Astartes of the Bear School

Chapter 1902, 1874. The Collapse of the Paradox
"We can't do it, and the Queen doesn't have time to do it either."

Gideon Ophniel's calmness and Vic's enthusiasm clashed sharply, like a collision.

Vik's face was filled with disbelief: "What nonsense are you talking about, Gideon? This is all just a matter of the Queen's word. Although the situation is not good now, it shouldn't be that it can't be resolved in the time it takes to say a word..."

Given Queen Marika's prestige and power, the fact that she could convict or arrest someone with a single word is already beyond imagination.

Even when the still-respectable "First King" Gavri was exiled right after the war, Queen Marika didn't even show her face before deciding on the matter.

And no one wanted to refute it.

At most, she might privately miss the brave and powerful First King, and most of her resentment is directed at her current husband; no one would think the Queen is at fault.

What Vic said was a truth that everyone in the borderlands agreed on—the Queen's majesty and power were just that great, and anyone who wanted to refute it could try.

The Eternal Queen, who won the 'Gods and Men Elimination Tournament' in the Giant War and revealed her Golden Law to the Elden Ring, holds this position.

But at this moment, not even in the deserted wilderness, but on the inner city walls of Rodel.

Sir Hundred Wisdom, a faded figure in the Round Table Hall, looked around after a moment of silence.

He glanced at the expressions of these faded figures who shared the same round table hall with him.

Like Vic, they all took it for granted. Only Lann, the newcomer whose brain had been damaged by being stripped of his blessing and who had only recently regained his senses, frowned.

“I understand,” Gideon Ofnir’s voice was even lower and hoarse, with a hint of sudden realization. “You still don’t understand how urgent things have become, do you?”

Before Dolores could even open his mouth in bewilderment, Gideon shook his head to himself.

"No, you can't be blamed for this. You are just warriors, so it's inevitable that you don't have a deep understanding of the so-called Golden Law. You're not much different from ordinary people of the Golden Tree."

"So you, like them, see that the golden tree is still flourishing and the golden law is still firm, and think that everything is still as beautiful as before, and has never changed."

change.

This term was not commonly used during the Golden Law era, since gold itself was already a symbol of permanence and immutability.

The Golden Age was characterized by a continuous cycle of good days, one after another, without end.

"Whether it's the Queen, the King Consort, or even the entire Golden Dynasty, they must now focus all their energy on this matter."

Baizhi reiterated his point of view, and it was beyond question.

"Do you think that things have come to this simply because a prince or a demigod died?"

The Faded Ones frowned and remained silent, a gesture that indicated they truly believed it and were puzzled by Gideon Ofniel's stern attitude.

After all, in the eyes of ordinary people, demigods are already noble, powerful, and immortal beings.

But in essence, it was nothing more than a title conferred by the Golden Dynasty.

The person who bestowed the title is still alive. How much of a commotion can the death of a mere person who was bestowed title, or even if they want to cause trouble, really cause?

But at this moment, as he leaned against the sturdy battlements of Rodel, and sat on the battlements beside him, tilting their heads to watch Lann strolling away from the temple, they seemed to understand something.

The Witcher opened his mouth slightly, his eyes widening a little as he turned to look at the darkness beneath Sir Hundred's helmet.

“You mean…” the Witcher said, grinding his back teeth, “that your status as a demigod is already too deeply bound to the Golden Law…?”

Gideon Ofnir nodded to Lann, but the supernatural darkness within the helmet made it impossible to discern whether his expression was one of admiration or resignation.

Anyway, amidst the bewildered expressions of the other Faded Ones, he continued speaking, picking up where Lan En left off.

“There is no death in this era, because it is the Golden Law that the Queen bears, a rule that has been in place since the beginning.”

"We relied on the blessing of the Golden Law to form an invincible legion! We finally won the War of the Titans, and the Golden Law was put into effect on the Elden Ring. The Queen became a god, and the law thus developed into an era."

“But now,” Baizhi’s voice was low and muffled, “in this age where death should not exist, someone has died!”

"If he were just an ordinary person, that would be one thing. But who is dead now? Putting aside Godwin's own brilliance, he was a demigod!"

“Demigods are appointed, and their immortality comes from the ‘Golden Law’ which stipulates that they are immortal! But now, while this law is still in operation and being enforced, the soul of a demigod has died! And according to speculation, the physical body of another person should have also died!” As Gideon Ofnir analyzed, the other Faded Ones gradually became thoughtful and very heavy-hearted.

Sir Hundred Wisdom spoke in a low voice at the end, with a hint of concealment and suggestion.

