How To Live As A Writer In A Fantasy World

Chapter 154: Butterfly Effect (3)

This world was not a place where symbolic gods like Jesus, Buddha, or Allah exist, but a place where literal gods exist. If believers prayed to the gods or offered sacrifices, the gods would grant them a power called “divine power.” With this divine power, believers could display various abilities.

Furthermore, through “divine guidance,” the gods encouraged believers to follow a better path. However, even they could only provide advice at the level of guidance, as they couldn’t casually reveal someone’s future.

Moreover, perhaps due to constraints, even the divine guidance was often vague. For example, let’s say a devout believer was to tragically die in an accident shortly after. The god couldn’t provide detailed explanations to that believer. At most, they might suggest to be cautious or that it would be good to rest at home today. They didn’t offer detailed explanations.

As a result, believers often suffered as they tried to interpret the divine guidance given by the gods, and frequently encountered situations where their interpretations turned out to be incorrect.

Of course, if one offers high-quality sacrifices or an enormous amount of divine power, the gods might provide more detailed divine guidance. Seeing this, one might wonder if gods were subtly greedy by nature.

Anyway, the trust bestowed by the gods could also be considered a kind of prophecy. It is believed that there are no results without a price, so followers of each sect prayed with deep faith and offer exceptional sacrifices for a better future.

[Why haven’t the gods informed us about the contamination of the World Tree roots and the summoning of devils? Was it because the offerings were insufficient, or were the qualities of the followers lacking?]

[The Holy Kingdom Xavier. The Pope and the high priests offered sacrifices and prayers to the gods, but the gods remained silent. Could it be that the gods are disappointed with mortals?]

[The gods have already revealed the future through a prophet named Xenon. Therefore, they did not need to provide further answers.]

However, recently, the actions of the gods have been somewhat strange. Signs of contamination of the World Tree roots and the summoning of devils—just these two alone could have caused a major catastrophe, endangering the world.

Yet, the gods have not issued any warnings or even provided a response after these incidents came to light.

Even though people have been talking about me being a prophet or a regressor from the future, the gods remained silent and did not react. However, they continued to bestow people with divine power, even though we heard nothing from them.

Based on this, it seems that the gods were taking a passive stance and observing the current situation. It was almost certain, judging by the lack of response when the Pope and the high priests offered prayers.

In that case, if I were to directly ask as the center of these events, what would happen? Would they respond like usual, or would they remain silent and watch? If it’s the former, then there must be something wrong with the gods. If it’s the latter, I would question why they were just observing.

However, when we look at history, even gods themselves are beings with human aspects. They were not omnipotent beings in the literal sense of the word ‘god,’ but rather beings that can be described as transcendent entities.

‘But I’ve never had any divine power or even prayed. Will it be okay?’

The weekend had arrived as time passed. I stepped outside the academy and headed towards the temple.

Obtaining permission to leave the academy from Professor Elena was not difficult, and I had already informed Nicole and others in advance.

Initially, they were surprised when they heard I was going to the temple, but soon they seemed to understand. It seemed that given the circumstances, it was natural for me to visit the temple.

‘It’s my first time visiting the temple as well...’

Due to the existence of gods, most people tend to believe in them. Among them, humans followed the god Luminous, the deity of light and hope.

My parents were also followers of Luminous, and even Bryce and Nicole were the same. However, they weren’t devout to the extent of praying every day, they only prayed occasionally.

I, too, “for now,” believed in Luminous, but it’s more out of interest. I don’t even pray regularly. I just acknowledged its existence, to some extent.

Not only Luminous, but Mora and Hart were the same to me. I haven’t paid much attention to them, as I thought they had little relevance to me, except when studying theology.

However, due to the attention my book has attracted in a strange direction, I had no choice but to go to the temple. It may be a bit awkward, but it’s something I have to do to tie up loose ends.

‘The temple... It should be nearby.’

I wandered around, following the map that Marie had drawn for me, trying to find the temple. It was my first time exploring the capital city alone, so it felt a bit awkward.

When I visited the mansion of the Requilis family, located in the capital, I couldn’t afford to explore the city due to the circumstances. Nevertheless, the capital, especially being the capital of the Minerva Empire, was both splendid and bustling. Buildings lined up on both sides of the streets, with people walking along the roads.

If Alvenheim gave off an ancient Greek vibe, the capital of the Minerva Empire resembled the landscapes of medieval Europe.

‘It’s said even the slums are nearly non-existent here. Thanks to that, the public security is excellent.’

One of the reasons why the Minerva Empire could prosper was precisely because there were very few slums. As the number of slums increased, crime rates naturally escalated, but the Minerva Empire had a remarkably low percentage of slum dwellers.

However, it was not the Minerva Empire’s own efforts but rather the neighboring rival kingdom, the Ters Kingdom, that played a part. The Ters Kingdom had a highly developed culture but an alarmingly high proportion of slums.

Culture thrived, yet poverty-stricken people grew in numbers. This ironic phenomenon escalated to the point of triggering the Jairos Revolution, which prompted the Minerva Empire, witnessing this situation, to quickly implement policies.

‘Just by looking at this, they seem to be good at governing.’

I momentarily set aside that thought and focused on finding the temple. Whenever I got confused, I would ask passers-by for directions and continue my search.

I wonder how much time has passed since I started wandering around the capital.

“Oh...”

