Chapter 222: Changes in the Hall of Stars, Return, and Divine Revelation
At night, the starry sky was brilliant, seemingly overshadowing even the light of the crimson moon.
In the Hall of Stars, Hastur sat at the head, silently sensing the new changes within the hall.
The fourth chain of order hung behind him, and the starry sky above his head became even more splendid, with two additional stars lighting up.
These routine changes were quickly grasped by Hastur.
Apart from these changes, the entire Hall of Stars began to float and continuously ascend, giving a sense of returning to the starry sky.
After reaching a certain height, the Hall of Stars stopped moving, and the stars that originally floated above were now much closer.
This meant that the Hall of Stars' influence over the stars had increased.
For instance, if he were to use the current power of the chain of order to strike the lamp god, it would likely make the lamp god question its existence with just one whip.
Besides this, the Hall of Stars also granted him two new abilities: Return and Divine Revelation.
Return was a term Hastur was not unfamiliar with. From the moment he came into contact with the Hall of Stars, he knew that the ruler here was the Returner of the stars.
Now, the Hall of Stars truly bestowed upon him the ability to return, making him feel like the true master of this place.
Previously, he felt more like someone who sneaked into the house while the owner was away, temporarily living there and inviting the stars for gatherings.
If any stars misbehaved, he could hardly punish them, only dealing with their avatars.
But this time, he truly became the master of this house, possessing the ability to control the stars.
Return's true power was to make the stars operate according to his will along predetermined paths.
For example, when facing the Super Star Dominator and the mother Tree of Desire, he could guide them to temporarily abandon their involvement in the war between the Southern and Northern Continents.
As his will spread through the power of the Hall of Stars, the Super Star Dominator and the mother Tree of Desire would unknowingly be drawn back to the paths he arranged.
The strength of this guiding power depended on his level of power.
If he had the power of the old days, then when his will spread, the Super Star Dominator and the mother Tree of Desire would have to follow his arrangements, regardless of their willingness, returning to the predetermined paths.
Now, rather than calling it an ability, it was more of a symbol of authority.
In the future, as the Returner of the stars, he would be the one guiding the stars' movements!
For the Outer Gods of the old days who came to the Hall of Stars, this was both an opportunity and a constraint!
They enjoyed the conveniences provided by the Hall of Stars.
As this connection deepened, their bond with him also deepened, making it impossible for them to escape his influence.
This might be the true reason why the Hall of Stars initially granted him the authority to hold star gatherings for the Outer Gods.
Now, he was at Sequence 6, so the avatars of the Outer Gods attending the star gatherings were also at the Sequence 6 level.
When he became the true Returner of the stars, the real entities of the Outer Gods would come to the Hall of Stars for the gatherings.
"There is no free lunch in this world, and this applies to the Outer Gods as well," Hastur realized.
It seemed that he did not gain much from the star gatherings, while the Outer Gods received many conveniences. But in reality, the greatest benefit was already in his hands.
After a long contemplation, Hastur focused on the ability of Divine Revelation.
Divine Revelation, as the name suggests, was an inspiration from the gods.
Since he could guide the stars to operate along predetermined paths, he naturally had the ability to manage those devoutly believing in the stars.
As the Returner of the stars, he could also be the god they worshipped when necessary!
Return was a high authority, while Divine Revelation was an ability he could currently use.
After spending considerable time understanding Return and Divine Revelation, Hastur turned his gaze to the stars in the sky.
Apart from the initial six stars, two new stars had lit up.
Hastur did not check which Outer Gods the two new stars represented but instead looked at the star representing the mother Tree of Desire.
This time, he could not only see the mother Tree of Desire but also the godling Sia and dozens of other devout followers of the mother Tree of Desire.
Only devout followers could appear as light spots on the star of the mother Tree of Desire.
Hastur zoomed in on the light spot representing Sia.
At this moment, he felt that if he wished, he could mimic the mother Tree of Desire to issue an oracle to Sia.
