Chapter 94: Omen of Deification
There was no sun in the sky, nor was there a moon.
In the midst of the gloom, only that upside-down, illusory sea lingered above.
Walking along the street, gazing at the collapsed figures on the ground, Sylvia’s face showed no expression.
"How much longer can they hold on?"
Her voice was unusually calm. Perched on her shoulder, Lakdevo tilted his head, assessed for a moment, then gave his answer:
"At most an hour."
With a soft sigh, the gray-haired puppet pushed open the doors of St. Ruls Cathedral.
At this moment, just like the outside world, there was no one here who remained conscious.
At the instant the entire city was dragged into the Manifest Realm, the massive shock caused by Spirituality had thrown everyone into unconsciousness.
Even extraordinary individuals!
For the source of it all was an evil god—an existence terrifying and second only to the True Gods!
Some whose souls were too fragile had already perished amid that tremor.
On her way to St. Ruls Cathedral, she had seen more than one such lifeless vagrant.
She cast a long look at Loruze, who lay beneath the altar still barely breathing, then pursed her lips.
Afterward, she looked at Lakdevo:
"If you were to speak now of the greatest secret atop the River of the Dead, would the God of Death cast His gaze here?"
The fat crow fell silent for a moment, then gave his answer:
"He would."
"But it would be of no use."
"When a senator of the River Council appears here, it already means the God of Death knows what has transpired."
"And now, His lack of response means tacit approval."
"Tacit approval?"
Sylvia repeated the word, a rare trace of confusion surfacing on her face.
Seeing this, Lakdevo continued:
"Master, I believe I’ve roughly guessed what’s going on here."
"Hmm?"
Sylvia’s gaze instantly turned sharp.
"Someone is pursuing the legendary Tenth Divinity—perhaps even aiming further, at deification itself."
"Deification?"
Sylvia repeated the term, her brows slowly knitting together.
Her eyes turned to the bizarre sky, yet her voice sounded out directly:
"The birth of a new evil god wouldn’t give me such an intense sense of impending crisis."
"Evil god?"
Lakdevo gave a wry smile.
Just then, the ground suddenly trembled, and the sky above seemed to shift—
Endless pitch-blackness surged up from the city center, engulfing the heavens and submerging that illusory sea.
The darkness cast vast shadows, and within these shadows, there was a slow wriggling and twisting, as if eyes of various colors were peering out from within.
In the next second, the center of the darkness began to distort, and a pillar of light composed of three interwoven colors rose from within, piercing through the sky of the City of Alova, through the Manifest Realm, and even through the Spiritual Realm!
No—it wasn’t three colors, but four!
The black portion was concealed by the pitch-black sky, only becoming clearly visible once it extended beyond the boundaries of the City of Alova.
At this, Lakdevo’s bitter voice sounded:
"That is not an evil god, but rather..."
"A True God."
"A True God?"
At that moment, Sylvia was stunned.
She glanced at the doomsday-like scene, then at Lakdevo, nearly voicing the words: "Are you joking?"
This ominous black mist, and you're calling it a True God?
To this, Lakdevo could only give a wry smile:
"I don’t know the exact reason. We were never told too many secrets, nor are we permitted to have close contact with apostles of other factions."
"But I once heard a secret from the mouth of a senator of the Upper Parliament—"
"The tenth seat seems to have a problem, and so it was sealed jointly by the gods."
"So what you mean is, this being attempting deification is about to claim that problematic seat?"
Sylvia asked expressionlessly, and Lakdevo only nodded.
Letting out another sigh, the gray-haired puppet waved her hand and said:
"Let’s head to the city center."
"Perhaps there, we can find some answers."
However, just as her words fell—
"Boom!"
"Roar!"
With a deafening sound, a massive shadow rose from the city center.
Wings woven from shadow unfurled, nearly covering the entire sky.
Suspended mid-air, like two miniature suns, a pair of deep purple eyes gazed coldly over the entire city.
And looking upward, atop that grotesque dragon head was a massive crown inlaid with yellow, olive, reddish-brown, and black.
In the instant she saw this scene, Sylvia’s pupils contracted sharply.
At the same time, her body wavered uncontrollably under the sudden, overwhelming pressure. Thankfully, she adjusted in time, avoiding a fall.
Fixing her gaze on that figure, Sylvia's expression darkened as she pronounced each word with weight:
"Hethorik."
However, the being did not notice her presence. Instead, it lifted its slender neck and let out a triumphant and exhilarated roar toward the sky.
Accompanying the roar came the collapse of buildings and swirling clouds of dust!
At this moment, the aura emanating from its body was surging higher and higher, segment by segment, while the boundless darkness around it collapsed inward, centered on its form.
As the darkness converged, cracks began to appear throughout the space of the Manifest Realm. From these fissures, more blackness seeped out, streaming toward the King of Loathing and Hatred.
Not only that, but with the diffusion of the divine aura that Lakdevo had previously described, light composed of yellow, olive, reddish-brown, and black also spilled forth. It blended with the endless darkness and flowed together into Hethorik’s body.
That was... divinity!
Yet this seemed to contradict a rule Lakdevo had once spoken of!
Unlike the other nine divinities, this Tenth Divinity indeed had its own color, yet appeared extraordinarily dim.
Moreover, it was a blend of colors! A mixed hue emerging despite its inherent purity!
Suddenly, Sylvia spoke:
"If no one stops him, and Hethorik succeeds in ascending to godhood, what will become of the City of Alova?"
Lakdevo fell silent for a moment before giving his answer:
"Utter destruction."
"But the scope would be limited to the City of Alova that has been dragged into the Manifest Realm."
"From this, one can tell that this evil god has some sense of propriety. This way, the damage caused isn’t too severe—it's within the acceptable bounds for the gods."
"But I suspect the consequences won’t end there."
"Have you noticed that his state seems a little... off?"
Sylvia nodded. Her gaze had been locked onto him from the start, and through the Authority of Greed, she had already sensed fluctuations in his emotions—
Selfishness, brutality, hostility toward everything—a destructive urge merely being temporarily suppressed.
And as divinity surged into him, his aura had already reached the upper limits of the apostle level.
"Roar!"
A massive roar echoed once more. This time, it wasn’t just filled with pride and boast—it carried a potent malice, its target unknown.
Suddenly, Sylvia turned her head toward Lakdevo and, without any preamble, asked:
"If I lose control, and in my final moment of clarity and reason I manage to suppress my madness, would you be capable of killing me?"
"Huh?"
At that moment, Lakdevo’s bird face displayed not just bewilderment but also a trace of fear.
Because it seemed he had guessed what his master was about to do.