The Hidden Cult

Midnight.

The gas lamps lining the streets of Trino City had long since extinguished, leaving the empty thoroughfares to the sound of the night wind.

Creeeak.

The sound of the old wooden door was jarring in the quiet of the night.

In a dim alleyway, Gais poked his head out from behind the door, checking his surroundings by the faint moonlight.

After confirming that no one else was coming, he carefully closed the secret back door.

The room resembled a Small Chapel, with commoners sitting neatly in the pews below the dais.

Most of them wore old coats stiffened by starch, their cuffs frayed and worn.

They were huddled together, whispering in tones filled with anticipation.

"Little George, what are you doing here?"

"Uh, there's no harm in learning a bit more. You can't report me to the Church."

"The Church of Divine Grace? Hmph, they don't have the time to care about us poor folk."

Gais's footsteps interrupted their murmurs.

He walked through the crowd with composure, meeting their gazes of awe as he spoke.

"Brothers and sisters of the Hidden Cult, look at this world."

"The factory owners' machines trample upon our hard labor, and the nobles' steam carriages crush the very roads we paved."

"Have the Eyes of the Lord ever looked upon us? Has the Lord's God Blood ever baptized us?"

"Yet we believe that the Lord has not completely abandoned us."

"His Spirit wanders the world, always ready to bestow His grace upon us."

As he spoke, Gais walked slowly onto the dais.

"Brothers and sisters, the Lord's Spirit has descended upon the Hidden Cult, descended right beside you!"

"This manifestation is the Lord's revelation to us!"

He placed his hand on the black cloth beside him.

An object as tall as he was, draped in fabric, stood silently in the center.

The crowd's eyes followed his words, and Gais nodded to his assistant.

Click.

The dim gas lamp was extinguished completely.

Gais yanked the black cloth away, revealing a large glass water tank.

A massive, elegantly shaped jellyfish appeared before them.

Countless slender tentacles hung down like silver threads, or perhaps the tassels adorning a young girl's skirt.

Its body was entirely transparent, and its head glowed with a ghostly blue light in the dim hall, appearing both eerie and divine.

The moment they saw the giant jellyfish, the commoners below closed their eyes in excitement, clasping their hands tightly together and chanting in unison.

"O Lord, You are the All and the One, the Spirit of everything, the everything of Spirit."

"All spirits, all natures; all natures, all spirits. You are the Lord of All Spirits, the source of all nature, the origin of spirit, the final destination of the soul."

"Let our souls follow the Lord's Spirit, pass through this filthy era, and find a pure sanctuary."

Little George followed the rhythm of those around him, chanting clumsily; he was the only newcomer at today's gathering.

Gais watched the praying crowd with satisfaction, then gestured for his assistant to push the donation box to the front of the dais.

Inside the tank, Ivan the jellyfish watched this scene with equal satisfaction.

Mm, a few more prayers, and I'll have enough Spirituality to escape this wretched box.

That's right, this jellyfish truly possessed a spirit, though it was not the spirit of any "Lord."

It was the soul of a transmigrator named Ivan.

Transmigrating into a jellyfish had already been enough to drive him to despair.

Even worse, the moment he opened his eyes, he had found himself trapped in a fishing net.

The coarse hemp ropes had carved wound after wound into his body; any ordinary jellyfish would have been on the verge of death.

But Ivan didn't know what species he had transmigrated into; not only could he emit light, but he was also massive, possessed incredible vitality, and even had a miraculous regenerative ability.

No matter what injuries he sustained, he could heal himself by dividing into larvae and then reconstituting his body.

It was a bit like giving birth to a brand-new version of himself...

Though it sounded a bit sinister, it was incredibly useful.

Through this method, he could reset all of his injuries.

Even his lifespan.

This miraculous ability allowed him to linger on, gasping for breath amidst the rocking of fishing boats for who knows how long.

It was just that his body size shrank circle after circle, until he was bought by this swindler, Gais.

He was used as some sort of spiritual revelation from the Lord to deceive those inlanders who had never seen a glowing jellyfish.

Originally, Ivan had held no hope for his own life.

Yet, he never expected that under the devout prayers of the crowd below, he would actually feel something inexplicable in the air drifting toward him.

By absorbing the things produced by these prayers, Ivan discovered he could control the intensity of his glow.

He could even better control his regenerative abilities.

He no longer had to wait for them to trigger passively after being injured.

Now, he was able to control it, keeping another version of himself prepared within his body at all times.

Just like a cicada shedding its skin, he could discard this outer layer at any moment, leaving an empty jellyfish shell behind to confuse enemies.

If he were in the ocean, Ivan couldn't imagine anyone who could withstand this combination of his.

Unfortunately, this was human society, in an era where steam and factories were booming.

In a glass water tank.

At this moment, Ivan was working hard to absorb the energy gathered through prayer.

His spirit body was filling up bit by bit, which made his confidence in escaping the water tank even stronger.

Gais was still on stage, speaking eloquently and inciting the emotions of the crowd.

"Brothers and sisters of the Hidden Cult, the spirit of the Lord has descended upon each of us through this holy relic.

Your desires will eventually be conveyed through the spirit of the Lord; the Lord will grant you everything!"

He pointed at Ivan in the water tank.

"But the presence of the spirit requires constant maintenance of the holy relic that serves as its vessel, and the daily consumption of spirituality must be replenished with Holy Water."

"Without your help, the spirit of the Lord cannot remain in the Hidden Cult."

The eyes of the crowd below were filled with fanaticism, as if they had found the only sustenance for their lives.

They tossed the coins clutched in their hands into the offering box one after another, creating crisp, clinking sounds.

Even Little George, who had only come with the intention of listening, offered up the only Copper Penny he had earned that day, muttering under his breath:

"Lord, if your spirit can hear my prayer, let me find a Silver Shilling when I step outside! No, a Gold Pound!"

"If your Lord could really grant wishes, the first thing He would do is let Himself out of this water tank."

Ivan watched this scene silently from within the tank; he knew these coins would eventually end up in Gais's pocket.

As for the so-called Holy Water, Gais was too lazy to even change Ivan's seawater, merely using fresh water with a bit of salt to fool everyone.

He was nothing more than a glowing prop in this scam.

The atmosphere in the room grew increasingly fanatical, and the crowd prayed to the jellyfish with even greater devotion.

The sounds of prayer and the clinking of coins intertwined, forming a strange and oppressive movement.

Seeing that his goal had been achieved, Gais didn't want to waste any more time.

He cleared his throat and covered the water tank with a black cloth once again.

"Members of the Hidden Cult, I believe each of you has been blessed by the spirit of the Lord.

But the spirit of the Lord has consumed too much today, and His revelations still need to help many more brothers and sisters."

Tsk, this guy, he's ready to run as soon as he's made enough money.

Ivan flashed his light in dissatisfaction, but under the black cloth, no one could see it.

Every time his spirituality was being nourished comfortably, Gais would interrupt it.

He calculated silently, based on the faith energy he was currently absorbing.

In three days at most, he would be able to break through that faint shackle within his body.

Ivan felt a sense of anticipation, various miraculous abilities flashing through his mind.

He wondered what these accumulated prayer energies would bring him.

But one thing was certain: no matter what, his situation at that time would be much better than it was now.

Thump! Thump! Thump!

An abrupt knocking sounded from the main door behind the assistant.

Through the door, a voice, muffled yet carrying a hint of authority, came through.

"Open the door!"