Chapter 736: The Giant Paintings and Divine Will

Pasha paused, then said in a surprised tone, "It seems Phyllis was right; you really do know a lot about us. We only learned about the Divine Will after the fall of Taquila. This information shouldn't have come from Agatha."

"Don't forget, the Church was defeated by me." Roland crossed his hands, covering his chin, and pretended to be profound, "Those witches who held administrative positions in the Holy City of Hermes are now imprisoned in Neverwinter."

"I see..."

Pasha remained silent for a long time, as if quietly scrutinizing him. Even without seeing her eyes, Roland could feel this tangible examination. After a long time, her consciousness reappeared in his mind, "It's not impossible for you to know what the Divine Will is, but please keep this secret in your heart and never spread it. The same goes for everyone here. When trying to pursue or protect something invisible and intangible, it's not easy to fall into despair. But when it becomes tangible, the psychological pressure will greatly increase. If it's leaked out, it may be detrimental to the Third Battle of Divine Will."

After Roland exchanged glances with the witches to confirm, he asked in a deep voice, "So the Divine Will is a tangible object?"

"Yes, it's like a transparent God's Stone of Retribution, shaped like a sharp spindle, but it doesn't block magic and has no special effect." Pasha slowed her pace, as if recalling and narrating, "But as long as you open your heart near it, you can indeed feel the call of the gods and see some incredible scenes."

"What kind of scenes?"

"An infinitely wide hall, a red moon hanging overhead, and four huge vertical paintings. However, the scenes in the paintings are vivid and constantly changing..." The ancient witch described the illusion created by the Divine Will in detail.

"What do those scenes represent?" Tilly couldn't help but ask.

With her question, everyone held their breath.

"This question has plagued people for nearly a thousand years. The Seekers have sought answers in vain until the offering of the maze ruins was deciphered, we confirmed this matter." All the tentacles on Pasha's body raised up. "What the gods showed us are humanity, demons, unknown enemies, and the underground civilization – the shape of the Divine Will also confirms this point. It's not a complete cone, but a quarter cut out, so we call it the relic of the gods."

"Four giant paintings, a quarter of a relic..." Roland frowned, "Do you mean that each civilization displayed in the giant paintings possesses such a relic?"

"Not every one. The underground civilization has already lost its share of the Divine Will." Pasha's answer sent chills down the spines of those present. "In one of the giant paintings, there is an eternal darkness. The timing is precisely shortly after the end of the First Battle of Divine Will. According to the autobiography of the offering and the records passed down by the Union, we made this deduction – it has been permanently removed from the Battle of Divine Will."

Doesn't this mean that the war that has lasted for hundreds of years is to compete for the relic in the opponent's hand, and losing one's own relic equals total defeat?

Roland's frown deepened. This was not good news. Compared to those unknown opponents, he was more concerned about who arranged all this. Was it an accident or a necessity? Was it a random choice or a destined fate? What was the purpose of leaving the relics? Was it related to the periodic descent of the red moon? And most importantly, was the survivors' understanding necessarily correct? A series of questions surged into his mind, and at the same time, he felt that he had vaguely caught something...

Putting aside the word "gods," what about other titles?

As he pondered, Tilly asked, "What will happen if we collect all four relics? Has the god never given any hints?"

"No one knows the answer. The god has never responded to our call." Pasha said calmly, "The god doesn't love the world; it only favors the victors."

"How could this be... Killing each other for hundreds of years because of a stone of unknown purpose?" Wendy revealed an expression of disbelief. "The Divine Will is... so ruthless!"

"Perhaps so. There's a passage in the offering that's quite difficult to understand, but it may explain your doubts," the ancient witch comforted, "We are all children of the gods, but only a few can usher in the dawn. From the moment we sense magic, our lives are destined to be extraordinary. This competition is ancient and lengthy. Being able to get to this point is one in a million. Birds were not originally birds, and we were not originally us. It is the killing that makes all things continue, and it is the competition that makes life eternal."

A flash of lightning streaked across Roland's mind!

"What was that sentence you said earlier?" He interrupted almost rudely.

"We are all children of the gods?"

"No, the sentence after that."

"This competition is ancient and lengthy, being able to get to this point is one in a million." It was Scroll who answered him, "I've written it all down, Your Majesty."

What does this statement resemble?

It's like a long road of evolution! From ignorance to enlightenment, every species that has survived has eliminated countless competitors. The description of the underground civilization coincides with this process!

Thinking carefully, these four civilizations seem to be different, but they have one very obvious common point, which is that they can all use magic!

Humans can give birth to witches who condense magic. Demons and those who have been eliminated have even greater attainments. If nothing goes wrong, the other unknown opponent should also have the ability to manipulate magic.

This is consistent with the initial description – "We are all children of the gods" refers to all species with this extraordinary talent!

Following this line of thought, the Battle of Divine Will may not be to protect or compete for the god's legacy, but a means of accelerating evolution... Or rather, it is the rule of the magic world. Therefore, the underground civilization has the feeling that the path to god is to climb the ladder of magic.

"Your Majesty, are you alright?" Pasha's voice echoed in Roland's mind, "I feel that your thoughts are a little chaotic."

"Oh? Can you see what I'm thinking?"

"Only when you intend to communicate with me through thought can I accurately sense it, just like I'm doing to you now..." She paused, "Would you like to try it? That way, communication will be much faster."

"No, thanks," Roland shook his head with a smile, "I'm more accustomed to expressing myself with my throat and tongue. As for chaotic thoughts... I just thought of some interesting things, and it won't affect our talks. Don't worry."

Speaking of which, rules are unreasonable. It's excusable to consider them to be the work of gods - like the origin of life on Earth, and the later Cambrian explosion. The former was born between lightning and boiling water, organic molecules constantly colliding, merging, and splitting, eventually forming a molecular chain with self-replication ability. The probability of this happening is close to impossible, equivalent to a whirlwind picking up a pile of metal parts and forming an incredible Benz sports car after landing.

The latter is an even more unsolved mystery in biology. In the ocean where life was extremely monotonous, basically only algae and soft-bodied worms existed, the peace that lasted for hundreds of millions of years seemed to be broken overnight. A variety of animals suddenly emerged in a very short time, so many that they almost encompassed all the phyla of the animal kingdom. No matter how life evolved afterward, it could not jump out of this framework.

It was these two dramatic changes that made the subsequent evolution of species magnificent. Faced with these accidental events, many people attributed the reason to those indescribable existences, as if an invisible hand was gently pushing behind the scenes, so that all things developed into what people see. Now in this strange and unfamiliar world, is he encountering the same situation?