Sword of Dawnbreaker

Chapter 424 - 423: White Knight and the New Church

"To be honest, although I am a Druid and have done some research on the history of the transition of Druid beliefs, I am not quite sure what exactly the ’lock’ you described is about," after pondering for a moment, Pittman said to Wright, "It seems that the Druids didn’t encounter any ’lock’ influence during the process of converting natural theurgy into Druid magic... but there’s one detail in the history I know that might be of reference to you."

"Oh?" Gawain showed an interested expression, "What detail?"

"I don’t know if you’ve heard, but after the White Starfall three thousand years ago, although the vast majority of Druids’ natural theurgy converted into Druid magic, there was still a portion of Druids that never managed to complete this conversion," Pittman narrated this little-known history, with a look of lament on his face, "Even if they accepted the fact of the God of Nature’s fall, accepted the invalidity of natural theurgy, and accepted the current state that the forces of nature belonged to mortals, they could never break through some kind of limit, most of them were unable to cast spells for life, and the more tragically small portion were rebounded on when they forcibly attempted to cast spells... The reason for these ’failures’ being unable to cast spells has always been a mystery."

"Many scholars have studied those old Druid priests who couldn’t convert and found that, from physical condition to mental state and to magical perception abilities, there was nothing wrong with them, but they just couldn’t cast spells..."

Gawain couldn’t help but voice his conjecture: "That ’lock’ influences them subconsciously?"

"Perhaps as Wright described, there really exists an ’invisible lock’ in the subconscious of mortals, a lock that limits everyone’s ability to access Divine Arts, it is related to the existence of gods, but even when gods fall, this lock still exerts some influence, just that after the gods fall, the power of this lock would be greatly weakened, allowing most people to break free from it," Pittman nodded gently, then gave Wright a meaningful glance, "And Wright... you might be the first human in history to break free from this ’lock’ with your own will while the gods were still present."

Gawain fell into deep thought.

A lock, a lock that might exist at the subconscious level of human beings, affecting every mortal in the world, making them unable to shake off the influence of gods without realizing it, so that they can only access Divine Arts through adhering to religious codes and worshiping gods... Is this lock naturally generated after birth, or is it established through some postnatal influence?

Considering that there has never been a mortal unaffected by this lock since birth, Gawain reckoned that this subconscious shackle is most likely innate.

This is a world full of various supernatural forces, and the closer one gets to the field of magical truth, the more blurred the line between human ’consciousness’ and the real world becomes. Gawain would not underestimate a ’lock’ existing at the subconscious level—no matter how formless and intangible it is, to the point that almost no one has perceived its existence—because he knew full well that once delved into the deepest mysteries of magic, such seemingly formless and intangible things will be more difficult to handle than things with form and substance.

Of course, more than the future, what he currently cares about is another matter: Can the changes occurring in Wright be replicated?

A pioneer who has broken through divine constraints and mastered the power of the Holy Light with his own will and faith—Wright’s power of the Holy Light is not just a personal ability, in Gawain’s eyes, it is more of a breaking point for a new era. In recent times, he has been contemplating how to deal with the decaying, dark, and inherently flawed traditional Church of the Holy Light (and other religions that might follow a path to corruption), as he cannot directly abolish these religions, yet nor can he allow them to become shackles on his territory, and Wright’s emergence seems to offer a solution...

But to solve the church problem, one pioneer like Wright is not enough. If the new path of the Holy Light cannot be popularized and replicated, then it holds no competitive advantage in front of traditional churches.

He voiced his doubts, and Amber beside him was the first to frown: "That’s probably quite difficult... The old man just said that Wright might be the first human in history to break through ’limitations’ with his own will, which means it must be very hard to break through this limitation, where can you find so many talented, capable, and determined people..."

"Perhaps it isn’t as difficult as imagined," Pittman interrupted Amber, "Firstly, since Wright succeeded, it means that the power of this lock isn’t absolute, ordinary people have the possibility to replicate this process—even if the possibility is low; secondly, the hardest part of breaking through is always the first time, if they witness Wright using his own power to exert the Holy Light, then I believe many believers of the Holy Light will waver, and their difficulty in breaking through this subconscious lock will be greatly reduced. Furthermore, I believe in one thing: the existence of all things should have rules to follow, since Wright can succeed, it means that there is its own logic and law behind this matter, we just need to research it, and we are bound to discover something."

Gawain deeply agreed with Pittman’s words, and what was even more gratifying to him was that Pittman had already established such profound and correct research thinking—beneath his scruffy and unreliable appearance, hides a scientific thought that is rare and valuable in this era. Gawain did not know whether Pittman originally had these thoughts or developed them gradually in leading the research work on the territory, but he was certain of one thing, as long as the education and scientific research on the territory can continue to develop, researchers like Pittman can continue to lead apprentices forward, there will undoubtedly be more people who possess similar research thinking.

