[NR] A Divine City - Chapter 795 (Patreon)

The group makes their way towards the city, though after revealing that he knew of what were basically superheroes, Rosha pestered him endlessly with questions. The only problem is that Jason’s knowledge was more mechanical than anything else.

So after many headaches on his part, the party arrived in the city.

Rosha looks excitedly around. “Three-story buildings? That’s exciting!”

Jason laughs, “We live in an arcology and your teacher lived in a city with much taller buildings. So whether you’re looking at NeoRealm or irl, tall buildings aren’t exactly shocking.”

Rosha gestures around, “But not like this!”

And she isn’t wrong. The Arcology is a miracle of modern science. While Peter’s house was in a city built along traditional lines, even if the buildings could get quite tall.

This city, though? There was magic, sure. But that wasn’t anything new. No, the thing that set this city apart was the religious aspect.

Given that any person who hits the level cap is celebrated as divine, there are more than a few cults in the traditional sense. So while for the most part everyone worships the NeoRealm pantheon in general, many people choose to worship specific deities and thus the various cults that exist.

Here? More buildings than not were built to celebrate a specific deity, spirit, genius loci, or level-capped local.

Over there, a building where the first floor is devoted to some capped local that managed it through their baking skill, with a functioning bakery on the second floor. Then, down the way a bit further, the top floor of the building is actually an open temple structure devoted to a wind spirit. Opposite of that, all was a blacksmith devoted to a land god of some volcano.

And while it wasn’t every other building that had a complete floor devoted in such a visible way. They all carried iconography related to one pantheon member or another. Well, except for any of the beings Jason would have called a deity. Those true powerhouses likely had proper temples somewhere deeper into the city.

Jason, “Eugh, do you guys want to try for the next city?”

Courtney, “Why? I figure a place so devoted would be exactly where you want to be to ride out a demon incursion.”

Jason snorts, “More like the last place. Maybe if this was solely devoted to the greater deities of the pantheon, it would be half fine. But do you know how easy it is for something to pretend to be a good spirit? If there isn’t a decent number of cults in this city devoted to various evil outsiders, I would be surprised. Whether unknowingly or purposeful, there will be rot.”

Courtney, “You said ‘half fine’. If even having only uncorruptible cults isn’t enough, what are we missing?”

Jason shrugs, “Well to start, even if on the surface there was only worship of the greater deities, the brightest light tends to cast the darkest shadows. And there’s a good reason for that.

“A small-time demon? They won’t be able to get a worshipper into here. A normal demon follower would be sniffed out within a week. To hide here, you’re going to need to be worshiping some kind of demon deity.

“But the actual reason is different. See, the Divine are diametrically opposed to capital ‘E’ Evil outsiders.”

Courtney frowns, “Yes, that would seem self-evident.”

Jason shrugs, “You would think that, except divinity doesn’t mean they’re good. You can have an evil Deity. There are certainly more than enough of that sort in NeoRealm, nevermind the neutrals. Basically, every place spirit is like that. They aren’t good or evil, they just are.

“It’s like that volcano spirit worshiped at that forge we passed by. It can easily wipe out any nearby settlements in passing. Might have even done so. However, this won’t be because of maliciousness. Either the volcano simply erupted like they do or someone ticked it off enough to do so.”

Rosha, “Wait, so why are the divine types so against demons and such?”

Jason laughs, “Well, the good types are simply opposed to them by their nature. Good versus Evil and what not. The others? It’s a matter of resources and greed.

“Demons and the divine deal in what’s left of the soul when someone dies. For the divine, the remnants end up in their afterlife. While they don’t directly provide power anymore. Faith only matters if someone has free will to give it. They are useful for things like developing the deity’s home plane and turning into angels.

“While creatures such as demons directly gain personal power for every soul they drag down, which makes them like cockroaches to the divine. Especially the evil types. After all, Evil outsiders tend to pop into existence anywhere there is a build up of sin and souls.”

Rosha, “What about Good outsiders?”

Jason shrugs, “They happen as well, but they don’t steal souls. They’re Good after all. If a soul was meant to go to someone else, even if that is the Abyss, they’re not going to interfere. It is only when a soul is being misdirected that they interfere, except that doesn’t happen often. Once you die, you’re dead and so most of those outside will let the chips fall where they may.

“If only because messing with that is one way to get everyone else, Good or Evil, Order or Chaos to come together and curb stomp you. And not in the fun, ‘infinite battlefield of Strife’ kind of way.”

Rosha, “Why would they team up like that? I would figure those of Evil and Chaos would be all for that kind of survival of the fittest environment.”

Jason shrugs, “I barely get the living world. All I’m doing is passing on what knowledge I skimmed of the afterlife. Though if I had to guess, divinity and the hereafter runs more on the kind of things a Fae worries about. Hospitality and personal honor for the things that have been decided as important.”