I, the wizard, the foolish Buddha.

Coming to his senses, Roland looked at the old scribe.

"Old sir, after the Age of Madness, all the surviving gods and beings were infected with Madness. So, don't we all have 'their' blood flowing in our veins?"

The old scribe said, "It's more accurate to call it creation."

Just like the forbidden creators of yesteryear, who created their own God by constantly rewriting and erasing that piece of paper.

The gods created us as they continuously cleaned the beehives with the ocean, the lowest level of the world.
Of course, from the perspective of mortal cognition, we do indeed have the blood of the gods flowing in our veins—just as described in the church's Bible, we are all children of God.

The Alayes are descendants of the gods and creators, the Orbis are descendants of gods, and the Malrods are descendants of gods and men. The wizards of the East claim to be descendants of the creators, but the blood of the gods also flows in their veins.

The gods once lived in this world, mingling with mortals.

In the years after their departure, the Son and angels were often born on this earth, leaving behind a noble lineage for humankind.

More than 70,000 years have passed since then, and the world has experienced countless disasters.

Those who could not adapt to these disasters had long since perished, and those who survived, even if they did not originally possess the blood of the gods, had the blood of the mad gods born in that lower world.

The gods have a thousand faces and a thousand forms, and thus countless races of beings have come together. Elves, blacksmiths, humans, demons, cattle, horses, even insects and flies. All beings are equal, and the gods treat everyone equally; we are all their subjects and children.

Roland understood.

After the Age of Madness, the local natives were almost all wiped out. The remaining people were all replaced by the Mad God, the Mad Angel, or the Mad God's retinue.

This process is like a 'holy twin angel' descending and reshaping itself to adapt to the laws of the new world, thus becoming human.

Therefore, if this matter is carefully examined, it might lead to a rather absurd conclusion—that there were originally no native inhabitants of this world! It was the arrival of mad gods who became the natives. Then, due to a reversal of cause and effect, a group of natives appeared in past history.

After the madmen began to see themselves as human, they all became human. They then gained hands and feet, and began to drink water and eat.

In addition, in order to learn the culture of the forbidden creators, they deliberately retained their human form and began to live and reproduce like humans. As a result, many, many new humans were born.

Therefore, strictly speaking, all the people in this world are descendants of the Mad God!

Furthermore, every few years, this world sinks into the ocean of the lower world. Therefore, those who cannot swim, even if they do not drown, awaken the power of the Mad God in that ocean of the lower world.

Through the constant baptism and selection process of the ocean in the lower world, the people of this world have become more like the creatures of the lower world (the mad and evil gods).

Therefore, anyone in this world, given the right opportunity, has a chance to ignite a frenzy of enlightenment.

In other words, everyone in this world has the ability to become a god in one step!
Many experiments by wizards have indirectly proven this point. A mere apprentice, after special modifications, can be transformed into a world-destroying mad god—such as the Three Holy Servants of the End.

Believers can be easily elevated to 'angels' through the infusion of faith power—such as the 'three-headed serpent Dagmar,' who was almost immortal and was eventually devoured by Heraclatha in the lower world.

Wizards can comprehend the indescribable mysteries of the lower world through bizarre logic. They can employ the mad magic of the mystical side in ways that seem illogical.

The forbidden creators follow the materialist path, but the idealist path is extremely difficult for them.

The Mad Gods took the idealistic path to its extreme, but even though they reshaped themselves and their self-perception to adapt to the materialistic world, their development on the materialistic path was still very punk.

Sometimes, it even makes the wizards of the East laugh their heads off—look at that broken 'rope' they've come up with! Is this thing really that difficult? We only got the technology in Wilmick a few years ago, and we've already figured out the principles behind it.

In contrast, people in this world have unimpeded access on both paths!
The gods, in their attempt to reshape themselves, failed to perfectly adapt to the world represented by these two paths, but they created a group of children who were able to adapt to it all.

The people of this world possess the bodies of the forbidden creators and the spirits of the gods!

Strictly speaking, we are all descendants of the god of madness.

