Shaman Abilities

"A gift?"

Little George abruptly raised his head and looked around.

"Who, who was speaking?"

He had just been wondering about the inexplicable information that had appeared in his mind.

Then an ethereal voice rang out in his head, as though it came from the depths of his soul.

Only then did Little George realize what was happening. He looked at Ivan, floating above the platform, in disbelief.

"Great Lord... was that You?"

The deep blue light made his gray-brown eyes gleam, and Little George unconsciously lowered his head.

"You have done well, child."

"The Lord's spirit... is granting me a revelation!"

Little George pressed his forehead to the chapel floor again, his body trembling faintly with excitement.

After spending some time with Gais, Ivan had discovered something.

Setting everything else aside, he had certainly gotten better at pretending to be a god.

How could he possibly know anything about Aspects or Shamans?

At the moment he absorbed the faith energy, Ivan had merely realized that the level of his life had been elevated.

He could wield faith energy to a certain extent and had gained some strange abilities.

For example, he no longer needed seawater to survive, could float in midair, and could turn transparent.

That seemed to be all.

During the division, the excess faith energy had been left behind in his previous body.

So he casually guided that mass of energy toward the filthy young boy.

Ivan slowly floated over to George and considered what he should say next to this follower of his.

Little George felt the deep blue light drawing closer and closer, and his body trembled even harder.

As one second after another passed, his initial excitement began to fade, and cold sweat slowly seeped down his back.

Little George suddenly remembered the anti-cult slogan the Church of Divine Grace had been promoting throughout the streets some time ago.

"Every gift bestowed by fate has long since had its price marked in the dark."

"Could it be..."

His heart skipped a beat as he began to notice all the oddities in the situation.

"This was my first time attending the Hidden Cult, yet my prayer was answered."

"After receiving the Lord's favor, I came back to give thanks and was further granted extraordinary abilities."

Reason once again gained the upper hand.

Little George was not naive enough to think the Lord had granted him this gift because of his piety.

"If everyone's prayers to the Lord could be answered, why would Trino City still have so many vagrants and impoverished laborers?"

"Why had the great Lord chosen to favor me? What qualities do I possess that the Lord needs?"

"An orphan? A vagrant? My young age?"

His thoughts became a muddle, and the feeling of being coveted made his scalp prickle.

"Could it be... my life?"

That was the only thing Little George could think of. He dug his fingers into the floorboards and gritted his teeth.

"Anyway, I already have nothing. No matter what the Lord wants from me, I can offer it up!

After all, the Lord gave me a whole Gold Pound!"

Ivan silently watched Little George's thoughts race through his mind and could not help thinking,

Why was this kid's inner drama so elaborate? It wasn't like I was some evil Jellyfish that ate people...

He had clearly been granted extraordinary abilities, yet he was willing to give up his life for a Gold Pound.

It seemed that in every era, the sorrow of those at the bottom was hidden away in the corners.

Ivan sighed inwardly and tried to make his voice sound as gentle as possible.

"Your power can help more people."

The strange oppressive silence was broken by the revelation in his heart, and Little George's terror abruptly vanished.

"So the Lord wants to help more unfortunate people like me..."

Warmth flowed through his heart, and he felt ashamed of his earlier suspicions.

Little George slowly closed his eyes and calmed himself as he sensed the gifted ability he had just received.

"My power..."

A natural Spirituality burst forth from his body.

Tiny vines crept out from the wooden floor beneath him.

The saltwater on the platform stopped flowing and flowed upward instead, slowly gathering into a mass in midair.

The air indoors stirred into a current, brushing over the hem of Little George's patched clothes.

Not far away, Abel, the Night Watchman escorting Gais and the others, suddenly turned around.

What was that presence?

He sensed that the Arbitration Domain he had just established had vanished.

The remaining Spirituality had been dispersed by a mysterious force.

Abel took a hard drag on the cigarette in his hand.

He tossed the cigarette butt to the ground and ground it back and forth beneath his tube boots.

"Take them back to the Night Watchmen's interrogation office first. I'll check out the alley over there."

He picked the cigarette butt up from the ground and walked toward a wicker trash bin by the roadside.

"Captain, what's wrong? Did something happen?"

The young Night Watchman was utterly bewildered.

His words hung in the cool night breeze, but Abel gave no further response.

He straightened the collar of his uniform and turned in the opposite direction.

The young Night Watchman still wanted to ask more questions,

but all he saw was Captain Abel raise a hand and lightly wave in his direction.

It was as though he was responding, yet also signaling that there was no need to say more.

He sighed, shot a fierce glare at the grimacing Gais, and escorted the two onward toward the church in the city.

After turning the street corner, Abel quickened his pace, his brows tightly furrowed.

"What had erased the traces of the Domain just now?"

He was certain the anomaly had occurred in that chapel.

"Had someone entered it?"

But there had only been an empty donation box, some scattered tools, and—

a Jellyfish!

Abel was startled, the image of that creature glowing with deep blue light forming in his mind.

Although his Spirituality had not detected anything unusual about the Jellyfish,

his suspicions left him faintly uneasy.

As he neared the chapel,

he slowed his pace and quietly approached the door...

Bang!

Abel kicked the chapel's wooden door open.

The old door could not withstand his strength and shattered violently, splinters scattering through the air.

"Cough, cough."

Abel waved a hand, the mixture of wood chips and dust making him feel a little choked.

As the smoke and dust slowly cleared, he could barely make out the chapel's interior by moonlight.

Everything in the room appeared normal, and the seats below the platform were empty.

There was no secret ritual taking place as he had imagined.

He turned to look at the platform and saw only the wooden base of the water tank and shattered glass all over the floor.

The Jellyfish was gone?

"Did someone take it away, or did it break the water tank itself?"

Abel stepped onto the platform, crouched down, and picked up a shard of glass.

No extraordinary aura remained...

"It seemed to be an ordinary Jellyfish."

"Had one of Gais's hidden accomplices taken it away?"

Abel's brow furrowed even deeper.

"What force had destroyed the remaining Arbitration Domain?"

He did not believe that a lowly band of swindlers like Gais's could include a Beyonder.

Abel unconsciously rubbed the shard of glass in his hand.

Suddenly, a faint green reflection flashed into his eyes.

Abel abruptly turned, his gaze locking onto the wooden floor beneath the platform.

From between the floorboards, he carefully picked up a tiny green leaf that had been left behind.

"This aura..."

"Wasn't the Lord's grace..."