Sword of Dawnbreaker

Chapter 973: Chapter 972: The Dragon God’s Final Question

A sudden surge of Dark Wave nearby interrupted Gawain’s thoughts. He quickly followed his senses and looked over, seeing layers upon layers of pale golden halos suddenly emerging out of thin air, and in the center of those halos, the figure of the powerful Dragon Priest Helagol was gradually turning from illusory to solid.

This Dragon Priest completed the teleportation, then stepped down from midair onto the terrace in a single stride, coming to stand before Gawain.

”Mr. Helagor,” Gawain looked with some surprise at this Dragonkin priest who had suddenly appeared, ”we just met yesterday—looks like the Dragon God has something else to discuss with me today?”

”She wishes to see you now,” Helagor said bluntly. ”If possible, we shall depart at once.”

Just as Gawain was about to respond, Amber and Veronica Moen happened to arrive at the terrace. They too saw the powerful priest standing there, and Amber looked a bit startled. ”Huh? Isn’t this that high priest guy?”

”Yet another invitation,” Gawain smiled and nodded to the two of them. ”You wait for me here with Melita Ponia. I’ll be right back.”

Then he briefly explained a couple of things to Amber and Veronica Moen, and returned to stand before Helagor—the persistent unease in his heart left him with no intention of wasting any time, and very soon he departed this terrace together with Helagor via the latter’s teleportation Spell.

After the familiar sensation of a spacetime shift, the light and shadow before Gawain gradually dissipated. He had arrived at the Upper Sanctum atop the mountain. Helagor stood beside him, and the corridor leading to the hall stretched straight ahead.

At the end of the corridor, the wide, splendid yet empty hall did not appear to have changed. The round table and refreshments laid out for entertaining guests were still arranged in the center, and the Dragon God Enya, her golden hair cascading down, stood quietly beside the round table, her gentle and tranquil gaze directed toward this side.

This time, Helagor did not wait in the corridor outside the hall, but walked into the hall together with Gawain and quite naturally stood slightly behind and to the side of the Dragon God, attending like a servant.

Gawain came to the round table and gave a slight nod of greeting to the God before him, then sat down quite naturally. However, before he could open his mouth to ask about the situation, the Dragon God had already taken the initiative to break the silence: ”You should be returning to the Loren Continent.”

Gawain was momentarily taken aback. Those words sounded like a sudden and blunt order to leave, but he quickly realized something. ”Something’s happened?”

The Dragon God did not answer directly, only said calmly, ”You have things you must do... and that place needs you now.”

Almost instantly, Gawain felt that the unease lingering in him since last night had finally been confirmed. He had an impulse to depart Talronde immediately, right this very moment. And clearly the God sitting opposite him had anticipated this. She smiled faintly and said, ”I will arrange for Melita Ponia to send you back to Loren, but there is no need to be anxious—you still have some time. At the very least, we can exchange a few more words.”

Gawain had already forced down the impulse in his heart, and at the same time he had also realized that if the situation on the Loren Continent had already undergone a drastic change, the Dragon God would not be leisurely inviting him here for a casual talk. Since She had brought him here rather than simply using a teleportation-type Divine Arts to ”throw” his group straight back to the Loren Continent, it indicated that the situation still allowed some leeway.

With that thought, a trace of curiosity arose in his heart. ”What shall we talk about today?”

”Only one thing,” the Dragon God’s gaze fell upon Gawain. ”I wish to speak with you about... the final curtain between mortals and gods.”

”The final curtain between mortals and gods?” Gawain looked across with some confusion. ”You mean...”

There was seriousness in the Dragon God’s eyes as She looked into Gawain’s. ”We already know several possible futures for mortals and gods on this planet—the Voyagers chose to annihilate all gods that had lost control; the civilization that perished in the Black Pit was destroyed by its own gods; some unfortunate civilizations could not even survive natural calamities like the chaotic wave, and during their development they marched toward their end together with their gods; and finally, there is the last path... Talronde’s Eternal Cradle.

”Gawain Cecil, Wanderer from Outer Realm, this is everything I have witnessed in these 1.87 million years—all the developmental trajectories of mortals and gods on this endlessly looping, entangled spiral track. But now I wish to hear your view. In your opinion... is there yet another future between mortals and gods, a... future that no one before has ever trodden?”

