novelraw Chapter 86: The Birth of the Genesis Order
Chapter 86: The Birth of the Genesis Order
Telling her the specifics of our request ended up taking far longer than expected. Every material had to be examined, every measurement taken twice, and every enhancement possibility discussed in detail. Tuilë insisted on asking about our combat styles, preferred weight distribution, and even minor quirks, such as how Michelle liked her bow grip slightly angled or how I preferred my buckler’s straps tighter than standard.
By the time we finished going over everything, the light streaming through the workshop windows had deepened to a rich orange. The lingering heat from the forge clung to my skin as we finally stepped outside.
“Come back in two days,” Tuilë called after us, waving her oversized hand. “I’ll have everything ready by then!” Then her voice dropped to a whisper meant only for me. “Including what you asked me to make.”
Actually, while she was going over the details earlier, I had secretly requested something extra—a statue. More specifically, a statue of a faceless god. I needed it for what I planned to do next. Although Tuilë wasn’t a sculptor, she admitted she could manage a bit of statue work, and since I didn’t require it to be large or of exceptional quality, I left the task in her hands.
With nothing else pressing for the day, we made our way back through the bustling streets of District D. The noise of hammering and merchants’ shouts slowly faded behind us, replaced by the quieter, lamp-lit roads near our inn.
Once there, we had dinner before heading straight to our rooms. Tomorrow would be another busy day, but for now, rest was the best preparation we could have.
As a tribute to the Goddess of Imagination, Istellia, 100 Soul Coins have been deducted from your balance.
***
The next morning, I told Boris and Michelle to head to the training facility ahead of me while I returned to District F in disguise—the Mask of a Thousand Faces reshaping my face into the composed, bearded man from yesterday. The cursed coat’s concealment let me slip unnoticed through the slum’s filth until I reached the same alley where I had first found Rex.
This time, he was waiting at our agreed meeting spot, which was an abandoned building nearby, and he wasn’t alone.
Six figures stood with him, watching me with wary eyes. They were worn and battered, carrying the hollow-eyed look of people who had been broken too many times. Men and women of varying ages, some with a crude wooden peg in place of a leg, others with hands twisted and gnarled from burns. Their faces were etched deep with exhaustion and resignation. They were the kind of people others wouldn’t spare a second glance for, let alone recruit. Which made them perfect.
It was a wonder they had managed to survive this long in Fantasia, given the mandatory hundred-soul-coin tribute and the mandatory weekly new scenario challenges. They were either newly arrived divine warriors clinging to their first weeks… or remnants of older groups who had somehow scraped through the early scenarios on sheer luck and the scraps of cooperation.
Regardless, all of them looked extremely desperate and seemed to have almost no will to live.
One of them stood apart from the rest—an early middle-aged woman with messy, straw-colored hair and slightly swollen eyes. She clutched a fraying scarf in both hands, her gaze fixed on the floor rather than on me. Even without asking, I could already guess the shape of her story.
Rex stepped forward, his restored arm now as good as new, and he had gotten a new set of leather armor and a bow. “Lord Genesis, I did as you asked,” he said, his voice steady—a far cry from the broken tone he’d had two days ago. “These are the ones I could find on short notice. All of them… they’ve lost too much to keep going the way they were. But they haven’t lost hope completely yet.”
I gave a small nod and asked him about their histories while the others exchanged glances, silently sizing me up.
Their pasts were as grim as I expected, with most not so different from Rex’s. More than half had been maimed before arriving in Fantasia, their injuries marking them as dead weight to their former groups. Abandoned, they had been left to fend for themselves. And, true to my hunch, the middle-aged woman’s tragedy cut the deepest—she had lost her only child during the very first scenario, watching helplessly as it happened before her eyes.
Good. The more desperate they are, the easier it will be for me to “guide” them so I can gather faith, I thought in glee.
I took a moment to let the silence weigh on them before speaking. “Listen. All of you have been cast aside—by the System, by comrades, by fate itself. You’ve lost everything you once fought for. That is why you are here. And that’s fine… because I am here to offer you salvation, and with it, purpose.”
A faint murmur rippled through the group, but no one dared to speak. Rex must have bought them with the soul coins I gave him and had instructed them to hear me out.
Still, words from a stranger like me would never be enough to sway them, much less shape them into what I needed. That was where my trump card came into play. As a precaution against drawing the attention of the divine, I deliberately held back, dialing down the skill’s intensity.
You have activated Fabled Vessel.
Please select a divine hero or demigod that you want to possess.
[The Crimson Sovereign – Tyrant of the End]
[Voldrath the Eternal – The Lich-King of a Million Souls]
[Alric the Sword Saint – Hero of the Eternal Blade]
[Veyra the Thousand-Arrows – Huntress of the Stars]
[Selene the Moonlit Blade – Phantom of the Night]
[Ezekiel the Divine Apostle – Voice of Radiant Judgment]
…
I had long wanted to possess Ezekiel the Divine Apostle to test his power and gauge his effectiveness, and now was the perfect opportunity to do so.
