Paladin of the Dead God - Chapter 396



Only Noblemtl

Episode 396. Under the Shell of the World (3)

A world free from mortal danger.

Isaac stared at Beshek quietly. It sounded plausible.

“That sounds like the world is about to end.”

“Nothing lasts forever.”

Beshek muttered, smiling languidly.

“I realized this early on when I was studying the Code of Light. It is something that priests who have studied the scriptures deeply know. All fires go out, all incense disperses, and all that is high flows to the low. This is the law of the world established by the Code of Light.”

In terms of the concept Isaac knew, this is what it was called.

Entropy (disorder).

When a tree burns, the remaining ashes cannot be rekindled.

That ash is entropy. Someday, all the ‘burnable’ things in the universe will burn out, and there will be no heat left, and everything will turn cold with no energy left to shine.

The universe is filled with entropy.

“When the Law of Light brought down the earth and raised the sky, it already determined destruction. The lighthouse keeper was the first to know this… … and I also came to know it.”

Isaac quietly thought about the world view of this world.

It is said that the world is ruled by the God of Physics, but in fact, there are too many things that do not make sense. In the first place, the very idea of ​​a divine being intervening in physics is ridiculous.

They create fire out of thin air, raise the dead, and perform impossible feats in the name of miracles. They reverse entropy. They simply believe it is ‘possible’.

The medium that makes it possible is faith.

All errors in physics come from the gods.

‘It’s like a fairy tale.’

God is both the universal tool and the universal enemy.

Isaac wondered what destruction would look like in this fairytale world. For them, the end would be a world filled with entropy. But what if there were a divine being who opposed entropy, and powerful enemies who threatened that divine being, metaphorically existing ‘according to people’s beliefs’?

Isaac was able to figure out what the ‘being that would destroy the world’ was.

“It is the nameless chaos that destroys the world.”

All the abandoned, leftover, damaged debris.

Those beings whose remains have turned to pure white ash and who cannot be saved.

The monsters of the apocalypse, the ‘rest’ ruled by nameless chaos, were in fact a metaphor for entropy.

And the beings that would bring about this destruction appeared in the form of easily recognizable, hideous monsters, depending on the people’s ‘beliefs’.

“you’re right.”

Isaac let out a deep sigh at Beshek’s calm answer.

“Then it is impossible for me to be on your side.”

“Why?”

“This world is made according to what you believe, right? I… … believe that if this world were to follow the principles of the ‘Law of Light’, it would ‘obviously’ perish.”

Isaac recalled receiving a ‘proof of faith’ from the abbot.

Even the abbot, who undoubtedly lived a pious and devout life, could not defeat Isaac in the battle of ‘faith’.

Because to Isaac, the laws of physics were truths and common sense that transcended faith.

And Isaac didn’t think much had changed even then.

If Isaac had been a little more thoughtful and research-oriented, things might have been different. Maybe his beliefs were wrong and there were errors.

But Isaac had a ‘vague’ understanding of physics.

No matter how absurd the events that unfold before his eyes, Isaac does not think deeply about them. To him, physics is as obvious a truth as the Earth is round, the ground is solid, and the sky is above.

Even if entropy itself reverses itself, it is only to the extent of saying, ‘This is how it works.’

It is a firm faith that no one, at least in this world, can deny.

“And you… … the Immortal Emperor and the Lighthouse Keeper.”

Isaac pointed to the silent Beshek and said:

“The ‘Nine Faiths’, including the Nameless Chaos, all of you believe in a world governed by the order of the Light Code. That means you also believe in the destruction that the Light Code will bring. That one day, the Nameless Chaos will fill the world. But who will stop that… … .”

Isaac tilted his head quietly and stared at Beshek.

“It sounds like you’re going to commit an act of apostasy on the topic of God.”

***

The thatched roof burned down, leaving behind a cloud of dust.

Even at this moment, this second is increasing entropy. To Beshek, even this tranquil landscape may seem like a scene that is inciting destruction.

Isaac swallowed nervously alone in the silence. He still had the knife in his hand, ready to stab Beshek. Despite his arrogant remark, Isaac thought that it was time to slowly wake up from this damned memory.

‘I thought it was just a dream so nothing bad would happen, but if I die here, it doesn’t mean I’ll actually die or anything, right?’

“The act of apostasy… …was committed from the moment the Immortal Church was created.”

Beshek said with a sinister smile.

The dead rise and walk the earth. What greater insult to the plain light code could there be? Yet Beshek, the devout bishop, did it.

The most faithful commit the most painful apostasy.

“In despair over the light’s laws that have no regard for human life, you committed apostasy to save even a handful of people. Is that a big deal? Wouldn’t you do anything to save your people?”

Beshek jumped up and leaned down so that his face was almost touching Isaac’s and shouted,

“If that were possible! If that were possible! Can you just calmly accept it and say, ‘It’s time to die, so I should die.’”

“that…….”

“Can we calmly accept the fact that the universe we live in is in fact so indifferent, heartless, cold-hearted, and utterly cruel?”

Isaac kept his mouth shut.

Isaac, who had been struggling to protect his own life, became the leader of the army, but it was not something he did solely for himself. If he had been told, “The time has come, so all of you must die,” Isaac would have rebelled as well.

And this is a world where even delaying death is ‘possible’.

If you have enough faith.

Then wouldn’t it be natural to rebel?

Beshek rebelled only because it was ‘possible’ to rebel against order.

“That’s right. I’m in league with the lighthouse keeper! The lighthouse keeper doesn’t care about the deaths of his followers, but he’s deeply interested in my birth. No, he might even have been the one who led me to be born in the first place! But!”

