Raindrops hit the wooden hut with a dull sound, seemingly telling the world of nature's infinite might on display.
Without sorrow or joy, filled with ancient power and dreadful majesty, the message conveyed to the kneeling girl's mind!
It was not a language or script belonging to humans, devoid of any common emotions, the inexplicable stream of information rearranged itself into a meaning her barren mind could comprehend.
A deity!
Irene was astonished, never having imagined that the source of the voice was truly a god from the myths and legends!
Surrounding the East Coast, there were many legends about the Sea God, and the priests from the Tempest Church considered It to be a manifestation of the Tempest Overlord, worshipped by countless sailors and fishermen.
She was aware that the gods from the myths often had unpredictable moods, sometimes saving people and other times capable of destroying everything.
She must repay this deity well, partly out of gratitude and also to not bring disaster upon this town!
"Great deity, thank you for saving us, I... I have no way to repay you, but I will do my best, whatever you ask I will try to fulfill,"
Irene responded cautiously, fearful of upsetting this mysterious deity.
Karl suddenly realized that conveying thoughts also consumed a tiny amount of Spiritual Power, and it seemed that each communication should be treasured.
He decided not to use real language for communication, only to send commands containing the most basic meanings, as his already limited Spiritual Power was best conserved when possible.
Commands devoid of human emotion, incomprehensible yet understandable, emerged abruptly in the depths of the girl's heart.
She understood immediately!
"Great presence, do you need the power contained in that amulet? Do you wish for me to retrieve that transparent bottle first?"
Irene nodded repeatedly and rose to her feet, running outside the hut, braving nausea to retrieve a purple, finger-shaped amulet from the charred corpse of the priest, its blackened flesh sticky and revolting to the eyes.
Karl had long sensed the Spiritual Power contained within it, his inner depths stirring with longing, as if faced with a delicious dessert.
Kneeling in front of the transparent bottle, Irene's hands trembled as she held up the finger-shaped purple amulet, her voice unclear from fear as she presented it.
"Great Lord of the Lost, I, I offer it to you."
The next moment, the Spiritual Power contained within the finger amulet raced towards Karl's soul inside the bottle.
He suddenly found that after awakening from the darkness, his efficiency in devouring spirituality had significantly improved.
Yet the amulet's spiritual content was far too insignificant compared to the bottle, so Karl quickly consumed it completely.
If Karl's fragmented soul originally had a spiritual capacity limit of ten, after devouring the spirituality within the bottle, this became thirty, and after completely absorbing the amulet, the limit merely rose to thirty-two.
His spirituality, nearly exhausted due to casting the "Curse," consequently recovered close to one-tenth.
"Huh?"
Irene observed, astonished, as the purple finger withered visibly before turning into black ashes and dissipating.
Yet another miraculous scene!
It was as though the great deity had devoured it!
"Are you satisfied?" Irene asked, looking downward, while simultaneously checking her brother's condition.
Suddenly, she noticed that her brother's breathing was off, growing increasingly rapid.
"Chris!"
Quickly, Irene realized her brother had a fever!
However, in such torrential rain, it was difficult to find medicine, and for a child so young, the mortality rate was alarmingly high once they fell ill.
Irene, watching her brother's labored breathing, struggled within herself, in agonizing pain, and felt the urge to rush into the night rain toward town.
But now, the heavy rain made the roads slick and treacherous, and even if she could reach the town by night, she had no money to buy the expensive fever medicine.
In the town, patients unable to pay were common, and the doctors who had seen much of this were numb, so begging was also unlikely to procure the medicine; moreover, if she were to encounter an accident along the way, her brother would probably not survive.
"How could this happen?"
Wave after wave of crisis left Irene nearly on the verge of collapse, with tears of despair constantly streaming from her eyes.
That's right, there was one more thing she could try.
Only by continuing to plead with this deity might she be able to save her brother.
Tearfully, she knelt on the ground and prayed again to the mysterious being that saved her and her brother.
"Please save us, great Lord of the Lost, I will offer anything to you!"
"Great deity, please save my brother, I can't be without him!"
"He shall be saved."
The unemotional voice, like that of a deity from beyond this world, suddenly entered her mind, and Irene lifted her head in utter amazement.
A strong sense of fear surged within her, as the mysterious being appearing out of nowhere met her continuous wishes so easily, leaving her to wonder whether It was a benevolent deity or an extremely evil devil.
But whether deity or devil, as long as It could save her brother, she would offer anything to It!
Still with aching legs, Irene knelt down again, without any room to stand firm, and appealed to the mysterious voice.
