Chapter 564 - Awakening (IV)
After using the black wheel to devour every piece of the Star Consciousness and returning to the bottom of the Spiritual Endless Ocean, the True Doomsday Body adopted a meditative position. It continued strengthening himself and Zatiel's body.
Seeing that the black humanoid acted as he should, the True Will also closed his eyes and resumed training.
The people of Kingar saw how the mighty Purple Sun did not leave after ending the Gods and could not help but feel frightened by his presence. That entity had killed the deities they believed to be the creators of the entire universe, so they could help but tremble when they thought about what he had planned for them.
Chaos raged in every continent as the churches, who had controlled political and military power for thousands of years, lost their might due to the Gods' demise. Warlords began to rise, and mayhem covered Kingar.
However, some people began to notice how the Gods' death carried on a decline in the number of natural disasters. While tornados and the likes still happened, they were less than a tenth of what they used to be, and their power also diminished significantly.
There was also a reduction of plagues and mysterious diseases that came out of nowhere and would only vanish after months of praying to the Gods.
Among Kingar's people, there were those wise and brave enough to reject the dogma that the church had forced into them from their birth and saw the Gods by what they truly were, sadistic garbage.
They saw the Purple Sun not as a demon that killed their holy fathers but as a hero that saved them from the cruelty of the real monsters.
Slowly, that respect and gratitude transformed into something more significant, and The Church of the Purple Sun emerged.
Myriad couldn't care less about what Kingar's people thought of him. He killed the Gods because he needed high-quality food, and they were the closest ones, not to mention their mere existence disgusted him.
However, as the child grew stronger, his appetite also increased, and Myriad did not know if the reserves of raw forces would be enough until this one awoke.
Hunting for other Rank 7 life forms would be a possibility. Still, Myriad was afraid that battles could harm Zatiel now that he entered a hyperactive state.
Also, Myriad was smart enough to understand that wandering the void was dangerous. He could fight a weak Rudimentary Form Stage existence, but against a Rank 8, he would be lucky if he could escape.
Luckily, just as he wondered what to do next, he detected a force coming from Kingar. It was weak, but he noticed how the amount increased each day.
Over the past decades, Myriad's wisdom had developed, and while his mind was still that of a small child, he could understand what happened around him and interact with his surroundings.
It did not take long for Myriad to understand that the power coming from Kingar was Faith Power. He should not be able to perceive this power, as he was not a God and did not train any technique that used this form of energy, but after Zatiel's bloodline augmented his soul and body, he could do all kinds of incredible things.
Myriad did not fully grasp the dangers of Faith Power but knew that it was a form of energy his creator considered a poison, so he was afraid of using it.
He carefully allowed the dark purple lightning-fire prime force to devour it and was happy to see that nothing more than raw forces were left.
Unfortunately, the ratio of Faith Power to raw forces was less than a twentieth, and the amount he obtained from Kingar was very little.
After a few minutes of thinking, Myriad came up with a plan and used the same ability that allowed him to channel the Faith Power to connect with the people who were most faithful to him.
In a castle's lowest level in a small continent of Kingar, there were six people gathered, and five were sitting at a table. Every one of them wore a robe with a purple sun engraved in the back.
These five people were the higher-ups of The Church of the Purple Sun. Some showed nervous and somber expressions as they discussed their path forward.
Although they have gained followers, their church was new, and many people still believed in the Gods' grace and considered their killer a monster, and those who followed him, heretics that should be burned alive.
At the head of the table was a young girl who could not be older than sixteen. Despite her age, her eyes glowed with immense wisdom.
She was the founder and leader of The Church of the Purple Sun.
"Your Highness, I am afraid that we can not advance at the speed you hope. Your own father declared the Purple Sun a monster, and any sign of people worshiping him has resulted in executions." The one who spoke was a frail older man sitting in a wheelchair. He was ill, and it didn't look like he had much life left.
The girl saw how the two other men at the table nodded to the older man's words, but she focused on the only other woman present.
"What do you think of my plans, Countess Emily."
Immediately, everybody present focused on the woman, and the expressions on their faces were full of respect and admiration.
Their kingdom was one with a powerful patriarchal society, so for a woman to gain any form of title, much less one so high as a Countess, was incredible.
"Ahh, Lady Gladys, you opened our eyes to the true nature of the Gods, and guided us to the mighty Purple Sun, so for that, we will always be thankful to you. But, there are still fanatics in the court that believe that the monsters will return, and they control too much power. Your plans are too aggressive, and frankly, a little childish."
"You dare to insult her Highness!"
As soon Countess Emily spoke those last words, the only person not sitting at the table shouted. He was a man clad in full knight armor standing behind the Princess.
His name was Jork, and he was the Princess' guard. The two were always together and considered extremely close.
Everybody knew that if it were not for the man, Gladys would have perished several times due to the danger of the royal court.
Jork's behavior did not surprise anyone as they knew the man's overprotective nature, but before he could do or say anything else, Gladys signaled him to stop.
"Power hates a void. You all heard what happened in the other kingdoms now that the Gods are gone. We need to act soon and give our people something to believe and rally behind. I understand the danger, but it is the only way to stop us from losing more than half of our population in a meaningless war." The Princess's voice was steady and calm, but the powerful feelings in her words were clear for everybody.
When the Countess and the other men heard the girl and saw her wisdom, courage, and sense of justice, they could not help but feel a deep respect. Those qualities were the reason none of them ever thought of replacing her as the church's leader, despite her young age and apparent impulsiveness.
However, along with that respect, there was also some sadness. Gladys could become a great ruler, loved by both the weak and the strong, but due to her gender, her fate was to become a pawn and be traded by lands or political support.
Just as they were about to continue their discussion, they all froze as a red thread connecting them to the void appeared in their foreheads.
The world around the five people vanished, and they saw themselves standing in the void, right in front of the Gods' killer entity they called Purple Sun.
Complete and utter awe filled the hearts of the higher-ups of The Church of the Purple Sun as they faced him. None of them could manage to gather the power to speak a word, but luckily Myriad brought their consciousnesses here to listen.
"Grow stronger, make more people pray to me, and help them grow strong as well. The more people pray to me, the more power I will give back."
When they heard those words, the five woke up from their stupor. They were surprised to listen to the Purple Sun speak, even more as his voice was that of a child.
"Ohh, that is right, I almost forgot. If you do bad things, I will kill you."
Once again, they heard a childish voice, but this time, they froze as they felt the certainty in those words.
The next second, using the karma threads, Myriad channeled small amounts of prime force into the body of the five along with a significant quantity of cultivation knowledge.