The hand Gawain had extended toward the oak cup on the table could not help but pause.

This was a question beyond his expectations, and moreover one that, in his view, was extremely difficult to answer—he did not even believe this question necessarily had an answer. Since even the gods could not foresee the developmental trajectory of civilization, how could he possibly describe it accurately?

Yet the Dragon God was still looking at him very earnestly. For a God, She even revealed a rather unexpected hint of expectation at this moment.

Perhaps... the other party truly believed that Gawain, this ”Wanderer from Outer Realm,” could bring Her an answer that lay beyond the cruel rules of this world.

Gawain still picked up the oak cup, tasting the flavor of the liquid within as his thoughts gradually opened up—he wished to answer this question seriously, and amid his contemplation, he finally began to form an answer.

”Even the gods cannot achieve omniscience and omnipotence, much less I, so I have no way to accurately describe or predict a picture of the future for you,” he looked toward the Dragon God and spoke his answer. ”But in my view, perhaps we should not try to stuff everything into a tightly sealed ’framework.’ The relationship between gods and mortals, the future of gods and mortals—none of this... ought to be ’preordained,’ nor should there exist some preset stance or ’standard solution.’”

The Dragon God looked at him. ”I don’t understand what you mean.”

”Concrete problems must be analyzed in their specific context, emancipate the mind, seek truth from facts—respect objective facts and follow objective laws,” Gawain, in one breath, articulated the line of thought he had been pondering for a very long time, which up until just now had merely been a vague direction. ”In my opinion, since the existence of gods is an objective fact, and your birth and operation are likewise objective facts, then we should not view this matter through a dogmatic lens, but instead respect all of its objective laws.

”The Voyagers chose to destroy all gods that had lost control—that was determined by the circumstances of their time; the civilization in the Black Pit perished together with the Goddess of the Night—that was determined by natural law. But there is no natural law stipulating that all gods can only walk a single path, nor is there any evidence that the natural laws we know constitute the ’entirety’ of this world’s rules.

”Amoen, the Giant Stag, destroyed his own godhood position through the ’White Starfall’ incident, then used a feigned death to continuously diminish his links to the Chains of Faith; now one could say he has succeeded.

”The Goddess of Magic, Milmina severed herself from her divine position and reshaped herself through the Non-Directed Thought Current; she is now close to success as well.

”There is a nascent God known as the ’Supreme Narrator’ who, after a series of complex events, has also broken free of the chains...

”These examples, their processes may seem impossible to replicate, but their very existence proves one thing: there truly is another path.

”That is my view—gods and mortals can be enemies, but they can also achieve coexistence. They may clash and conflict in the short term, yet under certain conditions they can reach a balance. The key lies in how we use reason and logic, rather than dogma, to make it happen.”

”I am not a Voyager, nor am I one of the Gondor Empire’s Defiers of old, so I do not take the extreme view that all gods must be annihilated. On the contrary, as I’ve learned more and more of the truth, I have even come to feel... a certain respect for the gods’ very existence.

”Because no matter what course things may ultimately take, at least throughout the long history from civilization’s ignorance to its rise, the gods have always sheltered mortals—just like in your first story: the dull-witted mother is, after all, still a mother.

”But from another angle, I must also give priority to the survival of the mortal world, so when we are faced with gods that cannot coexist with us, faced with those ’Mad Gods’ that are already out of control, we still have only one choice...”

Gawain paused for the moment, while the Dragon God took on a contemplative expression. After a brief consideration, She finally broke the silence: ”So, you neither wish to bring an end to myth, nor to maintain it; you neither want to choose opposition, nor to simply choose coexistence. You wish instead to construct a dynamic system—one that adjusts in real time with reality—to replace rigid dogma, and you also believe that even while maintaining a relationship of coexistence between gods and mortals, civilization can still advance...”

”Amoen still lives, yet Druid Technology has already developed to the point of overturning almost half of the classic dogmas; the Goddess of Magic, Milmina still lives as well, and we are studying how to break through traditional casting prerequisites by means of an external nervous system,” Gawain said. ”Of course, these are but very small steps—but if these steps can be taken at all, it shows that this direction is feasible—”

”Only temporarily feasible,” the Dragon God said quietly. ”Have you considered that, from the gods’ perspective, this balance is in fact brief and fragile? Take what you just described, for example: if people rebuild Druid or Magic faith, rebuilding a system of worship, then these ’transgressive acts’ that are progressing so smoothly at present will still come to an abrupt halt...”

