Shrouded Seascape

Chapter 483: Light God

Flames engulfed Charles once more, searing his skin, his organs, and his very being. However, Charles showed no intent to stop.

Taking unwavering and determined strides, he trudged forward. He wished for the flames to burn even fiercer, to consume his entire being until nothing remained.

"Charles, do you really not want to return home? Think of your family that you have not seen for a long while. Free the Light God, and you'll be able to return home," the Pope's voice sounded from behind him.

Clenching his jaws, Charles pressed ahead. "If what you say is true, then why the secrecy? Why are you not telling me things directly? What else are you hiding?"

Charles then leaped up and transformed into a bat in an attempt to dash out again.

"You've waited thirteen years to return home. Do you know how long I've waited for this day? One hundred and twenty years! Nothing can disrupt my plans!" The Pope's voice echoed from behind him again, this time with a hint of iciness.

Pale-white ghosts emerged from the ground. They swiftly enveloped Charles and moved him into the last vacant slot.

Charles struggled to escape from the spot but found himself trapped as if there was a transparent dome around him.

The mysterious runes on the concentric circles floated off the ground before converging toward the lustrous humanoid in the middle of the array.

Meanwhile, the Divine Light Order followers gradually closed in. With their eyes sealed with wax and their heads bowed deeply to the ground, they started muttering lamentations from the New Testament.

Staring at the Pope whose smile was growing radiant by the second, Charles scoured his mind for any possible solutions to halt the ritual.

Suddenly, a piece of intelligence came to mind. It was one that he had discovered earlier and might just prove to be useful at this critical juncture.

"Wait! The Light God isn't a true Divinity that you believe in! He's man-made! He's not a god but merely an experimental product of the Foundation!" Charles blurted out.

The Pope nodded calmly in response. "Yes, I know. The Light God is the GK Council's members, created from the Divine Blood harvested from God Fhtagn. He has never hidden this fact from me."

"You know? And yet you still believe in Him? In a man-made god?" Charles was taken aback at the Pope's utterly irrational mindset.

"To me, He is not merely a god; He is my everything," the Pope said. A variety of emotions flickered across his eyes. There was devotion, respect, gratitude, and. love.

Before Charles had the chance to speak again, the illuminated figure encircled by runes began to move. It emitted a radiance so intense that it bathed the entire hall in a brilliant white light.

Accompanied by what sounded like chants from ancient times, the colossal mechanical construct, Ronker, was torn into two halves.

The strange city beneath the trench now appeared above Charles. He also discovered that he was upside-down.

The massive green stone buildings, towering monoliths, majestic statues, and ornate reliefs were all illuminated by the radiant figure's intense light. The entire trench was painted a brilliant white in that moment.

Suddenly, the glowing figure moved. It transformed into a beam of light and pierced through the bizarre city above.

At that moment, the city turned into a painting, slowly rolling up to reveal the space-time dimension behind it.

Profound darkness was the only color. Within which, a single key floated in the vast expanse.

Charles instantly recognized the key. It was the key that was once transported by the Foundation via an aircraft carrier, the key to the surface world.

"The key" Charles couldn't help but utter as he laid his gaze on it.

"Yes, it's the key," the Pope concurred as he stepped out of his own spot and approached Charles. "I told you right from the start that my quest is to find the key. We share the same goal; I've never lied."

Charles was stunned into silence. He was unsure if the Pope was speaking the truth. His instincts screamed that the Pope was a professional liar, but the undeniable evidence was right before his eyesthe key was truly there.

"Hush, be quiet. Don't awaken Him. Look there. Look at Him closely," the Pope instructed with a smile and pointed toward the vast darkness.

Charles' eyes followed the finger but saw nothing. He was just about to probe further when a vague silhouette appeared from the darkness.

It was a colossal giant. Tentacles with multiple eyeballs sprouted out of his body. Though it seemed unbelievable, Charles could pick up the cognitive information his brain was sendingthe entity was bigger than even a planet itself.

Describing the being merely as a giant didn't do it justice. It was, in fact, a monstrous figure with a semblance of human shapeits head was adorned with numerous tentacles, and its massive, clawed feet anchored a body covered in slimy green scales.

The slender wings unfurled from its back had made its grotesque appearance become even more grotesque. The creature's corpulent body oozed with slime, making it a sight of sheer terror.

The giant was sleeping. With each breath it took, the fabric of time and space around Him would be torn apart before regenerating anew.

As soon as Charles laid eyes on Him, his sanity rapidly declined. He couldn't even move his body as well.

The entity was God Fhtagn in His deep slumber.

His right hand adorned with twenty-three tentacles had a minuscule egg-yolk-colored orb nestled within it. The orb tumbled around in God Fhtagn's hand before finally rolling out of the forest of tentacles.

It attempted to roll closer toward Charles and the others, but it seemed unable to escape the darkness.

The Pope returned to his spot and stood ready. Excitement painted his countenance, and his eyes burned with fervor as he gazed upon the tiny luminous orb.

Suddenly, the Pope raised both hands toward the orb. Dazzling light lit up the circles beneath the four sacrifices.

Tears of blood streamed down the massive eyeball and the droplets drifted toward the glowing orb.

The flesh that had sewn Swann's mouth shut was torn open, and he let out the wail of an ordinary baby as his blood and flesh melted rapidly and floated upward.

The Pope opened his mouth wide, from which a golden light, almost tangible, drifted upward as well.

All of a sudden, Charles felt a presence standing behind him. From the corner of his eye, he caught a glimpse of his own shadow. His shadow had left the ground and was standing upright.

Detaching itself from Charles, the shadow joined the other three elements and flew toward the orb.

Charles was engulfed by a profound sense of loss and emptiness. It felt as though the departure of his shadow had also stripped away a part of him.

The four elements swiftly merged into each other to form a rope, which coiled itself around the luminous orb in the far distance.

The rope tugged at the orb, pulling it closer and closer.

Snap!

Charles snapped back to reality, and he found himself back on the sea surface. The soft caress of the sea breeze on his face swiftly restored his sanity which had been eroded by Fhtagn's influence.

Observing the myriad of ships dotting the waters around him, he noted the distinctive white triangle symbol on their crews' foreheads; they were unmistakably followers of the Divine Light Order.