At least from Daniel’s perspective, the deeper he delved into his understanding of the Abyss, the more clearly he realized just how terrifying it truly was.
Put simply, if the Abyss were to ever invade the human realm, the consequences would be catastrophic—far beyond imagination.
In such a scenario, the complete annihilation of humanity wouldn’t be unexpected; in fact, it would be practically guaranteed.
Now, with the thousand-year Apocalypse fast approaching, Daniel felt like every step forward was taken on a tightrope strung over a void—every move cautious, calculated, and perilously unstable.
Meanwhile, a group of Abyssal creatures had already stepped into the Infinite Divine Temple.
Though not all of them were particularly intelligent, they did possess a basic ability to reason and perceive.
Their decision to enter the Divine Temple immediately had largely to do with the fact that their kingdom now had a new king—Daniel.
And in their eyes, pleasing the new sovereign could never be a mistake.
Moreover, they were immensely curious about this sudden appearance of a Divine Temple within their territory.
The moment they stepped into the Temple, they were overwhelmed by a powerful, awe-inspiring presence.
Even the most impulsive and hot-tempered among them instantly quieted down, as if they’d been turned into well-behaved quails.
They silently surveyed the grand interior of the Divine Temple—larger and more magnificent than any of them had imagined.
At the very heart of the temple stood a colossal statue.
What startled the Abyssal creatures the most was the fact that, even though the statue stood plainly before them, they simply couldn’t make out its facial features.
All they could vaguely discern was that the figure appeared humanoid.
At the base of the statue was an engraved prayer—a sacred chant for all followers. And from this inscription, they also learned the name of the god who presided over this place:
Crossbridge, the Infinite God. "Infinite God? That name sounds ridiculously powerful!" "Our king established this Divine Temple... could it be that even His Majesty is a follower of this god?" "His strength is overwhelming—maybe it’s because he believes in this god?" "Do you think we’d become stronger too if we started believing?" "Now that I think about it... most Kings of the Abyss seem to have a god they follow. Maybe that’s where they get their power from?" "That’s possible. And really, what’s the harm in believing in a god? I’ll give it a try." "Yeah, me too!"
After a brief round of discussion, several Abyssal creatures reached a consensus. Together, they recited the prayer inscribed at the foot of the statue.
And as soon as they finished chanting the final words, each of them began to feel something change within themselves—new abilities blossoming in their minds.
And these abilities...
Slowly, one after another, their faces twisted into expressions of disbelief and shock.
This couldn’t be real.
Was this Infinite God truly this powerful?
Just through a simple act of faith—an act of prayer—they had already doubled their combat strength?!
Unreal. Absolutely, incomprehensibly powerful. "Praise be to you, Your Holiness Crossbridge!!"
Their gratitude was genuine—etched deeply across their features.
To any living being, a sudden leap in power was cause for celebration.
But in the Abyss, where the law of survival was ruled by nothing but brute strength, power was more than just desirable—it was everything.
The moment their strength surged, these Abyssal beings could barely contain themselves. All they could think about was vengeance—payback against long-standing enemies.
Because in the Abyss, power was everything. And now, if belief in the Infinite God could double one’s strength, then not believing was practically suicide.
If your mortal enemy chose to believe, and you didn’t, even if you’d once been evenly matched— now you’d be slaughtered without mercy. ...
In the Abyss, endless slaughter had always been the natural order of things.
So when the first group of Abyssal creatures, empowered by faith, began hunting down their enemies, the secret of the Infinite Divine Temple spread like wildfire.
In no time at all, every corner of the Abyss knew of its existence.
Even though Daniel never issued any orders to force belief in the Infinite God, the creatures came running—desperately, feverishly—scrambling to enter the Divine Temple.
But the Temple wasn’t infinite in space, despite its name.
Many creatures simply couldn’t fit inside, and had to queue outside, waiting.
And while they waited, chaos erupted.
Fights broke out to determine order of entry.
Blood spilled. Bodies fell.
In the Abyss, even worship required bloodshed.
Daniel observed this silently.
He did not intervene.
After all, to a degree, Abyssal creatures were born for conflict. Born for war.
And within the rules of the Abyss, death and birth had always maintained a cruel but perfect equilibrium.
For every Abyssal creature slain, another would be born in the depths.
This was simply the nature of the Abyss—its law.
There was no need for a king to interfere with what was already a perfectly calibrated system.
What mattered more was what Daniel now saw before his eyes:
His number of followers—his worshippers—was growing at an exponential rate.
It took five minutes to go from 100 to 1,000.
But it only took ten seconds to go from 1,000 to 1,000,000.
In the blink of an eye, the counter surged past one hundred million.
And the moment it hit that mark, a new system notification appeared before Daniel: [Current Followers: 100,000,000+]
Reward Unlocked: Blueprint for the Infinite Divine Temple Keystone]
Next Milestone: 10,000,000,000 followers
Daniel’s eyes twitched slightly at the prompt.
He had always thought that the Divine Temple Keystone was a one-time item.
He never imagined it could be mass-produced.
The conditions for crafting one were—on the surface—simple.
But for anyone besides Daniel, they were next to impossible.
To craft a Divine Temple Keystone, you needed:
Ten million units of stoneAnd... one God Rank Skill Book
Daniel rubbed his chin and glanced at his own collection—his God Rank Skill Compendium. [Thunderfall Divine Shield]
Craftable copies: 999
Now that was a first-rate skill—his very first God Rank Skill.
Turns out, not only was it powerful, it came in bulk!
Daniel felt a quiet thrill in his heart.
Just then, a communication came through—it was Alice. ...
Back in the Abyss Empire,
After escorting Daniel, Sarko didn’t return to his own kingdom.
Instead, he made his way back to the capital of the Abyss Empire.
There, before the towering figure of the Emperor of the Abyss,
Sarko bowed deeply and spoke: "Your Majesty, why did you test that human in such a way?" "What if it offends him? What if this results in an all-out assault by the humans upon the Abyss?"
The Emperor, known as Malkar, waved his vine-like appendage nonchalantly. "Sarko," he said in his deep, resonant voice, "think carefully. If the human race truly had so many formidable individuals, then a mere Duban wouldn’t be enough to attract their attention." "What truly threatens us is not one person. It is the human race itself."