A New Epoch!

To the God of Order's response, Karen could find no counterargument. By all reason, he should feel immensely fortunate right now. The God of Order's proactive, early descent would not only resolve the immediate crisis, sparing the entire Church of Order from being slowly ground down and thrown into a pit for maximum cost efficiency. More importantly, it relieved Krede—or rather, relieved Karen himself—of a crisis of professional ethics. His grandfather and grandmother wouldn't have to die. Neither would the teachers who had guided and assisted him, nor those white-haired elders who were still marching forward while chanting "Praise Order." None of them had to die anymore. Including the knight orders—they wouldn't have to perish whole formations at a time in this divine war. They could continue guarding the Church of Order, ministering and upholding the Code of Order, building and safeguarding this world governed by order. Yet risk never vanishes; it merely shifts. In essence, this only replaced their consensus—to maximize the odds of winning the final battle through the greatest sacrifice—with focusing on the present first, and then heaping every ounce of pressure onto him alone. If he lost, everything preserved and protected today would still be wiped away. When those epochal hegemons returned, other churches might still have a chance of survival, but the Church of Order would not be spared in the slightest. Even the soil trodden upon by believers of Order would be dug up and cleansed. "Are you afraid?" The voice of the God of Order echoed in Karen's heart, calm and even. "Tyrannus told me that believers of Order should grow accustomed to Order's elegance." "Are you a believer?" "I..." "You are the god they praise and extol. Standing on the front lines to defend Order, bearing all the pressure and slander—that was always your mission, and an inescapable duty you cannot shirk." "Was I chosen by you?" "It was you who chose Order." "All right." Karen took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. He felt neither relief nor peace; his eyes were filled with even more bloody light than in days past. He had been pushed to center stage. He would directly decide the success or failure of Order's ideal. When Krede shrank back, Karen had stepped up, feeling bound by duty. But what he hadn't expected was that, in the God of Order's eyes, this was nowhere near enough. The god wanted him to stand directly at the highest summit. "Can I... really do it?" "My endurance and loneliness purchased an entire godless epoch for the path of civilization. I was willing to sit there in solitude because I believed true flowers would bloom behind my back. I believed that under my shelter, future generations would better grasp the meaning of Order. "Yes, you will inherit my divine throne, be crowned with my name, and bask in the worship and praise of believers by becoming a new me. "But I believe... "You will do better than I did. "Not only will this throne belong entirely to you, but even I will feel proud to have once held your divine seat. "I am tired. "I shall step aside for you. "Go and bring the ideal of Order to total fruition." "Heheheh..." Karen laughed. "Hey, that's a bit cliché, honestly." "I cannot place this burden on anyone else. Tyrannus, Augurev, none of them can bear it. With you, however, I feel no hesitation, nor do I hesitate to entrust my greatest aspiration to you. "I see you as my peer." "Aren't you afraid I'll be crushed under the weight?" "Even if rotting, the spine of the God of Order remains straight." Karen gritted his teeth, his gaze solemn and severe. At this moment, the High Priest robes he wore emanated a peculiar, majestic radiance. He still hadn't anticipated this, and unease still lingered in his chest, but Karen—who was normally adept at steeling his own mind—knew full well that there was no time left for psychological preparation. Tyrannus was wrong after all. The elegance of Order must carry a touch of tragedy in the end. Then you can take care of the elegance; I'll carry the heavy burden forward. The steps had changed, but the direction hadn't wavered in the slightest. If he had to step up, then so be it. "Eternity said that once you descended, he wanted to battle you." "Not interested." It was spoken in a matter-of-fact tone, yet the underlying implication was extraordinarily rich. If Eternity heard this, he would probably fly into a rage, taking it as an expression of Order's utter contempt for him. "How much power do you have left?" "Not much. Just a little." Karen pointed down toward the fleeing gods and asked, "Enough to deal with them?" "More than enough." "Then... how about sweeping this world a little cleaner?" "Sufficient to sweep it clean." "Then... let's begin." From the God of Order's towering divine form, a beam of light streamed out, enveloping Karen upon his imperial carriage. Below, the Elder Legion, the Order knight orders, and every cleric witnessed the god drawing the High Priest to his side—no, assimilating him into his divine body. Nothing could be more explicitly ordained than this. For this would brush away every last speck of dust