”Even if Amoen and Milmina were to fall completely, as long as mortals rebuild their faith, new Gods of Nature and Magic will still be born,” Gawain said without hesitation. ”So the crux of the problem does not lie in the gods; it actually lies in people.”

”...An interesting way of putting it,” the Dragon God said unhurriedly. ”Then how do you intend to solve this ’the problem lies in people’ issue?”

”Enlighten the masses—that is what I am doing,” Gawain replied without hesitation. ”Use reason to replace ignorance; that is the most effective method at this stage. If, before the chains take shape, every person in the world already understands the principles behind those chains, then the chains will never be able to form.”

”It is not as easy as it sounds,” the Dragon God suddenly laughed, yet there was not the slightest hint of mockery in that smile. ”Do you know? You are actually not the first person to think of doing this.”

Gawain did not speak; he simply looked quietly at the other party.

”The last person to realize that awakening the public intellect could be used to resist the Chains of Faith was a leader of the civilization two cycles ago. Before that, the one who tried to fight the Chains of Faith through universal enlightenment was a thinker from about one million years ago. Besides them, there were four... or five remarkable mortals who, just like you, came to understand certain ’principles’ and sought to bring about change through action...

”But unfortunately, none of these great people succeeded.”

Gawain listened to the Dragon God’s calm narration. These were hidden truths known to none but a few ancient beings, things utterly beyond the imagination of mortals in the present era. Yet in a certain sense, they did not exceed his expectations.

One million eight hundred and seventy thousand years—over such a span, there will always be warriors who step forward one after another, there will always be other sages and heroes.

Perhaps it was his excessive calm that surprised the Dragon God somewhat; after She finished speaking, She paused briefly, then continued: ”So, do you think you can succeed?”

”I would first like to confirm one question—did they fail because this path itself was flawed?”

”...I do not know, because no one walked it to the end. By the time they set out, it was already too late, so no one could witness what outcome this path would ultimately lead to.”

”So the road is still there,” Gawain smiled. ”Someone has to walk it, at least once. Perhaps there are other paths in this world—but unfortunately, mortals are creatures whose strength and wisdom are both very limited. We cannot walk every single road; we can only choose one path to attempt. I choose to attempt this one—if it succeeds, that will naturally be excellent. If it fails, I only hope that someone else will still have the chance to seek out another way.”

The Dragon God watched Gawain quietly, and he quietly met the god’s gaze in turn.

”You surprise me,” the Dragon God finally said with a smile, shaking Her head. ”In fact, at first I thought you would choose the Voyagers’ route... You are closely tied to those relics, and are the most likely to excavate power from them, perhaps even capable of calling that mighty fleet back—but among all your ideas, those relics have never once appeared.”

”The Voyagers have already departed—whether they will return or not, I would rather assume that they will not,” Gawain said calmly. ”They... are indeed powerful, powerful enough to inspire awe in the mortals of this planet. Yet in my view, their route may not be suitable for any race other than themselves.

”I did indeed once consider extracting some power from those relics, but after learning what happened one million eight hundred and seventy thousand years ago, I realized something—

”Some things, once missed, are simply missed. What mortals can rely on, in the end, is only their own strength. In the end, we still have to carve out a path of our own.”

A faint sacred radiance drifted beneath the ceiling of the hall, and an ethereal echo, elusive and distant, seemed to rise from somewhere far away.

The Dragon God smiled and offered no further commentary, posed no further questions. She merely pointed toward the snacks on the table. ”Have some. You won’t find these anywhere outside Talronde.”

Gawain did not decline. He tasted several pieces of some unknown pastries, then rose to his feet.

”I should be going,” he said. ”Thank you for your hospitality.”

”I am very glad to have had such an opportunity for open conversation,” that elegant and beautiful god also stood up. ”I can no longer remember when I last had such a long, unrestrained talk with someone.”

”It was actually just yesterday,” a thought stirred in Gawain’s mind, and he even felt like cracking a joke with the god. ”You were talking with me then, too.”

The Dragon God was stunned for the first time.

The next second, She burst into an exceptionally delighted laugh.

It was utterly different from Her earlier smiles—those sacred yet detached, gentle yet distant expressions. This was a heartfelt, joyful smile.