This hard-won victory led all the surviving "Gray Man" to completely abandon the ethereal belief in Spirit, along with the so-called "Great Merc".
They regarded the rise and fall of the "Ark of Redemption" as a costly and painful lesson, erecting monuments for the sacrificed ones.
The Divine is unreliable, and the Evil Spirit behind the Void is even less trustworthy; only the tools and knowledge held in hand are real and dependable.
They resolutely embarked on the path of "materialism," madly excavating the remnants of the Old World, repairing those forgotten machines, and continuing the research their ancestors halted out of arrogance.
Soon they discovered, although fossil fuel resources were depleted, there was still something else that could bring them endless energy...
That was the source of "light."
It was a secret they uncovered during battles with the Cultists.