regarding Karen's absolute status within the church. Neither the Temple nor the Holy See could harbor even the slightest doubt about Karen now. Yet on the path of authority, Karen no longer needed such validation. Krede's passive resignation over the past six months had practically made Karen equivalent to the true High Priest; he already stood at the very zenith of the secular church. This time, it was more of a personal affirmation from the God of Order. Just as Eternity had said: what he and Light possessed were merely vessels for descending, whereas what Order possessed was a new version of himself. Karen had entered Order's body. He opened his eyes, his vision and perception synchronizing completely with the God of Order. Those truly proud figures often craved creating everything within their own lifetimes, hoping to leave behind a solidified foundation that would ideally remain immutable forever. The God of Order's pride far surpassed that of anyone else, and his magnanimity even more so. He could forsake the temptation of seeing his ideal fully realized by his own hands, and was willing to trust his successor. Other deities stood at the pinnacle of their own faith's rules, facing the direction they had come from and pruning away any existence on their path that might pose a threat to them. He, however, had turned his back entirely. When someone followed his footsteps to arrive behind him, calling out to him or tapping him on the back, he stepped aside, allowing this path to continue pressing forward. This was why Karen, despite having had the opportunity to attempt godhood himself, had chosen to pause in place and await the handover. He was not waiting for charity or gifts; he was waiting for the passing of the torch. The flames of Order burned on, like an apocalyptic tide, while the fleeing gods were like helpless fish and shrimp caught in the surging spray. The God of Eternity, with merely a wisp of divine consciousness, could manipulate Tyrannus to pierce a chief god to death with a spear; the God of Order acting in person was an even more one-sided slaughter. Why did deities, elevated so high in mortal eyes, possess such distinct tiers among themselves? Because a hegemon god truly commanded the might to slaughter with ease. Diss had once taught Karen: when believers of Order reason, they use their fists. The fist makes reason more convincing, while reason cloaks the fist in exquisite garments. While quietly feeling all this, Karen did not forget to ask, "Did you find that method?" "Haven't you already found it?" "Is it Heaven?" "The place where gods dwell." "Gods won't like it there." "Our invitation does not permit refusal." When this area was swept clean, the body of the God of Order began to burn. Perhaps in the eyes of the faithful, the god remained towering, vast, and inviolable, but to Karen, it was like watching a rotting log flinging out its final sparks of fire with all its might. The Sword of Chaos sliced across, carving out a passage. The God of Order stepped into it, arriving at a pitch-black canyon. "Roar!" Accompanying a piercing screech, a nether phoenix reduced to withered bone flew forth. It was an ancient divine beast that had hidden away here, having nearly depleted the phoenix clan's vigorous vitality simply to hide and endure. Yet what it received was not the spring it longed for, but the Sword of Chaos before dawn. Boom! The phoenix's body shattered, raining down endless netherfire that burned the gorge while bringing forth vitality. A dead continent that had slept for an entire epoch would gradually transform back into a world where all life multiplied. Five Order gravestones floated up, revealing silhouettes within: "Praise the great God of Order." "Praise the great God of Order." The god said, "I am hungry." The figures within the gravestones showed neither shock nor anger, only expressions of relief. They were originally another miniature 1st Knight Order forcefully established by the Temple of Order to preserve top-tier combat power; existence itself was a torment for them. Now, they could offer themselves up to bestow divine power upon the god they believed in. The five gravestones shattered, transforming into the purest power of Order to merge into the God of Order's divine form. This reminded Karen of the black hole inside the palace deep within the Temple. Across endless ages, the Temple of Order had always maintained a tradition of sacrificing to the god. Diss had once detested that place, yet after visiting it, he had fallen silent for a long time. Because there, Diss had not felt even a shred of grievance or resentment. Next, the figure of the God of Order appeared above a sea of stars. As his gaze swept across, massive stars began to fracture, revealing various body segments hidden within. The God of the Stars had disassembled his divine body and sealed it among the stars, attempting to bypass the epochal barrier in this manner. Yet in the end, he had failed. The God of Order, with his back turned to the world for an entire epoch, had not only faced the gods outside attempting to return, but had also kept an eye on these little friends hiding