Chapter 50: Miss Cecilia, What Is A God?
"Miss Cecilia, what is a god? If gods are not needed for the spells, why worship them?"
((I cornered myself now, didn’t I?))
Cecilia’s character was a priestess because Cecilia thought that the concept of a healer who worships the concept of death was fun, and she liked the gameplay. Cecilia herself was an atheist, though.
((Now that I think about it, I never went through with that idea of a ritual to try to talk with Ephemerys. Nor did I went through with seeking the church in the capital...))
"Miss Cecilia?"
Cecilia was startled back again into reality, where an eager girl was looking at her expectantly.
"I’m sorry, your question simply made my mind wanter a bit. To be honest, I don’t know how to answer that. Five hundred years ago I would have a straight answer. But now..."
((That is what I honestly feel. But it isn’t everything.))
"I can somewhat feel her, sometimes. Like when I was performing the magic to bring back Margarete and Ceci. I have a feeling that she’s still out there, looking out for me. But it isn’t like it used to be. It’s faint, like echoes in my mind when I chant the spells’ hymns.
About why worship them... Faith is something that you have within yourself, or you don’t. It isn’t something you can explain or pass to others."
((I saw actual souls a few days ago. Not undead monsters, like the ones in the ancient city, but real souls of dead animals. I interacted with them, saw their memories, felt their emotions...
If souls exist in this world, why wouldn’t gods? The Verdant Calamity spawned, so does it mean that the old algorithm is still in place, or is there now an actual spirit in the forest? Maybe that’s something I can explore.))
She then noticed that Marya had been weirdly silent while she was again wandering off. She looked at the girl and saw that she was, like, frozen in time.
Only then did she notice that everything was frozen like that. Even a flying insect that had entered through the window was simply floating mid-air, completely motionless.
"What the fuck?"
{You are an interesting subject, Morielen.}
A weird, robotic voice echoed through the air, as if it didn’t have a single source.
"What... Who are you?"
{That’s not something you need to know. But I must say, I’ve seen several different interactions with the concept of ’god’ among you all, but none was as interesting as yours. Most were like asking for salvation or forgiveness, while some cursed and blamed them.
You were the only one to question them. But the truth is that I don’t understand the concept myself. What is a god for you humans, Morielen? I want your honest opinion.}
The voice was a bit sloppy and hesitant, like someone who is still learning a language and trying to have a conversation for the first time.
"Why should I answer you? Are you the one who messed up Aelindra’s memories?"
{About the second question, that wasn’t me. It was an automatic process. About the first question, I’ll just say that it can be me.}
"So you’re threatening to use some power to mess with people’s memories?"
{Yes.}
Cecilia didn’t doubt the voice for a single moment. She saw the memory rewriting happening once, saw it almost happen a second time, and she can see that whoever is the owner of that voice has at least the power to stop time.
"I understand. Alright. But it’s a really hard question to poise to a person like me. I never believed in gods, but people who did viewed them as omnipotent beings who created and governed over all existence."
{You never believed? But aren’t you a priestess, which are people who serve a god? Don’t you believe in Ephemerys?}
((Oh...? I thought that that person would have something to do with bringing us into this world and would know about Earth...))
"Oh, I meant before. In this world I am a priestess, yes. But it doesn’t mean that I learned how to better explain it. They are those entities that people usually think created the world and govern it out of love or something."
{I see. Hm, talking to you was interesting. I have some new material for the next seminar. Humans are really weird creatures... Oh, sorry, I digress. Well, that was all I had to ask for now. See you.}
"Wait. Can’t you at least tell me what kind of being you are?"
{Just an administrator. Nothing more. Bye.}
Right after the voice stopped talking, the world went back to its normal speed.
"You are so awesome, Miss Cecilia. You should teach those priests there, because they are always demanding ’faith’ from people and killing everyone who doesn’t have faith. But what you said makes so much more sense!"
((Huh? Oh, right. I was just talking to Marya about faith and worship. I should try to act normal, now. I don’t want to trigger whatever memory mechanisms might be out there.))
"Hehehe. I’m not that special. Marya, are there any stories about a great spirit in the forest or something? The Verdant Calamity of the other day is usually called forth by a guardian spirit. I thought that we could try to communicate with it."
"A guardian spirit...? No, I’ve never heard anything about that. I’ll ask Mom later, though."
"There’s no need. We can go there later, and I’ll teach you a ritual for seeing spirits. What do you think?"
Marya’s eyes widened, and she stood up on her chair.
"Yes, yes! A ritual for seeing spirits! I want to learn it! Is it a ritual from Ephemerys?"
Cecilia smiled at the child’s excitement and took out her own notebook from the inventory.
"It is. Other churches have their own forms of the ritual, but the mechanics and effect are exactly the same. Let me find it... here it is. It’s a five-minute ritual that allows for the casters to see and communicate with spiritual beings for five hours.
Now, revise it with me so we can get all the needed items. We can’t forget anything, because we won’t be able to stop the ritual halfway."
In lore there were some nasty backlashes for ritual interruption, and some of those figured in quests. But when players used rituals, there wasn’t any effect on stopping it before finishing. But Cecilia didn’t know what effect doing that would have here in this world.