Lord of Prayer - Chapter 83 - 74: Pledging Allegiance to the King of Chaos
Chapter 83: Chapter 74: Pledging Allegiance to the King of Chaos
—Gentleman.
Real name: Durham Joyce. A former Operator of the North American Star Association, now a member of the clandestine organization “Fallen Paradise.” He is a Tier Two High-Level Corrupter whose Ability is “Shadow Pool.”
As the wielder of a rare Shadow Type Ability, covert surveillance was his specialty.
According to the Star Association’s files, he once spent a full month concealed near the chairman of a Fortune 500 company. During this time, neither the Ascender bodyguards nor the various detection devices found any trace of him, as he was hidden within the chairman’s own shadow.
After obtaining the information he wanted, he assassinated the chairman and slipped away from the encirclement without anyone noticing.
Besides his most famous Ability, “Shadow Pool,” his Extraordinary Abilities had also undergone a second Transformation, giving rise to other powers like Shadow Shifting and Shadow Concealment. When necessary, he could even merge completely with the Darkness to utterly hide his presence.
Such a dangerous and patient individual had been targeting Li Xiaoxiao for a very long time, which was why Zhou Chen had reason to suspect that the Essence Fluctuation he’d just sensed had come from Gentleman.
’Gentleman knows Li Xiaoxiao is the contact for “Cyan Whale.” He’s probably been lying in wait near her for a while now. If he were to make a move, this would be a perfect opportunity… It’s very likely he deliberately revealed that opening just now to gauge my level…’ Zhou Chen’s mind raced as he analyzed every possibility.
They were out in the middle of nowhere, too far for the Star Association to provide timely support. If Gentleman really did attack, he’d have to grab Li Xiaoxiao and run.
Although Gentleman was his enemy, he wasn’t so blinded by Anger that he’d lost his mind. A crippled Tier One Ascender fighting a famous Tier Two Corrupter who’d been active for years… Wasn’t that just serving himself up on a platter?!
However, as someone in Eternal Fire who was close to the Deacon Level, Li Xiaoxiao surely had something to protect herself. Maybe she herself was an Ascender who had hidden her powers for a long time.
After all this time, Gentleman still hadn’t made a move. Perhaps he was wary of some trick Li Xiaoxiao had up her sleeve…
Lost in thought, Zhou Chen followed Li Xiaoxiao into the villa. As she flipped a switch, the interior was instantly flooded with light, revealing a magnificent, opulent hall.
’The file said Li Xiaoxiao’s family is in the oil business. Looks like they’re loaded, alright… But her family life is a mess. Her parents fought and talked about divorce since she was little, and they both cheated on each other right in front of her. Maybe that’s one of the reasons she joined Eternal Fire…’ Zhou Chen’s thoughts swirled as he glanced around, following Li Xiaoxiao deeper into the villa.
High-end villas like this usually had an elevator to make it easier for the rich to get around—for wealthy people, getting lost in their own home was no joke.
Stepping into the elevator, Zhou Chen glanced at the button panel. In addition to the three floors above ground, the villa also had two basement levels.
But Li Xiaoxiao didn’t press any single button. Instead, she pressed all of them in sequence, first from top to bottom, then from bottom to top. Then she pressed the ’open door’ button three times, followed by the ’close door’ button three times.
It was like entering a special command.
A few seconds later, the elevator doors slid shut, and it began to descend with a faint sense of weightlessness.
Soon, Zhou Chen’s brow furrowed. The elevator was descending for much longer than he’d expected—long enough to have reached the tenth basement floor. By all rights, they should have been far past the villa’s foundations, yet the elevator showed no signs of stopping.
The glaring red floor numbers flickered and changed at an impossibly high speed. They were still descending, as if heading straight for the depths of Hell.
Zhou Chen guessed that the place Li Xiaoxiao was taking him wasn’t part of the villa at all, but a “Room in the Crack,” which could also be called a “Folding Space.”
After a long while, the elevator jolted to a stop. The floor number vanished completely, replaced by the image of a scarlet flame.
—The symbol of the Eternal Fire Church.
The elevator doors opened, revealing not a room, but an ancient bronze door right in front of them, its surface covered in sinister patterns.
“Ready to open the door to a new world?” Li Xiaoxiao asked, half-joking.
“Is the truth I’m looking for behind this door?” Zhou Chen asked.
“Yes.”
“Should I push it?” he asked.
“Of course. This is your initiation ceremony.”
At her words, Zhou Chen took two steps forward and ran his hand over the cold, heavy bronze door. It seemed to be a priceless Alchemy Creation, and it probably possessed some unknown Abilities.
Then, he put his strength into it. With a heavy, grinding scrape of the door against the floor, he slowly pushed the great bronze gate open.
Surprisingly, the room behind the door wasn’t large—only about the size of the villa’s living room. The furnishings were pitifully sparse: a single mirror, a wooden chair, and rows of burning, pale white candles lining the base of the four walls. No matter how you looked at it, the place seemed rather shabby.
What was notable was the Mysticism Ritual Array drawn on the floor in some unknown pigment. It was filled with one bizarre, Twisted, evil symbol after another, like Undead from Hell dancing in a frenzy. They formed a massive circular array that encompassed the mirror and the chair.
Zhou Chen instinctively looked at the symbols. Without warning, his mind exploded with a BUZZ. Countless mad, chaotic chants and bloodcurdling screams echoed in his ears, as if a red-hot iron poker was being stirred around inside his brain.
