From Secret Clan to the Divine Dynasty

The name of this Glenborough town is "Meteor," and the total population is a mere five to six thousand people, yet they openly display great reverence for the Reforging Church, although everyone seems quite listless every day.

The use of machinery is very common in the town, with many townspeople having undergone mechanical modifications, even some of those who were originally hale would willingly amputate parts of their own bodies to replace with machinery.

Almost every year, the Reforging God would bestow new oracles upon the "Chief" of the Reforging Church, and these oracles contained new knowledge, which the chief, as the leader of the church, would then convey to the various bishops, who in turn would pass it on to the numerous Reforging Priests.

The knowledge contained within those oracles was extremely useful, and the priests of the Reforging Church never felt the need to keep it secret. Instead, the Chief would have the priests find ways to spread that knowledge and its corresponding applications as widely as possible.

It was for this reason that many lords and nobles welcomed them, so the spread of the Reforging Church accelerated, and what had been an unacknowledged heretical cult just a few decades ago was gradually catching up with the weakest among them, the Silver Moon Church.

After arriving at this town, Felix also came across much new knowledge, and his mechanical skills improved day by day.

He suddenly felt that joining the Reforging Church seemed to benefit those on the Path of Forging and the Path of Knowledge who were Consecution Extraordinary Exponents.

In his dreams at night, Felix would continuously assemble machinery, mastering more Power of Consecution.

As one of Bishop Isabel's assistant priests, he began to take charge of helping her manage some affairs, but compared to the other two assistant priests, the matters Felix dealt with were always a bit more peripheral.

He never got access to some of the core secrets about Isabel herself.

However, not long after joining the Reforging Church, Isabel began to frequently speak of some... very strange things to Felix.

According to her, Felix could try to learn about and understand the knowledge of other religions; "learning" was highly encouraged by the Reforging Church, so he was completely free to study that heretical knowledge.

Isabel said with her arms crossed and in a cold voice,

"Go and learn more. With my approval, it won't be a violation for you to delve into those heretical things."

Then, Isabel took him to a basement beneath a large cathedral, where many heretical texts collected by the Reforging Church quickly came into Felix's view.

"Alright, I understand. Thank you for your guidance, Bishop Isabel."

That night, Felix began studying the numerous texts here and came across a book called "Those Great Beings Beyond the World."

"Those Great Beings Beyond the World" chronicled the known twenty-four otherworldly gods, each representing a moment, from zero to twenty-three hours, with each hour marked by a symbolic deity.

So that's how it is, the Tranquility Songster, the Chaos Constellation, are all otherworldly gods...

Hmm, dreams also have their deity, the Eternal Nightmare Sovereign...

Felix took a deep breath and silently read through the names, not voicing them out loud, because right at the beginning of the book, there was a warning written in bold red letters.

"Do not speak Their names!"

Perhaps, just by speaking Their names, one might draw Their gaze...

The Lord of Ashes at zero hour, symbolizing chaos and destruction.

The Eternal Moon at one o'clock, representing feminine energy.

The Tranquility Songster at two o'clock, symbolizing death and silence.

The Eternal Nightmare Sovereign at three o'clock, representing the realm of dreams.

...

The last is the Fog of the White Beyond at twenty-three o'clock, symbolizing knowledge.Nôv(el)B\\jnn

"Phew."

When Felix had thoroughly finished reading the book, he felt a shiver run down his spine, as each of the otherworldly gods described in it seemed utterly terrifying.

According to the book, the powers possessed by the otherworldly gods might even be a tier stronger than those of the True Gods.

After some time, he gradually felt that there was something not quite right with Isabel.

One day, Isabel casually mentioned that the Chaos Constellation, the deity worshiped by the Stars Embrace Order, might also bring positive meanings, and a strong sense of unease grew inside Felix.

"Why would she say that?"

"What exactly is she hinting at?"

He pondered.

In the time that followed, Isabel often discussed matters related to the otherworldly gods with Felix, even voluntarily extolling Their grandeur.

She said coldly,

"Although as a follower of the God of Reforging, I don't want to admit it, it's the otherworldly gods who are the most powerful deities, inducing fear among all beings in the multiverse with Their tremendous powers."

Felix asked, "Those so-called otherworldly gods, the Evil Gods, do they really possess such formidable power?"

Isabel nodded and said, "Indeed, as much as I am reluctant to truly admit it, both the Reforging Church and the God of Reforging encourage us to pursue the laws of the world and objective facts."

"Since objective facts are such, then we should not avoid them."

"Yes, I understand."

Felix nodded slightly, yet deep inside he felt quite strange because most followers of the Reforging Church believed that the God of Reforging was the most powerful deity.

The situation with Isabel was somewhat different from theirs; although she was a bishop of the Reforging Church, many of her actions and words contained a sense of "disharmony," an oddity that didn't quite fit.

Several days later, on a pitch-black night.

Felix walked calmly along the road when he suddenly encountered Isabel approaching from the other direction. The woman was wearing black and red armor today, her gaze icy cold, and she was dragging a battered corpse behind her.

Blood kept flowing from the body, and Felix froze, staring at her.

"Bishop Isabel?"

Isabel nodded slightly, tossed the body on the ground, and said, "Felix, come and help me deal with him... Quick, he is a traitor!"

"Alright, I understand!"

Felix immediately went over and was shocked to discover the true identity of the corpse; it was actually one of the two Assistant Priests besides himself!

"Why him?"

"Don't ask."

Although his heart was full of confusion and doubt, when he saw the icy look in Isabel's eyes, he knew he couldn't refuse, so he silently dealt with the body.

"Very good."

"Don't speak of this to anyone."

Felix fell into deep thought, faintly sensing that he had fallen into a trap.

He could only pray to the great Lord of the Lost.

Sure enough, Isabel began seeking out Felix frequently afterward, propagating some affairs about the... Chaos Constellation, often with positive comments!

Late at night, Isabel led Felix out of the church.

"Rather than making the world perfect, it might be a better choice to go to a perfect world."

"There exists a perfect world upon the Chaos Constellation and those who believe in it will obtain a perfect life after death..."

Felix felt a cold sweat soaking his back, his Adam's apple bobbing, he wanted to speak, but feeling as though he could say nothing.

Suddenly, Isabel said with an oppressive tone, "Join the Stars Embrace Order, Felix."

Felix looked into the woman's eyes, sensing an exaggerated display of power, knowing that to refuse would mean death.

Although puzzled by the Stars Embrace Order's crude method of recruitment, wondering how loyalty could be ensured, he still had no choice but to nod.

"I am willing."

Isabel calmly took out a black stone heptagram.

"Raise your head."

Felix paused, then lifted his head, and was astonished to see what seemed like a massive black constellation in the sky.

That black constellation's surface was covered with numerous giant eyes, gazing upon all things in the world as if encompassing past and future within it, no one's fate could escape Its grasp; the chaos power emanating from the stars was infinite, plunging all things into frenzied turmoil!

"Ahhh!"

Felix's heart raced, and he cried out, his mind overwhelmed with indescribable and unspeakable information that nearly devoured his self.

He collapsed, a black heptagram filled with chaos energy appearing on his chest.

Isabel, expression calm, took the unconscious Felix to a room in the great cathedral and said indifferently:

"You will become one of us, transform into a child of the constellations!"

Only after she left did the red brand on Felix's hand suddenly glow, and a miraculous scene unfolded; the black heptagram gradually faded until it completely disappeared.