Chapter 352
A tenuous connection slowly intertwined with Xia'er’s spirit.
The shattered blood cocoon resembled a hail of crimson ice, staining the sacred statue of the goddess a deep red. Coupled with the blood-like runes on its face, it appeared particularly terrifying and grotesque.
An ultimate being descended slowly from before the statue.
That was Eleanor.
No, it should be said that it was a being from the Otherworld that had invaded Eleanor's shell.
Its black form rustled ominously behind it, revealing terrifying, writhing tentacles and limbs, a completely insectoid head hidden in the shadow of a hood, entirely enveloped by darkness, obscuring any glimpse of its true visage.
Its entire body was almost covered in this blackness, save for a shattered chest. Through the tattered clothing and visible ribs, one could see a half-formed, bizarre, dark purple mass that could hardly be called a heart, slowly pulsating within.
In that moment, Xia'er finally understood.
Whether it was the previous divine servant or the Anworm, they were merely insignificant phantoms... No wonder Ai Mi had said she only saw a white shadow when she witnessed the divine servant...
If the power of the divine servant truly stemmed from the "Ascetic," then what she had summoned might have just been a shadow of the divine servant...
But this time, she had summoned the real thing...
A half-heart...
"You seem to have... summoned me before..."
A vague, ethereal voice echoed in Xia'er’s mind.
The Anworm’s...
Half a heart.
**Chapter 194: The End of the West District.**
"You seem to have... summoned me before..."
The hazy voice of Ansu resonated in Xia'er’s mind, causing her to pause slightly.
She had been ready to turn and flee, but as she gazed directly at the remnants of the Anworm before her, she felt no mental pollution or oppression.
This was completely different from her previous summoning experiences...
Was it because of the **Superlimit Gear**?
"Yes, in another world."
Xia'er replied inwardly, as if communicating with the system.
From her multiple summons of Xiao Zuo, Xia'er had learned that beings from the Otherworld retained some memory, though it was incomplete.
This was her first genuine communication with a being from the Otherworld. Unlike the previous divine servant, which had seemed dazed, the Anworm before her appeared to possess a certain level of intelligence... or perhaps, fragmented memories.
What exactly was the Otherworld? Why did it speak Ansu? Did the Otherworld have ties to the Old Ones?
In an instant, a multitude of questions surged in Xia'er’s mind, but the voice interrupted her thoughts.
"Oh... (Ancient Ansu) Ascendant? No, that’s not right."
The Anworm slowly descended to the ground, tilting its head slightly as it looked at Xia'er.
But the faint remnants of memory seemed insufficient to support further thought. After a moment of silence, it continued to speak in Xia'er’s mind:
"Thank you for your... blood... strange... Ascendant..."
"What do you need... me... to do?"
She had hit the nail on the head.
A smile crept onto Xia'er’s face. She turned to the shocked faces of the members of the Savior Goddess Church and silently urged, "Now, kneel and say to me—‘Great Mother Goddess.’"
"Religion...?"
The Anworm seemed a bit chatty. After hearing Xia'er’s command, it continued to murmur to itself, "I have some... kin... indeed serving... the religions of intelligent beings... well..."
Its insect wings slowly folded, and it knelt on one knee before Xia'er, a mesmerizing sound emanating from the shadows beneath its cloak: "Great Mother Goddess..."
"Now, make a little more noise, just a bit."
Xia'er urged in her mind.
The Anworm obediently dissipated some of the black mist on its face, and a fierce spiritual alarm erupted in everyone’s minds!
"No... it can't be..."
Madeleine stared in shock at the scene before her, instinctively taking two steps back.
Yes... the Anworm before her was just as depicted in the ancient scriptures of the Holy War Era. Though it was merely a remnant, the pressure it exuded made even the potion within her fourth-tier body stir and boil.
This was the aura of the Otherworld... she couldn't be mistaken...
The saintess who had previously explored the Otherworld and never returned also emanated this same aura from her remnants...
