To be honest, Shiroyasha hadn't noticed the problem at first.
But after hearing Su Mo's blatant hint, if she still couldn't understand what he was getting at, she would have wasted her long life.
A cold sweat broke out on her pale back, and her golden eyes narrowed to a thin line, like a cat's.
Hearing these words that completely subverted her impression of the pantheons, the white-haired loli's body instantly went as rigid as stone. In her stressed state, any slight movement was enough to make her jump like a startled bird.
She had no doubt that if the pantheons learned of this conversation, they would not hesitate to dispatch a heavenly army. Even the few gods she had trusted in the past were not necessarily trustworthy when it came to such a dangerous topic.
Fortunately, as the seconds and minutes ticked by, there was no unusual activity outside. No one came knocking to check the water meter, and no one said, "Heavenly Army, open up!"
Only then did she breathe a sigh of relief, confirming that the contents of the chat group would not be leaked to anyone, not even to those Full Authority Domain beings whose names were usually taboo.
Her mind at ease, Shiroyasha took a huge gulp of cold tea before she finally had the composure to reply.
Shiroyasha: "Are you saying the pantheons have been plotting from the very beginning, wanting to twist the facts and have Creationism replace Anthropogenesis to become the rulers of the entire infinite multiverse?"
Why promote a theory so full of holes?
Obviously, to turn that false theory into a reality.
The reason Shiroyasha was so quick to trust Su Mo's speculation was not only because his theory was extremely persuasive, but also because when she looked back at the actions of the pantheons in past eras, they really did align with what he was saying.
One could even say they had barely tried to hide it. Instead, they had used it as a common-sense theory to make everyone subconsciously believe that humanity and the world were created by the gods.
This cognitive interference was so absurd that even a Celestial Spirit like her had believed it.
However, with just a little bit of careful thought, the problems were not hard to spot.
If the world was truly created by the gods, then Celestial Spirits were also nothing more than their creations. If that were the case, why would there be a concept of the "Three Strongest Races"? Why not just declare that the Divine Spirit race was supreme above all others?
Were they afraid to? Or did they know they didn't have that power right now?
If, one day, they did obtain that power, would Celestial Spirits and pure-blooded Dragons even be worthy of being mentioned in the same breath?
The more Shiroyasha thought about it, the more terrifying it became.
March 7th: "I didn't really get most of that, but is Lord Su Mo talking about some kind of incredible grand conspiracy?"
Rin Tohsaka: "The day has finally come! A lowly person like me gets to be privy to a multiverse-level conspiracy! I hereby dub us the 'Strongest Mob Characters'!"
Erica: "Even though we can't help with anything, it feels strangely exciting."
Madoka: "+1."
March 7th: "+1."
Just as everyone was trembling at the thought of this epic, cosmic conspiracy, Su Mo's attitude remained as calm as ever.
Su Mo: "The pantheons most likely have such intentions, but whether you call it a 'conspiracy' is a matter of opinion."
Shiroyasha: "What do you mean?"
The white-haired loli had never felt her emotions fluctuate so violently in one day.
Su Mo: "From the perspective of humanity or other races, it might be a terrifying conspiracy to usurp the sovereignty of the world."
Su Mo: "But from the perspective of the gods, perhaps they believe they are simply guiding human evolution in a better way... After all, that is the reason the gods came into being."
Even though it was Su Mo who had exposed the pantheons' plot, as he narrated it now, he spoke as if it had nothing to do with him, offering the completely opposite perspective of the gods.
This left everyone slightly stunned.
The reason so many people were fascinated by conspiracy theories was mostly out of a morbid curiosity for gossip—a fact many were self-aware of. And the reason conspiracy theories were often ridiculed wasn't because the conspiracies themselves lacked logic or realism.
The biggest reason they were never taken seriously was that anyone with a little life experience understood a simple truth: the more intricate, time-consuming, and highly coordinated a conspiracy is, the more likely it is to fall apart before it even begins.
