After hearing Harold's report, Grand Elder
After a few minutes, Augustus stood up with agile grace, covering his right eye with his hand. "Steam supreme!"
This was a signature prayer gesture he had designed after witnessing the "Eternal Blazing Sun" explosion in the city of Lontard, combined with what he had seen in his dreams — the divine kingdom of "Atlantis." It was akin to the Church of Truth's "cross of up, down, left, and right"!
"The Dwarf Kingdom?" Augustus finished his prayers entirely and asked, slightly puzzled.
His complexion was rosy, his health robust. He wore specially forged silver-white armor, its various components connected through intricate mechanical craftsmanship, brimming with ornate beauty and cold mechanical precision — this was also the high-priest vestments of the "God of Steam" that he had personally designed.
As the leader of the dwarves, Augustus served as honorary superintendent of numerous alchemical workshops. There was nothing overly strenuous for him to do, a stark contrast to the wretched conditions on the Dark Night Plateau. He was deeply grateful for this and devoted the vast majority of his time to spreading the word and praising the God of Steam.
Since his life in Lontard was not secluded, Augustus had a rough understanding of the situation across the entire continent. He knew that the surviving dwarves had gathered in the region northwest of the Dark Mountains and rebuilt a kingdom called "Doomte" — in the dwarven tongue, "Doomte" meant "Glory." But they worshipped the "God of Valor" Oken and the "God of Craftsmen" Heite, not the "God of Steam," the "Master of Life and Death," the "Great Being Whose Name Cannot Be Spoken."
So, upon hearing that a messenger of the God of Steam had come from the Dwarf Kingdom, Augustus couldn't help but feel a flicker of doubt.
Harold scratched his head. "I thought it was strange too. The Lord never issued a divine oracle telling us to go to the Kingdom of Doomte, and their faith isn't in the great Lord either…"
Strange it might be, but this matter concerned the Lord. He had to be cautious and didn't dare handle it on his own.
Augustus straightened his armor and picked up his steam-powered warhammer. "Bring him to see me."
Harold turned and left. Before long, he returned with a dwarf clad in leather armor.
The dwarf had a signature golden beard covering his face, making it impossible to judge his age from his appearance.
His manners and speech, however, were quite courteous. "Esteemed Grand Elder of the Dark Night Tribe, I am Ham of the Kingdom of Doomte, a Temple Warrior who serves the great God of Steam. Some time ago, I received the Lord's divine oracle and have come to Lontard to make contact with you, so that you may truly enter the Lord's embrace."
"The God of Steam?" Augustus expressed his doubts with a mix of genuine and feigned skepticism.
Ham nodded solemnly. "Yes. Not long ago, the great Lord Heite revealed his true identity. It turns out He is not merely the God of Craftsmen but the God of Steam who has watched over us dwarves for generations. However, due to the purposes of slumber and trial, He allowed only His incarnation to walk upon the earth…"
He spoke at length about what had happened within the Kingdom of Doomte. "…The Twilight of the Gods approaches, and so the Lord has awakened from His slumber and descended once more. That is why you have been delivered from the Dark Night Plateau…"
"The God of Craftsmen…" Augustus murmured the name silently.
Seeing that neither he nor Harold showed any obvious signs of resistance, Ham spoke with solemn gravity. "The Lord hopes that you will spread His glory throughout the
As he spoke, he produced a dwarven statue from his storage pouch — it held a hammer, its beard and hair bristling outward, wreathed in a faint halo of fire, radiating a sense of divine vastness.
"You must be wondering why the priests and bishops of the Church of Truth can perform Divine Arts while you cannot. That is because you have only now passed the Lord's trial! Place the Lord's statue upon the altar and worship it day and night according to this ritual. The devout shall soon receive the gift of Divine Arts, just as I have!" Ham produced a ritual manual and declared in a loud voice. At the same time, he stepped forward, and a milky-white radiance blazed from his body — utterly sacred, compelling one to bow in worship.
He was a "Holy Warrior," a pseudo-divine priest oriented toward melee combat, and thus could cast the spell "Divine
"Divine Arts…" Both Harold and Augustus had an inexplicable gleam light up in their eyes. The God of Steam's refusal to bestow Divine Arts upon them had been their greatest source of worry and concern.
Seeing their reactions, Ham laughed heartily and handed the statue and the ritual manual to Augustus. "From now on, we are fellow worshippers, inseparable from one another!"
After seeing Ham off, Harold returned and looked at the dazed Augustus. "Grand Elder… do you believe what he said?"
"I do not." Augustus's gaze darkened slightly. "We are dwarves who were delivered from the Dark Night Plateau by the grace of the great God of Steam — we are His chosen people. Even if there were a divine oracle, it would never be delivered to us through an outside dwarf. The Lord would surely issue His command directly to us!"
This matter made him feel that his position as Grand Elder was being threatened. He, who had always been the earthly spokesperson of the God of Steam, had received no oracle — instead he had to wait for an ordinary Temple Warrior dwarf to inform him!
Therefore, after a brief moment of deliberation, he firmly rejected the possibility that the God of Craftsmen was an incarnation of the God of Steam — unless the Lord revealed Himself directly to Augustus!
In the meantime, he would not waver in the slightest. He would express his devotion fully. If mere words and the bestowal of Divine Arts were enough to confirm a being as the great God of Steam, then every false god would be the Radiant Morning Star!
Harold held similar thoughts, though not with quite the same conviction. "But the Divine Arts…"
If the God of Steam never bestowed Divine Arts upon them dwarves, some of their kin would inevitably be swayed. And Harold himself was filled with longing for Divine Arts.
"Divine Arts? Can ordinary Divine Arts compare to the Eternal Blazing Sun? Compare to Atlantis? Compare to the burst guns we build every day?" Although Augustus was also tempted by Divine Arts, he showed not the slightest trace of timidity. "The Lord's previous oracle was for us to build an earthly Atlantis, and Lontard's development fits exactly the vision we saw, moving in that direction. As for Doomte — I'm sure you've seen the records. Everything there is extremely backward and contrary to Atlantis!"
"When we can forge weapons on the scale of the Eternal Blazing Sun, what will Divine Arts matter?"
Harold nodded emphatically. "Life in Lontard is the life I've always dreamed of. Every bit of effort makes me feel closer to Atlantis!"
And if they could have Divine Arts as well, that would be even better!