This was one of the abilities of Divine Revelation!
Hastur thought for a moment and decided not to issue an oracle to Sia, as she was a terrifying Sequence 1 entity. Instead, he chose a more familiar devout follower to test his ability.
Mr. A!
A familiar name surfaced in Hastur's mind, and he turned his gaze to the star representing the True Creator and Adam.
"The True Creator has so many devout followers," Hastur observed the numerous light spots in the area representing the True Creator, numbering in the hundreds.
Each light spot represented a devout follower of the True Creator, a considerable number.
The truly devout followers of the mother Tree of Desire were fewer than ten, while the True Creator had ten times that number!
Hastur zoomed in further and observed that the brightest light spot was not the Angel of Destiny Ulysses but the Red Angel Medici!
Or rather, Soren Einhorn Medici.
The combined persona of the three-colored hotpot was above Ulysses, so the light spot representing him was brighter.
Hastur decided to check if Medici had escaped.
He clicked on the light spot representing Medici, revealing a spacious, dim room with three different high-backed chairs. Originally, each chair should have been occupied by a figure.
But now, the three shadows had merged, indistinguishable from each other, forming a whole.
He was no longer the proud Red Angel Medici but a spirit mixed with his former enemies!
Seeing this, Hastur couldn't help but sigh. The Blood Emperor Alista Tudor was truly mad and bold.
He jumped from the Black Emperor pathway to the non-adjacent Sequence 0 Red Priest!
Even more absurdly, he succeeded, becoming a half-mad true god.
Although Adam played a role, the Blood Emperor's willpower and boldness were unparalleled.
After observing for a while, Hastur withdrew his gaze. Seeing the Red Angel representing war at this time indicated that the war between the Southern and Northern Continents would be significant, likely extending to Southwell County.
Hastur sighed, glanced at the light spot representing Ulysses, and then focused on the light spot representing Mr. A.
Mr. A, a devout follower of the True Creator, was indeed among these light spots.
Hastur zoomed in and clearly saw Mr. A in a temple-like basement, worshipping the True Creator's statue.
A statue of an inverted giant.
At this moment, Mr. A was resting at the feet of the True Creator's statue like a loyal dog.
This scene was reminiscent of Susie resting at Audrey's feet, eyes closed.
Mr. A was just short of wagging his tail to show his loyalty to the True Creator.
After observing for a while, Hastur decided to use Mr. A as the first target for his Divine Revelation.
With a thought, the fourth chain of order swiftly flew to the light spot representing Mr. A, establishing a link.
...
In front of the True Creator's statue, Mr. A was resting on the ground, expressing his loyalty to the Lord.
The Lord indeed favored him. He was codenamed Mr. A, the first letter of the alphabet, and he handled general affairs for the Aurora Society in Backlund.
Other followers might not receive an oracle for years.
But he had received oracles from the Lord more than once, and each conversation with the Lord was his happiest moment.
Unfortunately, the Lord's waking time was always short, and the conversations brief, only leaving key instructions.
Regardless, he firmly believed he was the Lord's most favored follower.
Ulysses was not counted, as he was the Lord's offspring.
While Mr. A was daydreaming, he suddenly felt the statue of the Lord move.
The Lord, his only true Lord, was issuing an oracle again!
Mr. A immediately got up and knelt reverently before the True Creator's statue.
Suppressing his excitement, he said, "The devout follower listens to Your oracle."
He tilted his ear to listen but heard nothing.
After a few seconds, Mr. A bit off his right index finger and chewed it.
Gulp.
Mr. A's throat moved as he swallowed the chewed finger.
After waiting for a while, the expected oracle did not come.
As he wondered, his consciousness was pulled into a dim world.
Before him was a black ocean, with a mountain on it, and at the peak, a cross with a man hanging upside down, fused with the cross.
Above, the night sky was a shadowy curtain!
(End of the chapter)