The real world is too complex, and situations change too quickly. There are rarely the resources or space to execute some grand, world-altering scheme. What's truly effective is often a simple, obvious plan that doesn't look like much at all. People fantasize about high-level business warfare involving spies, undercover agents, emotional drama, and high-tech crime. In reality, high-level business warfare is often brutally simple, like the CEO personally hiring someone to water the competitor's money tree to death.
The pantheons' plot was the same.
From the dawn of Little Garden to the present, countless eons had passed. The pantheons had changed for who knows how many generations, and internal power struggles were often fierce. In such a turbulent environment, to claim that the pantheons had some massive, consistent conspiracy would be to utterly disregard history. It was a well-known fact that the pantheons were at their most vicious when fighting amongst themselves.
And now, this so-called conspiracy of the pantheons, viewed from another angle, could be seen as a form of divine salvation theory. The gods believe that keeping the world in their hands is more conducive to guiding humanity... which didn't sound all that unreasonable, did it?
Shiroyasha: "..."
Shiroyasha: "So what you're saying is, even though they're brewing a conspiracy, trying to twist the facts, and attempting to rule the world... they're actually good gods?" the white-haired loli asked, unable to comprehend.
No matter how you looked at it, those actions had clearly crossed a line, right?
Su Mo: "A god cannot defy its own nature—that is, the divine status shaped by its mythology."
Su Mo: "If you judge by their divine status, the current leaders of the pantheons are basically all benevolent gods."
The God of the Old Testament might have been a bit abstract, but in the world of Little Garden, God had been nerfed by the omnipotence paradox. The current de facto leader of Christianity was the Son of God from the New Testament. The Son of God, who preached faith, hope, and love, basically fit the standard of a benevolent deity.
Not to mention the other pantheons. Any mythology that was unfriendly to humans would have been unlikely to survive the dawn of Little Garden.
So, as absurd as it sounded, both in theory and in fact, Shiroyasha's complaint couldn't be called wrong.
No matter what the pantheons did or what they were brewing, their starting point was a good one.
Su Mo: "Of course, a good starting point doesn't mean their methods are necessarily correct. If you're walking down the wrong path, it doesn't matter how good your intentions are; it's better not to have started at all."
The Moon Worship Sect Leader wanted to destroy the old world for the sake of a new one.
Being a benevolent god didn't mean one couldn't walk down an evil path.
Shiroyasha: "...So what exactly are you trying to say? The pantheons want to bring the multiverse under the umbrella of Creationism. Is this idea of theirs right or wrong?"
The white-haired loli was starting to get confused.
You're playing both sides. Which one are you on? Are the pantheons plotting a conspiracy or not?
Su Mo: "I was going to say that measuring the issue with a simple right or wrong is too shallow, but there is actually a sufficiently reliable standard for judgment right now."
Su Mo: "However, this standard doesn't lie with me, but with Little Garden itself."
Hearing this, Shiroyasha paused for a moment.
Shiroyasha: "Little Garden itself?"
Su Mo: "If I'm not mistaken, Little Garden itself has some kind of selection and elimination mechanism, right? Only those who can overcome the mechanism are allowed to remain. Otherwise, the competition among the pantheons wouldn't be so intense."
Shiroyasha: "A selection mechanism? If you're referring to the Final Trials of Humanity aka Last Embryo, then yes, we have that."
Shiroyasha immediately began to explain this important concept of her world.
Shiroyasha: "...If one cannot overcome the Last Embryo, which symbolizes the Eschatology Theory, before the corresponding time limit, then the most terrifying existence in Little Garden will descend."
Shiroyasha: "It makes faith be abandoned, fear be forgotten, and eras be severed. The formless, faceless Devil King, the 'Wind of Decadence.' If it successfully descends, not only will all of Little Garden be blown away, but if left unchecked, the infinite parallel universes connected to Little Garden will also enter their apocalypse in sync!"
If one viewed Little Garden as a simulation game built to overcome the apocalypse, then the moment the game was cleared would be the moment the Eschatology Theory completely dissipated, and the multiverse would never head towards a destructive end.
But if the game wasn't cleared before the time limit, it would prove that the Eschatology Theory was insurmountable and that destruction was inevitable. On that day, the entire infinite multiverse would be destroyed.
