Shrouded Seascape

Roy carefully observed the anomaly for a while before taking out a file from his bosom and reading it meticulously. He had to get ready for the upcoming mission.

"The target is a cult leader, so I must appear desperate and helpless. I have to be eager to listen to her words. I have to appear like I've tried everything else, but it was useless, so I decided to believe in them as a last resort," Roy muttered to himself.

Kneeling in his tent, Roy spent a long time pondering over his new persona. In the end, he placed a broken mirror in front of him and muttered in a somber voice, "I am a veteran soldier, and years of nonstop fighting have left me with severe PTSD.

"I ended up killing my own child during one of my episodes. I did not receive a prison sentence due to my illness, but the non-punishment felt worse than getting punished. I killed my own daughter. I'm… a monster.

"Since then, I've been trapped in an endless cycle of pain and self-blame. My guilt toward my daughter has led me to always carry her favorite wooden toy with me."

Roy's demeanor and eyes began changing; his breathing grew rapid as well as he continued. "By chance, I heard about a new religion claiming that anyone who becomes one of them can have their wishes granted.

"I didn't believe it at first, but when I saw a cancer patient returning home with a rosy complexion, hope was ignited within me. Maybe it's true? Maybe they can bring my daughter back to life?

"I have nothing left to lose, so why not give it a try?"

"I must hurry. If I don't go now, it'll be too late! Mia! I'm willing to do anything to bring you back!" Roy abruptly stood up. He looked agitated as he ripped apart his tent and rushed toward the subway station at full speed.

Roy's demeanor and expression became increasingly refined as he ran. He took out the last of his money to pay for the fare, and he managed to make his way to a remote suburb before nightfall.

Roy found that he wasn't alone at a certain villa's gates.

A cursory glance told him that there were nearly a hundred people before him. Their clothes varied, and they were both rich and poor, but they all shared the same somewhat doubtful expressions.

There were police officers standing nearby, maintaining order with their batons in hand.

"There are so many people here, so are they really going to choose me? I heard they're extremely strict when it comes to selecting members," Roy said, feeling a bit worried.

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Soon, the black steel gate leading to the villa was pushed open, and an Asian man walked out of the gate. "Tonight, we have gathered to..."

Roy listened intently, and he soon learned from the man's words that joining the church wasn't so easy. There was a selection process before one could become a part of the church.

Black booklets were distributed to each person, and they all contained legends about a certain deity. They had to read the booklet devoutly and worship the god within completely.

Once they were done reading the entire booklet, the selection would begin, and it was going to be extremely dangerous. Those daring enough to show disrespect to God Fhtagn would be devoured by His divine flames.

Of course, the choice to stay was theirs to make.

They could leave at any time, but once they were in the presence of the Great One's divine flames, there would be no turning back.

Upon hearing Wang Sheng's words, the crowd erupted into murmurs. Soon, some people turned around and left. Roy's heart leaped with joy at the sight. "Great! fewer competitors."

As for the so-called divine flames, Roy couldn't care less about it. He was not afraid of even death as long as his daughter would come back to life, so why would he be afraid of a mere flame?

If the divine flame wasn't just a prop but a real, divine flame, it would be great. It meant that the church's god truly existed, and his daughter could truly be resurrected!

More than thirty people left, and the rest entered the villa under Wang Sheng's lead. The interior of the villa was oppressive, and Roy saw black-robed figures brushing a brown liquid on the floor.

Roy sniffed and immediately recognized it as gasoline. As he waited, he caught a glimpse of a bizarre-looking statue in the distance, and he couldn't help but feel a bit anxious at the sight of it.

Meanwhile, Anna was in the basement of the villa, and she was frowning as she stared at the sacrificial logs before her.

"Why are the sacrificial rituals to the Primordial Fire so unstable? Sometimes they work, sometimes they don't..." Anna muttered, "There aren't any changes, so… could the issue be the timing? That's possible. I'll consider it for the next test."

Just as Anna was about to become engrossed in reviewing the successful rituals, Li Long's subservient voice echoed from the door. "High Priestess, the new batch of people has arrived."

Anna stood up at Li Long's remark. She collected the documents on the table and donned a dark red robe before heading for the door. Upon arriving at the church, she found that the array had already been drawn by the followers, and they had done a meticulous job at it.

Anna swept her gaze across the people before her and turned to Wang Sheng, whispering a few words into his ear.

Wang Sheng stepped forward and separated the elderly leaning on canes and those with severe illnesses from the main group. They were about to go out at sea soon, which meant that they needed both offerings and sailors.

Those useless couldn't be allowed to join them, and Anna was well past the point of accepting garbage at this point.

Those who had been eliminated sprawled out on the ground and cried out, refusing to leave. Wang Sheng had no choice but to have someone drag them away.

The rest held their breaths, afraid that they would get eliminated. The doubtful ones in the crowd felt their worries assuaged by the scene. The church's strict recruitment process had proven that they were completely different from other religions that were willing to accept any Tom, Dick, or Harry.

Anna's disjointed incantations soon reverberated throughout the church, signaling the start of the sacrificial ritual. When the flames in the array turned green, Roy instinctively thought that phosphorus had been added to the fire.

The next moment, however, Roy's assumption was proven incorrect when the flames engulfed someone and reduced them to a pile of ashes in the proverbial blink of an eye.

Regardless of what was added to the fire, there was no way it could reduce an entire human being to ashes in the blink of an eye.

Was their god actually real? Roy's heart began to pound wildly against his chest. He finally had hope of resurrecting his daughter!

The sacrificial ritual was a success. Two people among the crowd were sacrificed, and together with those who had been sacrificed in previous rituals, they numbered twenty.

Anna ended the ritual and was about to leave when she collapsed to the floor with a dull thud.

The nearby followers were stupefied to see Anna convulsing on the floor, and they rushed toward her to help her up.

As soon as they touched Anna, however, a searing pain was transmitted to them, forcing them to let go of her.

Smoke wafted out of Anna's figure, and her clothes were set ablaze.

The same flames from earlier, which had a green tinge that resembled putrescence, pervaded Anna's blood vessels, swiftly spreading throughout her.