Ch.292Mountain Wisdom. Layer Archive (2)

Year of Extinction 1203, January 40th.

With barely three days left until Viktor’s birthday, the Iron Walker party led by Viktor entered the Archive.

“Viktor Walker, incarnation of the Sun. It is an honor to welcome such a noble… to this layer. Please, come inside.”

The guard hesitated whether to refer to Viktor as a ‘human.’

For anyone else, such a thought would have been disrespectful, but Viktor merely smiled bitterly without reprimanding him.

Because he truly was no longer human. Just because he wore a human body didn’t mean his soul was human as well. Viktor walked down the corridor leading to the Archive’s conference room, watching people kneel before him as he passed.

There was a time when he had done the same.

He remembered a time when he had glimpsed a Crusader, an apostle of Karyl, from afar and was struck blind with fear for days, trembling in terror.

And now he had become a god, striving to establish an empire for humanity. Was this growth, or corruption?

Even the Sun itself couldn’t provide an answer to this question.

As humans reach for greater power and authority, they draw closer to divinity, and whether they like it or not, their humanity burns away, charring and falling off.

Just like all stars that have ascended.

And finally, five people, one god, and one apostle who was his wife entered the conference room, and the announcer proclaimed their names with vigor.

“Lord Viktor Walker, incarnation of the Sun, and his wife, Lady Raisha Walker! Along with the Sage Simon and four others have entered!”

Despite the resounding introduction, the audience in the conference room was weighed down by a solemn atmosphere.

Before them stood the master of fervor, the Sun itself. Literally, one wrong word could erase their very existence.

Viktor first released a slight aura of solar might to establish dominance, and instantly, a presence like that of a crushing disc swept over them, overwhelming the sages to the point where they couldn’t even open their eyes.

Seeing the sages falter, Viktor consciously reined in his aura, and only then could the sages raise their heads again.

“You know why I’m here, don’t you? Apostle of Logos?”

As Viktor looked at Michael and spoke, Michael rose from his seat.

“You want the knowledge of this layer’s Archive, don’t you?”

“Correct. And do you know what I intend to do with that knowledge?”

“I know you want to establish an empire. The Victorian Empire… your empire.”

Viktor nodded. It seemed Michael knew the general idea, but apparently hadn’t discerned his true intentions.

“You’ve guessed roughly right. But it’s still inadequate.”

“…?”

“Let me reveal my true purpose. Listen and remember. You will have the blessing of standing witness to a moment in history.”

As the sages stirred, Viktor opened his mouth to reveal his purpose.

His true goal of bringing down the sun and moon from the sky, and ushering in an age of lamplight and starlight.

*

Heavy.

Michael thought.

An absurdly heavy, burdensome, and delusional plan.

But if asked whether it was impossible, even he, who prided himself on being logical, couldn’t readily nod in agreement.

“The knowledge and wisdom in this Archive were not placed here for eternal sealing. They are the beloved treasures of the Founders, meant to rebuild the world and make it a better place. I ask you all: Will you join my empire? Will you help save the suffering two and build a lighthouse that will light the lamp built by humanity’s dedication across the world?”

When Viktor spoke thus, the sages and scholars began to murmur in unison.

It was preposterous. But his words were right.

No one knew when that sun, burning for 350,000 years, would extinguish, or when it would fade away, exhausted by humanity’s endless conflicts. Not even the incarnation of the Sun standing before them.

“You, Michael. Apostle of Logos.”

“Yes, Incarnation of the Sun. Command me.”

At that moment, Viktor called upon Michael, and the conference room instantly fell silent for the dialogue between god and apostle.

“What is your wisdom for?”

“To make the world a better place.”

“What is your knowledge for?”

“To guide humanity toward a better path.”

“Then fulfill your duty.”

“…”

Duty.

At that word, Michael froze.

The Michael who had dismissed Viktor as a megalomaniac when he saw the Sky Warden landing was no more. There was only a powerless being desperately trying not to offend the transcendent entity.

“Is establishing an empire guiding the world to a better path?”

“Undoubtedly so.”

“Then please tell me why. It would be a lifelong honor if you would fill my ignorant mind with your insights.”

At Michael’s words, Viktor thought for a moment before beginning to speak.

“I was born in a western port called Parcival on the continent of Faerun. Born without parents, friends, or blood relatives, I had to kill others to survive. From the age of three.”

“…”

“If Parcival had been more generous to young children, I surely could have grown into an adult without having to kill anyone. Do you agree with my opinion?”

“I do.”

“As I grew and observed, I found that not just in Parcival, but in most cities of the world, young sons were sent to work, and young daughters were sent as concubines to old men, repeating the tragedy. What do you think is the cause?”

“Poverty and destitution.”

“That’s right. I want to establish an empire to eliminate that. If all cities and nations are incorporated under a single system, tariffs will lose their meaning, the economy will expand, and under a unified governing system, there will be no need to point swords at each other, reducing unnecessary defense expenditures and allowing the difference to be spent on welfare. You must understand what I’m saying.”

“I do.”

This was close to common sense. Just as a multitude of individuals cannot defeat a single collective, if humanity’s fragmented political systems, which have regressed to city-states, were incorporated under the universal state of an empire, they could abolish the numerous burdens that come from individual cities handling defense and diplomacy, and enjoy fiscal soundness and security freedom.

This would exponentially increase traffic and trade volumes, and with the revival of various businesses and industries through the use of ancient technology, the wealth of all humanity would grow incomparably more than in the current fragmented state.

Just like the Empire of Nariakiran.

“I have also witnessed countless wars. The story of two nations intent on killing each other, mired in grudges from over 1,000 years ago… is too cliché to even use in a fairy tale. Isn’t that so?”

“But they certainly exist. I know what you did in Lorelei.”

“Then all the better. Do you think such wars would be tolerated under the imperial system?”

“…I suppose not.”

“That’s right. What I desire is like the sun, namely the eternal development and perpetuation of human civilization. To shed ancient grudges that bring no benefit, a mediator with a neutral perspective is needed, and only the imperial system can fulfill that role. If there is a better system, teach it to me.”

“Oh… how would I know of such a system?”

The imperial system is not simply a state with an emperor as its head.

Of course, in ancient times it might have meant that, but to humanity, which has experienced the unified human government of the Nariakiran Empire, “empire” has come to mean “a massive single government ruling all 13 continents.”

“So give me the wisdom beneath this mountain range. I am the only one who can establish an empire, the legitimate heir of the Sun. Humanity will obtain day and night through its own dedication and end the sacrifice of two people.”

“There will be war… the very war the founders of this Archive so desperately wanted to avoid.”

“Then I shall bring destruction upon my enemies. Do you not know what happened in Belka? I, who have surpassed even death and returned to this world, am the incarnation and avatar of the Sun, the most powerful being in this world. Who will block my path? Apostle of Logos, will you? Or will the other apostles of Logos?”

Michael could only bow his head.

He was right.

Viktor was the strongest being in this world.

Who on this earth could overwhelm him, one who had transcended life and death, the incarnation of the Sun?

Michael knelt and pledged his loyalty to him.

It was the moment when the wisdom of the Layer Archive passed to the god under heaven.