Cataclysm: Undead Dragons and Zero Empire

The conflict between the divine sorcerers and magicians mainly occurred on the moon, but Howard did not expect the situation to have become so serious that even Terence came to him personally to discuss it.

"Finally, let's get to the point," Howard said, his expression turning serious. "Just how badly has this gotten?"

"It's much more serious than what you've seen in the report," Terence's voice deepened. "Howard, divine magic and magic, the two great legs of humanity, have gone in completely opposite directions. If this continues, sooner or later they will tear human civilization in two completely."

Howard didn't interrupt; he knew Terrence still had something to say.

Terence, the greatest sorcerer, was instead condemning those people: "They draw their strength from their devotion to the Lord, and the Lord's grace allows them to go further and further down the path of psychic power. But the further they go, the more fanatical they become, and the further they stray from the fundamental doctrines of the death sect, from the path of death."

"They've become so eager for death that it's completely distorted," Terence said, clearly quite displeased with his students. "They want to kill their own bodies, transfer their souls and consciousness into mechanical bodies, and thereby escape the shackles of the flesh, seeking true immortality through physical death."

"That's ridiculous," Howard said casually.

"They felt this was to get closer to the form of the Lord, to break free from the limitations of the mortal body, to better serve the Lord, and to spread the Lord's glory. They said that the Lord himself was an immortal spirit, an existence free from flesh and blood. They longed to emulate the Lord by giving up their flesh and blood, and to express their utmost devotion to the Lord in the pursuit of the eternity of the soul."

Terence took out a piece of alloy and placed it on the table. This alloy was no longer the product of those days when black stone powder was simply mixed into molten metal and forged. Instead, it was a breakthrough in materials science based on psionic theory.

Terence's voice grew increasingly somber. "They've seen a glimmer of hope, creating an alloy that's compatible with the soul, and they've already conducted soul transfer experiments on animals. If I hadn't explicitly forbidden it, some sorcerers would already be voluntarily starting human experiments."

"And what about the magicians?" Howard took a deep breath and asked, "What have they gotten themselves into this time?"

"The magicians are the complete opposite of the divine sorcerers," Terence said, his tone filled with deep helplessness. "They are not fanatical, but they are too rational, to the point that they have gone too far and reached another extreme."

"When I created the magic system, I studied the nature of psionic energy so that more people could embark on the path of psionic energy through learning. But now they advocate so-called fundamentalism and insist on applying psionic energy theory to the idea that everything is number."

Terence raised his hand and used his fingertips to trace intricate formulas and geometric lines in the air.

"They believe that all changes in psionic energy can be defined by mathematical rationality, rather than being chaotic and left to its own devices. They view the current development of the psionic system as rampant growth and want to completely reconstruct psionic theory, establishing a complete and self-consistent set of rules for the psionic system."

"They want to create a 'law' to regulate all psionicists. In their words, humanity's exploration on the path of psionics must go through a childhood of ignorance and self-righteousness. They want to make humanity understand what legitimacy is, to end the era of blind obedience, and to stop hesitating."

Howard frowned. Although he was also a psionicist, he was not a master of the psionic field. His greatest skill in this life was fighting. However, he understood what Terence meant by what he was talking about.

"Did they consider the consequences of their actions?" Howard said coldly. "Do they really think they can achieve perfection and no longer need to make changes? Future humans will only be able to use psionic energy within the framework they've drawn, even if this so-called set of rules that affects everyone can create more psionicists."

"You've hit the nail on the head," Terence said, dispersing the psychic energy from his fingertips. "Psychic magicians generally believe that they are stifling the infinite possibilities of psychic energy, presumptuously placing themselves in the position of the creator, and attempting to define the power bestowed by the Lord. This is the greatest blasphemy against the Lord's authority."

"However, the magicians were not to be outdone, believing that the divine magicians were a group of incomprehensible believers. Their idea of ​​abandoning flesh and blood in pursuit of mechanical immortality was the greatest desecration of the human race and a betrayal of the very foundation of being human."

Terence then pointed out the core contradiction: "The more fundamental difference lies in their understanding of the Lord. The sorcerers regard the Lord as the creator who created and redeemed mankind, the supreme will of the universe, the only true God, and everything about mankind should submit to the Lord's authority and follow the Lord's path."

"The magicians only regard the Lord as the savior of human civilization, the guide and mentor on the path of psychic energy. They respect the Lord and are grateful for the Lord's grace, but they do not believe that mankind should forever grovel on the ground and wait for grace to come. They believe that mankind should grow up and walk its own path through wisdom."

Silence fell over the room. Howard understood why Terence was so worried, because this conflict was no longer a simple ideological dispute, but a difference in understanding, a struggle over the direction of civilization, and it was irreconcilable.

"Besides ideological differences, there are also systemic ones," Terence's voice rang out again. "Now the two factions have a consensus: human civilization needs a more efficient and centralized system of governance. The centralized system we hastily built to cope with the Winter is no longer keeping up with the development of the interstellar age and must be reformed."

"But they completely fell out over how to reform and who should rule."

Howard was more familiar with this contradiction, after all, the issue had already drawn him in, even though he hoped to remain aloof from divine authority.

"The sorcerers want to promote me as the Philosopher King," Terence said without a trace of joy. "They believe I am the Lord's representative on earth, possessing the wisdom and power closest to the Lord, and should rightfully become the sole ruler of human civilization."

"The magicians strongly opposed this plan. They wanted the two of us to form a dual ruling system, separating divine and royal power as in ancient times. I would be responsible for the development of the psionic system and guiding faith, while you would be responsible for the rule, construction, and interstellar exploration of human civilization. They believed that only by separating and balancing the two powers could civilization be prevented from going to extremes and becoming corrupt."

Howard suddenly laughed upon hearing this, then shook his head after a long while. "So, all their arguing has ended up putting us both in the spotlight? But it seems to me that neither you nor I care about this so-called dominant position, right?"

"I never cared," Terenstein nodded readily. "The Lord's path has never been to rule, let alone let me sit on the throne and rule all of human civilization. I will always be the Lord's servant."

Howard expressed his approval, saying he didn't care about being in a dominant position and would rather retire early.

"Whether it's a philosopher-king or a dual rule, it doesn't matter to me. I only care about one thing: whether human civilization can continue to develop peacefully and steadily, and whether internal strife can destroy the future we have worked so hard to win from the apocalypse."

"I've been suppressing them for a long time," Terence said, quite exhausted by the matter. "Before the Lord's return, they could at least maintain a semblance of peace, so you on the ground weren't even very clear about the conflicts between them. Besides, the Lord's return has driven away the observers from outside the galaxy, so the outside world is definitely not silent and lifeless. Humanity's primary goal right now is to gain a foothold in the interstellar space."

Terence looked at Howard earnestly and said, "Howard, I need your help. This matter must not hinder humanity from fulfilling its mission, nor should it be brought before the Lord."

Howard picked up his sidearm and fiddled with it. The skull and angel pattern on the grip was worn a little, but he still habitually carried it with him.

"We're all familiar with violence, aren't we?"

This is exactly what Terrence said to Howard back then, and now Howard is saying it to Terrence.

"We once rebuilt civilization together, and now it's our turn to rebuild it."

Two hands, one smooth and hard, the other rough and old, clasped together again, just like they had back in the tin shack.