aircannonsinc Chapter 1016: Preacher "Barbara"
Chapter 1016: Preacher "Barbara"
When Barbara heard about dedicating everything she had, she nodded affirmatively. She had come this far and there was really no turning back.
"That's right! There's no turning back for me!"
The man in the top hat raised his hand, his finger pointing at the base of the inverted statue.
"Place the bottle containing the spirit of the wind god beneath the inverted statue."
Barbara didn't dare to hesitate and walked to the bottom of the statue with the bottle in her hand.
As soon as the bottle fell to the ground, the inverted statue of the God of Wind suddenly trembled violently. The dark ball that was originally condensed where the statue's hands were clasped suddenly burst out with a dazzling dark purple light.
It was pure power from the abyss, wriggling like a living thing, flowing slowly along the statue's arms and spreading towards the bottle on the base.
The green airflow in the bottle felt threatened and slammed into the bottle wall frantically, making a slight buzzing sound.
But the power of the abyss was like a cancer attached to the bone, and soon it entangled the glass bottle, seeping into the bottle body, intertwining and tearing with the green airflow.
The man in the top hat stood aside, watching the scene calmly, and spoke about the next step.
“Kneel before the inverted statue and begin reciting.”
"I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never hunger, and he who believes in me will never thirst."
Barbara instinctively knelt on the ground, clasped her fingers together, and lowered her forehead slightly, as devoutly as she had prayed countless times in the West Wind Cathedral in the past.
Only this time, she was facing an inverted statue and unfamiliar prayers echoed in her ears.
She closed her eyes and repeated the sentences word for word.
"I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never hunger, and he who believes in me will never thirst."
The voice was a little awkward at first, filled with fear of the unknown.
But as I kept thinking about it, I gradually became infected with a kind of paranoid determination.
The bottle on the base vibrated more and more violently, and the cyan airflow and the black abyss power were entangled wildly in the bottle. The clear cyan was being dyed into ink little by little, like a polluted stream.
The man in the flattering hat continued to recite, his tone becoming a bit colder.
“Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day.”
When Barbara heard this prayer, her teeth chattered slightly.
She could feel the air around her becoming sticky and cold, penetrating into her body through her pores.
But when she thought of her goal, the vision of "rebuilding God," she gritted her teeth and forced herself to repeat it in a louder voice.
“Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day!”
As the prayer was repeated, the eyes of the inverted statue suddenly lit up with two balls of scarlet light, echoing the inky airflow in the bottle on the base.
The entire hall began to echo with a low humming sound, like the whispers of countless wronged souls, or like the screams of gods in pain.
Barbara knelt on the ground, her forehead pressed against the cold stone, her body shaking uncontrollably.
She didn't know whether what she was doing was blasphemy or redemption. She only knew that the obsession in her heart that "it must be completed" had overwhelmed all fear and reason.
The voice of the man in the top hat echoed in the empty hall, and prayers uttered from his mouth like invisible chains, pulling at Barbara's will.
She followed mechanically, and every repetition strengthened her obsession. The confusion in her eyes had long been replaced by fanaticism.
"Final step. Slit your wrists and water his soul with your blood. Recite: 'I give the water of life freely to the thirsty, I guide people!'" the devil said.
Barbara didn't hesitate at all. She pulled out a small silver dagger from under her skirt.
That was something Qin forced upon her for self-defense before they set off.
The blade scratched the skin of the wrist, bringing a sharp sting. Warm blood instantly gushed out, flowing down the forearm, dripping onto the cold ground, and blooming into dazzling scarlet flowers.
“I give the water of life freely to those who are thirsty, and I guide people!”
Then she raised her bleeding wrist, letting the blood drip onto the transparent bottle. Her voice was a little hazy due to the dizziness caused by blood loss, but still carried a paranoid piety.
A magical scene happened.
The bright red blood did not slide down the wall of the bottle, but seemed to be pulled by some force, seeping through the glass and into the interior of the bottle.
