Sinking into a soft sofa, Adrian couldn't help but feel a human sense of comfort. His tattered clothes had been replaced before renting the house, and he'd signed a three-year lease with the landlord, ensuring no housing worries for a while. Mr. Z sat across from him, frowning at the book Adrian had instructed him to buy. Through the cover, bold words were faintly visible:
How to Win Friends and 48 Laws of Power
"Lord Favored One, why… read this book? With all due respect, it's useless for the battles we're involved in," Mr. Z said, struggling with his words. He scratched his neck hard, splitting the skin to reveal crimson flesh beneath. Adrian sighed at the sight, saying softly, "Looks like you haven't absorbed a single word…"
"Lord Favored One," Mr. Z corrected solemnly, "I must clarify: your will is the Lord's will. You've shown devotion matching the Lord's wisdom, so I'll fully follow your advice—though I think this book is pointless, I've memorized its contents."
"Oh? Really?" Adrian raised an eyebrow. "Let's test that. If Nighthawks come to your gathering site searching for heretic believers, what would you do?"
"Loudly denounce their deception by evil gods and call them to convert to our Lord!" Mr. Z declared with righteous fervor. Adrian let out a dry "Heh." Choosing his words carefully, he said, "And if that gets you killed, causing the Lord to lose all His lambs in Tingen? Would you let a moment's verbal impulse cause real harm to the Lord?"
"This…" Mr. Z furrowed his brow. "But the Lord's holy scriptures say, 'The Lord's angels need not hide themselves; only the demons of false gods use words to mask violence.' Shouldn't we follow the Lord's will?"
Mr. Z looked at Adrian with panic. He firmly believed in the True Creator's scriptures, but now the Lord's favored one was telling him something contradictory. It wasn't that his faith wavered, but the conflicting messages from the Lord left him flustered.
"…In some ways, you're very devout," Adrian sighed. "But, Mr. Z, everything we do is to help the Lord reclaim His glory. 'Poison flows on the earth, and demons cover the land'—mortals are blinded by the Seven Gods. As the Lord's emissaries, we must now use words to reshape how people see the Lord."
Believers are a god's anchors, and those chanting a god's name form a "weak" anchor. A lie repeated a thousand times becomes truth. When everyone sees the Aurora Order as a terrorist group, their god is naturally deemed evil. This is merely the lingering oppression of victors over the vanquished from the divine war a thousand years ago—or even earlier, from the fall of the Ancient Sun God. Even when the True Creator, as the Ancient Sun God, led the Wind, Wisdom, and White gods from the ruins, it was no different.
The High-Dimensional Overseer switched to another body, hovering silently beside the True Creator, watching its avatar's every move. Seeing this, it burst into laughter, mocking the True Creator, "Look at your believers—none of them can act! I told you your ravings are too intense; they've fried their brains."
"…" The True Creator watched silently, taking advantage of its current clarity to issue an oracle to its emissary. The High-Dimensional Overseer leaned in curiously, asking, "What'd you say?"
"…" The True Creator remained silent.
"Not telling me?" The High-Dimensional Overseer wriggled its body, saying to the True Creator, "Fine, I'll ask myself."
"By the way, Mr. Z," Adrian picked up the book, casually asking, "You understood the oracle the Lord just sent, right?"
"Lord Favored One, I heard the Lord's voice… but I'm not entirely clear on His will," Mr. Z said, tracing an inverted cross on his chest. "My comprehension is lacking; I can't fully grasp the Lord's intent. Please guide me."
"Oh, then tell me what you don't understand." Plan successful! Adrian's lips curled as Mr. Z prepared to reveal the oracle.
"The Lord told me…" Mr. Z closed his eyes, as if savoring the moment. The voice he'd heard was majestic yet merciful, making him realize he'd long misunderstood the Lord's intent—the Lord didn't call them to fall but to bear the sins of all beings, shining as a light in this fallen world.
