【Name: Iluvia Devilitafel】
【Race: Twelve-Winged Sacred Angel】
【Alignment: Lawful Good】
【Level: 300 (Novice Deity)】
【Status: Weak Divine Power (Weakened State)】
【Domain/Godhead: Light, Life, Order, Angel】
【Divine Rank: 1/5 (Sealed State)】
【Divine Power: 100/10,000 (Current/Max)】
【Believers: 705 (Saintly Believers: 0, Fanatics: 0, Devout Believers: 8, Casual Believers: 120, Nominal Believers: 577)】
【Divine Abilities: Purification, Baptism, Divine Blessing, Hymn of Life, Healing, Creation, Divine Word, Bloodline Purification, Divine Descent, Divine Covenant, Conversion, Summoning, Holy Light Siphon...】
【Titles: Goddess of Light, Mother of Life, God of Order, Overlord of Angels, Master of Humanity】
“!!!” Iluvia looked utterly shocked.
Wait... it really works?!
“As expected of divine power,” She muttered.
She couldn't help but recall a phrase from Her past life: “Ware wa kami da!” (I am God!)
Uh... well, it actually fit right now.
And... so my name was Iluvia?!
Mmm... well, it sounded pretty nice.
“Still, a Twelve-Winged Sacred Angel? Hmm... what kind of race is that?”
Furthermore...
Iluvia stared thoughtfully at the believers column.
“If I want to grow stronger, it seems the fastest way right now is through the power of faith provided by believers. And from the looks of it, I already have a few.”
With this thought, Iluvia began searching through Her inherited memories for general information about this world.
Before long, She grasped the basic facts of the realm.
This world was a magical world known as the continent of Aenoria. Deities—true gods—existed across the land. Deities born naturally were called Ancient Gods, while those who ascended through the faith of mortals were known as Deities of Faith.
As an angel, Iluvia belonged to the Ancient Gods. Although Ancient Gods could increase their strength without relying on faith, in Her current weakened state, trying to restore Her original power solely by absorbing divine power from the void would probably take several thousand years or more.
Therefore, She urgently needed faith.
“Oh well, I'm here now, so I might as well accept it,” Iluvia thought with a trace of helplessness.
Suddenly, another piece of inherited information surfaced: the fall of the previous Goddess of Light was extremely suspicious, almost as if it had been planned jointly by all the gods.
What had truly happened in that divine war a thousand years ago?
Iluvia didn't know. However, one thing was absolutely certain for now—She could not casually reveal Her presence before mortals.
She had no idea how those true gods would react to a newborn deity who had inherited the legacy of the former Goddess of Light, and She was neither willing nor planning to take that gamble.
“Things are complicated...” Iluvia sighed.
She gently shook Her head, setting aside those troubling thoughts for the moment.
“That said, I wonder where I'm located right now... Though based on the imagery from the ancient war, if nothing went wrong, I should be somewhere in the eastern part of Aenoria.”
“Oh well, I'd better check outside and see.”
Saying this, Iluvia slowly stood up, took a deep breath, and stretched gracefully. “Mm... this feeling... It's so good to be alive.”
Of course, She didn't mean She was going out in person, but rather intended to use Her divine sense to scout the surroundings.
Divine sense was a detection method unique to the true gods of Aenoria, as well as one of their primary means of observing the continent.
By now, Iluvia's vision had already pierced through the crystal wall of Her Divine Kingdom and reached the outside world. “What's this...?”
She was a bit puzzled. Why was everything within sight just rock and soil?
Could She be underwater or underground...?
A guess already formed in Her mind.
Without hesitation, Her divine sense swiftly passed through the rock and dirt, scanning further outward.
Finally, after an unknown amount of time, a sliver of light appeared before Her vision, rapidly expanding as Her divine sense drew closer.
In the end, Iluvia “arrived” at the outside world, where the view suddenly opened up.
“Just as I thought...” Iluvia wore an 'I knew it' expression, then began observing the surroundings through Her divine sense.
It was currently dusk outside. Dense trees stood all around, where various birds chirped atop tall, unnamed trees while small critters scampered through the underbrush.
Had it not been for the scattered ruins showing clear signs of human activity, She would have suspected She was inside a primeval forest.
“Is that... a temple?”
While scanning the surroundings, Iluvia noticed a particularly striking building standing a few hundred meters away.
Why was there a temple here? Could this be another deity's sphere of influence?
At this thought, She couldn't help but feel a pang of vigilance, though She quickly dismissed it.
She noticed that the temple was somewhat dilapidated, and the carvings and emblems upon it looked strangely familiar.
Hss... Wait... wasn't this Her own Temple of Light?
After thinking for a moment, Her inherited memories confirmed it—the layout and style matched Her Temple of Light perfectly. That temple was indeed Her own.
Uh... what an embarrassing misunderstanding...
Without hesitation, Iluvia brought Her divine sense before the temple and carefully examined this otherworldly human structure.
The temple's outer walls were built from white marble and Radiant Stone, a magical material unique to Aenoria, exuding a sacred and solemn atmosphere.
However, the exterior was currently covered in cracks, looking as though it had endured countless ages of heavy history.
“Temple of Light...”
Iluvia murmured softly, then extended Her divine sense into the sanctuary.
Upon entering the main hall, She saw a several-meter-tall, damaged statue of a female angel placed on the central altar.