Su Mo: "Then that's it."
Su Mo: "Whether the gods' ideas are selfish, whether the so-called Creationism is just an excuse to seize the world's sovereignty—these delicate trivialities are not important."
Su Mo: "As long as Creationism itself can pass the trials of Little Garden, as long as it can overcome the apocalypse, then it is a good theory."
Su Mo: "Simply put, whether it's Creationism or Anthropogenesis, or even if you made up 'Stellagenesis' on the spot, as long as you can beat the final deadline, as long as it's beneficial to the continuation of the planetary chronicles, you have the right to rule the infinite multiverse."
Su Mo gave his opinion.
Everything besides life and death is a trivial matter.
The continuation of civilization is what's truly important.
Whether promoting Creationism is right or wrong isn't for others to say. It must be verified by the Last Embryos.
Shiroyasha: "Mmm... I think I understand what you mean."
The imminent crisis facing Little Garden was the Eschatology Theory. Whoever could defeat it could save the future. If the pantheons could achieve this, they would naturally have the right to rule the future. Compared to defeating the Wind of Decadence, who ruled Little Garden was a minor issue. In fact, Little Garden was already primarily ruled by the pantheons, and there hadn't been any major problems.
Shiroyasha: "So, I was worried for nothing earlier?"
Just as she let out a long sigh of relief and thought this, Su Mo suddenly added another sentence.
Su Mo: "That's how it is under normal circumstances, but you also need to be wary of a certain danger signal."
Shiroyasha: "What signal?"
Su Mo: "Only those who bear the responsibility of challenging the Eschatology Theory are qualified to bear the future of human history and discuss the future sovereignty of the world."
Su Mo: "But if the pantheons in your world only want to use Creationism to overwrite reality, while abandoning their responsibility to face the Eschatology Theory head-on, then it means they have become completely corrupt and cannot be trusted."
Su Mo: "In that situation, not only would they fail to be an asset in overcoming the Eschatology Theory, they might even become accomplices to the enemy."
Su Mo: "If you're backstabbed by a teammate at a critical moment... even a surmountable Eschatology Theory could very well end in failure."
Seeing Su Mo's almost prophetic warning, Shiroyasha initially let out a laugh, wanting to say that was impossible. Though she was annoyed with the pantheons, having lived from the dawn of Little Garden until now, even she had to admit that the vast majority of the Last Embryos had been resolved by the gods. Of course, the vast majority of the Last Embryos also came from the Divine Spirit race in the first place.
But before she could say that, she suddenly thought of two things that had happened in the last few thousand years.
First was the disturbance caused by the Seven Great Demon Kings, which ended with the half-Celestial Spirit Sun Wukong, a Candidate of Origin, being recruited by the Buddhist Sects.
Second was the disturbance caused by the Dystopia Devil King.
During the fight against the Dystopia Devil King, the pantheons' attitude had been so ambiguous it was impossible to understand, and countless pantheons had colluded with the Devil King. Even her arch-rival, the Halloween Queen, had nearly lost everything in that war. In contrast, the pantheons themselves had suffered no major losses.
If it were just these things, they were minor details and didn't prove much. But there was one very important event that perfectly matched Su Mo's warning.
Shiroyasha: "If I remember correctly, according to Laplace's Demon's prophecy, after the millennium, there are only two Last Embryos left to overcome."
Shiroyasha: "The last one hasn't appeared yet. And the previous one, the Dystopia Devil King, considered the most vicious Devil King and strongest Godslayer in history... it seems he was mainly defeated through the power of humanity."
Recalling her dear friend from Arcadia, Shiroyasha felt her scalp tingle slightly.
Shiroyasha: "However, you can't say the pantheons didn't help at all. While many pantheons stood on the side of the Dystopia Devil King, that child Canary still received teachings from many of them. And that Last Embryos was a natural counter to the pantheons, so theoretically, it wasn't suitable for them to fight directly..."
As she spoke, her tone became hollow. She asked, with little confidence in her own voice.
Shiroyasha: "Could I trouble you to tell me... does this situation count as a danger signal?"