Sword of Dawnbreaker

Chapter 1114: Chapter 1113: Invitation and Arrangements

Apparently, Emilmina didn’t believe Amon’s self-proclaimed "very intense mental struggle" at all—in fact, Gawain, who had just arrived, didn’t believe it either.

This "God of Nature" should at least wait until Gawain finishes speaking before betraying his companion to be somewhat convincing...

However, Gawain did not intend to join in the daily amusements of these two former deities in retirement. He simply cleared his throat twice to attract the attention of Amon and Emilmina, and then said while choosing his words, "I suppose you have already guessed that these devices here... are not entirely for connecting the Magic Web."

"Of course," Emilmina chuckled softly, with a hint of teasing and indifference, "the moment you came here and asked to see me, how could we not think that there were some ’little secrets’ hidden in these Magic-Guide Devices? In fact, I noticed before you arrived... the functions of these devices are very complex, and a single Magic Web Terminal shouldn’t require such a large-scale auxiliary setup."

This wasn’t surprising to Gawain, nor did it make him feel awkward. He simply smiled and muttered to himself, "As expected, nothing escapes the Goddess who once wielded the authority of magic..."

"To be honest, we don’t really mind it," Amon’s voice came from the side, "This is an experiment, isn’t it?"

"Indeed, and it’s a long-planned project. Before you requested a Magic Web Terminal to understand what’s happening in the world, we were already preparing for this experiment—your request just provided a great starting point," Gawain looked into Amon’s eyes frankly and said, "I’m sorry, due to the strict requirements of the experimental process, its first phase had to be conducted in secrecy. We concealed some things from you."

"Just as I guessed... you’re avoiding interference during the observation process," Emilmina said calmly, her gaze falling on Gawain, "So now that you’ve come here and revealed everything, does this mean... that ’first phase’ has successfully concluded?"

Gawain smiled and nodded slightly, "Yes, the first phase has successfully concluded. We confirmed the effect of the ’Anti-Divine Barrier’ without any interference, and without the test subjects—yourselves—being disturbed or guided. Although this technology is not yet mature, I think we’ve grasped some effective means of thought pattern shielding, which can isolate divine pollution and weaken the connection between gods and thoughts, and this ’barrier’ is controllable."

His expression remained calm, and his tone stayed composed, yet the vast information carried in these words deeply impacted Amon and Emilmina, as if a silent thunder suddenly exploded in the dim, expansive shadow realm. The two former gods were stunned for several seconds, until Amon was the first to break the silence: "So, you can safely ’unbind’ the gods and mortals?"

"It’s too early to say that now," Gawain shook his head, "The technology we have mastered has significant limitations. It can only be used as a ’barrier’. Have you noticed these crystal devices around you? They are the conduction devices for the Anti-Divine Barrier, which can protect the mortals within the barrier and also isolate the gods. So, if we want to ’unbind’ other gods using this thing, we would have to send it to a kingdom, and then have the gods in that kingdom cooperate by sitting in the shielding area... currently, we can’t achieve that. Of course, another idea is to use this device to cover the entire mortal world... but evidently, that’s also not feasible."

"You’ve taken at least a big step... a bigger step than we have," Emilmina seemed to take a light breath, speaking with a tone of admiration, "So what’s next? What are you planning for the second step? What do you need us to do?"

Gawain looked at the two former gods before him. He did not directly answer Emilmina’s question but instead suddenly shifted the topic: "Now that you have a Magic Web Terminal... you should also be paying attention to the significant changes happening in the mortal world recently, right? You should know that the mortal nations have now formed a vast ’alliance’, and I’ve established a theocracy Authority Council on the foundation of this alliance..."

"I’ve been paying attention all along," Amon’s voice echoed directly in Gawain’s mind, "The one next to me is not as attentive—but she more or less knows what’s going on."

"Your addition is quite unnecessary," Emilmina glanced at Amon, then at Gawain, "We know about the theocracy Authority Council, though we only have limited understanding—but we can roughly guess its purpose. You are ready to take action on the ’chains’ between mortals and gods? This is no small matter... it seems you even plan to drag the whole world into this vortex."

"The world has always been in the vortex, I’m just trying to pull it out." Gawain said frankly, then paused, as if thinking and pondering, and after a considerable period of consideration, he finally composed himself and broke the silence with an extremely serious tone, "Regarding the theocracy Authority Council and some of my thoughts..."

For the next ten minutes or so, he detailed the overall situation of the theocracy Authority Council and his plans, leaving almost nothing unrevealed in front of the two former gods.

Because the time was ripe—the preparations had been made, and this colossal chariot had reached the time to launch, and bound to this chariot was not just the mortals themselves.

"... The theocracy Authority Council is a long-term, normalized control method. It not only has to find ways to solve the current shackles between deity and humanity but also to prevent the creation of new shackles in the future...

"We gained some experience in transforming the Holy Light, and now within the Cecil Nation, we have started to gradually promote this experience to other churches. In the future, I also plan to extend these ideas to the entire mortal world...

"Since the birth and operation of gods are based on the natural laws of this world, by analyzing these laws, we can surely find ways to interfere or even control the process, just as ancient humanity learned to create fire and tools from natural phenomena. This is the core of the whole plan: analyzing the principles behind the gods to find ways of ’unbinding’, which will be promoted worldwide, while at the same time, the process of ’analysis’ itself will continuously weaken the chains, and reduce the mortals’ blind faith in gods. This is a process of both confrontation and cooperation—compared to drastic wars against gods, this confrontation is clearly more mild and positive."

The narrative was both long and brief, and finally, Gawain’s voice fell silent—unknown when, the Magic Web Terminal not far away had already been casually turned off by Emilmina, and the Shadow Courtyard quieted down, so silent that one could almost hear the sound of heartbeats.

