Funerary Sacrifice!

"Just one more step and we would have broken completely free of our shackles and returned to reality! Augurev, what on earth are you doing?!" "Have you forgotten how your God treated you? Have you forgotten what you promised us? Have you forgotten the vow and covenant we swore together upon our godheads?" The two main goddesses of Life were visibly stunned beyond belief by Augurev's sudden betrayal. They could not fathom why, after coming all this way, Augurev would still strike them from behind. Wisps of black mist drifted from Augurev's body. Once separated from her form, the black mist turned into twisted faces and gradually dissipated. No matter how flawless and sublime an existence was, if left stagnant long enough, dust would cling to it, making it prone to deterioration. Such corruption was both inevitable and objectively real; yet once the primary consciousness awakened, it would naturally purge it away. The discontent toward her God was real, the resentment over the agony of sealing was real, and even the covenant sworn together was real—it was indeed the conduct of "Augurev," yet it could not represent the true Augurev. This was not an act, much less a premeditated scheme. The God of Order and her branch gods had made no contingency plans for this. After all, even the slightest contrivance could hardly have escaped the eyes of the main gods or slipped past their calculations. Yet there was something that could neither be measured nor predicted: "faith." It existed within reality yet transcended reality; it originated from interest yet rose above interest; it lacked a concrete referent yet perpetually guided words, deeds, and choices from on high. The High Priest had once sent the doomed Schumiler as a messenger because, while severely on guard, he still harbored doubts... along with that faint sliver of wishful hope. Once the High Priest listened to Diss's counsel and suddenly understood his own identity, there was no longer any need to learn the outcome of Schumiler's message, for he had already found his answer. Even if their communication had been conducted through their corrupted aspects, it could not alter their mutual trust at the level of supreme faith. Norton chose to trust the exalted figures in Order's history who had followed their Lord to forge the order of the world, while Tyrannus chose to trust the comrades-in-arms who had once stood together fighting for the same ideal. This was not a gamble, for no gamble could allow someone to never consider losing before even stepping up to the table. The High Priest looked at Karen standing beside him: just as Karen had known it would be perilous, yet had still entered ahead of the rest to question him face-to-face. Hum! Behind them, a teleportation array activated, and an old man stepped out. In a setting filled entirely with temple elders and deities, this old man was actually the second youngest existence present. The youngest was likely his grandson. Old Hoffen cursed loudly, "Oh gods, the moment I step in, I see Augurev beating Life!" This scene was the most vivid realism and the most direct answer; it shocked Old Hoffen to his core. Diss, on the other hand, appeared remarkably calm—and it was no facade. As a devout believer of Order, he could make full preparations to strike at Augurev, yet he could also calmly accept this lord of Order fulfilling her vow to Order. Both the worst and the best outcomes had been anticipated; there was no shocking twist to speak of. Diss's appearance did not attract much attention at first. The Church of Order had hardly broadcast a live transmission across communication arrays when Diss wreaked havoc in the temple. But when the bald man behind Diss appeared, every elder felt a jolt in their heart—this was genuine... divine pressure! Soon, everyone realized the identity of this "old man." "Augurev." Raniedal's eyes narrowed slightly. In the past, he had been bullied severely by Augurev. Yet back then, he hadn't felt any humiliation. After all, at that time he was merely a minor deity, kneeling on the steps of the Temple of Order begging to see the God of Order, hoping to receive favor from great Order. Augurev's status was vastly superior to his. Forget about being bullied—even if she had found some random pretext to suppress him, it would have been entirely normal. But now, having stepped up ahead of time to stand beside Karen—having secured his place early next to the second-generation God of Order—Raniedal possessed ample confidence to look straight into the eyes of the "rival" who had once bullied him. Augurev also seemed to notice Raniedal's presence, or perhaps it was that bald head just like hers, which still grated on her eyes even an era later. Thus, Augurev gave no reply to the two main goddesses of Life questioning her. Instead, she called out across the divide: "Raniedal?" Hearing his name called, Raniedal's nerves tautened suddenly before he forced himself to stay composed. He stepped forward, manifesting his divine form. Though it could not compare to the three main gods bound within the sea, to the many temple elders present, it was still a genuine divine deterrence! Especially with an Order branch god unleashing terrifying might ahead and a deity aligned with Order standing before the teleportation array behind them, everyone could hardly help suspecting that the Church of Order was plotting to wipe them all out in one fell swoop! Mainly because the Church of Order had committed similar acts far too many times in the past. "Why are you here?" Augurev's voice pierced through the