The Genesis of the Godless World

“Where should I begin?”

Bastet paced around the three of them.

“From the very beginning,” Yao Jing said.

“Then let’s start from the genesis.”

‘I recall the [Database] describing the world of the [Second Cycle] in this manner…’

“Initially, the world was ‘Chaos’.”

“It was ‘nothingness’, and it was ‘everything’.”

“It was an era before human intellect had even dawned.”

“The name doesn’t truly matter.”

Within ‘Chaos’, there was both nothing and everything.

Unfathomable phenomena frequently unfolded.

“Until one day, a light arriving from ‘beyond the heavens’ tore through ‘Chaos’, bringing forth ‘Divinity’. From that very moment, the world began to transform.”

‘Light…’

Yao Jing recalled something specific: that ‘light’ deeply hidden within Liu Yu’s body, seemingly capable of annihilating all existence.

‘Could it be connected to the ‘light’ the cat-woman spoke of?’

Soon, Bastet offered a partial answer to his unspoken questions:

“Well… calling it ‘light’ isn’t entirely accurate either. Regardless, it was ‘the beginning’, the genesis of all things, the cause of all effects, the origin of everything.”

“However, some prefer to call ‘It’ the ‘Sage of Knowledge’—a designation whose origins are unknown.”

‘Sage… of Knowledge?’ Yao Jing murmured to himself, his mind suddenly clouding with a brief haze.

“After the arrival of the ‘Sage of Knowledge (Divinity)’, the ‘Divine Beings’ were born.”

“It was one, yet it was many.”

“It existed as a singular entity, yet simultaneously encompassed countless existences.”

“Contradictions manifested within It, for logic itself was Its creation.”

“Suspended between existence and non-existence, It arbitrated reality and illusion.”

“Wherever Its thoughts turned, creation followed.”

“At that time, ‘It’ could truly be called… the quintessential ‘Omnipotent One’.”

“The Omnipotent One cleaved ‘Chaos’ and forged the world.”

“When It willed wind, wind arose within ‘Chaos’.”

“When It willed water, water flowed within ‘Chaos’.”

“Following this pattern, once ‘It’ had created everything It desired, what you would recognize as the ‘proto-world’ came into being.”

“A rather uninspired creation myth,” The Doctor remarked. “Even a primary school student could conjure up a dozen such tales on the spot.”

“Haha…” The cat-woman chuckled, unoffended. “Indeed, human imagination can always craft ‘fantasy worlds’ far grander than their own existence. But what if even that imagination was merely bestowed upon them by others?”

“Ultimately, what you call humanity is precisely the gods’ perception of the world, the product of their interpreted concepts, and also… a vessel for sins.”

The Doctor frowned, failing to grasp her meaning.

However, Bastet had no intention of delving deeper into that topic. She continued:

“Given all this, why don’t you ponder it? Since the Divine Beings carved out the world, created all things, and possessed infinite power, such entities should logically be eternal and indestructible. So why are there no traces of them now?”

‘Could it be…’ The Doctor considered a possibility, testing the waters: “Were They defeated by the ‘Black-blooded’? Or perhaps…”

“Half and half, I suppose.”

The cat-woman waved a hand, continuing, “After the Divine Beings created the world, ‘Black Blood’ emerged from an unknown origin, following them like a shadow, engulfing everything, and engaging in battle with the Divine Beings.”

“The two sides fought relentlessly, suppressing each other, yet neither could truly annihilate the other. In fact, under the prolonged stalemate, a phenomenon known as [Omnipotence Decay] occurred.”

‘Omnipotence… Decay?’

“It’s precisely what it sounds like. Under the influence of the ‘Black Blood’, the ‘omnipotence’ of the Divine Beings was shattered.”

