The Strange New Faith Species

"Finally out—just how many meters underground did I dig before I fell asleep?"

Breathing the planet's unique air, Kangqiao felt his whole body relax.

The underground lava had been pleasant enough, but the constant pressure had left him feeling somewhat stifled.

Now it was night, and the surroundings should have been dark and dim.

But because of Kangqiao's emergence, the entire sky was dyed a bright, glowing red.

After letting out a long roar to vent the oppression of being underground, Kangqiao finally had time to survey his surroundings.

"Looks like I got it right—digging straight up brought me to the right place. But why does this city seem so much smaller than the one I built last time?"

He spotted the city not far below him, and the dense swarm of tiny figures within it.

Not only was the city smaller, but even the Dinosaur People themselves seemed much tinier.

No, that wasn't right.

It wasn't that the city had shrunk, or that the Dinosaur People had shrunk—it was that Kangqiao had grown bigger.

In that moment, he suddenly understood.

Of course—he had slept for who knows how many years again. Growing larger was only natural.

The once-empty city was now packed with stone houses, and beyond the walls, countless more dwellings stretched outward.

Clearly, during his long slumber, the Dinosaur People—or perhaps the other Four Races—had thrived.

After a brief, curious glance at the distant city, Kangqiao turned his attention to himself.

His overall appearance hadn't changed much, but his flame-covered body was now marked with many more strange patterns.

Especially on his chest—there was a ring of runes resembling Star Radiance.

The Star Radiance was circular, filled with twisting lines and patterns, and even symbols or tadpole-like script that Kangqiao couldn't understand.

Seeing this change, he found the world he inhabited even more baffling.

But baffling or not, he would take it as it came.

He would explore slowly, grow slowly—one day, all the secrets of this world would open themselves to him.

Kangqiao felt an inexplicable confidence, and it came entirely from his now overwhelmingly powerful body.

This awakening was very different from the last.

The difference lay in his Divine Kingdom, but also in his control over energy.

It was a feeling of perfect command—just a thought.

Instantly, the Lava Flame's heat, which had spread for dozens of miles across the land, began to converge toward Kangqiao's body.

Without the high temperature, the scorched earth quickly cooled and darkened.

All the heat, even the lava Kangqiao had drawn to the surface, was absorbed into his body.

The absorbed energy gathered in his chest, then streamed endlessly into some unknown space.

That should have been the end of it—but just as it was finishing.

As Kangqiao's body still glowed with Lava Flame's light, a tiny white orb slowly floated up before his eyes.

The orb was so small it could have been ignored.

Yet somehow, Kangqiao noticed it immediately, and couldn't look away.

Acting on instinct, he reached out a thick, stubby arm.

His massive, blazing finger touched the orb.

And in that instant, the tiny orb seemed to ignite, swelling into a fireball that was far from small in Kangqiao's eyes.

The fireball hovered before him, burning fiercely, trembling constantly.

In a daze, Kangqiao saw a figure of a Dinosaur Person within the flames.

Its eyes were closed, its body trembling from the intense heat—yet its face remained calm and peaceful.

The scorching flames relentlessly seared this devout soul, as if subjecting it to the harshest trial.

But in the end, the soul endured.

And at that moment, the Old Seal of Star Radiance on Kangqiao's chest instantly absorbed the fireball and the soul within.

Kangqiao was utterly stunned.

With a flicker of his consciousness, he saw the scene inside his Divine Kingdom.

The kingdom was still an apocalyptic wasteland, but floating above the sea of lava was a massive, flame-formed egg.

This was the birth of a new species, a new transcendent life.

But this newborn was bizarre, beyond Kangqiao's understanding.

Because inside the flame egg, the embryo's shape was an eyeball.

A fiery red eyeball, its eye temporarily closed.

Then, around that fiery red eyeball, three rotating rings of flame circled.

The feedback from the Divine Kingdom left Kangqiao momentarily stunned, filling him with an incredulous, speechless emotion.

Why had the soul of the Dinosaur People ultimately turned into this?

A flaming Eyeball Creature?

What was the meaning of all this?

The changes to his own body were, in the end, far beyond Kangqiao's expectations.

What kind of bizarre style was this, a life form so terrifying in its posture?

The surprise of this awakening left Kangqiao feeling utterly at a loss.

It was from this moment that Kangqiao inexplicably began to feel awe for this world once more.

Having just regained a shred of confidence, he became cautious again.

"Such a bizarre world—I still can't be too arrogant. In the end, there's far too much I don't know."

As for this flaming eyeball creature, Kangqiao for now regarded it as a strange life born from his own radiation.

After all, no matter how odd this eyeball was, the soul that formed it was undeniably that of a Dinosaur People—his believer, a vassal transformed by his radiation and influence.

Though he still didn't know what abilities this eyeball-shaped life form possessed, or how useful it would be to him, everything could still be observed and explored.

In this desolate world, after all, no one was teaching Kangqiao any esoteric knowledge about Giant Beasts.

Everything had to be figured out on his own, and likewise, the eyeball creature would have to figure things out for itself after hatching.

Though the Eyeball Creature was newborn, its soul was that of a Dinosaur People. With the Dinosaur People's original thinking and knowledge, once it hatched, it should quickly grasp its own situation, right?

Thinking this, after a long look, Kangqiao temporarily withdrew his will from observing the Divine Kingdom.

Because the hatching of this Eyeball Creature wouldn't happen overnight. Kangqiao only needed to wait. Once it hatched, he would naturally know immediately.

(Note: For readers unfamiliar with this, it borrows from the angelic imagery in the Old Testament. This will also be the protagonist's future angel. The image is posted in the comments.)