Cyric was a madman, that was true.
Yet he was also an extremely cunning madman, or Soren would not have barely managed to pinpoint Cyric's trace only until now.
Avatar-form Cyric was exceptionally cautious, restraining his power and maintaining only a slight advantage even when countering the favored soul within Soren's church. He did not rush to finish off his opponent, instead using the moment of exchange to widen the distance before instantly plunging into the darkness.
The number of enemies was massive.
Merely within visual range, Cyric spotted over a thousand intruders from the Shadow Church.
Though he had broken free from his seal and established a church, Cyric's worshippers were clearly far inferior to Soren's by a wide margin. After all, Soren still had the foundations of other churches, whereas Cyric had been sealed for a millennium and had to start almost everything from scratch.
Enduring a pang of heartache, he gritted his teeth and abandoned these followers.
Though his heart burned with the desire to instantly slay Soren, Cyric understood very well that now was not the time; he still had to endure and accumulate strength.
Amidst the boundless night.
Cyric cautiously slipped away from the encirclement and rapidly retreated toward the north.
The south could no longer serve as a place to stay; Soren's church wielded far too much influence in the south, and their intelligence network was far too extensive, making it easy to discover his trace.
Yet.
Just as Cyric had broken out of the encirclement, a slender male figure appeared within his field of vision.
It is an honor to meet you.
Soren's figure emerged from the darkness, and he smiled, bowing slightly toward Cyric's favored soul avatar as he said, "Your Excellency, Dark Sun Cyric!"
The portfolio of tracking had locked onto