Elden: Ring of Calamity

Chapter 524 The Explainer

For thousands of years, those who rose again from the ruins of the forbidden war may have countless times reminisced about the glorious heyday of the Star-Moon civilization, but no one would dare to mention the end that destroyed that golden age, the original sin that incurred the wrath of the gods.
Legend has it that the eternal darkness is the opposite of the Elden Meteor. As the culmination of the laws of darkness and chaos, the Eternal Dark Domain is capable of annihilating the laws of all gods—including the order that the supreme will is destined to bestow upon this world.

Therefore, when arrogant and ignorant mortals arbitrarily touch the taboo of subverting the order, divine punishment descends mercilessly, wiping away all sinners and evil.

Lucia had thought that the reason why the Ancient Darkness was such a sensitive and taboo existence must be because it posed a great threat to the high and mighty gods. But until this moment, he had never realized that this forbidden magic, which only existed in legends, was actually a successful practice of the Star Moon Civilization's theory of unification.

In theory, the two laws of darkness and chaos belong to "Black Moon" Pandya, while the latter belong to the other side of the supreme will that it has suppressed, namely the mad fire sealed under the stone stage.

One of the origins of the Star Moon Civilization is the Night People and Rare People who worship the God of the Three Moons. It is not surprising that they could come into contact with the laws of darkness. But would the supreme will of the laws of chaos offer up its own laws and allow mortals to use them to create weapons to deal with it?
Katpela seemed to have anticipated his confusion. Even though they were in a desolate wilderness where there was no movement within their spiritual vision, she still used her divine power to isolate the surrounding space and time before softly asking, "Have you ever thought about the essence of the laws, what exactly are they?"

Seeing her so serious, Lucia felt a chill in his heart and pondered for a moment before saying, "Years ago, I speculated that laws are the manifestation of the underlying power system of the world. Each power system has a unique logic, and it will spontaneously converge on the individual who understands it the most and has the strongest grasp of it—the only being at the top of the system who can completely control the corresponding laws is called 'God'."

"Gods possess a near-complete monopoly over their own laws, and those who convert to their faith are blessed with divine favor and granted permission to use prayers within this system; therefore, prayer is also known as divine magic."

"Therefore, the law is both the source of the gods' power and the foundation of their existence. A god whose monopoly is incomplete is incomplete. For example, the reason why Esther wanted to exterminate the various races of the starry sky who were her former kin, and even willingly allowed herself to be driven by the supreme will to launch a forbidden war, was to make up for the loophole that the law of gravity was 'stolen'."

"Whether it's the wild gods who were killed and replaced in the chaos of the revival era a hundred years ago, and whose laws were taken away, or the golden monks who lost their ability to pray overnight due to 'impure faith' in recent years, they all indirectly confirm this conjecture."

"What makes demigods special is that we are the only beings in the world who are not subject to such restrictions. As long as our talents allow, we can freely study any kind of power."

"If we delve deeper, it is probably because we have all inherited the bloodline of the true god and king who wields the Elden Ring. Those beings who transcend the world and are truly qualified to play the game use bloodline as a lock. But what they lock is not us, but everyone outside of us."

"Thus, the demigod became the only 'free' piece on this chessboard where the gods of the heavens maneuvered and plotted."

As his clear and thorough arguments echoed in her ears, Katpera was momentarily lost in thought, as if she had returned to a thousand years ago, to the days when they studied and discussed philosophy with their great mentors.

What Lucia realized was exactly what she wanted to remind him: the ancient darkness, having nothing to do with the supreme will, touched upon the chaotic laws that did not belong to the Eternal City. Perhaps this proved that the unified theory could bypass the blockade of the gods and seize the power of the laws from them.

If she could use her understanding of the ancient darkness to help him perfect that power technique, would she be able to move a little faster on the road to unification?

After all, time is running out.

She suddenly took half a step back, shook her head, and said, "It's mostly correct, but you said you 'once' made that deduction. Could it be that your opinion has changed now?"

Lucia, however, went a step further, his burning eyes filled with a fervent thirst for knowledge. He exhaled deeply and said, "Yes, after the battle with Estelle and after witnessing Chareleus, who has reached the realm of kings, I've been thinking lately—"

"Are laws invincible?"

