Chapter 322: Heart of the Doll

The divine thought descending from afar gradually receded, and Miss Vilyric slowly opened her eyes.

“Tree of Creation, River of Time… I wonder if there will be another chance to meet again.”

In the high-tech underground base, the automaton girl No. 0, seated on the mechanical throne, nodded to her, who had returned from beyond time.

“It seems all answers are already known.”

“…Yes, though the future is full of uncertainties and can’t be called the most correct, I think this is what the people of the Holy Kingdom truly hope for—a future that is their own choice, not directed by the gods.”

No. 0 nodded again, rising from the mechanical throne she had never left, her gradient golden hair cascading downward as cables fell away from her like a prisoner breaking free from restraints.

“With this, all magical dolls of the [Divine Network series] have completed the mission left by [Father]… the [Faith-based Magic]… will probably never appear again.”

Noticing the automaton girl’s emotions, Miss Vilyric smiled.

“Are you confused?”

No. 0 neither denied nor tried to hide it.

“Yes, I am… the only one among tens of thousands of sister models to possess [emotion]—the magical doll is supposed to unconditionally obey the creator’s commands, to eliminate hesitation and doubt, yet in the last past, I couldn’t help but ponder…”

“When will such days come to an end?”

“[Father] has been gone for three hundred years. Following the commands he left before he departed, I have been trying my best to maintain the operation of the [Divine Network]. Even after [Mother] disappeared completely, on the day that should have been deemed a failure, I chose to continue.”

“Because [Father] never clearly issued instructions—what we should do if the mission failed, or where we should go.”

“So I redundantly persisted in my original task, just like that Mr. Min Chen deceiving himself that [Cheese Mofuman] could be revived, I too hoped that after the [Divine Spark] takes shape, I would find a new direction to escape this endless prison.”

“But now, having truly lost my mission and goal, my [heart] feels lost again…”

The automaton girl directed her hollow gaze towards the Priestess, a flicker of hope shimmering in her eyes.

“Miss Vilyric, as the most powerful being recorded in the Divine Network, could you become my new master? Please tell me, what is the next task for [Final Form No. 0]… okay?”

“…”

Miss Vilyric did not speak immediately.

It was a very tempting proposal.

But, it also came with a heavy responsibility.

The number of dolls left by Hao Miao Yi Meng had reached a scale that required counting in tens of thousands. Once losing control and purpose, it could likely lead to a new chaos, but if utilized wisely, it could be an exceptionally powerful and convenient force.

History had already changed.

The power of the [Sword of Origin] had cut through the [River of Time], redirecting the faith twisted by Hao Miao Yi Meng back onto its original path.

Thus, in the corrected history, [Faith-based Magic] did not appear in the world.

But the branches of time are complex and interlinked, if Miss Vilyric made drastic changes to the past, everything now would transform into a completely different scene. So she merely made slight adjustments to history.

In today’s history—Sixth Generation Saint of Bright Light Ottilina Summerfield and the [Corruption] avatar perished together in battle, the Third Demon War still erupted.

But this time, it was not the suddenly appeared [Faith-based Magic] that reversed the tide of battle, but rather several years later, the return of the Seventh Saint of Bright Light who inherited the [Crown of Uncrowned].

Because the [Light of Origin] came from a guiding hand from beyond, the Saint of Bright Light rejected the deal with [Corruption], the strength from beyond time even allowed her to hold on until the arrival of the [Inquisition] and the angelic wings.

Though she ultimately died, the [Crown of Uncrowned] was not taken by the demon, and this became a pivotal moment—as a result, everything changed.

After the Third Demon War was quelled, the upper institutional Church that had emerged early to maintain the war situation gradually became the new ruling class of the Holy Empire, but not through oppression or the advantages of faith-based magic, but rather the abdication of the Seventh Saint of Bright Light.

The three Saints voluntarily stepped down from the ruling class of the Holy Empire, becoming a revered symbol closer to faith and the pinnacle of strength.

One governed, the other divined—two entirely different structures standing atop the Holy Kingdom were thus distinguished, each obtaining their respective mission.

Because faith-based magic did not emerge, scholars of the Holy Empire adapted to the evolving times after the Third Demon War, beginning to delve into the derivation of pure light-based magic—the research of Holy Light magic, thereby branching out into countless applications and explorations.

This time, no one would obstruct their pursuit of truth.

Holy Light magic replaced the original faith-based magic; although it couldn’t be universally accessible to everyone, it still played a similar role in strengthening the Kingdom’s armed forces and benefiting countless households.

Faith-based magic… had never been an indispensable, irreplaceable necessity; ultimately, it was merely [humans]’ excessive reliance on [gods].

Then history gradually moved forward along its original trajectory, leading to the present.

The Fourth Demon War erupted once more.

However, this time, it was not secretly orchestrated by Yuna, who succeeded as the Eighth Saint, but rather by the Lord of [Corruption], Ilhon, in an effort to recover one of the lost origins—the [Enchantment Pearl] from three hundred years ago—also to compensate for the continually depleting energy of the demon realm, he allied with two other demon lords to launch an attack.

The Holy Empire, united more than ever, retaliated vigorously. Although they lost Yuna, the strong internal support, the alliance of the three lords made the demon war incredibly powerful. Initially, it unfolded almost identically to the historical trajectory, evolving into an almost identical situation and progress.

After that, it became a series of well-known battles—like the [Masked Demon Calamity] that broke out in Mingguang City, the [Blood Calamity] beneath the Heavenly Barrier, the bloodshed of Sacheno City, the surprise attack on the Sacred Capital led by Edwina…

Of course, there were some minor differences, but they were still within the historical range that could be amended.

Until now, the battle raging in the eastern forests of the Sanos province was probably still ongoing, as the Fourth Demon War had not yet ended—only the visitation of the God of Killing at this specific point in time had been crossed out.

With the power of the [Sword of Origin], such a history merged with the original history, creating a brand new [present].

And the reason it was said to be a fusion rather than replacement is that there remained some [exceptions].

For example, the three Saints who had once trodden upon the River of Time, retaining their original memories, like Edwina, and also special individuals like Eudora, who fused with divine blood, stepping out of the original timeline that shouldn’t have existed, arriving in the present.

And even more magnificent, transcendent beings from beyond time.

[Gods]

As conceptual incarnations beyond causality, they are not bound by the world’s laws, just like the [Rewriting] of Hao Miao Yi Meng could not affect all creatures, the effect of the [Sword of Origin] correcting history also significantly diminished for the gods.

Thus, Miss Vilyric needed to personally wield the sword to cut down the descending God of Killing and expel them back to their original world.

And the lingering [Divine Network] plan that shouldn’t exist—the magical dolls are still situated within this underground space that should have vanished from history, under the Holy Throne, also due to the immature [Light] Divine Spark held by No. 0 interfering with causality.

Naturally, this gave rise to new problems that needed to be solved.

   

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