Chapter 1 The Storm Has Passed

The heavy rain had stopped.

The once-glorious imperial capital had been reduced to ruins. At the epicenter of this annihilation, there were no survivors.

The entire city had been torn apart into rubble and debris by the bombardment of the ranjing cannon (burning crystal cannon) and the subsequent advance of ground forces. The city's original soldiers and civilians had all been transformed into monsters, and after Emperor Berrentin's death, they had all vanished into thin air. A torrential rain not only washed away the bloodstains in the ruins but also purified the battlefield of smoke and bloody stench. When the light pierced through the clouds and shone on this land, only the word "newborn" could describe it.

The surviving soldiers began to reorganize their formations and count their losses under the orders of their commanders. However, their reorganization progress was not ideal, because even their commanders couldn't help but be drawn to the sight in the sky:

In the clear, high blue sky, countless massive starships floated, and an armada of armed drones shuttled endlessly between the starships. Those starships were clearly just out of battle. Sparks were still bursting from the surfaces of many giant ships, and thick smoke billowed. Some had even completely lost power and were being secured in the sky by friendly forces using some kind of towing device to prevent them from crashing to the ground.

After the distorted space-time structure returned to normal, those lingering echoes also disappeared. The fleet originally hidden on the other side of the world was naturally exposed to the Lahrian people.

In fact, the fleet that the Lahrian people were seeing at this moment was only a small part of the total force on the previous battlefield: most of the warships had already left the atmosphere when the space-time structure reset. They were now hovering in high orbit around the planet. However, due to the existence of the divine barrier, the people on the surface couldn't even see them with the naked eye, let alone detect them with detection magic.

Fortunately, the existence of this interstellar fleet did not cause any riots or panic. At least, the soldiers under Constance were relatively calm, because they had seen similar ships up close: although they had only seen three.

Constance stood in front of the ruined palace gate, looking towards the city. Smoke and dust were rising from the collapsed buildings, dissipating quickly under the sunlight.

She heard footsteps behind her. Before she could turn around, she heard Leah's voice: "He's gone. He went peacefully. Nothing will disturb him anymore."

Constance was silent for a few seconds and nodded lightly: "That's good."

"What are you thinking about?"

"...Actually, I don't know," Constance turned around, a rare trace of confusion on her face. "I can't even believe it's all over... So many cycles of reincarnation and restart, we fought a war for countless years, until the universe restarted again and again, and then it all ended within this one day. All the annihilative powers, the universe's constant restarting... is it really over just like that?"

"There are indeed some remaining things to deal with," Leah smiled. "But that's not your business."

"You... are really..." Constance looked Leah up and down. "The memories I saw after touching the arm ring, they're all real?"

"We said from the beginning that we came from the World Tree Temple," Leah tilted her head, a mischievous smile on her face. "I didn't lie to you. I live in the World Tree Temple now. Of course, the composition of the others may be a little more complicated, but that's another world. It's too troublesome to explain to you, so just think of us as a team."

"...Is that so?" Constance said softly, then turned around and looked at the soldiers resting on the ground after being exhausted, and the officers walking among the soldiers. "Actually, I never believed in gods."

"I can see that. I still remember what you said in Eagle City. I knew then that you had a lot of opinions about gods."

"Because in so many epochs, the Inheritors have come through on their own. We rely on the power of people, and the gods... have never appeared. The Inheritors don't believe in gods, and even resist gods. That's how I am, and that's how my father was."

"But there are temples in your empire."

"Because for the common people, their existence has its value," Constance said. "The Inheritors don't believe in gods, but if faith can be used to maintain order, we'll use it. That's our way of life."

At this moment, a beam of light suddenly lit up behind the two, and Hao Ren's voice came: "You're right, and that's the meaning of the existence of churches in the mortal world in most cases."

"I already know everything you've done," Constance solemnly bowed to Hao Ren. "You fought against the enemy for this world in places we couldn't see, and you didn't have to do that in the first place."

"Don't say that, it's really my job," Hao Ren quickly helped Constance up. "And to be honest, now you've seen it too. The gods aren't ignoring you, it's just that they couldn't control you before. So, would you like to consider promoting a church properly in the future? At least worship a real one."

