Lapyx sat crossed-legged in his quarters, meditating. Using Jabberwock's Nova required immense energy and concentration, and the ritual had left him exhausted.
He was trying to assimilate the massive amount of Nova and fuse it with his own, only then would he truly be able to call him the Mad God.
"High Priest, the two priests request your presence."
The attendant who called out to him was previously Toro's attendant, and Lapyx had originally intended to dispose of her as well, but her demeanor and aptitude in her rile were truly rare and Lapyx thought it would be a waste to be rid of her.
Not to mention she was a beauty.
"Bring me a robe and let's be out."
The two went out to where the pits were, and Loki and Horus stood there in equal parts shock and confusion.
"I assume the ritual is over?"
"Yes, High Priest, Priest Horus and I sent for you immediately."
Making his way over to one of the pits, Lapyx peered in and showed a smile of delight.
"Perfect. Let us bring the bodies up along with the gems."
"Gems?"
"you'll see."
The three men brought the bodies out one by one along with the three gems in each pit.
Looking at the three gems in his hand Loki couldn't help but be amazed, one was a pure white gem, an inky black gem, and a soft red gem. What amazed Loki though wasn't the beauty of the gems, but the energy he felt from them.
'The energy in the weakest one far surpasses the energy of ten Blood Crystals, what method did Lord Jabberwock impart to this boy?'
While Loki was admiring the gems, Horus propped up the surviving initiates of the ritual.
"High Priest, the initiates are barely alive. I would never doubt your methods but is that really okay?"
Lapyx smiled brightly at Horus, making the man's skin crawl.
"As it stands right now all of their bodies surpass you in both purity and physical prowess, once the last step is complete even the weakest among them will be able to rival a high-level Grade 2 Novite."
Horus's jaw dropped in disbelief. The weakest was a young Vanco Village girl who was a Grade 2 Level 1, and the fact that her physical abilities were higher than his was unbelievable.
If anyone were to hear this their reaction would be the same. Aside from extremely rare cases Novites were usually unable to match those that were even one level higher than them let alone multiple, the difference between levels was just that big.
What made this possible was the harvest ritual that reconstructed the Novite's body from the inside out. This was made possible with the large amounts of Nova provided by the prepared crystals as well as the large amount of bodies in the pits. The arrays would draw only pure blood, muscle, and bone and add it to the Novite in the center while all impure blood, bone, and muscle were stripped away. This process was also done with the Nova as well, leaving only pure Nova flowing inside the reconstructed bodies.
"Priest Loki, bring me the gems."
Placing the gems before him, Loki stepped back as Lapyx picked up the pure white gem and approached Toro, who was slumped over on the ground.
"Awaken, it seems that the heavens above favor you. You have reached salvation, now raise your head."
With a great effort, Toro managed to lift his head, but it was clear that the ritual had taken a heavy toll on him. Every inch of his body was wracked with pain, and even this small movement was a struggle.
Seeing Lapyx's smiling face caused such an intense fear within Toro, that momentarily, he forgot the feeling of pain in his body.
"Honestly, the fact an insect like you managed to survive infuriates me deeply, but it would be a poor example to the others if I killed you because of an old grudge. Isn't that right?"
Toro was frightened but managed to give a shaky nod.
Clapping his hands together with a smile Lapyx grabbed the pure white gem and held it up in the air and admired it.
"An insect like you will not receive the same blessings as the others, even though this is more than you deserve, but as you survived the ritual you earned this opportunity. Serve the cult and earn the right of this blessing, the Blessing of Pure Bone and Blood!"
Pushing the white gem into Toro's forehead, the former Chieftain let out a blood-curdling shriek as he writhed in pain on the ground.
"AH"
"Bear through it like the persistent roach that you are, the pain will be worth it. Next!"
A woman of Lapyx's age came forward on her own two feet, having recovered during the interval Lapyx spent with Toro.
At first, like Toro, she was in immense pain but soon she came to realize that her body had changed drastically. Not only was her Nova flowing more smoothly, but it also felt more pure! Although the amount she had was a bit less than what she originally possessed the quality made up for the loss in quantity.
Her senses also felt sharper as well as the strength she felt in her muscles. It was as if she was placed in a brand new body perfectly tailored to her, she couldn't believe that she was able to obtain such a body by overcoming that horrid ritual.
"Come now and kneel before me, you have earned this blessing."
The woman looked at the young man they called High Priest, and she felt a reverence towards him. Someone able to bestow powers upon others in such a manner was not common at all, and now she was being given the opportunity to serve under him.
She knelt before him and lifted her head.
"Your name?"
"Domina."
"Hmm, Domina. I like it."
Holding the soft red gem in his hand, he placed it carefully on Domina's forehead.
"Take this blessing, the Blessing of Pure Soul."
The gem merging with Domina let out a bright light, but caused the woman no harm, in fact, Domina felt a soothing sensation.
She felt a cascade of Nova surge through her body, it caused her level to begin to rise without her knowing.
'I have never had this feeling of power before.'
It was a feeling of ecstasy as the pure Nova within her body and the Nova of the gem mixed.
"Go and circulate your Nova and adjust to your Level, someone will come and get you. Take the insect away as well."
Domina hurriedly grabbed the still-curled-up Toro and went away.
"Bring me the next!"
Kaya had survived the ritual by hiding under corpses until the last competitor became exhausted and jumped on his back and bit his neck.
The man, having no energy left, collapsed and succumbed to the wound. That left the frightened Kaya as the victor, and as she made her way towards the orchestrator of that gruesome orchestra, she could feel the ghost of the man she killed staring at her from behind.
"Don't fear child, have no guilt. You survived and made it here because the heavens willed it, take this blessing."
Lapyx placed the same gem as Domina's on the forehead of Kaya and she experienced a similar feeling as the Nova within her body mixed with that of the gem.
"Next! Huh?"
Before he could finish speaking, a rat-looking man had made his way right under Lapyx, with his hands clasped and an expectant look on his face.
Lapyx was repulsed.
"Bless me, Lord High Priest, I shall be your most outstanding servant."
Even Jabberwock, who was mostly dormant within Lapyx, shuddered in disgust.
"The fact a vile and repulsive wretch like you is even in a position to request anything of my makes me sad, but-"
"Dear. Lord High Priest, you said all survivors get salvation!"
The repulsive man brought up what Lapyx had said earlier to Toro.
"Sigh. I have a blessing perfect for you."
"Bless me!"
The man understood the situation and knew that those gems gave some type of power that went along with their newly reconstructed bodies. He planned on using that power on the ones that had invaded his village and slayed his people.
'I'll show them!'
Holding up the black gem, Lapyx smiled as he placed it on the man's forehead.
"I bless you with the gem that matches you, take this Blessing of Impurity!"
The gem was made from the impure Nova, souls, blood, bone, and muscle of the Novites in the ritual pits. Once placed in his forehead the man began to convulse as his veins bulged and his muscles swelled.
"Horus, get this thing out of my sight and have him contained, we can use him later."
Horus gave a worried look to Loki, who nodded his head back to reassure him.
With the growing mass taken away from in front of him, Lapyx regained his composure.
"Finally, Nephal. Come before me, I have something special for you."