Raindrops hit the wooden hut with a dull sound, seemingly telling the world of nature's infinite might on display.
Without sorrow or joy, filled with ancient power and dreadful majesty, the message conveyed to the kneeling girl's mind!
It was not a language or script belonging to humans, devoid of any common emotions, the inexplicable stream of information rearranged itself into a meaning her barren mind could comprehend.
A deity!
Irene was astonished, never having imagined that the source of the voice was truly a god from the myths and legends!
Surrounding the East Coast, there were many legends about the Sea God, and the priests from the Tempest Church considered It to be a manifestation of the Tempest Overlord, worshipped by countless sailors and fishermen.
She was aware that the gods from the myths often had unpredictable moods, sometimes saving people and other times capable of destroying everything.
She must repay this deity well, partly out of gratitude and also to not bring disaster upon this town!
"Great deity, thank you for saving us, I... I have no way to repay you, but I will do my best, whatever you ask I will try to fulfill,"
Irene responded cautiously, fearful of upsetting this mysterious deity.
Karl suddenly realized that conveying thoughts also consumed a tiny amount of Spiritual Power, and it seemed that each communication should be treasured.
He decided not to use real language for communication, only to send commands containing the most basic meanings, as his already limited Spiritual Power was best conserved when possible.
Commands devoid of human emotion, incomprehensible yet understandable, emerged abruptly in the depths of the girl's heart.
She understood immediately!
"Great presence, do you need the power contained in that amulet? Do you wish for me to retrieve that transparent bottle first?"
Irene nodded repeatedly and rose to her feet, running outside the hut, braving nausea to retrieve a purple, finger-shaped amulet from the charred corpse of the priest, its blackened flesh sticky and revolting to the eyes.
Karl had long sensed the Spiritual Power contained within it, his inner depths stirring with longing, as if faced with a delicious dessert.
Kneeling in front of the transparent bottle, Irene's hands trembled as she held up the finger-shaped purple amulet, her voice unclear from fear as she presented it.
"Great Lord of the Lost, I, I offer it to you."
The next moment, the Spiritual Power contained within the finger amulet raced towards Karl's soul inside the bottle.
He suddenly found that after awakening from the darkness, his efficiency in devouring spirituality had significantly improved.
Yet the amulet's spiritual content was far too insignificant compared to the bottle, so Karl quickly consumed it completely.
If Karl's fragmented soul originally had a spiritual capacity limit of ten, after devouring the spirituality within the bottle, this became thirty, and after completely absorbing the amulet, the limit merely rose to thirty-two.
His spirituality, nearly exhausted due to casting the "Curse," consequently recovered close to one-tenth.
"Huh?"
Irene observed, astonished, as the purple finger withered visibly before turning into black ashes and dissipating.
Yet another miraculous scene!
It was as though the great deity had devoured it!
"Are you satisfied?" Irene asked, looking downward, while simultaneously checking her brother's condition.
Suddenly, she noticed that her brother's breathing was off, growing increasingly rapid.
"Chris!"
Quickly, Irene realized her brother had a fever!
However, in such torrential rain, it was difficult to find medicine, and for a child so young, the mortality rate was alarmingly high once they fell ill.
Irene, watching her brother's labored breathing, struggled within herself, in agonizing pain, and felt the urge to rush into the night rain toward town.
But now, the heavy rain made the roads slick and treacherous, and even if she could reach the town by night, she had no money to buy the expensive fever medicine.
In the town, patients unable to pay were common, and the doctors who had seen much of this were numb, so begging was also unlikely to procure the medicine; moreover, if she were to encounter an accident along the way, her brother would probably not survive.
"How could this happen?"
Wave after wave of crisis left Irene nearly on the verge of collapse, with tears of despair constantly streaming from her eyes.
That's right, there was one more thing she could try.
Only by continuing to plead with this deity might she be able to save her brother.
Tearfully, she knelt on the ground and prayed again to the mysterious being that saved her and her brother.
"Please save us, great Lord of the Lost, I will offer anything to you!"
"Great deity, please save my brother, I can't be without him!"
"He shall be saved."
The unemotional voice, like that of a deity from beyond this world, suddenly entered her mind, and Irene lifted her head in utter amazement.
A strong sense of fear surged within her, as the mysterious being appearing out of nowhere met her continuous wishes so easily, leaving her to wonder whether It was a benevolent deity or an extremely evil devil.
But whether deity or devil, as long as It could save her brother, she would offer anything to It!