Seeing that the trio still hadn’t fully grasped it, Bastet’s didactic inclination suddenly flared, and she explained with utmost seriousness:

“Let me give you an analogy. This world once had a unique kind of ‘wind’. But after this ‘wind’ was corroded and devoured by the ‘Black Blood’, the Divine Beings could no longer create anything similar…”

“I see…”

The Doctor understood. He said, “If we refer to the ‘Divine Beings’ as ‘Omnipotent Ones,’ then could ‘Black Blood’ also be considered a form of ‘omnipotent power’? Only then could the two have confronted each other for countless ages without a decisive victor.”

Bastet stated, “From my personal perspective, the ‘Divine Beings’ and ‘Black Blood’ are like two forces with different origins, different processes, and different natures, yet both arrived at the same ultimate destination—[Omnipotence].”

The Doctor mused, deep in thought.

Perhaps it was precisely because two tigers cannot share one mountain that the ‘Divine Beings’ and the ‘Black Blood’ engaged in such an unending, seemingly irreconcilable struggle.

Bastet continued:

“The ‘Divine Beings’ foresaw such a possibility, and thus, ‘the Gods’ were born.”

“They each took on their respective duties, gathering all phenomena and incorporating them into their grasp in the form of ‘authorities’, guarding them with utmost vigilance. Then, they ascended to their ‘thrones’, occupying ‘everything’. Consequently, the ‘Black Blood’, finding no cracks to exploit, was barred from entry and could advance no further.”

“In a sense, this is where the ‘Gods’ you know began. No, ‘know’ isn’t quite right either…”

At this point, the cat-woman suddenly laughed and posed a peculiar question: “Do you still remember which ‘Divine Beings’ exist in this world?”

“The Sky God, the Sun God, the Earth Mother Goddess, the God of Destruction, the Underworld God, the Sea God…”

The Doctor reeled off several names, like reciting a menu. These were the highest-ranking objects of worship in various cultural circles, true chief deities.

“……Are you certain that the names you just uttered are the [True Names] of the ‘Divine Beings’?”

“Hmm?”

The woman’s counter-question plunged the three present into silence, as they pondered the deeper meaning of her words.

“Leaving that human over there aside for now, since both of you have been imbued with the power of [Black Blood] and have stepped into the non-human domain, you should be able to discern the contradictions within this, if you think deeply enough.”

“For instance, you… you’re a witch, aren’t you?”

“Wh-what is it?”

“As a former member of the [Divine Race], don’t you find it strange? The spells, rituals, and incantations passed down through generations suddenly became unusable by your generation, almost as if they were fabricated… like mere fantasies.”

“My mother couldn’t use them either…”

“……”

Choked by Irina’s ill-timed remark, Bastet paused, then, disinclined to further engage with the woman, continued on her own accord:

“Although the Gods won the war, it didn’t mean that the ‘Black Blood’ relented. It still lurked beyond ‘everything’, watching with predatory eyes.”

“After the war came peace, and countless ages passed in between, until one day… an unforeseen event occurred due to the actions of a group of ‘demons’… and then, the ‘Black Blood’ surged in.”

“That was the genesis of disaster.”

“Just as the ‘Divine Beings’ could suppress the ‘Black Blood’, the ‘Black Blood’ could naturally, in turn, suppress the ‘Divine Beings’.”

“Caught off guard, the ‘Divine Beings’ were engulfed by the prepared ‘Black Blood’. Even though their ‘Divinity’ was eternal and indestructible, the ‘myths’ in which they resided were dominated, twisted, and ultimately corrupted by the ‘Black Blood’, gradually degenerating into pure ‘Black-blooded’ entities.”

“The actions of the ‘demons’ did not cease; they attempted to maneuver and sway between the two factions, simultaneously using a certain power to tamper with history and confuse myths. What was ultimately presented before you is this desperate ‘godless world’—[Modernity].”

She turned to The Doctor: “And the names you just uttered are merely substitutes, used to mend history after the existence of the Gods was muddled.”

“So then, who could have been responsible for expelling these beings who once created humanity and governed all things, leading to their degeneration into ‘Black-blooded’?”

‘Could it be…’