The Guardian gods
Chapter 540

Chapter 540: 540

It was impossibly large, filling a significant portion of the chamber. Flesh-toned, but with veins that pulsed with a faint, internal light, like slow-moving lava. It breathed, a shallow, rhythmic expansion and contraction that created the heavy, metallic scent in the air. Tendrils, thick as tree trunks, extended from its bulk, disappearing into the surrounding rock. It was utterly, sickeningly alien.

Rattan stumbled to a halt, his breath catching in his throat. His mind, trained in neat categories of flora and fauna, struggled to process the monstrous entity before him. This wasn’t a creature; it was... something else. It looked like an organ, magnified to grotesque proportions, yet alive with a disturbing, slow vitality.

"This is the ’Mother’," Vellok said, his voice quiet, devoid of his usual dry amusement. "The source of all goblins, our sign of existence."

Rattan tore his gaze from the pulsating horror to Vellok, his face pale. "The... the Mother? What... what is it?"

Vellok stepped closer to the grotesque organ, placing a hand lightly on one of its pulsing tendrils. "It is the fruit of our ancestors’ desperate ambition. The engine of our people’s grand deception." He turned to face Rattan, his eyes, usually sharp and knowing, now held a deep, ancient sorrow. "You asked about our history, Rattan. It begins here. With theft. And a lie so profound, it has reshaped an entire world."

Rattan could hardly keep his mouth opened as he tried to take in what he was hearing, fear overtook him as he realized how much danger he was in if his real identity was exposed.

"Why are you showing me this, Your Grace?" Rattan’s voice, though hushed, carried a tremor of unease as he looked at Vellok.

Vellok turned, his expression grave. "Your noble actions, Rattan, and the very reasons behind them, have been twisted by Kaelen. They are now being used to tear down everything we have painstakingly built, to undermine the very existence of our race."

Before Rattan could formulate a response, Vellok raised a hand, a silent command for patience. "I will tell you the true history of our people. Only then will you truly understand the depth of the Empire’s care for each and every one of its citizens, and the profound reasons behind our every action."

"Our history, Rattan, begins not with us, but with the ratfolk. They hold a unique position in this world: they were its first intelligent species, the world’s first true ’children.’ This bestowed upon them certain inherent benefits, a natural advantage, if you will. Our goblin race, in those ancient times, could only be described as semi-intelligent in comparison to the ratfolk. We were crude, tribal, and driven by instinct, while they crafted, reasoned, and built."

"While the ratfolk were busy innovating, creating, and building the foundations of their civilization, our ancestors, the goblins, were little more than beasts. We slept on the cold forest floor, our minds solely consumed by the immediate need for the next meal. You could even say we were semi-monsters in those days. We would launch desperate raids on the ratfolk’s homes, driven by hunger, hoping to steal their provisions. And when those raids failed, when starvation truly set in, we turned on each other, resorting to cannibalism to survive."

"There was no inherent drive within our race to evolve, to take that next step. We simply existed, watching, almost as if through a haze, as the ratfolk continued their relentless march of progress. Then, a profound shift occurred: the emergence of gods."

"The goblins observed that the ratfolk had their own deities, born from their collective belief in specific concepts – perhaps the enduring strength of stone, or the life-giving warmth of fire. After years of unwavering devotion, these beliefs would coalesce, and a god would manifest, bringing about tangible change in their world. And so, the goblins, in their untamed, impatient way, decided to follow suit. But unlike the patient, intellectual ratfolk, we sought shortcuts. We looked for ways to accelerate the birth of our own gods, driven by our inherent impulsiveness and a desperate desire for power."

"The reason for this desperate urgency, Rattan, was brutally simple: the gods were proving to be an incredibly potent force for the ratfolk. They were now able to display supernatural powers, abilities that made their homes impenetrable. This meant our goblin ancestors could no longer raid them for food, and facing starvation, their very survival was at stake."

"Of course, there were other ways to find sustenance, like hunting. But the magical beasts of that world were terrifyingly powerful. Even the ratfolk, with their advanced intellect, were helpless against these creatures until their gods and divine blessings became a reality. Our ancestors, lacking any such boons, were utterly outmatched."

