The Old God.

A term used by a chat group member to refer to the gods from the real universe, the culprits for their shallow existence.

A creature that wasn’t real, just a fleeting thought in a long dream.

However, at first glance, the chat group found the term intriguing.

In reality, they used this term to mock those gods from the real universe, as "old" in the term referred to muddle-headedness, slow thinking, and a lack of initiative to innovate and explore new knowledge.

That was one thing; the other thing was the word "god" itself.

For the chat group members, they had their own dictionary. They set their vision beyond the realm they currently lived in and thus had a different paradigm from others.

Just like how immortals in the immortal realm despised the top powerhouse in the lower realm in xianxia as a comparison.

Those who lived in a vaster and more advanced civilization couldn’t help but mock those backward people who were born and lived in a lower realm.

But seeing how the enigmatic figure suddenly appeared without any warning caused great internal alarm for every chat group member.

For them, those Old Gods were no different from the Gods in this fake universe; they were rulers of certain truths.

Some might be born innately with the truth, while some might acquire them through a difficult journey. But nonetheless, they were not worthy of the title of God.

If they were only capable of dominating certain truths in the world, what was their difference from a high-ranking administrator?

A king in their respective five acres of land?

A pig wearing a jeweled crown and calling themselves the king of the world while living inside a pigsty, worshiped by fellow pigs.

For the chat group members, a God should match their high vision.

Omnipotent and omniscient.

Not just a mere ruler of a singular truth.

Thus, for them, for something to truly be worthy of the title of the high-sounding word "God," they needed to prove it instead of self-claiming it.

But there were some difficulties, how omnipotent and omniscient should a God be?

Let's say we have two universes with different rules and laws.

How do we compare which one is stronger and which one is weaker?

In the endless stairs of dimensions, where there are lower and higher dimensions, a God in the truest sense in a lower dimension doesn’t meet the requirements of a God in a higher dimension.

Then it came into the problem of who is stronger.

Can they beat Goku though?

A rambling between children who believe their favorite character is stronger than their friends’ character.

It was clear they were from different stories, with each story having its own internal rules. So how could they compare those characters with flawed conditions?

Thus, for something to be a God, there were simply three requirements.

The first one would be omnipotent and omniscient in their respective universe. Nothing could harm them in their respective universe; even if the universe itself fought them, the Gods would be invincible against it.

The second, referring to being omnipotent and omniscient, had the ability to do anything they wanted even though their actions seemed paradoxical.

As an example, being a God, they were invincible and indestructible. So if they wanted to create something that could kill them, a god-killing weapon, then they could create it.

But this god-killing weapon couldn’t harm them even more so kill them, although it had the ability to do so. This paradoxical approach was not that difficult to understand. As beings with omniscience, they naturally wouldn’t be that stupid to create a weapon that could kill them.

In the extension of this second requirement, this also proved no existence below godhood had the capability to kill a God. Not even a mortal who wanted to play trickery by daring a god to create a god-killing weapon to test their omnipotence.

So only a God could kill a God; those ancient legends and folktales back in the previous lives were the examples of a flawed interpretation of god.

God of the sky? God of lightning? King of gods?

God is God!

The last one would be self-defining. God was not a title but a state of independence from everything. When the universe met its end, God could still survive.

...

The tension filled the air in the white space as none of the chat group members showed a relaxed expression.

All of them were running their internal calculations to counter this uninvited guest.

‘What is this? A sudden event?’ Nameless couldn’t help but complain in his heart. The figure on the edge of the white space clearly was not self-proclaimed as a god but was a real God.

Their existence itself spoke of their divine nature, the Origin of Wisdom.

Not a name, not a title, not a description; they were what they were.

A self-defining concept, even when language lost its meaning, and their godhood would shine through the ages.

‘But how could this be possible? How could there be a God in the real universe?’ Nameless couldn’t help but ask.

If there was truly a God in the real universe, it was impossible for The First to survive in the first place; a God is a God.

What could he, The First, do to fight a God? Even more so a pantheon of them.

‘Something is wrong,’ Nameless came to this conclusion.

His second brain ran its logical calculation, finally coming up with many possible answers.

‘The fake universe?’ Nameless's thoughts were floating as he read the list provided by his second brain.

The Old Gods were not stupid; they knew they couldn’t win, so they sealed The First and created the fake universe to find a way to kill The First.

But who would have thought, with the entire pantheon of gods cooperating. One of their plans was to take one step further, becoming a God.

Not a real god, or true god, or supreme god. But God itself.

Nameless became solemn when he learned about this another hidden agenda of the Old Gods for the fake universe.

There was no need to stick to one plan, or run one plan after another for each failure, just run all of them and reap the one that works.

As the silence continued, the white space underwent a dramatic change. The seemingly endless white space began to dissolve.

Just like a painting submerged in water, the white space began to blur and disappear.

The environment transformed into something they couldn’t comprehend. It was not the Boundary nor was it chaos.

But no one was in the mood to conduct an experiment with it right now, since the enigmatic figure began to act.

There was a loud silent explosion that reverberated through space and time, as something tried to make a connection with the fake universe.

Then a chant, full of the spirit of living beings. Filled with the charm of mortal worlds spread.

“There is a concept, and it’s called life.”

“There is life, and it’s called human.”

“The heart is empty, and the mind is thoughtless.”

