Advent of the Three Calamities

Listening to the Goddess’s words, Lazarus’s mind went completely blank. It wasn’t that he had a hard time processing her words, but it was more like…

He had a hard time accepting them.

‘There’s beings strong enough to create a separate dimension and seal every single human in it?’

For them to be so capable…

Just how strong were they?

He managed to gain his answer a few moments later.

“Their strength is nothing to scoff at. It took the combined effort of Noel and me to beat one of the outer beings. We don’t know just how many of them there are, but they are all incredibly powerful and mysterious.”

The Goddess’s voice was smooth as she spoke, narrating everything that she knew about the Outer Beings.

“It wasn’t so much that they were much stronger than us, but it was more like their connection to the source… It was much deeper and profound than our own. It is by a miracle that we were able to win.”

Lazarus listened quietly, trying his best to keep up.

However, the more he heard, the more shocked he was. Their connection was more profound? He had seen firsthand how powerful the Source was. For their connection to be so deep… Just how strong were they?

Not only that, he started to understand something else, too.

“Was the reason you were sealed because of your connection with the source?”

“Yes, it was. They deemed us to be too dangerous an existence.”

The Goddess’s voice grew lighter. Almost in a self-deprecating way.

“…No, it was more like they deemed the seven of us far too dangerous an existence. They created this entire dimension to keep us in check.”

“Then what about the world outside? There are humans too…”

Was it not some sort of alternate planet?

If so…

“That is also Earth.”

The Goddess replied in a low tone.

“The world outside is merely the earth after our imprisonment. If not for Toren finding a breakthrough and managing to shatter the dimension, the two worlds would’ve never come in contact with one another. But in the end… even when he managed to shatter the Dimension, we were still unable to leave.”

The Goddess slowly lowered her head to stare at her hands.

“The world outside has become a kind of poison to us. We can still go there in artificial bodies, but it’s not the same. The sense of freedom, the open blue sky, the warmth of the sun, the freshness of the air… we can barely feel any of it through our clones.”

With a subtle trembling of her hand, the Goddess clenched it into a fist.

“That is why Toren is so desperate… He wants to be free from this prison. This is why he’s trying to control the outer world.”

“What do you mean by that?”

Lazarus narrowed his eyes. He was aware of the fact that Toren and Sithrus were one of the same. However, the one thing he had never understood was the motivations behind Sithrus’s actions.

For a being so strong…

Why did he never forcefully control the outer world? Why did he try to control it secretly?

It made no sense.

“Do you know how we deepen our connection with the Source?” The Goddess asked, her question catching Lazarus off guard.

“You can deepen your connection…?”

No, thinking about it, he certainly felt like he could deepen his connection with the source. He just had to enter the same state as he did in the past.

If he could then…

“Faith.”

The Goddess replied, her tone even.

“That is how we deepen our connection with the Source. Faith.”

“…”

Lazarus opened his mouth, but the words he was about to say never left his mouth. All of a sudden, a lot of things started to make sense in his mind.

The reason why there were so many churches… The reasons why these so called ‘regular people’ decided to call themselves gods.

This was all…

To raise their faith.

“The more we are worshipped, the deeper our connection with the source becomes. It is by such means that we were able to put up a fight against the outer beings. It is also the reason why Toren never forcefully took the outer world by force. One cannot artificially create faith by force. It must… come naturally.”

Taking in the words, Lazarus took a deep breath.

Yet again, one of the answers to his questions had been answered.

It all suddenly started to make sense.

The reason he had been able to feel the source in the past. It was all… because of the faith he had managed to acquire as ‘Oracleus’.

“But even faith has its limits.”

The Goddess shook her head, her closed fist slowly relaxing and opening up again.

“Faith may draw us closer to the Source, but it won’t change the most important fact. The Source does not accept us. It rejects us. The more powerful we became, the more insane we become… In some way, losing connection with the Source has allowed me to see things clearly once more.”

Lowering her head, the Goddess’s voice similarly lowered.

“…It is also the clarity that made me realize how wrong we were, and how right ‘he’ was. We should’ve listened, but we were all too blinded back then.”

Lazarus didn’t need to ask to know whom she was referring to.

It was ‘Oracleus’ or to be more precise ‘Emmet’.

“He was the only one that could see through the madness, but at the same time, he was also the first one to crumble under the madness. Though he could see through it, he wasn’t immune to it. In fact, he had it the worst.”

