Why Did You Summon Me?

“You all know what happened afterward, right? After all, you witnessed it. I — a man from another universe — was somehow able to adapt to the harsh mass of darkness that is the Void, where life cannot exist. I was able to calm the chaotic storms that break out in the Void, creating a safe area for other banished souls, some of whom I later recruited and restored back to reality. The fragment of Nehemiah’s spirit entered the Void secretly to guide me, while Bella, the God of Space, left the Divine Realm to supervise my growth,” Baiyi said, his recollection coming to an end.

“I now marvel at how accurate the name I gave you is! Back then, I named you ‘Hope’ because I considered you the future for exiled phantoms like us,” the shocked Archmage said. “Who would have known that you were intended to bring hope not just to us, but to the entire universe? This has got to be the first time that I came up with the right name!”

“I’m glad you said this, as I’d be too embarrassed to mention this. That being said, it is thanks to the sacrifices of Nehemiah and Bella that the Void is no longer a lifeless wasteland. I have grown so much, I now understand the Laws. I also brought for you all an abundance of knowledge from Earth,” Baiyi said. “After this long string of coincidences and deliberate but subtle guidance, perhaps modern humans like us have carved out a different path.”

“Although the powerful Gods of yore destroyed the Laws, two surviving Gods, Nehemiah and Bella, sacrificed themselves to bring you to this universe — for this reason, our new path was formed. Does this not mean that the self-destruction of the old Gods brought a great opportunity for rebirth? What an ironic but dramatic twist,” the Soul Armature Practitioner muttered.

“According to the Scripture: ‘ Destruction and creation are two ends of the same moment.’ The Gods know this and dictate it to us, but in their time, they lacked the courage to make sacrifices,” the Shadow Walker said, after listening to all Baiyi had said. “But, there’s still something I don’t understand: You’re the hope for this universe, brought here only after many sacrifices have been made. Why then do the surviving Gods act so hostile towards you, our only hope?”

Baiyi sneered. “It is because they have grown dependent. They have become really comfortable in this unstable sanctuary, forgetting their pride and past glory. After millennia of being worshiped by humans, they’ve changed — the same way I changed you and Mia changed Noriciel. Complacency has caused the Gods to lose the courage to destroy in order to create. All they want is to maintain the status quo! This is why I have no desire to join their ranks. I’ll be ashamed to be associated with them!”

The Cleric Walker suddenly looked uneasy. “Um, I think the feeling might be mutual for the gods. They must not be confident that you will succeed in rebuilding. However, they turned hostile towards you when you laid your hands on an Arbiter’s Right — the only thing left to ascertain their identities as Gods. Before that, the Gods were incredibly lenient with you, weren’t they? Besides, the reason you were compelled to understand the Laws and uncover historical incidents is because of that mysterious armor, right? Did you manage to ascertain its origin?”

“No. However, I did manage to discover that the armor was created before this universe, so it is probably a relic from the Age of Gods, just like the Caudillo Butterfly bow. Is it a coincidence that these ancient weapons outlived their masters, surviving all the way to the present? Humans of ancient times created a lot of Law-manipulating tools, and these two ought to be the least remarkable of the lot. It is just a coincidence that the mysterious armor was linked to the Temporal Law, while the element I needed the most to grow was time,” Baiyi said, just as confused about this as the Cleric Walker was. “How many times can I call strange occurrences like these ‘coincidences’?”

“Maybe it wasn’t a coincidence at all. Maybe it was a gift from one of the gods. Just look at this war — the Joint Proclamation said that the gods were united in rage, yet only the Time God and the Nature God had sent their Angel-henchmen,” The Archmage supplied a bold guess. “How about that kinky bodysuit you’ve received back then? Maybe these were gifts from the Power God and the Life God. They probably think they should hold onto what has been working while at the same time, hope that you do eventually find a way to avert this calamity.”

“A compelling hypothesis! The Fairy Kingdom’s tragic affair a dozen years ago may also provide corroboration. Do you recall? The incident originated from the Nature God’s covetousness towards the Power God’s Arbiter’s Rights. That, and this Holy War, lends credibility to the notion that the gods are far from the harmonic monolith that we often conceived. It is highly plausible that the gods harbor dissents amongst themselves behind an apparent facade of unity,” The Scholar added, buoyed by the Archmage’s suggestion.

“Wait! What about the One True God oft-mentioned in the Scripture? What kind of god is he? What kind of power does he command? What’s his opinion of you?” The Paladin asked, curious.

“Well, that guy was one of the most powerful among the surviving gods — the successful architect of this postwar sanctuary! Unfortunately, the guy exhausted all of his mind and being to build a shelter for us. All that is left of him is an empty husk mounted on an altar to be worshipped — hey!” Baiyi abruptly stopped, startled.

