[Dolor Desert]
Surshana gazed out across the endless desert wasteland.
The riverbed had long since dried up, like deadwood drained of all vitality. The ground was split like torn canvas, with exposed layers of rock that made it seem as though the earth's skin had been mercilessly peeled away.
As far as the eye could see, only gray, withered weeds clung stubbornly to life amid the desolation.
Even most plant-type monsters needed fertile soil from which to draw nutrients, so aside from a few particular species, they could hardly survive here.
In stark contrast to the yellowed earth, the sky was a vivid blue. Several enormous, dense banks of white clouds towered overhead like colossal beasts reaching into the highest heavens.
This world was home to many strange natural wonders, such as waterfalls that flowed upward, enormous tornadoes that swept across the desert once every few decades, and hills where pillars of rainbow light appeared only on rainy days.
If the records were accurate, the clouds here never moved. As a result, rain fell only once a year at a specific time.
Even then, it rained only beneath those massive clouds, and each rainfall lasted just a few days.
Druids had apparently attempted to reshape the region by using magic to alter the weather, but all their efforts had ended in failure.
"What a wretched environment. No wonder those Demihumans want to wage war."
"Only fertile land can sustain flourishing life. Everything they do is for the survival and continuation of their race."
The detached voice echoed through the air like a ghost.
The surroundings were deathly silent, as though this corner of the world had been forgotten by time.
Of course, it was not entirely devoid of life.
After centuries of reproduction, many Demihumans and Heteromorphic Races had taken root in this barren land like tenacious weeds, gradually adapting to its harsh environment.
Surshana descended onto the highest point of a hill.
He had come here for two reasons.
The first was to exterminate the Demihumans plotting to attack the Theocracy and frighten the others into submission with an overwhelming display of force.
The second was to announce his return to the world, safeguard the waning faith in the Six Great Gods, and ensure that the supply of faith continued without interruption.
As for whether there was a third reason...
Perhaps it was simply the excitement of fighting again after so long. After all, the last time he had truly taken action was five hundred years ago, during his harrowing battle to the death against the Eight Greed Kings.
[It truly is baffling. Why did those Eight Greed Kings choose to establish their stronghold in the middle of this vast desert?]
A puzzled voice rippled through his mind.
It belonged to one of the other five gods. Through the bond of faith, they could observe the outside world through Surshana's eyes.
The capital of the Eight Greed Kings stood at the center of the vast desert south of the Slane Theocracy, built upon an artificial oasis.
The desert beneath them lay southwest of the Theocracy, and the two regions were connected to some extent.
"Perhaps it was because they believed that place to be the center of the world. You all know how ambitious those people were."
"If that unknown individual hadn't intervened, then to preserve our faith, we probably would have been the ones forced to protect the world and confront the Eight Greed Kings directly."
Eryuentiu was the name of the Eight Greed Kings' capital.
In the ancient language of this world, the name meant [The Great Tree at the Center of the World]. In other words, Yggdrasil.
That alone revealed the scale of the eight Players' ambitions.
They indulged their every desire, conquered the continent, slaughtered Heteromorphic Races and Demihumans without restraint, and destroyed countless powerful and advanced civilizations. With their overwhelming strength, they brought the world under their rule almost overnight.
That was how they came to be known as the [Eight Greed Kings], a derogatory title coined by the native peoples of later generations to express their contempt and revulsion.
At the time, however, they had not called themselves the [Eight Greed Kings].
Surshana vaguely remembered that their chosen title had been the [Eight Wise Kings].
Hah. The irony was almost laughable.
"Taking everything by force is no different from digging your own grave. Maintaining order and preserving balance, so that prosperity can endure, is the proper path. That is what we have done, and what Naohara and the others are doing now."
"Those three arrived in a fortunate era, unlike us back then... Sigh."
Perhaps the scenery had stirred old memories. The Six Great Gods were each lost in thought, some wistful, some indifferent, some disdainful, and some resigned.
Power was not everything.
Only by maintaining order and balance could one survive in the long term.
No one knew what the future would bring. The six of them could only take things one step at a time.
The hands of a clock turned endlessly, much like human confusion, worry, and weakness, wavering without cease.
Yet in the end, people still had to move forward, just as the hands of a clock always advanced.
"Prepare yourselves. The moment I attack, my attention will be diverted, and the transfer of faith between us will be temporarily severed."
"During that time, you must not absorb the Power of Faith. Stabilize your own condition, or your Souls may lose their way."
Ending their idle conversation, Surshana warned them in a solemn tone.
The current existence of the Six Great Gods depended entirely on him.
If anything happened to him, all six of them would undoubtedly be wiped out.
After all, he could not be brought back through Resurrection. He had only one life.
Ultimately, he was not the true Surshana, merely another flower that closely resembled the original.
[We understand. We will be fine for at least ten minutes. By supporting one another in a cycle, we should be able to extend that by another five.]
Fifteen minutes.
That was the longest the other five gods could endure without Surshana's assistance.
Once that limit passed, they would instinctively begin absorbing the Power of Faith on their own.
"Mm. I'll finish this as quickly as possible, using the magic I'm best at."
Surshana nodded, then slowly rose into the sky.
He was currently positioned in the central region between the great kingdom founded by the Pabilsag People and the small nation of Slutarn, ruled by the Genies.
His plan was simple.
He would build up his momentum, sweep across the territories of both nations in a single advance, and annihilate them all at once.
Come.
Let this world remember the might of the Six Great Gods once more.
Whether they were natives of the New World or Players like themselves made no difference.
Any being that dared to harm the Theocracy, or interfere with the six of them gathering faith, would face only one fate.
Destruction.