This is something utterly unacceptable—the wizards' creators are indeed gods! Not only that, these gods are insane gods!

Neither the wizards of the North nor the believers of the South could accept this. The wizards had always been fighting against the gods, while the believers had always been fighting against the god of madness.

Fortunately, Joan and Florence didn't understand these ambiguous words, otherwise they would have collapsed.

Roland had clearly already discovered the truth, but instead of finding it hard to accept, he was secretly delighted.

Because he had long accepted the fact of what he was—others evolved, but he was born directly from the mad god and a human! He was dirtier than everyone else!

He thought he was the most "unclean" person in the world, but he didn't expect that everyone was "unclean"!

Although I am the uncleanest one by comparison, we are all crows, equally black!
Roland couldn't help but smile, and asked, "So, if, cough, I mean, the gods of Heaven can actually tolerate evil gods, right? And the extermination of evil gods is something the church does itself, not a divine decree from Heaven?"

The old scribe said, "Of course not. The gods are holy, while evil gods are wicked. This world has suffered calamities from wickedness in the past, so how could the gods allow wickedness to exist?"

It took Roland a long time to understand the meaning of the old scribe's words.

He looked at the old scribe and asked bluntly, "Are you saying that they, like the 'Three Holy Mothers of Dawn,' consider themselves normal gods, and therefore see themselves as the mortal enemies of the mad and evil gods?"

The old scribe's reply was profound: "Charlie, the madness of the gods has long been 'cured,' and the gods believe themselves to be their holy children, and therefore holy as well. So, we are naturally the mortal enemies of madness."

Roland asked stiffly, "What would happen if the gods discovered that we are not holy?"

"The mad god cannot be killed, but the ancient great prophet 'Nep' gave the gods a very good suggestion before leaving with the Third Holy Mother. So, once the gods discover that any of them has suddenly gone mad, they will imprison them there forever."

The old scribe looked at the dim stone slab on the dome and said, "That is the new Paradise of Madness."

Forbidden wizards jokingly refer to it as a 'mental hospital'. And that's certainly true, because the madman's final destination is naturally the mental hospital.

Over the years, the gods have imprisoned countless things.

One god went mad, so they locked him up.

Everyone's gone mad, so naturally everyone should be locked up until they're cured.

Roland's face turned extremely ugly as he looked at the dark stone slab the old scribe was pointing to.

The location of that dull, lifeless stone slab is precisely the location of this world's 'sun (black hole)'. It symbolizes the chaotic, subterranean ocean.

The old scribe said, "Mr. Leonard has always arrogantly believed that the gods' purification of this world was to nip the budding forbidden civilization in the bud, out of their fear of the forbidden creators. Andorra's view differs from Leonard's, and there is a basis for this. The only thing the gods fear is themselves."

Now, with the development of the Well of Faith in Malrod, wizards are gradually glimpsing more and more fragments about the past.

According to the description of Nadalak, the well-keeper who experienced and recorded all of history, only a very few of the more than three hundred civilizations that appeared in the past showed the beginnings of the forbidden.

Half of these civilizations were entirely ruled by the Church. People were incredibly ignorant, and the very seeds of forbidden thought had no chance of sprouting. Yet, they were still purified.

Throughout history, only the Eastern Realm has truly inherited the legacy of the Forbidden Creators.

They have gone further than any civilization before them, and they have far more potential and a brighter future than any civilization before them.

But God didn't care at all; in fact, He was delighted and extended an olive branch to them.

At this point, the old scribe glanced at Diana: "I think even Miss 'Olivia' would be willing to admit that these strange little bees created by the gods themselves might replace their creator in the future."

But she should also have told your prince that whatever future the bees have is meaningless.

Because this world has no future.

Just like the analogy Andorra used to describe Miss Olivia, the world is a giant balloon that keeps rising, ready to drift away and end up in the vast ocean above the sky.

If the little ants inside the balloon want to survive, they must find a way to keep the balloon's string firmly tied to the hands of the gods.

They even had to protect this rope on behalf of the gods.

Roland's eyes suddenly twitched.