A look of trouble flashed across Constance's face: "This... I haven't thought about it..."

"You can try it, it's free anyway," Hao Ren said cheerfully. "And if you think Leah is not good to promote, I can recommend another one to you. That's my boss. Although she can't control you here for the time being, the business will always expand."

The trouble on Constance's face completely turned into a daze: "...Huh?"

Leah immediately glared: "Why am I not good to promote!"

Seeing Constance's tangled appearance, Hao Ren finally couldn't help laughing: "Okay, just kidding. You guys, it's better not to engage in this kind of thing for the time being, and if possible... just use the rhetoric of a hidden organization to explain us."

Constance was really surprised this time: "Why?"

"Some civilizations need gods, and some don't," Leah replied from the side, a serious expression on her face. "You have excellent qualities. You are the most tenacious mortal race I have ever seen. Even if your civilization has declined to this level, and there is only you, this 'half' Inheritor left, I have seen those soldiers, those reinforcements from Yithu. The qualities in their bones have not changed. Believe me, Constance, you don't need gods—you can go on relying on the power of people. In this case, if a god comes out to protect you, it is a waste and insult to your talent."

She then said: "But if you need a powerful friend, I am always happy to help. I will listen to the voices from you, you can come to me with any troubles you encounter when rebuilding your civilization, I can hear—but don't believe in me, and don't worship me, to prevent tying your own hands. You must know that once I become your faith, it will not be so easy to overthrow the altar again."

"In this war, the God of Day did not appear, nor did the God of Night appear. No god appeared, understand?"

"I... understand," Constance said blankly, her eyes focused on Leah. "I just didn't expect to hear a god promoting atheism. You actually refuse people's faith. This is very different from what I imagined... Are you all like this?"

"Pretty much," Leah spread her hands and said, "Just like the Inheritors' pragmatism, we are actually pragmatic too. Some races are born with strong willpower and are single-minded. An altar is a chronic poison for them, while some races need faith to gather strength and can only grow by relying on the name of God—but there is nothing shameful in this, it is only a different form of civilization in the end."

At this moment, Hao Ren took out the Data Terminal and glanced at the holographic projection. Then he waved his hand: "I think we can leave the discussion about religious belief for later, and now let's continue to consider our respective work next. Constance, I want to borrow something from you."

"Borrow something?" Constance asked curiously, "Borrow what?"

"The Scepter of Governance," Hao Ren said. "It is actually the control component of the 'Heart of God'."

Constance opened her eyes wide in surprise.

The platinum scepter that had circulated in the cycle of epochs was taken out. Driven by the power of the scepter itself, it floated quietly in front of everyone.

"...We always thought that the Scepter of Governance was an item for performing the epoch transition ceremony," Constance looked at it somewhat absentmindedly. "The Ancestral Civilization created it, but later everyone forgot its true purpose..."

"Because it has an ultimate protection protocol. Every time the final battlefield of the Epoch Transition War is over, the Scepter of Governance must be part of the final defense line. And after this defense line collapses, the world will restart. Over time, it is not surprising that you regard it as a ritual item for performing the Epoch Transition," Hao Ren said unhurriedly, then took the scepter in his hand. "Although I asked to borrow it... is it really okay to hand it over to us?"

"The Epoch Transition has ended. Whether it is the Scepter of Governance or the Heart of God, we no longer need them," Constance said lightly. "Moreover, there are countless layers of technological differences between it and our epoch. We don't even have the ability to reach the Heart of God, and even if we develop one day, we may take a different technological route. An ancient relic from ancient times that cannot be studied... it is more useful to give it to those who really need it."

As she spoke, the corner of her mouth curled up: "What's more—you saved this world. What other thank you gift can we offer?"

"Then I won't be polite," Hao Ren put away the Scepter of Governance. "We will make the Heart of God play a greater role."

Constance smiled slightly, then said with some emotion: "Heart of God... I can't help but wonder, what kind of mentality did the Ancestral Civilization have when they created it and gave it this name? Perhaps they were really desperate at that time and hoped that a god would come to help them..."

"Although it's a little late, at least we waited." Hao Ren said with a smile, then disappeared with the others in the light of the teleportation.