Louie listened quietly and waited for the elf queen to answer his questions for him.
“After the great destruction, the Gods all knew that they would fall into a deep slumber, but they did not know whether they would be able to wake up again. This worried even the mightiest of them.”
“Although Gods are powerful, they need faith to maintain their statuses. The Gods could not predict how long the Crystal Wall System would take to repair itself. It might be in a thousand years, or it could be eons. If the world was restored but no one had any faith in the Gods, then the Gods would fall from the stars, causing a great decay in the astral realm.
It was just at that time from the Heavenly Mountains to the Realm of Bliss, from the Bottomless Abyss to the Nine Hells of Baator, from the Endless Wilderness to the Mechanical Realm, from the main continent to the Inner Elemental Plane only 10 percent of the living beings survived. The gods weren’t able to do anything in a short period of time. They could only leave behind some insurance and fall into a deep sleep.”
“With the Gods slumbering, the connections between the realms weakened. Every living creature went into rest and recuperation, and thirty thousand years had passed since then. In the current era, the Goddess of Morning and the God of War have the best luck. The seeds that they left behind had become the present-day Theocracy which provided them ample faith.”
“The Goddess of Night and Goddess of Love had the worst luck. Although they entered an alliance, they did not get many benefits due to a difference in doctrine.”
The elf queen’s words made Louie feel a sense of enlightenment. He immediately gained a deeper understanding of the world of San Soliel.
If the world of San Soliel was compared to a human being, then the invasion of the Terran Civilization was likened to a virus attack. It would cause great damage to a person. Although the virus was solved by the efforts of the Gods who could be considered as the defense system, ultimately the body had been gravely injured and needed to rest to recover.
Although the Gods were powerful, their existence in the world took up a lot of resources and energy. So when the world repaired itself, the Gods would also fall asleep. As a result, no new gods could be born due to the huge burden it would place on the world.
Thinking of this, Louie felt sorry for the countless geniuses and talents that had fallen over the past 30,000 years. Those demigods thought that they had encountered the best era to become Gods with no God to stop them. They were even free to choose which divine authority they wanted without thinking about the Gods who possessed the same authority.
Unbeknownst to them, they were actually living in the worst of times, because no matter how hard they tried, they wouldn’t be able to become Gods since the rules of the world had changed!
Louie did not interrupt and continued to listen to the elf queen’s speech. The elf queen paused for a moment and lifted the crystal cup with her delicate fingers. After taking two mouthfuls of the ruby-colored liquid and moistening her throat, she continued.
“I’m sure you’ve noticed that after 30,000 years, the world has nearly recovered. The connection between the realms is returning. Ancient beings and Gods have now begun to show their presence in various ways. I have been to the Abyss and Hell before to see that the number of demons and devils is rapidly growing. Although it could not compare to the era before the Era of Disaster, the evil souls from the Styx River are beginning to infest the abyss and become demons on a large scale.”
“You’ve been gone from the main continent for 30,000 years. You may be uninformed about the situation on the main continent. In fact, the Theocracy was been unable to receive any response from their Gods, and only in the recent centuries were they able to obtain some partial answers through prayers. As a result, they were given divine magic. This caused the overall power of the Theocracy to increase in recent years. Before that, the human world had always been in turmoil with constant wars.
Louie thought deeply about all that the elf queen said.
‘‘This elven demigod, who has lived for more than 10,000 years, can be called a living history. She has stayed in the Silver Moon Kingdom, watching the development of the world with cold eyes. As long as no one launched an invasion against the elves, she would not intervene in the many conflicts and wars that happened on the main continent. She knew that the losses were not worth it. In a world where one could not become a God, it was better to preserve one’s strength.’
‘No, it’s not right to think of it like that. In historical records, the Silver Moon Kingdom was formed within 1000 to 2000 years after the Era of Disaster, resulting in the elves becoming the dominant race in the main continent. This queen is actually very ambitious, but the elven way of life and their birth rate hampered her ambitions.
Louie thought for a moment before slowly opening his mouth, “Your Majesty, you have said so much, but what’s the relationship of this with the Goddess of Night’s divine kingdom?”
Hearing Louie’s question, the queen smiled sweetly, or at least that was how Louie perceived it given the mist covering her face.
“The Gods are about to return. The era of the Gods will come once again. Since you are extremely lucky to have returned to the main continent in this era, do you have any plans of becoming a god?”
The queen went straight to the point. This silenced Louie for a moment, and he said, “Any mortal that gains a chance at doing so wouldn’t be able to resist the allure of becoming a God.”
“This is what I want to explain to you. After the end of the Era of Disaster, the Gods fell into a state of incomprehensible slumber. Their divine kingdoms had all fallen causing the gap between ancient gods and new gods to close in.”
Louie nodded secretly at her words. If it was an era when Gods were still around, Louie would only be a new God if he became one. At most, he could receive a part of the Five-colored Dragon God’s legacy. But compared to the ancient Gods who had lived for eons, the gap between him and them was too big. Moreover, those ancient gods would have divine kingdoms that housed the accumulation of people for tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands of years. Even if Louie became a God, he would have to stay low-key.
But everything was different now. With the fall of the divine kingdoms, all the gods were now at the same starting line.
At this time, Louie understood what the queen was trying to say.
“It is as you imagine Lord Louie. The gods who could not give back to their people were called ‘false gods’ in the past. Their faith was very difficult to spread. Even the believers of the Goddess of Morning and the God of War were not many in the Theocracy. They couldn’t even let the faith spread in the Subila Empire. You can try to imagine what the states of the other Gods are like right now.”
“Even if those ancient gods all return, they will end up in a state of having no divine kingdom or believers. This is your opportunity, Lord Louie.”
Louie’s expression changed as he was convinced by the queen’s words.
There was no mistake in it at all. With those ancient Gods having few believers and without divine kingdoms, everyone would have the same starting line.
No, it could be said that he had a bigger advantage compared to the Gods. While the Gods weren’t able to spread their faith, he had already established a church within Dragon City to gather faith. Even if he was forced to take on the establishment of the city.
Louie sighed, “Has anybody ever called Your Majesty the archduke of hell? Your perplexing words had truly moved me.”
Since the current Gods were not stronger than him, even if the Gods had an advantage in experience, they were inferior to him in all other aspects, especially faith. Then why wouldn’t he try to fight for himself to obtain a bigger lead?
With the absence of believers and a divine kingdom, the Gods who were asleep for thirty thousand years would have their divine powers weakened.
On the other hand, he had the godhood of the Five-colored Dragon God in his soul. There was nothing for him to be afraid of, so now was the best time to take some resources.
But Louie was also a bit apprehensive. The elf queen seemed to know a little too much. She was like a god who could see everything. In the end, what was her actual identity?
‘Could she be the Silver Moon Goddess’ incarnation? That shouldn’t be the case. Since all the Gods were asleep, the Silver Moon Goddess is no exception. Her incarnation wouldn’t be able to move at all.’
‘Could she be the Silver Moon Goddess’ chosen one? That shouldn’t also be the case. It’s the same reason as above. If the gods are asleep and can’t act, then their chosen ones would have organized the faith and not disappear without any traces.’
For a moment, Louie could only make guesses.
