Chapter 635

Chapter 20 The Fragmented Pages of History, Part 2

I could still vaguely remember that in the Royal College, during my theology class with Professor Morgan, he told us the story of human origins on the first day.

It was about a young hero named Patrick, his encounter with the gods, and how he received a blessing.

This was also the origin story of the Holy Church.

At that time, there were many strange races in the world.

There were the immortal race hidden in the Amikil Mountains, the fairy race skilled in brewing, the winged race capable of flight, and so on. To humans, these races were favored by the gods, while humans were seen as extremely weak, struggling desperately for survival, and even once teetering on the brink of extinction.

Over a thousand years ago, in an unrecorded period, a young man named Patrick met the Great Fertile Mother Goddess. He informed her that his people were on the verge of extinction and sought her help. With compassion, the great mother goddess bestowed upon him the seed of faith. After that, humans gained the power of faith.

The wonderful ability of “natural miracles” could promote plant growth. Patrick used this power of faith to expand their territory. People had rice fields and fruit orchards everywhere, finally no longer suffering from hunger. They began to build their own homes and gradually had the resources to learn metallurgy, starting to forge armor and swords, better equipping themselves.

Later, Patrick obtained the response of the Healing God. The early priests acquired new powers, namely the power of healing miracles. Even terrible plagues could no longer defeat humans. After the establishment of the first holy city, humans continued to expand their territories, quickly building a second, third city…

Such rapid development eventually attracted the attention of other races.

The trolls thought humans were no different from those stinking rats, reproducing everywhere and making the world full of holes, and soon threatening their own homes. Thus, war began. Many races united to launch endless massacres against humans. Many cities were destroyed, countless compatriots were brutally killed, and kind priests were powerless until they received the blessing of the Sin Goddess, gaining the power of punitive miracles, and resistance truly began.

The tide of war turned. Those unstoppable other races began to retreat. Later, dragons came to attack, but when crisis struck, humans gained new powers. Dinarthys, the god, bestowed upon warriors the same order force as the other races and sent angels to assist in battle, finally defeating and exiling the brutal dragons to a place called the Dragon Homeland, which was actually the Dragon Tomb, a black wasteland.

In the centuries that followed, the other races began to weaken and gradually disappeared into the long river of history. The faithful followers of the gods, those powerful priests, attributed this to the gods’ favor and blessing towards humans.

Then came the Common Era, and the official establishment of the Holy Church.

This was what I learned in the theology class at the time, a church-motivated version of world history. It sounded like a church inspirational story, and now it seems it indeed was just a story.

From the bookshelf in Elna’s cellar, I found a handwritten book whose age was indiscernible, already in tatters. The cover was gone, the parchment yellowed and rotten, missing many pages, and even the handwriting was long blurred. Fortunately, most of the content was still legible.

What it recorded was a different history than the church version.

The first half of this history was similar to what I had previously heard.

The youth named Patrick met a deity and became the first human to be endowed with divine power, leading his people towards prosperity. The entity that bestowed him with powerful natural abilities was revered by future generations as the “Bountiful Mother Deity.”

After the founding of the Holy City of Alberia, a large-scale plague broke out within its walls, claiming countless lives. The great miracles of nature were helpless against it. Patrick sought help from the Mother Deity again, but she stated that even she could not intervene this time. Just as Patrick was in despair, the Mother Deity summoned the God of Healing, a powerful being of her kind capable of curing all ailments on earth.

Indeed.

The deities mentioned in this book, despite the author referring to them as deities, seemed very different from the vague and mystical descriptions provided by the Church. They appeared more like superior beings compared to humans, other races, and even dragons, but essentially, they were just another form of life.

These beings possessed physiques and strength far surpassing those of dragons, standing at the top of the food chain and being extremely rare. The deities I read about in the book felt like such creatures.

The ancient races called these beings “Gidels.”

Humans referred to them as “Gods.”

These “deities” not only possessed immense power but also seemed to have the ability to bestow their powers upon other life forms. The summoned God of Healing granted new miracles to believers, who then used them to dispel the plague, bringing new hope and light to the Holy City.

As for what the Church says—that Patrick knelt and prayed for days on end, fasting and abstaining from water—it was all nonsense, stories meant to deceive children. I never believed it.

Under the protection of the Gidels, the originally weak humans lost the threat of nature and predators. Cities and settlements grew rapidly, and as life stabilized, the population surged. When the Holy City could no longer accommodate everyone, they searched for suitable locations near mountains and rivers to build new cities.

One city, two cities… five, ten… countless large and small towns were constructed across the vast fertile lands of West Continent. Tall buildings and sturdy walls replaced the once lush grasslands and dense forests.

With the maturation of metallurgy, the Church’s army was established, and trade systems in each city flourished, leading to the emergence of currency. These two factors spurred humans to extensively mine mountains and quarry stones. The surge in population and urban construction forced humans to cut down trees endlessly, turning vast forests into endless barren stumps.

The fierce beasts, once common and dangerous, became pitiful prey under the armor and swords of humans. Over time, they became scarce and less common.

Soil erosion, depletion of forest resources in some areas, ground subsidence caused by mining pits, water pollution, reduction in habitats for flora and fauna, severe destruction of biodiversity—these disasters, caused by the uncontrolled and excessive exploitation of resources due to the rapid development of human society, finally drove the other races to take up arms to defend their homes.

War began.

And from this point on, the content recorded in this handwritten book diverged significantly from the historical narratives provided by the Church.