"This stark reality solidified the goblin race’s need for their own gods as the single most critical objective. They were willing to do anything to ensure they acquired one, and this included something truly horrific: blood sacrifice of their own people. Horrifying as it sounds, it somehow worked. The birth of their gods came faster, but these deities, born of such grim devotion, demanded far more than just faith to sustain them."

"The advent of their own gods brought about a profound shift in goblin development, Rattan. They were no longer ignorant savages. At the insistence of their demanding deities, they were forced to innovate. Their gods required constant blood sacrifice, and the source of that sacrifice initially didn’t matter. The goblins, in their newfound zeal, didn’t mind sacrificing their own until they began to notice a terrifying trend: their numbers were dwindling at an alarming rate."

"This stark realization forced a difficult but necessary decision: they had to turn their attention elsewhere for sacrifices. Their gaze, inevitably, fell upon the ratfolk."

"By this point, the ratfolk were incredibly numerous and widespread, offering a vast pool of potential victims. However, these ratfolk also enjoyed the blessings of their own gods, making them far from easy targets. The only advantage the goblins possessed was the efficiency of their own gods’ blessings compared to those of the ratfolk. Goblin divine favor leaned heavily towards warfare and brute strength, whereas the ratfolk’s blessings were geared more towards healing, societal progress, and the preservation of life. This crucial difference allowed the goblins to still get their hands on the ratfolk, albeit with great effort."

"This continued for centuries, Rattan, until our world was sharply divided between two dominant races: the ratfolk and the goblins, both vastly different from their savage ancestors. This bitter rivalry, fueled by the relentless battle for faith and dominance, raged on for countless generations."

Vellok paused, a dark, deeply etched look flashing in his eyes. "Then, one day, their world—" he stopped, correcting himself, "Our nightmare began when our world caught the attention of a passing mage colony." He spoke with the chilling conviction of someone who had witnessed the events firsthand.

"The day our nightmare began was an undeniable sight for both our races. All we saw were pillars of blinding light descending from the sky. Our gods, in their sacred domains and temples, could hardly put up a fight before they were utterly wiped away, eradicated as if they were mere whispers."

"For the next hundred years, it was an age of suffocating darkness for both races. We found ourselves clinging to each other, dependent and terrified, too sacred to even cast a glance towards the heavens."

"Do you think it’s possible to create a construct the size of a planet and have it move?" Vellok abruptly turned to Rattan, his voice low and intense.

Rattan, who had never conceived of such a colossal feat, could only stare. "That’s... that’s utterly impossible, Your Grace! The sheer scale of power and resources required would be astronomical. It defies every known law of magic and engineering! Even with all the Empire’s might, our greatest minds couldn’t even begin to fathom such a creation, let alone move it across the cosmos!"

Vellok’s laughter echoed, a chilling, mirthless sound that sent shivers down Rattan’s spine. Yet, behind the forced amusement, Rattan saw a profound, ancient terror flicker in the elder mage’s eyes. "This impossible object, Rattan, this monstrous, world-sized construct, hung above our world for fifty agonizing years. Its very existence was a constant, horrifying reminder. And to reinforce that nightmare, once in a while, a colossal beam of blinding light would plummet from its underbelly onto a random spot on our world, indiscriminately vacuuming up countless goblins and ratfolk alike."

Vellok’s gaze intensified as he locked eyes with Rattan, the phantom fear palpable. "I, along with many of the Empire’s current Sixth Stage mages, happened to be among those born and grown in that object. After countless years spent living inside that monstrous object, can you possibly imagine what we discovered about it?"

Rattan swallowed hard, his voice barely a whisper. "What?"

"That impossible object," Vellok continued, his voice now a chilling monotone, "is something handed out to mages who dedicate themselves to exploring planes and universes, hoping to uncover their deepest secrets. At the same time, it serves as an experimental site for mages who dare not carry out their more audacious plans on their own home worlds."

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