Chapter 1114 — An Invitation and Arrangements

Milmina plainly did not believe a single word of Amon's claim that he had been "engaged in a most intense psychological struggle"—in fact, even Gao Yang, who had only just arrived, did not believe it either.

If this "God of Nature" had at least waited until Gao Yang finished speaking before selling him out, it might have carried some credibility...

But Gao Yang had no intention of joining these two retired deities in their daily pastimes. He merely cleared his throat twice, drawing the attention of both Amon and Milmina, and then, choosing his words with care, said, "You have no doubt guessed by now—these devices here are not entirely meant for connecting to the Weave."

"Of course," Milmina said with a soft laugh, her tone carrying a trace of mockery and indifference. "The moment you arrived, you asked me to come out and meet you—how could we not suspect that these magical apparatuses were hiding some 'little secrets'? In fact, I noticed before you even came... the functions of these devices are extraordinarily complex. A single Weave terminal would never require auxiliary equipment on this scale."

Gao Yang was neither surprised nor embarrassed. He merely smiled and murmured to himself, "As expected—nothing escapes the goddess who once held dominion over magic..."

"Frankly, we do not much mind," Amon's voice came from the side. "This is an experiment, is it not?"

"Exactly. And it is a project long in the planning. Before you even proposed wanting a Weave terminal to learn what was happening in the world, we were already preparing for this experiment—your request simply happened to give us an excellent point of entry," Gao Yang said, meeting Amon's eyes with perfect composure. "My apologies. Because of the rigorous requirements of the experimental procedure, its first stage had to be conducted in secrecy. We kept certain things from you."

"Just about what I suspected... you were avoiding interference during the observation process," Milmina said calmly, her gaze resting on Gao Yang. "So now that you have come here and told us everything, that means... that 'first stage' has concluded successfully?"

Gao Yang smiled and gave a slight nod. "Yes. The first stage concluded successfully. With no interference whatsoever—the test subjects, that is, the two of you, undisturbed and uninfluenced by any suggestion—we confirmed the effects of the 'Anti-Divinity Barrier.' The technology is not yet mature, but I believe we have grasped some means of effectively shielding against currents of thought, capable of isolating divinity contamination and weakening the connection between gods and currents of thought. Moreover, this 'barrier' is controllable."

His expression was calm, his tone measured, yet the sheer volume of information surging through his words struck Amon and Milmina in that instant with tremendous force, as though a silent thunderclap had suddenly detonated in the dim, vast expanse of the Shadow Realm. The two former gods were struck motionless for the next dozen seconds or so, until Amon was the first to break the silence: "You mean—you can safely 'unbind' gods and mortals?"

"It is too early to say that." Gao Yang shook his head. "The technology we currently possess has significant limitations. It can only serve as a 'shield.' Do you see these crystal devices around you? They are the conduction apparatus for the Anti-Divinity Barrier—capable of protecting mortals within the barrier, and also of isolating gods. So if we wished to use this thing to 'unbind' other gods, we would have to deliver them into the divine realms, then have the gods within those realms sit themselves obediently inside the shielded zones... At the present stage, we cannot do that. Of course, another approach would be to blanket the entire mortal world with such devices... but obviously that is impossible as well."

"At least you have taken a great step forward... a greater step than we ever took," Milmina said, seeming to draw a soft breath, her tone tinged with emotion. "So what comes next? What do you intend to do for the second step? And what do you need from us?"

Gao Yang regarded the two former gods before him. He did not answer Milmina's question directly. Instead, he abruptly shifted the subject: "Now that you have Weave terminals... you must have been following the momentous changes in the mortal world of late, have you not? You should know that the mortal nations have now formed a vast 'Union,' and upon the framework of that Union, I have established a Council of Divine Authority..."

"I have been watching closely," Amon's voice echoed directly in Gao Yang's mind. "The one beside me has been rather less attentive—but I suppose she is reasonably informed as well."

"Your addition was entirely unnecessary," Milmina's gaze swept over Amon and then settled on Gao Yang. "We know of the Council of Divine Authority. Our understanding is limited—but we can more or less guess the purpose behind its founding. You have already made preparations to strike at that 'chain' between mortals and gods? This is no small matter... It would seem you even intend to drag the entire world into this vortex."

"This world is already in the vortex. I merely wish to pull it out," Gao Yang said frankly. Then he paused, as though striving to think and weigh his words. After a considerable stretch of deliberation, his expression finally turned solemn, and in a tone of utter seriousness he broke the silence: "Regarding the Council of Divine Authority, and certain thoughts of mine..."

Over the next ten minutes or so, he laid out the general situation of the Council of Divine Authority and his own plans in full. Before the two former gods, he held almost nothing back.

Because the time was ripe—so much preparation had been made, and this vast chariot had reached the moment of ignition. And what was firmly bound to this chariot had never been mortals alone.

"...The Council of Divine Authority is a long-term, normalized means of control. It must not only seek ways to resolve the current shackles between gods and mortals, but also find ways to prevent new shackles from arising in the future...

"In the course of reforming the Church of the Shining Star, we gained certain experience. Within Cecil's borders, we have already begun gradually extending this experience to other churches, and in the future I intend to extend it across the entire mortal world...

"...Since the birth and operation of gods are both rooted in the natural laws of this world, then through the analysis of those natural laws, it must be possible to find ways to intervene in—even control—that process. Just as in ancient times humans learned from natural phenomena the means to make fire and craft tools. The heart of the entire plan lies precisely here: through analyzing the principles underlying the gods, find the method of 'unbinding.' These methods will be spread across the world, and at the same time, the very process of 'analysis' will continuously weaken the chains, reducing mortals' blind dependence upon the gods. It is a process of both confrontation and cooperation—and compared to the savage, bloody wars of god-slaying, this confrontation is plainly far gentler and more benign."

The telling was long, yet it felt brief. At last Gao Yang's voice fell silent—the Weave terminal nearby had, at some point, been casually switched off by Milmina. The Shadow Court fell quiet, so quiet one could almost hear the beating of a heart.