Soul of Searing Steel

–An ogre that does eat human but mock the monsters who do?

"Starfall Year 834."

Joshua crisply replied despite being left in slight disbelief by the other's words, before promptly adding after some thought, "Now it's more than a thousand years after the Glorious Era, with about three hundred years of blank period in between. So there's no way to provide a definite answer."

"Starfall, huh. So it's been so long, they've even given a new name to a new age… Regardless, for civilization to continue means that we've succeeded."

Unexpectedly, the twin-headed giant did not react much to Joshua's answer and merely sighed emotionally before walking out of the white crystal screen.

The giant's body was burly and tough—even giant dragons would probably not have such sturdy muscles. His steps were making visible tremors within the underground room, even as its huge frame simply slipped out like a phantom, away from the white crystal screen said to be able to quarantine all contamination.

Soon, it materialized in the underground lab.

–Just a phantom, but so surreal it could replace the genuine one.

Joshua quickly understood that the God of Fortune and Despair had completely regained consciousness, albeit remaining as an illusion within the Divine Dungeon Shroud.

It was a shard of a fallen god, and that missing piece of His skull was the unmistakable evidence of His descent.

Furthermore, even if He were a phantom, He was still the shadow of a deity. If not for that war against the Evil Gods and the Abyss, He would not have fallen.

"Doesn't really compare to the mages in Sky City… Quite a gap, too."

The twin-headed giant was muttering to Himself with a gruff voice as He used His thick hands to touch and feel the facilities and equipment around the lab. "Although it's interesting that these circles contained the shadows of elven secret recipes, and the constructs of dwarven runes. Seems like civilizations melded after the Apocalypse."

"What a relief. To think that world took one step back but turn towards an entirely new path in the process."

The giant then turned towards Joshua. "Perhaps mankind has long forgotten my name," He said, shaking His head, His gruff voice with a shred of carefreeness and self-deprecation. "The name of fallen gods might bear no weight, but you would still need a name to address me."

"I'm the traveler of barren lands, the witness of Fortune and Despair – the Lord and Guardian of the Ougels. Human, you may address me as Ogner."

As He said that, the words of the god named Ogner became a littler ethereal while He fixed His dim gold gaze on Joshua.

"Human, you have the breath of the Soul of the Forests and the Sage about you… Are you Their heir? Perhaps you could tell what became of Them? And my people, those you called ogres… Were they really reduced to such states after civilization's lost?"

To be able to reassemble consciousness from those splintered fragments of divinity from the Dense shroud of Holy Calamity, the Fortune therein was definitely miraculous.

Nonetheless, the God of Fortune and Despair had done exactly that. He seemed to have many pressing questions too—apparently being a phantom does not stifle curiosity.

Joshua was uncertain, but this deity who addresses Himself Ogner definitely did not bear ill-will towards His surroundings. With the black shroud that threatened the lives of the mages gone, there was no harm in having small talk.

"I don't know much about the Sage. Furthermore, the peoples of this world are largely unfamiliar with his name, only a rare few know of his existence. As for Father Nature…"

After considering for a moment, he slowly narrated everything he knew about Father Nature. Compared to the Sage whom he had known from mere bits and pieces of memories and rumors, the warrior knew more about Father Nature since he did come into contact with that elven deity.

"… As for your kind…" Joshua grimaced, unable to make an excuse for a moment. Still, the warrior was never one to hide things. His thoughts were shown clearly on his face—and Ogner was able to surmise what befell his race before he said a thing.

"I should've guessed… That's the reason the offering chest where the shard containing my divinity resided being placed within a human mage laboratory. There's no trace of Ougel within your kind, proving that you've attained it by killing my people."

Instead of giving his take on Father Nature's desertion, the twin-headed giant calmly pondered as if those existence were not truly His kin. "They should have been wiped out early on. Indeed, they were never one for the community and never would have survived the Apocalypse." 

While the deity concealed His thoughts well, Joshua could still hear the shred of sadness in His voice, therefore unable to hold back his own fascination. "Forgive me, I've thought that you were a malevolent deity since the dense shroud spreading from the chest contained strong corruption. Your calm and wise behavior, however, proves otherwise."

The warrior did not appear to worry about angering Ogner, and indeed, the elderly twin-headed giant was extraordinarily tranquil and possessed great intelligence. He thought about what Joshua said, and steadily offered His own guess, "Perhaps they carried out a blood sacrifice."

"Those little ones were so obsessed with reviving me that they used every method once."

Ogner's tone was flat and slow. He looked at His own body, before speaking with a low voice, "That could be how they became the ogres that you've spoken of. With the vengeful spirits of the blood sacrifices latching on this chest and eventually leading to such accidents. My divine title—'Despair' isn't exactly benevolent either."

From His appearance alone, Ogner really did not look benevolent. Joshua own's first impression was nothing good, but His actions afterward proved that He was even wiser than the smarter humans.

A silence then filled the underground lab. Ogner was still looking around the underground lab for data. Then, He turned and considered the seven mages who were still trapped in dreams.

"Apart from one who isn't that bad, the others all fail the basic requirements," He said, shaking His head. "Are the spirits of modern-day mages that weak? If it were in my era, they would probably wet their pants in fear even before they met a demon."

"What actually happened a thousand years ago…" Joshua mumbled in reply, frowning. "Father Nature did not fight to the end; He led the elves to another world halfway through. So how did the Sage and the other deities triumph against the Abyssal demons and the Evil God of Chaos?"