paper-thin, faint blue barrier and drifted over. Augurev could not fathom how the Lord, sitting there to bar the gods outside for an entire era, could have missed Raniedal alone. What crack in the ground had he crawled out from? No, logically speaking, even if someone were to crawl out from a crack in the ground, it shouldn't have been Raniedal; it should have been that deity from the Church of the Crypt. "I follow the will of the Lord." Not only was Raniedal no longer timid and submissive before Augurev as he had been in the past, he even put on airs. Raising his palm, Diss's figure appeared upon it, whereupon he set Diss onto his shoulder. Though Diss hadn't gone to the elevated pillars ahead, standing upon his shoulder was the prime viewing spot. Raniedal puffed out his chest, a reserved smile touching the corner of his lips. He felt zero deference toward Augurev now—after all, perched upon his shoulder was none other than Order's grandfather! The High Priest glanced back and smiled faintly at Karen. "You truly have the pull to summon them." And with that pull, Karen had still risked coming to see him first. That trust was all the more precious. Karen was in no mood to chatter about that at the moment, asking instead, "Can Augurev win?" Although the two main goddesses of Life had been knocked down, the battle had clearly only begun. As one of the Four Retainers of Order, even if mythical accounts praised Augurev as being no weaker than a main god, she was still fighting one against two. Furthermore, deeper in the distance behind them, the silhouettes of other gods were advancing toward this place. "Don't you find this breathtaking? Yet here you are, worrying about that." Karen took a deep breath and spoke with a hint of reproach. "I'm worried that after pulling the cavalry out early, things will spiral out of control." "Heh, it won't," the High Priest said with absolute certainty. "Augurev won't lose, because she has no intention of surviving." "What?" The High Priest pointed toward the thin blue membrane by the shore. "Though it is separated by only a hair's breadth, they have not taken that final step after all. In effect, they remain outside this world and have not truly returned." "What difference does that make?" "Just as you were bound immobilized within my divine kingdom domain earlier, they are still located within..." Karen understood. "The divine kingdom of the God of Order?" "The Lord's kingdom. The world of Order." With that, the High Priest sat down, closed his eyes, and said softly, "Guard me." "Do you mean me, or them?" "Them" referred to Diss and Raniedal. The High Priest did not answer directly, saying instead, "I mean those I trust." As he spoke, shattered luminescence coalesced upon the High Priest's chest into a complete godhead once more. Though it was only temporary and could not last long, at least in this moment, it meant the High Priest had returned to the status of a "god." Inside the blue barrier, behind the battlefield where Augurev fought the two main goddesses of Life, before the illusions of gods marching toward them, a towering cross crashed down with a deafening boom. Nailed to the cross was Tyrannus. She was in agony, she suffered, she resented, yet when she faced the gods, every negative emotion was given full manifestation. The blood accumulated beneath the cross over an entire era began to burn at this moment. Roaring divine fire, fueled by Tyrannus herself, created a domain of flames exclusive to deities. These were the gods who had survived the internecine slaughter. Already weak and withered, they had yearned to replenish themselves upon returning to the world; yet now, what greeted them was burial in a sea of flames. "Ahhh!" "Ahhh!" The agonizing shrieks of gods echoed relentlessly. Rain began to fall by the shore, as if the heavens and earth were weeping along with the unending wails. Previously, the elders of the various churches atop their pillars had been preparing to teleport away. Now, this cascade of developments caused them to linger. The objective reason was that Raniedal and Diss stood behind them, blocking the way; the subjective reason was... they truly couldn't bear to miss such a spectacle! Karen cast his gaze across them, then asked the High Priest sitting before him, "Do you want them—and the churches behind them—to witness the fall of gods?" "Yes." "Yet in the end, it is still gods defeating gods." "That does not matter, because... gods must not bleed." "You said just now that Augurev doesn't intend to survive. What about you?" "When I was still Norton, I thought I had another thousand years; once I knew I was Tyrannus, I knew my time was short. "I am the head of the Four Retainers, the first in the branch sequence of Order. "Though my true body remains outside, I was the first to return. "I have a duty and a responsibility to welcome my companions, and then see each of them off, one by one. "I will endure, holding out until the very end, to depart together with the last of them. "Every one of us suppressed a mighty main god worthy of suppression. "We... must do as much as we can for Order, and for you, to lessen your burden." "Was this agreed upon beforehand?" "No." With eyes closed, the High Priest raised his head, as though "gazing" into deep space. "In truth, the Lord did betray us. "The Lord described to us the beautiful world she had seen, merely inviting us to build it together. "Yet she deceived us. She actually wanted to... rot away in secret." "Do you no longer suspect that the Lord would abandon us and secretly descend to return?" The High Priest shook