Divine spirits gain divinity and become lower gods when they receive reverence from humans, but if afterward they are forgotten, or else avoided as a cursed god of calamity, they will sometimes turn into spiritual existences that bring about destruction and chaos. Jan’Majar Temple calls these beings devas.
Gods have a variety of dispositions. Some of them are violent and release unbridled fury when angered. Devas are not the same as these violent gods.
Devas are a warped force that have lost the disposition they once had as gods. Once a god becomes a deva, it is impossible for it to turn back into a god.
Devas spread miasma, poison, and curses, and the land their power touches becomes a hotbed for demons.
A long time ago, humans were helpless in the world, and they only barely survived thanks to the blessings of gods and divine spirits. However, the blessings could only serve a small number of people, so a more effective method was needed to reach more of humanity.
Eventually, the method of leveling up was discovered, and labyrinths were created, which gave humans significantly greater opportunity to receive strength and items of value. The human population grew, many countries were born, and humanity prospered.
However, a problem arose.
Within labyrinths, the blessings of gods and divine spirits are drawn out forcefully and automatically. Blessings that are consumed in this way are extremely powerful, but always end up twisted and warped, and are not used up properly.
As a result, impure, twisted fragments of blessings are left behind. These fragments are power without a purpose, or a very, very small fragment of a deva, so to speak. These are born aboveground as well, but they are dangerous only if they are gathered in large quantities, and with time, they will either return to nothing or be captured by gods, divine spirits, or monsters. But in labyrinths, the creation of these fragments occurs too quickly and on too large a scale.
The ones who noticed this were people who received special blessings from the gods, known as dungeon makers. The dungeon makers devised a mechanism to cause the warped fragments of blessings to be automatically expelled from labyrinths. They also created a special space in which to send any fragments that are above a certain level of power.
Our sect founder, Jan’Majar, heard all this directly from a dungeon maker. He then asked the dungeon maker what would happen when too many of the twisted fragments of blessings gathered in that space.
“Devas will be born.”
That is what he said.
At the time, this was not a problem. There were divine spirits that would accept petitions from the dungeon makers and destroy the devas.
The distortion born from defeating devas in those special spaces would counterbalance the power of the devas themselves, so if a deva was defeated in that space, the warped power would be extinguished completely.
The blessings characteristic of labyrinths do not work in that space. If they did, new fragments would be produced. The space is also thick with miasma, poison, and curses, meaning humans cannot enter it. For that reason, the dungeon maker did not tell our sect founder where the space is.
The dungeon maker taught the sect founder a method of calming divine spirits above the ground that are in the process of turning into devas. That was around 1,300 years ago. He then taught it to his disciples.
The sect founder died, and a long amount of time passed.
Around five hundred years ago, the holy occupation of adventurer was discovered. A variety of useful blessings and blessed items found only in labyrinths started to be discovered in quick succession. The pace of labyrinth expeditions accelerated overnight, as well as the pace at which humans could obtain strength.
As a result, humans grew wealthy and countries flourished, but we grew worried. Even before this development occurred, labyrinths were already producing great distortion. Now the efficiency of that distortion has increased by the dozens. The fragments should be accumulating at a pace significantly quicker than before.
Where is the space that the fragments are being sent to? What is happening there right now?
Every container has a limited capacity. What will happen when the space is no longer able to hold the devas? Are there any divine spirits left that can deal with them?
There is not a single dungeon maker left who can answer those questions.