back at home. That he had not banished them together back then was perhaps because they would be useful, or perhaps because their hiding methods were too mysterious and bizarre. But the fundamental reason was that he knew he could still sweep them clean later. The God of the Stars tried to reassemble his divine body, his voice thick with desperate pleading: "Order, spare me! I will fight the epochal hegemons alongside you!" "You are not worthy." Chains of Order shattered the stars; the God of the Stars' divine body never managed to reunite before his demise. Karen knew this was no sneak attack; whether the opponent was in complete form would not have altered the outcome. But the God of Order simply wanted to expend less effort. Five gravestones responsible for watching over this place floated up, bowing to the God of Order. Just like before, the god said he was hungry. The god disdained pretense, showing no excess emotion. Perhaps the most words he had ever spoken had been to Karen. The five gravestones split apart, finding their release while completing their sacrifice to the god. In region after region that followed, the figure of the God of Order appeared one after another, cleaning out those hidden gods one by one. At the same time, he drew nourishment from the gravestones. Some people and things were meant to drift away with the wind. Such as the sleepers in the 1st Knight Order, and the beings within these gravestones. They did not belong to the present; in the eyes of the God of Order, they were expendable. In contrast, the god considered those aged elders to be part of the world he loved. This was not a double standard, for the god also viewed himself as a relic of the past, an expendable entity. Windswept sands howled as Order's figure arrived in the desert. This had once been the battlefield between the Church of Order and the Allied Army. Even now, the struggle between the Desert and the Wilderness had not ended. The shared holy land of both churches—the very place where the God of the Wilderness had been ambushed and slain by the God of the Desert. Order hurled the Sword of Chaos into it. Boom! The earth began to fissure, and the holy land was utterly destroyed. Yet from within, an enormous body attempted to break free. Karen's eyes widened. He could never have imagined that the God of the Wilderness had actually remained hidden here all along through such a life-and-death gambit. Even the placement of gravestones by the Temple of Order had overlooked this area. And this god possessed astonishing forbearance—even while his own believers were being driven and butchered by several orthodox churches right under his nose, he had made no reaction whatsoever. Yet in the end, he could not evade the true Eye of Order. "Order, I am willing to follow in your footsteps!" Yet the Sword of Chaos paid no heed to his plea, skewering his chest. Divine blood spilled, and the devastated desert unexpectedly blossomed with traces of greenery. He was originally a god who had walked out of the desert; when his end came, he returned to the desert as well. The God of Order arrived at the former grounds of the Moon God Church. This place had first experienced the interception during the God of Samsara's return, and was later leveled by the Order knight orders following Norton's decree. All because the second God of Order, Karen, had once made a promise to the Dark Moon. In the ruined former Holy See of the Moon God Church, only a few lonely believers were rummaging and weeping like refugees. But when the figure of Order appeared, all sorrow morphed into the sheerest terror. Order raised a hand and drew forth a bright moon from the void above. There were cracks upon the moon, formed when Karen swore to the Dark Moon on Sacrificial Island. Those cracks had sealed the fate of the Moon God Church. Daan had led the knight order to destroy this place and carried away the moon disk. Yet no one knew that the moon disk... had always been a pair. "Order!" A man's furious voice rang out from within the moon. The one appearing upon it was none other than the God of Samsara. He and the Moon God had descended in the wrong locations respectively, yet he hadn't truly fallen; part of him had actually remained here. Karen suddenly realized something: if Samsara was hiding within the moon disk, was the Moon God... also hiding inside the Gate of Samsara? Never underestimate the price these two chief gods were willing to pay just to survive. Even if they had already passed down their legacies, even if they had lost so much, as long as they lived, infinite possibilities remained. "Order, you betrayed Light!" "Light is with me." Without any suspense, Order crushed the moon disk, wiping away the God of Samsara's final vestige. In the previous epoch, Order and Samsara had existing conflicts, but they were suppressed by Light. Later, Light fell and Order formally rose to power; the balance between the two former rivals had long since shattered completely. What he hadn't had time to do back then was due for a thorough conclusion now. Just as Karen expected, the figure of Order appeared above Samsara Valley in the very next