Three of the twelve feather wings behind the angel statue had broken off.
Is this... my statue?
Iluvia froze as She looked at the statue's face, which shared a seventy percent resemblance to Her own.
“Hmm?”
Before She could think further, a series of footsteps echoed from afar, drawing closer.
...
“Your Highness Lilith, the Temple of Light is just ahead.”
A young man's voice sounded.
“Yes. Thank you for your hard work these past few days.”
The young girl addressed as Lilith looked at the Temple of Light standing before her, a strained smile touching her face.
“Allow West and me to check inside first before you enter, Your Highness, just to ensure it's safe,” another voice chimed in. From its deep and steady tone, one could easily tell it belonged to a middle-aged man.
He looked past the young man named West toward the temple outline shrouded in the dusk, his expression solemn.
“Uncle Selby's caution is wise. In that case, I'll trouble you and West.”
“I shall wait for you here. May the Goddess's Holy Light be with you.”
Lilith gave a gentle nod and drew the symbol of angelic wings across her chest, her voice full of trust.
Hearing this, Selby dropped to one knee in a knightly salute, his voice deep and firm.
“May the Holy Light be with you as well. Please rest assured, Your Highness.”
He stood up and gestured to West with his eyes.
“Let's go, West. Be quick, don't keep Her Highness waiting.”
“Yes, Uncle Selby!”
...
West and Selby quickly entered the temple. After a thorough inspection that revealed no anomalies, they immediately reported back to Lilith, who had been waiting outside.
Lilith stepped slowly into the sanctuary. The setting sun shone through the dome onto the angel statue, casting phantom shadows of wings behind it.
The young girl walked to the statue of the Goddess in the center of the temple and raised her head slightly, a tinge of sorrow lingering in her eyes.
“Exalted Mother Goddess, your devout believer Lilith comes once more to your temple to pray...”
With those words, she knelt on the floor, softly closed her eyes, and began to mumble her prayers.
West and Selby followed suit.
In an instant, only the quiet murmur of prayers echoed through the temple.
Iluvia was somewhat surprised. She hadn't expected to encounter Her believers so soon after arriving in this world.
Well... or rather, believers of the previous Goddess of Light.
Either way, they were certainly Her believers now.
She focused Her attention on the three mortals and inspected them closely.
The three humans kneeling before the statue were two men and one woman.
The girl leading them appeared to be only fifteen or sixteen years old. She possessed an exquisite, pure face, rendered immensely holy by her ornate white priestess gown trimmed with gold.
Her skin was as fair and delicate as a porcelain doll's, and her long golden hair cascaded down like a waterfall, shimmering faintly under the ambient light.
The other two were knights clad in silver armor, presumably her attendants.
However, likely due to a lack of rest, both knights looked somewhat weary.
With a single thought from Iluvia, and with Her previous experience, the girl's status panel promptly appeared before Her eyes.
【Name: Lilith Solavel】
【Race: Half-Angel】
【Alignment: Lawful Good】
【Level: 29 (Mid Bronze Rank)】
【Worshiped Deity: Goddess of Light — Iluvia Devilitafel】
【Devotion Level: Devout】
【Titles: Saintess of Light, Savior】
...
Iluvia suddenly felt She was quite lucky. Among the first believers She encountered, one turned out to be Her only Devout believer—and not only was she a gorgeous girl, she was also Her own Saintess of Light!
Not bad at all.
Iluvia's mood brightened instantly.
“Still... a Half-Angel? A hybrid of angel and human?”
She noticed how Lilith differed from the other two. Although those two knights possessed a fraction of angelic bloodline, their race was still human.
Iluvia could feel the connection between their bloodlines and Her own.
“Great. If nothing goes wrong, they'll be my main foundation in this world,” She thought to herself.
As the three continued praying, Iluvia was pleasantly surprised to find Her divine power growing at an extremely slow pace.
Though the growth was tiny, She could feel it distinctly.
“Even though recovery is slow, this is provided by just three believers. If I gather a sufficient number of followers, restoring my power to the Greater Divine Power Her former self held at her peak will be well within reach.”
Indeed, deities had ranks among themselves—or rather, variations in strength—which were determined by the amount of divine power they wielded.
The true gods of Aenoria were categorized into five tiers based on their divine power:
Weak Divine Power (Novice Deity), Lesser Divine Power (Lower Deity), Intermediate Divine Power (Intermediate Deity), Greater Divine Power (Higher Deity), and Supreme Divine Power (God-King)!
The previous Goddess of Light and Life had reached Greater Divine Power—a Higher Deity—standing among the very apex of gods in Aenoria.
As for Iluvia, She was currently just a weakling at Weak Divine Power.
Sigh... I wonder how long it will take to regain Greater Divine Power.
At this thought, Iluvia let out a sigh.
It was best to establish a firm foothold in Aenoria first. If She were discovered by other true gods or evil deities, She certainly didn't want to be a helpless lamb ready for the slaughter.
She understood full well the law of the jungle, especially in a magical fantasy world like this.
...
Outside, in the Starfall Forest.
The setting sun gradually vanished as moonlight took over the sky.
Rustle—rustle—
“Master, the Saintess of the Light Church and her party have entered the temple,” a scout reported, emerging from the darkness. Kneeling on one knee with his head bowed and eyes fixed on the ground, he spoke in an extremely respectful tone to the slender, elegant figure standing before him.
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