All the monsters suddenly vanished, and the two found themselves in another space of pure white.
Aside from the vast emptiness, there was only a dead silent quiet.
"Huh?"
Gexi looked around blankly, then turned to Grinya Loran with confusion.
"Wh—what is going on?"
Grinya did not speak. She only stared solemnly in Gexi's direction, her breath coming in short gasps, though whether from exhaustion or tension was unclear.
"What are you looking at?" Gexi felt a chill from the stare and involuntarily took a step back.
But with that single step, she suddenly felt a warm light at her back, making her body feel cozy and warm.
After staying in the cold, silent abyss for so long, this was the first time she had felt such warmth.
At the same time, she realized that Grinya was not staring at her, but at an entity that had suddenly appeared behind her.
As a terrifying thought bloomed in her mind, Gexi's body became incredibly stiff.
She did not dare to turn around, nor did she dare to even glance behind her.
She did not know the price of gazing upon a god, but she was willing to bet it was a price she could not afford.
Though Grinya seemed perfectly fine, Gexi did not believe she could remain as unscathed. After all, she had long suspected that Grinya's true identity was quite unusual; she might be a divine envoy, a representative of a god walking among mortals.
Therefore, Grinya could look upon a god, but Gexi could not.
At that moment, a sacred voice carrying a certain high dimensional power seemed to travel from the void directly to her ears, suddenly exploding in her mind. Gexi could not understand what the words meant; every syllable was so mysterious and complex that just listening to it gave her a headache.
Gexi was fortunate that the voice was not directed at her and held no ill will, so she only suffered a slight headache and nothing more.
As the actual recipient of the voice, Grinya appeared even more normal than Gexi. She seemed completely unaffected, though she also did not understand the meaning of the words, showing a look of confusion.
In Grinya's eyes, behind Gexi lay a long and infinite Starry Path. A magnificent figure in black robes stood there, the brilliant light of order illuminating everything.
Though He did nothing but stand there quietly, that alone was enough to say everything.
Seeing that Grinya did not understand the Divine Language, the God of Order slowly raised a hand and snapped His fingers.
"Human, you have quite the nerve to insult a god. Do you know the price for such an act?" The God of Order spoke without joy or sorrow, His face expressionless.
Grinya finally understood. Faced with what was clearly an interrogation from the God of Order, her heart fluttered with anxiety as she grumbled internally:
"Normal prayers get no response, but you hear insults loud and clear. Can I really be blamed for that?"
"It is only natural. Do you know how many people I hear calling out to me every second? I have long grown used to countless beings calling my divine name at every moment. I cannot possibly pay attention to such boring people," the God of Order said. "But among those voices, yours was the most unique. Yours was the only one insulting me among countless prayers, as glaring and jarring as a black dot appearing on an infinite sheet of white paper."
"It would be difficult not to hear it clearly," He said.
The expression on Grinya's face grew visibly stiff. Having her inner thoughts exposed to the person—no, the god—involved was incredibly awkward.
It was also a bit terrifying.
Do gods all have mind reading abilities? This was too scary!
"I do not have mind reading abilities, but I can guess what you are thinking from your expression," the God of Order said.
"..." Grinya.
I don't believe you.
"Believe what you wish; such matters are not important," the God of Order said.
"..." Grinya.
"So..." Beneath the black hood of the God of Order, those eyes containing the starry sky stared intently at her. Grinya faced the pressure of a high level god for the first time.
"So, follower of Xun Shen, why exactly have you called upon my divine name?" He asked.
For the sake of that unknown god, He did not hold Grinya's offense against her.
In fact, He could guess the reason why Grinya had called Him.
Although His true body was in a deep slumber and had lost contact with the mortal world, it did not mean He was entirely ignorant of the situation there.
However, as a high and mighty god, even if He knew the reason, He required the believer to state it themselves. Otherwise, it would be a loss of face for His status as a high level god.
Facing the legendary God of Order, Grinya did not know why, but she felt no fear from the start.
"I hope you will take action to save humanity." She bowed deeply toward the God of Order.
"Are you commanding me?" the God of Order countered.
Grinya raised her head, gazing at the god once more. "I am not. I am entreating you."
"But I do not feel a humble attitude from you. Is this the attitude a believer should have when requesting something of a god?" the God of Order said. "You should kneel before me, express your faith in me, and only then request my help."
Grinya was incredulous. "At a time like this, do you still care about such things? An evil god is about to descend out there. Are you not even a little anxious?"
"Why should I be anxious? The so called Plague God is merely a low level, subordinate deity. The world is not something a low level god like it can destroy. Its descent will only result in the deaths of low level lifeforms like you. What impact does that have on me?" the God of Order said with slight contempt. His words were filled with disdain for the Plague God and indifference toward other lives.
"In comparison, Faith Energy is what I care about more. Yet you have shown me not a shred of respect from the very beginning, which makes me quite angry," He said calmly.
Grinya was left speechless. She stood there in silence for a long time.
"What, have you nothing to say?" The God of Order crossed His arms and said arrogantly, "If not for the sake of Xun Shen, you would not even be qualified to speak with me. Standing before me is already your supreme honor. And offering me your Faith Energy as an equivalent exchange—is that rule so hard to understand?"
"You call this an equivalent exchange?" Grinya found it absurd.
"Gods really are high and mighty, aren't they?" she added, her tone dripping with sarcasm.
If she had known gods were all like this, why would she have pinned the hopes of humanity on one?
Why must humans always beg gods? Why can humans not rely on themselves?
She should never have begged a god.
The God of Order did not care what Grinya thought. If she were not the vessel for Xun Shen, He would not have bothered to say so much to her.
His eyes suddenly flickered as He saw the lucky charm bag in Grinya's palm, and His divine form shifted slightly.
That thing was very unusual.
"I am a god of rules. I can overlook your offense and give you a chance to save humanity. It simply depends on whether you can seize it," the God of Order suddenly changed His tune.
"I will grant you great power, giving you a body strong enough to resist the opening of that gate, but this means you must use your own body to hold it back."
"I will grant you a divine status, giving you the ability to face corruption without being consumed, though you will still suffer its pain. If your will wavers, you will be devoured by the even more violent corruption."
"I will give you my blessing. As long as you stand outside that gate, the Plague God cannot break through."
"And as an equivalent exchange, you must give me that artifact in your hand!"
The God of Order held out His palm.
Grinya looked at it. After a moment of hesitation, she nodded.
"Fine. I accept."
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