"You know me, I am Baizhi. I have mastered most of the magic and prayers in this world. I know them inside and out. Although these two systems of magic often contradict each other, but..."

"I have never seen a spell be cast normally as usual when a key part of the spell-making process goes wrong or collapses."

In Lann's understanding, the relationship between the Elden Ring and the Golden Law is more like that between a computer host and the operating program running on the host.

Although Gideon Ophniel didn't know what computer hardware and programs were, he used his familiar magic to make an analogy and was able to arrive at a very likely conclusion.

—The Golden Law may now be undergoing a paradoxical collapse!
The establishment of the Golden Law requires the elimination of death, but now that the Golden Law is already in operation, the soul of a demigod has died!
If a program on your computer crashes, at most the data on it will be wiped out, and you'll eventually have to reset the system.

But what happens to the Golden Law now that it has a loop bug?

That's a 'program' operating on the Elden Ring, which is the 'principle of the world'.

In any case, this was a situation the Golden Dynasty could never accept. Therefore, at this critical juncture, everything else must give way to eliminating the paradox, that is, to bringing back Godwin's soul.

This action is fundamentally about the existence of the Golden Dynasty and whether the Golden Law will collapse.

At least at this moment, even if Lani, who is the mastermind behind the scenes, or at least a direct participant in the 'Night of the Black Knife Plot,' has come to Rodel, the Golden Dynasty will not expend any energy on her.

Revenge and trial can be done anytime! But if the Golden Law on the Elden Ring breaks down, then the entire Golden Dynasty will be finished!
Thus, the God Dynasty, which was still in its prime just a day ago, or more precisely, half a night ago, is now sparing no expense and using every resource to try and save Godwin's soul!
"This...this is just a minor issue, isn't it?" Vic felt his throat go dry. "It's just that a demigod died, and his physical body didn't even die!"

“Can’t we just stop the Golden Law from operating?” Compared to Vic’s self-deception, Krepp was much more practical. “The Golden Law was revealed to the Circle by the Queen. She should be able to control it and stop it, right?”

This was originally his suggestion during a meeting with Vic and Baizhi in the Round Table Hall. However, the other two thought it was too extreme at the time.

Sir John Wayne's response was equally straightforward, lacking the subtlety of the earlier discussions at the Round Table.

"Krepp, your thinking can be extreme, and I think your job requires that kind of extreme thinking, but please, extreme doesn't mean stupid!"

"Do you think the Queen can demonstrate the Golden Law's operation on the Elden Ring as if a cooper were hammering nails into your barrels, doing so at will?"

"Last time, we fought a war of giants to bring the Golden Law to the Elden Ring! Now you want it to back down? What kind of war are you planning to fight next?"

"This is different." The Two-Finger Spy sneered. "Last time we were at odds with the entire Borderlands. Now? We don't even have a divine being who bears the weight of the law. Who can replace the Golden Law and operate within the Law Circle?"

“A god? There isn’t one?” Gideon Ophniel stared at Krep until the two-finger spy’s cold smile completely disappeared.

“What I mean is… there are no more gods outside the Golden Dynasty. There are only three gods now, and they are all among the demigods of the dynasty.”

"You think you're credible just because you're in the position of a demigod in a dynasty?" Now it was Bai Zhi's turn to sneer. "When the Golden Law stepped down from the ring of laws, from that moment on, the Golden Dynasty was essentially gone. Would the demigods within the dynasty still hold the same stance as before?"

"That's an opportunity to meet the Dharma Ring and become a god! After the collapse of the dynasty, what ties remain between demigods? You think you can trust them just because of this mere identity?"

"Have you gone mad from living such a comfortable life, Krepp!"

Gideon Ophniel's rebuke was merciless. Normally, the fading figures sat around the round table without distinction of rank, but when it came to such a crucial moment, it became immediately clear who had more prestige and authority.

The two-finger spy fell silent, and like all the other faded individuals present, his expression turned serious.

He didn't care about Bai Zhi's lesson; he was a two-finger agent, essentially an assassin and operative. He didn't care about being insulted or even falling out with the Faded Ones.

He simply realized just how critical the situation truly was, in this seemingly chaotic night with everything else remaining calm and unchanged.

The brief meeting of the fading figures ended, and everyone had to get back to their busy lives.

Gideon also took the opportunity to greet Lann.

"I need to deal with some urgent matters now, but you should also see Twofinger now. Only after you have met with Twofinger will you be able to participate in many things more easily."

"Go to the round table hall first. I'll come and meet you after I'm done with my work. We'll meet up."

Lan En nodded and descended from the city wall with the velvet ball and the Qilin.

(End of this chapter)