The airflow, which was originally dyed inky black by the power of the abyss, glowed red the moment it came into contact with the blood. It seemed to come alive and began to devour the blood frantically, making a slight "sizzling" sound.
Barbara watched this scene with an obsessed smile on her face.
She could feel that the "Wind God Soul" in the bottle was becoming more and more "active".
The inky air flow rolled more and more violently, and occasionally an outline resembling a human face would emerge. Although distorted, it carried a heart-pounding pressure.
"Yes... That's it..."
She muttered to herself, blood still gushing from the wound on her wrist, flowing down her arm and staining the hem of her white dress red.
The man in the top hat stood aside, watching all this calmly.
……
As time went by, Barbara's vision began to blur, a buzzing sound came from her ears, and her body felt heavy as if filled with lead.
She felt her consciousness gradually withdrawing, and the inverted statue and the bottle in front of her began to rotate and overlap.
But she still stared at the bottle and muttered intermittently.
“I give… the water of life… to those who are thirsty…”
Finally, when a severe dizziness hit her, she could no longer hold on. Her body softened and she fell forward, landing heavily on the cold ground and completely losing consciousness.
The blood on the wrist was still flowing slowly, but the speed was getting slower and slower.
The bottle was now covered with a strange dark red color, and the airflow inside had completely turned into a dark purple, almost black color, with a faint ominous red light, emitting a chilling atmosphere in the silent hall.
The man in the top hat walked forward, looked down at Barbara who had fainted on the ground, and then looked at the bottle.
"The first step is completed."
……
Barbara's consciousness sank into chaos, and bizarre dreams repeatedly tormented her spirit.
She stood in the middle of the vast desert, the scorching sun scorching her.
My skin was stinging from being burned and my throat was so dry that it felt like it was about to crack.
There is no water or oasis around, only endless wasteland twisted in the steaming heat.
She was like a lonely soul abandoned by the world, struggling in vain in despair.
……
The next second, the scene switched to a dark forest.
She couldn't find her direction.
The wind whistled through the woods, but not a single word could be heard.
……
Then, a biting cold suddenly hit.
She stood on the top of a snowy mountain that never melted. The strong wind blew ice particles onto her face, and the pain was like a knife cutting.
The thin dress couldn't withstand the severe cold at all, and my blood was freezing.
The roar of an avalanche could be heard in the distance, but she didn't even have the strength to run away.
……
Then, she stood in front of the altar of West Wind Cathedral, wearing neat nun's clothes, leading other nuns in morning prayer.
The sunlight shines through the stained glass, warm and holy.
But this image is fleeting, like a reflection in water, shattered at the touch of a finger.
The most terrifying dream is that cold cage.
The rough iron bars trapped her, and outside was a blurry and hideous face.
Someone reached in and tore her clothes roughly. The cold touch and dirty words were like poisonous snakes, penetrating into every inch of her skin.
She wanted to scream, but no sound came out; she wanted to resist, but her limbs were too weak.
These dreams have no logic, no order, only extreme pain that crushes me repeatedly.
After an unknown amount of time, a tiny light suddenly appeared in the chaos.
……
When Barbara emerged from the chaos, the light in the secret realm had changed - it was obvious that she had been in a coma for more than a day.
She opened her eyes weakly, her vision was blurry at first, and it took a while for it to focus.
The wound on the wrist only left a shallow pink scar, like some kind of mark.
Not far away, the bottle containing the soul of the God of Wind still had dark red blood that had long since dried up on its surface.
"So... that wasn't a dream." Barbara murmured softly, her fingertips lightly touching the scar on her wrist.
She forced herself to stand up slowly with her weak body, staggered to the bottle and picked it up.
The airflow in the bottle was no longer pure blue, nor was it completely inky black, but instead showed a deep purple-blue color.
"How long have I been unconscious?"
