Chapter Nine: The Twilight of the Gods! Please keep reading.

Dimensional Space.

This remained a void of cosmic emptiness, where only distant, feather-like nebulae glowed within the endless dark. Duncan’s consciousness returned here, devoid of any physical form.

Before him hung the projection screen in a god’s-eye view. He could see the commander of the guards, Cartus, waiting below the inn, while the Raven Queen, Tris, quietly poured herself a cup of tea. She seemed to know everything that had transpired next door, waiting in silence for Duncan’s choice. The monster hunter, George, was in town purchasing supplies—cheap, everyday goods. By the look of him, he intended to leave shortly.

Duncan focused his intent.

The projected image immediately began to shift.

—"Seek retirement?"

The familiar scene appeared. A line of text slowly materialized.

—"Retirement [End Trial]: You will sever the link with your mortal vessel and will no longer be able to enter the reality plane through this vessel. The mortal vessel will replicate a personality based on your current character and experiences; it will no longer be able to acquire additional ability enhancements."

"The Dimensional Space will switch to 'Observer Mode.' Your consciousness will fall into a temporary slumber until your energy is restored and you capture the next suitable mortal vessel."

—"Causality [Trial Settlement]:

Branch One: You accepted Cartus's invitation and joined the Aetius family’s army. Relying on your exceptional strength, you quickly gained the favor of the Aetius family and were adopted as their son, granted the surname Aetius. You rose to prominence on the borders of the Empire, distinguished yourself repeatedly in the wars against the Germanic barbarians, helped suppress the Frankish rebellion, and repelled the Saxon incursions.

However, the Empire was already in its twilight. Neither you nor the Aetius family could turn the tide. With the renewed onslaught of the Huns, the barbarian invasions of the Empire intensified.

The Scourge of God was dismantling the entire Empire.

Six months later, you were struck by several arrows in a battle against the Huns and were forced to retreat to the rear to recuperate, but this injury left your body with incurable hidden ailments.

Three months later, you were besieged by barbarian rebels in Lower Germania. You slew over a dozen men before falling in battle, exhausted.

You left your name in history as the adopted son of the Aetius family, regarded by historians as one of the most battle-hardened adopted sons under the Roman Protector Aetius."

Hm?

The Last Roman, Aetius?

Duncan searched his memory, but knew little. The man seemed to be the final great general of the late Empire, though his fate was to be murdered by the Roman Emperor.

The emperors changed quite frequently—military coups, Praetorian assassinations, barbarian-turned-emperors, poisonings, forced suicides, and depositions. It was a rotating seat of power. If it weren't for the naturalized barbarians integrating into the Empire, it would have collapsed long ago.

The Scourge of God?

Duncan knew of this: Attila, Emperor of the Hunnish Empire. He was in the history books. A large part of the barbarian invasions stemmed from the Huns migrating into Eurasia, indirectly leading to the Empire's destruction.

"But this is clearly a parallel world. It is unclear if history will deviate."

Without a doubt, this ending was much better than the previous one. At least he wasn't a beggar; he was a low-level imperial officer. Dying on the battlefield was far better than dying of illness on the street.

"What about Branch Two?"

"Why is the causality deduction so much slower than the last one? Is it because of the supernatural power involved?"

Duncan waited for a moment.

The projection interface finally displayed the causality settlement for Branch Two.

"Branch Two: You agreed to accompany the Raven Queen, Tris, to the British Isles. Beyond the vast territories of the Empire, the dark powers of the old age still linger. You encountered many legendary monsters, and with the help of the Raven Queen, Tris, you slew trolls, ghouls, half-giants, sirens, and other supernatural beings.

Gradually, you came to possess your own legend on the British Isles.

You became friends with the legendary wizard Merlin. You witnessed the birth and growth of King Arthur. You gained the love of the Raven Queen, Tris; the ultimate joy she brought you made you gradually lose interest in other women.

But it is nearly impossible for a witch to bear offspring. After entering middle age, you were seduced by the Lady of the Lake and gradually grew distant from the Raven Queen, Tris.

To find the tranquil kingdom prophesied to shelter their kind through the dark age, the Raven Queen, Tris, began planning to explore the world beyond the sea. She built a great ship on the British Isles and took the witches who followed her to seek the 'Iceland' you spoke of.

At the final moment, you awakened to the truth, realizing that your one true love was Tris, who had endured countless crises and faced numerous perils by your side. You ultimately abandoned everything and boarded that oceangoing ship.

After enduring great hardships, you narrowly escaped the pursuit of a Kraken and found the yet-to-be-colonized Iceland.

