Chapter 91 - 82nd Section: Purification and Conclusion
Atop a distant hill, observing the sparse battle in the woods below, Anna watched Malin holding the slender twig in his hand with a silent, beaming smile.
It was a gift from a deity of another realm, which Anna had seen before. In the Church of Justice, there were no fewer than ten such ’wooden artifacts,’ each possessing divine power akin to a sacred weapon. They could treat Spectral Power as solid matter, dealing damage to Spiritual Bodies and Wraiths, as well as other ethereal beings, while healing the innocent when upon them they lay.
They were said to be tender branches plucked from a vast tree of divinity.
Anna had never seen such a giant tree, nor heard any legend of it in this world. Yet, some travelers from other planes referred to this tree as the World Tree, and to the God of Justice by different names. Travelers from a vast world affectionately called this deity... Nameless.
All were gods from foreign lands, but this one was a great existence, different from the Evil Gods. In different planes, he appeared only to save.
Had the Church of Justice not existed, the world would have plunged into the abyss centuries ago, becoming a nest and breeding ground for Evil Gods, with every child born into this world a vessel for Chaos... Perpetual damnation is the best outcome for everyone in this world, and ’better off dead’ is the kindest epitaph for all living beings here.
Luckily, this Rightful God appeared, and even as the local deities weakened, it was he who was reforging the pantheon.
Even as an elf, Anna sometimes thought that such a grand deity truly deserved her faith.