The Beginning of the War of the Gods

Pacific Ocean - Kaisilote Island:

The magnificent and enormous palace sits atop a hillside hundreds of meters high on this artificial island. This is the Future God Temple, the holy site of the Future God Religion.

When the cult of the Future God Religion grew strong enough, a headquarters became essential. To avoid factional disputes, the temple was eventually built on this artificial island.

Most of the time, this temple is maintained only by caretakers; however, today, the helipad outside the temple is filled with aircraft from all over the world.

Inside a magnificent hall within the temple, the high-ranking members of the Future God Religion were gathered together, discussing important matters concerning the church.

In terms of solemnity and atmosphere, this conference hall is comparable to the United Nations headquarters. The early members of the Future God Religion who built this temple were mostly famous mythologists, fantasy novelists, or wealthy people with extraordinary imaginations. Therefore, the style of this temple is also extremely fantastical.

Colossal statues stood on the walls surrounding the main hall, overlooking the people holding a meeting below. Their images were modeled after the early members, and strange creatures, beings that existed only in fantasy, surrounded these fictional deities.

The twelve elders of the Moha Religion were all present and seated at the conference table in the center of the hall. If anyone in the know were to discover the identities of those present, they would be quite astonished. Almost all of the twelve were prominent figures, heirs to large conglomerates, managers of renowned scientific organizations, and even prominent political figures. Although the early members were mostly scholars, the identities of the Future God Religion have changed significantly over time.

Those political and business figures with abundant resources and enormous influence who are capable of actually implementing plans have replaced the creators of the past who only knew how to indulge in wild fantasies and empty talk.

However, they still retain some traditional rituals left by the early members, perhaps simply because these rituals and rules satisfy their deeply hidden chuunibyou (adolescent delusions of grandeur) souls.

Just like the magnificent black robes adorned with various strange runes that the twelve people are wearing, and the high-backed chairs with intricate patterns that they are sitting on, they all look like the masterminds behind the scenes who secretly control the world.

This feeling made their tone of voice much deeper.

"I still don't understand why we don't use the internet to communicate. It took me three hours to fly here from Australia, and every time I come to attend a conference, my wife asks me if I'm having an affair."

A chubby elder complained somewhat discontentedly.

An elder with a thick beard sitting next to him smiled slightly, "You already had women outside, and more than one at that."

"However, I also think it would be more convenient to communicate online."

Many of the elders nodded in agreement with these words.

The thin elder sitting at the head of the table explained slowly, "Online communication is easily tracked by the National Network Bureau. I don't want my words to be recorded. After all, everyone here is an important person. Although the Moha Religion is still a legal religious organization, it's never a good thing if people find out you have a special religious background."

This silenced most people. Indeed, although people deeply believed in the doctrines of the Moha Religion (at least on the surface), no one was a fool. This kind of mysterious religion generally didn't have a good reputation, let alone their goals.

The Moha Religion has maintained a very low profile until now, but if their identities were discovered and further investigation were conducted, it could lead to a lot of trouble.

"Alright, everyone's here, let's begin," the thin elder announced, glancing at the last empty seat.

"As the 152nd Speaker of the Moha Religion, I am presiding over this meeting. First of all, it should be said that our plan seems to be going smoothly so far."

The players have begun to gradually enter the mental maze, chanting the names and will of the gods, though they don't truly believe in these slogans. But with constant repetition, sooner or later they will be deeply immersed in them.

A lie repeated a thousand times becomes the truth, which is exactly Moha Religion want to exploit.

"Now, Elder Lin, please introduce the Wanderer Plan."

An elderly man with an Asian face stood up.

"Miracle Plan is progressing very smoothly. The code has been implanted into the game accounts of many players, and as time goes on, more and more players are absorbing the special code we released."

We can now bring them into our Miracle Plan at any time. In fact, we've already tested it on several key figures without arousing any suspicion.

The Speaker nodded in satisfaction. "Now that Miracle Plan is on track, the next step is the most crucial one: the War of the Gods. We must select a suitable image of Future God to absorb the Power of Faith."