"A thousand years ago? It was truly an era of despair." Ogner replied, repeating Joshua words as He turned to the warrior again, while stopping his fiddling around. "Although He did not fight to the end, Father Nature did not lie—every one of his words bore the truth."

The giant's gaze suddenly turned distant, his dim-gold glinting and both his heads swaying lightly, as if reminiscing.

"This world was once progressive and prosperous. The many races and nations having joined together to venture across voids and worlds across the multiverse—even my own bumbling kin had a civilization to be proud of under the guidance of a magi who had two-heads, just like me."

Ogner sighed softly as he went on a trip down memory lane; the self-deprecating God of Fortune and Despair did not appear to have a deity's splendor right then.

"That's why we became arrogant, that which wiped off all glory.

"The races had combined to build a dimensional passageway that connects to the Abyss, allowing the primordial evil of the void and Chaos to invade this flourishing world, placing it on the brink in a moment's notice.

"As the guardians of the realm and the witness of civilization, the gods naturally moved against them under the leadership of the Sage. However, in the several years that we've fought against the Abyss, countless deities or demigods either turned or died, including me.

"I guess I would disappoint you by informing that my passing came earlier than Father Nature's desertion. That's why I'm unsure about the conclusion."

Ogner then became baffled. "Could it be that the world has lost all history from the last age? Did no deity survive? Since we won in the end, there would definitely be One who lived and would not allow civilization to forget this painful lesson.

"Even if the Deity of the Earth or the Lord of the Skies were to die, or the Incarnation of the Oceans to fall into temptation—the Sage would never perish. His depth was above the gods and an eternal saint. He alone would live even if the world was destroyed."

After staying quiet for a while, Joshua replied with a solemn expression—the giant's words were a harsh reminder.

"… But the truth is, if none of the gods from the bygone age survived, all civilization including that of humans were rebuilt from scratch."

In the last age, there should have been some immortal gods who would have lived on since the Mycroft realm triumphed. But the fact goes that every deity—including the Seven Gods—were born after the three-hundred years Blank Period. The Sage's very existence was, therefore, a doubt from the start—none knew what became of him.

And the deities that Ogner mentioned did fall to the darkness. The Remains of the Deity of the Earth [Mountain Giant], the Sigh of the Lord of the Skies [Raging Mountain Wind], Bellow of Incarnation of the Ocean [The Oceanic Gale] … Those deities had passed, their mark left at the Infinite Horizon, awaiting their reappearance in this world when the Mana Tide descends upon this world.

The Three Hundred Lost Years thus contained every mystery including the disappearance of the deities and the whereabouts of the sage. So much history was lost that there were so secrets unknown to people in the past life—the second invasion of the Abyss had seen the incineration of countless classics by Hellfire while ruins over a thousand years were trampled by the iron hooves of demons, nipping even larger chunks of histories away.

Meanwhile, the Ougel's body had become blurrier at the moment, a point noticed by both Joshua and Himself.

The God of Fortune and Despair had already perished and all that was left was a copy of His divinity. It was due to extraordinary circumstances—or miraculous luck—that He could appear in this world once more.

Now, it seems that miracle was at an end.

"I'm content. A final awakening that allowed me to learn about the triumph in the war meant that my sacrifice, along with that of my people and comrades, was not wasted."

He smiled in satisfaction, the wrinkles on His ancient face showing. "I've fallen in despair, but never expected the fortune to return and learn about the conclusion."

Ogner looked down at Joshua, not quite caring about his vanishing body and kept mumbling to Himself in His gruff voice.

"What is behind a mountain? What is over the sea? What is behind that star?

"–To understand all that, is the reason to be born, the reason for life.

"That's true for humans or Us. If we could do it again, I believe anyone—including the Sage—would open the dimensional passageway once more."

The blurry god was not speaking to the warrior, but himself.

"To explore the unknown is what we lived for, what we act for. Even if Chaos would stand in our way, we would still raise the torches of civilizations and tread upon that long and winding road.

"One day, someone would definitely make it."

After another meaningful sigh, Ogner's dim-gold gaze blazed brilliantly like never before. He was now a true deity, spreading a stateliness that makes people bow. Even as He slowly vanish, a radiance now streamed across His blue skin.

"My time is short, young and lucky warrior," He said with an echoing voice, as if both heads spoke at the same time. "I can see from your burning curiosity that you have many questions.

"There's no need to hold back that desire. I'm already a perished existence; the dead could never stop the living. As long as it's within my knowledge, I shall answer."

Joshua responded with silence once more. He had been silent many times today, much more than he had been for a month.

As for Ogner, the deity merely waited calmly for the warrior to make up his mind. He had already died; He could not care less about the mundane.

And there was some fate that tied this young human here—he met Father Nature, possessed the breath of the Sage as well as standing before Him when He awakened. Ougels believed in fate and predestination. All life could do then, is to find their fortune within despair, just like he did.

After a period that felt both long and short, Joshua finally asked a question, his brow tightened in serious consideration or doubt.

"I want to know… I want to know something about the gods. I've always wanted to know it and had to endure it for almost ten years."

How to become a god, perhaps? It was something ordinary, and a question any human who sought power would ask. Ogner was not surprised—He even had an outline in his mind, and all that awaits was for Joshua to ask it.

The warrior, too, did not delay and crisply asked, "Why does every god has two designations that form a contrasting title? Aren't they afraid of developing mental problems?"

Ogner turn to Joshua and said, "What?"