"Revise the scriptures and honorific name, and purge the impious who commit evil in the Lord's name," Mr. Z said, his words tinged with bloodlust, clearly fixating on the latter part. Adrian pressed his thick copy of How to Win Friends and 48 Laws of Power, saying helplessly, "You've excellently fulfilled the latter part of the Lord's command—Tingen still needs you to spread His glory, Mr. Z. Now, you must learn to be a proper bishop."
"—First, even as a Rose Bishop, stop using flesh magic in front of ordinary people. So, keep studying this book." A malicious smile crept onto Adrian's face, like someone delighting in another's torment by literature. Mr. Z's expression cycled through several changes, but he gritted his teeth and sat beside Adrian.
"Praise You, praise You!" Mr. Z proclaimed, his face heroic, as if ready to martyr himself.
"The Lord that Created Everything,
The Lord who Reigns Behind the Curtain of Shadows,
The Degenerate Nature of all Living Things"
Well, the new honorific name is slightly more respectable. Preaching for a god holding "fall" authority is tricky—good thing an Outer God like me needs neither preaching nor anchors, Adrian thought. The High-Dimensional Overseer continued watching the scenes on small light screens with the True Creator.
...
Klein consumed the potion, carefully harnessing his spirituality. Soon, he mastered basic Spirit Vision. Scanning Old Neil, Klein suddenly saw, in the void behind him, a pair of lashless, cold, nearly transparent eyes.
These near-illusory eyes stared quietly at Old Neil and Klein, sending a shiver through him. He opened his mouth, blurting, "There's a pair of eyes behind you!"
But before Old Neil could react, a black cross and a curtain-shrouded eye emerged around the illusory eyes. Black roses sprouted from the cross, entwining the eyes. Klein watched, stunned, as another massive, icy eye emerged from the curtain, delivering a humanoid uppercut that shattered the first pair.
Staring at the eye, Klein felt an odd familiarity. But dizziness hit him instantly. Unable to think, he shouted, "Captain Dunn, Captain Dunn! Something's wrong with Old Neil!"
He stumbled two steps, overwhelmed by stronger vertigo. Before fainting, Klein realized why the curtained eye felt familiar: it was the indifferent eye he'd seen above the Gray Fog two days ago!
When Dunn arrived, he found chaos—Klein unconscious on the floor, Old Neil sitting dazed, staring at a mass of coalescing flesh in the air. Dunn clenched his fists.
"Did we make too much noise?" the True Creator said in a low voice, unusually lucid today, as much of His human side countered the High-Dimensional Overaeer's pollution, reducing His madness. The High-Dimensional Overseer withdrew its power, holding the Hidden Sage's eyes, and said to the True Creator, "I suggest you tell your Tingen believers to run… That inverted cross is too distinctive. I thought the Hidden Sage had spotted us—damn, I can't stay in Tingen for now. The Evernight Goddess is fine, but I'm worried about Tyrant PTSD."
"…My Tingen believers are all dead, except the one with you—probably," the True Creator sighed. "Pity, that emissary's not the sharpest. What about your plan to increase my anchors?"
"I'll take your emissary to Backlund to reform your church. I've got unfinished business here, at least to get my avatar close to the Mysteries," the High-Dimensional Overseer said. "Your state seems pretty good. My pollution's that effective?"
"Intermittent. The crazed human part is countering your pollution. I get a few clear moments every ten days or so. Even at my worst, I won't lose all reason like before. Our plan can proceed," the True Creator said calmly, his voice growing chaotic, slipping into ravings.
"Things are getting interesting," the *High-Dimensional Overseer shifted its pose, watching its avatar in the Forsaken Land of the God alongside the True Creator, relishing the oversight. "Did you just bless Klein to shield him from your pollution?"
"…You too?" the True Creator hesitated.
"Well, things are getting interesting," the High-Dimensional Overseer sprawled its limbs. "I didn't want to get this involved—gods are such a hassle."
(End of Chapter)