Azimuth: The Elden Throne (New Version)

Chapter 160 Awakening: Saintess Part 2

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[Main Quest, Lone Saint has activated]

As the blinding light receded, his gaze fell onto the System window.

This time, the Quest interface was a 'little' different, having golden and black details around its outline and faint light emanating from it.

Below the Quest window, small sparks of golden sand fell onto his lap, and if he raised his hand, he could faintly feel warmth and weight coming from each of them.

Yet, as he tried to grasp them tightly, the golden sand vanished, just like ice when melted between one's teeth.

It was a surreal experience, something he had never seen before.

So he started to read it, one word at a time:

[In the sight of the decaying conditions of her Church, Ju-Arquesios fears for the growth and safety of her Saintess.

As the one chosen to bear the Fate of a Champion, prove that Strength isn't the sole thing you're capable of and that you can also lead others to greatness.

>Requirements: 

Protect the Saintess and help her grow her influence and abilities until she can proudly stand as the representative of God 0/???

*There are no final rewards for this Quest, but appropriate rewards will be issued based on Quest progression and completion Rating.

#Disclaimer: A certain Higher being agrees with its Relic's snarky comments.

]

"...?"

As he read through the shinning words, a question mark seemed to materialize atop his head as his eyebrows furrowed.

'Isn't this a bit too abstract?' He thought as he could already visualize the headache this Quest would give him in the future

'Help someone grow… Isn't that the same as telling me to act as a caretaker?...'

'Though in a sense, that part of the Quest is a given, since in the first place I never had any intent of letting anyone in the Village die.'

'So unless she has someone effectively going after her, the only thing posing a danger to her safety would be any other dangerous event that might plague Resko…'

"It seems things went smoothly… Great."

"Now that this has been dealt with… We can proceed." David interrupted as he looked at Erile, or at least tried to as his gaze was being blocked by the bench in front of him

"It's just one… But at the very least, she's the best."

"Or at the very least, will be, we have to start somewhere..." David said as his eyes started shinning with golden light

"Excuse me for a bit, it's time to work…"

"Huh?..."

'What's happening now?'

Dale could only watch in wonder as David started levitating, rising to the top of the Church's dome, illuminating the surroundings like a golden sun during Dawn.

/Shine…/

At the same time, he also noticed that Erile's chest started sparkling, twinkling slightly as the light followed the movements of her heart.

It was also at this time that Dale noticed the carvings on the ceiling.

They were divided into two sides, one white, and one dark, but they seemed to fuse somewhere in the Middle, like the symbol for Ying and Yang, but not like it at the same time.

The white symbol possessed many carvings of peaceful scenarios such as green plains, mountains, and so on.

But as you went closer to the dividing area between the zones, things started to become…

Chaotic.

Red Volcanos, wastelands, and other destroyed scenarios… Monsters and death all jumbled up in one epic painting.

Dale swore that painting wasn't there before, he would've noticed such a beautiful thing before.

Even if Humans didn't have the habit of looking up, it was impossible not to in a Church like this.

/Fuom!/

As Dale was mesmerized by the scene, David turned to look at the girl mid-air, illuminating her with two beans of concentrated golden light, bathing her in its warmth.

"ZZZzzz…"

She moved slightly in her sleep but aside from that, she seemed unphased by the event.

She continued to sleep soundly, unaware of what was happening in the world outside of her dreams.

…

/Poof!/

Once a few seconds passed, the light surrounding David started to recede and he slowly fell atop his repaired Altar, exhaling slightly as he looked at Dale who was now looking at him directly with agape eyes.

Midway through this incredible scene, he got up unknowingly, walking to the Altar just a foot away from David.

Though when he realized what had happened he only felt slightly odd, and in no time at all, his focus returned to the shining golden head that was now taking a deep breath, seemingly tired.

"Phew… Guess I'm still a bit rusty, it's been a century since I baptized someone."

"Was this… A Baptism?" Dale asked in wonder and curiosity

A sea of questions rushed to the tip of his tongue, but all of them got compressed into that tiny sentence…

He wondered about it all and beyond, just like a man dreaming about his future with a girl he just saw for a moment on the streets…

"Hah, that's a new look, I didn't know you could display such childish interest." David teased as he looked at Dale

"..."

The moment he said that, however, Dale woke up, returning to his usual cynical expression.

He usually didn't notice it but Dale had always been a more serious kind of guy, but with his Skills, his facial expression would barely change unless he was talking with his friends and family.

"Too bad." David joked as he looked to the side

"I know what going on in your Mind right now… So I'll try to solve a part of it, like always."

"Leave it to good old David to explain things for you."

"Hum… Where do I start?"

"Well then, as I said, she just underwent the Baptism, which is the same as being branded."

"Her essence changed and albeit what she is hasn't changed much, she's now Boss' Saintess."

"That may sound redundant, given that until a while ago, she had already been a Priestess… But that was only in name."

"It may sound impressive, but it's not really that big of a deal, because she had only been a chosen prospect, nothing else."

"This doesn't mean there were others though… Boss can be… Picky."

"Even when everything aligns she'll still be on the defensive, watching…"

"And to her, that was how things should've gone, this girl should've been a prospect forever, that was who she was meant to be… That was what Boss had in mind for her."