When Olivia told Roland that the world was a rising balloon, Roland was quite puzzled, because in this metaphor, the sea was in the sky. Therefore, the metaphor was inappropriate.

Now he finally understood Olivia's metaphor—the ocean of the underworld was indeed in the sky, the Pope had discovered all of this long ago, and this metaphor was spoken by the Pope himself to Olivia.

Roland asked, "Old sir, hasn't the Pope considered the possibility of establishing a new rope?"

The old scribe said, "The church will never betray its God, nor does it have the ability to do so."

Roland understood the old scribe's unspoken message.

He couldn't help but recall Prince Charles's bitter and self-deprecating expression.

Compared to people like Charles, the Pope of Andorra was more intelligent and shrewd. He even knew how to break the deadlock. But he couldn't.

Because he is the puppet with the most threads on his body among all the puppets.

He was even the incarnation and shell of the gods on earth, a true puppet.

Moreover, the environment of the entire church did not allow him to do anything. Therefore, even without the restraint of the gods, he could not act freely.

In contrast, wizards are free to do this for everyone.

Ever since hearing so much about the Pope from Brianna, Roland had begun to question the Pope's behavior and his supposed unwavering faith.

Now that Roland has learned the whole truth, he suddenly realizes the reason behind the Pope's actions and his 'faith'.

He and his advisors knew everything, but they were powerless to do anything. All they could do was be obedient leaders, doing everything they could to demonstrate their loyalty to the flock.

In order to ensure the continuation of this world, he would personally help the gods commit many inhumane acts, in order to prevent them from discovering the truth that humanity needed complete purification.

However, if one day the flock has the opportunity to break free from the gods' control, the lead sheep will close its eyes.

Roland then asked, "Does Lord Leonard meet with His Majesty Andorra frequently?"

When Leonard was mentioned, the old scribe's expression seemed somewhat complicated.

He said, "As far as I know, they should have never met. But the beautiful Her Majesty Ariadru often visits the Papacy to communicate with His Majesty Andor about the latest views of the wizards."

Looking at the handsome older man beside him, Roland cautiously asked, "I heard from Miss Catherine that His Majesty Andor was actually Her Majesty the White Queen's second husband."

The old scribe's face stiffened slightly. He replied, "That's their private matter."

Roland then looked at Florence.

Florence's face stiffened, and she turned her head away, avoiding Roland's gaze, unwilling to discuss such gossip with him.

Joan, standing nearby, quietly tugged at Roland—this old scribe was clearly a close advisor to the Pope! Although he held no official position, he was probably the chief strategist in the Pope's inner circle. How could you talk about your boss's gossip in front of him? Didn't you have any sense?!
Roland didn't take it seriously. He thought to himself, "That must be what I'm thinking! The Whites and the Orbis originally had a chance to form an alliance, but my good father-in-law defiled and abducted my mother-in-law, and she got pregnant, so all of that was ruined!"
Father-in-law, you are truly despicable and shameless!

Your senior's despicable and shameless nature was all inherited from you!

Roland was clearly lying—how could Catherine gossip about such things with Roland?

However, Roland had long suspected who his mother-in-law's second husband was.

He guessed that the person who could win the favor of his mother-in-law must be someone of high rank and power in the south, and must also be a remarkable hero or leader.

Throughout the South, there are many figures who can be called heroes—such as Victor (Baron Hall), the Sword of Dawn, who, like Roland, possesses the protagonist's aura.

However, the mother-in-law is extremely materialistic and values ​​lineage. Therefore, this person cannot possibly be a commoner. He must be a nobleman with an ancient lineage.

In addition, the White Queen's sons are all very young tower masters. For example, Helena's father is only in his sixties this year.

Therefore, the White Queen's second husband must have been a person from this era. And he might still be alive—in his eighties or nineties.

Therefore, Roland speculated that this person might be the emperor of Orbis.

Judging from Prince Charles's personal qualities, Emperor Orbis must also be a person of great wisdom and ability.

But then Roland suddenly remembered something—more than sixty years ago, the Pope was still a prince of Orbis, not a clergyman. (End of Chapter)