"Please save my brother. As long as you don't harm my family, you can take anything from me!"
If life and soul could exchange for her family's survival, it was a worthy sacrifice. As long as her family could live healthily, it was already a blessing from fate!
As a former salesman, Karl had long since lost touch with awkwardness in communication, almost becoming a social phobia sufferer.
He knew best how to communicate, contact, and develop a series of skills and methods to generate trust with "customers."
"Customers" would never truly believe in any person, they only believed in what they desired in their expectations, utterly engrossed and even unable to extricate themselves.
The two people before him needed not power or dignity but merely the right to survive.
Thus, cooperation could be achieved between himself and them.
Karl's will, alien to humanity, once again emanated, filled with an awe-inspiring majesty that made one involuntarily want to worship.
A solemn will conveyed, and soon reformed into an understandable meaning, Irene was slightly startled, and then she understood that from the very beginning, she had to accept the fate that the mysterious existence was about to give.
Fate had revealed an undeniable corner, no matter whether the source of the voice was an evil devil or a great deity!
Karl could clearly feel that the grass runes in his soul possessed the "healing" characteristic, which might cure the disease afflicting the infant.
But how to wield this power was indeed a problem.
Impacting the outside world again would consume a large amount of his Spiritual Power, the meager remains of which were better reserved as a trump card.
Perhaps there was another way to proceed.
He could fully feel a strong connection with the girl, able to share the authority to activate that grass rune.
The next moment, Karl once again conveyed his will, commanding Irene to gaze at the transparent bottle not far away.
"What does that mean?"
At this point, Irene knew she could only fully trust the mysterious existence of the voice's source.
As she looked at the bottle on the wooden bed, she suddenly discovered a cross-shaped black light flickering dazzlingly in the middle of the old, transparent bottle.
The terrifying, twisting aura it emitted froze her completely!
When she stared at the black light, all the colors in the world seemed to vanish in an instant, leaving only the most basic black and white, the surrounding sounds were utterly extinguished, and all Spirituality and life seemed to be stripped to an unstrippable extent.
All things must come to an end, everything will be completely destroyed by Him, a thought of extreme terror emerged in Irene's mind simultaneously.
This is the might of a god!
How magnificent!
Irreverently awesome!
That is the great power of the Lord of the Lost!
Irene involuntarily trembled subconsciously, the light shadow of grass runes faintly emerging in her pupils.
Karl felt that Irene's soul already held the "Imprint of the Soul," sufficient to activate the magical power contained in the grass rune.
The act just now was akin to sharing some kind of administrative authority, yet for her pitifully small soul mass, bearing a single soul imprint was probably already the limit.
Irene's heart was extremely confused, and her body trembled slightly.
She suddenly discovered a warm power hidden deep within her heart, gentle enough to soothe any wound in the mundane world.
Without a doubt, that was the power bestowed by the great Lord of the Lost!
The wind howled past with the roar of thunder, rushing over from outside the wooden house, bringing rain that struck her fiercely, tearing at her clothes like blades, cold enough to make one shiver violently.
The light of the firewood was extinguished, and the drenched girl in the darkness couldn't help but feel lost.
She had no idea if that power could really save her brother's life, subconsciously praying to the gods and the vast heavens.
"Gods and fate above! Please, no matter what, do not take him away!"
In the storm, the girl roared defiantly at the sky, her face awash with tears.
But would the True Gods preached by the Church really pity the mortals?
If they were truly useful, wouldn't her mother and father have already returned?
The gods are useless!
A determination flashed in her eyes, and she changed her plea, shouting loudly:
"Great Lord of the Lost, please save him!"
Irene took a deep breath, turned to sit beside her brother, and slowly sat down, struggling to lift the infant's burning head.
"There, there, get well."
Inside, Irene felt a mix of desperate confusion and hope; the grass runes faintly visible in her pupils, her hands gradually emitting a vibrant green glow full of the breath of life.
The feverish infant, already unconscious, had a life so fragile and fleeting, but a gentle warm current began to flow gently into the child's body.
At this moment, Irene's heart was all on him, earnestly hoping her brother's little life would not fade away here, Great Lord of the Lost, please descend a miracle.
A miracle occurred!
As the gentle warm current flowed in, the infant's breathing stabilized, the intense heat of his body gradually subsided, and the pained expression on his face disappeared.
The infant still slept but was no longer feverish, and the disease that could have brought death instantly receded, the whole event being a miracle that occurred in the blink of an eye!
A look of great surprise appeared on Irene's face, success!
That power just now was the Divine Power granted by the Lord of the Lost!
How on earth should I repay Him!