Sword of Dawnbreaker

Chapter 930 - 929: Darkness

On the afternoon of the next day, Gawain convened Aunt Heidi, Kamel, and other key personnel to formally announce the current status of the Goddess of Magic and the intelligence gathered from Amoen, the Giant Stag, during a closed-door meeting.

The double-layered crystal windows insulated the room from the howling cold wind outside, leaving only the cold sunlight slanting into the house. Inside the small meeting room, protected by strict security measures, the atmosphere felt heavier than ever.

Gawain sat at the head of the long conference table, Aunt Heidi to his right, and Amber blended into the air as usual. On the left side of the table, a Magic Web Terminal was set up, with the images of Grand Governor Victoria Wilder and Baldwin Franklin floating above the crystal array.

"The Goddess of Magic seems to truly not be returning... Although Milmina remains, from a clerical status perspective, the Goddess of Magic has already ’fallen,’" Victoria broke the silence. "After the White Starfall, the world has once again witnessed the downfall of a deity firsthand."

"Unlike three thousand years ago, the belief in the Goddess of Magic does not have a significant influence on society, and her ’departure’ will not impact the existing mage system," Pittman spoke from the side. "I discussed this with Princess Heidi yesterday, and we should be able to navigate this turmoil relatively easily."

"The prerequisite is to act quickly," Aunt Heidi picked up the topic and looked at Gawain sitting next to her. "Ancestor, after the feedback from the Goddess of Magic disappeared for a few hours, mages noticed anomalies and reported them to the local Administrative Offices. Reports from across the nation are increasing. They are still patiently waiting for the imperial capital’s response, but the news will soon spread among the populace."

Mages have long been an upper structure in human society, and their deeply entrenched influence hasn’t disappeared despite the dramatic social changes in this country. If this group isn’t stabilized, it will become a major problem.

Traditional methods like using saturation-style entertainment media to distract the public eye or controlling public opinion to manage the situation are limited in effectiveness for them, and may even lead to opposite effects—after all, the gods they believed in are gone. It’s clearly inappropriate to bombard them with movies to cheer them up at such a time...

"Let’s first proceed with the original plan to announce the downfall of the Goddess of Magic. This matter cannot be concealed, and the more it is hidden, the more it will trigger backlash and chaos," Gawain nodded slowly and said. "The reason for the god’s downfall doesn’t need to be explained by the government, nor should it be made clear. After this, we need to conduct a nationwide, massive, and extremely solemn public event."

The Empire’s high officials in the meeting room and on the communication line may not have immediately reacted. Baldwin Franklin, who was connected, couldn’t help but express his curiosity: "Public event?"

"Nationwide solemn mourning for the passing of the Goddess of Magic. I will write a tribute as the ruler of the Empire to express condolences. Subsequently, Victoria, you will take the lead, guiding the most prestigious mages to summarize the dedicated life of the Goddess of Magic, serving the people conscientiously. Finally, we need an ending for the ceremony, preparing sacred objects or symbolic relics, which will be burned to ashes and carried aloft by the Empire’s Dragon Cavalry to be scattered across rivers, lakes, and seas—may she rest in peace."

As Gawain’s somber and serious voice fell, everyone in the meeting room looked at each other, evidently still not catching up with Gawain’s thoughts. Aunt Heidi, in particular, showed a look of disbelief—she frequently interacted with the defied Plan, naturally knowing that every god is destined to turn from protector to foe of civilization in the long run, and her ancestor had been combatting those gods who gradually descended into madness. Hence, such a grand "mourning" project appeared bizarre and unreasonable to her.

Baldwin Duke in the connection spoke hesitantly and thoughtfully: "Is it to provide a release point for the mages nationwide, to calm their emotions?"

"Not just that," Veronica Moen, sitting opposite Gawain and holding the platinum scepter, suddenly spoke. Her face displayed a somewhat enlightened expression, clearly starting to grasp Gawain’s intentions. "I understand what you mean, Your Majesty, you need to make this matter into a ’conclusion.’"

