Back at the temple, the magic circle glowed again, and a pillar of red light appeared. From it, Amadeus emerged. The pillar disappeared, and Amadeus looked at the sky, which was shining with sunlight. "Good, it seems like the flow of time is the same in both worlds," he remarked.
Amadeus then started heading back to the quarry. After a few minutes, he reached it and jumped over the wall instead of entering through the door, returning to the highest point in the quarry. There, he noticed a girl sleeping, shivering from the cold. As he took a good look, he realized it was Avice, waiting for him to return from last night.
He kneeled down, put his hand over her shoulder, and said, "Wake up, you're going to die at this rate." Avice slowly opened her eyes, and the first thing she saw was Amadeus's face.
"Such a great dream, I'm dreaming that master is the one waking me up," said Avice. Amadeus didn't respond, and after a few seconds of awkward silence, Avice finally realized this wasn't a dream. Her face suddenly turned bright red, as if it was going to explode. She stood up, putting distance between herself and Amadeus. She bowed and said, "Forgive me, master, I didn't mean it; I wasn't fully awake."
Amadeus stood up and said, "Don't worry about it. Tell me, why were you sleeping outside in the cold?" Avice, her face still red and not looking at Amadeus, responded, "I was waiting for you to come back since you left after that weird light appeared."
Amadeus tilted his head down and said softly, "Sigh. Such a meaningless reason." Avice barely heard him and said, "Sorry, master, I couldn't hear you clearly."
Amadeus lifted his head and said, "Nothing important. Now, I need you to go and gather everyone at the bottom floor. I have a solution to our problem to share."
"Really? That's great news! I'll go and tell the others," said Avice with a big smile, then she started running.
As she was going down, she met Ember who was going up. "Why the rush? It's not dinner time," said Ember. Avice responded with silence and an angry look.
Ember approached Amadeus and asked, "Where did you send the little girl?" Amadeus replied, "Little girl? I thought you were the same age." Ember smiled and said, "It's very nice of you to think I'm that young, but I'm sorry to disappoint you. Elves live long while retaining their original look."
"Then how old are you?" asked Amadeus. Ember responded with a confused smile, "What's with your curiosity today? I'm over 500 years old, is that good for you?"
Amadeus didn't care about her age; he was trying to gather information. "Over 500 years... she wasn't lying about having a lot of knowledge about this world," he thought to himself, then started walking, passing Ember. "Hey, you didn't answer me," said Ember.
" I don't like to repeat myself so Follow me because i am going to tell everyone," said Amadeus without looking at Ember and still walking. "I hope it's worth it, because my legs can't take going up and down anymore," complained Ember.
Down at the quarry, Amadeus stood on top of a newly built stage. The followers came one after another, waiting for him to speak. Once all the followers were present, he stepped forward and said loudly, "I asked you to come here to explain the situation we're in." He then explained the inevitable arrival of monsters and soldiers.
When Amadeus finished, the place was filled with chaos, people screaming in fear, talking about how, after finally regaining their freedom, they were going to die. Amadeus stood silently, watching them with cold eyes. Suddenly, a laugh was heard in the middle of the chaos, making everyone stop and look at its source.
The source was Ember, sitting on a chair on the second floor with her legs crossed. "You crazy woman, why are you laughing?" asked one of the followers.
Ember, still laughing loudly, stopped and looked down at them with a smile. "I am laughing at your idiocy. You have a god in front of you who swore to protect you, yet you still act so shamefully. I guess humans are always the same, no matter how much time passes."
Everyone fell silent after what Ember said. Amadeus, looking at Ember with cold eyes, turned to his followers and said in a menacing voice, "I hope this never happens again. From now on, you will listen to me in silence until I finish. I think you understand what will happen if you don't follow my orders."
The followers, shaking in fear from Amadeus, fell completely silent.
[Notification]
/ Your devotion level has slightly been reduced
"Don't you think you were a bit harsh on them?" asked the Crown. Amadeus replied in his mind, "All humans follow a simple code: they stomp on the weak and follow the strong. To understand what I'm saying, you have to live with humans, see their bad and good sides. For you, a godly Crown, understanding humans must be hard."
Amadeus then said loudly to his followers, "You all remember that red pillar of light. Actually, it was a gate to another place, and that place is our solution." He then explained what he saw in the other world.
The followers were speechless and found it hard to believe such a place existed. They stayed in shock for a while until Amadeus clapped his hands hard, the sound echoing throughout the quarry, returning everyone's attention.
Amadeus then said loudly, "I am offering you a place where you won't fear hunger, cold, heat, monsters, or people attacking you. Basically, I am offering you a paradise. So are you with me?"
The first person to speak was Avice. "Of course, we choose you as our god— I mean master— and will follow you anywhere," she said. After Avice spoke, Bertram agreed with her, and soon, everyone started cheering for Amadeus.
[Notification]
/ Your followers' devotion level has greatly increased
/ You will get a 20% bonus devotion on the next harvest
As the quarry shook from the screams of Amadeus's followers, he said to the Crown, "See? I told you. Humans are simple: give them hope, and they will be happy even if they haven't seen it with their own eyes. Having the possibility of it existing is much better than questioning it."
"Okay, you're right, mister 'I lived for 10,000 years,'" said the Crown. Amadeus responded, "Avice, that girl is always the one who pulls the others with her charming personality and kind face. She might be more useful than I thought."
Amadeus then said, "Everyone, the entrance to that place is through the old temple. Bring only necessary tools; food and water won't be needed. We will leave tomorrow at sunrise."
Everyone left to start their tasks. Amadeus walked to the highest point in the quarry, sat down, and started looking at the far distance. Suddenly, a voice from behind him said, "What are you doing?"
Without even looking back, he knew it was Ember. "We don't know when they will come, so they might be here before we leave. because of that, I'm monitoring the place," he said.
"That was a great speech, but there's something I don't understand. Can I ask you a question?" said Ember with a smile. Amadeus responded, "Sure, what do you want?"
Ember came close to the edge and, with a serious face, asked, "What are you? Tell me, are you a good god trying to protect these people, or a lying evil god using these people until they become useless?"
Amadeus continued looking into the distance and said, "And why do you care?" Ember responded with a calm face, "Just curiosity."
Amadeus stayed silent for a bit, then said, "No problem. If you're so curious, I will tell you which of these two words represents me."