"Lucifer..." Lin Qiye hadn't yet recovered from the massive amount of information conveyed by Zhao Kongcheng and was stunned for a long time.
"So, you're saying... that since that fog appeared, the gods in mythology have inexplicably appeared one after another?"
"That's right. The higher-ups have been exploring the reasons behind this and have speculated two possibilities." Zhao Kongcheng extended two fingers:
"The first is that these gods didn't exist originally, but after the fog appeared, some mysterious change occurred, materializing them from mythology."
"The second is that mythology isn't just the ancients' fantasy but is real. After humans became more active, they lurked somewhere on Earth for some reason, and the sudden appearance of the fog awakened them."
Lin Qiye nodded. "Then what did you mean when you said that not all gods exist?"
"The number of gods currently existing on Earth isn't large. Not all mythical creatures have descended here. The ones that have appeared now are just a very small part of the vast mythological system. We don't know why it's them. It has nothing to do with strength, the spread of their stories, good or evil, or national boundaries. Their appearance seems to have no pattern and just occurs randomly.
Not only in the Bible, but also in Greek mythology, Norse mythology, Cthulhu mythology... Among the gods known to humans now, all mythological systems are covered."
"Since it includes all mythological systems, what about the gods of Daxia?" Lin Qiye asked curiously. "For example, the Monkey King, the Third Prince, the Four Heavenly Kings, the Jade Emperor... Where are they? If they exist, they must be able to defeat Western mythology easily, right?"
After a brief moment of silence, Zhao Kongcheng shook his head. "We've thought about what you're thinking. In the past hundred years, we've searched countless times within the territory of Daxia, trying to find their whereabouts...
But for a whole hundred years, we haven't found anything, not even a small Earth God.
Some people say that it's because the fog hasn't swallowed Daxia yet, so Daxia's mythology won't appear.
And some people say..."
Lin Qiye couldn't help but ask, "What do some people say?"
"Some people say... they've always been here."
"Always been here?"
"What do you think? Why was the entire Earth swallowed by the fog, but only Daxia survived? The fog has already reached the surroundings of Daxia, but it's just blocked by the national border and can't enter an inch?"
Lin Qiye opened his mouth wide. "You mean..."
"This is just a speculation, or rather... a beautiful fantasy." Zhao Kongcheng shook his head. "Anyway, we haven't found any trace of Daxia's gods."
"All right."
Just with the amount of information he had heard now, Lin Qiye already felt that his worldview was collapsing. If he hadn't witnessed the existence of the Seraphim with his own eyes, he might have called the psychiatric hospital to drag Zhao Kongcheng away.
This guy was even more seriously ill than he was back then!
"Then what was that golden pillar of light that came out of me last night?" Lin Qiye asked the next question.
"Forbidden Ruins." Zhao Kongcheng replied. "After the fog shrouded the Earth, the changes weren't limited to the appearance of the gods. These fogs seem to have some mysterious effect on our human bodies as well.
Although these fogs haven't entered the territory of Daxia, it seems that there's some kind of energy similar to radiation inside them, which has a catalytic effect on the bodies of some people. Children born after the fog descended have a probability of generating a strange power in their bodies.
Under the influence of certain specific environments, these powers will be activated, thus forming a special power that can affect the real environment, just like a domain. The characteristics of these powers vary from person to person.
And this extraordinary domain that can affect the surroundings through oneself is called the 'Forbidden Ruins'."
Lin Qiye thought thoughtfully.
In simple terms, the "Forbidden Ruins" were the superpower domains of some lucky people.
Looking at it this way, his ability to sense everything within a 20-meter radius with a means similar to mental perception, his extremely strong dynamic vision, and his ability to use the divine might of the Seraphim were also manifestations of the Forbidden Ruins.
"Can this Forbidden Ruins grow?"
"Yes, the ability, range, and uniqueness of the Forbidden Ruins will increase as the owner's mental power increases. Mental power is an important criterion for determining the strength of the Forbidden Ruins.
According to mental power, we divide the Forbidden Ruins into six realms.
When the mental power is like the water in a cup, small and still, it's called the first realm, the 'Zhan' realm;
When the mental power is like the water in a pond, abundant and still, it's called the second realm, the 'Chi' realm;
If it's like the water in a river, abundant and flowing, it's called the third realm, the 'Chuan' realm;
If it's like the water in the ocean, vast and expansive, it's called the fourth realm, the 'Hai' realm;
If the mental power is almost infinite, vast and majestic, it's the fifth realm, the 'Wuliang' realm;
If the mental power is inexhaustible, breaks through the spatial dimension, and is similar to a Klein bottle, it's the sixth realm, the 'Klein' realm."
"Then what about me? What realm am I in now?" Lin Qiye asked.
"You? You're just in the 'Zhan' realm now, just a newbie who has just been able to use the Forbidden Ruins." Zhao Kongcheng seemed to enjoy the feeling of discouraging Lin Qiye. "You can only be considered a... well... slightly more powerful ordinary person."
Lin Qiye was immediately speechless.
Looking at it this way, the reason why he was able to open the door of the psychiatric hospital in his mind last night should be that he had broken through to the "Zhan" realm, and the same was true for his ability to open Nyx's ward door.
Did that mean that every time he broke through to a new realm in the future, he would be able to release another patient?
"What about you? You're so powerful. What realm are you in?" Lin Qiye looked at Zhao Kongcheng and asked.
Zhao Kongcheng blushed and awkwardly turned his head to look out the window. "I, myself... don't have a Forbidden Ruins, so naturally I don't have mental power."
"You don't have a Forbidden Ruins?" Lin Qiye widened his eyes. "Then how did you kill that monster?"
Lin Qiye was really shocked. Even he, with his abnormal dynamic vision, could only barely deal with that kind of monster. At that time, Zhao Kongcheng had completely suppressed the other party. How could such a powerful person not have a Forbidden Ruins?
"That thing is called a Masked Man." Zhao Kongcheng corrected. "I killed it just relying on years of training and rich combat experience. Before joining the Night Watchers, I was a special forces soldier, proficient in close combat."
Zhao Kongcheng continued to add, "There are three ways to obtain a Forbidden Ruins. One is what I just said. Only a small number of lucky people are born with the talent to use the Forbidden Ruins;
The second is to rely on items with a Forbidden Ruins. It's not just people who can be affected by the fog to have a Forbidden Ruins. Some items, by chance, will also have a Forbidden Ruins. This kind of Forbidden Ruins is generally extremely special and rare. If humans can master them, they can also use the power of the Forbidden Ruins.
I belong to the second type. However, the Forbidden Item I have isn't an offensive one but a special standard auxiliary Forbidden Item unique to the Night Watchers, the 'Notice Board'. It has only one function...
That is to open the [No-Rule Airspace]!"