In this prolonged silence, Gawain stood before the gigantic Giant Stag and clock tower-like Lady, standing for a long time. Emilmina watched this scene, suddenly feeling that this moment seemed to transcend time and space, like a projection on the long and fallen historical scroll of this world, where blood, flames, bones, and hollow echoes are soaked in the chaotic, dark scroll, many figures who once thrived in this history have now fallen into dust, but now someone has risen from the mortal world, standing opposite in this "Courtyard" which symbolizes the ancient rebellious spirit of mortals, and behind their figure emerges something different... it is a season of mortals trying to stand up, and also a season of gods attempting to break free.

Has there ever been such an open and honest dialogue and plan between gods and people in the past seasons of civilization?

"We understand your plan now," Amon was the first to break the silence, "So what do you wish for us to do?"

"This is a chariot, with more than just mortals on board," Gawain said calmly, "The theocracy Authority Council is an organization formed by the mortal nations, but in fact, there are still some special... ’seats’ behind this council, seats reserved for the gods."

"You’re actually planning to include the gods in this ’Council’..." Emimine’s tone rose, but rather than surprise, it was more a sound of admiration as if she had anticipated it, "Very well, then where is our seat?"

Gawain immediately replied: "Everywhere—I want you to become special advisors to the theocracy Authority Council. From the Theological Research Institute to the Arbitration Court, from the Planning Department to the Strategy Department, you will have the opportunity to play a role, and most importantly, participate in the construction of the major think tank under the Theological Research Institute and collaborate with our technical staff to complete the most complex research work in the entire plan."

Emimine suddenly chuckled: "Is the main work to be researched?"

Gawain calmly met the gaze of the "Goddess of Magic", it was a joke, but not entirely: "Yes, to be researched."

"Sounds quite good." Emimine was silent for a while, then spoke softly as if to herself, and she lowered her eyes to look at Amon, who was silent, "And you? Do you plan to say something?"

"Being idle all day is indeed quite boring," Amon said, the holy brilliance flowing around his body, "’Advisor’... I’ve never done it, but I can try."

"Very well, now the theocracy Authority Council welcomes two special ’members’," Gawain finally took a gentle breath, a heartfelt smile on his face, and his gaze moved to the nearby Magic Web Terminal in standby mode, "Next, I will arrange for Nariteer to lift the network shield on this Magic Web Terminal... it will open some new features to prepare for our next action."

Emimine immediately reacted: "You mean... that neural network? Next, you plan to let us interact with the outside world?!"

"Indirect interaction," Gawain reminded, "We will establish a limited, controlled safe network, all connections under the protection of the Anti-Divine Barrier, and all data in and out will first be filtered by Nariteer, but the effect on usage is actually minimal—you will truly interact with the outside world, hear news from outside, and send out things, you can even hide your identity and operate in the dream city, establish communication with certain users... though all this will be built within a strict safety framework."

"Ah, I’ve been looking forward to it for a long time," Emimine’s tone inevitably carried a hint of pleasure, "The ’Magic Web’ you’ve created, and the neural network built on it, are truly remarkable things. I still remember the novelty and impact it brought me... Unfortunately, my first network use wasn’t very pleasant, but luckily, now I have a chance to make up for that regret..."

Upon hearing this, Gawain couldn’t help but glance at Emimine, reminding her: "Then you should also be mindful of propriety, Nariteer is the overall administrator of the neural network, her duties not only include expelling gods who intrude into the network but also blocking and kicking out users who violate the usage agreement..."

Emimine quickly cooled down from her anticipation of the Magic Web, only then did she remember to ask: "By the way, I’ve heard you mention this name earlier, this Nariteer you speak of..."

"The one with eight legs."

Emimine immediately fell silent, while Amon finally found the chance to speak: "You just mentioned putting another set of Magic Web Terminal here..."

"Certainly, I remember," Gawain couldn’t help but smile and say, "New devices will arrive very soon."

The atmosphere in the Defied Court became harmonious and cheerful—this was possibly one of the few happy moments for Amon and Emimine in thousands or even tens of thousands of years. The two former gods discussed matters about the neural network and the theocracy Authority Council, looking forward to everything in the future, while Gawain suddenly coughed lightly after a simple engagement, looking toward Amon: "Additionally, there is something I must tell you."

Amon at that moment felt extremely happy, a happiness unseen in three thousand years, and he responded cheerfully: "What is it?"

"I arranged a meeting for you," Gawain said, "This is an important part of promoting the theocracy Authority Council to function effectively."

"A meeting?" Amon’s tone carried confusion, "With whom? Did you dig up some Technician from the Defied Plan out of an ancient relic or cult ruins?"

Amon’s words made Gawain cough twice, wanting to say it sounded like digging out Veronica/Ophelia wrapped in oiled paper from the Gondor Empire’s sewers—but unfortunately, no one in this world could understand the joke of this level, so he could only suppress the quip in his heart, forcing his face to get serious: "It’s the Silver Elf Empress, Belsetia Morningstar."

The entire Defied Court instantly fell into silence.

It was a full half-minute before Amon’s exclamation sounded in Gawain’s mind: "Who did you say?!"

Gawain repeated earnestly: "The Silver Empress, Belsetia Morningstar."

"I heard clearly, I heard clearly—but are you serious?" Amon’s gaze became very serious, staring intently at Gawain, "I can’t reestablish contact with the Silver Elf society, especially... the Silver Empress. Do you know what the Silver Empress signifies? She symbolizes the highest leader of the Druid sect, the Priestess of the God of Nature, you let her..."

"She doesn’t worship you." Gawain quietly said.