Chapter 24: The Truth

The gates of Olympus opened for Raiga and Emi, but beyond them they found no magnificent buildings or marble pillars. Instead, all they saw were abandoned stones and ashes drifting through the air. Nothing about the place felt divine. A somber atmosphere hung over it, completely devoid of the gods’ former magnificence.

Raiga saw no strange symbols or treasures either. Olympus was little more than a gigantic open field, almost as if it had once been an enormous coliseum. But nothing remained now except the dancing ash, drifting solemnly through the air without ever leaving the grounds.

“What a disappointment,” Raiga said, quickly surveying the area.

At the far end of the plain stood a staircase made of black iron, rusted and forgotten by time. It led directly toward a gate made from the same material.

“Is that really it?” Emi brought her right hand to her chin, counted the steps at a glance, and sighed. “Only ten steps. I suppose our destination is behind that gate. Let’s hurry. We still have plenty of time.”

“No. You don’t.” A knight in golden armor with no heraldry whatsoever materialized before the iron gate. Sir Lancelot had appeared as the final guardian standing between them and their destination. “I’m afraid your time is running out.”

“Who are you?” Raiga stepped forward. He felt the knight’s overwhelming mana and immediately replaced his longsword with Malakor.

“You’re Sir Lancelot, Marshal of the Kingdom…” Emi whispered, unable to believe the identity of the final Divine Champion.

“Oh, I see you are immune to the gods’ power, blonde woman. Yes, I was Sir Lancelot, Marshal of the Kingdom and Divine Champion. But now, I am only the latter.”

“What do you mean?” Raiga still sensed no killing intent from his final opponent, so he lowered his sword and sheathed it.

“As a Divine Champion, I surrendered my name, my identity, and even the memories of everyone who ever knew me. Within a few minutes, no one will remember that a warrior named Lancelot ever existed. All for the sake of divine will.” The knight looked neither proud nor satisfied with the outcome.

It was the ultimate sacrifice.

One that had cost him his entire life.

And in a way, Raiga could not help sympathizing with him. Both of them had lost their ordinary lives because of the will of beings beyond mortality.

“Why did you accept? You lost everything, and you’ll receive nothing in return. Divine Champion Sir Lancelot, I have nothing against you. Let me pass. I’m going to cure the gods myself.” Raiga offered him a civilized alternative.

Why fight to the death when they could settle things through conversation?

“Cure the gods? Is that what the Prophet told you?” Sir Lancelot asked. His expression was impossible to read, somewhere between frustration and sarcasm.

“I saw it myself. A meteor fell long ago and brought an energy that gradually made the gods sick. It makes them demand more sacrifices, encourages violence between civilized kingdoms, and leaves us vulnerable to demonic forces. What else would you call that but a disease?” Raiga delivered his argument with all the determination he could muster. He repeated the Prophet’s explanation while adding his own conclusions.

A chaotic and violent world had to be a mistake.

The gods should not be encouraging such things.

“You are mistaken, Heretic… No, Raiga.” Sir Lancelot looked at him without hatred or resentment. Just like his beloved Emi, the knight was immune to the Heretic’s curse. “What you witnessed is something far greater than a Divine Virus. The gods call it Discord.”

“Discord?” Emi adjusted her glasses in confusion. The Prophet had never mentioned such an abstract concept.

“Discord is an extradimensional concept. It traveled from another timeline into ours and struck this planet with all its power. It allows human beings to think for themselves and take control of their own decisions regardless of divine will, but at the same time, it leaves them at the mercy of their darkest impulses. The gods’ plan was to increase wars and conflicts in order to weaken civilizations and prevent Discord from taking complete control of the world. If the gods have grown weaker, it is not because they are sick. They are using all of their power to keep Discord under control and prevent humanity from destroying itself.”

Sir Lancelot was not lying.

Emi could sense the honesty in his words.

Raiga could too.

“Th-Then… did the Prophet lie to us?” Emi whispered.

“That depends on what you consider a lie. From his perspective, the gods have become imperfect and are no longer worthy of trust. On the other hand, mortals are hardly worthy of trust either. Until now, every war has served the gods’ purpose rather than mortal ambition. Think about it this way: without anything restraining their darkest greed, the human kingdoms will fracture and plunge into endless conflict. The gods regulate the destructive nature of this world. Their divine order is what prevents total annihilation.”

Sir Lancelot sounded utterly convinced by his own argument.

Nothing and no one would change his mind.

“And isn’t the result the same?” Raiga replied. “The gods will keep pushing humanity closer and closer to the abyss. Kingdoms will fall. Society will regress until we become nomads again. Is sacrificing that many lives really worth it simply because the gods don’t trust us?” The Heretic’s argument was reasonable.

