City of Sin

The Sight Of Divine Grace

Richard watched the scroll that was burning with the power of time with a look of shock. He could faintly feel that the material was similar to what the Book of Holding was made of, able to withstand the erosion of time.

On the other hand, Flowsand looked at the scroll with surprise. She even stopped in the middle of her chant, quickly asking Kellac, “What is this?”

Kellac endured the pain that came from the power of time altering his body, speaking with clenched teeth, “This is the Book of the Gods. It has records of the divine power of almost every true god in Faelor’s pantheon. It is a divine artefact left behind by the Sunset Shrine. The gods of Faelor regard its owner to be the greatest heretic on the plane. You must be careful, do not open it! It can only be opened without the gods noticing through a special method and spell.”

Flowsand reached out and took the scroll, ignoring Kellac’s advice as she opened the scroll. Her amber eyes released constant ripples of pale gold, the power of time binding the divine auras without letting any spill out.

Carefully reading through it from cover to cover, Flowsand asked. “This is how you figured out that my tainted scrolls didn’t come from Faelor’s gods?”

“That’s right,” Kellac nodded his head.

The Book of the Gods was still continuously absorbing the power of time. Even though Flowsand was not singing anymore, pale gold light still poured out of the Book of Time as though it was drawn by the scroll.

Flowsand’s eyes grew brighter and brighter, and in the end she spoke to Kellac in a stately, solemn voice, “The Book of the Gods would not be a bad offering to the Eternal Dragon. Sacrifice it to him, and you will receive a divine gift. So, Kellac, are you willing to offer the Book of the Gods to the Eternal Dragon?”

To a devout worshipper, this would be something that went without saying. However, Kellac struggled for a long time before expressing his will to offer it. That was how precious the Book of the Gods was to him.

The Book of the Gods was the only reason Kellac remained above level 10 even though his divine power had been burnt. At the same time, it was the origin of the power of many of the heretic clerics under him. They were not true unbelievers, just people who shifted the target of their faith to the Book of the Gods. Because the Book contained the divine power of Faelor’s gods, it could also faintly accept the power of faith and bestow divine power in return. Of course it could not compare to a real god, or even a demigod for that matter, but this ability still gave it the right to be called a divine tool.

With Kellac’s consent, Flowsand started another incantation. The light coming from the Book of Time suddenly grew ten times as intense, the intense pale gold converging into what seemed like a solid pillar that shone straight towards the ceiling. However, it seemed to hit an invisible barrier near the top and quietly disappear. It wasn’t just the ceiling; even if the entire room was filled with the power of time, not a bit spilt out.

The Book of the Gods bobbed up and down within that pillar of time, slowly falling towards the Book of Time until it eventually became a single page that turned into a part of the book.

A distant and desolate aura, one with an indescribable imposition, suddenly descended upon the room. This was the will of the Eternal Dragon; although it hadn’t descended with its actual body, this will was no weaker than the one in the Church of the Eternal Dragon. This was a great sacrifice that satisfied the Eternal Dragon, enough that its will crossed an unknown amount of spacetime to absorb the offering and bestow a blessing.

With the Dragon’s aura pervading the room, the neverending light pouring out of the Book of Time grew even more turbulent. It all converged together, eventually condensing into two pale gold balls of light that floated in the air. Three smaller points of gold floated up and down nearby.

Watching the balls of light floating in the air, Kellac suddenly felt a dryness in his mouth. His heart almost leapt out of his chest, as he clearly felt that one of these balls belonged to him. It was very likely that it hid what he had dreamt of for so many years!

Flowsand’s unique hoarse voice rang out once more, startling Kellac from his reverie, “Kellac, the Eternal Dragon is very satisfied with your sacrifice, so he exerted a great deal of divine power to break through the plane’s seal, bestowing a generous gift upon you. Go, take that which is yours!”

Kellac took a deep breath, stretching his hand out towards the ball of light that was his. The sudden influx of information almost stopped his heart!

Divine blessing— Spring of Life. For thirty years, his body would not age.

Kellac immediately understood the significance of this blessing: it was an additional thirty years of life! No god in Faelor’s history could extend their worshippers’ lives! There were other ways to prolong life, like becoming a lich, but there was nothing that did not require a great sacrifice. A longer life gave one the chance to make miracles happen!

Once the Spring of Life took effect, the ball of light dimmed until it was only a tenth as bright as before. However, the power of time still surged into Kellac’s body. By the time it disappeared completely, he was already a level 13 fallen cleric. Outside of the Spring of Life, this was another divine gift.

Divine Blessing— Excitation. It was a gift bestowed upon priests of the Eternal Dragon, using the power of time to immediately increase their power anywhere between one and three levels. At the same time as he had received the much-needed Spring of Time, the remaining divine grace had raised Kellac’s power by two levels.

The other ball of light belonged to Flowsand. The sacrifice had left the Eternal Dragon very satisfied, so the cleric who conducted the ceremony would also gain a certain amount of divine grace. This was the fastest method for those of the Church of the Eternal Dragon to raise their level. However, when Flowsand reached out to touch the ball of light, she started to hesitate.

Before her were a number of options for the blessing, but she could only choose one. She quickly filtered out most of the options, but could not make a choice between two. One was the same blessing Kellac had been bestowed, Excitation, while the other, Eternal Passage I, would strengthen the Book of Time. The divine grace that was supposed to belong to her would be transformed into a pure power of time that could be absorbed by the Book of Time, increasing its powers. The most visible effect was that it would become easier to communicate with the Eternal Dragon, and any spells that used the Book of Time would be strengthened.

Looking at it from the point of view of strengthening herself, Flowsand’s choice would naturally be Excitation. This blessing would immediately allow her to grow three levels. Although Eternal Passage I could also increase the might of her spells, it was nowhere near as effective.