Too Many Gods

"Light's Embrace... is a godslayer?"

Ian froze for a moment before slowly repeating, "A slayer of Outer Gods?"

For an instant, Ian almost wanted to laugh—the Church of Light's Embrace, the most prestigious of Terra's four great orthodox faiths, was actually a godslayer? It sounded far too strange.

But upon thinking it over carefully, he found that he could understand.

The god of the Church of Light's Embrace, "Light's Embrace," had no concrete image. This was what was known as "erecting no idols."

At its core, it was an illusory concept, a persistence of faith. In a sense, the god of Light's Embrace was present alongside every priest who upheld its doctrine, and the divine power of their deity was the psychic energy within the clergy of Light's Embrace.

But the gods spoken of by the Tree Sea Spirit were different. The gods it spoke of had concrete forms, even flesh and bodies—"real gods" that truly existed... beings like ritual masters and sacrificial spirits. Living creatures that could be seen, perceived, tangibly affect things, and be affected in turn.

For example, the Divine Tree.

Ian could more or less guess what form the Tree Sea Spirits took on their own planet... They were the living will of an entire ecosystem. The spirits of the Divine Trees controlled the ecology of the whole planet; with a single thought, they could wipe out every living race. Yet they had not done so. Instead, they allowed many intelligent species to coexist with them, even providing them with conveniences.

Thus, all the beings living in the Tree Sea Wilderness would naturally worship the existence that granted them all prosperity as "gods."

Though they used the same word, the two kinds of gods were utterly different.

As for these so-called Outer Gods...

*Could they really