Faith. A concept of belief in the truth of something that does not require any evidence and may not be provable by any empirical or rational means. It couldn't be considered rational or in the slightest logical.
The concept of faith was a question of who could trick themselves into believing something for the longest. As it doesn't require any evidence, such a concept can easily fall into schemes of any sort. It was something that could easily be tainted by evil.
One can consider it as an imaginary pillar that people call to fall back to. It can be the same as hope and confidence. But like hope and confidence, faith can be broken with enough pressure. It takes a lot of will for one's faith to not collapse.
But one's will can only take it so far before dwindling into dust. There could also be many factors, such as betrayal or disillusionment. Though, none of them mattered if the one they believed in was actually real.
If there was an almighty being ruling over its followers, guiding them to the path of paradise. A being that can actually intervene no matter the time period. Will their faith become something indestructible? Or will it be challenged by the rational evidence of their God?
Many questions arise regarding faith, but in the end, only the almighty being they worship can answer them. What mattered the most was reality. There was a God before them. And that God can become their object of faith.
――{<●>}――
In the abyss was an open and vast field of nothingness. It perpetually stretched beyond until ending in the lines of the expansive horizon. The entirety of the broad field was empty and silent, while the heavens above it were pitch-black and cold.
Within this seemingly never-ending land were two beings, the mortal and the immortal. It was the first confrontation between the ordinary and a legend. And such a meeting would bring about change throughout the misty forest.
Erste Janus, the sickly daughter of the village chief, was gazing at a being that she could only describe as God. She was bewildered about the existence before her as she had read about them. From the old books, they called themselves Deus.
According to the book, Deus were almighty divine beings that ruled over the entirety of the world. This was the mythical era of the Gods. Every mortal that inhabited the world was under their command. There were no mortal rulers, emperors, or kings.
The mythical era of the Gods was the golden age of existence. Technology, power, knowledge, and many more advance through leaps and bounds. Despite there being skirmishes and wars, the circumstances were still better than in any era.
But it all ended when the divine holy war began. The Gods from different species, pantheons, and religions fought against one another for supremacy. The reason for their war was to become an existence that can be called the one and only true God.
Destruction, Chaos, Death, Plague, and Evil scoured the land, consuming everything on their way. It was the greatest war that began in the dark ages and brought about the existence of terrors. In itself, the story was nothing more but a myth for the umbras.
It wasn't a part of the umbra's history and was nothing more than a legend of the past. Deus weren't real almighty beings. Otherwise, they would still have existed in this world. Such almighty beings wouldn't easily die off and disappear from the face of reality.
Erste also didn't believe in the existence of such beings like many other umbras. She thought of the old myths as nothing more but a great fantasy story. Though, such stories that portray themselves as a part of history were always hated amongst the umbra people.
As it didn't have any hard evidence of its existence. And there was no way anyone could prove the substance and facts of such stories. But everything changed at this very moment.
'But I was wrong.'
'Deus, the almighty beings from the mythical era of the Gods were actually real.'
Erste was proven wrong, and the proud knowledge of the umbras collapsed within her mind. She found it incredibly hard to believe, but everything was in front of her eyes to see. It wasn't a trick or an illusion. The one before her was a Deus.
To be honest, even after her conclusion, Erste had a hard time knowing what to feel. She was confused, bewildered, excited, horrified, and many more. Emotions kept spiraling within her heart and mind. It wouldn't be surprising for her to collapse.
She was confused and wondered what she was supposed to do. Was this the afterlife? Was dying the only way for her to see the mythical beings of the past? There were numerous questions trapped within her head.
Other than the spiraling emotions, she wondered what she was supposed to do. Was this the afterlife? Was dying the only way for her to see the mythical beings of the past? There were numerous plaguing her head.
None of them could be answered, and she didn't dare to demand the Deus for answers.
At any rate, Erste gazed at the Deus sitting on the abyssal throne that rivaled a mountain. With the size of the mythical being, it could easily trample the Janus village. The Deus might even easily destroy nations from the west without that much of a problem.
But there was nothing for her to fear in the world of the living. She had already lost everything before dying. As her father said before, the dead do not care or bother the living. What happens outside was none of her concern.
With this in mind, she knelt before the Deus and lowered her head. It was a sign of subservience to the almighty being on the abyssal throne. After all, while Erste didn't have anything left, she still had her curiosity as an umbra.
Gazing at the ground, Erste asked the Deus as silently, calmly, and respectfully as possible. She was acting like a rabbit under the mercy of the tiger. Which wasn't that far from the truth. Erste was under the mercy of the Deus.
"May I ask why I'm here, almighty Deus?"
There was no answer from the Deus on the abyssal throne. Nothing but silence and calm followed after she uttered her words. This made Erste confused and nervous, wondering whether the vast Deus could hear her words or not.
