Outside the alley lay a bustling market. It was midmorning, and the scent of fried bread, the vendors' cries, and the clatter of carriage wheels kept drifting in from the street.
Ivan was lying beside a wooden crate deep in the alley. His transparent, umbrella-shaped body rested against the cold paving stones, while his tentacles struggled to curl beneath him.
If anyone happened to pass by just then, they would surely be frightened by the sight:
A jellyfish larger than a bucket was writhing along the ground, its whole body glowing blood-red, like some monster that did not belong in this world.
With no time to investigate the burning sensation, Ivan focused hard on his Spirituality, maintaining his concealment and trying not to draw the attention of those nearby.
Sunlight spilled into the corner of the alley, passing through him and reflecting off his body again and again, casting flickering shadows against the wall.
"What is that?"
Gais noticed something strange on the other side of the alley.
He moved cautiously, approaching the flickering source of light one slow step at a time.
Ivan felt the burning sensation growing even stronger and stranger than when he had first broken through the constraints of faith energy.
It was as if something that had slept for millions of years was slowly awakening inside him.
Then an ancient, frenzied presence seeped out of his body. Like an invisible mist, it drifted between his numerous tentacles and slowly wafted toward the mouth of the alley.
The presence carried the briny tang of rivers and lakes, along with a kind of chaos beyond description.
A lady was passing the alley entrance with an adorable brown poodle in her arms. The docile little dog seemed to catch a scent and suddenly leaped from her embrace, its fur standing on end as it barked furiously toward the depths of the alley.
At the flower shop beside the alley entrance, the roses in a basket outside had been in full bloom, but the moment that presence wafted past, they withered rapidly, turning into a crumpled mass of dark red.
Ivan could clearly feel that the presence was even stirring the faith energy flowing steadily through him.
His mind-reading ability, which had only been able to hear Gais and Little George, suddenly went out of control. The sounds of the market surged into his mind like a tide. The vendors were calculating, "I need to earn a few more shillings today." A lady was complaining, "Why is the air in the West District so stuffy today?" A gentleman was thinking, "I should go to Mr. Felin's hat shop and see if my custom morning coat is ready"...
Countless jumbled thoughts mingled with that frenzied presence, and his consciousness began to blur.
On the verge of losing consciousness, a string of syllables echoed through his mind.
"Na...ra..."
The voice came in layers. It was impossible to tell if it was male or female. It sounded like countless people murmuring in unison, or like a beast growling deep in its throat.
The whisper meant nothing, yet it made the burning sensation inside him and the ancient presence he was giving off even more frenzied.
Ivan felt he was on the verge of losing control, and couldn't help thinking,
If you don't tempt fate, you won't come to grief.
His faith energy was being consumed at a terrifying rate. At the last possible moment, Ivan reset the state of his body.
His body began to divide. Unlike before, crimson points of light burst into the sky like fireworks at a circus.
The lights flickered again and again, gradually turning a tranquil, ghostly blue.
Once the crimson faded, the lights gathered in the air, and the transparent, blue-glowing jellyfish reappeared.
Only a tentacle with a dark red glow remained behind.
Ivan touched his newborn body with a tentacle.
"Mm, my faith energy's dropped again. I'd just promised myself I wouldn't use my abilities recklessly."
Gais walked up to the wooden crate in the corner of the alley, but the sight before him dealt his mind a powerful shock.
From where he stood, he saw countless long, transparent objects hanging in the air.
They looked like bubbles blown by a mischievous child, or twisted, transparent strings.
Refracted by the sunlight, they gave off no rainbow colors, only a dull red. As if alive, they twisted around each other and danced.
They looked like grotesque tentacles.
Bubbles boiled and burst along them, while an ancient, terrifying presence slowly seeped out.
Before Gais could make sense of what he was seeing, the tentacle-like objects suddenly exploded, scattering into a sky full of red specks.
The specks flickered again and again, gradually turning into a faint blue glow.
The lights alternated, and Gais felt as if his head were about to split.
The next moment, the blue lights vanished. Something red seemed to lie on the ground, but before he could make it out, it disappeared into nothingness.
Gais panicked for only an instant before squeezing his eyes shut and praying devoutly:
"Great Lord of All Spirits, please grant your most faithful servant, Gais, your blessing, and protect me from the disturbances of these sinister apparitions!"
He took what he had just seen for an apparition caused by some hidden entity.
After having his memories altered, Gais was especially cautious about such anomalies.
Receiving Gais's prayer, Ivan—who had just drawn the Spirituality remnant back into his spirit body—finally realized what had happened.
"Did Gais just see me divide and reassemble?"
He carefully reviewed the memory and realized that only some of his tentacles had failed to conceal themselves. He hadn't revealed his entire form to Gais.
"Ugh, how embarrassing. It's like someone walked in on me using the washroom..."
Ivan didn't want Gais to see him in his jellyfish form. After all, that fellow wasn't as easy to fool as Little George.
If Gais realized that Ivan was the jellyfish he had bought, he might get suspicious and report the matter to the Night Watchmen.
"How does my division look anything like a ritual performed by a sinister creature? How dare he say that about me! I just have a few extra tentacles!"
"No wonder gods have no fixed appearance. They probably worry that their looks might shake their followers' faith."
"Only the great Lord of All Spirits in people's imaginations can have the most perfect appearance."
Ivan deeply regretted appearing in front of so many people yesterday.
"Right, I have to find a way to make up for this at tonight's Baptism Ceremony."
Ivan composed himself and answered Gais in a grand, mysterious tone:
"Hold fast to your faith, and guard your heart."
Hearing his Lord's reply, Gais let out a breath and opened his eyes. Sure enough, all the sinister sights had vanished.
He couldn't help marveling that he had truly placed his faith in a hidden and mighty entity who answered every prayer.
The atheist swindler Gais had disappeared, replaced by a Missionary who believed devoutly in the Lord of All Spirits.
"Praise the great Lord of All Spirits!"
Watching Gais, his devout follower, from above, Ivan couldn't help patting his tentacle.
He felt the mass of red light he had just drawn into his spirit body, paused for a moment, then sent his voice into Gais's mind once more.
"My child... the time has come."
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