Still with aching legs, Irene knelt down again, without any room to stand firm, and appealed to the mysterious voice.
"Please save my brother. As long as you don't harm my family, you can take anything from me!"
If life and soul could exchange for her family's survival, it was a worthy sacrifice. As long as her family could live healthily, it was already a blessing from fate!
As a former salesman, Karl had long since lost touch with awkwardness in communication, almost becoming a social phobia sufferer.
He knew best how to communicate, contact, and develop a series of skills and methods to generate trust with "customers."
"Customers" would never truly believe in any person, they only believed in what they desired in their expectations, utterly engrossed and even unable to extricate themselves.
The two people before him needed not power or dignity but merely the right to survive.
Thus, cooperation could be achieved between himself and them.
Karl's will, alien to humanity, once again emanated, filled with an awe-inspiring majesty that made one involuntarily want to worship.
A solemn will conveyed, and soon reformed into an understandable meaning, Irene was slightly startled, and then she understood that from the very beginning, she had to accept the fate that the mysterious existence was about to give.
Fate had revealed an undeniable corner, no matter whether the source of the voice was an evil devil or a great deity!
Karl could clearly feel that the grass runes in his soul possessed the "healing" characteristic, which might cure the disease afflicting the infant.
But how to wield this power was indeed a problem.
Impacting the outside world again would consume a large amount of his Spiritual Power, the meager remains of which were better reserved as a trump card.
Perhaps there was another way to proceed.
He could fully feel a strong connection with the girl, able to share the authority to activate that grass rune.
The next moment, Karl once again conveyed his will, commanding Irene to gaze at the transparent bottle not far away.
"What does that mean?"
At this point, Irene knew she could only fully trust the mysterious existence of the voice's source.
As she looked at the bottle on the wooden bed, she suddenly discovered a cross-shaped black light flickering dazzlingly in the middle of the old, transparent bottle.
The terrifying, twisting aura it emitted froze her completely!
When she stared at the black light, all the colors in the world seemed to vanish in an instant, leaving only the most basic black and white, the surrounding sounds were utterly extinguished, and all Spirituality and life seemed to be stripped to an unstrippable extent.
All things must come to an end, everything will be completely destroyed by Him, a thought of extreme terror emerged in Irene's mind simultaneously.
This is the might of a god!
How magnificent!
Irreverently awesome!
That is the great power of the Lord of the Lost!
Irene involuntarily trembled subconsciously, the light shadow of grass runes faintly emerging in her pupils.
Karl felt that Irene's soul already held the "Imprint of the Soul," sufficient to activate the magical power contained in the grass rune.
The act just now was akin to sharing some kind of administrative authority, yet for her pitifully small soul mass, bearing a single soul imprint was probably already the limit.
Irene's heart was extremely confused, and her body trembled slightly.
She suddenly discovered a warm power hidden deep within her heart, gentle enough to soothe any wound in the mundane world.
Without a doubt, that was the power bestowed by the great Lord of the Lost!
The wind howled past with the roar of thunder, rushing over from outside the wooden house, bringing rain that struck her fiercely, tearing at her clothes like blades, cold enough to make one shiver violently.
The light of the firewood was extinguished, and the drenched girl in the darkness couldn't help but feel lost.
She had no idea if that power could really save her brother's life, subconsciously praying to the gods and the vast heavens.
"Gods and fate above! Please, no matter what, do not take him away!"
In the storm, the girl roared defiantly at the sky, her face awash with tears.
But would the True Gods preached by the Church really pity the mortals?
If they were truly useful, wouldn't her mother and father have already returned?
The gods are useless!
A determination flashed in her eyes, and she changed her plea, shouting loudly:
"Great Lord of the Lost, please save him!"
Irene took a deep breath, turned to sit beside her brother, and slowly sat down, struggling to lift the infant's burning head.
"There, there, get well."
Inside, Irene felt a mix of desperate confusion and hope; the grass runes faintly visible in her pupils, her hands gradually emitting a vibrant green glow full of the breath of life.
The feverish infant, already unconscious, had a life so fragile and fleeting, but a gentle warm current began to flow gently into the child's body.
At this moment, Irene's heart was all on him, earnestly hoping her brother's little life would not fade away here, Great Lord of the Lost, please descend a miracle.
A miracle occurred!
As the gentle warm current flowed in, the infant's breathing stabilized, the intense heat of his body gradually subsided, and the pained expression on his face disappeared.
