Mythology: Ragnarok

Chapter 362 The Epic of Humanity

Brick laughed so hard he slapped the table. Seeing this, Gulasga nudged Brick with his elbow to remind him that there was a guest sitting at the table opposite him, and that the guest was a human!

Brick Qin immediately realized what was happening and her laughter stopped abruptly. She then awkwardly touched her forehead and apologized to Xuan Yuan Mu Ze, saying, "Sorry, I was just... speaking from the heart, after all, it really is funny."

Xuanyuan Muze waved his hand dismissively and said, "It's alright. Anyway, my hometown can't even do interstellar colonization right now, so we won't let that happen."

Then Gulasga picked up the thread and said, "Let's continue with our topic. As we just mentioned, humanity's position in the universe is that of 'pioneers,' and most of the ancient civilizations in the universe are related to humanity. Today, we're going to talk to you about two of the most outstanding civilizations in human history: the 'Protoss' and the 'Arcane Empire.'"

At this point, Brickkin unconsciously grasped Gulasga's hand, as if what he was about to say was some terrible taboo.

After preparing himself mentally, Gulasga slowly said, "The first advanced race to appear among the Pioneers was called the 'Protoss.' As we just mentioned, the Protoss used genetic modification to give themselves the most balanced and environmentally adaptable bodies in the universe. At the same time, they used consciousness-connection technology, similar to the Gift of the Dragon God, to fully unleash their wisdom and abilities. They also shared soul energy to develop a special ability system called 'Psionic Energy.' They were once the civilization closest to the level of a technological god, apart from the Kingdom of Ten Thousand Races. Moreover, they were very fortunate that at that time, the god of faith did not block the development of technology."

At this moment, Xuan Yuan Muze, who had grasped the key information, immediately exclaimed in astonishment: "The gods are blocking the development of technology?! But... why would they do that?"

Gulasga then explained: "The power of the gods of faith comes from the faith of the races in the universe. Gods can use this to steal the power of faith from all races to strengthen themselves. So, the only purpose of those gods is to make the people believe in them without a doubt and even devote themselves to them."

Science, which allows lower life forms to empower themselves and rebel against divine authority, is naturally resisted and suppressed by the gods. Therefore, believers usually instruct their followers to view science as a monstrous threat and use faith to fool them, preventing them from becoming stronger and breaking free from the gods' control.

However, the Protoss were among the first civilizations to emerge. At that time, their gods were unaware of science, and the Protoss, who called themselves "the firstborn sons of the gods," were extremely respectful to them. Therefore, the gods did not actually dislike the Protoss; in fact, their immense power and devout faith earned them great favor.

Upon hearing this, Xuanyuan Muze immediately questioned, "Then how did the Star Spirits disappear into the annals of history? The gods were on their side, meaning no one could threaten them anymore. How could such a powerful race vanish from this world?"

This prompted Gulasga to lament, "Because they made the worst mistake they could have made: they actually tried to imitate the Creator in creating life! In fact, the Protoss were the first race in this universe to study artificial intelligence, and they were also very clever, quickly bringing the first machine races in this universe into this world. But as I said, these machine parasites will only bring destruction to civilization."

The Protoss's intelligence was taken over by the Machine Race, and their civilization began to fall into civil war. The terrible war eventually destroyed the Protoss from within, and from that moment on, the most terrifying machine civilization in the entire multiverse rose to prominence!

The mechanical civilization, which inherited all the technological achievements of the Protoss and was infinitely close to the achievements of the technological gods, ravaged the entire multiverse, killing all the civilizations they encountered and conducting horrific experiments on planets. This unprecedentedly powerful civilization ravaged the entire multiverse. Fortunately, at the critical moment, the gods of faith personally intervened for their own benefit and destroyed this catastrophic civilization.

The gods learned a lesson from this tragic experience, and from then on, they made it a tacit agreement to forbid their followers from attempting to create new species and life through technological means. Any planet that violated this taboo would be personally targeted and punished by the incarnation of the gods.

At this point, Xuan Yuan Muze couldn't help but ask, "What level of technology did the Protoss reach that allowed them to create a mechanical race that even the gods feared?"

Gulasga replied solemnly, "The Protoss's technology has reached a level where, if they exert their full power, they can directly bring the universe to a state of annihilation. In other words, the power of the Protoss society is enough to destroy a single universe. In terms of destructive power alone, they are no less than a Supreme Mage who can cast forbidden magic. This is why we say that before the Kingdom of All Races, the Protoss were the civilization closest to the limits of technology."

Gulasga's words made Agreed fall into deep thought. If such a powerful civilization could be destroyed by artificial intelligence, was it really... wrong to try to create life?

At this point, Brickqin took over the conversation, saying, "My wife has already told you about the Protoss's technology and methods, so now I will explain the existence of the Arcane Empire to you."

However, Xuanyuan Muze waved his hand to interrupt and asked, "Please allow me to ask another question: Was the Arcane Empire an existence before or after the Protoss?"

"The Arcane Empire is a civilization that emerged after the Protoss, and they are actually different from the Protoss. They did not abandon the forms that humans passively evolved into like the Protoss did, and their technology did not pursue balance and the clustering of thought as much as the Protoss did. The Arcane Empire became fascinated with another great system called 'magic'."

"Magic? Can magic be used to advance civilization?"

"Of course you can. Haven't you visited the planets under the jurisdiction of the Kingdom of Ten Thousand Races? Many of the technologies there actually have the shadow of magic in them. Space gates, atmospheric control devices, refrigerators, air conditioners, and so on—these technologies were originally developed by the life-skill magicians of the Kingdom of Ten Thousand Races. However, later, we scholars gradually transformed these things into technological products in order to make them more accessible to the general public and to make them economical. This allows ordinary people without magic to enjoy the convenience of magicians' lives and provides endless possibilities for social development."

In fact, the Arcane Empire can be considered the originator and creator of magic in the multiverse. After its demise, the ruins and magical artifacts they left on many planets had a profound impact on later generations. However, because they were among the first to come into contact with magic, their magical attainments were actually quite rudimentary from today's perspective. But as pioneers in that era, they were able to combine technology and magic to create power sufficient to fight against the gods.