"I was just talking big — it was all hot air..." Lucian felt as though a crow were cawing and flapping past right in front of his eyes, his heart flustered as he weakly defended himself internally. It was perfectly understandable for Naina, Nob, and the other gods' priests and believers to be taken in by the truth they didn't know — that was only natural. But how had even "their own god" swallowed the absurdly over-the-top descriptions he and Francis had piled onto him?
Shouldn't a normal person have frozen, then realized what had happened, and then laughed and called him a fraud?
Well, this was a pseudo-god, not a normal person. According to the Arcane Council's descriptions, they were mentally deranged and stubborn, belonging firmly in the category that needed "shock therapy." It was understandable that he'd believed it. But how had such a dramatic shift in aura occurred?
Could it be that even his actual strength had increased?
Lucian suddenly wanted to cry out, "This isn't Arcane!" But fortunately, he had steeled himself against all manner of anomalies in the divine domain, so he suppressed his surprise and began observing Er, analyzing the cause. Inside his Soul Library, the Magic Notes spread open, recording every minute detail.
While doing so, Lucian turned his face slightly toward Francis, only to find him looking over with a resigned, self-deprecating smile — clearly, he shared Lucian's astonishment. However, in the span of a breath, Francis's gaze settled into something deeper, studying Er with an intensity that carried a faint hint of fanaticism.
"If he truly excels at theology and philosophy, then the changes in a 'god' would indeed pique his interest, confirming some of his views." Lucian vaguely guessed at Francis's state of mind. This might be why he had used portions of the God of Truth's theories to package Er.
But this, in turn, made it even harder for Lucian to guess Francis's origins. After all, someone genuinely skilled in theology and powerful in strength most likely hailed from the Church — yet everything Francis had done up to this point was, without question, the work of a blasphemer.
Pulling his gaze back, Lucian asked in surprise, "Great 'God of Revival, Abundance and Death'... I'm afraid I don't quite understand your divine oracle."
Er smiled calmly, his expression profound. "To put it simply, I have found my true self — that which transcends all things, the indescribable 'Existence' projected into both the spiritual and material worlds. Whether as the God of Flame and Destruction, or the God of Revival, Abundance and Salvation, those are merely variations born from the union of mortal perception with this projection. They share a single essence, and that essence is 'I.'"
"Only when I awakened to this truth did I truly master the two manifestations of Avando and Er, allowing them to become a genuine duality in one."
"Great God Er, are you all right?" Francis subtly twitched the corner of his mouth and asked with concern.
"Why wouldn't I be? I feel wonderful — better than ever before." Er smiled with full confidence.
*The medication must not be stopped...* Lucian muttered inwardly.
Seeing that "Leviathan" and Francis still wore expressions of concern, Er sighed to himself. Even the most talented and spiritually gifted of mortals could never truly comprehend the greatness of a god. And so he proceeded to demonstrate his power to his two devout, outstanding disciples — this unprecedented "wonderfulness."
His surroundings grew dark, and one could faintly sense an intense aura of death. Within the thick black mist of death, specters and other undead creatures emerged. The "decay" produced fertile "soil," and a soft radiance spread through the room as several blades of grass grew wildly. At the same time, a feeling of serene tranquility and spiritual peace emanated outward.
"Revival, Abundance, Salvation... Er is no longer a god disguised as an incarnation of the Flame God, but has genuinely acquired these three divine authorities — the 'God of Revival, Abundance and Salvation.' His strength has reached that of his true body, which is to say, the eighth-level Sky Knight standard, though his weakened state persists. In actual combat, he could probably only perform at the seventh level."
"Did the change in divine authority result from his own 'awakening'? Or did it occur because his believers began to sincerely worship him as this 'God of Revival, Abundance and Salvation'?"
Lucian recorded everything he had observed in the Magic Notes within his Soul Library, marking key passages in red: "If it's the former, then this world is even more insane than I imagined. This phenomenon bears resemblance to the World of Cognition yet is obviously far more absurd — proving that the path of Arcane exploration stretches far deeper still. If it's the latter, then it would be possible to construct a relatively coherent system based on current theory, but it would similarly lack the crucial component of power, lack proof, and lack empirical evidence, once again demonstrating that the road ahead is long and deep, requiring careful exploration. The slightest arrogance and one's head would explode."
"Analyzed from the first perspective, there is still no clear theoretical framework — unless this world operates on a 'strong anthropic' structure."
"Viewed from the second perspective, however, one might construct such a hypothesis: All humans possess spiritual power, though it varies in strength. Those whose spiritual talent exceeds the threshold can harness it through Meditation for their own use, becoming mages. Those whose spiritual talent falls below the threshold and who have not been stimulated by drugs exist in a state of weak, dispersed spiritual power. Through the standardized rituals within religion — unified vision, similar descriptions — this dispersed power is regularized, and during prayer, it is tuned to the same special frequency, converging together."
"If this deity possesses a tangible form, then this spiritual power — or rather, this Power of Faith — converges upon his person. Furthermore, because of differing expectations placed upon the deity, differentiation of divine authorities emerges. Different divine authorities allow the drawing upon different categories of specialized spiritual power to manifest spell-like abilities in that domain, thereby reinforcing the deity's own being."
"This could explain why the Church requires faith. But if the God of Truth exists and is truly as powerful as claimed, why didn't he simply destroy the Arcane Council? Why did he permit the Church to splinter? Why does something like the World of Cognition exist? Why do dwarves possess a foundation of faith, yet no God of Steam has emerged? Why does the God of Truth have no specific divine authority?"