CG Chapter 117: The Hidden Hand that Guides Us All
The relentless winds of time swept through the trees of the seven kingdoms, rustling the leaves that symbolized its people.
With each day, the winds hit harder, and the leaves changed their colors with the seasons.
Five years had passed since the fall of the seven kingdoms, and it hadn't taken long before the Eternal Flame Empire rose in their place.
Tom had designated Futia as the capital of his new empire, but not before renaming it Ardor.
This name symbolized the light of a new dawn that this city would bring to the dark world.
At first, the citizens welcomed the change.
Life was improving at an almost unnatural rate, so much so that even the lowest of the peasantry could live a lavish life.
But this change was too good, too fast, and too unexpected, so much so that some had begun to doubt their new reality.
These skeptics fell into two groups: those who had chosen to remain silent, willfully ignorant. And those who tried but failed miserably at giving voice to their doubts.
The former group was fortunate to live in blissful ignorance.
But the latter, the ones who tried to put their noses where they didn't belong, were given a chance to see the truth that they tried so hard to reach, before disappearing into eternal darkness.
The truth was simple: Keep your mouth shut unless you want us to seal it shut for you.
To quickly sway the minds of the masses in their favor, the Eternal Flames exhausted the world's natural resources at an unsustainable rate.
They made sure that people were too busy stuffing their mouths with food and shallow joys to see the truth.
But that was just the surface. The hidden hand's control ran much deeper than simply throwing away resources.
With the fall of the seven kingdoms, the hidden order of the Eternal Flame Empire took control of the narrative, turning truth into falsehood and falsehood into truth.
They began with history books, rewriting certain events in their favor, altering small, unnoticeable details to turn the victims into demons.
Fortunately for them, this job wasn't as hard, as the seven royal families were not the saints they liked the world to believe they were.
Alongside this came propagandistic and theological brainwashing. Here, the advantage of a singular, unfixed belief in the Eternal Undying Flame showed itself.
After chaotic times, the people would become easily susceptible to the subtle and not-so-subtle suggestions of their religious leaders, who were nothing but puppets placed by the Empire.
With this, Tom had reshaped the course of history, from seven kingdoms into one empire, and from scattered beliefs into a unified one.
Yet remnants of the old world still clung to their beliefs. They were like invasive weeds that refused to die.
Fortunately, the power they gave the gods was negligible, especially after the churches that held their statues were destroyed.
Without these, they had no true channel to harness faith or maintain their connection to Eldervale.
The faith of these few old, rotten men would simply scatter before it ever had the chance to reach the world of the gods.
This, however, didn't mean that their connection was completely severed. The six-thousand-year-old link between Eldervale and the gods' world was still there.
And to sever it completely, Tom would need to personally cast them out and kick every single one of them back to where they belonged.
…
Within the castle of Ardor, Tom stood near a large window, gazing upon the city below for one final time.
Children played in the streets, their laughter filling the air. Parents watched from a distance, smiling as the rays of the sun bathed the city in its golden light.
To an unknowing eye, this city would look nothing short of paradise or some hidden haven.
Unfortunately, just as no flower lives forever, this dream, and this haven of theirs would soon shatter.
Without turning, Tom spoke, his voice indifferent.
"I am going to visit an old friend of mine. I'm not sure how long the journey will take, but while I'm gone, I need you to keep the work going."
To an outsider, it would seem as if he were talking to himself.
But they would be far more surprised to hear a response.
From an unknown source, a heavy voice replied, its tone so deep that one couldn't tell whether it belonged to a man or a woman.
"Understood."
With that, Tom began his final preparations.
One by one, he packed the weapons he gathered from his fallen victims.
The golden Morningstar of Daybreak, once wielded by the Unfallen Radiant King.
A saber, once held by the foolish wise man.
A trident that never had the chance to showcase its brilliance.
A silver chisel that once carved the seven holy statues.
A golden, rusty coin that symbolized the wealth of a nation.
A thin wooden branch from a divine tree.
And lastly, a giant shattered corpse that carried the power of the Northern Star, the legend and leader of a generation.
These were pieces of history, of time, and of the once seven most powerful men who ruled this world.
Now, they looked like nothing but a desolate memory of their prior glory.
At the edge of the city, Tom took a final glance at Ardor.
Then, without hesitation, he mounted his white wolf, dragging behind him the seven divine weapons.
With a final sigh, he set forth toward the heart of the Luminara Forest.
To those who watched his departure, the image of an unknown youthful scholar would overlap with reality.
He looked exactly as he had back then, before he possessed all the authority and fortune of this world.
To anyone else, they might have gotten too indulged in the luxury and power of being the sole ruler of the world, making them forget their original intentions.
But to him, it was all worthless.
He was a man who belonged nowhere, his dreams stretched far beyond, reaching for greater worlds.
As he rode atop the wolf, he looked indifferent, with an unchanging expression.
"An echo, a whisper, or a dream,
A house lost within the in-between.
A sky beyond the sky,
Yet I am but a mere man reaching for eternity.
I scream, I laugh, I dream,
With tears that fall unseen,
Singing of a memory beyond the in-between."