The three lines were chanted in quick succession, halting the unstoppable transformation of the surrounding environment.

As if there was a chunk of metal stuck between the gears that were changing the environment.

The enigmatic figure, Origin of Wisdom, made some ripples as they reacted to this sudden counter-attack.

“Equality,” in the most primal language that every living being understands, they chanted in a low

 tone.

The momentum that Bone created by chanting the first three lines was directly disturbed, by one word of equality.

The running gears seemingly gained a lubricant and continued to spin.

To stop the impending doom, it was Farmer's turn to continue the incantation.

“There is existence, that's called Gods.”

“The power is endless and so with its reach.”

“The rules bend and stretch at will, and justice is missing.”

The next chant gave a new power as black chains ran through the space connecting the new environment with something.

The chains were thick and strong, forcefully halting the transformation.

“Equality,” Origin of Wisdom once again responded with their primal language.

The thick chains that reached the horizon of the environment began to shake and let out cracking sounds as cracks began to spread on their bodies.

“Ridiculous!” Nine-tails couldn't hold her dissatisfaction and spoke out.

There was no need to elaborate more as time was of the essence here, but Nameless understood why Nine-tails was angry.

A God, or something that reached that position, was competing with mortals in terms of legal jurisdiction.

The chat group members wanted to bring out the justice of all living beings, but Origin of Wisdom denied this compliance by asserting equality in all things.

Justice doesn’t mean equality, but equality means justice.

Equality was just a concept of everything being equal, but justice was a system created to protect the rights of living beings in accordance with humanity.

Thus when Origin of Wisdom spoke of equality, it was like a college student asking for a trial of force with a group of five-year-old babies.

Even if both parties were held in the most impartial situation, the fight itself was a big fraud.

How could the chat group members fight a God?

Even if they were at the pinnacle of this fake universe, they weren’t the strongest.

But seeing how Origin of Wisdom responded in this way, gave Nameless a new understanding of the real universe.

‘In the great battle of The First and the entire pantheon of gods, he must also use justice. So when we used the same move, God already tasted it before and came up with a countermeasure.’

As for the reason why Origin of Wisdom didn’t directly break the bind of justice, it was because the power it drew was coming from the nightmares.

The chaos creatures that the chat group members bred in their free time.

The goal was simple; once the Old Gods descended into the fake universe, the chat group members would use this to hold them down.

If they broke it by force, then the power of chaos would break the seal of the fake universe.

Releasing The First.

Even if they were killed in the process, at least they didn’t die completely.

No one was born as a slave; everyone longs for freedom.

Instead of being trapped in this fake universe, the chat group members would rather sacrifice themselves to release The First.

Then it was Ball's turn to continue the chant.

“We stand above the myriad.”

“The judge is blind.”

“The trial shall begin.”

The cracking chains suddenly became alive, turning into a snake-like entity and began to create a closed loop.

The power of justice was not that powerful; at least, a boundary needed to be set first before enforcing its power.

“Equality,” Origin of Wisdom said for the third time.

The snake-like entity that almost reached its own tail suddenly stopped and couldn't move forward to close the loop.

“What kind of bullshit God are you?!” Nine-tails was shouting angrily; she then drew the power within her body to support the snake-like entity to bite its own tail.

A God, the divine realm, omnipotent and omniscient.

This was the chat group members' definition of godhood. It was to separate the mortal realm and the divine.

No matter how strong and smart one was, no mortal could fight against a God.

If they could, then their enemies naturally were not a God but just a pig wearing a jeweled crown that proclaimed as a divine being.

So instead, Nine-tails was not merely supporting the snake-like entity but ritually sacrificing herself in the name of justice.

She would rather die in trying instead of being ridiculed by a God who wanted to bully mortals.

A gap in thinking, a prolonged silence that compressed time occurred once again.

Somehow, at some time a new figure appeared near Origin of Wisdom.

A blinding light swept the surrounding, filled with warmth and positivity. Nine-tails' sacrificial act was halted at that moment.

Seeing the second God arrive in the fake universe, and more importantly stopped Nine-tails from sacrificing herself.

The second brain that ran for the entire time in each of the chat group members' heads came to a direct conclusion.

“Kakaka,” a crisp sound of bone hitting bone, resounded loudly as Bone laughed without holding himself. He looked like a comical lich instead.

“What a conspiracy, what a plan.” Farmer shook his head in realization.

The chat group was the same in their hearts; thus, they had some common understanding about the nature of power.

A God, who was omnipotent and omniscient, independent of everything, and a self-defining existence needed to come down into the fake universe to challenge them.

What kind of joke is this?

Don’t they understand the implication of being omnipotent and omniscient? Don’t they understand the implication of being a self-defining existence?

They already achieved true freedom; time couldn’t restrict them, and space couldn’t confine them.

One thought was enough to revert the future into the past, one thought enough to turn fantasy into reality.

No limit.

This is a God!

So why bother to come up in person?

Why bother to stop Nine-tails from sacrificing herself?

Why not just use omnipotence and omniscience to deal with them?

The reason was simple; the chat group members were their target.

Emerging as the victorious clones of The First, they were the best mortals below the divine throne.

In other words, it was the same. Never run the plan one by one; instead, spread the seed and watch which one would ripen first, then pick it up.

The seed now already ripened; it was time to harvest it.