In the grand hall of the Imperial Palace of the Valen Empire.
Maidservants from various races stood in a line, each holding specialty pastries and fruits, smiling as they watched Zhang Chen busy at his desk.
To serve a true god, or even just to watch from afar, was the highest honor for them.
At this moment, Zhang Chen's desk was piled high with all sorts of scrolls, all of them filled with stories passed down and recorded by various nations about the ancient war, the era of the Dark Queen, and myths and legends.
Different countries, due to their different geographical locations and ancestral origins, had different perspectives on how the stories were recorded.
These materials, accumulated together, were like watching a fragmented historical drama. Sometimes the stories were connected, and sometimes they were isolated tales with no beginning or end.
Even worse, the same event might have several different names, with entirely different viewpoints and records, making it impossible to discern who was telling the truth.
"Let's set aside the records of the ancient holy war for now and organize the literature from the Dark Queen era first."
"If we can clarify the specific situation of the Dark Queen era and where she might have recorded history, it might be clearer to trace back the legends of the ancient war then."
Zhang Chen said to himself.
Easier said than done.
It seemed the Dark Queen had carried out a literary inquisition of sorts, destroying historical documents, leading to much content being lost or even entirely erased.
After the collapse of the Dark Queen's regime, subsequent generations, in a spirit of revenge, fabricated dozens of different versions of those lost narratives.
It was truly difficult to investigate.
"But we've managed to sort out the general outline!"
Dolores comforted him softly from the side.
"After sorting, it seems that in the ancient world, it was wild and untamed. Then divine beings descended from the heavens, slayed monsters, created the world, and established the Divine Capital, which is here..."
Upon hearing this, Zhang Chen nodded helplessly and said,
"I already know about what happened before that period, and there wasn't any descent from the heavens. But that period was indeed fulfilling and interesting!"
Dolores nodded, then continued,
"That era was also called the Age of Gods. People lived in peace and contentment, monsters stayed away from cities, and the world was filled with harmony."
"But not long after, turmoil occurred in the God Realm. All the gods returned to the God Realm overnight, and the human world fell into chaos once more."
"There are many versions of the descriptions here. Some say humans won a holy war against the gods, but now it seems that claim doesn't hold water at all!"
"The theory of the gods disappearing is more plausible."
As Dolores spoke, she cast a meaningful glance at Zhang Chen.
Let alone Zhang Chen, even considering the Gugou God on Zhang Chen's arm and the Demon Tamers, if even one such powerful being appeared, millions of human armies would be annihilated in an instant.
Therefore, the idea of humans defeating gods in an ancient holy war was pure nonsense.
The idea of all gods suddenly vanishing made more sense.
How could humans, who couldn't even defeat one or two gods, expel the entire divine race?!
"The gods disappeared... where did they go?!"
Zhang Chen knew there was no God Realm at all.
Even if there were a God Realm, it wouldn't be the world to which he and others belonged.
The world that truly belonged to them had already been torn apart by the world's core when he crossed over.
"Yes, most historical ancient texts record it as such. They say the city gates were not opened the next day, and upon entering, the city was empty!"
"Others who served powerful nobles in the city awoke to find all the powerful individuals gone, with their bedding still warm."
"But no one actually saw these powerful beings disappear. It was as if they had simply evaporated into thin air."
Dolores said, holding the ancient books compiled by the historian.
If Zhang Chen, a true god, did not exist, she would not have believed the content recorded in them.
They all disappeared at once, how was that possible? And where did they go?!
"I heard that a gate to some world is sealed beneath the World Tower."
"I wonder if it's the gate to the world those powerful beings went to?"
"That world might have absorbed the powerful beings, which is why the Black Tail Swallow Legion has been guarding it."
"Also, there's the largest pink crystal on the World Tower. Why don't we go take a look? It won't cost us anything anyway."
Malana suggested from the side.
"World Tower, pink crystal, gate to a mysterious world?"
Zhang Chen's eyes lit up. Perhaps... there really was something there!