When consciousness returned to the television, Edrick asked, "What's going on?"
"According to the believers here, this stone statue is an idol of an evil god, and it houses evil supernatural powers." The statue itself is the earthly form of a god—the incarnation of a god. No matter which deity was incarnated in it and buried in feces for who knows how long, it's bound to have some resentment." After the Wealth-Scattering Lad finished his reply, he added a gloating emoji.
"What should I do?" Edrick resisted the urge to curse.
"You are the Village Deity, also a god. A mere statue of a god marinated in feces is no threat to you." The Flower Maiden looked unconcerned. "Just grab the stone statue and run away."
Edrick nodded and returned to reality. He kicked Griff to the ground with a single blow.
The statue rolled onto the floor. Free from the statue's control, Griff twitched like a stranded eel for a moment before stopping, lying on the ground and gasping for breath.
Edrick took this opportunity to wipe the feces off the statue with Griff's jacket. As soon as he touched the statue, even through the clothes, its power impacted Edrick's mind.
Faced with the evil god's impact, the candles in the Sanctum of the Village Deity burned quickly. In less than two seconds, the statue became docile and no longer reacted.
In those two seconds, Edrick lost nearly 200 Faith Essence Points.
"I need Faith Essence Points here!" Edrick froze.
The kindhearted Wealth-Scattering Lad explained, "Faith Essence is like air for deities. Every move they make consumes it."
Edrick didn't bother arguing with the two little creatures. At that moment, he just wanted to go back and rest. However, he still had some instructions to give to Griff.
Originally, Edrick had planned to bury Griff in a dung heap. However, upon considering the effort required to dig out the dung and Griff's future plans, Edrick changed his mind. He decided it would be better for Griff to atone with his body instead.
Moreover, the Flower Maiden's words made Edrick very curious. Could the stone in the dung pit be a god statue? It looked like a god statue, but why was it lying in a dung pit? Had it escaped from the church?
Edrick remembered the awe-inspiring Luminous Church from his fragmented memories. It was a huge organization comparable to the Catholic Church in the Middle Ages—but it really had magical powers. The Patroler who caused unrest for the Croft family and Edrick's death belonged to this church organization, the Watchpost of the Luminous Covenant. They were religious police responsible for inspecting anything prohibited by the Covenant.
Did the followers of this deity throw their idol into a dung pit to escape the Patroler's pursuit?
Edrick took advantage of Griff's drowsiness and returned his consciousness to the television in the Sanctum of the Village Deity. "You said this thing has divine power?"
"You don't understand, do you? Let Mama tell you: this kind of divine material is not easy to find. It can only be created after a long period of divine blessing and faith. There's no such thing as natural divine material! You should cherish it!" the Flower Maiden said impatiently. "This stone has the highest faith essence conversion efficiency!"
Edrick felt a bit resistant. He never imagined that his first divine statue was actually a stone from a latrine.
"All right, what should I do?" Edrick wasn't one to hesitate. Once he made up his mind, he didn't waver. If worst came to worst, he'd just scrape off a layer of the statue later.
"A simple ritual will suffice. Let me think. There are some things you probably can't get, so I'll find some substitutes."
Edrick gained a new understanding of the word "simple" as used by the Flower Maiden.
The entire ritual, including finding all the substitutes, took nearly three hours. He hadn't spent that long exorcising demons in the textile factory.
Edrick crouched in his secret hideout as the stench of rotten wood and sewage mingled with the acrid smell of coal smoke from afar. At his feet lay several old newspapers he had scavenged from a tavern; they served as makeshift ritual mats.
The stone statue before him emitted a foul odor and glowed a dull grayish-green; its surface was still stained with dried grime. This was the "idol" he was about to imbue with a connection.
Moonlight filtered through the broken windowpanes of the warehouse, casting mottled shadows on the stone as if foretelling the start of this special ritual.
He pulled out a rusty nail that he had scavenged from a pile of junk at a carriage repair shop. Gritting his teeth, he drove the nail into the palm of his hand. Seven drops of blood trickled down the nail's grooves and landed one by one on the seven corners of the stone.
