Chapter 460: Obsession (1/2)

(AN: My laptop died while writing this chapter, forcing me to finish the chapter on my phone. Gosh, that was brutal... Anyway, I'll try to get something for tomorrow, but there could be a chance that unless I find a miracle, that there would be a delay. Sorry. )

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Current Faith: 2231

Aiden was once again left speechless as he gazed at the astonishing number in his system screen. He has already noticed this strange phenomenon, that the resource continued to be accumulated at a hastened pace, but even knowing that the rate was just way too fast.

Were the Guptans really this devoted to him? Or was there something else in play? Aiden couldn't understand the underlying logic but had a feeling that his blessing, this holy statue, had some hand in this astonishing result.

Aiden realized that he was way too ignorant about this new feature so far, he didn't even understand how this new resource was gathered, or what were his current limits with it. In his first attempt, he actually altered the landscape around the back-then village, creating an entire mountain ridge, and a large body of a lake!

With that, he made the first step in making this new world a living, breathing plane, reforming it and slowly but surely making it turn into a full-fledged realm!

Yet, he was basically just playing around with his system, not really being aware of what he was doing at the time. Yes, he managed to complete what he set out to do, but he had no answers to any of the pressing questions regarding these supposed 'godly powers'.

According to Enya, his system guide, and the system as well, what he did wasn't anything new, but the dormant powers residing inside him. These divine powers were his, he just lacked the understanding of it. The system was merely the interface, acting similarly like how it did and continued to do during his absorption and evolutions: assisting his body, his cells, his mind for an optimal resolution.

Thinking about the matter, Aiden suddenly gasped in realization. If this were the case then all the necessary knowledge should already be at his disposal! He just needed to understand how to access and process them!

Still, the question remained: How should he do that? What was required of him exactly?

Focusing on the matters of his growing divinity, Aiden was lost in thought, standing still, seemingly lost in gazing at his own carved depiction. His servants seeing and feeling their master's contemplative state, decided to not bother him, but instead surrounded him, shielding him from the curious and nosy, though as word got out that the Lord was in the Central Square, the almost steadily increasing numbers of the Guptans kept converging on his spot.

In the span of some minutes, the commotion has already grown to a state that the guards had to be called in so they could block the citizenry from approaching their Lord and Master.

Meanwhile, Aiden was lost in his own Soul Space, his spiritual body floating above the endless void that was his own inner world. In the distance, he could see small islands floating, breaking the perpetual emptiness, clear marks of Rygintarts' relentless work in trying to transform this despairing world.

Still, what mostly grabbed his attention was the faint presence coming from deep down below. An ancient archaic presence, a sentient entity shackled, chained deep with him. Still its faint aura, its strange, yet vaguely familiar traces of energy intrigued him. Though he couldn't explain, as no matter how he tried, -he couldn't remember ever coming into contact with this power-, he felt that he should know what this was, who this was.

Lowering his gaze, he gazed below the darkness, trying to find traces, breadcrumbs to follow.

Just as he tried to focus on the entity's direction and was hoping to make contact, suddenly he felt the pressure of his entire world descend on him, blocking, thwarting his attempts.

In the next instant, the floating ball of light, Enya appeared in front of him, her concerned tone of voice echoing around their vicinity.

'[Aiden, you are still not ready, please do not try to go against the restrictions. Not yet. You are not ready. Your answers about your current problems lie with the Holy Statue! Look into it one more time, and cog-]'

Before she could finish, Aiden felt his entire self being ripped apart under a sudden pull, ejecting him from his inner world, and forcefully throwing his consciousness back to reality.

With a loud gasp, as if he had just come afloat after a lengthy adventure below the depth of the sea, he greedily inhaled the healthy, unpolluted air around him. His eyes going wide, Aiden was shocked to see the large commotion gathering around the square.