The infant still slept but was no longer feverish, and the disease that could have brought death instantly receded, the whole event being a miracle that occurred in the blink of an eye!
A look of great surprise appeared on Irene's face, success!
That power just now was the Divine Power granted by the Lord of the Lost!
How on earth should I repay Him!
"This is wonderful!"
"Chris, he's not burning up anymore, he really can survive!"
Irene couldn't help but reveal a joyous smile, feeling an extreme sense of reverence and gratitude toward the Lord of the Lost deep in her heart!
It was a great miracle!
The Lord of the Lost truly was an extremely powerful and benevolent deity!
So, what did He want to take away from me?
Irene had never seen a unilateral act of giving without expecting something in return, kneeling before the transparent bottle, trembling like a harmless little animal.
"Great Lord of the Lost! I praise You! It was Your power that saved my brother, and I have nothing with which to repay You!"
She said to the flickering black light inside the bottle, her voice trembling:
"If You wish to ask for any kind of repayment, my life, my soul, or anything else, I am willing to offer it all to You."
"I only hope that You will show mercy, and wait until my brother has grown up before You come to collect what I owe You."
According to myths and legends, all kinds of "temptations" often came with a price, and for the sake of her only family member, she had prepared herself for the worst.
To the girl's fearful attitude, Karl was somewhat baffled, feeling that she was too wary and cautious.
He decided to be straightforward and openly state "the client's requirements".
His will transmitted very clearly that all the girl needed to do was to bring forth a Mysterious rare artifact as a tribute, and that would satisfy His request.
A Mysterious rare artifact?
Irene's hands trembled slightly, as she remembered the town chief once mentioning what a "Mysterious rare artifact" was—it was a treasure that could only be possessed by Extraordinary Exponents with great power.
For the common people of the town, Mysterious rare artifacts were legendary objects that they had never seen!
How could an ordinary girl from a coastal harbor town possibly find such an item, but if the Lord of the Lost was not satisfied... what would happen then?
She dared not think of the terrible consequences that would surely bring destruction! The Lord of the Lost was definitely a powerful and fearsome deity, whose great power could potentially level the entire town!
What should I do?
"Yes, yes, I understand, I will do my best to find the Mysterious rare artifact for You!"
Irene suddenly saw the flickering crucifix black light inside the bottle again.
It was as if she had entered a black and white world once more, where all sounds ceased, as if she was trapped inside a suffocating painting, witnessing the approach of destruction, feeling as if she could not look away, almost fainting!
It took her a great effort to fearfully lower her head.
Karl also felt something was amiss.
Why did the girl before him seem so scared, did he appear frightening?
Karl fell into contemplation. Could it be that the bottle with a soul attached was terrifying?
He broadened his view to take a glance at the transparent bottle, and found nothing unusual; perhaps it was just that the girl was overly timid, there was nothing he could do.
Karl continued to observe the baby's state, finding that he had completely recovered, peacefully asleep without a trace of illness.
The "Extraordinary power" to "heal disease and pain" originally didn't belong to him; it came from that mysterious rare artifact in the bottle whose Spirituality he had completely devoured.
"It seems that the Mysterious rare artifacts whose Spirituality has been devoured truly become part of one's own Soul Power."
Karl clearly felt that the power attributes of the purple fingertip amulet were very slight, a protective type of effect, now transformed into a crucifix rune with a purple glow.
Beyond that, there was another piece of good news that was even more important; after absorbing two Mysterious rare artifacts, he felt the first seal deep within his soul loosen even more, ready to be completely shattered at any moment.
After a while, Irene noticed that the Lord of the Lost was no longer conveying thoughts.
"Have You left?"
She gradually relaxed, sealed the door blown open with a wooden board from her home, and sat back down on the wooden bed, feeling that everything that night was incredibly astonishing.
Humming a small tune from the children's lullabies, Irene accompanied her sleeping brother for a few hours until the rain at night gradually subsided. The girl, exhausted, lay down beside him and curled up to sleep.
Karl silently sensed the peculiar bond between them. Now, he could vaguely sense Irene's location and emotions.
As long as she was within a five-kilometer range, even if the girl encountered danger, Karl's consciousness could arrive at the scene at a moment's notice.
"An extremely peculiar beginning."
Karl, attached to the bottle, quietly listened to the rain outside, contemplating the power he currently possessed.
The black light gradually escaped from the bottle, causing everything nearby to lose its original color, turning into a silent, emotionless world of black and white.