But this place was inhabited by terrifying monsters that had settled there in the age of myth to escape mankind. You faced the greatest crisis of your life: a mature dragon. The Raven Queen, Tris, died in battle protecting you.

In the final struggle, you discovered that your sword and the arrows you fired could not pierce the dragon's scales.

Only then did you realize that you were merely an ordinary human with a bit of martial skill.

All along, it was the Raven Queen, Tris, who had been silently shielding you. The legends and fame you possessed were all because Tris had attributed all the honor to you, forging your legend on the British Isles.

You were nothing but an ordinary man.

Under the searing breath of the dragon, you embraced your lover's body and turned to ash in the roaring flames."

Dimensional Space.

Duncan was suddenly stunned.

He remained silent for a long time. He stared at this second outcome derived from causality, unable to shake it off for quite a while.

Just then, the projection screen changed again.

"Causality interferes with the root laws!"

"The Raven Queen, Tris, has injected her final magic into your soul. Your soul is transcending the laws of reality!"

"Your mortal vessel has left a legend in the real world, becoming a significant figure in the Arthurian myths. You are chronicled as King Arthur’s second mentor, who taught him archery and horse-archery in his youth. In the legends concerning Iceland, you are viewed as the first human to challenge the dragon."

"Your mortal vessel has integrated with the world's laws and ascended to become a Lesser Heroic Spirit!"

—Monster Hunter Duncan! [Vessel No. 1] [Lesser Heroic Spirit] [Witch’s Love] (Can be transformed into a cross-dimensional avatar form, entering any captured reality plane through a summoning ritual.)

Characters pulsed.

—"Seek retirement?"

—"After retirement, the causality deduction will assimilate with the laws of reality, and Vessel No. 1 will enter the Dimensional Space in the avatar form of a 'Lesser Heroic Spirit'."

No!

Duncan refused without hesitation.

Although this ending was better than the last, it was absolutely unacceptable to him.

According to his understanding of the Dimensional Space, once he severed the link, the vessel would no longer be able to improve its strength at such a staggering rate. It was clear that in the second causality ending, the Raven Queen, Tris, had been working in the shadows. A mortal with standard knight-level skills could never have defeated so many supernatural monsters, let alone forged his own legend on the British Isles.

Of all the causality-generated outcomes, this was the only one where Duncan lived past middle age.

More importantly, it was this specific ending where he encountered the most dangerous enemies, yet he remained unharmed until they reached Iceland and met the dragon.

Duncan realized instantly that this outcome was only possible because the Raven Queen, Tris, had been protecting him all along.

Even the ascension of the vessel to a Lesser Heroic Spirit had a key element: Tris injecting her final magic into his soul.

The Raven Queen, Tris, perished.

The Monster Hunter, Duncan, survived as a Heroic Spirit.

This was the Witch's Love.

Duncan wanted a cigarette. His head was buzzing, and he couldn't help but sigh, "We didn't even hold hands."

"How did we end up in a romance?"

None of these were good endings.

Duncan now understood: unless his strength reached a certain level, in this tumultuous era, once he chose to sever the link to his mortal vessel, it was highly unlikely that the vessel would have a good end.

Once he disconnected, the vessel’s capabilities would no longer leap forward. It would retain only his current strength: melee combat equivalent to a skilled infantryman, archery equal to a forest hunter, and riding and horse-archery comparable to a nomadic archer. He was a reasonably balanced warrior. Such a person could serve as a minor officer in the imperial army and might even earn a promotion if he seized opportunities, but in an era of imperial collapse, living a safe, peaceful life until old age was nearly impossible.

The city of Rome was ransacked time and again, and the entire map of Europe was a tangled mess. Few could hope for a peaceful end.

Duncan already had his answer.

He pushed open the door and saw Cartus being helped through the inn lobby. Without hesitation, he knocked on the door next to his. Staring at the veiled Raven Queen, Tris, he said slowly, "I will escort you to the British Isles."

"But you must pay me a large sum of money!"

I need more money!

So what if they lived and died together in a causality simulation? That was just a personality replica!

I still need more money!!!

The Raven Queen, Tris, showed a glimmer of surprise. Her azure, gem-like eyes curved like crescent moons. She responded decisively, "Very well."

Duncan’s strength was considerable.

At the very least, under the god’s-eye view, the prowess he displayed far exceeded his current combat skills. Even the monster hunter, George, was wary of him; after all, Duncan had killed 19 enemies in three days, all of them true professional soldiers. On an ancient battlefield, slaying a single armored soldier was enough to earn a promotion.

With the god’s-eye view active, the faint killing intent beneath Duncan’s cold, handsome face had long since intimidated the others in the caravan.