moment. Romir, the Gatekeeper of the Church of Samsara, was holding a meeting to discuss plans for their next invasion and annexation. Attendees included Lango and several temple elders who had survived the last defense of Samsara Valley. The sudden descent of Order's aura stunned everyone present. In the past, this holy land of Samsara had faced waves of attacks from the Church of Order, the Moon God Church, Rielsa, and the Moon God. Though Samsara had experienced victories, defeats, and stalemates, they had at least stood and resisted every single time. Yet this time, when this figure arrived, even the sturdiest people of Samsara lost all will to resist. The Gatekeeper declared: "Relinquish all defenses. Welcome the arrival of the God of Order." Samsara Valley stripped away all defenses. Though withdrawing them made no practical difference, at least their attitude was impeccably proper. Moreover, from the Gatekeeper on down, every cleric of Samsara knelt prostrate to receive the God of Order. The God of Order ignored them. Which was precisely the outcome they desired most. Order arrived before the Gate of Samsara, raised his fist, and blasted the Gate of Samsara open with a single strike. A glow of rosy light burst out from within—it was actually the remnant of the Moon God, Artemis. "Order, must you truly be so cruel to me?" A terrifying fracture propagated from within the Gate of Samsara. This realm symbolizing the world of the dead began collapsing under the power of Order, and undead natives drifted scattered in all directions. That beam of moonlight intended to flee, but Order seized it in his grasp. "Order, I beg of you, please don't..." Order gave no response, simply crushing her. Following her total demise, the Moon God left behind only a luminous bead. In the next instant, the God of Order appeared in the sky above the Divine Burial Ground. The demon gods within were frantically pushing the Divine Burial Ground to detach from this world and return to exile, but they were still a step too late. The God of Order descended. As his foot came down, demon gods holding hope of godhood shattered one after another, and countless corpses wailed and wept. Once in the past, Order had trampled this place flat. This time, he seemed merely to be passing by, trampling flat the weeds that had grown a bit too tall. "Order, get over here!" From the Land of Extreme Cold came the furious roar of Eternity. Karen heard it, but the God of Order likely hadn't paid attention. Not only did he not head toward the Land of Extreme Cold, he lacked even the slightest interest to glance in that direction. He arrived at a chaotic void, where a terrifying ferocious beast charged straight toward Order. This was the first being that dared strike at Order! Moreover, Karen found this beast intimately familiar. When it opened its bloody maw prepared to swallow heaven and earth, Karen recognized its identity at a single glance. It was the beast phantom that swallowed Ankara in the mural "Light of Order." The Sword of Chaos plunged into the beast's body. Ruthless flames of Order scorched it until, amidst agonized wails, it finally disintegrated. Where the beast perished, a burst of white light bloomed. A young girl in a white dress smiled and waved toward Order: "Father! Hehe, I'm here." The Blade of Sighs flew out from Karen, revolving around the girl. This had always been her weapon. Yet an Ankara of this appearance was something Karen had never seen before. Whether it was the one punished for wrongdoing in the mural or the incarnations from flesh fragments he had encountered, she had always been filled with vicious malice. Yet perhaps this was how a daughter looked in the eyes of the God of Order. The luminous bead in Order's hand flew toward Ankara. Ankara pouted and pushed it away in annoyance. "Humph, I don't want that woman's stuff! I'm going to smash it!" "Mm. I brought it for you to smash for fun." At the perimeter of the epoch, powerful auras were already drawing near. Now that the God of Order had abandoned the epochal barrier, the old epoch collapsed and a new epoch began. The ancient epochal hegemons across history began their gradual return. The historical tide of gods was surging back to wage a counteroffensive reckoning upon this world. Among them, the one charging at the very forefront, the most furious and aggressive, was the God of Eternity. Yet the God of Order did not care in the least. Karen remained where he was, while Order's figure shrank steadily as he walked forward toward the lovely little girl. That was his ultimate destination. Karen asked, "You're just leaving like this?" "I've already swept the house clean for you." "You did this on purpose." Karen remembered that time when he had nearly been consumed by the hunger addiction: beyond the hazy mirror, the God of Order had deliberately played him, getting up casually and walking away with a turn of his head. "Indeed." Karen crossed his arms over his chest, praying toward the receding back of the God of Order: "Praise the great God of Order!" "I do not care for the title 'god,' nor do I like being called a 'god.'" "I know. I did it on purpose, too."