the order, and recognize the correctness of the god as an independent individual, they could never become the god's power, at most assisting on the sidelines.
Gods do not need faith. What they crave is the 'order' that determines the direction of civilization, the fate of races, and the future of the world!
Therefore.
Since this was a battle.
Then one must defeat the enemy one does not recognize.
"Your Majesty Yue Ai, the love and freedom you speak of are nothing more than a life that has abandoned possibilities, transforming oneself into a cold society of efficient machines."
The warrior spoke bluntly, without any fear of angering a deity, clearly articulating his views: "What difference is there between the humans you describe and robots, artificial puppets, or artificial intelligences that have been set with work goals and development plans?"
"As independent and autonomous intelligent beings, humans should not be manipulated by fate or instinct. Everyone should, based on their own wishes and convictions, make trade-offs at the crossroads of life. Without struggling against one's own instincts, without attempting to understand and analyze one's own desires, without contending with this world—just setting a goal like a machine and starting to operate—how can this be called living?"
"That is just a machine."
Irresponsible choices are the origin of 'evil.' Only those who truly understand what they want to do and what kind of existence they want to become in the future can make truly free choices.
"Your order is extreme and wrong—even more dangerous than the future that Israel and the God of Might envision. As you yourself said, 'love' is not such a superficial thing. Allowing ordinary people to casually choose to 'love' something is like a teenager making choices driven by excessive hormonal secretion during puberty. This kind of 'love' is undoubtedly incomprehensible. Only those who have gone through this period, have a job, can support themselves, have thought about the future, and can take responsibility for their own decisions—only their choices can be called freedom."
After saying such a long string of words, Joshua couldn't help but sigh, then subconsciously moved his arm and clenched his fist.
Making him think about this stuff was really more tiring than beating up the Great Khan.
But facing a deity, he couldn't just brush things off casually. Such irresponsible behavior was not in his nature, because if he didn't seriously refute her, Yue Ai would undoubtedly try to turn her order into reality. If a god implemented such an extreme social experiment across the entire world, the harm it could cause might be even greater than a calamity god invasion. If the scale were larger, it might even lead to the self-destruction of civilization.
But precisely because of this, Joshua couldn't help but feel even more puzzled.
What exactly was the origin of the Seven Gods?
Were they a defensive mechanism left by the Sage to protect the Mycroft Civilization? He himself was going to the center of the multiverse to explore the cycle of chaos and order and the truth behind the calamity gods, so he left the Seven Gods as babysitters.
But if that were the case, why did the Seven Gods, as babysitters, have their own beliefs?
They were not survivors of the old gods of the Era of Radiance. No matter which ancient text one looked at, one could not find any trace of the current Seven Gods. But they were also not mortals from the Era of Falling Stars who ascended to godhood. When the pioneers of the Era of Falling Stars encountered them, they were already gods.
Joshua already knew the essence of the calamity gods as enemies, but he still did not know the essence of the Seven Gods as allies. It had to be said, this was quite a dark joke.
And before the warrior, Yue Ai did not become angry because of Joshua's words.
Even though she was bluntly denied by the other party, even called 'incomprehensible,' she showed no signs of anger.
In fact, she even laughed.
"You really are like him..."
The God of Love and Decay gazed at Joshua's face, her voice somewhat dreamy as she whispered: "Back then, he also denied my concept like this, asking me to change my topic and redo this graduation assignment... Even the reason for the denial was the same—that only after struggling with one's own instincts and desires can a person have the right to make choices."
"But how could I be in a hurry to revise? Dragging things out a bit longer was fine too... Unfortunately, war broke out. No matter how I revised the topic, it was meaningless. After all, there was no one left to review it."
"Wait, what did you say?"
Hearing this, not only Joshua but also Eagle, who had been sitting to the side helplessly watching the two argue, immediately stood up. Both of them stared at the 'God of Love and Decay' before them, frowning deeply: "'Him'? And topic, graduation assignment?!"
What was this god talking about?!
But clearly, Yue Ai had no intention of answering their questions. The God of Love and Decay merely raised her head, looking at the sky that had been dyed violet by her divine power, and murmured in an almost inaudible voice: "He loved the world, loved everyone. And I only loved the world because I loved him."
"Radcliffe, I am very satisfied with your answer. You are right. My order is incomprehensible, just a joke."
Yue Ai's voice returned to normal. She lowered her head and said calmly: "I know that you are searching for the path to the 'deepest layer of the abyss.' And I happen to know the answer to this question."
"No, wait, Your Majesty Yue Ai, who exactly is this 'him' you mentioned?!"
At this moment, Joshua's attention was not at all on the 'deepest layer of the abyss.' Although the answer to this question was temporarily without leads, he could probably find clues by asking other gods later. But the information revealed by the God of Love and Decay could uncover a corner of her true identity: "From your words, you were actually his student? Using the future of a civilization as a topic..."
"This question is not important. Even if you know the answer, there is no benefit."
Yue Ai interrupted Joshua's words, her tone calm: "Because we have long since ceased to be our original selves. Compared to such a meaningless question, the information about the 'deepest layer of the abyss' is far more important to the entire Mycroft Civilization."
The warrior let out a breath, suppressing his urge to press further. Eagle also took a deep breath and calmed down. The two exchanged glances, both understanding the current situation.
The current Yue Ai clearly would not answer this question at all. In that case, rather than getting entangled, it was better to obtain the answer about the deepest layer of the abyss as soon as possible. As for the speculation about the relationship between the Seven Gods and the Sage, there would be plenty of time to research.
But what the God of Love and Decay said next was like a thunderbolt, violently shaking the spirits and minds of Joshua and Eagle.
"The deepest layer of the abyss, in the ancient Era of Radiance, was called the 'Abyss Nirvana Ground.' All the steel fragments of all the worlds that had been destroyed in the entire abyss gathered there, waiting for the day when the flame would be rekindled and the world would be reborn. Its coordinates have long since changed due to the 'Final Battle.' Now, it is located at the core of the nine hundred and forty-ninth abyss dark domain. The decisive battle between the Plenty Evil God and the Sage, and also their tomb, is there."
Yue Ai turned around. The divine power domain that had frozen Moldavia Territory began to dissipate. Time began to flow again. Voices from near and far became noisy. She paid no attention to the puzzled questions simultaneously uttered by Joshua and Eagle. The deity's incarnation began to fade, dissipating like a shadow.
"I know your confusion and shock. To this, I can only say that for me, he has long been dead. The person who returned from the deepest layer of the abyss and was resurrected—perhaps he is the 'Sage' you speak of—but he is definitely not him."
Before disappearing, the God of Love and Decay, the elegant elven lady, softly spoke her final, almost inaudible words: "So, for me, the deepest layer of the abyss is the tomb where he and the Plenty Evil God perished together."
"As for you, Joshua van Radcliffe. The order you anticipate, we also look forward to it very much."
The shadow had already faded to the point of being barely visible. At this moment, Yue Ai slightly turned her head, leaving behind a complex yet expectant gaze.
"So, if possible, Radcliffe."
"Please show us that kind of future."