Chapter 317 (2): Twilight of the Gods x Age of Declining Magic
Wayne heard half of the story and was left hanging. Unable to bear the itch of curiosity, he aimed for Darienne’s weakness and made several one-sided promises regarding card-playing before finally getting her to continue.
“I forgot to mention earlier: the Moonlight Knight from the late seventeenth century was my predecessor. We’re master and student, but also friends.” Darienne amended, creating a friend out of nowhere. Yes, she had heard everything from said friend; she wasn’t that old.
Wayne nodded. Yes, her friend was absolutely right.
After a snort, Darienne continued, “The world once experienced an age of declining magic. It was the Twilight of the Gods and a dark age when faiths fell apart.”
“The Church of Heavenly Father couldn’t contact Heaven. The Pope became as weak as a frail old man overnight. All mages of the Church of Heavenly Father lost their mana, their powerful thoughts regressing and their incredible life essence vanishing. Knowledge became worthless all of a sudden...”
“That was why the Church of Heavenly Father declined. Without raw power to maintain their influence, no one listened when they spoke of empty faith. The royal families of various countries regained their power. They only left the cathedrals untouched because faith was a convenient excuse that could benefit them.”
“The change wasn’t limited to the Church of Heavenly Father. All magic was gone. The mages of the Life Alliance similarly lost everything...”
“All known mythologies, including Hell, disappeared.”
“Darienne, can you be more specific about the timeframe?” Wayne interrupted. “Have you... your friend told you that?”
“I don’t know. It may be the sixteenth century, maybe earlier. My friend wasn’t born yet, so she couldn’t be certain of the exact time.”
Wayne nodded. If it was the sixteenth century, it was in line with what he and Ottilia had found in their study. If there were no other unforeseen factors, the Chosen Land had to have undergone an age of declining magic in the fifteenth to sixteenth centuries. The gods departed, and magic ceased to exist in the human world.
What a coincidence. The development of modern science, the Reformation, and the Renaissance all occurred around the same time.