The Magic Empire for 20,000 years

Chapter 266 [The Prayer] and [The Afterlife]

Elian nodded in agreement:

"Helen, yes."

"This is the law of the outer planes."

"Those larvae and primal demons you see with their cursed and hideous appearance are the Abyss's [Prayers]."

With a flick of his wrist, after more than 30 years, the illusionary projection of the [Giant Wheel]'s cosmic model was once again revealed.

"Helen, your research results are consistent with my previous research on plane physics."

"Therefore, I believe this is the truth about planes, reincarnation, and the afterlife."

As El-Erian spoke, he pointed to the outer planes of the giant wheel model in the projection.

Each of them represents an alignment, from the Lawful Good of Heavenly Mountain to the Chaotic Evil of the Abyss.

"The outer dimension is the afterlife."

"When a mortal dies, if he does not go to the divine kingdom of a god, his soul will go to the corresponding plane according to the faction he belonged to before he died."

"Although the human race has only existed for a thousand years, throughout the entire universe, intelligent mortal races such as dragons, giants, dwarves, orcs, goblins, and lizardmen have existed for countless millennia."

"Some of these souls, because of their devout faith, went to the divine realm. Others, following the laws of their respective factions, went to the corresponding faction planes."

"In any case, these souls will become different forms of [Prayers], losing their memories and personalities from their previous lives, essentially becoming entirely new beings."

"Generally speaking, in benevolent higher planes such as Paradise Mountain and Elysium—which we like to call the celestial realms—the living environment of the supplicants is generally quite good."

"Like the prayers of Mount Paradise, after absorbing celestial energy, they will transform into celestial beings called [Holy Light Envoys], small orbs of light."

"In the evil lower planes such as Hell and the Abyss, the pleaders are often in a very miserable situation."

"Like these pathetic larvae and primal demons, the vast majority have only one fate—to become food for more powerful demons. Only a very few will rise to become top-tier demons."

"That's true, it aligns with what many primitive religions like to promote: that the virtuous will have a better afterlife."

At this point, Guter didn't react much, but Helen couldn't help but fall into philosophical contemplation.

Can a new being, transformed from the soul of the dead and having lost its original memories and personality, still be considered "the original self"?

Is this afterlife really related to the "me" from my previous life?

At this point, Elian recalled the elves' previous views on the gods and added:

"The souls of elves are quite special. As creations of the strongest ancient god pantheon, the Sidrean pantheon, almost every elf soul can enter the divine realm."

"Furthermore, elven supplicants can retain most of their memories and personality from their previous life. This is related to the unique nature of elven souls, which we will discuss later..."

Elian knew a secret that even most members of the Elven race were unaware of.

Perhaps most elves believe that after their death, as long as their souls are not imprisoned or destroyed, they will attain eternal life in the divine kingdom of Avangard.

But in fact, the souls of elves follow an extremely rare law of "reincarnation".

The elven supplicants who traveled to the divine realm retained most of their memories from their previous lives, but this only delayed the moment of "amnesia restart".

After living in the divine kingdom for a long time, they will eventually lose their memories and be reborn back into the mortal world as a newborn elf.

However, if there were no fallen elven souls in the divine realm of Avando at the same time, elven beings in the mortal world would be unable to conceive.

It is precisely because of this hidden limitation that, unless the Sidrian pantheon actively creates more elves, the total number of elves is capped. (Total number of mortal elves + number of Avandor elf supplicants)
This is also the core reason why the Elven race has "long lifespans but few offspring." It can be said that almost every mortal elf once lived in the divine realm of Avandor. Furthermore, when elves engage in a unique racial phenomenon called "trance," which is equivalent to human sleep, they occasionally recall fragments of their past lives.

It is this special connection with the divine realm that makes the [Higher Magic Ritual of the Elves], which borrows the power of the divine realm Avando, possible.

—The reason why elven spellcasters are able to leverage the power of the divine kingdom of Avando through ritual is because they originally came from the kingdom of the gods, and everything in the mortal world is just a special journey!

Quickly gathering his thoughts, Elian's gaze deepened slightly:
"What are your thoughts on the fact that many demons are transformed from the souls of mortal intelligent races such as dragons, giants, lizardmen, goblins, and dwarves? Do you think there is anything inhumane about the Empire enslaving these demons?"

"What does it matter..." Gutt crossed his arms and shrugged dismissively.

He originally wanted to say:
"99.9% of the souls here are non-human races, right? Even if they were still alive, what's wrong with enslaving them?"

However, considering Eldoron's foreign policy and His Majesty Elrian's consistent friendly attitude towards foreign races, Gut changed his tune:

"To put it bluntly, these souls have basically no connection with the living people they were in life."

"In my opinion, these demons are simply born from the chaos of the abyss, only with the addition of mortal souls as materials during the process of their creation."

Helen thought seriously for a while, and finally nodded and said:
“I agree with Guterres.”

"Moreover, even if the Eldorian Empire does not explore the Abyss and enslave and control these demons, the fate of these larvae and demons will only be more miserable."

Although Helen's tone was calm, a strange thought couldn't help but cross the mind of this transformation mage who always liked to analyze problems calmly...

Helen turned her head and glanced at the larvae with human faces wriggling within the magic circle, and at the primal demon covered in festering sores, emitting a pungent stench.

"As the chief mage on the floating city, Gutt and I used to be aligned with the [Evil] faction, but now we've shifted to [Neutral]..."

"If I had died in the rebellion of the first year of the Empire, or if His Majesty Elion had not initiated that reform that benefited the common people on the surface, rewriting the political landscape of Eldoron..."

"So, are these ugly, wriggling larvae also our fate...?"

"Well, we lean more towards [Lawful Evil], and are more likely to fall into [the Nine Hells], but whether we fall into hell or the abyss, we will only face a tragic afterlife..."

"Sigh, what am I thinking? These monsters, transformed from the souls of the dead, have long since lost all connection to their former lives..."

As if hearing Helen's thoughts, Elion slowly rose and walked to the magic circle that bound the larvae.

The emperor watched as the grotesque larvae with human faces tore at each other, writhing and struggling in agony.

"I have a bold idea about the afterlife and the reincarnation of souls..."

"The multiverse, or the 'giant wheel,' uses its own will to judge good and evil, order and chaos for all beings, and conducts a grand judgment encompassing all intelligent beings in the afterlife."

El-Erian spoke in a flat tone, as if he were talking about something completely ordinary:
"What right does the universe have to judge us?"

Helen remained silent, but a hint of excitement welled up in Gutt's eyes, as if he vaguely anticipated what Elian was about to say.

Within the purple magic circle, one larva completely devoured another, growing even larger.

Its ugly face was filled with joy, seemingly unaware of its cursed fate and the fact that it had been a chaotic and evil mortal in its previous life.

"If one day, the Empire conquers the Abyss, conquers Heaven and Hell, and brings all outer planes under its control."

"I want to change the laws of the afterlife."

"At that time, only the laws of the empire will be qualified to judge all living beings and determine the next life of every intelligent being!"

(End of this chapter)