The situation seemed to have gotten a little complicated... at least, that was how Jonas saw it.
His original plan had been to use these Holy Adjudicators as bargaining chips to secure some concessions from the Peacekeeping Forces. After all, their faith was rooted deep in their souls, making it all but impossible to win them over.
Yet after he showed them the so-called Black Ring, their attitude had taken a complete one-eighty... on the surface, at least, they really did seem to regard him as their so-called "Holy Son."
So the true seat of the Void Realm Church was actually the Alt Conglomerate?
That was fucking ridiculous.
Jonas couldn't help inwardly snarking. Although he had guessed that the Black Ring had an extraordinary origin, he hadn't expected it to put him on the same level as Afanisi herself.
But he had no intention of getting involved in the Void Realm Church's bullshit, nor did he want this supposed title of Holy Son.
At least as things stood, the drawbacks of an affiliation with the Void Realm Church far outweighed the benefits.
Of course, that didn't mean he would discard this identity outright... the Black Ring was undoubtedly a powerful weapon for psychological warfare. With this identity, he would have even more ways to crush his enemies' spirits and sow discord among them.
So he had no plans to announce that he possessed the Black Ring just yet. For one thing, it could easily affect how the other factions in District 25 viewed the Alt Conglomerate and fuel conspiracy theories. For another, if Afanisi later sought revenge against the Alt Conglomerate, the Black Ring's existence could severely undermine morale within the Void Realm Church.
Before that, however, he needed to find out exactly what this so-called Black Ring was, and