his head and said: "That was Norton's worry, or rather, my past worry. "Because... "Our Lord is in heaven. "She is our Lord. If she has a new successor, that has nothing to do with us—that is the new generation's God of Order, not our Lord. "At times, even we ourselves feel lost: did we follow Order, did we follow her, or did we follow him? "Still, the new generation's God of Order must be found as early as possible. He needs to be protected and nurtured. This is a war destined to stretch on; we can only hold off the first wave." Karen asked, "Did you never doubt my identity?" "I did. I suspected you had a far more special connection to Mink Street." Karen had a sudden realization. In the past, he was often mistaken for the God of Order because of the hunger addiction, which left distinct traces of the previous God of Order on him. Now, having reshaped the hunger addiction into his own image, he had essentially completed his personal transformation and metamorphosis. Once his body no longer bore her traces, even a branch god of Order could not discern his true identity. Karen asked, "Why didn't you say it clearly from the beginning?" The High Priest did not answer. Within the barrier, Tyrannus on the cross continued unleashing divine fire, watching deities fall and dissipate one after another in the flames. Karen continued, "You weren't confused or dazed. You were deliberately testing them—testing whether they would follow the direction you set and continue leading the Church of Order forward." "I don't have time to nurture you anymore. Barring any surprises, the new High Priest will be Kred." "That wasn't what I asked..." "Prepare yourself in advance. Either cooperate or sideline him. If Kred turns rotten, eliminate him. If the conditions are right, I hope the next High Priest will be you." "I'm not qualified." "You passed." Karen: "..." That sounded familiar. "The High Priest of Order only needs to stand there and never back down." Karen didn't pursue the topic, looking toward the battle in the distance instead. Vines already wrapped around Augurev. Upon every segment of vine was a miniature world; with every move she made, she bore the collapse of miniature worlds. At the same time, Augurev's vitality was being siphoned out, flowing into the bodies of the two main goddesses of Life. Though Augurev still fought heedlessly, her fists slamming relentlessly into the divine bodies of the two main goddesses of Life, one against two inevitably dragged her into an unfavorable stalemate. Battles between deities weren't truly so different after all; to an extent, they even stripped away complexity. Or perhaps both sides were fundamentally exhausted, left with no choice but to wage this brawl in an overly primitive manner—like three emaciated vagrants clawing and grappling in a mud pit. Yet fortunately, that barrier still separated them; otherwise, even the mud splashed out would have been enough to obliterate the Garden of Life, and there wouldn't be so many spectators left standing here. At that moment, the High Priest began to chant. Inside the barrier, Tyrannus on the cross began to chant. Augurev, locked in fierce combat, began to chant as well. "Great Lord, grant me strength to cleanse the dust of Order..." The Light of Order descended. It fell upon Tyrannus and Augurev, scattering bright luminescence alongside it. The already decaying God of Order still bestowed what little remained of her power. Yet she had no need to hoard it anymore; for her and her followers, their final battle had already begun. The power of the two main goddesses of Life was suppressed. Augurev raised her fists, driving them into their divine bodies. "Give up, Augurev! Order has little power left to bless you!" "Here, you can defeat us, but you can never kill us!" "Heh..." Augurev let out a scornful scoff. Golden flames ignited across her divine body, setting the two main goddesses of Life ablaze at the same time. "Augurev, are you mad?! You want to drag us down to perish with you?!" "No! I refuse to accept this! We were just one step away from returning! No, I refuse to accept this!" Augurev: "Die... together." An even more scorching inferno blazed up. That barrier seemed to divide two worlds; within it, all was roaring flame. Even the temple elders wore terrified expressions now. Before a fire of this magnitude, existences such as them were still moths drawn to a bonfire; they wouldn't even need to catch fire—merely drawing near would roast them to death. And the shock that surpassed the sheer scale of power was that this was not a divine battle, but a funerary sacrifice. The Oracles and Prophets of the Temple of Order began weeping and praying. At that moment, the High Priest opened his eyes and stood up. The blazing fire no longer required him to contribute strength; he needed to conserve a little to aid his next comrade at the next breach. The High Priest's voice reached the ears of the Oracles and Prophets: "Do not weep, do not grieve, do not pray. True believers of Order should face death head-on." "Yes, High Priest." "Yes, High Priest." Amidst the raging inferno, Augurev raised her head. Her gaze swept across the shore and finally settled on Diss, who stood upon Raniedal's shoulder. She could sense who was strongest here. A burning godhead rose from Augurev's body. It was a godhead of the Order lineage, not a fragment—an existence that every temple elder craved above all else. Augurev's voice rang out: "I shall bestow upon you the legacy of my godhead." Diss did not bow. He did not even move, merely saying in a calm voice: "I do not need it."