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nThe realization of this truth made the Ascendant energy inside their bodies rebel, and these hundred Temple Maiden began to follow the same route that Nyla once did, their body

naccepting both Calamity and Ascendancy, but they were unable to reconcile these two separate Auras in themselves and death was inevitable, but with the presence of the Shiik, this would no longer be the case.

nTheir mortal bodies were quickly losing cohesion, especially those who were nearing the peak of the Deific Rank, and if not that they were deep underground, the eruption from their bodies would alert everyone on the continent.

nTendrils of blood that resembled spider limbs erupted from the back of the Shiik and pierced into the forehead of every Temple Maiden on the verge of death, with this link the Shiik came to dwell in their brains, and from here she collected all the energy of death they were generating, stabilizing them and injecting a potent surge of vitality into their bodies.

nThis death that afflicted the Explorers after they knew of the truth was Calamity Aura and it was linked to Pure Darkness, which was the energy that Calamity Gods consumed.

nAt the moment of death, all beings in this realm release a small bit of pure darkness, and except for Calamity Gods, no one else could harvest this energy. A Calamity God could dwell beneath the earth for millions of years, slowly gathering Pure Darkness from the dead until they evolved to a higher state.

nWith the interference of Rowan, the Shiik no longer had to use such an inefficient method as the Pure Darkness being generated constantly by Nyla alone was almost equal to ten thousand dead Deific Ranked Explorers. Adding another hundred Temple Maiden feeding her a stream of Pure Darkness made the Shiik shudder in pleasure.

nIn this manner, she would no longer need millions of years to grow, and since this new method of harvesting Pure Darkness could be scaled upwards with no discernable limits, then the Shiik could rapidly evolve to a higher state of power in such a short time it would leave the rest of reality speechless.

nThe next level to the Shiik’s ability was to acquire the power of Will, and where other immortals could live for an eternity without touching this realm, the Shiik only had to eat the Pure Darkness generated by the Temple Maidens.

n“Yes, this is the path for me… I shall rise not on the bones of the dead, but the backs of the living. My throne shall be Life itself and death my footstool!… Look upon your works Father, is it not marvelous, am I not glorious? Worthy of being called your first!”

nR

nThe hundred Temple Maidens left in jubilation, their goal was to preach about the new Matron and the powerful insight that had been granted to her, and it was not long for the improvement in their demeanor to reach the ears of the rest.

nThese Temple Maidens who had once appeared on the verge of defeat now pursued their duties with renewed responsibilities. They spoke of the wisdom of the newly ascended Matron and in a short while Trion was filled with new Temple Maidens who had been on the fence about the abilities of the newly ascended matron who seemed able to touch the soul and heal the hurt within.

nA single candidate could be seen as chance, two would be a coincidence, but a hundred meant there was certain truth in these experiences, and although freeing yourself of the burden of service went against their creed, the renewed Temple Maiden preached they were not freed of their burden, only given the means to accept it, and even carry a greater load, they said the newly ascended Matron was a miracle worker.

nAnd so, another hundred came with their shoulders bowed, and they left with their backs straight. Then another hundred, and another, and then a thousand came, then ten thousand… A new name began to arise from the Trion Convent, they no longer called Nyla a Temple Matron, now they called her The Redeemer. Her fame exceeded any other Temple Matron that had ever lived, when inching out the Temple Mothers who had guided their order for millions of years.

nMonths go by and the number of Temple Maidens that arrived on the shores of Trion reached the hundreds of thousands… daily. The convent had become something more, almost holy, and the reverence given to the inhabitants was like they were royalty.

nEverything was going well and the morale of Ascendants in various continents was never greater, for their Temple Maidens were changing, leading them to victories after victories and pushing their morale to new heights. Every Temple Maiden seemed ten times stronger than before, able to heal from grievous injuries and rescuing a greater amount of their charges from every conflicts they entered.

nIt was said any Temple Maiden that visited Trion became a thousand times more powerful, and the light of The Redeemer followed them wherever they went.

nHowever, problems began to arise when these newly awakened Temple Maidens after a while returned to Trion and refused to leave. They gathered in massive halls and bowed in worship to an invisible figure who stood in the air, held up by a million red thread.

nIn the beginning, this change was not noticeable as it was normal for a Temple Maiden to remain outside their posting zones for months and sometimes even decades, but after a year, the number of Temple Maidens remaining behind in Trion had reached almost forty million, nearly a third of all Temple Maidens in existence.

nThey clustered around a massive temple, and they were so numerous that from afar they resembled sands on a beach, and because these new Temple Maidens favored wearing red robes, this sands thereby transformed into a sea of blood.

nAfter a while, it was inevitable that an investigative party was sent down to Trion. In this party were a hundred Temple Maidens, seven Temple Matrons, and a Temple Mother.

nIn the entirety of the Order, there were only five Temple Mothers, and for one to travel all the way to Trion was proof of the seriousness of this issue.

nAnd on this day she stepped foot on Trion.

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