Chapter 2499 — 2499: Playing with Water

The interior of the church was just as dilapidated as its exterior. The roof was not leaking, at least — that was a relief, considering that they were going to have to spend some time here.

There was surprisingly little dust, too. A wide open space led to an ornate altar, with rows of benches covered in white fabric. Above it all, tall stained-glass windows were shimmering dimly with the pale light of electric street lamps.

The dark expanse of the abandoned church was illuminated with colorful radiance because of it.

Sunny did not mind the forlorn ambiance and the poignant feeling of lost sanctity. He quite liked decrepit temples, actually… visiting one made him feel nostalgic.

Morgan, however, seemed a little surprised.

She looked around with curiosity, then shook her head.

"This is not right."

Sunny raised an eyebrow.

"What is?"

She gestured to the altar and the stained-glass windows above it.

"This church. The iconography does not match any of the religions that would have been widespread before the Dark Times. At least none that I recognize."

Sunny scratched the back of his head.

He did not really know a lot about religion — few people did, in the world of the Nightmare Spell.

It was hard to believe in anything after learning that the gods did exist, but were dead. The government had spent decades discouraging worship of any kind, as well. Maybe it was because various cults had caused a lot of trouble for the First Generation, both the government and the Legacy Clans wanted people to seek spiritual fulfillment in things other than mystical beliefs.

It was only now that Nephis had ascended to Supremacy that worship was once again spreading among the population — in more senses than one.

Nephis and the Fire Keepers were dealing with people who were starting to worship the Immortal Flame and its last daughter, while Sunny and the Shadow Clan were busy dealing with the doomsday cults that kept sprouting from the ground like mushrooms after the rain.

In any case, he had only a very vague impression of what religions were being exercised during the Dark Times, let alone before them.

"What, are you an expert on ancient religions, too?"

Morgan gave him a wry smile.

"You told me not to swing my Legacy education around."

Sunny coughed.

"Oh… yes, I did."

He looked around.

"So what's wrong with this church?"

Come to think of it…

He frowned.

It was only now that he noticed that there were tall mirrors artfully installed here and there around the church. Their masterful placement made it so that endless kaleidoscopes of reflections stretched into infinity, catching the light falling from the stained-glass windows and making the interior of the church seem many times larger than it was.

It would have looked wondrous and beautiful… if not for his memories of the Mirror Maze that made Sunny's skin crawl.

'I hate mirrors.'

Morgan shrugged.

"It's just… anachronistic? I'm not sure if that word really fits. The point I am trying to make is that there would not have been a church like this one on Earth, in this period of time. The outward symbology of temples and churches of Mirage City is quite consistent with historic records, though, so I find it strange."

At that moment, Saint, who had kept silent for the longest time, finally let her voice be heard.

Looking at them in exasperation, she asked:

"What are you talking about? This is a church dedicated to Mirage. There are thousands of them around the city."

Sunny, Morgan, and Effie all looked at her in confusion.

He tilted his head a little.

"Mirage? The Demon of Imagination?"

Saint seemed similarly confused.

"Who else?"

Sunny scratched the tip of his nose.

'Oh… so the name of the city is not just a coincidence.'

From what he could tell, Mirage City was a faithful reproduction of a human settlement from before the Dark Times. This church was the first obvious discrepancy they found — a foreign concept in an otherwise meticulous imitation of a mundane city on Earth.

He was suddenly very curious.

"Why would people worship a daemon, though?"

Saint remained silent for a while, then sighed.

"Who knows? I am not a religious person myself. It is an important part of our cultural heritage, though, so one should naturally be familiar with it."

She gave Sunny a reproachful look.

"Obviously, there is no reliable evidence to prove that Mirage actually existed, let alone that she wielded miraculous powers — let us not even mention the deeper meaning people put into the stories of her supposed deeds. However, it is easy to gather that she is at least based on a real historical figure from circumstantial data."

Sunny raised an eyebrow.

"What data?"

Saint looked at him with reproach.

"It is the existence of Mirage City itself, of course. A thriving settlement could not have been founded here without the system of dams that make its existence possible. These dams have existed in some form or fashion for thousands of years… obviously, they have been modernized and renovated countless times — the latest iteration of the northern dam was just renovated by the Valor Group, for example — but if myths are to be believed, it was Mirage who designed and built the dams first."

She looked around the church with a hint of reverence in her eyes.

"If so, then even if she did not possess any miraculous powers, she must have been a true genius. It is a stunning feat, to have constructed something so grand and advanced all those years ago... the dams of Mirage City are not considered one of the Seven Wonders of the ancient world for nothing. Even if Mirage is a collective persona of several generations of architects and engineers, it is still impressive."

Sunny smiled faintly.

It was interesting how the fictional mythology of Mirage City somewhat reflected the reality of the Dream Realm. Bastion itself had been surrounded by great dams once, after all.

Rivergate had withstood the apocalypse and the passage of time, only to end up being destroyed by Morgan and Mordret — albeit it was already being rebuilt by the forces of humanity, including Beth and Rain. The northern dam had been obliterated eons ago, though. In fact, Sunny had only learned of its existence by chance, when Effie mentioned finding its remains in True Bastion.

Its ruins in the False Bastion were gone. Perhaps humans had not discovered them yet, or perhaps they had simply been obliterated when the mortal realms were devoured by the Dream Realm. In any case, there was no twin Citadel to Rivergate to be found anywhere.

Neither Sunny nor Effie had known for sure that it was Mirage who had built the dams surrounding the Mirror Lake, though, just like she had built Bastion.

Maybe "built" wasn't the right word — considering that he was thinking of the Demon of Imagination, she might have simply imagined them, and then made her fantasy real.

It was fascinating, though…

"But why would the Demon of Imagination be so interested in building dams?"

Saint seemed to be a little confused by the question.

She hesitated for a few moments, then shrugged.

"You will receive different answers from different people. If you follow the religious dogma, though… she built them to create mirrors."