"She wasn't fated to be here… But something changed, forcing Boss to change her mind."

"You may expect something to happen only for something else to happen in its place…"

"Fate is constantly changing, and if you cannot follow it, then you'll be swept by it…"

"Not everyone can ride the waves, not everyone can create those waves… Few can break through them…"  I think you should take a look at

"Many tried to predict and follow along the edges of the river of time, but how many were successful?"

"Mortals especially always had an inkling in pursuing it, though it often ended in tragedy."

"But don't be fooled, even a God's expectations can be broken." David said with a serious gaze as he looked straight at Dale

"On that note, what do you think was the cause of it?"

"..."

"Heh, good enough, I expected nothing less… But we diverted a little from our goal."

"What matters is that now Boss has made a decision and YOU are the cause of it."

"Don't be pressed though, no one's going to hold you accountable…"

"..."

'The Quest tells otherwise but okay…' Dale thought silently, not willing to break David's fun

"Honestly, that's a pretty decent feat you got under your belt."

"It was unintentional and more of a side effect of your actions, but you still bent Boss' opinion."

"This was something not even the original owner of your Sword accomplished." He said with a smirk as he looked at the ceiling

"Perhaps… Had he been successful with it, how different would things be, I wonder?"

/Chuckle/

"!"

Dale's expression changed a little, David just casually dropped a bomb out of nowhere!

And it seemed he had no plans of explaining it further… As expected, he only laughed about it for a few moments before moving on…

To think he was flaunting the fact he always explained himself just a little before… Figures.

"In any case, with this Baptism, I used up every juice I had accumulated in these past few weeks… So yeah, don't expect much from me."

"Previously as I planning on going with you to the forest, but given my current condition there is absolutely nothing I can provide you while in there."

"I would only end up being a burden, worse, if I'm forced to exert any extra energy, I may even be forced to hibernate."

"As likely thought about it once, but I don't run on air… I do need something to keep myself nice and smooth…"

"Though in a sense, I can speak forever like this and nothing would happen."

"But if we were to cross a certain line… I would be forced to lay low until we went to the other side."

"And it wouldn't be ideal if that were to happen as who knows when I'm going to wake up next… A year? Perhaps a decade later…"

"By then I might even be buried half a foot deep, Oh! What a harrowing experience that would be, to wake up amidst the dirt…"

"Regardless…  This situation is not too bad as we gained something better in exchange for this slight setback…"

"Wayyy better." He said with a sly smile and another chuckle

"We finally have a proper Priest to take care of things and Channel Boss' authority in this place, soon enough we may even be able to start imbuing things with his powers."

"Holy water, Minor Artifacts, the usual…"

"Oho! We may even be able to recruit some Paladins!"

"This makes me remember the old times when they would carry me in a glorious stand while dozens of Knights would march around me… Those were the days…"

"I shouldn't get ahead of myself."

"Wait, what? All of this talk is making me a bit confused, can we go a bit slower?..." Dale asked as he touched his forehead

"Of course."

"Where was I?..."

"Well… Better get this out of the way before continuing."

"Although I never said it before, it wasn't really needed, but since we're on the topic it would be fitting to get this done with."

"The reason why a Saintess is needed, it kind of goes in hand with why a normal Priest is necessary, but that is a whole another story…"

"In short, albeit I can act as a beacon for her influence, I cannot properly draw in Boss' abilities."

"We need someone else for that…"

"A Priest can do, but an ordinary one can only go so far."

"This is because things like natural talent, doubts, lack of practice, and self-discipline, amidst some other things can affect the natural flow of Divine power."

"A basic Priest will do everything he is supposed to do, he'll channel a bit of power to bless people and perform simple miracles, but even that is hard to see."

"It takes many hours if not days of preparation for someone like that."

"Being Priest isn't a shortcut to supernatural powers, it takes just as much effort and devotion to achieve those things."

"Mages require many hours of daily training while a Priest will review doctrines and ancient texts."

"In essence, its similar, but in practice, its not."

"Higher ranking Priests are often sorted not due to their individual ability to… Well, act as a Priest and Reputation but more in their talent to handling their Patron's Authority."

"And we got the best of that world, a Saintess!"

"With her… Expect many doors to open up for us, I would even dare say an extra one or two for you if you know what I mean, hehe… OUCH! MY HEAD!" David exclaimed suddenly as his expression distorted

"Mmnn…"

Erile moved around in her seat but she did not wake up even as David exclaimed and moved around, almost falling from his Altar.

She seemed to be a heavy sleeper…

"Urg… I can't breathe… Haa… Aaa… Wait, I don't have lungs." David said as his gaze turned into one of enlightenment 

"Haha, how silly of me."

"..."

'I'm slowly losing my patience, one Neuron at a time…'

Seeing his expression as he looked at Erile, David said:

"Oh? Ah! Don't worry about her, she won't be waking up anytime soon, so you can speak a bit louder if you must, just don't go overboard… Cough…"

It seemed David really wanted to make a joke there at the end, but he held himself.

He seemed rather excited, perhaps this event flipped his mood and made him a bit lighter than usual.

That wasn't a bad thing either way.

"In any case, let's discuss something more 'tangible' shall we?"

[DING]

The moment David finished talking. another notification played in his head.

So once again, Dale read it silently.

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Notes