Chapter 124. Urbansus (4)
Isaac was montarily at a loss for words.
The priests who refused to treat the plague, the farr who threw his newborn into the fire for fear that his child would not reach heaven, the rchant selling indulgences, the begging poor… How could they all beco followers of the naless chaos?
Before he knew it, Isaac was walking through a monastery with Amundalas.
Amundalas gestured to Isaac as they walked down the quiet monastery corridor. At the tip of her finger, there were monks whispering sothing devoutly.
Amundalas explained what they were discussing.
“They are precisely those who wish for the end of the world.”
“Those who wish for the end?”
There have always been fanatics who cry out for the end of the world, regardless of the era. They shout that the end is near and that we must prepare for it imdiately.
“But who do you think are the people who wish for the world to end? The poor? Those dissatisfied with society? The oppressed? Well, they might wish for destruction too.”
Amundalas showed the market scene again.
“But surprisingly, even those powerful and deeply religious also wish for the end of the world. They prefer ‘and they lived happily ever after’ to living in fear of when their glory will crumble.”
The monks whispered a na. To Isaac, the na sounded muffled, as if erased. That fact alone made it clear that it was the original na of the naless chaos.
And suddenly, he felt a chill.
The white plague breaks out just by knowing the na of the naless chaos.
They will die.
Amundalas continued, pointing at the monks.
“They think that the Codex of Light has ‘completely conquered the world’ and thus established this glorious kingdom in their era. They do not want this beautiful creation to break. And they want to go to heaven before they commit more sins.”
“Surely, that’s why.”
“It’s not a guess; it’s obvious. The Codex of Light says that the eternal kingdom is in heaven. Compared to that, this life, where one can sin at any ti, is just insecure and uncomfortable. The sa goes for the rulers, priests, and the wealthy. They believe they deserve to go to heaven because they contributed to this ‘golden age.’ So many kings, nobles, priests, and the wealthy hoped for ‘the end’ to co. The poor, in their own way, hoped for the end of this oppression and suffering.”
Amundalas waved her hand again and changed the location. This ti, she took them to a vast desert. A pyramid-shaped altar was visible.
The mont Isaac saw it, he felt nauseous with déjà vu of a certain scene that ca to mind. Seeing Isaac’s reaction, Amundalas muttered expressionlessly.
“It seems you have been eroded by the mory of an event that took place here?”
Isaac recalled the nightmare he had and the ritual perford by a man in yellow clothes on this pyramid altar.
“It seems that really happened.”
“Yes. Among those you saw earlier, there were those who desperately wished for the end. They decided not to wait for the end quietly… but to invoke it themselves. They began to draw out the faith, the power of chaos, that was spreading among themselves.”
Terrifying mories flashed through Isaac’s mind like lightning.
A tilting and distorting world, monsters crawling out using human skin as gates, mountains of human corpses. Scenes that could not be seen with a sane mind.
“Is chaos originally such a faith?”
“No. Of course not. But as I said before, everything in the world is influenced by Urbansus. The followers of chaos desperately wished for the destruction of the world and the end of this order. Then the form of that miracle could not be normal.”
The result was tentacled monsters and a crumbling world.
Isaac realized why the miracles he perford were all like this.
They are the remnants left by those who wished for the end in the past.
It is still a trace of Urbansus that affects Isaac.
“In the anti, one person… prepared this unprecedented ritual.”
Isaac imdiately thought of the man in yellow clothes. The man who always stared at Isaac with desperate obsession from the afterlife. Isaac was sure that the man was constantly approaching him and that he would eventually encounter him.
“Who is that?”
“I don’t know. His na was erased along with him. Even if I knew, it would be best not to ntion it carelessly. This place is also Urbansus.”
Sowhere in this Urbansus, there is the man in yellow clothes. Amundalas was warning him.
Isaac was silent for a mont, then spoke as if he still had lingering thoughts.
“Even so, such a crazy cult religion couldn’t have spread widely.”
“That’s right. It didn’t spread that much.”
Amundalas said, as if mocking Isaac’s expectation.
“It spread to only about a third of the world’s population at the ti.”
At that figure, Isaac fell silent.
The white plague that wiped out a third of the world’s population.
Isaac realized that it was not the naless chaos that spread the white plague. It was just that the plan of the madn who dread of the world’s destruction had succeeded.
But their destruction ended with their death, not the world’s.
However, Isaac suddenly realized that such an absurd miracle could not have been accomplished by the power of a single believer.
It was impossible with human power alone.
Not without the help of a god.
“Did chaos agree to all this?”
“It must have. Even if the man in yellow clothes was an unprecedented genius sorcerer, he couldn’t have done it alone. Killing so many people at once.”
