Records of the Weakest Emperor

Chapter 138: An Unexpected Kindred Spirit

"The Emperor's Commandment..." Grace's eyes slightly narrowed, "Now I am even more convinced that you came from another timeline." 

"Convinced? You were not entirely sure that I wasn't lying?" Calvin said, jesting.

Grace stared right at him without saying anything forcing him to give up, "I know..."

"I know..."

"You and the other gods aren't exactly the closest of friends. The moment you used your divine will to peer into the lives of humans, then the others would definitely be suspicious. Is that the reason why you weren't entirely sure about who I am?"

"Yes, that's right... But since you know about the Emperor's Commandment already, then shall I say that there are no secrets that you do not know in this world?" Grace said with a smile on her face.

Calvin shook his head, "I am not that arrogant, unfortunately..."

"If I knew everything in this world, then I wouldn't have come here to ask you to be my accomplice..."

"The Emperor's Commandment might be the strongest commandment out of all commandments that every god or goddesses can bestow but the responsibilities that I would bear for the sake of carrying that commandment is far too heavy that if I had a choice, I wouldn't even ask for it..." 

"Right... I do have the Emperor's Commandment but it's both a curse and a blessing. To be honest, the heavy burdens that it bestows upon its carrier is the reason why I haven't bestowed it to anyone else ever since the start of the First Cataclysm..."

"The other gods already have devout and zealous followers under their flags through the commandment that they have bestowed upon their prophet, but I..."

"I have nothing..." Grace let out a sigh. 

She might be the leader of one of the Church of the Three Orthodox Gods, but she was the weakest Goddess out of all the Gods and Goddesses.

In fact, the leaders of the Church of Eternal Fire and the Church of Medicine and Poison were similar in power to the Church of All-Encompassing Light. 

These three churches were the weakest, yet why were they still at the forefront of the world? 

If the other gods and goddesses needed faith power to survive, shouldn't they be scrambling to fight the Church of the Three Orthodox Gods to claim their positions for themselves?

Yes, it would make sense if they did that, but they weren't doing it.

Why?

It was because they found it beneath them to directly establish their own church out of their own efforts. 

As a reason, the other gods and goddesses decided to spread their gospel through the use of commandments. A god could only bestow upon a single commandment at any given time. But that commandment could be considered similar to a seed.

Once it sprouts, its roots would spread throughout the land and when that happened, it would only be a matter of time until the god received the faith power he needed for his sustenance.

But there was also an important factor as to why the Church of the Three Orthodox Gods remained deep-rooted in society.

It was because their existence symbolizes hope for humanity.

The Church All-Encompassing Light emphasizes hope, faith and nonviolence, while the Church of Eternal Fire promotes bravery, persistence and strength. The Church of Medicine and Poison, on the other hand, promotes life and death.

These three churches could be said to have made the very foundation of society itself.

If the other gods and goddesses forced them to crumble, then mayhem would happen.

And since not all of them would benefit from chaos apart from certain gods such as the God of War and Infighting, they've all decided to unite for a common cause and allowed the continued existence of the Church of the Three Orthodox Gods.

"Well, don't you have me?"

"Once you bestow upon me that commandment, then I'll be sure to spread your gospel throughout the land while saving the entire world in the process! Isn't that a win-win situation for the two of us?" Calvin lightly chuckled, intending to lighten up the mood.

His words were apparently effective as Grace lifted a smile. 

"All right, that sounds good. But I really am curious... Just what is the reason why you are trying to save the world?" 

Calvin's smile stiffened. 

He sat silent for a while before he replied, "To be honest, the reason isn't that noble as you think, my beloved Goddess, but if I must say so it must be family..."

"Family?"

"Yup..." Calvin smiled at her. 

"The connections that humans have, ever since they are born... I would never be able to understand it."

"I guess, so..." Calvin nodded his head.

He had no idea where the gods and goddesses came from, but one thing was for sure they didn't have anything apart from themselves.

In fact, their relationship with humanity and the world was only made out of necessity.

They needed the world and the world needed them.

If not for this somewhat parasitic, yet symbiotic relationship...