Upon hearing his words, the crowd immediately began to discuss among themselves.

The speaker, however, was not in a hurry. After the murmurs subsided, he slowly and deliberately said, "I think everyone is already aware of the plan for the War of the Gods. This is a plan initiated by our God-Creation Faction. If it succeeds, we can create our God of the Future. However, to avoid any misunderstandings, I will repeat it here."

"We believe that the Power of Faith exists. As long as there is a suitable vessel to absorb the Power of Faith, and there is enough Power of Faith, a true god can be created."

This medium must be a fully validated image that best reflects people's expectations.

In the War of the Gods, everyone present can choose the identity of a god, create their own image, develop their own followers, spread their own doctrines, and attract as many players as possible.

Then, we will engage in a year-long free-for-all. Gods with more followers will naturally defeat those with fewer followers, and the followers of the defeated gods will automatically become the followers of the victors. In this way, a victor will be chosen, and that victor will be the image of a god that satisfies the people the most. This victor will be the prototype of the Future God.

At the same time, it also allows us to understand what players, or rather the world, hope for in God, and what the image of God they yearn for is like. This would be a great honor for the person who plays this God, and it is even possible that they could become the incarnation of God of the Future.

"Now, please write down the identity of the god you wish to portray. The list in front of you already outlines the abilities and domains of the gods who have appeared in the current War of the Gods. Of course, you can also create and design your own favorite god's name and appearance. You don't need to create it immediately; just send me your designs within a week."

Several priestesses dressed in priestly robes began distributing configuration forms, and soon everyone had one in their hands.

"Very good, then the competition will officially begin in the coming year."

A bearded elder suddenly raised his hand.

The speaker nodded. "Ah, Elder Spencer, is there a problem?"

"On behalf of the Europe Branch, I have a question to raise: Does the Power of Faith truly exist?"

"I think we Europe are the most qualified to speak on this point, after all, Europe are the most devout religious believers."

"It is precisely because of our religious history that I ask this question. In the past, we devoutly believed in God, yet God never demonstrated His divine power. So what is the meaning of the so-called Power of Faith?"

The speaker shook his head. "No, first of all, I must say that your faith is not devout enough, and secondly, your belief in God is not scientific enough."

This left Elder Spencer speechless; how could faith be linked to science?

"I've only been a member of the church for a short time, and my understanding of the doctrines is not yet very clear. I hope the Speaker can explain it to me."

The speaker nodded, pondered for a moment, and then began to speak.

"According to our theory of the God-Creation Faction, God will present a certain image based on our beliefs about Him. If people believe that God is tyrannical, then their God will exhibit all kinds of cruel and inhumane behavior."

If people believe that God is merciful, then God will treat believers mercifully.

However, the prerequisite is that all believers must share the same goal.

To put it simply, if everyone in the world believed that God would throw a pie from heaven to someone, then God would throw a pie to that person.

However, if believers hold different or even conflicting beliefs, then the power of faith will be negated.

In Christianity doctrine, there is no statement that God will always answer prayers, or that you can pray to God and He will help you when you are in danger. That is not something God would do.

The core concept of Christianity is Judgment Day, the day when the world is about to end and the fate of mankind is decided. The dead will rise from the grave, and all people will be summoned to God's judgment seat, where their fate will be determined by God.

This is something all Christians believe, but praying to God for help when you are in danger is something only you believe in, and naturally you won't get a response.

For example, the Christianity concepts of Heaven and Hell are also unprovable.

And that's the irrationality of your religion: the goal of Judgment Day can only be fulfilled on the day of the end of the world, and naturally, there's no way to prove it before then.

Heaven and Hell are places only the dead can go to, and it's impossible to prove whether they are real or not.

They did not set a goal that could be proven in the short term after they established their faith.

This also shows that the founders of those religions did not truly believe in God, which is why they set the date as the end of the world. This way, as long as the end of the world had not yet arrived, they would not have to be held accountable for their words.

