Chapter 404 - 10: Temple of the Water God and the Change of Eras

We have abandoned our exploration of the eighth layer and are preparing to return to the surface. If Yabo’s condition worsens, I’m afraid we’ll have no choice but to put him down here in the depths. This is for the safety of the others.

September 27. Underground Conditions: Humid. Temperature: 27°C.

After we returned to the 5th Layer, Yabo’s condition eased significantly. He regained consciousness and told us in a panic that he had completely lost control of himself on the eighth layer. He said he felt his bloodline and Soul calling to him, urging him toward that strange, ancient Divine Hall. Once he arrived, he passed out. When he came to, it felt as though his mind had been filled with a host of strange new knowledge. He’s just as baffled by his mutated body, and if he ever leaves the damp mist, his skin immediately cracks and bleeds nonstop.

I can tell Yabo is hiding something. His eyes were darting about as he spoke; he’s been doing that whenever he lies for decades. But he has been in my service for so many years, and I couldn’t bring myself to interrogate him in front of the others. Once we return to the surface, I’ll make him tell me every last one of his secrets.

October 1. Weather: Overcast.

After we returned to the surface, Yabo sought me out. He explained that he hadn’t been trying to hide things from me, specifically. He just didn’t want the others on the exploration team to find out.

He said the great hall on the eighth layer of the Maze is the ancient Temple of the Water God. It belongs to a Deity from a previous Era, one even older than the Earth Father God. Yabo joyfully told me that Naisel City—and the entire world—could be saved. He claims the apocalypse isn’t a true end, but rather the result of elemental Reincarnation. If we can find the core of the next Era’s elemental Reincarnation, we can shelter under its protection, surviving the destruction of the Old World and the birth of the New World!

This all sounds like utter nonsense. The Water God? In the thousands of years of the Naisel family’s history, I have never once heard that name. But Yabo isn’t the type of person who deceives others. You can always tell from his face when he’s hiding something. This time, however, I could see he was being completely sincere.

October 3. Weather: Overcast.

Yabo is dead. The cause of death was chaotic Elements within his body—an incurable affliction. Before he died, he said he regretted that he wouldn’t live to see the New World, but he hoped I would lead his family to survive into the next Era... To be honest, I remain deeply skeptical. Yabo’s mental state had been unstable ever since his return from the eighth layer. He was constantly preaching about the Water God. I cannot trust the words of a half-madman, even if he was the attendant who served me since childhood.

Before his death, Yabo claimed that the Earth Father God, who inaugurated our Era, has entered Silent Extinction. However, the Deities from the two Eras preceding the Age of Earth are showing signs of revival. The question of which Element will define the next Era is what the other reviving Deities are now fighting to decide. He said two ancient Deities are on the verge of reawakening, both vying to take center stage in the coming age. Then, when that Era too enters Silent Extinction, our own Earth Father God will revive to contend for the lead role in the Era that follows.

The true nature of the Maze, he said, is that it is a remnant of the previous Era’s civilization. The eighth layer of the Maze beneath Naisel City is none other than the Main Divine Hall of the Water God. Yabo was a descendant of the people of that previous Era, which is why he awakened within its walls.

True or not, this information is incredibly difficult to accept. Yet, when I recall the ancient Divine Hall in the eighth layer of the Maze and the strange transformation that overcame Yabo, I can’t help but wonder about its veracity. ’If what he said is true... what am I supposed to do?’

Regardless, our recent expedition to clear the seventh layer of the Maze yielded great rewards. My own strength has advanced, and after a period of rest, I should be able to attempt a breakthrough into the Near-God Realm. That way, no matter what chaos unfolds, I will have the power to maintain Order in Naisel City.

That was the last of the exploration log.

If the previous Duke Naisel kept any other related records, they weren’t in this log, which was dedicated solely to exploring the Maze.

After reading all of it, Elias let out a long breath, his expression grim.

"The Water God..." The young man closed the booklet in his hands and murmured softly. "Could they be the ones who attacked Naisel City? A group of believers loyal to the Water God? And the God they keep mentioning... is it the Water God?"

’If he thought about it that way, everything would make sense—both the bizarre, alien-like intelligent lifeforms and their inexplicable faith.’

As for why the Water God’s followers would attack Naisel City, Elias suspected it had to do with the Water God’s Divine Hall on the eighth layer. The Maze was exceedingly complex, with the entrances and exits between layers kept incredibly secret. The only way to learn how to reach the eighth layer would be to either interrogate a member of the exploration team or find the information in their log.

Clearly, after the Duke died unexpectedly during his breakthrough attempt, the Water God’s followers had failed to extract any information about the eighth layer from the Naisel City exploration teams. That was why they had resorted to breaking into the Naisel family’s hidden archives, hoping to find the details there.

’This is trouble.’

Truthfully, Elias didn’t understand any of this talk about the changing of Eras or the revival of Deities. He had no idea what a New World born after the death of the Old World even meant. But he did understand one thing with perfect clarity: behind his enemies, there was probably a real, living God.