"A god...?"
"You saying... this is... a god?"
When Raven and Nibald arrived in the temple with the knights and saw the statue Maya was praying to, both of them made uncertain remarks.
"Is this what a god looks like?" Raven continued straightforwardly.
It wasn’t surprising that he would ask this.
In the modern Akasha Continent, religious faiths did exist, but their gods were usually depicted as mighty or sacred figures, typically in humanoid form. At the very least, they would appear as dragons, serpents, or fierce beasts—clear and recognizable shapes.
Yet the god worshiped in this temple was nothing more than a simple square block, which, to Raven and the others, was undoubtedly peculiar.
Even Riezel hadn’t expected the god Maya kept mentioning to be something like this.
It couldn’t be helped.
Even in his previous life’s world, gods were usually depicted in human or beastly forms, whereas worshiping an object as a god was something he had never personally witnessed before.
Maya, however, scoffed at their bewilderment.
"If you ask me, imagining gods in the form of any living creature in this world is nothing but blasphemy." Maya said bluntly. "Gods are transcendent beings, far above any creature in existence. Trying to shape them into something you can understand and accept is nothing short of arrogance."
Before long, she finished her prayer, stood up, and turned to face the group.
"I don’t know what things are like outside now, but back when I was still on the surface, there was only one god worshiped and revered."
"Whether it was us or other tribes in different places, all of humanity believed in a single god."
"From the time of our God’s descent to the moment this city vanished beneath the surface, a total of twenty-seven thousand years passed. No matter how civilization advanced or how much humanity evolved, we never forgot the one True God who enlightened us and allowed us to flourish on the surface."
Hearing this, the group, aside from Riezel, who had already guessed Maya’s identity, felt utterly overwhelmed.
"You... are you really someone who survived from the ancient magic civilization?" Nibald asked, looking at Maya with astonishment.
Maya, however, neither confirmed nor denied it.
"I don’t know exactly what you mean by ancient magic civilization, but I can guess that, to you, the time I come from is a distant past..." Maya replied calmly. "All I can say is that I’m not from your era. And don’t look at me like that—I didn’t survive because humanity’s lifespan was extended. I simply abandoned my human self and became something beyond human in order to protect this temple and this city."
For a brief moment, her expression grew complex, but it quickly returned to normal.
"Don’t bother asking me too much about my era. I might not know more than you do."
Maya continued and sighed slightly.
"When this city was on the brink of destruction, I followed it underground to protect both the city and the temple, only to end up being swallowed by the Underground Demon Beast Yarakulon."
"When the city sank, I have no idea what happened on the surface—why regimes changed, why history unfolded the way it did, or how it all led to what you now call the ancient magic civilization."
"As for what happened after we were buried underground, I know even less. In the end, to keep my mind from breaking down over time, a protective mechanism was placed on me. Unless someone approached this city, I would remain in a deep sleep. It’s something I have no control over."
With that, Maya shut down any further questions about her origins, leaving the group with unanswered curiosity. Even so, now that they knew she had lived since the ancient magic civilization, their perception of her had changed.
Maya, nonetheless, paid no mind to how they saw her and simply made an offhand remark.
"You people can look around nearby or pray in front of the altar, but don’t wander off."
"If you want to leave, you can go out through the main door you came in from."
"However, aside from that leafed door, you’re not allowed to go through any other doors."
In this temple, there were several leafed doors, seemingly leading to other places.
"No exceptions?"
Raven, his expression darkening a little upon hearing Maya’s words, immediately asked.
No choice.
They had come here to search for ancient treasures, hoping to obtain the advanced technology and knowledge left behind by the ancient magic civilization.
If they weren’t allowed to explore beyond this area, wouldn’t that mean all their effort fighting those Autonomous Guardians was for nothing, just for the chance to tour an ancient temple?
Needless to say, such a fact was not going to sit well with Raven and the others.
"What? You planning to take something from here?"
Maya, who could naturally see right through them, asked before letting out a cold laugh and raising her scepter.
"Well, it’s not like that’s impossible since this place isn’t some untouchable treasure vault. Even though there are indeed relics and dangerous forbidden relics here, this is still a temple. Just as we provide for the faithful, we do the same in cases like this."
Indeed, it was clear from the fact that Maya was even willing to bring those outsiders, who had deceived her, inside the temple. If this temple were truly a sacred treasury that no one could enter, there was no way she would have let a group of strangers set foot in here.
A temple was a holy and solemn place, no doubt about that, but at the same time, it was also meant to welcome those who wished to pray. If she hadn’t been deceived before, Maya wouldn’t have been so wary and resistant to letting outsiders in.
Maya then continued, speaking slowly.
"In the past, some came to this temple seeking knowledge, hoping to read the books stored here and learn magic and various magic technologies."
"In the past, some came here for relics, hoping to borrow powerful relics to overcome hardships and defeat formidable enemies."
"For such people, we have never outright turned them away. Our God once guided humanity, bestowing knowledge and power upon them. As followers of God, we cannot simply ignore people’s thirst for knowledge and their desire to grow stronger."
"But taking without effort is not allowed, since that’s something we will never condone, just as our God only guided humanity toward gaining strength rather than simply handing it to them."
Maya then declared.
"If you seek knowledge and power, you must pass the temple’s trial."
"As long as you complete the trial, and your request is reasonable—meaning it does not involve forbidden matters or religious secrets—I have no issue with you taking some knowledge from here."
"Originally, there were some relics here, but most of them have already been taken by those damn deceivers... Even the majority of the books..."
Saying this, Maya clenched her teeth in frustration.
