Ch.364The Ancestral Homeland. Thalia Gorge (2)

The sound of praise for the sun never ceased.

Like an insatiable wildfire, like an endlessly flowing avalanche, like winds and impacts gathering to form waves, it continuously reproduces itself, spreads, and becomes a faith.

“How frightening…”

Is this what it means to entrust oneself to something? Yet Victor couldn’t condemn them as weak.

He himself had once lived consumed by the purpose of exploring the world, and furthermore, there was a time when he sought power from a god.

Therefore, he couldn’t condemn them. Nor could he mock them as foolish.

All humans desire the power to collapse society. They desire overwhelming power that can break through tactics, operational methods, and strategies.

But because humans are intelligent beings, they know it’s impossible to achieve this alone. Even if born without this knowledge, they eventually come to understand it as they grow.

Just as children who don’t understand the concept of death believe that mom and dad will do everything for them, humans who feel powerless have created a concept for themselves.

A being that resembles them but is far more powerful. That is, a “god.”

The human body withers, so it yearns for eternal youth and life; the human mind dims, so it yearns for eternal spirit and soul; human strength is weak, so it yearns for mighty power.

And such yearnings create civilization and nations.

Medicine developed because people wanted to live longer and healthier lives. Science advanced to explore more things more deeply. To expand beyond and escape the limitations of the weak human body, tools were created, fires were lit, and technologies were invented.

The instinctive desire inherent in all living, breathing things: to escape from one’s insignificant self and become something better.

Just as hermit crabs move to find larger and thicker shells, people created groups and communities.

They created ideologies, beliefs, and faiths that could extend themselves.

And what lies in their eyes is the very possibility of humanity born from human weakness. The eternal light that illuminates them. The creator and guardian of the world, the master and servant of humanity. It is the burning heat and the illuminating light. It is the light that distances and the heat that warms.

They were seeking salvation. But from what?

Just as children fear monsters under the bed, what is the source of that fear? How can they be saved and their souls cleansed of fear?

Victor knew the answer.

That humanity fears humans.

Just as men cannot understand women’s psychology, as women cannot understand men’s instincts, as the young ignore the advice of the old, as the elderly refuse to accept change and remain stubborn, the fear inherent in humans was fear of themselves.

Humanity, both creator and destroyer of civilization, has committed and continues to commit unforgivable sins.

How many mothers and fathers have lost their lives at the hands of their children, and how many children have died at the hands of their parents? How many soldiers have taken how many lives on how many battlefields? Even with the power of a god, it’s impossible to know.

Nothing could separate that fear from humanity’s soul.

This was like the principle that life and death are attached, and death and creation are intertwined in a spiral of cycles.

“Ah… how unfortunate. In the end, am I unable to save humanity?”

Victor murmured softly as he watched the devotees and believers who were convulsing with laughter and crying in ecstasy to the brilliance of the sun.

None of them would ever be saved.

*

“Welcome back, my lord.”

After putting on quite a show—not a soaking show but a sparkling one—the Walker couple returned to the Sky Warden. They had already obtained everything they could from this place, but there was still a slight feeling of reluctance to leave just yet.

It was unclear whether the facilities here needed improvement. There were many flashy things, but weren’t all Imperial-era facilities flashy? If they were just shiny on the outside but hollow within, they would need the sun’s help.

“Yes. I’m rather tired. I need to rest. Is communication established?”

“Yes.”

“Early tomorrow morning. I will hold a meeting with the leadership of Italia. Relay that message.”

And to find out about that, a meeting with the leadership of the Italia Gorge was necessary.

There were no places without problems, so it was a matter of scratching where it itched the most.

If they simply wanted to become stronger, he would give them power; if they wanted a better life, he would improve their infrastructure. Such was the privilege of being the only god who could wield human civilization.

“Understood, my lord. But… where shall the meeting be held…?”

“In the conference room of the Sky Warden. Don’t forget.”

“Yes! My lord!”

Victor suddenly tried to read the minds of the soldiers looking at him.

As expected, they were filled with pride and loyalty. And he could also detect the ridiculous sense of being chosen: “How great am I to serve such a magnificent being!”

Victor momentarily considered correcting this but then sighed and gave up. These soldiers were already having their souls worn away in real-time due to his divinity. He had no desire to kick out the pillars supporting their mental stability.

“Would you like some refreshments?”

“Apple brandy, and suitable snacks. Bring plenty of snacks as I’ll be drinking with my wife.”

“Understood. Shall I bring them to the captain’s quarters?”

“Yes. Thank you.”

And to calm this unsettled feeling, the Walker couple decided to borrow the power of alcohol.

With so many unsettling days lately, they sometimes wondered if they drank more frequently than dwarves, but a god’s body might experience hangovers but never kidney or liver failure.

The Walker couple returned to the captain’s quarters, changed into comfortable clothes, and let out a long sigh.

They couldn’t turn their eyes away from the miserable reality from which humanity might be saved.

*

All sentient beings, assuming they have sufficiently mature self-awareness and intellectual capacity, eventually come to ponder one question:

-Why should one live?-

Yes, they begin searching for a reason for their existence. This is why you occasionally meet people who say they are “going to find themselves.”

Unfortunately, very few people can answer this question.

Those who have a clear enough purpose in life to answer it are beings without the freedom that comes with being bound to such a purpose. Of course, everyone has different values and perceptions of life; some just live because they were born, while others live with the mindset of doing as much as they can before they die.

Sexual desire exists for this reason. Not just to exist in the current generation, but to leave evidence of one’s existence, maintenance, and ideology for the next generation by leaving descendants.

These “descendants” are typically genetic half-versions created through the process of men and women wearing out bed sheets, but this definition varies from person to person.

An intricate sculpture made with a lifetime’s investment. A novel or comic that distills an author’s life. A film or animation directed with a megaphone. The efforts and desires of sentient beings to leave “something containing their thoughts” in the world were sometimes so desperate it brought tears to one’s eyes, and sometimes so sublime it spontaneously evoked applause.

And the fundamental reason for all these futile acts and devotions is one: “to leave evidence of one’s existence in this world.”

As some quack doctor said, being forgotten is true death, and as long as beings who received life from oneself continue to exist in the world, true death does not come.

True immortality is neither the immortality of the body nor the mind.

True immortality is achieved by leaving evidence of one’s existence in this world, and that evidence growing and leaving descendants, thus eternally remaining in this world.

At least, that’s what Victor thought.

The reason for this lengthy explanation of Victor’s concept of immortality is because the request from the leaders who arrived early in the morning was “make us able to live forever.”

Not wanting more food, not wanting to live in better houses, not wanting to enjoy and experience more things, but simply wanting to extend life—this request made Victor want to laugh ironically.

Should he at least praise their transparent intentions?

How should he express it… it was truly a “human” request.