Chapter 1307
My name is the swarm, because we are many
[The Way of the Swarm Transcends Limits, The Material Realm Is About to Ascend—]
[The Power of the Swarm Completely Boils, The Nine Rivers of the Path Become Even More Turbulent—]
[From today onwards, Phantom Demons will gain telepathic abilities, and Phantom Demons will have the possibility of fusing and coexisting with the living.]
[The barrier between the Dream Realm and the Material Realm has become extremely thin, and Extraordinary individuals may awaken telepathic abilities and gain the possibility of learning the art of “Fusion.”]
[—The Law of Equilibrium has been updated, and a new equilibrium point has been established.]
“That is… the Way of the Swarm.”
Eivass murmured, “The Pure White Robe, the Silver White Crown… a dual-bodied Pillar God?”
From the Hourglass’s report, he had a general understanding of how the Way of the Swarm functioned.
As the newest form of the Seventh Origin River, it was a compromise and fusion of Authority and War.
Whether it be the “Devour” that consumes everything to perfect itself, “Power” that decides everything with unmatched brute force, “Authority” that rules the weak through power and rules, or “War” that eliminates dissent by acting with the masses… the Origin River of Violence was becoming weaker and more dispersed. Just like the essence of the Material Realm’s ascension, more and more power seeped into the Material Realm, causing everyone to become stronger.
Ironically… the “invincible god” chosen by the Origin River of Violence in each generation was ultimately beaten to death by a mob.
Not counting Calamity Red and Supreme Heaven—even the retirement of the Silver Crown Dragon had Morgan’s assistance; and Uranus’s defeat of the Sky Devouring Beast also relied on the King of the Hunt’s power. After all, such an act was a hunt in itself. The loser learns from their failure and becomes stronger. This was precisely the blessing of the Origin River of Survival.
Perhaps the Origin River finally understood… or acknowledged it.
The power of an individual ultimately has its limits.
A mere Pillar God cannot overcome the sum of all other Pillar Gods.
Undoubtedly, this was the weakest, least “violent” moment for the Origin River of Violence since its birth, the time when the river’s water level was at its lowest.
However, it was also the moment when the Origin River had the greatest impact on the Material Realm—along with the ascension of power in the Material Realm, the power of the Origin River permeated more and more people.
—And this was also the time when a Pillar God was least likely to fail.
“The Sacred Number of Civilization, plus the Sacred Number of Violence… would only lead to oblivion.”
Eivass muttered, “But if love is added… then a miracle can be born from “Fusion”.”
As long as there are enough people, failure will not come easily.
For a great beast, its own death is the end of everything; for a tyrant, their death might leave some lingering influence; but for a wise king, let alone his own death—even the end of his dynasty would ensure that the laws and rules he established would be passed down. For a “war,” merely killing the general would not end it, which is why Calamity Red was repeatedly killed and reborn—reborn in an increasingly twisted and insane state.
The death of Calamity Red was not due to the annihilation of his individual existence. It was because he was alone behind him, due to the Silver Crown Dragon’s negation.
If a general is abandoned by the monarch, soldiers, and populace all at once, then the war loses its meaning.
Similarly…
The most essential aspect of the Way of the Swarm is, “As long as there are enough people, failure will not occur.”
Guinevere was a priest who healed others, and Lancelot was a knight who protected others. This meant that they were a dual-bodied deity composed of a healer and a protector.
The Way of the Swarm emphasized telepathy and fusion, clearly indicating it was a supportive deity.
Support is the core of the team, which is only natural. The death of the support does not mean the team has failed; it is also normal for the support to be unable to defeat the enemy, as the damage dealers have not yet made their move.
Acknowledging one’s own weakness and then accepting more people… although in essence it was an outflow of the Path’s power, it cleverly circumvented the “curse of invincibility” of the Origin River of Violence.
The Silver Crown Dragon’s Path had a similar flavor. However, he ultimately chose to concentrate all ultimate power in himself, thus his failure was unforgivable. Because he was still the embodiment of violence, if one was not strong enough, if one could not win, then one was not violent enough.
And for the Way of the Swarm, even the Pillar God itself no longer represented violence—
The choice of the Twin White Ones was equivalent to distributing the authority of the Origin River of Violence to the other eight Pillar Gods. The greater the power, the greater the responsibility; conversely, the lesser the power, the lesser the responsibility. Therefore, as long as any of the Nine Pillar Gods survived, the collective would not have completely failed.
Indeed, from another perspective, the Origin River of Violence was no longer born for combat.
Because the first Pillar God of the Origin River of Violence was born from the Void.
—Among the Nine Great Origin Rivers, only “Violence” and “Error” are derogatory terms. The others are at least neutral.
The Origin River of “Error” was itself polluted by the Void. Its original state should have been “Perfection.” The original Tenth Origin River should have been a miracle.
Violence was the same—
The Sky Devouring Beast was stained by the Void from the very beginning.
The information of this World was decompressed from the Sin Thorns.
This desire and ability to “violently devour everything” was a prototype of the Twilight Seed’s act of devouring this World.
Defeating others, devouring others, obtaining their power, and then replacing them—this was the Twilight Seed’s method of expansion.
Destruction. Consumption. Fulfillment.
—From this perspective, the Sky Devouring Beast Nibiru was the earliest Apostle of the Void.
Devouring the sky, devouring the sky… why is there a large hole in the sky? That is the trace left by the Void’s consumption.
Eivass, who inherited most of the knowledge and memories of the Samsara Heavenly Envoy, already knew the essence of this World’s sky dome.
Those stars… as well as the brilliant sun and moon, they are all false.
This World is not a continent but a planet. The goblins’ circumnavigation and the time differences in various regions are sufficient proof of this.