In his vision, black flames erupted from every corner of the room, instantly roaring to life. Though it was fire, it brought a bone-chilling cold, radiating a deathly frost that gave his eyes Frostbite, and his very Soul Frostbite.
Within the deep shadows cast by the death-flames, something else existed. They Twisted, they writhed, they screamed, and they opened pairs of bloodshot eyes…
More and more bizarre and terrifying Illusions began to appear.
“Don’t look! Those are Abyss Symbols! Your sanity is plummeting!” Jiang Che’s stern warning came through the comms channel.
Zhou Chen forced his gaze away, nearly losing his footing. He clutched his forehead in agony for a dozen seconds. When the pain subsided and he opened his eyes again, all the terrifying visions in the room had vanished without a trace, as if it had all just been an incomprehensible hallucination.
He gasped for breath, filled with lingering Fear. These evil symbols all carried Abyssal Power; a mere glimpse was enough to drive a person mad.
Just then, Li Xiaoxiao’s belated reminder came:
“I forgot to mention, those are Abyss Runes on the floor, and a very Advanced type at that. Unless you are blessed by the grace of our Lord, you’ll see all sorts of indescribable Illusions under the influence of Abyssal Power. Plenty of people have been Corrupted on the spot.”
“Perfect timing…” Zhou Chen said, his tone laced with displeasure.
Li Xiaoxiao ignored his complaint and stepped into the room—it was just a little surprise, a preliminary introduction to the might of the Abyss.
“Come, have a seat,” Li Xiaoxiao said, patting the wooden chair.
Zhou Chen frowned, showing his wariness and hesitation. ’Just looking at the symbols is enough to drive someone mad and make their San Value plummet. If I enter the ritual, the outcome probably won’t be any better, will it?’
“Relax, it’s harmless to you.”
Li Xiaoxiao thought for a moment, then explained in simpler terms, “Before I introduce you to the company, you have to meet the boss first, right?”
“…You just said ’Abyss,’ and ’our Lord’…”
After a pause, Zhou Chen asked tentatively, “You’re the Abyss Church?”
“It’s ’we’,” Li Xiaoxiao corrected, emphasizing the word. “You’re one of us now.”
“Alright, ’we’,” Zhou Chen said, stepping into the room. He didn’t dare look at the evil symbols on the floor again, so he kept his eyes fixed on Li Xiaoxiao.
“My current clearance is limited, so I don’t know many of the Abyss Churches. The Eternal Life Cult, the Dream Church, the Desire Holy Sect…” He rattled off the names of several Abyss Churches. “Which Church are we?”
“Eternal Fire.”
Li Xiaoxiao uttered the name with solemn reverence.
“Eternal Fire?!”
Zhou Chen feigned the perfect amount of shock. After all, Eternal Fire was one of the most infamous Abyss Churches in the world. Its reputation was widespread, and any Ascender would be horrified to learn they had just joined a mysterious organization that turned out to be Eternal Fire.
He had just boarded a pirate ship the size of a behemoth.
Li Xiaoxiao was very satisfied with his reaction. A look of holy reverence appeared on her face. “The God we worship is a great being from the Abyss—the King of Chaos!
His holy fire will one day illuminate the World, and you are about to have the honor of witnessing our Lord’s great Power.
Now, sit.”
After a moment’s hesitation, Zhou Chen steeled himself and sat down in the chair, gazing at the smooth mirror before him, which reflected his own image.
“What’s going to happen?” he asked.
“Don’t be nervous. You need to be patient. Just a little bit of patience…”
Li Xiaoxiao murmured, her eyes burning with fanaticism:
“Because you are about to—witness a God!”
As the Abyssal ritual activated, the scene in the mirror instantly began to Twist. Darkness spread, churning violently.
It was like a vision of Purgatory, devoid of any living beings. The most primitive, chaotic Fiery Fire dominated everything.
Within the eternally burning, pitch-black Fiery Fire, the vast silhouette of a figure could be faintly seen. It stood in the deepest part of the flames and the Darkness, casting a cold, condescending glance from on high.
Instantly, Zhou Chen felt as if he’d been struck by lightning. His scalp tingled as if it were about to explode, his mind turned to mush, and his sanity let out a desperate wail. He felt a primordial Fear, unleashed from the depths of his very genes.
Trembling. Uncontrollable trembling.
Every inch of his flesh, every one of his cells, screamed in Fear.
That great, Twisted, and indescribable existence was destroying his mind. It was as if a coldness, a despair, a death, a Darkness so dense it had become tangible was invading his consciousness, drowning his sanity inch by inch, and crushing all his defenses. Finally, a mad thought suddenly surfaced in his mind.
Look at these flames. They represent the most primordial chaos, the return of all things to nothingness.
They are Darkness, they are death.
They are cold, they are merciless.
They are so…
Beautiful!
Why? Why not let the whole world see them, feel them, and welcome the final Purification beneath their flames?
Why not…
In that instant, Zhou Chen seemed to understand the truth of all things. The furiously burning black flames were reflected in his wildly trembling pupils as a crazed expression appeared on his face.
“This is amazing!”
“I’m beginning to understand everything!”
Li Xiaoxiao smiled and gently patted his shoulder. “So, now that you have witnessed the great Power of our Lord, what are your thoughts?”
“Of course, I will…”
Zhou Chen’s face was a mask of fanaticism as he spread his arms wide, as if to embrace the Abyss.
He declared with impassioned fervor:
“I will pledge my loyalty to the King of Chaos!”
