284: 6.44 Mass Prayer

6.44 Mass Prayer

Lu Yizhou should have known that Jillian wanted to make him a gold statue. His lover wouldn't accept anything less for him.0

Alas, just thinking about it was enough to send goosebumps on his entire body. Worse, the male protagonist, His Highness Prince Hayden, out of loyalty to his General, had proposed to have the best craftsman carve Regius' miniature out of gemstones and sell it on the market as a protective charm. Fortunately, with a little coaxing here and there that involved kissing and making out with Jillian until his mind turned into paste, Lu Yizhou succeeded in talking him out of it.

Lu Yizhou wasn't told at all how the statue was going to turn out until the very same day when Jillian was going to make an announcement. 

(He thought anything was better than the ostentatious gold. It was truly negligence on his part.)

And that was how he almost got a heart attack when Jillian brought him out to a piece of vast, undeveloped land that had now become a massive temple with four main pillars made of gold as the foundation. Even from afar, he could already see the shine reflected on the royal family and the Duke's insignia that was carved on the luxurious gate. A huge, antique chandelier hung from the ceiling as soon as they stepped in, inlaid with many precious gemstones and the floor was polished so meticulously that they could see their reflection on it.

"You told me not to make you into a gold statue," Jillian said as if sensing Lu Yizhou's speechlessness. He had a smug look on his face like a kitten that finally got its way to tricking its owner for treats. "But you don't comment anything about the temple."

That's because he had no idea that there would be a fucking temple! Goodness, was he trying to build him a palace?! 

"Don't worry." Jillian reassured him with a pat on his head, which was honestly not comforting at all. "If we don't go out of our way to do this, then people won't believe us."

What happened with the 'small scale first' plan? At this rate, the gossip would spread through the whole country even before the official announcement was done! A snicker sounded inside Lu Yizhou's mind and Izher, who was put inside the box and left behind with the horse, exclaimed. [He's a sly little guy, isn't he? Look at him, having you wrapped around his little finger.]

Lu Yizhou pinched his brows and let out a long suffering sigh. It seemed like the frequency of his headache had increased ever since Izher showed up in Jillian's life. [Don't pretend as if you know nothing. You two must have secretly planned this behind my back, haven't you?]

Izher gasped, mock outraged. [That's a huge slender, Sir! What makes you think that I would want to breathe the same air as him?]

Lu Yizhou didn't point out how he had caught the two of them talking about God-knows-what, huddling in the corner of the manor and thinking that Lu Yizhou didn't notice them at all. He carefully shelved the thought to the back of his mind so that Izher wouldn't latch on it. [Mn, be good and wait outside. I will look for you after this.]

Izher fell silent for a while, and then when he spoke again, his voice lost the teasing lull. [It's okay, Lu Yizhou. Everything will be fine.] Lu Yizhou held back a smile and deliberately opened a wide pathway in his mind to channel his fondness, love and affection straight toward Izher, making the latter splutter before abruptly closing off their connection. He chuckled. His lover really hadn't changed at all, still so shy at weird times and fun to tease.

Next, he accompanied Jillian as he made one last inspection around the temple to make sure that everything was absolutely flawless. Only when he was satisfied did they finally make their way to the center hall where Lu Yizhou's statue was placed. Judging from the sheer grandeur of the temple, Lu Yizhou had prepared himself for the worse. Yet he still couldn't help but facepalm when he saw a gigantic statue made of white marble placed under the natural lighting, seemingly glowing with a holy light. It was exquisitely carved, even the robes were clinging on it like a second skin, highlighting the breadth of his shoulders, thin waist and long legs before fluttering around his feet. 

Every strand of his hair was delicate and silky, and every curve of his face was sculpted to perfection. Paired with silver gemstones on his eyes, he looked… cold, apathetic and majestic. Like a real God.

Jillian stopped on the doorway, awestruck as he stared at the statue. He only snapped out of his reverie when Lu Yizhou gently brushed his cheek, chuckling nervously. "Goodness, I should have known that Grandmaster Dynn's skill is remarkable but this…" He shook his head and fluttered in as if beckoned by a siren's call. First, he placed the doll Regius down to the back of the statue where an oval hole had especially been carved to accommodate him, then he returned to gaze up at the statue in reverence.

