The nature of a god

In the jungle, in the treetops, and beneath the river, countless creatures turned their terrified gazes toward the same place.

The expedition squad's temporary resting spot.

More precisely, the bonfire the Ashen Clan had just lit.

What was that? They had never seen it before, but it filled the bugs with instinctive fear.

It gave off light and heat, its shape constantly shifting. The closer they came, the more an inexplicable dread gripped them.

The flames burned quietly in the bonfire the expedition squad had built.

Having left ignorance behind, the Ashen Clan no longer feared fire. Instead, they could use it and find comfort in it.

Of course, they had no need to keep warm. The bonfire was for prayer.

Though they did not know why, prayer truly did soothe the Ashen Clan, clear their minds, and bring them inner peace.

Perhaps it was because the god they worshipped was a mass of roaring flames.

Frequently exposed to their god's flames, the Ashen Clan had begun to differ slightly from ordinary bugs.

First, their body temperatures were generally higher than those of other bugs. They also suffered no harm amid burning flames or intense heat, finding such conditions quite comfortable instead.

This change also made Lin Jin realize that even when a god did nothing, he could still have an enormous influence on the life around him.

Before long, the Ashen Clan would likely become a god's chosen people in the truest sense.

Their prayers grew ever more devout.

Prayer had already become part of the Ashen Clan's daily routine.

With each prayer, they felt their affinity for fire grow a little stronger.

But battle could come at any time during the expedition, and they could hardly carry a divine statue on their backs everywhere.

Thus arose the custom of praying before bonfires in place of a divine statue.

The most striking feature of the Sunfire God worshipped in Ashen City was his roaring, inextinguishable flame.

And so, whenever the Ashen Clan occupied a new area, they lit bonfires there.

These served both as a symbol of their claim to the land and as a convenient place to pray.

There were no rules governing their number. Some places simply had more, others fewer.

After discovering that these symbolic landmarks truly allowed his power to spread farther, Lin Jin let them carry on.

Now, in Ashen City, Lin Jin, far above on the surface, immediately sensed his divine sight expanding as the new bonfire was established.

"Have they already established their first outpost?"

Lin Jin paused his work, a little surprised. This was considerably faster than he had expected.

Seeing the Sunfire God stop, Isara asked from beside him, puzzled, "Is something wrong, my god?"

"I sensed it. The first bonfire has been established."

Lin Jin's tone was solemn, but there was unmistakable approval in it as well.

His followers were so efficient that he simply had to reward them.

With that thought, Lin Jin resumed his work. Thanks to his followers' unceasing faith, he had finally accumulated a decent reserve of power.

He was now testing whether he could turn his divine power into a substance resembling Spirit Thread.

According to Silksong, Spirit Thread was thread formed from condensed soul.

And all Spirit Thread originated from the Grandmother of Silk; it could be called a manifestation of her power.

Lin Jin ventured a bold guess: soul was like modeling clay, which different gods could shape in different ways.

For Glimmer, it was light; for Grimm, nightmare flame; for the Grandmother of Silk, Spirit Thread.

What about me, then?

Lin Jin was very interested in the answer.

Only by thoroughly understanding his own nature could he find the right path forward and allow Ashen City to expand more quickly.

That would also bring him more followers, making him stronger.

The clan chief has already advanced this far?

Beside him, Isara thought, As expected of the clan chief. He truly deserves to be the Sunfire God's Chosen of God.

But what about me?

Isara reflected in silence. As the Chosen of God, Gron was expanding their territory, while Aemon, as chronicler, was refining the Illustrated Compendium and the Historical Records.

It seemed she was the only one who had accomplished nothing so far.

Feeling the power within her, Isara wondered whether she could do better in their place.

But she soon shook her head.

No, my duty is to serve as Pontiff. I need only remain at my god's side.

To uphold her god's dignity, Isara had remained beside the Sunfire God ever since the Sunrise Expedition began.

This, too, was necessary. Even if no bug could threaten her god's safety, his dignity could not be challenged.

While the Sunfire God focused on his experiments, her duty was to ensure that no bug disturbed him.

Isara settled down patiently once more. She believed the power her god had bestowed upon her would prove useful someday.

In truth, Isara's worries were unnecessary. Her duty was the most important of all.

Since most of the bugs had joined the Sunrise Expedition, only a few civilians, women, and children remained in Ashen City.

These civilians were not idle, either. They grew crops in the corridors and turned beast meat into jerky that would keep longer.

They also forged weapons and armor.

It was necessary for Isara to remain here. The expedition needed logistical supplies, and only she could resolve that problem.

"Kill!"

On the black wasteland, tides of gray and black faced one another.

At Gron's command, the bugs of the expedition army formed ranks and began their unwavering advance.

Their comprehensive military equipment and steadfast faith were their greatest strengths.

Facing them was a pack of black-shelled beasts of varying sizes.

These beasts, still mired in ignorance, wore black shells of all kinds.

They roamed the plains, devouring everything in sight.

They could not be domesticated and were extremely aggressive. Without hesitation, Gron ordered their extermination. These dangerous creatures had to be destroyed.

"For the Sunfire God!" Gron shouted, driving his spear through a beast's black shell and pinning it dead to the ground.

Having slain a massive beast in a single strike, Gron lost none of his momentum. Pushing its enormous corpse before him like a dump truck, he charged straight into the thickest concentration of enemies.

Gron plunged into the pack as the spearhead, slaughtering beasts in droves, but he also drew the most attention.

The other warriors fought steadily at their own pace.

At the very rear, a large crowd of Fireflies, hungry for knowledge, frantically recorded everything.

"Ahh, ahh! To witness a battle of such unparalleled grandeur-even dying would be worth it!"

Marveling and exclaiming, the Fireflies were as excited as if it were New Year's, overlooking not so much as a blade of grass or a single tree before them.

The Ashen Clan took pride in burning themselves up on the battlefield, but the Glow Clan was somewhat different.

They considered recording those magnificent, sweeping epics their honor.

They all hoped their names would be passed down to posterity as embellishments to those great stories, and never tired of the pursuit.

The expedition was currently in the Black Shell Plains, one of the four major regions above Ashen City.

It was a black grassland strewn with ruined walls and overgrown with weeds.

Of the scouting parties the expedition had sent to the four regions, all but the one bound for the Fungal Wastes had returned one after another.

Based on the intelligence they had gathered, Gron adjusted his plans accordingly.

Of the four regions, the others posed no urgent concern, but the Black Shell Plains could wait no longer.

These black plains were filled with ruined buildings and all manner of black husks.

The only living creatures were the roaming black-shelled beasts and the small crawling creatures hardy enough to survive anywhere.

Unless they destroyed these beasts first, the plains would soon lose all value and become a dead land.

As for what these plains had once been used for, or what had happened here, Gron had no interest whatsoever.

He would leave those matters to the scholarly Fireflies to investigate. He only needed to reclaim the territory.

At the edge of the Black Shell Plains, the expedition established its first bonfire.