Barbara covered her heavy forehead, her voice was a little hoarse due to anemia, and her vision went black from time to time.
"27 hours and 23 minutes." A calm voice came from not far away.
Barbara looked in the direction of the voice and saw the man in the top hat standing behind her, staring at her.
She gathered herself, walked over holding the bottle, and asked anxiously, "How is the Wind God now? Has he... been successfully reshaped?"
The man in the top hat didn't reach out to take it. He just lowered his eyes to glance at the airflow in the bottle and then looked away.
"After being watered by your blood, he has indeed become 'alive', and the power of the abyss has begun to merge with his remaining soul. But this is not enough."
"He is now like a sprouted seed, showing signs of growth but without the strength to take root in the soil."
Barbara tightened her grip on the bottle.
Barbara knows that everything is difficult at the beginning. Now that she has taken the first step, the rest of the things should be much easier!
"Then what should I do next?" She raised her head. Compared to the fanaticism before she fell into a coma, she was more like tempered steel at this moment, with a calm paranoia.
The man in the top hat patiently explained, "Getting people to believe in your god is the key."
"When people's faith in the gods continues to accumulate and reaches a certain level, your 'god' will be reborn!"
When Barbara heard this, she couldn't help but feel puzzled.
It is not an easy task to make people believe in the "God of Wind" nowadays!
In Mondstadt, although the reputation of the God of Wind is not very good, at least one or two believers can still be found.
After all, it’s the basic plate…
But once you leave Mondstadt, other countries have their own gods to worship, and getting them to convert to the "God of Wind" is harder than climbing to heaven!
"How can I get people to believe in the God of Wind? Except for the people of Mond, people from other countries have their own gods!" Barbara looked embarrassed and didn't know what to do for a moment.
The man in the top hat couldn't help but shake his head at Barbara's fixation on the concept of "Wind God" and corrected her:
"No, no, no, you misunderstood. It's not about getting people to believe in the God of Wind, but about getting them to believe in the 'God' in your heart."
Hearing this, Barbara subconsciously touched her chest and murmured to herself, "The God in my heart?"
There was a hint of persuasion in the flattering man's tone.
"That's right. The god in your heart hasn't yet taken shape. Don't you understand what I mean?"
After hearing the devil's hint, Barbara suddenly understood.
"I know! I understand!"
"I can borrow the 'bodies' of other gods! Use their names, their images, to depict the gods in my heart!"
"That way, people won't be repulsed, but will be more accepting because they're familiar with it!"
In short, Barbara plans to use her eloquence to make everyone believe in the god in her heart.
For example, in Liyue, Barbara ostensibly promoted the greatness and enlightenment of the "God", and the people of Liyue subconsciously thought that Barbara was talking about the God of Geo.
But in reality, she molded those 'revelations' into the image of the gods in her own mind!
People think they are worshipping the image of the Rock God and chanting his name, but their sincere faith will eventually flow to the real 'Him'!"
At this moment, Barbara completely got rid of her previous confusion.
She found her own way!
Barbara carefully put away the bottle that had been washed by the power of the abyss and her own blood, and said devoutly, "Lord Wind God, please rest assured."
"Your most loyal believer, Barbara, will surely allow you to arrive in a brand new state."
"I will make everyone believe that you are the true salvation of Teyvat. No matter whose name or image you use. In the end, only you will be believed in."
The man in the top hat stood aside, listening quietly to her "oath".
This is exactly the kind of "enlightenment" he wants.
To achieve one's goal, one must use any means necessary, even if it means distorting beliefs or borrowing the glory of others.
"Very good." The devil said calmly, "Go. Use your tongue to weave the most gorgeous coat for your god."
Barbara nodded vigorously, turned and walked towards the cave entrance.
This "crazy" plan will eventually go in a direction that no one can predict.
The inverted statue still hung silently in the center of the hall, as if sounding the horn of "doomsday" for this new "preacher" (false prophet).