“Why would he do such a thing?”
“I don’t know. Gods create many mysteries. But even other gods may not understand the white plague.”
It’s back to square one.
The white plague was not created by the naless chaos, but the fact that it agreed to it does not change. Then why did the naless chaos agree to annihilate its own order with the white plague?
‘Did it ultimately not withstand the pressure of Urbansus?’
***
Before he knew it, Isaac was back under the deck of the ship in the salt desert.
“I don’t know if this is enough of an answer for you, Isaac.”
She lay down on the salt floor, looking tired, and said,
“The white plague is the result that the followers of chaos wanted. Whether to escape the oppression of the Codex of Light or to leave the painful present life for heaven, the desired result has co. It’s just that we don’t know why the naless chaos agreed to it.”
That much is the will of the gods.
As Amundalas, who can only see the information that flows in, it was sothing she could not know. Isaac bowed his head, realizing that Amundalas had answered as sincerely as possible.
“Thank you. Your answer is sufficient.”
Amundalas gazed intently at Isaac and suddenly, as if struck by a thought, issued a warning.
“I just want to caution you on one thing.”
Tapping the floor with her fingernail, Amundalas continued,
“Using strong divine power ans that you are getting closer to the gods. It ans the boundary with the afterlife is thinning. It ans Urbansus could taint you.”
“I’ve heard sothing similar from an acquaintance before.”
Eidan had said sothing with a similar nuance. As the power of miracles grows stronger, individual free will disappears, and the collective will of the faithful can take over.
“At that ti, I replied, ‘Isn’t that what happens when you join any group?’”
“That’s right. If you set aside Urbansus and everything else, it’s commonly called peer pressure. Groups can’t tolerate dissimilarity.”
However, Amundalas’s eyes sparkled as she pointed at Isaac and said,
“But you are exceptional. Strikingly different. The pressure of thousands of years, of hundreds of millions of people, will be transmitted to you alone. Right now, it might not be very strong, so the pressure from Urbansus might not be significant. But the stronger you beco with the power of chaos, the more dangerous it will be.”
Isaac kept silent for a mont, not responding.
He understood what Amundalas was saying and what she was worried about. Isaac’s safe growth so far was all thanks to the power of the naless chaos. But he also felt that he should not rely entirely on that power.
It wasn’t just about hiding his identity.
It was the anxiety that a power given without reason could also disappear without reason.
It would have been the sa with any other faith, not just the naless chaos.
‘It’s not entirely my own power.’
Isaac thought about the naless chaos.
It was clear that the naless chaos was benevolent. And it didn’t seem likely to withdraw that benevolence easily. Honestly, Isaac had trusted the naless chaos and risked his life on it many tis. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say he trusted it more than anyone.
But his afterlife… Urbansus was different.
Isaac now knew where his tentacles and miracles originated.
From those who desperately wished for destruction.
And the man in yellow clothes.
The fact that the naless chaos killed a third of the world’s population with the white plague ans that a third of the world will exert pressure on Isaac.
If such an alien afterlife pressures Isaac to ‘be like them,’ can he really withstand it?
Amundalas was concerned about that.
After a long silence, Isaac finally spoke.
“I understand your concerns.”
“Thank you for understanding.”
“It’s a serious matter to just say ‘don’t worry, nothing will happen’… But for now, it’s been helpful to . I should thank you again.”
Isaac bowed his head in gratitude.
So far, he had never felt his will being influenced by another’s. But if what Amundalas described was true, it would co in a form beyond his awareness.
But Amundalas looked at Isaac and smiled slyly.
“I like your cautious nature. It seems the Drowned King’s sacrifice was not in vain.”
Suddenly, Isaac began to understand how much courage the Drowned King must have needed. That battle had been his desperate struggle to discover Isaac’s true intentions.
“By the way, did you know I was coming?”
Amundalas seed to know a lot about Isaac, more than what could have been conveyed through the Moonwell Ritual.
She clearly knew a great deal.
Isaac was curious, but Amundalas covered her lips and shook her head.
“I cannot reveal everything now. Especially about you, as ntioning it might attract unwanted things.”
She whispered with a smile.
“However, I believe that, unlike them, you wish for the permanence of this world.”
Isaac rembered what the Drowned King had said before sending him to this world.
‘Then I believe you, like , also desire the permanence of this world.’
“What does that an…”
“It’s ti to go back. I’ve already revealed too many secrets. I’ll have my share of struggles here, so you go on and work hard there.”
With that, Amundalas pushed Isaac’s shoulder lightly.
In the next mont, Isaac’s vision changed.
–TL Notes–
Hope you enjoyed this chapter. If you want to read up to advance 20 chapters or support , you can do it at /Akaza156
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