Lu Yizhou almost choked when Jillian suddenly kneeled down and placed a worshiping kiss on the statue's feet, his expression so pious and sacred that it sent a jolt of electricity through Lu Yizhou's body, down to the tip of his fingers as if Jillian was kissing him directly. 

[Regius, my beloved God. My one and only. Please accept this humble follower's worship.] His voice reverberated in Lu Yizhou's head, louder and stronger it almost threw him off balance.

What was that…?

Jillian had prayed for him every single day without fail but Lu Yizhou had never felt something so… powerful and divine. It slowly replenished the almost empty reservoir inside him and his veins surged with raw power that wasn't there before. He turned his gaze to the statue. Was it the reason why…?

Before Lu Yizhou could finish the line of thoughts, people started pouring into the temple, guided by Jillian's soldiers. Men and women, old and young, sick and healthy. Commoners. They kneeled in front of the statue as Jillian began to announce who Regius was and how they should pray for him . Jillian's noble reputation alone was enough to sway their hearts but everyone was surprised to see His Highness Prince Hayden beside him, clearly showing his stance to support the General.

Goodness, if General Jillian and His Highness had vouced for it, then everything must be true!

"...And that's why we decided to build the first temple on this land." Jillian concluded solemnly. "The outer hall will be opened to the public and everyone is free to visit whenever you want but we will only unlock the inner hall once a week, exactly at this time, so you can whisper your prayer to our God more intimately. That's all from me and His Highness Prince Hayden." He swept his eyes around before nodding toward Hayden. "Today's prayer session will start now with me and Prince Hayden as the leads."

The two tall, dashing men stepped forward to stand on the very front. After that, they dropped to their knees in unison and bent down until their foreheads touched the floor. Behind them, hundreds of people followed suit and Lu Yizhou gasped as the power of their prayers slammed into him with the force of heavenly lightning. Desperate, hopeful, yearning.

A sacred atmosphere descended on the temple, silent save for the occasional sniffles and sobs. But Lu Yizhou's head was a cacophony of chaotic voices, whispers and cries. Faintly, he even heard the echo of the heavenly bell.

[Dear Lord, please… Please protect us from this deadly disease.]

[...save my daughter and wife…]

[...give us your blessing…]

[...chase away the darkness around us…]

[...bless us so that we can get through this winter safely…]

More and more voices drilled into Lu Yizhou's ears and his body grew warmer and warmer. The air around him crackled with electricity, searing. Power flowed inside his veins like molten lava, filling up his entire body to the point of bursting. 

At some point, something within him snapped and his senses abruptly exploded into millions of fragments. For a second that felt like eternity, his body scattered to merge with the air that people breathed, the trees that reached the sky, the soil frozen under the thick snow… He soared higher and higher, through the sky and clouds, past the boundary of this world and beyond.

[666: Woaah woaah woaahhh!! Host, what's wrong with you?! 666's internet speed suddenly goes up! Holy— it has never been this fast before!]

He was the God of Darkness but…

…he was also the strongest of them all.

[666.] Lu Yizhou gritted his teeth. No need for further words because he knew 666 would understand what they needed to do.

[666: Aye, aye, Host, leave everything to 666!]

Invisible, he flowed freely around the walls of complicated codes whereas 666 greedily gobbled them up. 

[System notification: Warning! Main server has detected an unknown threat! Issuing a code black emergency!]

[System notification: Warning—]

The system notification cut off abruptly and the flashing red lights receded into calm blue. [Main server: entry access accepted.]

[666: Host, it's done!!! WOO-HOO!!!]

As soon as Lu Yizhou received the signal, he smiled and allowed himself to fall back down. Wind whistled past his ears and he relished in 666's excited babbles of how it was going to be obliterated by Admin God if the man found out and how adventurous it was to be a spy. The ground was getting closer and closer and Lu Yizhou turned to dive head first through the temple straight to his statue. 

In an instant, a blinding light burst out from the temple.

.

.

Lu Yizhou always believed that the best defense was a good offense. If there was a bug in the system that messed with his lover, then Lu Yizhou would become an even larger threat to eliminate it. Mantis stalked the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind.

If this was a game of viciousness, then Lu Yizhou was going to come out as the winner.

.

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Mini theater

666: Ha! 666 has said it before! Whoever has assigned the role of God to Host will definitely regret it! *evil laugh*

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