I was able to reach the Luminous Church that I had been searching for so long. I stood in awe at the magnificence of the temple, which I had never seen before in my life.

True to its name, the structure was supported by towering pillars, reminiscent of ancient Greek architecture that everyone was familiar with. It seemed that since Alvenheim, which could be considered the cradle of civilization, had a culture similar to ancient Greece, which is why the temple was constructed in this manner.

It felt strange to have a grand structure like an ancient Greek temple in a medieval European-style street, but it blended in surprisingly well. Considering that European culture has been heavily influenced by ancient Greece, it’s only natural. I walked around the temple, feeling the overwhelming presence it exuded, before making my way toward the entrance.

Due to its size, the temple was situated away from the street, but there were many people coming and going.

“Hello! Welcome to the Luminous Temple. May I ask your name?”

As I climbed the stairs and reached the entrance, a graceful priestess warmly greeted me. She had long, flowing golden hair that resembled waves and a sunny smile that left an impression.

Usually, nun’s habits were often a mix of white and black, but the attire of the priestess in front of me was the opposite. The majority of her clothes were white.

“...Luminous, can you hear me?”

With my eyes closed and hands neatly folded, I murmured in my mind. I’m not sure if this is the appropriate way to pray, but I decided to follow my heart for now.

“If you can hear me, please respond...”

I hadn’t even finished speaking.

[Finally, you’ve come! Child from another dimension!]

“...Huh?”

It wasn’t a sound I heard from my ears, but a voice resonating in my head. Startled, I opened my eyes wide and looked up at the sculpture.

Despite being in a private sanctuary with no apparent openings, the sculpture’s golden eyes were shimmering. No, it was more like swirling smoke. It was definitely not an ordinary occurrence.

If that voice from earlier was real...

[Close your eyes... come... hey...]

While lost in thought, the voice echoed in my mind. It was difficult to hear clearly, as if it were muffled by noise, but I could make out the instructions to close my eyes.

Quietly closing my eyes and focusing, the result of my concentration was that the voice started to sound vividly, just like before.

During the previous encounter, amidst my confusion, I didn’t know, but Luminous was a deity with a soft and kind voice, often referred to as a honeyed vocal range.

[Yes. Now you will hear well. To have a smoother conversation with me, you need to close your eyes and concentrate. You have to eliminate all distractions.]

‘Um... by any chance...’

[Your thoughts are correct. I am Luminous, the deity of light and hope. I truly wanted to meet you.]

Luminous responded to my words. It was such an unfamiliar experience for me that I momentarily doubted if it really was Luminous.

[Well, if you really don’t believe it, I can strike you with a weak lightning bolt if you wish.]

‘No, thank you. I’m sorry, ‘

I immediately apologized. Judging by the fact that it was a weak lightning bolt and not a real one, it seemed like Luminous was playing a prank.

Without delay, I pushed aside the bewildered feeling and decided to ask the questions I had been curious about. After all, it wasn’t about my rebirth, but about the current situation in this world.

‘Luminous, I believe you also know what the current situation in this world is like.’

[Of course. I wanted to express my sincere gratitude to you.]

‘...To me? Are you talking about me?’

What does this mean? I almost opened my eyes but managed to keep them closed with great difficulty.

Continuing, Luminous spoke, rendering me speechless.

[The neutralization of the World Tree and the second invasion of devils was a colossal future even we struggled to prevent. I wanted to at least give you a sign, but if that happened, the future would change completely, so it was a perplexing situation. Changing such a future so massively comes at a great cost.]

‘No way. Was that a future that was going to happen?’

[Yes. Exactly 147 years later, there was supposed to be the second invasion of devils. The World Tree would have been severely contaminated and practically neutralized by then. The ongoing summoning ritual of devils was a kind of operation. It created small holes that we ourselves were not aware of, and during the second invasion, those holes would be forcibly expanded, enabling dimensional travel. The more holes there are, the easier it is to forcibly tear them apart.]

‘...Why is this real?’

I was speechless with astonishment. However, the problem was that it didn’t end there.

[Fortunately, thanks to the book you wrote, that future has changed completely. The devil invasion has been postponed for a whopping 2000 years, and even if it were to happen, the World Tree would be strong, and civilization would have developed, making it easier to prevent. ]

‘...There is no disadvantage to me, right?’

[Why would you be at a disadvantage? In fact, you are also a victim.]

‘Me?’

It was around that time that I began to question it. Luminous calmly explained with their unique, clean voice.

[Just a moment ago, I explained that summoning devils requires creating a small rift in dimensions. However, due to a mistake made by a worshiper of a certain devil, the coordinates were incorrectly set, and it ended up connecting to the world you live in, Earth. Although Earth is devoid of mana, it is a planet far more advanced in civilization than this world.]

‘Unbelievable.’

[That’s right. Devils, by their nature, are powerful beings, so traveling between dimensions was not an issue for them. However, Earth is a place without mana, and you are nothing more than an ordinary human. The movement between dimensions is an impossible task for you. Your body has been burdened by that immense power, and eventually, your heart stopped functioning. Although your soul made it here, the ‘order’ has been disrupted in a damaged Earth where gods are causing chaos. In the end, we, too, went against the order to preserve your memories.]

“... ...”

So, devils were just a bunch of bastards.

Translators note:

1/5

I need to fix my sleep schedule, waking late makes me unmotivated and tired...