So, if it is a planet, why is there a sun that can be shot down? Why is there a star map that changes with the birth and death of Heavenly Envoys and Apostles? What is the essence of the Equilibrium Veil that is the sky full of stars?
The answer is simple.
Because the ancestors of this planet built a “sky dome.”
They may have known that an unstoppable enemy was coming from the cosmos. Thus, they chose to shroud the planet with an opaque shell… but they did not expect the enemy to come from the Dream Realm, born from their thoughts. Then, after the Void had completely devoured this planet, it opened the sky dome and left this World.
This is why there is only one passage left by the Void, why this World’s sun can be shot down… and why in the era without sun and moon, this World was just dark.
Each generation’s sun, rather than shining, was acting as a plug for that hole, becoming a kind of “good conductor,” thus activating this sky dome.
And the Equilibrium Veil is the “protective film” that protects this fragile sky dome.
The power of Extraordinary individuals and Phantom Demons is immense, and many beings capable of high-speed flight possess resilient bodies. The rune craftsmanship inherited by mages from the ancestors can achieve many admirable feats.
Reaching a sufficiently high place is… easily done.
To prevent people from casually contacting and damaging that sky dome, which already had a large hole, the Hourglass, which knew everything, with the help of the Great Philosopher, who also knew everything, built the “Equilibrium Veil” that prevents anything from flying too high.
—This was the initial dispute between the Hourglass and Father.
The Hourglass wanted to build the Equilibrium Veil, and even rebuild the sky dome, to protect the World again; while Father wanted to ascend beyond the World, to see the real starry sea, to see what the ancestors feared, and to find the hope that did not exist in this World.
This might seem meaningless to some… but someone has to do it.
Just like when a group of people are trapped on a deserted island, in a dense forest, a desert, or a poisonous swamp, the most sensible choice is to shrink their activity range, minimize resource consumption, wait for rescue or a miracle…
But some people will choose to leave.
Even if they die, they will die on the road to seeking hope.
So, since “Violence” cannot defeat the Void, it is better to change the path.
Since he did not have the power to defeat the Twilight Seed… as the weakest Pillar God, he should at least handle the logistics properly.
The Brave defeating the Demon King does not mean the villagers will live happily ever after; after the hero ends the war and saves the World, people still need to live well and continue their peaceful lives.
Just like the question Father asked the Hourglass back then: Is eternal and unchanging order really good?
And as the “Easier Instrument,” the Way of the Swarm of the Origin River of Violence, gave an answer to this question:
—When people wish for it, the World should change.
“From this point of view…”
Eivass murmured, “The Way of the Swarm, as its purest form after the influence of the Sky Devouring Beast was removed… is perhaps the most erroneous one, or perhaps the most perfect one.”
But another question arose in Eivass’s mind—
When the final explosion ended, the Silver Crown Dragon, the Knight Heavenly Envoy, and Calamity Red all disappeared.
—Who exactly was the one who died?
Although it seemed to be the Knight Heavenly Envoy… because he was the one pulled down by the Ouroboros Ring, and the Silver Crown Dragon did not seem to have died in battle, yet the position of Pillar God had indeed changed hands.
Soon, Eivass’s question was answered.
Because what appeared before him was not one Pillar God.
But three people—
Or rather, two people and one dragon.
—Lancelot and Guinevere, riding the Silver Crown Dragon, descended before Eivass!
“Eivass!”
Lancelot greeted him enthusiastically, “Catch!”
Eivass subconsciously reached out his hand and caught the knight’s helmet.
At that moment, he understood what it was—
The power of a Heavenly Envoy Fragment permeated his body, and the words appeared before Eivass:
[Heavenly Envoy Fragment – Fragment of Protection and Loyalty]
[—The Law of Protection and Loyalty, residual power of the Knight Heavenly Envoy. If used appropriately, there is a chance to become a Shield Heavenly Envoy or a Minister Heavenly Envoy.]
…Shield Heavenly Envoy or Minister Heavenly Envoy?
Eivass was somewhat surprised.
So the Knight Heavenly Envoy had not followed a normal path from the beginning… Ah, but that was normal. After all, he was a dual-bodied Heavenly Envoy, not a knight formed alone—his queen was behind him.
Whether Shield or Minister, if Guinevere were added, the concept would be contaminated. Not to mention, he was not a minister or a guard to begin with, but a monarch. “Knight” was the most appropriate form of this concept after it was distorted.
“You are Eivass…”
At this moment, Guinevere looked at him curiously, while the white dragon seemed somewhat surprised and somewhat helpless to still be alive.
The Silver Crown Dragon had clearly not died permanently as he wished—or rather, the Knight Heavenly Envoy had weakened himself by mixing in impurities, and saved him.
The Knight Heavenly Envoy abandoned his own body and did not choose to ascend to the position of Pillar God as a Knight Heavenly Envoy.
Instead, he chose to ascend to the position of Pillar God under the “identity card” of Vothigern.
No wonder… the Knight Heavenly Envoy’s Heavenly Envoy Fragment only appeared after the new Pillar God was born.
This was no longer a twin god, but a trinity Pillar God—and perhaps there would be more in the future!
As long as one can be accepted, one can become a Pillar God of the Way of the Swarm. From this perspective, the Way of the Swarm would have no Apostles, because there would be no need—if one could become an Apostle, becoming the “eyes, hands, and words of the Pillar God,” then one could naturally become a member of the Swarm God!
In the future, this would likely be the only Pillar God referred to by a plural noun…
“…What should I call you from now on?”
Eivass smiled with understanding and asked.
“I am the ‘Great Swarm’.”
Lancelot grinned.
And Guinevere and the Silver Crown Dragon said in unison, “Because we are many.”
(End of this chapter)