Beshek growled and glared at Isaac.

“My followers, those who were sacrificed senselessly to the games of the gods, lives crushed and torn apart by the ruthless and indifferent laws of the light! As long as they can continue to dream and achieve their unfinished work, I don’t care! Even if they cooperate with the lighthouse keeper!”

Beshek’s roar reminded Isaac of something.

Previously, the nameless Chaos Servants had told Isaac about the ‘immortal emperor and the lighthouse keeper’s fraud’.

Now everything was connected. The Lighthouse Keeper was using the Immortal Emperor to deliberately lay the groundwork to prevent or prevent the destruction that would ‘inevitably come’.

To the nameless believers of chaos, this world should have been destroyed 300 years ago. But the lighthouse keeper may have been preventing it.

Isaac recapitulated the events.

About 300 years ago, for some reason, a nameless chaos sect gained great power.

They desperately ‘wanted’ the end of the world.

In accordance with their doctrines and miracles, the ritual was successful and destruction came to the world.

Bishop Beshek found a way out of this terrible disaster: he turned his followers into undead who could not die.

The immortals became a kind of breakwater preventing destruction.

In the circumstances, the one who led Beshek to become the Immortal Emperor was the Lighthouse Keeper. He prevented Beshek’s death by revising Urbanus.

The lighthouse keeper knew that the destruction could be prevented through the Immortal Emperor.

That is, the Immortal Emperor may have been the ‘first’ victim of fraud, not the perpetrator.

Of course, the ‘second’ is Carlsen Milter.

The lighthouse keeper collaborated with the Immortal Emperor to make Karlsen Milter a god, thus pushing aside the Nameless Chaos Seat, one of the nine faiths, and ultimately creating a world without an end.

But the lighthouse keeper failed.

In this world, it’s because of Isaac, but it would have failed even without him.

No, is it really only Beshek and Kalsen? The Elril faction? The escape of the Red Grail? The feud with the Furnace of the World? Perhaps there were too many Kalsen and Beshek for Isaac to count.

“For the lighthouse keeper, all of these events were a process to prevent the destruction that would come at any moment.”

It cost countless lives and forced meaningless sacrifices.

The process may be criticized as being ruthless, but the lighthouse keeper will not be interested in such criticism.

It’s just a matter of redefining the rules. It’s a matter of laying the foundations of the universe and rearranging the positions of the stars, so what’s the big deal if a few grains crumble underneath?

“What kind of millennial kingdom is this that the lighthouse keeper is trying to achieve by going against the law of light?”

“I don’t know that either.”

Beshek took a deep breath and whispered quietly.

“I have never seen it. The lighthouse keeper and I have the same goal, but the process to get there is not necessarily the same.”

The method for preventing the destruction of the Immortal Church is simple.

If everyone becomes undead, there will be no need to fear death.

Isaac thought that if all humans in the world became undead, there would definitely be no need to worry about food and shelter, so carbon emissions would decrease and there would be no pollution. It may sound like a joke, but it is the most extreme way to suppress entropy production.

“But the lighthouse keeper is not interested in humans. Does that cruel man really seek the perpetuation of the world for humans? Think about it, Isaac. An eternal world ruled by the lighthouse keeper!”

There was no need to think about it.

Certainly, the Immortal Emperor has more affection and interest in ‘humans’. He does not control his followers excessively, and even the small amount of control he exerts is just enough to give them a sense of purpose so that they do not fall into a sense of futility.

He is a cold undead, but he has a warm heart. His love for humans transformed him into a god and created a miracle that brought the underworld down to earth.

“If you wish for the world to continue, if you do not wish for its destruction, if your love for humanity is genuine… … then it is right for you to join me, not the Code of Light. Isn’t that right?”

Isaac closed his eyes. He let out a deep sigh and barely managed to answer.

“You are absolutely right.”

Isaac spoke softly to Beshek. Denial is meaningless.

There aren’t many people who don’t want to die, who don’t want something precious to leave them, who don’t want the world to fall apart. As a nameless believer of chaos, I couldn’t say for sure. But at least Isaac didn’t want it.

“So this choice is not convenient.”

Isaac stabbed Beshek in the chest with the dagger he was holding. Beshek frowned for a moment and looked down at the dagger that had pierced his heart.

He let out a sigh and sank into his chair. As blood began to seep into his clothes, he muttered.

“I’ll try to convince you again next time.”

“It will be useless.”

“It’s not something you can just ignore because it’s difficult.”

Slowly, Isaac’s vision began to fade.

***

Crackle, crackle.

Isaac opened his eyes to the sound of bones being crushed and flesh being devoured. It was the Labyrinth Valley. His followers were devouring the Old Man of the Mountain.

None of Isaac’s followers seemed to have noticed the change in his behavior.

‘As expected, the Immortal Emperor was holding me back to persuade me.’

The reason Isaac couldn’t get out of his memories was because the memories weren’t ‘progressing’.

What he had to do to escape from the memories of the Old Man of the Mountain was simple: do things as he remembered. With that, Isaac could return to reality.

It is not known whether or not he had intentionally glimpsed the past through the Old Man of the Mountain, but the Immortal Emperor did not miss the opportunity.

Certainly, his persuasion had some effect on Isaac, for he had come to see how shallow and roughly constructed the shell of this world was.

And Isaac also knew that the time was coming when he would have to choose between loving the world and potentially bringing about its destruction.

‘What will you do when the Code of Light begins to turn against you?’

Isaac thought the words were simply hints at politics and conspiracy, but now that he had looked beneath the surface, it couldn’t help but sound different.

‘What would you do if the world you love were trying to kill you?’