Raven and Nibald exchanged a glance, silently understanding each other, before stepping forward toward Maya, seemingly ready to take on the so-called trial.
Meanwhile, the knights remained still, quietly awaiting further orders.
As for Riezel, he had already led Lizbeth over to examine the walls around them.
"Master..." Lizbeth spoke in a slightly worried tone, lowering her voice as she looked at Riezel. "T-That god..."
"Yeah..." Riezel, having already regained his composure, gave Lizbeth a small nod before speaking expressionlessly. "If I’m not mistaken, that so-called ’God’ should be the one inside me..."
Naturally, Riezel was referring to the Dimensional Magic Cube.
Lizbeth had already learned about the Dimensional Magic Cube from Riezel before, so she knew that the divine entity worshiped by the people of the ancient magic civilization was inside his body, which was why she reacted this way.
Riezel himself was quite surprised, as he hadn’t expected the Dimensional Magic Cube to be the very god that the ancient magic civilization worshiped.
Such a revelation made him recall the drawing on the animal skin that Lizbeth carried with her, on which humanoid figures surrounded something resembling the Dimensional Magic Cube, worshiping and praying to it.
Looking at it now, that scene must have depicted the people of the ancient magic civilization offering their prayers to their so-called ’God’.
Sighing, Riezel lifted his head and looked at the murals before him.
He saw that the carvings on the murals seemed to tell the entire story of the encounter between ’God’ and ’Mortals’.
On the wall, there were six murals in total.
The first depicted a transparent cube descending from the sky like a meteor, while on the ground, a group of raggedly dressed people pointed toward the sky in panic, looking utterly bewildered.
The second mural showed a large gathering of people surrounding the transparent cube, which had landed on the earth, treating it as if it were a living being and placing various offerings of food before it.
The third mural depicted the transparent cube splitting apart and transforming into a long stairway of light that extended into the void, while a lone figure, who was receiving respectful bows from the people, was shown walking step by step toward the end of the staircase.
The fourth mural illustrated that same figure returning from the void, descending the stairway of light while holding a radiant golden sword with a brilliant glow emanating from their body.
The fifth mural showed the figure wielding the golden sword, leading humanity in battle against a group of towering beasts—the figure was depicted stepping on the corpse of a massive creature, having emerged victorious.
The sixth and final mural portrayed the transparent cube enshrined on an altar, receiving the devout worship and prayers of the people.
Needless to say, these six murals vividly and clearly depict the history of the ancient magic civilization, and when the content of these murals was combined with Maya’s earlier explanation, Riezel could easily piece together the historical narrative.
’Back then, humans were weak.’
Riezel thought inwardly, his eye locked on the murals.
’They didn’t have any supernatural powers and could only be at the mercy of monsters, getting trampled and devoured like livestock. It wasn’t until the Dimensional Magic Cube descended from the sky that everything changed.’
’Since the Dimensional Magic Cube had the power to connect to endless dimensional worlds, its appearance led humans of that era to start dimensional travel, allowing them to gain powers from other worlds and bring them back here.’
’From then on, humans in this world finally had the ability to fight back against monsters and were no longer just prey but a race capable of thriving on this land.’
’And all of this... was thanks to the Dimensional Magic Cube...’
Because of that, humans of that era revered the Dimensional Magic Cube as a god, believing that it had granted them knowledge and power.
’Maybe the reason they didn’t just see the Dimensional Magic Cube as a mere item was because of the messages that flowed into their minds during dimensional travel. They must’ve thought those were its voices, huh?’
Indeed, whether it was during dimensional travels or when assimilating special items from other worlds, the Dimensional Magic Cube would transmit something like a voice or messages that were received by its user’s brain.
To the primitive humans, who were still undeveloped at the time, this phenomenon probably wasn’t any different from divine revelations or the voice of a god, right?
Riezel thought about this while browsing through the other murals.
Lizbeth, on the other hand, was gazing at the fourth and fifth murals on the wall. Seeing the figure holding a golden sword, radiating with a brilliant light, she instinctively tightened her grip on Moslow in her arms.
Riezel noticed it and immediately understood what Lizbeth was thinking.
No doubt, the golden sword in the mural was the very same sword that was now in Lizbeth’s arms. Based on the fourth and fifth murals, the first human guided by the Dimensional Magic Cube to undergo dimensional travel didn’t just gain power from another world, but also brought back Moslow.
’Wait... could Moslow have been something the first dimensional traveler got from another world? Maybe they assimilated it with dimensional energy and brought it back?’
Riezel suddenly realized the truth about Moslow.
Clearly, that would explain why Moslow was so mysterious and why it appeared so often in the murals depicting the ancient magic civilization.
It was simply because Moslow was the first powerful weapon that humans in this world had ever obtained.
’However, why is this weapon in Lizbeth’s hand? And what did Maya mean earlier by Lizbeth being the ’descendant of that clan’?’
As this thought crossed Riezel’s mind, his gaze couldn’t help but shift toward Maya.
Over there, Maya seemed to have already finished discussing things with Raven and Nibald, pointing at one of the leafed doors in the temple and signaling both men to go inside.
Raven and Nibald, after exchanging glances, entered the leafed door, leaving only the knights behind to stand by in the temple.
At the same time, Maya, noticing Riezel looking at her, immediately walked over to him.
"What’s up? Something on your mind?" Maya asked calmly.
At this question, Riezel thought for a moment before deciding to ask a question first.
"You ever heard of the Hidden Land?"
Hearing this, Maya was briefly stunned before responding.
"I don’t know anything about a Hidden Land. I only know the Land of the Beginning."