"This is called ’nailing the coffin shut,’" Gawain’s smile involuntarily appeared as he observed the contemplative expressions after Veronica spoke, "The Goddess of Magic ’has died,’ irrespective of the reason, irrespective of whether she was a deity or something else, irrespective of her deeds or influences; in any case, she’s dead now. This god no longer exists, and the source of faith has vanished, and we will mourn her deeply—the mages can grieve and remember, but everyone will undeniably know that there is no longer a Goddess of Magic in this world.

"This mourning must be as solemn as possible, covering a wide range and on a grand scale to form universal consensus and public opinion, forcing those unwilling to accept it to accept it, leaving those who wish to question unable to find targets or reasons for their doubt.

"Of course, Duke Baldwin also makes a valid point, this will serve as an ’explanation’ for the mages nationwide, giving them an opportunity to release their emotions. We need to direct all their emotions towards mourning so that they don’t have time to think about other things."

After Gawain’s words, everyone felt enlightened after their initial shock. Sure enough, using funeral-like events to attract attention and define events is a fairly conventional operation; the key is that ’holding a funeral for a god’ is so extraordinary that nobody originally considered this direction.

Aunt Heidi pondered for a moment before reluctantly raising her head again, looking at Gawain with a strange expression: "Isn’t there a problem with doing this...?"

"Trust me, no better method exists," Gawain smiled at the constantly worried ’Cecil’s Great Steward’ and nodded, "This will be the first funeral we hold for a deity, and if it successfully serves as a guide, transition, and stabilization, this funeral will become a reference for the future."

The phrase ’reference for the future’ evoked even more peculiar expressions than before among the meeting room attendees like Aunt Heidi, yet as individuals who had witnessed two divine calamities alongside Gawain, and even seen the ruins of ’fake gods,’ they knew that the words behind this sentence were likely an unavoidable future.

As long as civilization advances and the harsh rules of this world continue to operate, other gods will undoubtedly fall, and each god’s demise will involve Emperor Gawain Cecil giving them a grand funeral.

Even Amber, attending the meeting invisibly, couldn’t help but reveal her form, glancing twice at Gawain, feeling a slight admiration—nailing the coffin shut... Indeed, a fitting phrase.

No wonder he was once the one who rose from the coffin.

Gawain then waited for the meeting attendees to digest the previous topic, after Aunt Heidi completed the meeting’s minutes, before clearing his throat to speak: "Next, we should discuss the issues over in Typhon."

"There is a War God who may have already gone mad there," Veronica Moen stated indifferently, "If we talk purely academically, this is a valuable observation sample. We can directly understand the characteristics revealed when gods descend into madness and the subsequent impacts on the real world."

"But it’s not merely an academic issue," Gawain responded, "We should write a letter to Emperor Rosetta Augustus—perhaps the ’anomalous change’ of the Goddess of Magic Milmina would be an appropriate opening topic..."

...

A thin mist enveloped the imperial capital of Typhon. Pale sunlight streamed through clouds and fog, creating an atmosphere of twilight in the city below. As autumn deepened its hold, cold winds began to sweep through the courtyard and open-air corridors of the Obsidian Palace. Only the royal garden, protected by a greenhouse barrier, remained lush and warm.

Matilda Augustus stepped into the royal garden in the courtyard of the Obsidian Palace, where the warmth immediately embraced her, quickly dispelling the chill she had brought in from the outside. She walked along the pebble path into the depths of the garden. In the dim light of near-dusk, she saw her awe-inspiring father standing under a pine with orchid-like leaves, seemingly gazing at the flowerbed at his feet.

It was a poorly growing flowerbed.

"Father," Matilda stopped a few meters behind Rosetta and lowered her head, "I have returned from the Sage Hall."

Rosetta did not turn around, only responded with a faint "hmm," and casually asked, "Was Malm Dunite hosting you in the inner sanctum?"

"Yes," Matilda nodded, "and it was still conducted according to proper ceremonial specifications and procedures."

"At least on the surface, everything seems normal, doesn’t it?" Rosetta nodded, his gaze still fixed on the nursery, "Tell me what you’ve observed. We are in urgent need of information about the situation inside the Sage Hall."

