For centuries, the only Divine to provide feedback to its believers was the Evil God. This also meant that sacrifices and prayers became Forbidden Techniques.
Uncle wouldn't harm me. I've already got dropsy, and I'm going to die anyway, so why not give it a try.
Even if the Evil God sets its sights on me, it's just death!
With this mindset, Ayala forced herself to pull herself together.
Due to dehydration, her body had become extremely shriveled. Soon after leaving the bucket, her flesh became loose and flabby.
Step one: Prepare the sacrificial offering.
The more precious the offering, the easier it is to make contact with the Divine. It seems that even the Divine value benefits.
Ayala prepared two things: her own blood and ten Divine Grace Coins.
These were the most straightforward and direct items recorded in the book. Among them, the blood of the person praying was essential.
Step two: Purify body and mind.
This step required a specific ritual to purify one's body and mind. This involved dispelling distractions and disturbances, allowing the person making the sacrifice to be in the optimal state to welcome the Divine.
Bathing, changing clothes, burning incense, reciting scriptures...
All these methods served to achieve this purpose.
Step three: Perform the ritual.
Depending on the faith, intricate patterns were drawn, sacred names of the Divine were chanted, and prayers or dances were performed...
All these were done to attract the Divine's attention.
Step four: Wait for a response.
After the ritual, the believer must wait for the Divine's response.
Some would respond immediately. Others might convey messages or bestow blessings through dreams, illusions, or other means. Or, they might fulfill the believer's wishes.
According to Ayala's limited understanding, rituals for worshiping and praying to the Divine were often quite complex. Some even required hundreds or thousands of people to prepare, just for someone of high status to sense the Divine.
The steps were numerous, and no mistake could be made.
However, the steps described in the book Carl had given her were very simple—so simple they seemed almost careless.
The only requirement was to be devout.
Ayala wore a complicated expression. Can a person like me truly make the Divine feel my devotion?
She did not believe in the Divine and had even resented them for the hardships in her life. Now she had to beg a Divine being for salvation. Could such a belated belief receive a response?
Ayala didn't hold much hope for this.
But the instinct to survive made her sincerely yearn for a Divine's redemption. In a certain sense, this was indeed genuine.
Putting aside distracting thoughts, she meticulously drew a complex pattern on the floor of her room, placed the Divine Grace Coins at the two points of the Tai Chi Diagram, and dripped her blood on them.
With all this prepared, Ayala clasped her hands together, knelt in the center of the pattern, closed her eyes, and chanted:
"King of Thousand Forms!"
"Taiwei Jade Emperor!"
After reciting the 'sacred names' of the Divine, she continued, "Great Divine, your faithful believer prays for your blessings. Heal the pain in my body."
Having said all this, Ayala knelt unmoving. She was surrounded by utter silence; not a single sound could be heard.
She knelt for a long time, until her legs grew so weak they could hardly support her.
Alas! It seems it isn't working.
A sense of disappointment surged through her. Ayala smiled wryly in resignation, slowly opening her eyes and ceasing her actions.
The next moment, a terrifying, vast, boundless oppressive force emerged silently. The ultimate fear made her body stiffen.
Responded... responded?
Ayala's eyes flew wide open, her heart pounded fiercely. Extreme fear and joy churned inside her.
Carl had never expected that the first test subject would not be Quincy, for whom he had planned for so long, but Ayala, who was right beside him.
Having left Ayala's dwelling, he returned to the Divine Domain Fragment and waited quietly.
Before long, a familiar voice came through the pattern carved in the center of the Divine Domain Fragment, entering his 'heart.'
"King of Thousand Forms!"
"Taiwei Jade Emperor!"
"Great Divine, your faithful believer prays for your blessings. Heal the pain in my body."
The voice, hoarse from exhaustion, sounded both familiar and strange.
Carl's eyes flickered.
It was the first time he had heard someone else's voice in the Divine Domain Fragment.
As the voice sounded, a mist gathered in the center of the pattern, revealing the image of Ayala kneeling in worship.
The figure trembled, and many memory fragments flashed by rapidly.
The innocence of childhood, the desperate struggle for survival as a teenager, the despair after learning she was afflicted with dropsy...
There were also many different faces and a myriad of complex emotions.
Sorrow, joy, attachment...
Everything Ayala had experienced since birth, including all sorts of private matters, was now laid bare to Carl's perception.
Could it be this way?
Carl wore a complex expression.
He could feel the special sentiment Ayala held for him. ɴᴇᴡ ɴᴏᴠᴇʟ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀʀᴇ ᴘᴜʙʟɪsʜᴇᴅ ᴏɴ novel·fire·net
He also had an epiphany. At that moment, he could manipulate Ayala, who was kneeling on the ground, at will.
Alter her memories, twist her emotions...
Of course, doing so would come at a certain price. It seemed that even the Divine couldn't act recklessly.
As he pondered, Ayala's expression caught Carl's attention, and he became aware of her inner panic.
If this wasn't stopped, Ayala's sanity would be completely destroyed, turning her into an imbecile.
What Ayala is feeling now must be the Fear Aura. Here, the power of my Fear Aura is so great?
Could it be, because I've shed the confines of a physical body, that my Fear Aura now exhibits the power inherent to a being of the Second Order?
As this thought crossed his mind, the might of the Fear Aura contracted, and Ayala's expression eased a little.