Endless Chaos – Chaos Void Plane: The Path of Knowledge
Chapter 8 – The First Experiment
Morning light spread across the flat horizon of the world.
But Arin knew the truth now.
The sun rising in the sky was not a real star.
It was merely a projection created by the Void, a temporary substitute because the Ultimate Path of Sun had not yet been born in the Chaos Void Plane.
Even the heavens were incomplete.
Arin stood outside the village, on a small hill overlooking farmland and scattered houses made of stone and wood.
In his hand floated a faint crystal-like cube of light.
The Chaos Wonder Artifact of Knowledge.
Soft streams of information flowed through his mind like an endless river.
Last night's discovery still echoed in his thoughts.
Faith energy.
Believers.
Divine receivers.
And the terrifying possibility that the God of Belief was still alive.
Arin sat down on the grass and began drawing diagrams on the soil with a stick.
"Belief creates faith energy," he muttered.
"But faith energy must gather somewhere."
He drew a small circle.
"Normally… it flows directly to a god."
Then he drew another shape beside it.
"But what if there is no god?"
The Chaos Artifact responded instantly.
[Hypothesis: Faith energy can condense into stable crystallized form if properly contained.]
Arin's eyes lit up.
"That means…"
He stood up suddenly.
"I can replicate the process."
If gods used faith energy to form divine authority…
Then perhaps the energy could be condensed artificially.
Not into a god.
But into something else.
A Godhood Crystal prototype.
Arin looked toward the distant village.
Thin invisible streams of belief energy floated through the air like faint mist.
People praying.
Farmers thanking the heavens for harvest.
Children whispering simple hopes.
Every small belief produced a tiny fragment of faith.
Normally, all of it would flow toward the hidden Faith Network created by the God of Belief.
But Arin had an idea.
He raised the Chaos Artifact.
"Artifact… analyze the nearest faith stream."
The cube pulsed.
[Faith current detected]
[Weak signal – village level belief]
[Energy density: extremely low]
"Low is fine," Arin said calmly.
"This is just an experiment."
He walked to an abandoned stone shrine near the hill.
The statue there had long been broken, leaving only a cracked pedestal.
Perfect.
Arin began carving symbols onto the pedestal.
Not divine runes.
Not prayer circles.
But knowledge diagrams.
Energy flow paths.
Containment structures.
Stabilization points.
These were not religious symbols.
They were scientific constructs.
The Chaos Artifact projected faint lines of light guiding his carving.
Hours passed.
When he finally stepped back, the pedestal was covered with a strange geometric network.
Arin raised his hand.
"Let's see if this works."
He activated the formation.
For a moment…
Nothing happened.
Then slowly…
Very slowly…
A faint thread of faith energy drifting through the air was pulled toward the pedestal.
Arin held his breath.
The invisible stream entered the formation and began circulating through the carved channels.
The knowledge structure stabilized it.
Compressed it.
Condensed it.
The Chaos Artifact began analyzing rapidly.
[Energy compression detected]
[Faith crystallization process beginning]
A tiny spark of golden light appeared above the pedestal.
Arin stared at it in disbelief.
"It worked…"
The spark slowly hardened.
Its shape became clearer.
A tiny translucent crystal the size of a grain of sand floated above the formation.
Inside the crystal was a faint golden glow.
Arin carefully picked it up.
The moment it touched his fingers, a warm sensation spread through his body.
Not power.
Not magic.
But something deeper.
Recognition.
The crystal contained condensed belief.
The very foundation of divinity.
Arin whispered softly.
"A Godhood Crystal…"
Not a real one.
Just a primitive fragment.
But it proved something extraordinary.
Godhood was not a mystery.
It was a process.
A system.
A structure that could be understood.
Studied.
Replicated.
The Chaos Artifact spoke again.
[Conclusion: Artificial Godhood Crystal successfully created.]
But the moment the system completed its analysis…
A faint tremor passed through the invisible faith network spreading across the world.
Far away.
In a hidden dimension sealed between worlds.
A pair of ancient eyes slowly opened.
The presence observing countless believers suddenly noticed something strange.
A disturbance.
A small theft.
Someone had intercepted faith energy.
The ancient voice echoed through the silent divine space.
"…Interesting."
For thousands of years, faith energy had flowed exactly as expected.
Believers prayed.
Energy gathered.
Divinity grew.
But now…
Someone had interfered with the system.
And created a new node.
The voice whispered with curiosity.
"Who dares to touch the river of belief?"
Back on the hill, Arin was still examining the tiny crystal.
He smiled slightly.
"First experiment successful."
But he didn't know yet…
That somewhere in the shadows of the Chaos Void Plane…
The God of Belief had just noticed him.
And for the first time in centuries…
A god had become curious about a mortal.