Seeing the comments in the chat, Su Mo offered a piece of advice.
Su Mo: "Rather than believing in the gods, it's better to believe in the concepts they represent."
In fact, if one were to study mythology, one would discover that the majority of orthodox religions trend toward atheism.
Christianity has always forbidden idolatry, and Moses's original purpose in proposing the concept of a single god was to replace the myriad of beliefs with one singular idea. It was just that the Son of God himself probably never imagined that while he didn't support founding a church during his lifetime, after his death, churches would spread across the world. He had always forbidden idolatry, yet whether it was the worship of the cross, the Son of God, or the Holy Mother, they had clearly stepped into the realm of taboo. To say nothing of so-called Satanism.
The same was true for Buddhism. If one truly read the classics, one would find that, according to Buddhist theory, the so-called "Anuttarā-samyak-saṃbodhi"—the supreme, perfect enlightenment—was not some supreme divine power at all. The so-called Buddha, the "awakened one," was not actually an awakened one, but was merely called an awakened one.
As for the various esoteric sects, many of them treated the gods and buddhas as mere Dharma protectors, tools to be used. Their theories were not only shocking in ancient times but could still stun people even today.
Kanae: "Learned and unlearned at the same time."
March 7th: "Learned and unlearned at the same time."
Everyone nodded in rapid succession.
Even knowing that gods existed in the world, it was impossible for them to truly believe in them blindly. After all, there was an even more formidable person living and breathing right in front of them.
Su Mo wasn't surprised by their reaction.
In reality, the path of faith becomes more advanced the further it develops. In the Age of Gods, there may have been fanatics who believed blindly in the gods and were willing to lay down their lives for them, but in the modern era, it has largely evolved into a transactional relationship.
And if you looked at beings like the Aeons from the Star Rail world, it had progressed even further, to the level of ideology. The way an Aeon gathers faith is by gaining the approval of others, and the way Pathstriders believe in an Aeon is by actively identifying with the philosophical concept the Aeon represents.
One could say that the relationship between gods and humans in the Star Rail world was a more advanced form of faith than that in Little Garden. There might be a gap in their power, but in terms of their existence, there was no hierarchy. Whether god or human, they were all just travelers walking the same Path.
For the pantheons of Little Garden to still be mired in the dispute between "Creationism" and "Anthropogenesis," it was either because they had become corrupt and decadent, or because they were about to be eliminated.
The two were not mutually exclusive.
Shiroyasha: "To dare to say even that... I'm convinced. I'm completely convinced!"
Having been persuaded to such an extent, the white-haired loli honestly admitted defeat.
Shiroyasha: "I'm sorry. I was blind and misjudged you. With this level of ability, I'd believe you could create a pure-blooded Dragon, let alone a Celestial Spirit."
Shiroyasha: "But, take my advice: don't you dare say any of this in Little Garden. It doesn't matter for me, since I'm a Celestial Spirit, but those pantheons won't let it go so easily."
After having two of her cognitive filters shattered and her worldview updated twice, she had fully acknowledged Su Mo's capabilities. After apologizing, her warning was quite sincere.
The power of the pantheons in Little Garden was vast beyond imagination. Although Su Mo was strong, at Tier 6, he was only at a Three-Digit level in Little Garden. He couldn't afford to be too arrogant. Otherwise, he might end up like her or Algol.
Su Mo naturally chose to accept Shiroyasha's apology and goodwill.
Su Mo: "It was just a misunderstanding. No need to go that far."
Just as he accepted the apology and Shiroyasha finally breathed a sigh of relief, his tone shifted, and he asked a question in return.
Su Mo: "But you didn't believe everything I just said, did you?"
Shiroyasha: "?"
Erica: "?"
Rin Tohsaka: "?"
Jibril: "?"
With that one statement, it wasn't just Shiroyasha; everyone else typed out a glaring question mark.
After all this time, after even the most stubborn person has come to believe your theory, what are you trying to do now?
After a moment of stunned silence, Shiroyasha scratched her head and asked, half-exasperated.
Shiroyasha: "You're not going to tell me that everything you just said was a lie to trick me, are you?!"
If Su Mo was about to reverse his own argument and actually succeed in doing so, Shiroyasha was really going to start questioning her own intelligence.
Being a fool once wasn't so bad; it could just be that you were deceived by ingrained common knowledge. But if you kept being a fool, over and over again, what was the point of living?
Might as well just find a block of tofu and bash her head against it!
Though the others didn't have such intense inner turmoil, their thoughts were similar.
Fortunately, what Su Mo said next wasn't their worst fear.
Su Mo: "Of course not. Creationism is a flawed theory in the world of Little Garden. I still hold that view."
With those words, he let Shiroyasha's racing heart settle down, before his tone shifted again.
Su Mo: "However, it's not clear what the future holds."
Shiroyasha: "What do you mean?"
The white-haired loli was slightly taken aback, sensing something was wrong.
Su Mo: "At this point in time, Anthropogenesis is reality, and Creationism is fantasy. But is the distinction between reality and fantasy really so clear-cut?"
Shiroyasha: "...I don't understand. Could you explain it to me?" the white-haired loli requested, feeling a little humiliated.
Su Mo: "My meaning is simple. Take the Aeons from March's world, for example. If those Aeons can truly traverse the entire timeline and adjust the circumstances of their own appearance, then are they gods created by human faith, or are they self-existent, eternal powers?"
March 7th: "Huh?"
March 7th: "Hmm, if they can rewrite time, it seems like there's no difference between the two?"
Hearing Su Mo's example, the usually goofy-looking pink-haired girl surprisingly offered a rather accurate conclusion.
If a god's birth was truly arranged by the god itself, completing a time loop... then didn't that mean it had created itself?
If Zeus, the monotheistic god from the Campione! world, had truly completed his plan, he would have become an undisputed, sole, true god, just like the one in Christianity.
As for his past, and the schemes he used, who would care?
Su Mo: "Even if Anthropogenesis is reality now, even if the entirety of Little Garden is a copy of the human-observable universe..."
Su Mo: "What if, one day, the gods truly manage to complete the loop, rewrite the past, and place their existence above human history?"
Su Mo: "On that day, all evidence refuting Creationism will become evidence affirming it."
Su Mo: "Little Garden, which is now considered a copy, would become the template for the infinite parallel universes itself. Little Garden would no longer be considered the copy, but the original. Conversely, the original infinite parallel universes would become the counterfeits."
Su Mo: "And to achieve that, all that's needed is a small rewrite of the chronological order of Little Garden's and the parallel universes' births."
Shiroyasha: "..."
Hearing these words, the white-haired loli suddenly felt a chill run down her spine.
Even though it was just a theory, this logically inverted yet plausible possibility made her shudder.
Shiroyasha: "A-are you saying...?"
She swallowed hard and asked nervously.
Su Mo: "What I'm saying is, neither Creationism nor Anthropogenesis really matters. What matters is that the one who controls the present has the right to rewrite the past."
Su Mo: "Even if it starts with Anthropogenesis, it can still end up being rewritten as Creationism."
Hearing this, Shiroyasha didn't think much of it. Though she felt a vague sense of unease, she just thought Su Mo was proposing an unlikely hypothesis.
It wasn't until Su Mo asked his final question that the hairs on her neck suddenly stood on end, and a cold dread shot up from her spine to the top of her head.
This is what Su Mo said.
Su Mo: "You should be able to guess by now, right?"
Su Mo: "Why a Creationism theory so full of holes is so fervently supported by the pantheons..."