Mage? Magic Engineer!

The destruction of Ovord not only captured the widespread attention of mundane society, but also prompted the Aurora Elder Council to hold countless special meetings.

On the Elder Council’s dedicated communication channel:

The white ball of light representing the Tower of Light flickered, dimming and brightening, shrinking and expanding:

"The Church has confirmed that the abnormal daylight was indeed the result of intervention by the God of Light and Order. The Earth Mother Goddess’s power becomes active in the depths of winter, and on the day of the disaster specifically, the God of Order used his own power to suppress the Mother Goddess."

Feuerbach, who had always detested gods—especially the Lord of Order—spoke up. "It’s not just those divine frauds trying to take credit, is it?"

The ball of light replied, "We can be almost certain the Order Church isn’t bluffing. The Divine Power is said to have descended through the Eternal City, which directly caused the Pope to bear an excessive amount of it and perish ahead of his time."

That was explosive news, but what followed was even more of a bombshell. "The College of Cardinals is now embroiled in open and secret struggles ahead of the election for a new Pope. Aside from the rivalry between the local peninsular faction and other regional groups, the biggest problem is the Valois Holy See, which is vying for power with the Eternal City.

"Some Cardinals hope that Dipresy, the former Bishop of Vineyard, can participate in the College of Cardinals’ election, thereby ending the Church’s split."

The ball’s light focused on Kano’s phantom image, then swept over to Christian, the head of the Tower of Storms. "Could our gentleman in Valois help the Priests of the Eternal City extend an invitation to Mr. Dipresy? At least six Cardinals have pledged their support for him."

’What is this? The Church is having a family feud and they want us, the Aurora Elders, to act as messengers? Go to Dipresy and tell him that if he returns to the Eternal City, the papacy could still be his? The sheer absurdity of it all is off the charts,’ Rorschach thought.

After the matters concerning the Church were discussed, it was Rorschach’s turn to deliver a self-criticism. He was supposed to have first confirmed the extent of the disaster and whether there were any survivors. "I have come to a profound realization that my actions were reckless and rash, and that I failed to correctly recognize the danger and complexity of the situation..."

Only Kano was listening seriously. He was still a bit heated after discovering that two of his good disciples had nearly been vaporized by the colossal explosion set off by another one of his exceptionally good disciples.

But the other mages were more concerned with something else... "Rorschach Mage, the Elder Council will accept your self-criticism, but could you provide a more detailed report on that final explosion?"

’So you’re all just after the spell, huh?’

Rorschach nodded. "I will. It’s a chain spell, with my self-created Microscopic Decomposition Technique at its core. In any case, I have already made the spell public to everyone by uploading it to the Spell Cloud."

The other mages were shaken. They hadn’t gone online yet, however, or they would have discovered that the spell required an exorbitant price of one hundred thousand Points to redeem. And currently, the only way to obtain a six-figure sum of Points was to upload one or more Ninth Ring or higher spells not already recorded in the Tree of Law.

It was basically the equivalent of saying, "You want my spell? Go earn some points! I’ve uploaded all the spells in the world!"

It was a shame Rorschach hadn’t ushered in an era of premium cloud services with throttled speeds, paid for with the soul of one’s own mother...

After drooling over the spell, the Elders returned to serious matters. "On that day, Ovord wasn’t the only focal point. Disasters of all kinds occurred all over the world. We are now forced to face a common problem and must prepare for the worst—to welcome the end of the world."

"Isn’t it a little late to be preparing now?" Kano managed to hold back a sarcastic retort.

When Valois suffered its disaster, the others didn’t react much. When Storm City in Istani was turned upside down, it still wasn’t taken seriously enough. Only now, when the entire world showed signs of teetering on the brink of collapse, had everyone finally pulled themselves together to meet and discuss it.

As the Elders were discussing countermeasures, a voice suddenly interjected, "Why not migrate to another plane to seek refuge?"

It was the head of the Tower of Darkness. The Black Ball expanded and contracted as it spoke, just like the White Ball. "The Main Plane is a plane surrounded by gods, a plane of both Blessing and curse. It’s the center of the world, the hub of all realms, that’s true, but doesn’t that also make it the center of disaster?

