Badge in Azure

The original goal of the goddess leaving so many temples behind was to enable the people who chose to resurrect her to be converted into believers and have them live in the temples.

As such, the temples were built using the best materials. However, she never anticipated that one of the people would take the halls apart.

‘Gods are not omnipotent’ was said by astrologers.

Saleen could not wait to go to the 23rd hall. The hall’s core was not an altar; it was a cage. A divine power cage!

The cage was carved entirely from crystals. It was over 30 meters tall and countless green holy prose was found in the crystal, which was still coursing about. Saleen approached the cage and peered inside.

A tall water elemental creature was caged inside.

The creature looked like a fox. The water element that made up its body formed into thin, white, dense coat of fur. It was unknown how long it had been caged there, but it was a surprise that the elemental power had yet to dissipate.

Saleen came to the side of the cage and the water elemental creature opened its eyes to look at Saleen, shutting its eyes again.

A very high level creature indeed! Saleen was able to see intelligence in the eyes of the water fox. It was locked up, but it showed no signs of aggression. It was obvious that the goddess left it as a gift for later generations.

Saleen smirked. The others might have wanted to tame the fox, but he had no such intention and simply stored the entire cage in the Ring of Gifts. The cage was an independent piece and not connected to the earth. The coursing holy prose within the crystal was unable to resist the power of the ring.

The internal space of the Ring of Gifts had expanded tens of times after acquiring power of faith from the divine baby. He was not worried at all about leaving; he had ample divine power to spare.

The water fox panicked, but it was stored in the ring before it could even think of ways to mesmerize Saleen.

Taming the fox was supposed to be a test, as it required him to be able to control the divine power cage. The problem however, was that Saleen was not in the mood for any tests. The expanding of the Ring of Gifts seemed to be done specifically for taking in the cage.

The hall began to shake as the cage disappeared into the Ring of Gifts, splitting and creating a portal leading straight to the last hall.

Saleen took to the air and headed straight for the last hall, which was standard dimensions. However, the area outside the temple was filled with tightly packed holy prose, circling around the temple.

He took a step forward and found that the ring was no longer able to grant him smooth passage.The holy prose shut out all power. He was unable to get through even after putting in divine power.

Green light shrouded the entire hall and a blue piece of crystal was seen hovering on the altar.

He peered into it with his Elemental Eye and saw a huge world, which was housed within the blue crystal. However, the world was completely dead.

Desire began to well in Saleen’s mind. He had to get the crystal for himself!

It was coalesced from something that surpassed water element. If he was not mistaken, it was a manifestation of a divine persona!

The divine persona had been sealed by the Goddess of Myers using divine power seals. Even if the god the divine persona belonged to had its divine fire reignited, the god would not be able to find it. Saleen wandered outside the temple in frustration, having no idea how to get past the seals and take the blue crystal.

Saleen’s mind calmed after pacing for a few rounds. He realized that he had all kinds of precious materials. The level 19 Star Gathering Needle far surpassed the divine persona in value.

While the divine persona was left behind by a water type god and would do him a lot of good, but if he were to take up faith in Myers because of it, he would trade himself for something lesser, and that would be a true loss.

He analyzed the intention of that temple once again. He learned from Agares that many of the temples left behind by the goddess were tailored for specific targets. Agares was looking for the one with skills and equipment left behind for assassins. The temple that Saleen was in was left behind for water mages, and it coincidentally held things that Saleen needed.

It was tremendously tempting, but if he took the bait, he would have to make himself an adherent of a faith. The first hall was made to have the water mage that entered embrace the nature faith.

Once that was taken care of, the massive amounts of divine power gems stored in the following halls would allow the faith to grow and evolve, making the adherent powerful. The shenhe in the 22nd hall was capable of allowing a water mage to advance!

A water elemental creature was in the 23rd hall, caged by the divine power cage. If the water mage who entered had become a high level adherent and a high level sorcerer, it would enable them to open the cage and tame the water fox!

If the water fox were tamed into a divine beast, the mage would be granted passage to the last hall, allowing them to take the divine persona.

Way to go indeed, Myers!

Saleen smirked coldly. It was fortunate for him to have grown so knowledgeable, having ventured to the Imperial City of the Abyss and being taught by Gaine. He might have actually taken the bait and become a believer of the goddess otherwise.

As soon as he received the goddess’ blessing, it would make it very difficult for him to shake her off.

He took out the goddess’ statue and cast Water Flame, crafting it beneath the hall’s steps.

Saleen etched lightning magic patterns on the statue. It was a plan that he had kept in mind for a long time. It was originally meant for crafting the shenhe, as he had already experimented on the shenhe that he had gotten before. Crafting this time was a plan that he been hatching for a long time.