According to ancient texts, this was the "Seven Stars Awakening Ritual," which had to be completed before midnight; otherwise, the blood pact would become invalid. He listened nervously to the church bells ringing in the distance, each toll sounding like a countdown to his fate. When the seventh drop of blood fell, the stone surface glowed faintly, as if responding to his devotion.
He pulled a half-broken wooden comb from his chest. He had found it in a trash bin in the slums. Using an iron he had sharpened for days, he carefully carved mysterious symbols onto the comb's teeth.
These symbols represented "protection" and "blessing." Each stroke had to be synchronized with a specific breathing rhythm to channel the energy within his body. The slightest deviation would render the symbols powerless, forcing him to start over.
He was completely focused, sweat dripping from his forehead and leaving dark stains on the newspaper. When he reached the fifth rune, the iron file slipped and left a deep gash in the comb, rendering the rune useless. He took a deep breath, picked up the comb again, and started over. After repeating this process four times, he finally succeeded in carving the complete rune.
He took out five old clay pots—defective items he had begged from street vendors. He filled them with items he had collected from various places: dust from the streets, soot from chimneys, wheat bran from bakeries, paint residue from dye shops, and leftover wine from taverns. These items symbolized the five elements.
He scattered the debris around the stone, muttering, "The five elements return to their places, and the spirit is forever secured." Finally, he took out a talisman drawn with charcoal picked from fireplace ashes and made from the inner pages of an old ledger.
He lit the talisman and allowed the ashes to drift onto the stone. As the ashes settled, faint patterns emerged on the stone's surface and emitted a faint glow.
Exhausted, Edrick collapsed onto the ground, gazing at the rudimentary "divine statue" before him. His heart was filled with emotion. This ritual did not involve advanced magic or precious materials, only substitutes that could easily be found on the streets of 18th-century London. It was accomplished with the perseverance and faith of a mere mortal. He knew this was only the first step on his path to becoming a god.
After resting for a while, Edrick kicked Griff awake and said, "Take this... Pray to Him every day."
Originally, Edrick had considered asking Griff to help him preach and gather more followers. However, considering the patrols of the Luminous Pontificate, Griff would be caught and burned at the stake the next day.
Preaching was not something that could be rushed. His survival was still an issue, so he had to take it slowly.
Griff took the statue of the god with some fear and nodded blankly.
What had just happened was too bizarre. Griff, who was uneducated, was like a startled bird and dared not disobey Edrick.
But Edrick still wasn't entirely at ease. Possessing a divine statue was a capital offense if discovered. If Griff betrayed him, the church would conduct a thorough investigation, even without concrete evidence. Furthermore, Edrick had tattoos of unknown origin on his body, which was a sin in itself.
"I wonder if the Cat Control Spell works on humans..." Edrick had a sudden idea. After lighting another candle, he discovered that he could connect with one more cat.
Edrick turned his gaze to Griff, making him feel uneasy.
"It actually worked." While connecting with Griff, Edrick felt an unusual sensation. Unlike normal cat control, he had greater control over Griff. He could even use Griff's fur to strangle him if he wanted to.
"Is this the ability of the Ghost of the Loom, mutated when it came to me?" Edrick had some guesses, but he wasn't sure. After all, he knew nothing about mysticism or magic. The Flower Maiden seemed disdainful of explaining anything, and the Wealth-Scattering Lad was equally clueless.
"These two little things said that these ghosts were born because the authority of the Lord Below influenced them. After absorbing the corresponding authority, it's understandable that my abilities have slightly strengthened." Edrick could only explain it this way when faced with the unknown. He urgently needed to supplement his knowledge of magic and mysticism in this world.
As for Griff, he was even more frightened. He looked at Edrick with awe and admiration.
"You...you're a Pathseeker!?" Griff said tremulously.
Edrick was no stranger to the term "Pathseeker." In this world, it was what people called those with supernatural powers.
It wasn't an unfamiliar term. In fact, Pathseekers were not uncommon in this world. If you had to compare them to the real world, they were like doctoral students: not very numerous but not particularly remarkable, either.
Pathseekers needed to invest a lot of time and money into training, but even after training, they weren't necessarily useful. After all, industry was already quite developed in this era.
Once glorious, now seemingly in decline — such were the Pathseekers.