"Especially after interpreting the texts and doctrines of the Underground Sect, it’s clear that Mother Earth’s Authority will manifest on the Prime Material Plane, reviving in the very earth beneath our feet. So why can’t we just pack up and leave?"

The head of the Tower of Storms actually began to consider the feasibility. "We have already initiated the Starship program. A large-scale exodus to the Star Realm isn’t impossible now."

After breaking through the Transformation Dust Layer Flow, the ability to leave the Prime Material Plane was no longer a matter of going from zero to one, but of jumping straight to at least one hundred.

For Mages, as long as they could ensure their Magic wouldn’t fail in a harsh environment like the layer flow, they could carry massive payloads into the sky. They could even expand and compress space. Combined with Shield and Force Field-type Magic, long-term, large-scale travel in the Star Realm was entirely feasible.

"In the past, Divine Spirits were active in the Star Realm and the Symbolic Realm. For us, leaving the Prime Material Plane would have been like serving ourselves up on a platter to them. Now, the greatest threat comes from beneath our feet, while overhead, only a pile of dead things holds us captive—a prison we have now successfully broken through.

"Think about it. Without the constraints of Divine Spirits, we could now conquer other planes, even break out of this universe and travel to the Outer Realm, completely escaping the threat of this Mother Goddess."

Some Mages, however, found this idea completely unacceptable. Kou Bo from the Tower of Forest, for example, stressed that even with Space Spells, current technology made it impossible to replicate and move an entire ecosystem. Their home would always be the Prime Material Plane.

’A "stay-on-the-planet" faction and a "starship" faction? For a moment, Rorschach felt like he’d walked onto the wrong movie set.’

The head of the Tower of Darkness warned, "Perhaps it’s not just the Earth Mother Goddess, but more Divine Spirits who are awakening. If we don’t seize this window of opportunity, and if powerful enemies exist both beneath the earth and in the sky, we’ll be truly finished, caught in the middle like the sauce in a Rorschach Bread."

’Where is this guy from? How did that thing and its name spread to other Mage Towers?’ Rorschach wanted to crack a joke but felt it was inappropriate in such a serious discussion. It was painful to hold back.

In the end, the Elder Council chose a compromise: they would fully suppress the activities of Mother Earth’s followers while also accelerating the progress of the Starship program.

"One more thing," the head of the Tower of Darkness added just before the meeting adjourned. For some reason, he was unusually talkative today. "Remember to investigate the members of your own towers, as well as the members of the Guilds. If the gods become active again, some Casters might bow their heads to them. They could even be among us."

Having already found new jobs for two "laid-off" Divine Spirits, Rorschach didn’t feel at all like the remark was aimed at him. He requested a private conversation with Kano. "What did the Master from the Tower of Darkness mean at the end?"

"Oh, don’t worry about it. He was just trying to spite someone." Although he couldn’t see Kano’s expression on the other end of the communication device, Rorschach could imagine he had a teasing look on his face. "Don’t you think one of us knows an awful lot about the Church’s internal affairs? The Tower of Light... Where do you think that tower is most likely to be located?"

...

DONG—DONG—DONG... The great bell of the Eternal City chimed three times. It was already past noon, so it must have been exactly three in the afternoon.

In Saint Sixtus, a church the College of Cardinals often used for meetings, there were many rooms. Some were private chapels for important figures, while the purpose of others had been lost to time.

An old man emerged from one of these unknown rooms and began to stroll down the labyrinthine corridors of Saint Sixtus.

"I’ve finally found you! The other Cardinals are waiting for you, Your Eminence." A young Priest, tasked with notifying the Archbishops of the meeting, had to run across the expensive carpet to catch up to the old man.

"Please be so kind as to inform them that my opinion has not changed: the election of the College of Cardinals is only meaningful if Dipresy is present. Vineyard is still bathed in the glory of the Lord of Order. They have not forsaken the God, and the God has not forsaken them. So who, then, was wrong?"

After speaking, the old man continued on his way. The Priest wanted to chase after him to persuade him further, but found he couldn’t catch up. The old man’s pace wasn’t fast, yet in the blink of an eye, he vanished around a corner in the corridor.

The red robes worn by the Cardinals were quite similar to the robes of a Great Mage.