“O great and selfless Goddess of Life...”
“The incarnation of vitality and the cycle of life...”
“I humbly pray to You here, begging for Your blessing...”
“May You take pity on this soul lost in another world, and guide her back to her homeland...”
“If that is not possible...”
“Then I will eat all the fruit on Your offering plate!”
As her voice faded, Celia Elyshir instantly opened her beautiful violet eyes.
She hurriedly turned her small head and looked around, her eyes darting like a startled fawn.
Holy grail, divine statue, religious paintings—nothing had changed.
The long oak table, the draped canopy bed, the gilded grandfather clock—the room's layout was also exactly the same.
On the altar before her, the fragments of the ancient bronze mirror, the tattered wings of a moth, and the silk sac of a weaver spider... none of them seemed to react.
Refusing to give up, she looked back a few more times. Confirming that absolutely nothing had happened, she finally slumped onto the altar in defeat, her long, pale pink hair cascading messily around her, devoid of energy.
Ah, failed again...
Just when will I be able to go back?
I really don't want to stay in this godforsaken place anymore!
Celia was a transmigrator.
Three days ago, she was just an ordinary student at a third-rate university. While doing her campus run, she suddenly suffered a sudden cardiac arrest and died on the sports field.
When she opened her eyes again, she had already become a Saintess of the Church of Life.
If it were only that, she could have accepted it.
But the problem was...
Why did she still have to work from 8:00 AM to 10:00 PM even after transmigrating?
Just thinking about it made her blood boil. Those religious zealots, possessed by who-knows-what, urged her to pray every single day, and the prayer times were absolutely inhuman!
“This is simply, simply...!”
With her stomach full of resentment and nowhere to vent, Celia could only grab a fruit from the offering plate and take a bite.
“Hmph, I don't know what's wrong with those guys, taking a simple prayer so seriously!” she mumbled with puffed cheeks.
“But then again, this offering actually tastes pretty good...”
She brought the fruit to her lips again.
She took one bite, then another.
Heheh, it was actually quite delicious.
After quickly devouring the fruit, the anger in Celia's heart dissipated a little.
Letting out a long sigh, she leaned back lazily against her chair, her thoughts beginning to drift.
Speaking of the ritual she had just performed...
It was something she had found in an ancient book belonging to the original owner of her body. The book seemed to be titled Notes of Destiny, and it had been sitting on the long oak table in her room ever since she transmigrated.
Its contents were complex, ranging from observations of fate, prophecies, and revelations, to secret methods for communicating with deities.
Sadly, Celia could only grasp the general idea; she didn't understand the specific details at all!
The only thing she could make sense of was probably the prayer ritual on the very last page...
It stated that as long as one prayed to a specific deity and sacrificed three items—fragments of an ancient bronze mirror, the tattered wings of a moth, and the silk sac of a weaver spider—the wish could be fulfilled.
What she found a bit strange was that it neither specified which deity to pray to nor stated the price of the wish.
It didn't even mention basic taboos, as if simply sacrificing those three items could grant any wish...
It felt like some kind of trap.
But with a "nothing to lose" mindset, she had done it anyway.
In truth, she didn't really understand why she was doing this; she just subconsciously felt that she should.
And she really, really wanted to go home!
As for the target of her prayer, since none was specified, she had directly changed it to the Goddess of Life. After all, during this time, the Goddess was the only deity she could interact with.
Uh... the final result was, unsurprisingly, a failure.
Maybe she should try a different deity next time?
Sigh, forget it. Who knew how long she would have to keep trying!
Just as she was feeling dejected, a purple-gold light suddenly flashed before her eyes.
Following the bright light, she turned her head slightly.
On the long table, the notebook that had been lying quietly just moments ago now seemed to be controlled by an invisible force, slowly floating upward.
Around it, circle after circle of purple-gold light revolved.
“What... is going on?” Celia's mouth opened slightly.
“Could my ritual have actually succeeded? No, that can't be. The offerings haven't even disappeared yet, right?”
Amid her confusion, the circles of light around the book began to expand rapidly. They unfurled in the air, spreading to every corner of the room like living things, gradually forming a bizarre spiderweb.
Celia was dumbfounded.
This bizarre situation...
Did she really perform some kind of cult ritual...?
The rustling sound of pages flipping echoed in her ears, and her heartbeat couldn't help but quicken slightly.
However, the anomaly came quickly and left just as fast.
Within a few seconds, the purple-gold light that had enveloped the entire room suddenly faded, and the ancient book fell back to its original spot.
After hesitating for a moment, Celia stood up from her chair and cautiously edged toward the long table.
The book had flipped to the very last page...
Only, on it...
The ritual process that was supposed to be recorded there had completely vanished. On the yellowed paper, only a very short, bloody line of large text remained—
“Miss Saintess, you will die today...”
This... Celia felt a sudden, inexplicable panic. She instinctively tried to step back, but losing her balance, she fell flat on her butt.
A wave of pain washed over her, but she was in no mood to care. Her mind was entirely consumed by the bizarre words she had just seen.
How did the words on the page suddenly change...
And what do you mean, I will die today?!
Her nerves grew tense again, and her heart pounded wildly.
But as she stood up, the writing on the notebook changed once more:
“You have been targeted...”
“But I can save you...”
“I only need you to sacrifice some valuable spiritual items before the next death arrives...”
Targeted?
How is that possible?!
She hadn't provoked anyone during this time!
As if sensing her inner thoughts, the bright red handwriting began to squirm and piece itself together again, finally condensing into a new line of text:
“It is not impossible. Fate cannot be measured by intuition, and neither can death.”
“You can read my mind?” Celia asked in astonishment.
“Not reading, merely predicting and interfering...”
Predicting and interfering? It deduced her thoughts? Did it know her well, or was this some kind of special ability?
Unable to figure it out, Celia immediately threw out a question that was far more important to her right now:
“Then what exactly do you mean by those spiritual items you mentioned earlier?”
“Spiritual items are objects blessed by deities.”
“Such items often span ancient eras, being repeatedly used, worshipped, and passed down in the mortal realm. Deities use them to collect faith, strengthen their existence, and maintain their will... For you, the higher the spirituality of the sacrificed item, the greater the gift you will receive.”
“A gift? What kind of gift? And what does that have to do with helping me escape death!” Celia tried to fish for more information.
“Secret knowledge, extraordinary power, spiritual items—all are gifts. With them, you will possess the ability to change your destiny.”
This... She had indeed guessed that deities might truly exist in this world, but what surprised her was that extraordinary powers also existed. She hadn't seen a single trace of them over the past few days!
Yet all of this was just the book's side of the story. Even the claim that sacrificing items could save her might not be trustworthy; maybe it was just trying to take advantage of her!
“Then how can I believe you?” Celia asked.
“You do not need to believe me, Miss Saintess.”
“Because—”
“Fate will naturally leave you with no other choice...”
Rate on N.U.