You have possessed [Ezekiel the Divine Apostle].
Warning: Your current stats are too low to receive his full power!
You have limited the power you receive.
Only 0.2% of Ezekiel’s power is transferred to you.
Your stats have temporarily increased moderately.
Your holy and influence-related skills have temporarily improved drastically.
You have temporarily acquired a skill: [Basic Lux Magic Lv.8].
You have temporarily acquired a skill: [Divine Sermon Lv.7].
You have temporarily acquired a skill: [Miracle of Conviction Lv.6].
You have temporarily acquired a skill: [Aura of Reverence Lv.2].
Instantly, my understanding of the divine deepened, and I knew, without hesitation, how to deliver a sermon capable of swaying vast crowds. Almost at the same time, as the skill “Divine Sermon” took hold, I felt their wariness melt away like frost under the sun.
“{Mending Light},” I intoned, channeling Lux Magic through my hands.
A warm, gentle light spilled forth, bathing the room in a faint golden glow. The minor cuts, scrapes, and bruises on their bodies began to fade, skin knitting itself together as if time had reversed. The light was weak—nothing more than a pale echo of true divine miracles—but it was enough for now. After all, it wasn’t just the healing that mattered; it was the impression it left.
Gasps broke the silence. One man stared at his hand, flexing fingers that only moments ago had been stiff and swollen. The middle-aged woman clutched her scarf tighter, her eyes trembling with something caught between disbelief and fragile hope as her smaller wounds closed. Even those too hardened to speak could not completely hide the subtle shift in their expressions.
“Your pain is proof of your survival,” I said, letting my voice roll over them like a steady tide. “I offer you a purpose… and relief from your suffering. But in exchange…” I reached into my coat and drew out a small cloth-wrapped bundle, unrolling it to reveal a palm-sized figurine—an image of Istellia, which I had purchased on my way here for cheap. “You will have something to believe in. Something that will not abandon you.”
The statue I had commissioned from Tuilë would only be ready tomorrow, so this one would have to suffice. In truth, it served another purpose as well: It would act as the vessel through which I would quietly begin gathering faith.
“The world has taken from you, and it will take again if you stand alone. But together, under Istellia… and under me, Genesis, you will find salvation. We will take back what was stolen. Because the Creator does not abandon His faithful. We, the Genesis Order, do not forget.”
Their eyes were fixed on me now, my words stripping away the last fragments of hesitation still clinging to their hearts. The first hook had sunk deep.
“From now on, you will recover, train, and face the scenarios together. When the time comes, you will act at my command. In return, I will give you the means to stand again—not as the broken shells you are now, but as weapons sharpened for a greater design.”
“Carry this light in your hearts,” I finished, lowering my hands as the gentle light faded. “When you kneel before the statue, you kneel not in submission, but in unity.”
One by one, they lowered themselves before the figurine I had placed on the table. The mother’s breath hitched, her fingers twitching toward it before she caught herself. Then, in a trembling voice, she asked, “Lord Genesis… can you give me back my child?”
I smiled. “Nothing is impossible. Devote yourself fully, and I will grant your wish—whether it is to restore a missing limb… or to return a lost family member.”
Of course, true resurrection was beyond reach without high-rank holy magic, especially if no intact corpse remained. However, Voldrath—one of the legendary figures I could possess—might be able to bring back the dead even from the faintest trace, a trinket, or a shred of remains. But there was no need for them to know that now.
Hearing my words, she lowered her gaze, and slowly, almost reverently, she too knelt before the statue.
I produced a small pouch from my inventory and tossed it to Rex. The heavy clink of a thousand soul coins made the group stiffen. “Distribute the coins as needed. Also…” I retrieved several pieces of uncommon and lower-grade weapons and equipment I’d gotten from Graham’s inventory and set them on the floor.
Then I glanced at each of them in turn. “If you stay, you answer to me alone. If you walk away, you do so now, and we will never meet again. No one outside this circle is to know of me.”
No one moved as their eyes were filled with resolution.
“Good. Then from this day forward, you will work in the shadows, building the foundation I require. I’ll contact you when the next step begins.”
As I said that, I turned to leave.
“All praise the goddess and Lord Genesis the Creator—the first, and the one who begins all things,” Rex declared, his voice carrying a weight that bordered on reverence.
The others followed, their voices joining in unison.
The name seemed to settle over them like a brand. And as I disappeared into the streets, I knew the seed I’d planted yesterday was already beginning to take root.
The possession has ended.
Your power has returned to normal.
You have acquired a skill: [Divine Sermon Lv.1].
Your Mind has increased by 1.
You have used up 56 Plausibility for the possession.