"I inquired directly with the pope about the recent rumors concerning the churches in various regions—because these rumors have already spread, it would be abnormal not to ask," Matilda nodded in response. "His Eminence Malm did not answer directly or explain, only saying that someone was maliciously attacking the Sect of the God of War, and that an investigation had already begun in the diocese where the rumors appeared... This was in line with his status and the situation at the time.

"The Pope himself appeared to have no abnormalities, and our conversation was very much in line with the usual context, but I could distinctly feel a strange... atmosphere within the Sage Hall.

"A tense and oppressive atmosphere enshrouded the entire Sage Hall. Although every priest I saw appeared fine, that atmosphere was indeed present, even in deserted places. It felt as if... the tension and pressure were emanating from the Sage Hall itself.

"I discreetly spoke with some priests. It was apparent that ordinary priests in the Sage Hall were also aware of the rumors. Their responses were no different from His Eminence Malm’s. But there was one thing I found very strange... Some priests seemed a bit agitated when answering me, as if offended by something—yet I am sure there was nothing improper in my words or actions, and I used very calm, even favorable terms towards the Sect of the God of War when raising questions about those rumors."

Although the anomaly Matilda mentioned seemed to be a minor detail, Rosetta turned around with a serious expression on his face: "Do you think there’s... something else within those priests’ ’agitation’?"

"It’s just a vague feeling," Matilda said. "Their emotions came very suddenly, followed by tense and slightly bewildered apologies. While talking to them, I could always feel an elusive gaze shifting around, and at times their voices would suddenly become hoarse... I suspect their emotions were influenced by some external factor, one that makes me very uncomfortable."

"Did you see anything else?" Rosetta frowned, "Regarding the Sage Hall itself, did you discover anything?"

"...Some corridors in the Sage Hall seemed rather dim," Matilda thought carefully, speaking in an uncertain tone. "I’m not sure if it’s just my illusion; the Sage Hall is filled with countless candle lights and new magic crystal lamps for illumination, yet I always felt it was dark there—it’s a ’darkness’ that does not hinder vision, almost in a psychological sense. I confirmed with the attendants, and it seems that I was the only one to notice this anomaly."

Rosetta’s brow slowly furrowed as he gazed at his daughter without a word.

Due to a curse from two centuries ago, members of the Augustus Clan... have perceptions somewhat different from ordinary people, especially in certain areas relating to the gods. They often see and hear things undetectable to common folk. It is precisely because of this that he sent Matilda to observe the situation in the Sage Hall.

This was something Matilda herself was evidently well aware of.

But the young Pearl of the Empire was not as "experienced" as her father—she merely noticed those details, unlike Rosetta Augustus, who dared to draw frightening conclusions.

"Father," she couldn’t help but speak, "Do you think..."

"The influence of the Sect of the God of War in Typhon... is deeply rooted," Rosetta suddenly broke the silence, speaking in a way that seemed somewhat inexplicable to Matilda. "It’s like an ancient tree with roots a thousand years old; its roots have become part of the land, and everything that grows on this land is more or less affected by it."

Matilda opened her mouth, wanting to ask more, but suddenly she heard undisguised footsteps approaching. The black-haired maidservant supervisor had silently entered the garden, and by the time the footsteps were heard, she had already arrived ten meters away.

"Diana," Rosetta looked at her, "What have the Wanderers found?"

"The injured priests may have died in very desecrated and twisted manners, therefore their bodies were secretly and quickly dealt with, and multiple witnesses have been controlled by the local church. The Wanderers tried to verify the state of those witnesses and have confirmed that at least four priests went mad due to mental corruption," Diana reported in a calm and indifferent tone. "Moreover, it’s confirmed that in several areas, the church has reduced the scale of weekly blessings and closed parts of the church facilities under the pretext of church repairs—the relevant orders came from the Sage Hall, personally instructed by Malm Dunite, without passing through the College of Cardinals. The Pope personally giving such instructions is in itself abnormal."

Listening to Diana’s report, Matilda suddenly couldn’t help but widen her eyes—

The Sect of the God of War has always operated independently and in isolation, out of the reach of royal authority. Yet, when did the Wanderers, who belong to the royal family, manage to investigate the church’s internal secrets to such an extent?