“The Fourth Walker just told me to poke the Thirty-first Walker?” He said nervously. “Don’t tell me that that guy has been the One True God all along!”

Even among a group of oddballs, the Thirty-first Walker’s eccentricity was peerless. Baiyi had immediately thought something was amiss with this particular recruit the moment he talked to him. It was not that he was so overwhelmingly quirky or strange, but because he was so starkly boring. His life and memories were such a bland snoozefest that it made one wondered how did he end up becoming a demigod without any significant trials in life, let alone joining the Void. His life records showed no love, hate, or any other emotions — he really “had no life.” Baiyi even believed he was more of a cardboard cutout with a life story hastily created within a second.

The second time Baiyi talked to him, the man said his name was “Key”— and that was all there was, as he went to a deep slumber shortly thereafter. Baiyi honestly thought he acted more like an AI than an actual person.

Afterward, Baiyi only contacted Key when he needed more players with which to start a game. The man was so quiet and forgettable, other Voidwalker just forgot that he was there. They had only just learned of his name.

On the other hand, this meant the Thirty-first Walker could have been a god all along! After all, if Nehemiah could disguise himself as a shoddy mystic living right next to Baiyi for millennia without being detected, the One True God could also be doing the same too!

Nervously and excitedly, Baiyi began to poke the elusive Walker.

“So?!” The other Walkers asked in unison. “Who is he? The One True God? Will he willingly submit himself to the Fifth Walker’s dictatorship?!”

“Tsk! Not even close!” Baiyi clicked his tongue with disappointment. “He isn’t even a person — it’s just the One True God’s toolbox! Or should I call it: the assets to creating a new world!”

After training his mind to become more finely attuned to the Laws, Baiyi finally realized that the Thirty-first Walker was never a person, which explained why his life and memories felt manufactured. In truth, “Key” was a digest of Laws encompassing domains as diverse as Life, Power, Nature, and more. It was akin to the One True God’s brain, as his soul and mind had long transformed into Laws of their own.

For all they were worth, Baiyi quickly noticed that the digest offered only a cursory view. It was very different from the Temporal Laws Baiyi had studied during his “slumber”, where everything was connected into a complete whole. Even if Baiyi had finally grasped every single Law in this digest, it would not be enough to steal the other gods’ Arbiter Rights.

However, it would have been enough to inspire ideas for creating new Laws. Perhaps the intention was to have Baiyi study them so that he could conceive a brand-new system by himself. Either way, this was why Baiyi had called them “assets for a new world,” a toolbox, or perhaps a crash course.

In conclusion, the Thirty-first Walker was a monumental gift. It was a present, bequeathed by an illustrious ancient god to a modern one, all for the hope that the latter could create a better world.

“To the person who gifts me this: I may not know who you are, but thank you,” Baiyi said to no one in particular before taking the precious Key carefully. He planned to study and digest them some other time at his leisure. Now that he had undone the temporal limitation on himself, Baiyi had all the time in the universe to read.

“So, what are you going to do now?” The Archmage asked.

“What else? We’re going to see our grand ambition to the end!” Baiyi proclaimed without hesitation. “But we’re not going to descend to this bleak, grim world. No, we’ll be descending to a new one, one that we ourselves created! Of course, this will take a lot more commitment and effort, but some of these work can already be done right now. For instance, what kind of world do we want?”

“Hands down, a world of waifus! Hot young girls in black silky pantyhose under that alluring short skirts everywhere!” The Paladin immediately chirped.

“I want a world where I will always pull out my favorite characters! A world where the rate of summoning is just and fair!” The Archmage cried.

“I wanna be the very best! To catch them all is my real test; to train them is my cause!” The Soul Armature Practitioner shouted as he tossed out a suspicious-looking red ball in his hand passionately.

‘These people lapse back into their disease almost immediately,’ Baiyi thought, shaking his head.

“Look, our academy still needs to go on, okay? We’re gonna need a lot of quality human resources to make our new world works; don’t you all forget that,” He said, changing the subject. “On the other hand, as a celebration for our victory in this Holy War, may I suggest we play a game? It’s great training for me in worldbuilding as well.”

“Holy cow, yes! I haven’t played a game for so long! What kind are we playing? And how do we play now that we’re in this state?” The Archmage said excitedly.

“Well, well! Why don’t you find it out yourself?” Baiyi replied cryptically and waved.

In a snap, all the Voidwalkers fell into a deep sleep, their minds already transported into a new simulated world. They were not the only ones; Baiyi’s little girls and the Voidwalkers’ students, while previously excluded from Baiyi’s fanciful games, were now also part of this strange adventure!