Light of Redemption (Seeking Follow-up Reads)

Dream world.

Inside a ruined city.

Thud!

A three-headed humanoid monster collapsed to the ground, its flesh melting away like flowing water, streaming continuously in one direction.

In a dark corner, Lin, draped in a black trench coat, raised her hand and began to extract.

In the end, large pools of blood coalesced into a single drop of "Crimson" essence, landing in her palm.

After finishing this, Lin immediately ducked into the darkness and vanished.

At this moment, several mutants arrived late to the scene...

"The path of 'Crimson' is dangerous... No... any path of spiritual awakening is dangerous..."

Within the cracks of a stairwell, a pool of dark red was constantly shifting.

Lin's thoughts wandered slightly; she thought of the Black Sun Cult and of Aike, who had become increasingly estranged since joining them.

"The Black Sun Cult is the same. Aike... has he been corrupted by that existence?"

It must be said that over these past days, the young girl had truly grown, and her occult knowledge was constantly increasing.

Every spiritual path must have a source!

As mortals trace the path back to the source, they naturally become influenced and polluted by it!

This is not even necessarily intentional on the part of those sources; it is a natural change and transformation that seeps deep into the body and spirit!

"Only the Spirit of Unknown Void... can purify this pollution... What kind of deity is He... on what path?"

The crimson form Lin had taken seeped through a door crack, entering a sealed room.

The room appeared to have been a storage closet, but it had been cleared out, and a permanent altar had been constructed in the center using candles, ritual diagrams, and obsidian.

Whoosh!

The crimson surged, taking the shape of a young girl.

She looked a little taller than before, and now, she piously lit the candles and began to pray:

"Spirit of Unknown Void who wanders the unknown..."

"Absolute Neutral Entity..."

"Silent Observer..."

"Your believer prays to you, begging you to open the gates of your kingdom and descend your radiance... I request that you purify my body and mind, and accept the sacrifice I offer!"

While performing the ritual, Lin placed today's harvest, that drop of "Crimson" essence, upon the altar.

She had performed such prayers and rituals many times, but she did not receive a response from That One every time.

But this time, the situation was different.

Roar!

The candles burned fiercely, and countless illusions surged forth.

Sounds beyond mortal comprehension reached Lin's ears, and she saw countless spheres of light suspended in the air, forming a great gate at the very center.

With a sound that shook her soul, the gate swung open, and infinite light spilled out.

The light enveloped the sacrifice, and it vanished in an instant.

"Thank you for accepting the offering."

Lin said with pleasant surprise; this was the first time the Spirit of Unknown Void had accepted an offering, which signified satisfaction.

"Hmm... your offering this time is not bad..."

Aaron stood right before Lin, speaking indifferently.

Due to the limitation that he could not receive prayers and rituals from too far away, he had specifically followed Lin for a period of time and had her establish a fixed altar as a contact point.

This way, as long as Lin prayed here and he happened to be present, they could "connect" once more.

As for the times when Aaron was offline or exploring other places?

There was truly no way around that.

But this was normal; after all, which god answers every single plea?

It is a perfectly normal phenomenon for a god not to respond to prayers, isn't it?

Relatively speaking, Aaron was already quite conscientious.

As long as she tried a few more times, she would eventually bump into a time when he was present.

At this moment, he held that drop of Crimson essence, feeling the distinct power surge into his body, and his gaze shifted: "It seems that having her attempt to sacrifice spirituality last time had some effect..."

"The power sacrificed by believers through rituals and offerings... perhaps it is useful to me?"

Just as Aaron was savoring this sacrificed item, comparing how it differed from his own occult units, his expression suddenly shifted as he felt the disappearance of this bit of "Crimson" spirituality.

"No... it is not disappearing, but rather..."

Aaron was impatient to return to reality to feel the difference, his heart surging with excitement.

However, he forcibly restrained himself; after all, his only believer was still praying, and if he ran off now, he would have no future prospects.

"My Lord... I wish to rescue my brother. I beg for your protection and assistance. I will certainly strive to offer more sacrifices..."

Below, Lin was pleading.

She knew that even if she rescued her brother, it would be useless; Aike had already been corrupted by the Black Sun Cult, much like she had been that day. Perhaps his condition might be slightly better, but only to a limited extent.

Only by receiving the purification of the Spirit of Void could he regain his sanity and a true personality!

Furthermore, the Black Sun Cult was an incredibly formidable enemy, so the rescue operation required the Lord's permission.

Rescue him? With what, my head?

Listening to the prayer, Aaron inwardly grumbled: I am just a bottom-tier spirit. If not for the connection of the ritual, I couldn't even interfere with you... how am I supposed to fight a Black Sun Cult?

After a moment of thought, he followed the mystical resonance of the ritual and spoke directly into Lin's mind: "The time of promise has not yet arrived!"

Yes, if one encounters something impossible to achieve, simply push it all onto fate.

It was not that he wouldn't save him, but that the time was not yet ripe.

And in a while, perhaps Aike would be dead, and then there would be no need to save him at all.

"My Lord..."

Lin bit her lip and suddenly said: "It is because I am too weak..."

She did not dare to hope that such a great existence would personally descend to help an ant, so she blamed herself: "My power is still too weak, but I wish to ask for your consent—I want to establish a cult that worships you!"

She wanted to increase her strength, and besides strengthening herself, she could recruit others!

A cult? I don't even know what path I can open...

However, I could let Lin recruit people. No matter the path, I will not turn anyone away...

Aaron was quite happy to see this happen.

Although he was still relatively useless, he did have one utility: he could expel the corruption of those terrifying existences.

The Beyonders of this world are too easily corrupted and influenced by higher existences... I can help them maintain their rationality... With this convenience, I can recruit Beyonders of any path into my fold, and incidentally obtain more secret traditions and knowledge...

Thinking of this, Aaron stated directly: "Granted!"

Then, he proactively severed the connection, logged off, and returned to the real world, eager to verify certain conjectures.

"All glory belongs to my Lord!"

Feeling the Lord's departure, Lin offered a final prayer and respectfully left the place.

To her, this was the Lord's sanctuary, and perhaps, the future headquarters of the cult.

"Oh no... I forgot to ask the Lord what the new cult should be named... and what image or symbol He prefers..."

Lin made a bitter face: "However, the Lord probably doesn't care about such trivial matters... even the altar is very crude, lacking a statue or special markings..."

She thought for a moment and made up her mind: "The Lord is the only light in this end-time; the new cult shall be called—the 'Light of Redemption'!"