But the confusion and nervousness of the mortal faded when the earth below her trembled. It was the strongest earthquake that Erste had ever felt. Everything around her was breaking apart, which made her terrified.
'Sh*t, did it hear my thoughts? Was I disrespectful?'
'Don't tell me I'm gonna die?'
'Oh, wait. I'm already dead.'
The thoughts of Erste kept surging like a flood. Her chest felt heavy as her heart wildly beat without delay. Chills kept echoing throughout her body while cold sweat dripped from her forehead. Erste's arms and legs quietly quivered. And her skin became pale as milky white.
Erste waited for herself to be deleted from existence after disrespecting the Deus before her. Though, seconds passed, and nothing happened to her. She didn't know if she should breathe a sigh of relief or not.
She slowly gazed forward only to see the Deus pointing its gigantic fingers at her.
The ever-glowing eyes of the Deus lustered with crimson amethyst as hues of neon color dwelled around it. Its cold and armor-like face was clad in abyssal black while the aura of nothingness surfaced from its body.
It was at this moment an order emerged within Erste's head. She didn't know how such an order appeared in her head. But there was one thing that was clear. The Deus before Erste was commanding her to do its work in the overworld.
The simple order of the Deus destroyed her horror towards it. An expression of determination formed on her face as if she was about to head to the battlefield. Erste bowed to the Deus while kneeling and accepted the order.
"Archon of Malevolence, your existence will be known throughout the world."
Upon such words, Erste's body began to fade into ashes like everything before her. She was startled at first but accepted it after realizing that her mission was about to start. The Deus had given her a command and was expecting the command to be executed.
So with the meeting of Erste and the colossal Deus, she was given another chance, away from death and nearby life. The price of such a change was her complete subservience to the almighty lord of Malevolence.
She didn't even know how she came up with such a name. But that was the only thing she could call the Deus of the abyssal throne. And it seemed to have accepted such a name, fitting for its divine self.
After entirely fading from the abyss, Erste lost her perception and blacked out.
Back in the Janus village, it was early in the morning. The sunlight of morning sun gleamed through the village with its radiance. Such light pierced through the window, making one awaken from their deep slumber.
A yawn sounded out of nowhere as a young lady rubbed her eyes. It took some time, but the young lady realized what had happened. She swiftly rose from the soft bed and began breathing heavily.
'Was that a dream? No, that was far from being a dream!'
She could have considered everything that had happened as a dream. But it wasn't a dream. It was reality. The young lady also felt her body becoming different. It became a bit more healthy than before. Perhaps, even stronger.
It was as if her sickness had disappeared.
"I see… So this is the reward for subservience."
"This means that I'm not dying anymore."
The young lady was none other than Erste. She should have been happy after discovering that her sickness had disappeared. But no matter what she did, only tears escaped from her eyes.
Her father had already died, and she was alone in this world. Normally, she would have been lost without any goal in mind. But after meeting the Deus and being given a mission, Erste was given a goal.
Her father had already died in a gruesome manner while she was left alone in this world. Normally, she would have become lost without any goal in mind. But after meeting the Deus and becoming its servant, Erste was given an important mission.
"For the existence of the merciful lord to be known far beyond this land."
"I have to start a religion that will officially announce my lord's existence."
"Its name will be…."
"The Covenant."
――{<●>}――
Meanwhile, back in the pitch-black abyss, Hecate sat on her throne before sighing to herself. She relaxed her body and turned her upward, gazing at the dark never-ending void. This was her first confrontation with a mortal as a Deus. And it was nerve-wracking.
"Damn, I was nervous as hell."
"It's hard to pretend as a mysterious god-like being. I can't even talk normally."
"But this is all for my image."
Hecate was determined to see through what she had planned. To become an object of faith, she must become abstract and mystical. So instead of having a clear image of herself, she wanted to be an obscure Deus.
In any case, the plan she had in mind had gone through without that much of a problem. The only thing she needed to do was wait and let time bid its influence.
"Though, gaining my first follower had huge effects on me."
"I didn't expect my divine mass to look like this."
Hecate closed her eyelids to see the divine mass of herself. The ability to observe her divine mass came along after the not-sickly daughter left the abyss. The appearance of her divine mass was rather peculiar, but it made sense.
"It looks like a protostar that has recently formed."
The divine mass of Hecate had recently been born, which makes its appearance sensible and rational. Deus wasn't also that much different from stars in the cosmos. They have the possibility to bring life or end life, depending on circumstances.
"However, what surprises me the most isn't only my divine mass."
"But the structure surrounding it."
Hecate's divine mass was encased in a large structure that could only be described as alien-like. It was a massive dyson sphere that made Hecate confused at first. Though, it didn't take time for her to realize what the dyson sphere was.
"The dyson sphere structure surrounding my divine mass is the Deus system."
"How intriguing…"