Could it be that the Savior Goddess Church was truly wrong?
Was the Holy Ascendant the true orthodoxy?
"Saint Mother Pope..."
Madeleine suddenly turned to look at the Pope, seemingly hoping she would say something to deny everything happening before them.
But the Pope was also frozen in place, her murky pupils filled with confusion.
At that moment, Tara, half-kneeling, gazed fervently at Xia'er, who stood before the Anworm, accepting its worship... she knew...
Tara stood up and turned to the members of the Savior Goddess Church behind her, saying, "The Mother Goddess does not wish for her followers to be divided. We already share the same faith."
"Now, an opportunity that belongs only to us lies before us, with no room for choice!"
"Let us unite!"
"Let the Savior Goddess Church be great once more!"
Upon seeing the Anworm, a significant portion of the archbishops had already begun to waver.
Especially those from the Tribunal; the moment they laid eyes on the Anworm, they could hardly contain their urge to rush forward and beg for the Mother Goddess and the saints' forgiveness.
Now, after hearing Tara's proclamation, they quickly stepped forward, kneeling outside the blood array, bowing their heads deeply.
"Great Mother Goddess."
"Great Mother Goddess, please forgive my ignorance..."
"Mother above..."
More and more people moved to the front, and the Pope, gripping her staff, began to tremble. She could no longer fathom what reasoning could explain all of this...
This was a fact witnessed firsthand... the Holy Spirit had truly descended upon the world...
"Cough, cough..."
The aged Pope spat out a mouthful of blood and knelt, supporting herself with her staff. She had devoted her life’s energy to the secularization of the church, for deep down, she no longer believed in the existence of a true goddess.
Wasn't the so-called goddess just a more powerful Ascendant from before the Holy War Era? Weren't those so-called saints merely the broken remnants of uncontrolled transcendent beings? Hadn't these all been glorified through the long course of history?
Could it actually... exist?
Clang—
The staff slipped from her grasp, hitting the ground with a crisp sound, the gem symbolizing supreme authority cracking upon impact. She fell face down, her life hanging in the balance.
Seeing this, Madeleine finally relinquished the last shred of her fantasy. Trembling, she picked up the staff and made her way through the kneeling archbishops, half-kneeling as she presented the staff to Tara with both hands.
"May... the Mother Goddess's representative forgive..."
Tara turned around, and upon seeing Xia'er’s approving gaze, reached out to take the shattered staff.
"Boom—!"
"What is your Savior Goddess Church... doing?!"
With a loud crash, a middle-aged man in noble attire emerged from the dust, his right cheek encased in silver armor, his left eye a dark purple, radiating the authority of a higher being.
His gaze slowly shifted from the kneeling members of the Savior Goddess Church to the girl holding the Pope's staff, then to the sky-blue-haired girl beneath the statue and the dark figure behind her.
Upon meeting the gaze of the shadowy figure, his pupils constricted slightly.
A being from the Otherworld... how could this be possible?!
Meanwhile, Xia'er looked at the kneeling members of the Savior Goddess Church before her, beginning to ponder.
Had it really been this easy...?
While Tara's speech had played a part, the greatest contribution was undoubtedly the summoned Anworm, which had left these followers in shock.
If that was the case, what if she tried to sacrifice someone from the Order of the God of Order? Would she summon a being from the Otherworld related to the God of Order?
Moreover, from what the Anworm had said, it seemed that there were significant differences among individual beings from the Otherworld.
The divine servant she had summoned before was almost deeply bound to the Savior Goddess Church and the Holy Ascendant, even knowing who Tara was.
But this Anworm seemed indifferent to religion, perhaps having lost that part of its memory.
Recalling how the divine servant had mistaken her for the Mother Goddess, Xia'er had a bold hypothesis.
Perhaps the relationships between religion and beings from the Otherworld, beings from the Otherworld and deities, and deities and religion were far more fragmented than she had imagined.
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