That statue of the goddess was completely lost. Saleen’s Water Flame was easily able to etch lightning magic patterns on it. However, the level of the statue’s material was too high, and he felt an incredible strain. The Water Flame attempted to enter the inner parts of the statue and failed.

He had an idea: casting other spells when he used Water Flame Alchemy on it during the first time. He began to chant.

Thundering Sound reverberated and shook the statue’s material. Suddenly, his Water Flame seeped into the inner parts of the material, and he sensed a space within the statue. It was the location of its heart, which housed a ball-shaped divine rune charm array.

Saleen was elated and replaced the holy prose with lightning magic patterns. The crafting of the lightning magic patterns was quickly completed with the help of the Thundering Sound. He took a short break.

Time within the temple’s space had a different rate compared to the outside world, but the difference was too small for him to be able to stay around for long.

The goddess’ statue was completely ruined. Its key part was converted into a lightning space before he attempted to put in some divine power into it. The statue blinked and looked at Saleen, dazed.

He found the statue devoid of intelligence, so much so that it made commanding it difficult. He took out the divine power cage and began to craft it slowly as well.

The water elemental creature within the cage was no longer able to sit well. It paced about as its eyes burst with emotion, seeing how Saleen was replacing the cage’s holy prose with lightning magic patterns.

Anger, hatred, exhaustion, and resentment were seen in its eyes. It had been trapped within the cage for too long. It had anticipated the end, and it would rather die than help any who acquired the cage.

But what is this guy doing here? Is he trying to destroy the cage? He’s not even a believer!

Saleen patiently crafted the divine power cage. It was carved from a piece of crystal and the amount of holy prose within was enormous. Saleen had to put in a lot of mental power to replace them with lightning magic patterns. If he had not acquired the ring from Arbola, there was no way he could have done what he was doing.

“Hey, mage. What are you doing here?” The water fox could not help but ask. Its level enabled it to communicate using human language. However, it was speaking in ancient Myers language. If had been speaking to a knight, they would not understand.

“Nothing, just trying to get you to help out with something.” Saleen did not let his hands rest. Complex magic patterns were crafted into the crystal bit by bit. He added lightning runes.

“I won’t help you.”

“I know, but I’m going to make you.” Saleen answered with a smile.

“I’d rather die!”

“I take it that you’ve spent over ten thousand years in this cage. How are you not dead?”

The water fox was speechless. If it was capable of dying, it would have killed itself a long time ago. However, true death was not allowed within the cage. It would simply come back to life. It was a water elemental creature, which made it difficult for it to commit suicide.

“Just stay inside and do nothing. I’d tell you what to do when I need your services. Resist and you’ll spend your life in misery. I’m busy so please don’t bother me, or I’ll make sure you suffer a fate worse than being trapped.”

The water fox was irked by Saleen’s words. It smirked coldly. “I wonder what you would be able to do to me.”

Saleen glanced at it. “You’ll find out soon enough. I’d negotiate with you if I weren’t in such a hurry. What I lack most now is time. Work with me, and I’ll let you live comfortably.”

“In your dreams! Not even the Goddess of Myers was able to tame me!”

“What a pity. If she didn’t tame you, why do you call her a goddess?” Saleen finished and no longer bothered with the creature’s rants. He sped up the crafting process.

All the mental power stores in Saleen’s ring were exhausted. It regenerated twice before he finished converting the divine power cage into a lightning cage. The material of the crystal was not bad. There were hardly any cracks despite having been crafted on twice.

Saleen placed the statue of the goddess before the cage and looked at the water fox in the cage. “Well then, you feel like working with me now?”

The water fox stopped bothering with Saleen and slumped in the cage, pretending it did not see Saleen at all.

“In that case, I’m sorry that I have to do this.” Saleen activated the magic patterns on the cage. Hundreds of lightning bolts flashed and hit the water fox. It jumped, every single hair on it standing.

Owwww…

360 flashes of electrical arcs fixed the water fox at the center of the cage, suspending it midair. Saleen lifted his Thunder Dragon Blaster and shot an icicle into the water fox’s head, carving a hole on it. He took out a piece of broken jade and threw it inside the water fox’s head.

The water fox’s soul was immediately sucked into the broken jade, and the lightning magic patterns on the jade fragment were put to work. The wound on the water fox’s head healed immediately, but its body writhed in pain.

The crystal lightning cage opened with a crack. Saleen lowered his head. “Get in there, help me do something, and I’ll grant you your freedom in the future.”

Saleen’s hand pointed at the statue of the goddess.