Do you all know the future?

Chapter 125 Divine Descent Ritual
The magnificent church was sparsely populated today. As night fell, the important people went to a banquet, while the less important people went to rest.

Lotina walked in the church courtyard, wearing a simple white silk dress with silver thread patterns resembling wind on the hem. There were no other decorations. As the breeze blew, the hem of her dress swayed, making her look like a goddess descending to earth.

The tower resembles a believer's hand reaching towards the sky in prayer, and the silver wind chimes hanging from its spire play a symphony dedicated to the gods day and night, blown by the ceaseless airflow.

Lotina lingered for a brief moment, feeling a sense of tranquility and nature, enjoying the sound of the wind chimes as if the music were being played just for her.

Upon entering the church, magical crystal chandeliers are embedded around the perimeter, reflecting the epic murals on the dome depicting the Storm Goddess calming the raging waves. The myths are projected onto the four walls, with lifelike hyacinth and kingfisher patterns, as if by divine intervention.

The air was filled with the unique scent of holy oil mixed with aged incense. Unlike the chill outside, hundreds of believers dressed in plain white robes had already gathered here, some kneeling and some standing, their faces filled with almost fanatical devotion.

God exists in this world, naturally, and faith is devout and powerful. The hymns whispered by believers converge into waves of sound, like a continuous tide, lapping against the stone walls of the church, creating a wondrous resonance.

Those who enter the church feel themselves being quickly assimilated and become curious and worshipful of the goddess's experiences, much like a low-budget version of the Holy Blood.

Lotina walked in and observed the people around her without attracting their attention. Everyone was immersed in their own world. Some people noticed her, but no one spoke up in the atmosphere. Although Lotina was a saintess, she was usually aloof and studied theology, so everyone kept their distance.

Passing by the praying people without stopping, the girl had a clear goal and went straight to the deepest part of the hall, to the altar made of a single piece of blue stone, its surface carved with complex magic arrays that guided magic and the power of wishes.

The intricate patterns shimmered with a soft blue light as the believers prayed, swirling and flowing around the altar like living spirits.

Lotina lied to her mother; she had actually come to participate in a secret séance.

The séance is harmful to the body. If Mrs. Eve knew that it was such a large-scale ceremony, she would inevitably be subjected to some kind of physical exertion.

The girl's faith made her firmly believe that God had not fallen, and she was willing to participate in the séance, even giving up the opportunity to discuss theology with the head maid.

"Saint!"

An old man in a long robe and hood called out, and Lotina stepped forward and respectfully greeted him.

Good evening, Bishop St. Drummond, may Goddess bless you.

The girl adopted a prayerful posture, showing the respect that the demigod of the church had shown her.

"May the goddess protect us. The ceremony is still incomplete. Please wait a moment, Holy Maiden."

Holy Bishop Drummond smiled, appearing very peaceful. His kind face showed no sign of having done anything evil. He was also highly respected in the Breeze Church; otherwise, he would not have been able to organize this secret ceremony.

Deities usually leave two or three demigods to guard the church. The material world is both important and unimportant to the deities. What is important is that the faith is stable and human resources are abundant. What is unimportant is that there is nothing else. The spiritual resources of the material world are too scarce and need to be nourished by the spiritual realm.

The source of spirituality is in the spiritual realm, which is also the main area of ​​struggle and control for the gods. The material world is more like a pasture for grazing, providing some human resources. Evil gods are like poachers, and they don't really care much about the material world.

Demigods prefer to explore the spiritual realm, seeking the laws that suit them, completing those laws, and igniting their divine fire, rather than lingering in the material world. The main reason why the gods are now so focused on the material world is because of Diane.

To be precise, it was Queen Greta who felt as if she had heard that a tiger had appeared on her ranch and had killed a rancher.

Diane is now a tiger cub, and everyone knows that he will grow up to be a fierce tiger. Everyone wants to raise this young tiger.

"What's still missing?"

Feeling the increasingly intense power of faith emanating from the altar is a proper procedure for invoking a deity. If an evil god wants to gain more power and remain more stable, it also needs to go through the path of sacrificial faith.

"We're preparing the materials for the divine summoning; it should be done soon, no need to rush."

Holy Bishop Drummond looked at the altar, calm and composed. He knew he couldn't make too much noise, or he wouldn't be able to attract Diane's attention. Thinking of the promises made by the Moon Goddess and the God of Life, he couldn't help but show a hint of joy.

