“You heard correctly,” the Dream Queen replied affirmatively.
"Why?"
While this is good news for them, it also raises questions about the Dream Queen's motives.
“I have been in the position of Pope of Dreams for seventy years.” She turned her head. “I am a devout follower of the Goddess, but after going through all the history of the Dream Church, I have slowly discovered that the god we worship is becoming less and less like Him, becoming more and more insane and more and more extreme.”
"You suspect that He too is controlled by the gods of the Abyss?" Phil Gray asked.
"The Gods of the Abyss... so other deities were involved?" The Goddess of Dreams suddenly realized, paused for a moment, and continued, "Our religion was born seven thousand years ago. At that time, the goddess had just become a follower of the Children of Night and took over the authority of dreams. Since then, she has been protecting human dreams, freeing them from nightmares, allowing people who are tired after a long day to find temporary peace in their dreams, and even fulfilling wishes that cannot be fulfilled when awake. It was also from that time that the first Pope established the Church of Dreams, began to devoutly believe in her, and spread the faith of dreams throughout the world."
"Believers walk among the people, fulfilling the will of the gods. The original Dream Followers also took it upon themselves to bring beautiful dreams to people. With the skills bestowed upon them by the gods, they brought joy and peace wherever they went. Although the original church only occupied a small corner of the Eastern Continent and had few believers, it left behind many beautiful and romantic legends in Ver."
"But at some point, the divine pronouncements began to change their meaning. They allowed us to create dreams, yet deprived us of the right to wake up. Those without self-control would forever be immersed in dreams until death; they allowed us to use dreams to deceive others, and the innocent could not distinguish between reality and dreams, ultimately leading to mental derangement; they allowed us to create an illusory city, where countless people would bury their entire lives..."
"Our doctrines have long since strayed from the right path. He was supposed to lead us to bring beautiful dreams to mankind, but in the end, He has turned them into nightmares. The dream initially championed peace, but in the end, He used war to acquire more territory... Our followers have also become increasingly fanatical. Who still remembers what the dream originally looked like?"
The Pope of Dreams shook her head with a wry smile.
“Now that you’ve realized this, why do you still allow your followers to do so many bad things, and even start wars?” Phil Gray questioned.
“Because I… am also one who is lost in a beautiful dream.” The Dream Queen sighed: “How much courage it takes to wake up from a bed where one is having a beautiful dream…”
If she hadn't truly experienced a life-or-death moment, she wouldn't have woken up so quickly and made such a decision.
“Alright, but you dared to question the gods and ultimately made the right decision, proving that you still have courage, at least more sober than your predecessors, the previous Dream Popes. I hope you can persevere and fulfill the promise you made today.” Phil Gray felt that it might not just be the current Dream Pope who realized something was wrong; those past popes might have realized it as well, but their blind faith in the gods made them lose their own judgment, ultimately becoming puppets manipulated by the Goddess of Dreams.
"I will, it's time to wake up..." The Dream Queen raised her hand, and the entire Phantom Night City began to collapse. Those luxurious buildings, those rare delicacies and silks that were hard to find in reality, were turning into fragments little by little and disappearing before people's eyes.
"ah!"
Screams rang out from time to time, and fear and shock appeared on the faces of everyone in the city, but it was fear that could quickly wake people from their dreams.
Back in reality, one by one, people awoke. Some were believers from the dream world, terrified by the collapse of headquarters; others were followers of other sects, deeply regretting their actions while lost in their dreams, and now finally given a chance to choose again…
Phil Gray and Night also woke up one after another, but they were not conspicuous in the noisy crowd.
"I knew that bitch had some nerve, daring to attack me and even letting her succeed. Turns out she'd already sided with the gods of the Abyss," Black Night said indignantly.
"Alright, that's enough for the dream world for now. Let's head over to the war zone next."
The two weaved through the crowded throng, jumped onto the skeleton bird's back, and flew towards the horizon.
On the way, they heard the news that the Dream God Cult had withdrawn from the war and announced its dissolution. This news shocked Will once again. How could such a large church dissolve like that? Wasn't this a joke?
"The Dream God Cult has formally disbanded, but with the Goddess of Dreams still around, she will continue to guide her followers to rebuild a new church through proverbs. The source is still with God..." Phil Gray said solemnly.
"So we need to kill that bitch as soon as possible, so she can taste the pain of a shattered dream kingdom..." Night said, shaking her head.
Now only the Church of War was left to face attacks from all the sects. This church was also very cunning. When Phil Gray and Night arrived three days later, they heard passersby cheering that the Church of War had surrendered and the final conflict was over.
The Church of Life is busy treating the wounded from all sides, and the Church of War has also promised to pay the price it deserves.
"Looks like we came for nothing." Phil Gray shrugged. It should have been expected. Under his instructions before leaving, everything that happened inside Dawn, including the change of pope, was kept strictly confidential. So, from the outside, Dawn was still the First Church of Ver.
The Church of War is currently struggling to survive on its own, so it naturally dares not confront Dawn and the other churches.
"They're smart enough to know their place," Night snorted and jumped back onto his shoulder.
Phil Gray looked down at the earth from the back of the skeleton bird. Green was gradually washing away the snow, and spring had arrived without him even realizing it, proclaiming its vigorous vitality. A smile appeared on his face. The war was finally over.
A beam of dawn shone down from the sky, illuminating him and making him feel like a god. At that moment, warm divine power filled his body, and the prophet of day whispered in his ear, informing him that he had completed the maxim to end the war and successfully broken through the divine demotion of the Dawn Path.
Each of the gods' chosen ones only gains one skill upon reaching the Divine Descent level: the ability to summon a god. Previously, when he reached the Divine Descent of Destiny level, it was of little use because the God of Destiny was bound and could not be summoned by his chosen ones at will. But now, he can summon the Prophet of the Day, which increases his chances of winning the upcoming challenge.
...
“We’ve arrived. This should be the place.” Phil Gray took out the map in his hand and carefully compared it. This was the Blood Calamity’s stronghold, or rather, the Red-Eyed Order’s stronghold, which the Dawnbringers had discovered.
"Some people are coming," Night sensed the movement nearby and warned.
Phil Gray donned the "Shadow Grip" and vanished into the shadows. The night itself was also hidden in darkness. As a god of the Dark Cult, he was so concealed that even other gods could not find him.
A group of people walked over first. They were wearing red and white striped clothes, the red of which seemed to be dyed with blood, and they exuded a strong bloody smell.
Looking at the strange badges on their chests, Phil Gray guessed that they were members of the Red-Eye Order.
Strangely, these people didn't seem to blink; their eyes were fixed straight ahead, but there was nothing in front of them.
"They look rather dim-witted," Hei Ye muttered to himself. Why do these so-called followers of the Gods of the Abyss look like this? Have their brains been sacrificed?
Phil Gray noticed something was wrong. Although these believers looked like living people, they gave him the feeling of... like the dead, and they exuded a death aura unique to the dead. If he hadn't been a Death Follower, he really wouldn't have been able to sense it.
His suspicions were quickly confirmed. Behind these people, several figures slowly appeared, riding skeletal horses and wearing black armor. They were clearly undead knights!
Looking at the four or five undead knights at the divine revelation level in front of him, he instantly understood that the red-eyed cultists walking in front of him had become undead they controlled!
That was really well done!
It seems the legion commander listened to his advice and instead of confronting the three evil gods directly, he cleverly eroded the Red Eyes Cult's power from the shadows, not only killing their followers but also directly converting them into forces under his control.
“This is the place. Let’s follow them to find the legion commander of the Church of the Dead and ask about the current situation here,” Phil Gray said to the darkness.
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