Chapter 1994: Epiphany Related to a New God Spark
Chapter 1994: Epiphany Related to a New God Spark
Grimdawn paused and glanced at Reen, who smirked knowingly.
Then he turned his gaze back to the crowd.
"I'll give this to him, even though he was my enemy—God Raashim was a decent sea god. He was also good at doing the bare minimum to gain maximum faith.
But when it comes to business?" Eren clicked his tongue.
"The man was an amateur. He could've done a lot more here if he'd actually paid attention to the situation.
Instead, he just kept you all on the backburner. I guess the only reason he came here was because he wanted to take an active part in the Witches' Sabbath."
Even without interrogating Shir, Eren had already figured out God Raashim's intentions. He sighed and continued.
"Anyway. Never mind the past. Now that I'm here, we're going to turn this patch of sea into a proper enterprise."
The crowd, stunned at first, slowly began to murmur again. But this time, it wasn't fear—it was excitement.
The sea bullies were smiling. The sea mercenaries stood taller. Some of the transport guards even looked proud. They weren't going out of business. They were going pro.
Eren was still facing the crowd, the warm afterglow of success hanging around him like a cloak.
He neatly explained how things would change moving forward. With his eloquence and his aura, he took hold of his audience's attention. It was very easy for him to sway people's minds because of his earlier actions.
After all, people responded well to absolute authority as long as they saw them as someone capable of leading.
Not to mention, he had already killed a god. As god's followers, Eren's crowd had a certain leniency to depend on the divine in their daily affairs. So Eren didn't find it too difficult to put himself in God Raashim's position in their minds.
Of course, not everyone could do what Eren could. Grimdawn was just too good with the art of bullshittery that mixed truths with fantasies. And fantasies were what was needed to his new followers who were temporarily suffering from lack of motivation.
The mood was shifting—his words, his tone, even his grin made it clear he was no ordinary conqueror. He was a builder, a planner. Someone who had a clear path ahead.
Eren had already decided to turn Baga Island into his base of operation and rename it to White Raven Island in the coming days in an official ceremony. As such, he was giving some clear instructions.
But then all of a sudden… something strange happened.
In the middle of his speech, right as he was about to speak another word, Eren's expression shifted slightly. His pupils dilated. His gaze unfocused for a second. His breath paused. He stood still as if time around him had slowed down.
A powerful stillness overtook his being—an instant of clarity unlike anything else.
In that moment, his consciousness was pulled somewhere deep, into a space that wasn't physical, not entirely. His mind was suddenly filled with an overwhelming sensation of presence, of weight.
Then came the flash. A set of coordinates were etched deep into his mind.
It was the location of something well-nurtured, isolated, and powerful.
A Spirit Beast.
The phenomenon lasted no more than a heartbeat. His body jolted back to awareness as if nothing had happened. Yet Eren's lips curved into a knowing smile.
He had entered Epiphany.
And it wasn't just a random moment of clarity—it was a gift. Labh Salem's World Will had fulfilled its end of the deal.
The location it had sent him wasn't ordinary. It was where a Spirit Beast nurtured by the very Worldly Laws of Labh Salem existed.
It was a perfect candidate to become a new God Spark. If Eren could find and tame it, he'd gain his second elemental God Spark.
What was even more important was the fact that this Spirit Beast was of a different element than water.
This was huge. Eren had never thought that he would be able to get a new elemental God Spark from Labh Salem. At least not in such a short time.
What did it mean?
It meant that he would finally qualify to break into S-Rank. To become a Sage.
To stand shoulder-to-shoulder with those who mattered at the Witches' Sabbath or at least be qualified to be taken seriously.
A thousand thoughts passed through his mind in a second. Plans, risks, routes, preparations. But he tucked them away for now. There would be time to prepare.
He looked back at the crowd, calm and collected once again.
"All right," Eren said, his voice low but firm.
"Now that I've said my share, it's time for you to show where you stand."
The air grew still.
"I know not all of you want to serve me," he continued.
"I know some of you are unsure about joining the Elder Ichor Pantheon. And I get it. After all, I just killed your god. Even though he let his followers die mercilessly, I believe there'll still be some hardcore followers of his."
He paused, letting the weight of his words settle over the sea of faces.
"So here's your chance," he said, sweeping his gaze across the crowd.
"If anyone wants to leave this island, walk away from all of this, and find another path—do it now. I won't chase you. You can join any faith you find welcoming. Go to any continent.
After all, I'd rather focus my attention on those who want to work under me willingly than waste my resources on those unwilling and ungrateful. Faith can't be bought. Not really. At least not in the long run.
And I have no interest in changing people's minds over time. I don't have many layers to my personality. So what you see now is what you get."
He exhaled a bit of smoke from his Stellar Sativa Stick.
"So you can leave me if you want. But let me be clear—once you walk away, there's no coming back. You leave now, or you stay for good. Now choose."
Silence spread like a ripple. Everyone could feel the seriousness in his tone.
Eren scanned their faces, reading fear, doubt… and resolve. But he didn't speak anymore and let them come to the decision on their own.