He realized that this black light seemed to be the source of his own power.
Karl discovered that the true power he possessed within the depths of his soul was formidable.
Firstly, it could devour the spirituality from mysterious rare artifacts and the souls of favored members, transforming it into a permanent power within his own soul, strengthening the lower limit while raising the upper limit of his soul power.
Secondly, it showed the manifestation of "temporary powers," he naturally could convert the life sacrificed into a "death-inducing Curse," afflicting any individual within his field of vision.
"I wonder if different sacrifices besides 'life' would have the same effect."
He had already realized the importance of that girl.
She was his favored member, that is, a "chess piece," just like the first character one gets in a mobile game.
Being attached inside a bottle, he couldn't move freely, and acting personally would consume an immense amount of spirituality, so utilizing convenient "chess pieces" to influence the world became very important.
As Karl pondered, it was best to train Irene and even the entire Fischer bloodline to become powerful Extraordinary Exponents.
He vaguely sensed that there were two other members of the Fischer family with their bloodline in the vicinity.
However, with a distance of over five kilometers, Karl still couldn't communicate directly with their consciousness.
But those two family members, drawn by the fate of their bloodline, would sooner or later come here to see him.
What needed to be done next was very clear.
On one hand, he needed loyal "chess pieces" to collect mysterious rare artifacts, providing him with more spirituality and runes.
On the other hand, the spirituality of favored members who have died returns to him; therefore, as long as he created favored members with strong spirituality,
once their souls returned to him after their death, they could provide him with enough "spirituality" to nourish himself.
"It seems that I and the favored clan are fundamentally in prosperity and in adversity together."
Suddenly, as the purple amulet was completely absorbed, the first heavy seal within the depths of his soul was finally entirely shattered!
Karl was overjoyed, feeling a surge of fragmented memories emerging, and he quickly learned a great deal about the "Claud World" in which he resided.
It turned out that this place was Nasir City on the East Coast of the Ouden Continent.
On the Ouden Continent, there were numerous countries, with the ruling class being powerful nobles who controlled extraordinary powers, and Nasir City was under the rule of the Hovern baronial family.
Without doubt, extraordinary power was an absolute symbol of status and identity!
Approximately ninety percent of the resources and channels for cultivating extraordinary powers were entirely in the hands of the nobility and the True Gods Curia.
Extraordinaries in the world mainly fell into two categories: those who studied to wield more magical power with mental power, and those who strengthened the power of the bloodline in their corporeal form.
Yet regardless of the type of Extraordinary, the essence of their soul had not sublimated, meaning that even in death, the extraordinaries were still purely mortal, and their soul's spirituality would not differ much from that of ordinary people.
"Ah?"
Wait, something's wrong!
Karl quickly realized that something was terribly amiss!
In his mind, there was a complete system of powers for the "God Pantheon Consecution," whereby mortals could ascend the God Pantheon stairway through magic potions and rituals, gradually sublimating the essence of their soul, increasing their spirituality.
However, in the present world, there was no God Pantheon Consecution at all!
People, even if they took the corresponding magic potions and performed rituals, could not possibly grasp the power of the consecution!
"Because the extraordinary laws related to spirituality consecution simply do not exist, a far more advanced system of power is of no help..."
Karl felt profoundly helpless within.
Furthermore, whether it was bloodline or spellcasting talent, they were gifts given at birth by the gods, and mortals without bloodline or talent could never become Extraordinary Exponents!
At least that was the theory.
Even if, theoretically speaking, he really could train members of the Fischer family to harness magic power or the power of bloodline, becoming powerful spellcasters or knights, they would not be able to contribute much spirituality to him after their death.
Enlightenment on the power of the soul was completely a blind spot in the knowledge of the current Claud World!
"..."
After a long silence, Karl finally thought of the only solution that wasn't really a solution.
With the recovery of memories after removing the first seal, it contained many fragmented pieces of information about the "God Pantheon Consecution."
Although the related information in the memories was incomplete and even scattered, as long as he continued to shatter the seals, he would be able to deduce a complete God Pantheon Consecution.
Moreover, in his memories, he possessed the method to visit the Spirit Realm through dreams, theoretically able to reconstruct all the Spiritual Laws of the God Pantheon Consecution, eventually enabling the people of the world to have the opportunity to grasp the power of consecution.
"Build the stairway to deification, creating an entirely different new generation of extraordinaries!"