World version update

Chapter 299 The Invitation of the Gods

Orank, the Steam Cathedral.

Pope Sieg III, the usually dignified and solemn elder who holds the fate of millions of believers in his hands, is in a hurry at this moment.

His steps carried an urgency unbecoming of his status as he walked along the secret passage accessible only to a select few of the church's highest echelons, heading deeper into the cathedral's underground.

Soon after, a massive bronze gate, inscribed with intricate patterns and exuding a rich medieval mythological atmosphere, blocked his path.

The doors were cold and heavy, and carved with ancient legends of saints descending to earth in the Middle Ages.

On either side of the door stood two figures clad in judgment armor, surrounded by a holy radiance, like sculptures; they were two human saints of Sequence Four.

Their eyes scanned the surroundings warily, and only after confirming that it was the Pope himself did they slowly open the first barrier in a complex mechanical linkage.

Behind the bronze door is a deep and long corridor, with steam lamps embedded in the walls that emit a soft glow, making the murals painted on the walls clearer in the light.

After passing through the corridor, the second door, the Silver Door, suddenly appeared.

The door radiates a soft and holy light, and the reliefs inscribed on it are different now, depicting an even more glorious era, an ancient myth where gods walking on the earth coexisted harmoniously with humankind.

The aura guarding the Silver Gate was even more terrifying. They were two mortal gods of Sequence Three. They were almost completely blended into the shadows, their figures blurred, yet they exuded a pressure that could make the souls of ordinary saints tremble.

Upon seeing the Pope, they nodded slightly, and the silver gate slid open silently inward.

As you pass through the Silver Gate, the temperature seems to rise suddenly, and the air is filled with purer and more active supernatural energy.

What appeared before Sieg III was the last, and most magnificent and sacred, golden gate.

The golden gate shimmered with an almost liquid light, and the mythological scenes carved upon it became incredibly grand and tragic, depicting the primordial epic of the war of the gods.

Stars fell, the earth cracked, and in the end, the seven true gods returned to their positions on the ruins, establishing the mythological foundation of the world order we know today.

Guarding either side of this last door were two beings surrounded by blazing wings of light, radiating an aura of holiness and inviolability—two Sequence Two Earth Angels.

They are servants before the gods, close to the divine being.

The three gates opened one after another before the Pope, signifying that he had penetrated the core of the Steam Cult's layers of protection.

Sieg III took a deep breath to calm his slightly rapid breathing, and stepped alone into the final area known as the Hidden Temple beyond the Golden Gate.

The interior of the temple was not magnificent; instead, it appeared somewhat empty and ancient.

Only on the very center altar does an inextinguishable flame of faith burn.

Above the altar, bathed in a soft glow, sat a young man dressed in a simple white robe, sitting quietly cross-legged.

He had a handsome face and a gentle demeanor, like a boy next door, and seemed to have been waiting there for a long time.

Upon seeing the young man in white robes, all the eagerness and majesty on Sieg III's face vanished instantly, replaced by a deep-seated awe and reverence.

Without the slightest hesitation, he immediately straightened his robes, bowed deeply to the white-robed youth, and performed the most standard papal salute: "Your Highness, King of Angels, good day."

"What is the reason for Your Highness's urgent summons?"

The young man in white robes slowly opened his eyes. His eyes seemed to hold the weight of time, and the wisdom and vicissitudes flowing within them were enough to make anyone who looked directly at him lose their composure.

He did not answer immediately, but simply gazed silently into the eyes of the Pope, who held immense power in the secular world.

Sieg III's body jolted at the mere sight of that silent gaze, as if he had instantly realized something, and a look of mixed joy and fear appeared on his face.

Without further hesitation, his knees buckled, and he instantly prostrated himself on the ground with utmost devotion, his forehead pressed against the cold earth. In an excited tone, almost like chanting a sacred hymn, he loudly proclaimed: "Welcome, my Lord, God of Steam and Machinery! Welcome Your Majesty's early return!"

During the long period of collective slumber of the seven great gods, the Steam Cult was nominally ruled by the Pope, but all core members knew that the one who truly commanded all the extraordinary power of the cult was this first-order angel king.

