Chapter 1857: Chapter 1857

Silver Flute Miss was quite reticent when it came to the god she worshipped. But faced with Jenkins's persistence, she chose to answer some of his questions. Mortals always avoided discussing the divine. The gods of this world weren't merely powerful mortals; they were true higher-dimensional beings. Speak of them, and they would sense it. Call their name, and they would know.

"The origin of my Lord... I can only answer you with religious myth, Mr. Candle. I know the one you follow originated in this Epoch, so there's a clear timeline and story. But the origins of most gods are ancient, so their myths don't carry the weight of actual history. If you're interested, I could spend a whole day telling you my Lord's stories, but I don't think that's what you want to learn from me."

The two of them stood deep in the woods, in a place the moonlight couldn't reach. A thin mist coiled through the forest on the summer night, creating the perfect atmosphere for sharing secrets.

Chocolate licked his paw.

"So, when do you believe your god first appeared?"

"Like most religions, we believe our god was born in the most ancient of ages."

Silver Flute Miss replied. Seeing the man beneath the tree frown, she knew he wasn't satisfied with that answer, but she truly couldn't say more.

"In that case, does your religion have any legends about the ancient Epochs? I mean, unusual ones—tales you wouldn't typically find in common religious mythology?"

"Yes, there are some. But because they might conflict with the doctrines and historical views of other churches, we don't discuss them with outsiders. Mr. Candle, I don't know what information you're looking for, but please be aware that there is no evidence to prove that any historical records of the past are completely true, let alone myths concerning the primeval Epochs... What is it you truly want to know?"

The woman's brow furrowed as well.

He trusted the information from the World Tree, so he was certain the "God of Nobility and Order" was not an outsider like himself. Therefore, all he wanted to know was the reason that deity had mentioned the "power of lightning." But he wasn't sure if the myth told by the Church of Creation and Machinery was also part of Silver Flute Miss's faith.

And even if her faith shared that story, he was certain that modern mortals could not guess the thoughts of gods who walked the material world in ancient times.

"I want to know, what is the most outlandish myth in your faith?"

Jenkins finally settled on this question. Regarding the myth told by the Saint of the Church of Creation and Machinery, knowing the reason or not wouldn't really change anything for him. He'd come to terms with it and decided not to dwell on it.

"You must promise me that what I say will be known only to you and your cat."

"Of course, I promise you, Silver Flute Miss."

he said, holding the cat.

"The most outlandish myth is our creation story."

Silver Flute Miss's voice was a soft whisper, like a sigh from beneath the shadows of the dense leaves. Jenkins was stunned. Since arriving in this world, he had been intensely curious about the origins of this realm of the supernatural and mysterious, yet he had never found any so-called creation myth, nor any being that claimed to be a creator god.

"No, not at all. Do not speak so recklessly."

Silver Flute Miss cut off Jenkins's wild speculation. She glanced cautiously at the sky before continuing with the myth she had heard:

"In the beginning, the world was born of duality. Thus, where there was fire, there had to be water; where there was good, there had to be evil; where there was day, there had to be night; where there was the void, there had to be a material world. Everything was created in opposition, defined by its counterpart. And as the chaos gradually subsided and the primeval gods established the order of the world, my Lord came into being at that dawn, a symbol of the stability of the world's laws—the God of Order."

This elevated the "God of Nobility and Order" to an unimaginable status. Jenkins doubted the authenticity of this myth; after all, the core domain of the "God of Nobility and Order" seemed to be "Nobility." Mortals always liked to attribute grander, yet not entirely outrageous, origins and stories to the gods they worshipped, but this one seemed a bit too much.

"In those first days, the primeval deities walked the earth, sowing life, defining laws, and shaping the world. But in opposition to the 'divine' gods and the pure, primeval souls, there arose sin, born alongside them. These sins corrupted the first souls, stripping them of their original nature, and from this came mortals like us, who can be both sacred and sinful.

The gods tried to destroy those 'sins,' but my Lord stopped them. My Lord said that all things in the world have an order, and sin itself is a part of that order, an indispensable piece. Sin makes the world real. Sin is part of the world's cycle, a component of its most fundamental system.

