Lower Plane. This was a rare sunny day in the Eternal Night Forest.
In a small village in the northern part of the forest, villagers dressed rather primitively were bustling about enthusiastically.
Their faces were beaming with joy, completely different from several months ago, when they had been shrouded in despair.
Children ran past the bonfires, carrying baskets of wild fruit as they chirped noisily about today's activities.
The entire village looked disorderly, yet it possessed an indescribable vitality.
"Everything is because of God Above's arrival."
"The village has changed, and so have its people."
"But they understand nothing. They can't help God Above..."
Lorna walked along the edge of the village with less-than-light steps, taking in the entire scene.
From time to time, someone spotted Lorna and respectfully bowed to her in fear. Even the naughtiest children were no exception—their parents had repeatedly told them about Lorna's status.
Of course, the currently harmonious villagers had not forgotten that they had once intended to sacrifice Lorna to the great Darkness Lord. Who could have known that Lorna would survive and become a Divine Official acknowledged by the Darkness Lord?
Fate was just that strange. Who could ever explain it clearly?
Although Lorna showed no desire for revenge, everyone who had participated in that sacrifice remembered the scene—several enraged young men had stripped Lorna naked and verbally humiliated her. If she had not been meant as an offering to a god, she might already have been...
Because of that history, the villagers held Lorna in especially great awe, afraid of offending this Divine Official and making her settle old scores.
After all, the village's current peace and happiness relied entirely on the divine protection of the Darkness Lord.
The Eternal Night Forest had never been a peaceful place.
Yet they could