Downstairs, the guard commander, Cartus, saw Duncan talking to the witch and couldn't help but feel a flash of disappointment. Such a fierce warrior would have been an asset to the army; his courage and strength alone would have been enough to inspire others.

But Duncan knew his own limits. Without the god’s-eye view, he was only slightly better than a seasoned veteran.

Joining the army now was not a good choice.

Given his personality, being an independent warlord in his own territory would be far more comfortable than being mired in the corrupt imperial bureaucracy.

The tall poppy gets cut first.

Looking at ancient Chinese history, few of those who emerged early during the end of a dynasty lasted until the end.

Guard commander Cartus let his aides lead him away. Before leaving, he took a deep look at the witch. There was another reason the caravan was taking her along; the Aetius family had some historical ties to the priests who served the gods of the old era.

The Raven Queen, Tris’s, lineage traced back hundreds of years to the worship of Trivia—one of the aliases of Diana, one of the twelve major Roman deities. It was essentially a facet of a god.

The Empire’s polytheism was syncretic.

Take Diana, for instance. She did not originate in Rome; she was a Nemi goddess, "Diana of the Wood," a great nature deity worshipped in the forests near Lake Nemi.

Diana was initially just a Roman forest goddess, but she later absorbed Luna, another Roman moon goddess, becoming the primary Roman moon deity.

Romans loved to have their gods absorb foreign deities with similar roles. By the 5th or 6th century BC, the cult of Diana came into contact with the Greeks. By the Roman era, Diana absorbed the Greek goddess Artemis and was thus regarded as the goddess of the hunt, plants, and wild beasts.

At the same time, Diana also absorbed the Greek goddess Hecate and the Carthaginian goddess of heaven, Caelestis.

The Empire’s polytheism was a process of constant expansion.

As the Empire conquered the European continent, it began to absorb Greek religion and mythology. Greek gods like Castor, Pollux, and Apollo became Roman deities and merged. After suffering a crushing defeat during the Second Punic War, Rome, to escape the influence of Carthage, introduced the Great Mother Cybele from Asia Minor into Roman religion based on an "oracle."

Furthermore, the Persian god Mithras and the Egyptian deities Osiris and Isis also became objects of Roman worship.

The gods of conquered peoples were generally absorbed into the Roman Pantheon.

This was the origin of the "Pantheon."

In this regard, it was somewhat similar to the people of the Celestial Empire: if a god was useful, they would absorb it as part of their own.

Now, the Pantheon was closed, and no sacrifices were permitted. Ever since Catholicism became the state religion, the priests who once served the gods had vanished one by one, some even being tried as evil witches.

The Raven Queen, Tris’s, heritage stemmed from this. Those with supernatural powers were more likely to worship gods, as they could not understand the source of their own magic.

It was because of this that the forest dryad had sought her help, addressing her as "Priestess."

If it were still the era of polytheism, the Raven Queen, Tris, would not be in hiding or exile. She would likely be the High Priestess of Diana, with high social status, equivalent to an Archbishop in the Church.

Hecate’s alias, Trioditis, was translated into Latin as Trivia.

This was the origin of the Raven Queen, Tris. Her sect worshipped the facet of the Roman goddess Diana that had consumed the goddess Hecate. Since Hecate was the goddess of witchcraft and death, the priests of the Trivia lineage had been cruelly suppressed by the Church.

Perhaps in the Middle Ages, some of the witches burned at the stake had simply awakened magic later in life, or had learned witchcraft through other means.

But before the Empire fell, many witches were the descendants of the priesthoods of the old gods.

Or, to be more blunt:

If gods truly existed in this world, all the gods in the Pantheon combined were no match for the Christian God. Ultimately, the secular world replaced "polytheism" with "monotheism."

Those priestly systems that had lasted for thousands of years, existing since the age of Ancient Greece, were all branded as "heretics."

The ancient Olympic Games.

Held every four years since 776 BC, they lasted for 1,170 years until they were banned by a Roman Emperor in 394 AD.

That year.

The ancient Olympic Games were prohibited, the doors of the Pantheon were locked, the sacrificial fires were extinguished, and polytheism became history. The priests who once served the gods saw their era come to an end.

The Inquisition was quietly established.

Just as the Raven Queen, Tris, said—"The era that belonged to us has ended..."

The gods fell.

The Raven Queen, Tris, only wanted to find a kingdom that could shelter her kind. Through prophecy, she peered into the future and foresaw that "monotheism" would unify the faith of the European continent.

This was a clash of faith and divine power above royal authority.

God won.