And if the end of the world really comes—haha, even if their established doctrines are not realized at that time, I suppose no one can blame them.

Therefore, when we create our gods, we must learn from this lesson. First, we should let people decide for themselves what kind of image of God they want. In this way, people will choose the most reasonable deity.

Their abilities are also what people most desire, such as wealth, luck, or supernatural powers.

At the same time, we must strengthen believers' faith in God. The reason why miracles are so few is that believers' faith in God is not firm. And the less Power of Faith, the fewer miracles there will be, or even none at all. This is the so-called vicious cycle.

However, if we first demonstrate miracles to believers and strengthen their faith, then believers will certainly contribute a great deal of Power of Faith. In this way, our God can truly become God and demonstrate real miracles.

In a sense, this can be considered as borrowing faith points in advance.

Our Miracle Plan is for this purpose. Once the Miracle Plan is completed, we can verify whether the Power of Faith exists.

"I see," Elder Spencer nodded thoughtfully and sat down.

Clap clap clap, a series of clapping sounds rang out. An elder who looked to be only in his thirties and wore glasses stood up from his seat.

Many people immediately recognized him as Joshua Lee, the famous billionaire ranked seventh on the world's rich list. He owns a high-tech company and is a key figure in the Descent Faction.

"A brilliant theory. But what if the Future God doesn't appear as you say, and doesn't perform any real miracles? Or what if there's no such thing as Future God at all?"

"This is blasphemy!" an elder exclaimed, slamming his fist on the table.

"Hehehe, everyone, please calm down. After all, from the very beginning, our church has always treated God from a scientific and practical perspective. There is no concept of blasphemy. If we look at it from the perspective of traditional religious thought, what we are doing is the greatest blasphemy," another elder said.

The gaunt speaker pondered for a moment, "If my theory cannot be realized, then I will resign as speaker, and the Descent Faction will take over the position, and your Descent Faction's plans will be carried out in the next operation."

However, you members of the Descent Faction must not deliberately disrupt the Miracle Plan, otherwise I will refuse to fulfill my promise.

Joshua Lee nodded. "That's natural. After all, finding the Future God is our ultimate goal. If we can achieve that goal, factional disputes are minor."

The conversation between the two men was considered a preliminary agreement between the Descent Faction and the God-Creation Faction.

However, just as the speaker was about to announce the end of the meeting, the hall doors were suddenly flung open with a bang.

An old man with a stubble beard and gray hair walked in from outside. He looked a bit disheveled, but that couldn't hide the fervor and enthusiasm in his heart. He was wearing a black elder's robe.

Good evening everyone! Long time no see, have you missed me?

"Shen Yuan, how did you get out? I didn't expect to see you again."

"Haha, it's Shen Yuan. It seems your plan has failed. What, you've come back again?"

"Who is this guy?"

The elders reacted in various ways; one of them didn't even recognize Shen Yuan.

Shen Yuan, however, did not mind at all.

"Haha, it's been a long time, old friends. I've missed you all too." Shen Yuan completely ignored the sarcasm and ridicule from the crowd. He simply exchanged glances with the two elders he knew and then sat down in the empty seat.

"Hmph, you gave up your elder's seat when you left, didn't you?" one of the elders said.

"Hey, I never said I was leaving the church. I'm just going to conduct an experiment, to strive to achieve our church's great goals."

Your efforts have failed.

"On the contrary, my plan is progressing very smoothly, at least halfway to success." Shen Yuan said confidently, which silenced everyone for a moment.

The speaker glanced at Shen Yuan indifferently, "What do you want?"

"It's simple. Everyone who joins this game should have an equal chance of becoming a god. After all, I'm still a member of the Council of Elders."

The old man in black robes glanced at the others, who were rapidly exchanging glances and conveying their thoughts.

"Yes, you can join the game, but given your long absence from meetings, your divine power will only be the lowest level, Lesser Divine Power."

"Hehehe, the Lesser Divine Power is already sufficient."

"Very good," the leader said, glancing at everyone, "Then the War of the Gods plan officially begins."