Carter felt his sudden approach and instinctively wanted to back away, but she didn't want to show weakness, so she tried to straighten her fair neck and looked at him calmly.

At the same time, Lucia's words became increasingly astonishing.

"If the laws are invincible and unique, then no god who monopolizes the laws should perish. The reason is simple: even if the laws differ in scope and strength, their control over a certain rule in the world must be absolute. Under this 'absolute' control, even opposing gods would be severely restricted if they entered each other's domains. So how could one ignore the suppression of the laws and kill a true god?" "Since you mentioned the ancient darkness to me, it must be to remind me that it used the chaotic laws that should be governed by the supreme will. From this, we can conclude that if we trace the origin of the shared nature of demons and prayers and delve into the principle of unity, we will touch upon the root of the concept of 'laws'."

"To put it more bluntly, the Unified Theory touches upon a level deeper than the laws. It is the origin of this world and the end of all things. The one who controls 'unity' can transcend the gods and control the flow of world rules from a realm closer to the bottom. It is the core of the operation of this world, while the laws are merely the manifestations derived from the core."

"That is why the eternal darkness was able to bypass the supreme will and control the laws of chaos, and the supreme will felt a real threat as a result, so it spared no effort to destroy the Star Moon Civilization."

Katpera's expression shifted, her already radiant face now appearing even paler. After struggling with her emotions for a long time, she finally let out a helpless sigh.

She hesitated several times, wanting to tell Lucia the knowledge necessary to perfect his skills, but also unwilling to let him touch upon certain dangerous truths too early.

No matter how tight the time is or how many difficulties there are, it should be someone like her who takes the lead. It is not up to him to shoulder the burden now.

Unfortunately, he was too smart and too perceptive.

"Since you've thought this far, you've already guessed the truth I want to tell you. But you must know that, just like that eternal furnace of life, although many people may make minor repairs and embellishments on the surface, the underlying power system of the world will never be altered by external things. Rules are rules. A unified theory or a key that points directly to the root of the law is not enough to prove your conjecture about the law itself."

"For thousands of years, the laws have been the ultimate weapon that all living beings can master. Even the Elden Ring is just a tool that Marika uses to maximize the effect of the laws of life. How dare you say that the laws are not invincible or unique?"

Lucia smiled faintly, as if stating a simple fact. "I'm just curious, even an existence like the Supreme Will could have its own laws almost stolen by a newly created and incomplete magic, which gave it a fright. Doesn't it sound like the myriad laws of this world are like weapons that can be fought over by anyone? Whoever takes them can flaunt their power for a while, but if they are defeated by a stronger being, they have to kneel down and hand them over, becoming tools for the successor to boast and mislead believers?"

Is it possible that God is not the wielder of the laws, but rather the interpreter?

As if a bolt of lightning had struck his mind, Carter was startled!
Those who wield power, those who interpret.
What may seem like a difference of just one word is actually worlds apart.

The former represents complete control, with laws merely being weapons used by gods to forge their divine status and suppress believers and enemies.

The latter, however, represents that everyone can try to understand and grasp the logic of how the world works, while the gods and their laws are merely the closest to the end among countless seekers who try to explain the logic.

"You mean"

"Everyone can give their own answer. The closer the answer is to the standard, the stronger the power of the rules that can be mobilized. The so-called monopoly of the law by gods does not mean that they monopolize the law itself, but rather the knowledge and inheritance corresponding to the law."

"Ratan was able to use powerful gravity magic against Estée because he inherited this knowledge from the Temple of Secrets and gained his own insights from it. His insights far surpassed those of his teacher and were not far inferior to those of Estée."

"Similarly, the discovery of the ancient, dark Star-Moon civilization truly touched upon the essence of the laws of chaos. If the Supreme Will had acted a little slower, allowing the Eternal City to comprehend the closer answer, then at least in the realm of chaos, He would no longer be a god."

"The reason why the ancient god of death Hephaestus perished, and why the wild gods who died in the War of the Gods, excluding those imposters without the protection of the laws, were no match for you and the apostle of the Godskin, is precisely because their 'answers' were far from the truth. They could only barely mobilize some of the power of the rules by getting close to them, but once they faced you, who had a profound understanding of the laws of death, they were tantamount to waiting for death."

(End of this chapter)