He is not only a powerful being who is only one step away from the true god, but also the beacon and vessel of the god of steam on earth.

According to the established cyclical law, when the God of Steam awakens from his slumber, his true form will remain in the Astral Plane to continue resisting the erosion of the indescribable extraterrestrial demons from beyond the world.

The King of Angels will then become the sole vessel through which our Lord's consciousness descends to earth and walks the world.

The King of Angels is the most powerful force in this mysterious version, and it is the hidden angels and the King of Angels who fight against the many hidden evil gods.

As for the seven great gods, they have long since transcended the mortal world.

Normally, it will take about a month for the God of Steam to fully awaken.

But at this moment, the Angel King's posture and the supreme will revealed in his eyes, which did not belong to the Angel King himself, clearly indicated that the God of Steam had already sent a wisp of his consciousness into the Angel King's body.

The significance of this cannot be ignored by Sieg III.

"Get up, Zig."

The King of Angels finally spoke slowly. His voice was no longer the clear and bright one of a young man, but had become incomparably vast and magnificent, as if it were a divine decree from the heavens above. Every syllable carried an unquestionable majesty and power.

Simply listening to the divine voice stirred in Sieg III's soul an irresistible urge to prostrate himself in worship.

"Thank you, Your Majesty."

Sieg III rose slowly and respectfully, but still maintained a slight bow, appearing to be listening attentively.

"An anomaly has occurred in the Astral Plane." The voice of the Angel King echoed in the empty temple, carrying a hint of imperceptible solemnity. "We all separated a wisp of our consciousness beforehand to return to the mortal world in order to explore the root of this anomaly."

"During our slumber, has anything unusual happened in the world?" Upon hearing the word "unusual," a strange expression appeared on Sieg III's face.

He pondered for a moment, organized his thoughts, and respectfully replied, "Your Majesty, several months ago, a mysterious being who called himself Fengdu did indeed descend upon the world and, with a system never before seen in this realm, passed down the Daoist tradition known as the Underworld."

He paused, then continued, "Those who called themselves the Underworld established an organization called the Trade Union, based on the working class, and quietly spread the Underworld belief in various places. They even suppressed the Undying King and seized the concept of the River Styx."

At that time, His Majesty and the gods were still in the deepest slumber. We dared not presume to speculate on their origins and purposes, nor dared to act rashly and cause unpredictable consequences. Therefore, we temporarily set the matter aside and simply maintained close surveillance.

"The Underworld? Fengdu?" A glimmer of light flashed in the eyes of the Angel King, which contained endless wisdom.

His eyes closed slightly, and his immense divine will swept across the entire world in an instant.

In an instant, all public and private information related to the underworld and guilds in this world, as well as the vague concepts of the underworld in the minds of believers, flooded into His consciousness like a tide.

In just a moment, He gained a thorough understanding of the situation of this emerging power.

However, when He tried to go further and trace the origin of it all back to the name of Fengdu, a strange change occurred.

No matter how He activated the sequence of this body's personhood and authority, or how He mobilized the faith of hundreds of millions of believers in the Steam God Cult as a guiding light, He could never capture any true information about the name Fengdu.

It was as if an insurmountable barrier stood before Fengdu. He could sense the existence of the underworld, the doctrines it spread, and even the vague direction in which the power of faith would ultimately flow, but he just couldn't pinpoint that final point.

Fengdu seems to exist outside the spacetime coordinates of this world.

The King of Angels suddenly opened his eyes, a look of unprecedented surprise and sharpness flashing deep within them.

His gaze seemed to pierce through the dome of the steam cathedral, through the steel sky of Orank, and fall upon the boundless stars.

As information was being processed, a vague idea emerged in His mind.

"Is that Fengdu from outside this version?"

His voice carried a subtle, almost imperceptible fluctuation. As the only being in this world, even one who had achieved his status by dividing up the old powers, he was still qualified to know the secrets of the various versions of the universe. However, the gods in the mysterious versions had never truly taken the initiative to explore the other versions.

The reason why the other versions of the One in This World pursue other versions is mostly because they seek a path beyond the One in This World.