Calvin reckoned that these gods and goddesses would've long disappeared into somewhere more interesting than the barren and dangerous lands of Las Felipinas.

"Hey, Calvin..." For the first time ever, Grace, the Goddess of Compassion and Light uttered Calvin's name, "Will you tell me more about yourself?" 

"With pleasure!" 

Calvin cajoled the Goddess into creating all sorts of food and dishes from Earth so that the two of them could munch on chips, Doritos and drink Mountain Dew as they talked about Calvin's experience in his previous timeline.

The two talked for quite a while, Grace's curiosity was unexpected even for Calvin as she repeatedly asked questions whose answers Calvin thought that she already knew. 

Their talk lasted for a few hours.

They stopped, not because Grace's curiosity was already satiated but because they had nothing to talk about anymore. 

Grace had singlehandedly exhausted the tales out of the master of bullshitting and Calvin had no choice but to give up.

"So you've been betrayed by the world that you've saved and you abandoned your humanity..."

"Then, after becoming something that is not even a human nor a monster. You strived to be a member of the Sucklings and after you've successfully infiltrated their barracks and became a high-ranking officer..."

"You contacted me on that timeline through the Profession Bestowing Ritual and informed me about all of the Sucklings plans? But since it took you too late to become a high-ranking officer within the ranks of the Sucklings..."

"It was already too late and humanity was already far too gone for you to help them, and in the end, after making a last stand...

"Humanity was defeated and you had no choice but to ascend to be an Author of Fate and turn around time to return to who you are a hundred years ago to try and change humanity's inevitable fate in the future?"

"Yeah, that sounds about right..."

"I can't believe it..."

"What? Is there still something in this world that's unbelievable for a goddess who should've already seen everything?" Calvin smiled. 

"No... It's just that I can't believe that you're so unlucky. Now, I am having second thoughts if I should give you that commandment."

"Ah, that's it...?" Calvin was immediately depressed.

"Yeah... I'm starting to hesitate if I should give you the Emperor's Commandment, but since you guided me on the recreation of these snacks and dishes from Earth. I think we have the same hobby so you should be the most suitable for my commandment..."

The smile on Grace's lips was deep as she stared at Calvin with expectations in her eyes.

"We have the same hobby?" Calvin looked confused.

The relationship that Calvin had with Grace back then didn't last that long, but they spent quite a long time talking to each other. Through their late-night talks, Calvin learned a lot about this Goddess of Compassion and Light.

This was the reason why he knew so much about her that no one else apart from him and Grace herself knew.

But a hobby?

Calvin never heard from Grace that she had a hobby back then. 

Was this also one of those diversions from the previous timeline? Could it be that the Grace from back then and the Grace that I am facing right now is drastically different from each other?

In that case... 

Calvin had to rethink his approach. 

But Grace's next words made him understand that he was just being overly-cautious.

For her hobby was...

"Games!"

"Oh, you like to take a walk out what?"

"My beloved Goddess, did you just say games?" 

"Yup! I really love the games that mankind made in the past hundred years!

"Especially those gacha games? I sure hate the fact that the rates for a successful pull are so low, yet the moment I successfully pulled something valuable I can feel that rush going through my godly veins! You know what I am saying?" Grace suddenly became excited.

"What...? The Goddess of Compassion and Light is a gacha gamer? Oh no, please... Don't tell me that the Emperor's Commandment is..."

"Yup! I designed it after being inspired by a game!"

Grace proudly filled up the blanks for Calvin. She was an omnipotent being in her heavenly abode, so it was easy for her to read Calvin's mind.

"Hey, don't tell me that..."

"Nope... I am not that heartless..." Grace could already see what Calvin was trying to say, "I didn't design the Emperor's Commandment using a gacha game system. I am not that cruel..."

"However, the design of the Emperor's Commandment is truly inspired by a game and I call it the Ascension System!"

"..."

Grace exclaimed so loud that her words vaguely reverberated throughout the mountain ranges around them.

Yet, Calvin didn't feel the same as her.

'Fuck... This game addict...' 

'She turned the strongest commandment possible into something inspired by a game?!' 

'What will happen to the Emperor's Commandment now...?' 

For some reason, Calvin felt indescribably nervous.