"Didn't Marquis Eve come along?"

Holy Bishop Drummond had no intention of hiding it from the Tudor's supernatural department. The Church and the State were intertwined, and given the scale of his actions, it was impossible for the Royal Family not to know.

It was a secret, but it was also semi-public. If it were truly kept hidden, it might be discovered during an investigation. He only concealed the part about his collusion with the Moon Goddess. It was strange that Lady Eve, who was Lotina's mother, did not come along.

“She went to Queen Fafya’s welcoming banquet. I only told her it was a séance and persuaded her to let me attend.”

Lotina stared blankly at the operating altar, her inner turmoil unexpressed on her face.

"The saint's loyalty to God has been tested. Many people in the church have restless hearts, but with God's protection, the church will still exist. However, some people have boarded the ship of others."

Holy Bishop Drummond lamented that the traitors angrily denounced others as traitors, standing on their moral high ground and pointing fingers at others.

“That’s understandable. Unless the Lord God returns, the few gods cannot protect the Lord’s legacy or preserve the Tudor kingdom.”

Only the supreme deity has the right to define its own pastures and its own territory of rule; subordinate deities cannot.

Breeze Church has been operating normally for decades without any faith problems, entirely thanks to the continued work of the divine beings in the spiritual realm.

But they can only bestow blessings; without the Storm Goddess, they cannot defeat any of the main gods, which is why the gods covet Diane.

If Diane could fight other gods of higher levels like her "mother," even if it only resulted in the other party paying an unacceptable price, Diane's value would be immeasurable.

Even in the current situation, even if the Storm Goddess is missing, the presence of Diane from God means the church can still protect most of its believers and assets.

Unfortunately, the Church of Storms doesn't have anyone like Diane among its followers; they are all just ordinary demigods, lacking the strength to challenge those of higher levels.

"Yes, it's fortunate that the new god had mercy on us, otherwise Tudor would probably not have been able to survive, since the only known believer of the other party is the Tudor prince."

The struggle between faiths is so cruel. In this situation, one can escape. Moreover, Drummond was not a believer in the Church of Storms from the beginning, otherwise he would not be so old. He joined the church later when his lifespan was about to end, seeking an opportunity to break through to demigod status. Of course, he also stopped at demigod status.

"Prince An..."

The girl murmured Diane's name softly, thinking of her mother's elaborate attire today, and felt a pang of sadness in her heart.

I don't know if it's because my church needs my mother's physical preservation, or because my mother has a new lover who might give me a little father figure, that I feel uncomfortable.

“This Prince An must be the son of the new god, no, the son of the god, otherwise he could not have made such a decision. He probably knew from the beginning that the Lord had disappeared, which is why he chose Tudor.”

There was a hint of envy in Holy Bishop Drummond's words. Now everyone knew that Diane would become a servant of the Lord God, a state that he himself could never reach.

"He probably doesn't know..." From the head maid's discussion of theology with her, and the fact that she was asked to seek confirmation from the goddess regarding some questions, it can be concluded that the head maid did not know.

Lottina wasn't good at reading people, but the way Diane always sought out the head maid made it clear that she was just a lackey of the head maid. If the head maid didn't know, how could he?

"Is that so? Did the Holy Maiden find out while she was with His Highness An?"

"Whether we know it or not, the Tudors are changing. This prince has also protected our Breeze Church. If the Lord were to return, he would be grateful. This is all thanks to the saint's mediation."

Drummond looked grateful, as if he were genuinely thanking Diane, which at the same time lowered Lottina's guard, even though Lottina was already off guard.

“It wasn’t me, it was my mother. I’m not familiar with him.”

Lottina nodded and then shook her head. She and Diane didn't get along. Diane didn't like her, and she didn't like Diane either. Well, not exactly dislike, but rather not hate.

Regardless of whether Diane had any ulterior motives or was attracted to her mother's beauty, she did indeed protect the Breeze Church and did not destroy it.

"Doesn't the Holy Maiden often visit His Highness? Marquis Eve doesn't seem to visit as often as His Highness, but there seem to be many rumors about Marquis Eve and His Highness."

Before dealing with an enemy, one must understand the enemy, as stated by Holy Bishop Drummond. However, the relationship between Diane and the mother and daughter is indeed ambiguous, sometimes seemingly favoring the daughter and sometimes the mother.