However, for the seven great gods in the mysterious version, they still have a clear path before the old corpses are successfully divided, so they do not pursue power outside of this version.

Before completely breaking apart the old authority, they did not care about other versions, and even the matter of the Great Collapse version was left to the Church to handle.

Now that he had received this information, and combined it with the previous anomalies above the stars, the King of Angels slowly murmured to himself:

"Is Fengdu the same emperor who, not long ago, made a fleeting appearance among the stars and stirred up the ancient corpses?"

Not only in the hidden shrine of the Steam Cathedral, but almost at the same time, similar scenes were unfolding in the radiant sanctuary bathed in the eternal sun, the endless library where the ancient god of knowledge slumbered, the tranquil sanctuary shrouded by the goddess of night, and several other core and most secret forbidden areas of the Orthodox Church.

The unprecedented disturbance of information originating from the ancient corpses, and the subsequent manifestation of the mysterious and majestic phantom of the Emperor above the stars, were like a boulder thrown into a calm lake, completely alarming these seven ancient beings who had just awakened from their long slumber and were preparing to enjoy a grand feast.

They are not truly afraid of outsiders. In countless past cycles, powerful beings from other worlds have occasionally descended with some of their power to try to interfere with this world.

But no matter how powerful these beings were at the beginning, they were eventually swallowed up by the historical rewinding driven by the gods, leaving not even a trace.

The Underworld? Fengdu? Even if He truly is the only one in this world, even if He has successfully established a secular belief system in the mortal realm that can rival the Church of the Seven Gods, in the eyes of the Seven Great Gods, it is nothing but a mirage and meaningless illusion.

Because once this old feast has successfully concluded, they will, as they have done countless times before, return to the safe point they set.

No matter how prosperous the underworld is, or how much faith Fengdu has accumulated, it will all vanish along with the erased history.

Their fundamental purpose in establishing churches and spreading the faith was not to rule or educate, but simply to have a solid enough anchor point when enjoying the polluted power of the old corpses, using the collective consciousness of millions of believers as a coordinate to anchor their true self and not get lost in the feast.

However, this time, an unexpected variable occurred.

The mysterious phantom of the Emperor was deeply connected with the strange movements of the ancient corpses, which instantly touched the most sensitive nerves of the seven righteous gods, sounding an alarm in their hearts.

What they were truly worried about was not the loss of faith in the mortal world, nor the addition of another external competitor, but the possibility that another person might be added to the old feast that they regarded as their own exclusive domain, on which they relied to maintain their status and power.

All signs point to one conclusion: the mysterious Emperor of Fengdu probably had the same purpose as them—to seek those ancient corpses.

Their actions of establishing the underworld to spread their faith, seemingly competing for believers in the mortal world, are actually likely also preparing an anchor point for the upcoming feast.

Inside the hidden shrine of the Steam Cathedral, the King of Angels' eyes, which held boundless wisdom, grew even deeper.

He let out a soft, long sigh, a sigh tinged with a subtle gravity.

“If that’s the case,” the King of Angels’ voice was deep and slow, yet carried an undeniable majesty.

It was as if he were speaking to King Zig III, or as if he were reaching a final consensus with the other six righteous gods through some invisible network: "Then let us see with our own eyes whether this uninvited Emperor of Fengdu is truly qualified to sit at this table and participate in this ancient feast."

Will transcends time and space, and countless exchanges are achieved in an instant.

As the words fell, the divine pressure subsided slightly, and the King of Angels turned his gaze back to Pope Sieg III, who still stood respectfully, and slowly spoke:

"Zig, on behalf of the seven major orthodox churches, extends a formal invitation to the messenger from the underworld in this realm."

Sieg III was greatly surprised. How could a mere messenger from the underworld be so qualified to be invited by the incarnation of the God of Steam?

The King of Angels paid no heed to the Pope's attitude. He paused, seemingly considering his words, and finally spoke in a subtly meaningful tone:
"Invite him to represent the Underworld and Fengdu to attend the upcoming Feast of the Resurrection of the Gods!"

(End of this chapter)