On this continent, the myth of creation went like this:
According to the records, the universe was born from a dream of something called the "God-Head."
As for what exactly the God-Head was—only the heavens knew.
Maybe it was a game company.
From the world emerged two deities: Anu, who represented eternity, and Padomay, who represented change.
From them came further divisions. Anu's side birthed the benevolent deities, the Nine Holy Spirits worshiped today. Padomay's side gave rise to the evil, mad Daedra.
In truth, this belief was similar to religions on starter worlds. For example, the Empire of that world worshiped the Law Gods representing permanence, while the Chaos Gods represented change.
Of course, for players, such a simplistic dualism was laughable.
Eternity wasn't necessarily good, and change wasn't necessarily bad.
Insisting on choosing one side or the other was nonsense.
Like all creation myths, the story here claimed that gods created the world, mankind, and all living things.
But from the perspective of players who roamed the main universe, the chicken-or-egg logic was worth thinking over.
Just like with the Chaos Gods. The Warp had no concept of time, so when the Chaos Gods appeared, they existed in the past, present, and future of the Warp. But viewed from the main universe's timeline, they were born at specific points in time. Before that, they did not exist.
Thus, players concluded: all gods, good or evil, were born from the faith of intelligent beings. Humans created faith first, then gods emerged from it. Myths presented this as seamless and eternal, but in reality, it wasn't so.
Think carefully and you'd see all creation myths had contradictions.
It was like ghost stories.
You tell a story about a friend who got on a ghost bus, never got off, found out everyone onboard was a ghost, and was dragged to hell.
You tell it vividly.
But wait—if your friend died, how do you know this story? Did you make it up? Or did your friend's ghost come back to tell you?
Creation myths were the same.
If gods created the world, who wrote the myth about it? And so detailed, too?
According to the story, gods created the sun, the moon, the stars, life, and finally humans.
But how would humans know all that? Did the gods hang around afterward just to brag about their handiwork?
Were they really that idle?
So, in the main universe players' eyes, gods were products of faith. Once created, like the Chaos Gods, they retroactively existed throughout past, present, and future in the Warp.
That meant in the past, gods hadn't existed. There had only been forces. People invented gods to explain those forces.
For example: it rains. In drought, people pray, then comes a storm.
Where did the storm come from? They thought, it must be the Dragon King showing mercy. So they thanked the Dragon King, and the belief in the Dragon King as Water God took root.
Thus, the Dragon King was born. The logic perfectly fit human faith. And retroactively, all past rains were credited to him.
So a belief loop was formed:
A phenomenon occurs → people create faith to explain it → faith creates a god who controls it → the god proves the faith correct.
Self-validating. A perfect closed circle.
For a religious person like Lorena, Daedra seemed terrifying. But for an Inquisitor like Duanmu Huai, who understood the universe's rules, no matter how mighty they appeared, Daedra were still things born of faith.
To him, these Daedra were just watered-down versions of Chaos Gods. Their domains were narrower, their scope smaller, and therefore easier to fight. That was why Duanmu Huai chose them for training exercises.
"But… Sir Knight, how do you plan to enter Oblivion?"
Indeed, to Lorena, that was the most pressing question.
"According to the texts I've read, there was once a Daedra called Dagon who tried to open the Oblivion Gate and invade this world. But that wasn't easy…"
"Don't worry. It's not hard."
Duanmu Huai was prepared.
"I have a statue of Molag. With enough psychic energy poured into it, I can open a gate to his realm."
As an Inquisitor, of course he knew many ways to open Warp gates. Rituals, sacrifices, or other means—it was all the same. The core principle was simple: pour enough psychic energy to blur the boundary between reality and the Warp, and you could enter.
That was it.
The hard part was navigating the infinite Warp to find the right path.
But a statue solved that.
Here, divine statues really did channel blessings. They acted as windows into the gods' or Daedra's realms. And if it was a window… well, smash it, and you had your entrance.
Like a burglar breaking into a house. Why bother with tricks? Tear down the bars, smash the window, break the wall, and rush in.
He wasn't here to play fair. He was here to rob.
"All right, are you ready?"
He turned to his companions. Beside him stood Olgis, Bambi, Anne, Guleya, Lorena, and Odelle.
Not far away stood Sahariel's angelic host.
And they were impressive. At the front was Sahariel herself, the Angel of Clear Sky. Behind her, three main kinds formed the bulk:
Aurora Angels—white wings, golden hair, staff in hand, as beautiful as maidens.
Radiant Angels—pink-haired, clad in white armor, wielding axe-spears and shields.
Healing Angels—dressed lightly, specializing in restoration.
These were the core fighters.
In the front ranks were also Bell Angels, tiny and cute with golden bells; Herald Angels, carrying trumpets; and Hymn Angels, singing sacred songs.
Duanmu Huai had looked into them. Their attack power wasn't high—most were around 4/4, except for leaders like Sahariel. But while their strength was modest, their support abilities were excellent, especially for the whole army.
Aurora Angels: [Blessing of the Angels] gave +3/+3 and piercing attacks.
Radiant Angels: [Valkyrie's Spear] gave all allies +1/+0.
Bell, Herald, and Hymn Angels: [Heavenly Chorus] boosted everyone's defense by +3.
Healing Angels: [Angels' Grace] restored and healed.
Not overwhelming in raw combat, but their support was exactly what Duanmu Huai's forces lacked.
Originally, he thought Heaven might send a god to oversee. But Sahariel explained that openly sending a deity to strike another continent's Daedra would mean direct war. So instead, Heaven "gifted" him this angelic legion.
Yes, a gift.
Generous indeed.
For Duanmu Huai, it was perfect. Marching with angels at his side, no one would mistake him for a necromancer.
"No problem, I've been waiting! Sir Knight!"
Anne bounced excitedly. Last time, she hadn't been able to follow him into Hell. Now, at last, she could go to Oblivion. She was eager beyond words.
The others had no objections. Bambi longed to see her people's souls freed. As for Odelle—she was just a maid. Wherever Duanmu Huai went, she would follow without question.
"Then let's begin."
Duanmu Huai lifted the statue of Molag, stepped forward, and poured psychic energy into it.
The statue shook, glowing with dark red light. Around them, the world dimmed. Cold winds howled, and wails like the dead echoed through the air.
"Boom!!!"
The statue shattered. A blood-red oval portal appeared. From it burst a hulking scaled beast, jaws gaping at Duanmu Huai—
Only for him to shove its head back through.
"All right! Let's move!"
(End of Chapter)