Chapter 823 - The Void, The Abyss And The Holy Light.
"To summon the power of the Holy Light?!"
Henrik almost fell out of his chair upon hearing Berk's ridiculous answer.
"How is that even possible?! They can't just do that here, the treaty clearly states that. Did you see this for yourself?" he followed up with a few more questions.
He was right to be so astounded by this sudden revelation. Others might not know but he was part of one of the three great clans that ran the academy and as such was privy to a lot of confidential information.
Eons ago when the great Ancestors gathered to bind the seven Origin worlds together, a pact was formulated between the 'Greater Worlds' and the overseers of the Origin Worlds.
But to understand what the Greater Worlds are, one must first know how space is divided in the universe.
What most call the 'dark of the space' or the 'void' that is present between various solar systems and galaxies is actually not empty as its names suggest.
The void is the area where no proper planetary systems exist. It is home to many gigantic landmasses and stray worlds that drift through the endless darkness and are home to a great many nonsensically terrible creatures and dark races.
Meaning only these areas of darkness that are WITHIN the galaxies and solar systems or in their immediate surroundings are called voids, whereas when one gets further away from all galactic bodies, so much so that even light is not able to pierce through the veil of darkness, that is when the Abyss begins.
Ordinary spiritual energy is extremely rare within the void and almost nonexistent within the Abyss save for a few places, due to its intrinsic nature.
That's why not only it is impossible to monitor much of the Void for threats but once we leave the safety of a system, powers and abilities that depend on Spiritual Energy also continue to weaken and diminish in their capabilities until they become nonexistent.
Only those beings that are able to solidify and manifest their Mind Palaces into the physical world are safe from this continuous degeneration effect which makes it next to impossible for a weaker cultivator or mortal being to survive out there.
All of the explored universe is divided into various sections based on their distance from the abyss and proximity to the void. Some galaxies are so far away from one another that it makes travel next to impossible.
But some galaxies are so close to one another that they form galactic clusters, meaning numerous galaxies are in close enough proximity to one another that they are able to stave off the suppressing effect of the Abyss to a large degree.
Now the Greater Worlds by their exact definition are all the planets, worlds, and other floating masses that are found within the largest of these Super Clusters. The suppression of the abyss is almost non-existent there which allows for life to flourish and all beings to thrive.
These Greater Worlds are mostly ruled by the various temples and churches that are led by the Great Pantheons, the largest of which is collectively known as the Church of Sacred Light. (Authors notes)
It is unknown how the Origin worlds came to be but they do not fall under the jurisdiction of any of the great pantheons and exist as a separate entity.
They were to be solely governed by the authority of the old Ancestors, who were cultivators and many other non-divine beings that oversaw each Origin World.
According to the pact, the powers from the Greater Worlds could recruit any potential geniuses from the Origin Worlds if they were willing, without actively and openly spreading their own influence because as divine beings, the more follower a god has the more powerful it would become since the true source of their power comes from faith and worship of mortals.
To be able to call upon the "Holy Light" means a mortal servant is able to summon the divine powers of their respective patron gods from the Church to be used however they wish.
In return, one must wholeheartedly devote oneself to the worship of that god since only the believers could use such powers.
These divine powers have a wide range of uses ranging from protection from the darkness and the corrupting influence of the abyss to offensive or defensive applications.
***
Authors Notes:
I feel like it would be confusing in the future if there are multiple Temples so from now on, "Temple of Light" will be known as "The Church of Sacred Light" while the "Temple of War" will keep its name.
Sorry for the confusion, I'll try to fix the previous mentions of this as much as I can but if you still find any later please let me know by posting in the official discord.
Link: https://discord.gg/AHdSBFQ