Chapter 820 — Considering the Future

When the morning sun rose, a story one thousand five hundred and twenty-three years long came to an end. At its close, no deity descended upon the real world; fragile and insignificant humanity once again survived the disaster—and the stories of countless people continued onward.

Sem clutched his combat staff, standing for a long while at the center of the hall, surrounded by countless breathless, exhausted priests and knights. Word from the surface had reached the Radiant Order just moments ago, yet that bizarre phenomenon—as though dream and reality had been confounded—left him still unable to confirm the final outcome. He and everyone else remained tense and apprehensive, waiting in silence.

In that brief moment when the dawn light spread across the whole of the Orlandell region, the priests felt as though they had waited a century.

Then, at last, scattered flecks of starlight surfaced in everyone's vision, hovering above the hall.

Sem heard an aged, weary voice enter his mind: "It's over... my brethren, we are safe."

It was the voice of Megor III.

After a brief silence, belated cheers erupted through the entire hall!

"We did it!! We stopped a god!" "The Outland Wanderer and the Radiant Order of Selina succeeded!" "We survived, we survived!!"

Amid the tide of cheers rising on all sides, Wendy, who had been tending the wounded, slowly straightened up. The contamination deep within her spirit was receding; she felt her soul at last truly and completely restored to freedom. She lifted her head and saw Yuri not far away, his gaze meeting hers.

"We did it..." Wendy's lips curved upward slowly, and she smiled from the bottom of her heart.

Yuri wore a complicated smile. He drew a soft breath and muttered low, as though speaking to himself: "...At least we didn't destroy the world."

A streak of flowing light appeared abruptly at the center of the hall. As the radiance gathered, a lantern coalesced before everyone's eyes, and then the figure of a woman holding it appeared.

"Radiant Order Selina," Sem said at once, hastening toward the figure, "you have saved the entire church once again..."

The halo around Selina gradually dispersed. Of course, she was only a projection cast into the consciousness of those around her. Facing the Supreme Order Sem, this Lantern Saintess gently shook her head: "This time, it was not I who saved the church."

"Ah, the Outland Wanderer—He..." Sem caught on immediately with a start. "Where is He now?"

"The Outland Wanderer has returned for the time being. After all, He only projected a fragment of Himself into our mental network; He will contact us again before long," Selina said softly, her gaze slowly sweeping across the hall. The cheering priests, the weary yet excited knights, the attendants who had survived the calamity by sheer fortune—all of them entered her eyes. At last, she lowered her eyelids. "It is thanks to your efforts in the real world that we were able to achieve final success."

Sem regarded Selina strangely. He noticed that the Radiant Order's expression was complicated, her mood seemingly not as light and elated as the others', which left him deeply puzzled: "Radiant Order Selina, you look... as though something weighs on your mind?"

Selina thought of that figure chasing the starlight through the night, thought of the hardest question she had ever answered in her life. She was silent for a long time before finally shaking her head: "I am fine. I am only... suddenly a little confused."

"Confused?"

"Supreme Order Sem, what do you think is the greatest instinct of a civilization?"

"Instinct?" Sem sank into thought before this rather strange question. After a moment he said, somewhat uncertainly, "To perpetuate itself?"

"And beyond perpetuating itself?" Selina asked again. "Beyond merely surviving..."

"I... do not know," Sem said with a shake of his head. "To me, merely enduring in this world is difficult enough already."

"True enough," Selina paused for a second, then suddenly shook her head with a smile of relief. "And this was never your field of expertise to begin with."

From Selina's reaction, Sem deduced that this "Saintess" must have gone through something in her confrontation with the Upper Narrator, which would explain this sudden show of melancholy. But now was clearly not the time to press for details. Amid the rousing, celebratory atmosphere filling the hall, he was the first to calm himself and spoke: "Radiant Order Selina, now that the threat of the 'Divine Descent' has subsided, should we not begin considering the church's future?"

"Of course," Selina said with a nod, gathering her emotions as well. "Though the situation is heartening, the time left for celebration is likely short.

"I saw the reports from the surface as well. The Upper Narrator's influence has already reached the real world; there were far too many witnesses to the disturbance at the Throat of Orlandell, and word of it will likely reach Luoyan's ears before long—this headquarters is no longer safe.

"According to the contingency plan drawn up by His Holiness the Pope, we must immediately begin relocating the headquarters. All members leave; we abandon this palace. Take every research document and supply we can carry, destroy on the spot whatever we cannot carry, and demolish the central pillar, the elemental shell, and the upper dome. We cannot leave behind a single clue.

"The various strongholds established within the Empire must also be relocated. Amid the chaos, informers and defectors will appear soon enough; if necessary, we must be prepared to abandon every stronghold.

"All brethren go into hiding, ceasing all church activities, awaiting unified orders, and transferring to Cecil in batches according to the prior plan—this work can be entrusted to Yuri."

Selina laid it out point by point. Sem listened with a grave expression, then gave a slight nod and said in a low voice: "It has come to this after all... A pity that seven hundred years of endeavor should return to the starting point overnight."

"Better than total annihilation," Selina shook her head. "And at least we still have the knowledge accumulated over seven hundred years, and a new power willing to take us in. So it is not an utter return to the starting point."

"What about the mental network?" Sem asked again.

"...Without the facilities here to support it, the operation of the mental network will be greatly affected, but fortunately its foundation rests upon our minds. So long as enough priests survive, it can be kept running at a minimal level," Selina said, evidently having already considered this. She answered at once: "Once the transfer begins, the mental network will maintain only its basic mode, and Illusory Hub City will no longer be opened until we establish a new headquarters in Cecil. His Holiness the Pope has expended much in sustaining the sandbox; he will spend most of his time henceforth resting and recovering. Matters of the network will be overseen by myself and Supreme Order Daniel——mainly myself. Supreme Order Daniel is currently in Aldenan; out of concern for security, he will provide only technical support."

"Mm, I understand," Sem said with a nod. "That way, so long as the mental network endures, coordination will be much easier."

Then Selina looked toward the other side of the hall, toward the computation node hall where the brain slaves were kept, her gaze falling upon those observation windows and the sluice gate that stood open.

Noticing her gaze, Sem spoke before she could, a trace of emotion in his voice: "Mag the Equilibrium Order, he... rest assured, we will bring him with us."

But Selina shook her head and said softly: "No. Bring everyone."

"Every..." Sem was briefly stunned, then frowned. "You mean all the brain slaves? That would... no, it would certainly consume more manpower and resources, and it would affect the transfer schedule to some degree..."