Chapter 89: We Live in a Society

"On the eighth floor, I spoke with the last person to complete the Practitioner's trial," Emma began, following the System's vague guidance whilst constructing a broader narrative from the few words of advice being offered. "Princess Astaroth wasn't that much older than me, by her own admission, but already had a System and even managed to form an Archetype; why did you think it impossible for us to awaken the System, when she clearly managed it?"

"To answer that question, I ask one in return," Elizabeth rebutted. "What is a god to you?"

"Like the Lord, God of Abraham?" Noah offered up, drawing upon mostly forgotten lessons on theology from his faded youth.

"Nothing so powerful, or so comprehensive; I'm not talking about the creator deity at a universal level, not a capital-G 'God', but entities more akin to the pantheon of Greece and Rome."

"They're depicted as individuals; beings with their own desires and ambitions who happen to hold dominion over certain aspects of existence," Emma elaborated, recalling Edith's own title as glimpsed in the Apex, and her battle against Romulus. "Not a mostly distant ruler, but powerful people who could and did interfere in mortal life on many occasions."

"Exactly. It's important to understand that behind every notable deity, there is usually some semblance of truth behind their myth; bent and twisted beyond recognition by the passage of time, but existent all the same. Many began as mortals themselves, some as far less than that, but all managed to defy nature and raise themselves up into divinity. They did this by accumulating power, enshrining their myth and raising sufficient numbers of devoted followers to promulgate said myth, whether through peaceful means or bloodshed. Attain sufficiency in all three criteria, and you get a chance to claim an associated domain.

Now, if the domain in question is empty, then great! You're a newly ascended god. But if the domain is already held by another, and neither side wants to back down? Then you get a War in Heaven, where only one claimant will survive. More importantly, the number of domains the world can sustain at any given time is dependent on the overall level of mana available. Near the peak of the cycle, a dozen expansive pantheons can easily exist in harmony, but as the availability of mana declines? Then, faith in the gods inevitably declines as magic and miracles of all forms become harder to deploy, and the number of domains available shrinks drastically. Only the strongest gods survive the ensuing war to reach the lowest point of the cycle, whilst many more die and are forgotten by the passage of time.

Except, you can't kill a god entirely. People might have largely forgotten the name and worship of the Mesopotamian goddess of fertility, but it's still known that she existed, and that alone is sufficient to draw her attention with the right rituals and offerings. Princess Astaroth is a Warlock of the Deep, as her mother was, and her grandmother, and every ancestor of their matrilineal family going back fifty generations at least; all of them unparalleled specialists in communing with gods otherwise dead and buried, and bargaining with them for power. Broadly speaking, only people in similar positions as her managed to awaken their magic in the last century; people with access to old lore and resources that can circumvent the drought.

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

I attained my contract through the Faust family, while it was hoped that Noah would activate the System; being a lineal descendant of the founder. Admittedly, the odds were deemed low, as magic typically awakens in youth if it awakens at all; minds are simply more malleable when young, and general belief in magic is also at its highest. By the time you were born, I'd largely given up hope of it happening for him, and you never showed any signs of magic either, in your childhood. I spent enough time digging through the family library, looking for answers, but the only information found there were fairy-tales, and not anything describing how the System works. I even asked Paradox about it, but she only laughed and told me that the time wasn't right, so I never introduced either of you to the Empire."

Elizabeth concluded, looking uncomfortable but unapologetic for her decision.

[It was probably for the best; Noah was and still is much too naive and trusting as a person, just look at who he married. He wouldn't have survived a year as a novice in the Empire; back when magical society was at peace, and the vultures had nothing better to occupy their time than hazing the newcomer. You'd have done fine, thrived even, but there was nothing to prompt an early System activation, besides that one incident with the Candyman.]

"You should've tried more drugs," Emma laughed, glancing towards Noah at the reminder. "Magic mushrooms really live up to their name, I can tell you that much."

"Recreational drugs are forbidden for MoD employees," Noah replied reflexively, before processing what she'd just said. "Also, when did you ever get to try them?"

"Ask Paradox when we meet up," Emma shot back, before deciding it was a good time to change subjects. "On that note, we have a standing offer for a visit, once I figure out where she lives. We also need to see Overmind at some point down at Pevensey Castle, and also catch up with Princess Astaroth, wherever she disappeared to during my trial. Any chance you can help with that?"

"We'll get your homunculus and some proper attire first," Elizabeth interjected, though she didn't disagree with the demands either. "I doubt any of the Founders will care about propriety, having grown up in wartime, but the more snobbish facilities will place great importance on your appearance during such meetings."

"Fine," Emma grunted, resigned to a long shopping trip and admittedly curious as to what she'd find there. "I don't suppose the Empire's shops accept the Pound Sterling?"

"I'll take care of the money," Elizabeth waved her off. "I never spent much of my salary, since I was mostly living in mortal society. Splurging for a bit won't break the bank."

[I have resources available as well, if they prove necessary. Not everyone has forgotten my name in merely seven centuries.]

"About that," Emma replied, speaking her remaining questions aloud for everyone else's benefit. "Any idea how the founder died; if she was so overwhelmingly powerful? Or what caused the sudden apocalypse, for that matter."

"No idea on the latter," Elizabeth shook her head. "As for the founder? Well, it's not really a secret but not spoken of in polite society either. Edith Knight was slain by Paradox for creating and unleashing the deadliest magical contagion in history, killing nearly half of Europe's mortals,and upward of nine-tenths of the global magical population before it could be halted. She never took a magical name in life, but after she died, and the way it happened? People were too scared to use her given name for decades; during that time, they simply called her the Anathema."