"The problem is that the two worlds have things in common, but not divine authority, power, or anything visible and tangible. What they share is rules. And what the two worlds share isn't 'a specific rule,' but the fact that both worlds must contain something called 'rules.' In fact, the specific rules of the two worlds are completely different."
"Gods can never accomplish that."
"Philosophers can."
"Because when philosophers see water, they no longer consider the water itself. Instead, they consider its abstract properties, such as fluidity, why it flows, and what the smallest entities composing water are. Philosophers use axioms that absolutely cannot be disproven in the Real World, then apply logic that is absolutely correct in the Real World to infer and prove principles that are absolutely true in the Real World. These can be called rules, truths, laws, principles, or the Way."
"This is the essence of all disciplines, knowledge, and wisdom."
"But the gods don't know that. They only think that mages and philosophers are lucky, and that, like them, they're simply engaging in trial and error. Theories, principles, logic, proofs—none of them are useful. After all, everyone can survive without them."
"Even the god-kings."
"But philosophers and gods are two different species."
"Any outstanding philosopher bound at the mouth of a cave would inevitably be able to discover some of the axioms of the New World—the Super World—through the changes in light and shadow at the cave entrance. Then, using excellent logic, they could infer and prove certain principles of the Super World. Based on a small number of principles, they could continue expanding and exploring, gaining more knowledge and using it in turn to infer and prove more principles, forming a virtuous cycle."
"In the end, even if the philosopher's body remained inside the