Chapter 48 - 44: It Was Too Eager to Progress

Chapter 48: Chapter 44: It Was Too Eager to Progress

Within an endless expanse of light.

Lian was curled into a ball in agony. The blinding light around him seared his eyes shut, and his skin felt as if it were being scorched.

A phantasmal eye, covered in complex ancient runes, had pierced through the light and now appeared before Lian’s spiritual form.

A low, hoarse, ethereal voice echoed in Lian’s ears.

The voice didn’t resemble any human language, yet he could inexplicably understand it.

"Interesting. You have the scent of True Believers on you, yet you possess no faith in Tiger."

Lian was in too much pain to speak, so he could only listen quietly as it spoke.

"Care to make a deal?"

’Why does that line sound so familiar?’

’Isn’t that what I always say to other people?’

"I will give you Power, and you will help me find the other parts of my body."

The ethereal voice repeated its tempting offer.

Perhaps sensing that Lian was too weak to respond, it thoughtfully relieved him of his agony.

The pain gradually faded from Lian’s body, and a spire-topped church materialized before him.

A phantasmal eye hung over the church.

Layers upon layers of whispers echoed in his ears.

"Make a deal..."

"Make a deal..."

"Make a deal with me..."

"You can obtain Power..."

"And all I ask is to find my body..."

Lian frowned. Although his mind was clear and his soul no longer felt like it was being torn apart, he still felt a deep revulsion toward these ravings.

They were like the whispers of a Demon in his ear.

According to the Holy Scripture, before Jari’s body was shattered by Tiger, it held the Status of a Subordinate God, also known as a false god.

Because this world can only have one True God, the overly ambitious Jari joined forces with two other false gods to try and kill Tiger.

Tiger discovered their plot and ultimately shattered their bodies, leaving only the parts where their Divine Status had solidified. These parts were immortal and indestructible, never to fade, but they were also exiled from the world of entries.

It seemed they hadn’t been completely exiled and were still trying to return by any means necessary.

This Eye of Misfortune even wanted to find the other parts of Jari’s body.

’But do other parts of it truly exist?’

’The Holy Scripture clearly states that only one of Jari’s eyes remained.’

’Was the scripture wrong, or is Jari’s consciousness muddled?’

’Of course, now isn’t the time to be thinking about that.’

Lian reined in his thoughts and said calmly,

"I refuse."

"Why refuse? Do you not crave Power? Look at you, so weak you can’t even gaze directly into my eye. You are like an ant crawling on the ground. I could crush you with ease."

The unreal voice of the Eye of Misfortune rang out again.

Lian nodded. "You’re just a projection, aren’t you? If you could really crush me, you wouldn’t be trying to make a deal. You just want to trick me into not Cleaning the Entries of those with the Misfortune Physique, allowing you to use Misfortune to recover your Power."

It seemed Lian had seen right through it.

The phantasmal eye narrowed, forming what looked like a smile.

"Interesting. A clever little one, indeed."

"Thank you for the compliment, Lord Jari, Subordinate God."

"Become my Believer. Have faith in me, and I will give you everything you desire."

The Eye of Misfortune spoke with admiration. Lian had shown it a new possibility in its fight against the God of Tiger.

For he possessed a miraculous ability: Cleaning Entry.

"My apologies, but perhaps you should save that promise for when you become a True God. Right now, you’re nothing more than a remnant, forced to peer into this world through a projection."

Lian rejected the olive branch extended by the Eye of Misfortune, as it was most likely poisoned.

"It seems you don’t believe in my Power."

The Eye of Misfortune decided to teach Lian a lesson.

Agony enveloped Lian once more, even more intense than before. It felt as though countless blades were peeling back his skin, carving his flesh, penetrating his brain, and tearing his very spirit apart.

Crimson liquid streamed from his eyes, ears, and nose. His body felt on the verge of collapse, as if its individual parts were about to fly apart and seek new hosts.

’It seems even the projection of a false god’s remnant is more than a mere Two-star Knight like me can handle.’

’No matter. This was just part of my test.’

’I can grit my teeth and bear this pain.’

’Now it’s time to use my wits.’

"Lord Jari... would you... like to hear my deal?"

"Oh?"

The Eye of Misfortune ceased its torture, watching him with a smile.

Lian scrambled up from the ground, looking disheveled.

"Since you gain Power by accumulating Misfortune, why don’t we create a Museum of Misfortune?"

"Interesting."

The Eye of Misfortune gestured for Lian to continue.

It believed that after enduring such agony, Lian wouldn’t dare spout nonsense.

His words should be at least 60% credible.

"In your current state, it must be difficult to invade the physical world, right? You can only enter the subconscious of those with the Misfortune Physique. Each person with this Physique is like a buoy for you to accumulate Power. Only when you have enough of these buoys can you gather a surging, tidal wave of the Power of Misfortune and use that strength to truly descend."

Lian paused here. The fact that the Eye of Misfortune didn’t refute him proved his suspicions were correct.

’This remnant has to constantly create misfortune for others to accumulate the Power of Misfortune, which is the only way it can return to this world.’

’And the number of people it can influence is limited. Otherwise, it would risk attracting the attention of the God of Tiger and seeing its entire plan fail.’

"But the world of entries created by the God of Tiger operates on a principle of balance. Under these circumstances, the number of people with the Misfortune Physique must be limited. The individuals you can choose or observe are few and far between. It’s nearly impossible for you to gain enough Power to descend.

"But if we could create a Museum of Misfortune, we could artificially generate misfortune. We could cause countless people to acquire the new [Misfortune] entry through disaster, allowing you to gather even more of the Power of Misfortune."

"And how do you propose to do that?"

The Eye of Misfortune watched Lian.

"Let’s start a war. War will inevitably create countless people with tragic fates. From among them, we can select the best vessels for the Power of Misfortune to enter the museum, allowing you to obtain the purest Power of Misfortune."

This proved that even a Subordinate God could not directly see the glowing [Master of Deceit] entry above Lian’s head.

Of course, it was also possible that the Eye of Misfortune was simply too weak, being just a remnant.

"That is a good idea. It seems you’ve already decided where to start this war."

"Of course. The Rose Territory is an excellent choice. I know a woman there named Mary Frank. She is the perfect vessel to bear Misfortune—the finest collectible for the Museum of Misfortune."