Wright was not a researcher, but this did not hinder his understanding of Pittman’s words and Gawain’s thoughts, he knew what his re-acquisition of the Holy Light meant to other believers who still firmly believed in the God of the Holy Light, and was even more aware of the church of the Holy Light’s urgent need for reform, so he was more than willing to do something about it: "Recently, I have been meditating to sense the flow of the Holy Light, and I have asked Master Kamel for a lot of knowledge on magic. I feel that the operation of the Holy Light does indeed follow some rules, but it’s also different from ordinary spells, in that it seems very influenced by the... faith of the spell-caster. I can’t quite explain the subtle connection here, but I can feel that whenever the Holy Light surges, it interacts and resonates with the principles of the Holy Light I firmly believe in in my heart."

"That’s quite normal, it’s the same with Druid magic, the effect of a Druid casting a spell is greatly influenced by the caster’s own faith, the Sect of the Spirit of Nature emphasizes this the most, they believe that only when the soul is compatible enough with the laws of nature can the Druid spells be sufficiently effective," Pittman nodded and showed a contemplative expression, "So it seems that the power converting from Divine Arts to spells tends to have this characteristic? Deeply influenced by ’spiritual inclination’?"

This was indeed the first time Gawain knew about such details; he was a little surprised: "According to this, what’s the deal with those fallen Druids of Oblivion Association? Is there some sort of sentiment for nature’s all things hidden within their dark spells?"

Pittman opened his mouth just about to speak when Amber piped in: "Hey, open up your thinking, isn’t deep love and deep hatred both deep?—maybe there aren’t really fallen Druids, they might just love this world to the point of distortion..."

No one paid any attention to Amber’s nonsense. Pittman just shook his head: "The fallen Druids also have their own understanding of the principles of nature. Life and death, being and extinction in nature, as a fundamental law, lack the human moral elements, which makes it different from the strongly moral Holy Light."

To be honest, Gawain wasn’t very comfortable with the idea that human mind factors could interfere with the macro world. The absurdity of this hypothesis even surpassed the quantum mechanics he knew, but since this world truly possessed mind-based powers, all related assumptions were objective research goals. Upholding the scientific philosophy of understanding and transforming the world, he had to confront these hypotheses.

"Perhaps we can initiate a special project to decipher the mysteries of the Holy Light on Wright. It’s not enough for him to study this matter alone," Gawain said slowly as he pondered, "Additionally, Wright, I hope you’ll contemplate new doctrines besides researching the Holy Light."

As soon as the words "new doctrines" were uttered, Pittman and Amber’s expressions changed. But Wright, as if he had anticipated this, remained calm, nodding solemnly to Gawain: "I understand — with the church not open these days, I have been contemplating these matters. I need to think carefully about how to explain the true meaning of the path of the holy light to the believers..."

While speaking, the robust priest couldn’t help but show a slightly uneasy look: "Honestly, I’m not confident. I am just a low-level Missionary Priest, and I don’t know if I can handle such a great task."

"You are more than just a Missionary Priest; you have already changed history. You should have some confidence in yourself," Gawain said with a smile, "And I will help you. Though I am not a believer of the Holy Light, I at least know how to guide the public — since we are to return the Holy Light to the world and bring righteousness back to human hearts, guiding the people is indispensable."

Wright immediately lowered his head sincerely: "I can’t thank you enough — I’m truly not good at this..."

"Since we are to promote new doctrines, there must be some differences from the original Church of the Holy Light," Gawain continued, "I haven’t decided on a name for the New Church yet, but your priest title should be changed — Missionary Priest is a title given by the Church of the Holy Light, a title which doesn’t need to be kept."

Wright seemed unaware of any impropriety in having the framework of the "new religion" determined by a non-believing leader. He simply pondered alongside Gawain’s words: "I think so too... but I can’t think of a more fitting title at the moment."

Gawain looked Wright up and down, his mind inadvertently recalling the scene he saw a few days ago in the church.

Standing before the pulpit in tattered armor, bathed in radiance, this "Knight."

"White Knight," Gawain uttered the first words that sprung to his mind, "You should be the White Knight, a Guardian of righteousness, the one to clear a path through the darkness wherein the Faith of Holy Light has sunken — hence may the Holy Light envelop you, like armor, moving ever forward."

"White Knight..."

Wright softly repeated this brand new term, as clarity began to dawn in his heart.

Enveloped by the Holy Light, like armor, moving ever forward.

Indeed, only a knight clad in stout armor could tread upon this path; a simple robe was truly unsuitable for him.

Wright breathed a gentle sigh, feeling a sudden clarity in his heart, while the Holy Light that constantly shimmered around him became even brighter and more concentrated, as if the Holy Light itself was rejoicing at the revelation of the "White Knight."

In that gradually consolidating Holy Light, Gawain once again saw something indistinct flash before his eyes.

He really didn’t want to disrupt this historic moment, but Amber, oblivious to such matters, reached out directly: "I’ve been wanting to ask, why does your Holy Light always have a shadow..."

A small figure emerged from the Holy Light behind Wright, drifting away from Amber’s grasp, staring back as its large eyes locked onto hers.