"It's not a rumor. My mother likes Prince An, and Prince An likes my mother. I'm just an accident."

Lotina remained expressionless. She hadn't been sure before, but now she could make it official. Her conversation with her mother clearly showed her mother's attitude: she was going to see the head maid, not Diane.

"Cough, cough..."

Even though he was a demigod who had seen many scenes of moral decay, he was still surprised to hear Lotina's calm answer.

"Yeah, he's a good person, I wouldn't mind him being my dad, he's just a little..."

Lustful.

Lottina hummed in agreement, silently pointing out a flaw that wasn't really a flaw: for a spiritual being of Diane's caliber, being lustful was a good thing.

"Does Your Highness like Marquis Eve?"

Drummond was somewhat disappointed. Lottina and Diane didn't get along, and what would he do if he couldn't seduce Diane? How could he explain that to the moon goddess and the goddess of life?

"That's right, he said he likes big ones, and Mom is the big one!"

Lotina didn't hide anything and stated Diane's words even more bluntly.

"This prince is really bold. If he likes Marquis Eve, then only Marquis Eve knows about the new god. Does this god not need faith or believers? We haven't seen any action from him yet."

Realizing he couldn't get any information about the new god from Lotina, Holy Bishop Drummond felt disappointed but still tried to probe indirectly.

“Mother didn’t know either. Prince An hardly ever talked about this deity. If it weren’t for his intervention this time, we wouldn’t even have known that Prince An had a faith, and we were even thinking of bringing him into the Breeze Church.”

Lottina's calm tone showed little emotion as she thought of her mother and Diane. Had the two met yet?

Did they dance together? Did they kiss? Did Queen Fafnir capture Diane's attention?

"They've hidden it too well. I don't know why they're hiding it like this. I can understand the Holy Blood, but faith isn't necessary. Maybe they really don't know that the Lord has disappeared and are afraid to confront the Lord head-on."

Holy Bishop Drummond was just guessing when he thought of the rumors that the other party's main god had torn apart the laws of the moon god, and he felt that it was unlikely. The other party's main god was indeed powerful.

"No need to dwell on it. We know everything now. The gods of abundance, prosperity, and victory, as well as the Holy Blood Spirituality, are common knowledge. He has already failed to hide his defeat, so it's pointless."

If Lottina doesn't see Diane as an enemy, she doesn't need to overthink things. As long as Diane genuinely likes her mother, that's enough. She doesn't care about so many other things. She's not Diane's wife, so she doesn't need to know so many secrets.

"..."

It meant nothing to Lotina, but it meant a lot to him, yet Lotina's indifferent attitude meant he couldn't get anything out of her.

She miscalculated. She didn't expect that the person Diane valued was Marquis Eve. Saintess Lottina was clearly the key to subduing the Breeze Church, yet Diane didn't put any effort into Lottina.

"The ceremony is ready. Please, Holy Maiden, descend."

After a moment of silence, the priests carried up the kingfisher feathers secured to the wind god stone, and Holy Bishop Drummond made a request to Lottina.

His voice spread like a gentle breeze, clearly reaching every pastor. At the same time, all the praying pastors were awakened, still chanting scriptures, but all their eyes were drawn to the altar.

Lotina walked toward the blue stone altar, and all eyes were on her, filled with awe, anticipation, and fervor.

This wasn't the first time Lottina had encountered such a gaze, a gaze that seemed to designate the ultimate goal of her life, offering it as a sacrifice to the gods.

"The great ruler of storms, the mistress of the sky, the source of all breath!"

Holy Bishop Drummond held aloft a scepter crafted from wind-elemental crystals. His voice, no longer gentle and compassionate, was now loud and powerful, each word carrying the force of wind and thunder, echoing throughout the magnificent church.

"Your lost sheep, I offer my most sincere prayer!"

"Your humble servant offers the purest sacrifice!"

"..."

As she listened to Drummond's chanting, and combined with the power of her accumulated faith, Lottina felt an indescribable force surging into her body from all directions—the wind element, which she had been intimately familiar with and close to since childhood.

She too will face her destiny, becoming a vessel for God, provided that a god exists.

"boom!"

The church doors were blasted open; the mother had come looking for her daughter.

(End of this chapter)