City of Sin

Book 2, 157

Gods And Planes

The room went dead in an instant. The only sound to be heard was the breathing of Olar and Kars, something that seemed especially heavy and fast.

Richard leaned into his sofa, staying relaxed, “If they could give you what you wanted, I wouldn’t be sitting here.”

Duke Bevry chuckled, “You have courage, but too much of that is just foolishness. If even Cerces and Neian can’t give me what I want, how could you? If all you have are runes, we have nothing to talk about. A boost to my power is very attractive, but it isn’t enough.” The Duke remained gentle and approachable, but his smile started to grow sharper.

Richard remained unruffled under the pressure, “Of course it’s impossible on my own, but I have my family behind me, a true legendary powerhouse, an entire plane, and a true god who transcends planes themselves! That’s the very reason I can sit in front of you right now.”

“A god?” the Duke broke into laughter, gently stroking the ring on his finger, “You know my family worships our ancestors, completely incompatible with the gods. If you could somehow change my beliefs, why would I have waited so long? You brats are from a different plane, I could have handed you over to a church long ago.”

The atmosphere grew a little stale once more. Marvin, who had been pulling the strings in the Sequoia Kingdom, certainly wouldn’t admit that his lord was an intruder. However, with Baron Forza’s lands being so close, Richard’s abnormal movements couldn’t be hidden from Bevry’s sight. Despite all that, this was the first time the man had clearly mentioned a different plane.

Richard continued to stay calm, as if he was engaged in a rigorous academic debate, “The faith of descendants allows an ancestor to absorb their offerings. The ultimate goal is still to allow your ancestors’ souls to become demigods, giving your family the option to borrow the power of your bloodline for a breakthrough when needed. This is only incompatible with the pantheon because it splits up faith, something they need as well.”

The Duke grew interested, “You know all this, but you still dare mention a god. Are you saying your god does not need my faith?”

“Indeed!” Richard replied.

The Direwolf Duke was a little surprised, but he didn’t question this reply which seemingly violated the rules of the plane. He instead nodded, showing greater interest as he glanced at Flowsand, “So that girl is a cleric? Level 10 at such a young age, the god really has to be powerful. She has a promising future; if she was in Neian’s church, she would have a chance to become pope.

“Richard, it seems like the plane you come from is indeed remarkable. However, what’s the point of bringing this little girl to Faelor? This plane has a long history, and the gods have sealed it off from the outside. The heretic gods... Forgive my discourtesy... No foreign god can extend their might here. When the power stored in this little girl is used up, she’ll become useless. Her only use here is to show me the power of your god.”

“Your words are only half correct, Your Grace. Flowsand is indeed here to show you the power of the great Dragon of Eternity and Light, but even in Faelor she can restore her mana and advance as normal.”

“Oh... She can restore powers... Wait!” The Direwolf Duke’s expression suddenly changed. As the leader of a family of ancestor worshippers whose history was longer even than some powerful royal families, he understood very clearly what it meant for Flowsand to be able to restore her mana. It meant that the god she served was so powerful he could break through the seal on Faelor!

This god was formidable! Either he was strong enough to suppress the gods of Faelor, or the laws he controlled were beyond Faelor itself. No matter what that was, it wasn’t good for any life on Faelor. Richard’s arrival implied that this great god had turned his attention to them.

Bevry had almost stood up in his momentary surprised, but his rear had only just left the sofa before he sat down once more. The shock on his face slowly faded away.

His gaze grew extremely sharp, and he scanned over Flowsand and Richard repeatedly. However, Flowsand was a titled cleric while Richard had a legendary master. In the Deepblue, someone of Bevry’s level wasn’t even worth fighting. The Duke’s intent gaze and the pressure he subconsciously gave off didn’t cause them to grow timid in the slightest.

“Forgive my discourtesy, but how can you prove what you’ve said?”

Truthfully, this was quite easy to prove. As long as Flowsand performed a few powerful spells and dried up her mana, she could wait a few days and show that her mana pool had been restored. However, this matter was far too important; Duke Bevry would not have the necessary patience for that.

Thankfully, that was well within Richard’s expectations. Richard turned back to Kars, “Kars, go to the Duke and let him have a good look. Hmm, you can cast a few spells while you’re at it.”

Kars responded and got up, walking to the centre of the lobby before he cast a healing spell on the Duke.

Bevry grew a little doubtful. Healing spells were basics that every cleric possessed, but despite Kars’ low level the result was confusing. The spell was only half as effective as the Duke had expected. However, another close look at Kars left the man shocked.

He had just realised that Kars was a fallen cleric!

Having observed Richard for so long, the Duke had to admit that it had grown hard to differentiate him and the other intruders from the residents of the plane. It would be normal to assimilate some of the locals over such a long time, but the appearance of a fallen cleric was something else entirely. A fallen cleric could only be formed by the power of a god. Kars was level 7, but Flowsand was only level 10. Even if she had emptied her entire mana pool into him, it would have been impossible for the now-fallen cleric to reach his current state. His presence alone was enough to prove conclusively that this god’s power could extend into Faelor.

Soon after, Kars took out a pot of a flowering plant called the Queen of the Night. This was a common plant on Faelor, the specialty being that the flower bloomed for less than a minute before withering. There was only a bud on the plant right now, but Richard took out a bottle of magical solution and poured it over causing the flower to slowly blossom. This kind of magic solution that could promote plant growth was quite common even on Faelor.

By the time Richard began pouring the solution, Kars was almost done with his chant. The spell was long and tedious, taking half a minute to finish. When the Queen of the Night just bloomed, his spell fell on the sparkling white flower. Even as everybody held their breaths, the plant stayed blossomed for three whole minutes before withering.

The Duke suddenly stood up!

The power that had fallen on the plant was not something that promoted growth, nor was it a mere stimulus. It was the power of time! This was a power of time that was completely different from that of the God of Time, Runai! It was boundless; although incomparably weak, the Duke perceived that it surpassed Faelor itself! Even with his best efforts, Bevry could only touch a small drop in that ocean of power. The vast majesty of it all rendered him speechless!