“So, you wish to prove that human civilization, even with its order decayed to this extent, can still be salvaged?”
the gear-man asked.
“Then by all ans, provide an example of a civilization that was destroyed by the collapse of its own order.”
Jenkins mused, toying with the diamond in his hand.
“Simple enough. Are you aware of the Age of the Great Sea in the material world?”
“Of course. The material world had no complete continents then, only scattered, fragnted islands. For that reason, it was an age dominated by the ocean races—rmaids, murlocs, naga, and the like. Though it was an ancient epoch with almost no records left, the splendor of that era can be gleaned from modern archaeology and the scattered ruins discovered on remote islands. Did the sea-folk civilization fall because of its system?”
“The sea-folk civilization was not that of a single race, but one jointly established by the intelligent beings living in the sea at that ti, who collectively ruled over the land dwellers. With your intellect, even without having experienced a multi-racial, co-governed society, you can surely grasp the inherent risks. So, while the various races could initially abide by their founding contract, generations of accumulated conflict eventually erupted into total war.”
“So, the sea-folk civilization was destroyed by an all-out war?”
Jenkins could picture the bizarre denizens of the deep locked in combat; based on the gear-man's account, such an outco was certainly plausible.
“No. They rely reached the brink of self-annihilation. Just one step more, and they would have destroyed their own civilization.”
“Did soone save them? A brilliant leader from among their ranks, or a powerful figure who suddenly erged?”
“Neither. Soone simply destroyed their civilization for them first, so they never got the chance to finish the job themselves.”
At this, Jenkins let out a small laugh.
“So, they weren’t a civilization destroyed by their system either.”
“However, my calculations indicate that had the whale not appeared, the probability of them annihilating their own civilization was far greater than my chances of defeating you tonight. Thus, it is reasonable to conclude they were destroyed by their own system.”
Jenkins shook his head, offering no comnt. “Do you have any other examples? You’ve witnessed so much; surely there are more. Let’s just pretend you’re trying to stall for ti.”
“There are, in fact, no civilizations that have collapsed purely due to their systems without the involvent of supernatural powers. After all, in a world where the supernatural exists, it will inevitably perate every corner of civilization. But there are many similar cases. Are you aware of the primordial moon?”
“ow?”
Before Jenkins could react, the cat in his arms stirred.
“I know of it. A bright yellow moon, very beautiful... Yes, very beautiful.”
Chocolate imdiately fell silent, pretending it wasn’t there at all.
“In ancient tis, people gained power through the worship of the moon. That was a very old moon-worshipping faith. So remnants likely still exist today, but most have turned their devotion to the modern god of the moon.”
The Unlit Moon.
“Although they worshipped not a god but the moon itself—as there was no deity representing the moon at the ti—simply worshipping and drawing power from this natural phenonon was without risk. People of different races gathered together in this worship, establishing a sacrificial society that was almost completely egalitarian... As a Saint of a Righteous God, I trust you can understand what I’m describing.”
“Of course. And then? Its golden age was followed by its downfall?”
“I appreciate your turn of phrase. Yes, human hearts are always a complex matter. An overabundance of worship caused the power of faith to converge upon the concept of the moon, and then, as was to be expected, a living being was born from it.”
In this strange world, even a spoon worshipped by an entire civilization could eventually give birth to a sentient being.
“But the hearts of n corrupted it. The moon fell, transforming into a giant black halo in the sky, venting its fury upon the earth. The primordial moon vanished, stolen by a greedy cat that could devour all things. It was the fate they deserved.”
The cat in his arms let out a yawn. Although it had, in a literal sense, hatched from its shell long after Jenkins’s departure, it had been aware of the outside world even from within the egg, so that part of history was no mystery to it.
Chocolate’s birth predated the epoch in which the Difference Engine was created, so the machine’s account of that history was not entirely accurate. That was why Chocolate yawned with such boredom.
“I’ve heard many stories of the Devouring Moon Spirit Cat. That was another epoch destroyed by greed. It seems that calamities throughout history have always been born from the greed of intelligent races.”
“Not at all. Greed is rely the sin that is most easily manifested. Upon deeper analysis, it is never greed alone that is the cause.”
“Then are there any sins completely unrelated to greed?”
Jenkins inquired, his tone growing ever more tranquil.
“Of course. Do you know of the Ouroboros?”
“The Ouroboros... it didn’t appear because of greed?”
He summoned his Ouroboros Ring, an item he had obtained in the "Knowledge is Gold" Mysterious Realm. Its effect was to increase his financial luck. Though he rarely used it now, it had been incredibly helpful to him when he first arrived in this world. “You see, even a Bestowal knows that the image of the Ouroboros is tied to the concepts of greed and wealth.”
“But when the Ouroboros was first born, it had nothing to do with greed. That was an epoch long, long ago—so far back that even I have never seen any written records of it.”
In other words, the Ouroboros had been born around the Fourth or Fifth Epoch, its origins lost to the ancient ages, much like Chocolate’s.
“ow?”
Chocolate sensed that Jenkins had just thought of it, but it couldn’t read what he was thinking.
“The appearance of the Ouroboros was actually quite by chance. It was born from the idea of a highly creative alchemist. This idea was never passed down, but mystics and arcanists have posited many different theories...”
The gear-man ntioned two professions Jenkins hadn't heard of, likely titles for practitioners of the supernatural in a bygone era.
“The theory I find most plausible is this: a brilliant alchemist, in observing the world and reflecting on his own existence, conceived of the endless cycle of creation and destruction, the constant interchange between life and death—truly profound philosophical questions. According to a parable crafted by ancient sages, this alchemist was sitting on a grassy ridge one night, gazing at the stars, when he was struck by a new insight into this world of endless, self-sustaining cycles. And so, with his power, he created a life: a snake, forever biting its own tail. The creation of life is a miracle in any age, but it pales in comparison to the birth of that serpent. And so, from a single, deeply philosophical thought, the Ouroboros ca into being.”
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