So the primeval gods allowed sin to exist, and thus the rules of the world to come were formed. And my Lord, seeing the effect sin had on the world, felt remorse for what they had advocated. They voluntarily relinquished control over order, and thus the current 'God of Nobility and Order' came to be."

No matter how he heard it, it sounded like the followers of this god of nobility were simply boasting about their deity, and not very skillfully at that. Still, it was the most detailed creation myth of this world that Jenkins had ever heard, which forced him to ponder its meaning more deeply.

"Mr. Candle, even I don't believe this story is literally true. Why do you insist on pondering it? In my view, it's just meant to emphasize the importance of rules and... the greatness of my Lord. You don't need to analyze the plot; just grasp its inner meaning."

"What inner meaning?"

"That sin is also a part of the world. It cannot be destroyed, nor should it be."

They were simple words, yet to Jenkins, it felt as if Silver Flute Miss had spoken the most profound truth of this world. Vaguely, behind her, in the shadows of a cluster of bushes, he thought he saw a silver-haired lady. But in the blink of an eye, there was only shadow.

He suppressed the tremor in his chest and looked at Silver Flute Miss with hesitation, seriously doubting whether those words had come from her own thoughts.

"Any more questions?"

asked Silver Flute Miss, oblivious to what Jenkins was thinking.

Jenkins shook his head quickly, afraid of seeing something that only he could perceive again.

But on their way back, he asked one last, inconsequential question:

"Does your god have a specific physical description?"

In truth, mortals mostly worshipped and revered sacred emblems, not idols. In religious customs, the status of a sacred emblem was far higher than that of a statue. The reason for this, in Jenkins's opinion, was that both Righteous Gods and pseudo-gods could potentially relinquish their divine mantles, so they used sacred emblems as their reflections in the mortal world.

"A description? That's a difficult question... According to our scriptures, probably female, with silver hair."

Silver Flute Miss said vaguely, and Jenkins didn't dare ask any more questions.

The cat continued to lick its paw on Jenkins's shoulder.

The seven of them knew it was uncertain whether they would have another gathering after this one. The coming apocalypse had disrupted most people's life plans, especially those of Benefactors, so everyone cherished this opportunity.

When the conversation turned to their future plans, no one held anything back.

Magic Miss and Silver Flute Miss planned to continue their current work: protecting that very wealthy noble lady. They didn't reveal Miss Windsor's identity but hinted that she had deep ties to a major figure in the Orthodox Church. They intended to use that connection to face the coming doom.

Continuing their employment with Miss Windsor wouldn't greatly affect their current lives, and it would help both their careers and their futures. It was a good plan.

Hathaway was a noble lady herself. She announced that her fiancé was a high-ranking figure in the Orthodox Church, so she had no worries about her future. Moreover, the music cult she belonged to had arrived in Nolan, and she was busy with negotiations between the pseudo-god sect and the Orthodox Church, while also taking care of her family. Her plans for the near future were full and fulfilling.

Hooded Man, Black Cat, and White Cat had decided to go into business together. The three gentlemen didn't have grand ambitions; they just wanted to live well. They had no intention of leaving Nolan either. Just as Black Cat, who had recently returned to the city, had said: no matter where you go, you can't escape the coming apocalypse, so you might as well stay in the center of the world and wait to watch this Epoch's grand finale.

They had their own ideas and were prepared for the possibility that misfortune could befall any of them.

When the group asked about Jenkins's thoughts, he considered it for a moment before answering his friends: Nᴇw novel chapters are publɪshed on novelꜰire.net

"I don't ask for much from the future, just that the people I know remain safe. As for what comes next, I'll take it one step at a time, according to the plan. I believe everything will turn out fine."

Before the gathering ended, Jenkins asked Magic Miss to wait, saying he had something important to discuss with her in a moment. Then, seeing everyone saying their goodbyes and preparing to leave, he took out the wrench and gestured for Hooded Man to follow him aside.

Magic Miss told Silver Flute Miss to go on ahead. Seeing that Mr. Candle and Hooded Man didn't object, she followed the two men deeper into the woods, intrigued by the upcoming "treatment."