What was the point of saving humanity if everything was reduced to ashes?

“You do not understand. All of this is necessary to prevent humanity from exterminating the other races. Once the kingdoms are destroyed, humans will be forced to begin again. They will return to caves, but eventually they will raise castles once more, rediscover magic and steel, and slowly rebuild their civilization. Then the gods will stop them again. It is an endless cycle that preserves the balance among all mortal races.”

“A cycle of death and rebirth… You’re saying you would sacrifice millions of innocent lives for that?” Emi could not accept such an idea.

To her, the world was not composed of faceless people making up an anonymous crowd.

She thought about the librarians who had worked beside her, her parents still living in their retirement village, the guards who greeted her whenever she visited the academy, and the private tutor who had taught her during her teenage years. They were all flesh-and-blood people with dreams, families, futures, and most importantly, lives of their own in this world.

What was the future of the world compared to the smile of a friend?

What was an endless cycle compared to an ordinary afternoon spent eating snacks together?

“And what happens if they don’t do it?” Raiga whispered. “What proof do you have that humanity will go extinct if you simply allow us to progress?”

“This.”

Sir Lancelot snapped his fingers.

The three of them were suddenly shown the same vision the gods had shared with the Marshal the day before.

The world was unrecognizable. Cities of metal and concrete rose like perfect rectangles. Raiga saw metal carriages moving on their own, with no beasts pulling them. What passed for magic was completely alien to them. Enormous screens covered gray towers that stretched so high they seemed determined to kiss the clouds.

And below them, metal machines resembling beetles fired blazing projectiles capable of killing with a single hit.

The vision lasted only five seconds, yet it left Raiga and Emi completely overwhelmed.

This was the future awaiting them if humanity’s progress went unchecked.

A gray world of metal filled with superweapons capable of unleashing massacres at any moment.

“The Prophet knew. He knew the gods intended to destroy civilization through a series of relentless wars. But I think he also saw this future and decided he could no longer support the cycle.” Emi put the pieces together in her mind. She had not made up her mind yet, but she could at least understand the gods’ reasoning.

“Th-Then… this has happened before?” Raiga asked.

“Yes. This is not the first cycle. The gods told me so. They have been doing this for a very long time. However, Discord became stronger because of the meteor—the same one you witnessed in the Prophet’s vision. It gained enough power to manifest itself within the physical world. The rest is history.” Sir Lancelot sighed.

The truth was horrifying, and no one was satisfied with it.

Not Raiga.

Not Emi.

Not even Lancelot himself.

“M-My parents, my former coworkers… They’re all going to die when the war begins…” Emi could not accept it.

Doing so would mean abandoning the lives of everyone she loved.

Raiga, on the other hand, reacted in a somewhat less heroic manner. He had no one else in the world.

Only Emi.

And so he chose her side.

“Sir Lancelot, Divine Champion, I understand your reasons now. You’re fighting to save the world in your own way. You are a true knight, and you have my deepest respect.” Raiga gave him a polite bow before shaking his head and drawing Malakor. “But this civilization can still be saved. These constant resets will eventually exhaust the planet itself, and I’m certain the cycle will eventually reach a dead end.”

“This civilization is already lost. Mortals need the gods to keep them from destroying themselves completely. The cycle must continue so humanity does not disappear. It is the lesser evil,” Sir Lancelot argued.

“There is no lesser evil. There is only evil. Wiping out millions of innocent people to preserve the species is wrong. Mortals should not run away from their own responsibility. If our progress ultimately leads us to destroy ourselves, then so be it! But don’t take away our chance to try for ourselves. In the end, they’re only prophecies. Nothing in this world is truly predetermined. Look at me. When I was named the Heretic, I thought I would spend eternity alone. Then I met Emi—something the divine plan never accounted for. Certainty is a lie,” Raiga concluded as he brandished his magical sword.

“You will not reconsider?” Sir Lancelot whispered. The Marshal drew his own legendary sword: Tizona, a weapon with a golden hilt, silver guard, and a blade as white as milk. It was the weapon wielded by the most powerful Divine Champions throughout the history of the world.

“I’m afraid not. We’ll have to settle this through force. Just one thing—will you promise not to hurt Emi?”

“I am a knight, and I will fight like one. As long as she does not attack me, I will not harm her. My duel is with you alone, Raiga.”

“Very well. Emi, get back. This is between him and me.”

“Ah… Y-Yes! Good luck!” The young blonde instinctively adjusted her glasses. Thousands of thoughts were still racing through her mind, but they did not override her survival instincts.

Both warriors waited until she was safely out of range before beginning their battle.

All or nothing.