Lazarus closed his eyes.

Indeed, based on the memories he had seen and the conversation he had with the mirror, this was indeed the case.

“His death was most likely the turning point of everything. His death and actions were what drove Toren to the point of utter madness… resulting in the current version of him. A man blinded by both power and madness.”

Taking a deep breath, the Goddess looked towards the city beneath.

“…But even in his madness, he never lost sight of his goal. Of all of us left, he’s the only one who hasn’t given up. He’s… also the only one that is capable enough to contend with the Outer Beings. You can even say that the reason we still exist is because of him.”

There were hints of emotions in her voice as she spoke.

Mostly, her emotions seemed complex. On one hand, she didn’t appear to approve of what Toren was doing, but at the same time, Lazarus could almost pick up hints of sadness in her voice.

“In his own twisted way, he’s the only one who is trying to save what remains of this world. He’s also the only one capable of doing so.”

“He’s the only one capable of doing so?”

“Indeed.”

The Goddess nodded.

“He’s found a way to connect directly with the Source without any sense of disconnect and rejection. He’s also not far from reaching the goal. So long as he manages to master the power and become the eighth god, then we might just be able to be freed from this prison.”

Hearing the Goddess’s words, Lazarus took a deep breath. These were the same exact words he had heard from Noel.

Just like he said…

The key to it all was Emotive Magic.

But there was only one thing that she got wrong.

Toren, or Sithrus… He wasn’t the only one with the power to become the eighth god.

He could do so as well.

Lazarus believed that he could achieve the same thing. He just needed time. So long as he had more time, he felt that it was possible.

Still, Lazarus set all those thoughts aside and focused his attention on something else. He wanted to know more about the Outer Beings.

“…If Toren were to become the eighth god, would he be able to beat these Outer Beings?”

“I wonder…”

The Goddess blankly stared towards the city beneath.

“I’d like to believe it’s possible. Noel and I proved that it is possible to beat the Outer Beings. It’s possible, but the price we needed to pay was far too high. However, if someone were to fully tap into the Source, then…”

The Goddess didn’t finish her words, but the meaning behind them was clear.

Lazarus could only quietly purse his lips while musing over the situation.

‘So, not even they know much about these Outer Beings. However, for them to be able to seal them, it should be enough proof of their strength. They can currently put up a fight against them, but they can hardly win…’

In that sense, the key to it all was the Source.

So long as they could tap into the Source, they felt confident in fighting against them.

There was also another thought that occurred to Lazarus.

“You said that you managed to defeat one of the Outer Beings. Where is their body?”

“Their body…?”

The Goddess paused for a moment before lowering her head.

“Toren took the body.”

“Toren? Why did he…”

“He said that he wanted to experiment with it. He wanted to see if he could tap into their powers.”

“He did? And…”

Lazarus licked his lips, feeling a certain weight forming in his chest.

“What were the results of his experiment?”

“A failure.”

The Goddess replied.

“He’s tried everything. From implanting organs into other people’s bodies, to trying to replace their blood with that of an Outer Being. In the end, most of them died without being able to tell the next day. The power isn’t something most can wield. It’s a power that seems to come straight from the abyss itself. A darkness that can’t be tamed. But…”

Pausing, the Goddess grew hesitant.

This aroused Lazarus’s curiosity.

“But…?”

“I did hear about one of the experiments working somewhat. Although only somewhat.”

“What?”

Lazarus paused.

It had actually worked? Even partial… the fact that he somehow managed to make it work left Lazarus at a loss for words.

How did he manage to do it?

And who—

“But like I said, it only partially worked. Last I heard, the experiment was somewhat of a failure. Then again, the subject did end up becoming extremely strong at a young age. It’s just that they don’t seem to have any affinity with the Source.”

The Goddess shook her head.

“…In the end, Sithrus left his puppet Dawn to keep an eye on the subject. He’s long given up on her.”

Lazarus’s entire body froze in that moment.

Thinking about the Goddess’s words and connecting all the bits and pieces together, a thought occurred to him, and his usually calm expression started to falter.

‘Given up on her.’

‘Dawn to keep an eye on the subject.’

‘A darkness that can’t be tamed.’

‘Becoming extremely strong at a young age’

Lazarus felt the very air get stripped out of his lungs as a certain image appeared in his mind.

That…

It couldn’t be her, right?

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