Chapter 46
"How is this possible?"
"It should be night right now, so how could the sun be out?"
As the light spread gradually, the entire world was lit up. All the people stood in shock and stared in disbelief at the sun in the middle of the sky. The warm rays of the sun felt soothing, without any sense of artificial fakeness. This was real.
All of the people reacted immediately, looking toward the main hall of the Temple of Light, to see that the ray of light was s.h.i.+ning directly above the Temple.
Someone shouted, "This is Holy Light! It means that G.o.d has descended!"
All of the people there felt shocked. Of course, it must be G.o.d, as only G.o.d could achieve this feat and freely interfere with the operation of the world. Only the descent of G.o.d could disperse the night and bring light to the world.
"Really, have you truly descended?"
"G.o.d, please grant me your blessings."
"May your Kingdom on the ground flourish, like it does in the skies."
"Praise be G.o.ddess Maria, I offer you my most sincere prayers."
All of the believers at the scene were beyond themselves, crying as they clutched the sigil of the sun tightly to their chests, and throwing themselves at the ground in their most dedicated positions of prayer, prostrated before the rays of the sun.
At this moment, all of them could feel the warmth of G.o.d. Was the Sun in the sky not the greatest proof of the miracle of G.o.d?!
All of them looked directly into the light of the Sun, an indescribable emotion welling up in their chests, as endless tears streamed down their cheeks. No one could remain calm, not after witnessing such a scene.
In other places, throughout all of the human kingdoms, the orc kingdoms, and Sylve of the Elf Kingdom on the Yala continent, all witnessed the same phenomenon. Even the mermaids of the Swirl continent peeped their heads out in order to glance at the sun s.h.i.+ning in the sky.
The Temple of Light was completely bathed in a halo of white light, as if the rays went straight through the roof and into the halls, lighting up the originally dimly lit Temple, just as if it were daytime. The crowds, who had closed their eyes, now felt a change and slowly opened them, one by one. The performing orchestras and choirs had also grinded to a complete halt.
All stared at the statues of the deities. Other than the statue of the G.o.ddess of Light, Lady Maria, which was at the very front, all of the angels started glowing with a blinding milky white light, illuminating the entire s.p.a.ce. Even the dust in the air was visible, as it floated within the glimmering light.
During this entire scene, no one made a single sound. All of the people were frozen, like statues, without making a single move, as they stared at the statue of the deities, as if they were standing before the presence of the G.o.ds.
The statue of the archangel Faross started pulsing, as it s.h.i.+ned behind the statue of the G.o.ddess of Light. When Pope Hodap witnessed this scene, his entire body began trembling, and he was driven to tears from over-excitement.
He felt paralysis from his chest to his throat, as his muscles froze up and his entire body became sore. Though he was thrilled, he could not say a single word, and tears could only gush endlessly from his eyes.
Behind him, the other twelve Saint candidates were experiencing the same sensations. Some straightened their backs, looking at G.o.d with reddened eyes. Some curled up into pitiful b.a.l.l.s. Still others clenched their sigils tightly, kissing the ground.
The glow from the statue pulsed out from the statue, until it was almost blinding. At last, a huge white figure of light, tens of meters tall, seemed to come out of the statue. It looked down on the kneeling believers.
All the people there felt serene, as the original senses of excitement, joy, and shock dissipated completely. Only peace and quiet were left, along with a calm sense of well-being, as if they were infants in the embraces of their mothers.
The white figure of light was completely blinding. No one could see the true appearance of G.o.d, they could only feel a sense of quiet serenity, devoid of happiness and sadness.
G.o.d gently extended his hand forward. His palm alone was enough to block everyone's vision. Then, thirteen pure white feathers floated down, which were then absorbed into the bodies of the Pope and the twelve Saints in the hazy holy light.
They immediately felt as if their consciousness were dragged to another dimension, as if they'd been summoned to the world of G.o.d, resulting in deep feelings most likened to a combination of piety and devotion.
The divine seeds meshed with their minds, replacing their original consciousnesses. In their brains, right between their brows, a new unique organ sprouted. This was their unique divinity organ, which released divine incantations and affected their entire bodies.
They then immediately received the instructions for using these divine incantations. Through rituals and meditation, they would be granted divine power to nurture their divine seed, so that they then could receive even more powerful incantations.
So far, it only held two basic techniques. The first one was healing, which was a variation of body modification and strengthened body regulations. The second one was Judgement Ray, a weakened version of Disintegration.
Not only that, if they strengthened their divine incantations, in later stages, they could try splitting their divine seeds, so that other devoted believers could undergo another round of baptism, allowing them to then pa.s.s the ability on to new generations. Thus, the users of divine incantations would keep multiplying! Through this increase of users, the Church of Light would also become more powerful.
Within the first generation of Saints, the youngest was the Captain of the Knights of Light, who was nearing forty. The oldest was Pope Hodap, who was over seventy, nearing the end of his life.
As they absorbed the divine seed, their bodies experienced huge changes. They quickly became much younger, all of their wrinkles and calluses disappeared, and their white hair turned raven black. Pope Hodap turned into a man nearing forty years old, while the Captain of the Knights of Light became a youth of just twenty years old.
This shocking power had returned youth to the old, stunning the clergy and the n.o.bles at the scene, and bringing about a wave of envy, which now boiled within their blood.
Why? Why isn't it me on that stage?
After granting the divine incantations, G.o.d immediately retracted his palm and the rays of light. G.o.d sent a last look to Saintess Kelly, then spoke a few words that only the two of them could hear. The other people only saw G.o.d's line of sight turn to Saintess Kelly. Other than that, there was a ray of blinding light, which completely obscured their visions.
"I have granted your wish."
After saying these words, the figure of light disappeared, like a crowd of dispersing fireflies. The temple gradually returned to its previous state, as the light of the torches returned and the interior of the temple regained a semblance of normality.
Outside the temple, the sun disappeared, as if it was following the departure of G.o.d. One by one, darkness, the moon, and the stars appeared in the night sky, as if nothing had ever happened.
But what had happened today would be engraved within the hearts of all humanity. From the ancient times, G.o.d had blessed humanity, by bringing it into civilization. Today, G.o.d had once again descended upon the world.