Chapter 88: Whence Faith

Wang Yu's ramshackle cabin was located at 7 Black Street, perched at the very edge of a cliff. Unlike before, it had been completely renovated, and an even bigger change loomed on the cliffside.

By the cliff were a variety of races that Wang Yu had only read about in books: elves, dark elves, kobolds, dwarves, and even a vampire.

Wang Yu blinked. If he weren't mistaken, that elegant man with bat-like wings in a dark evening suit surely was a vampire, wasn't he? However, what he was currently doing had little to do with the elegance typically associated with the race.

The pale, handsome man was handing a thick beam of metal to a strong orc who was hammering steel nails and laying tracks down the cliff. Wang Yu thought the orc looked familiar—it was Emmon!

That made sense. He had previously hired them to help build the alchemy workshop.

"When did we get so many non-human... believers?" Wang Yu hesitantly asked the Lady of the Night, who was sitting in her usual spot on the rocking chair at the entrance of the cabin.

"Oh, they came after seeing the plaque you left. After I paid them properly, they naturally began to worship me. Not many humans came, but many non-humans did. You didn't exclude them on the plaque, did you?"

"Of course not. As long as they're intelligent beings, it makes no difference. Can you accept their faith? If you can, then there's no issue. Actually, these different races' specialties are probably better suited to helping us build the church and other facilities than regular humans."

Wang Yu had never considered racial discrimination. It wasn't because he had lofty moral standards, but simply because he was from Earth.

He didn't share the entrenched biases of this world, as he had never been influenced by its environment.

"Come, Nomian, Kaya, pay your respects to the Archbishop." Holo's voice came from behind just as Wang Yu was pondering how the church had suddenly gained so many new followers.

Wang Yu turned to see Holo standing behind him with an apologetic smile. Behind him were two dark elven children, a boy and a girl, clutching their grandfather's leg and peeking out timidly at Wang Yu.

"Apologies, Your Grace. They're a bit shy," Holo began. He gently nudged the two dark elven children forward. With the natural charm and grace of their elven lineage, the two performed a human-style bow for Wang Yu.

However, Wang Yu wasn't fond of children and wasn't good at dealing with such situations. After some thought, he sent a ripple of energy toward Charles, who was nearby, and signaled to him with a glance.

Somehow, Charles understood. He pulled a tarot card from his pocket and slapped it, releasing a golden butterfly that immediately captivated the children.

After exchanging a word with Holo, Charles used the excuse of having the children show him around to lead them away.

"Is he a friend of yours, Your Grace?" Holo asked.

"Yes, a close friend."

"Ah, I can sense a connection to nature's kindness in him. He must be a good person, mustn't he?"

𝒇𝓻𝓮𝓮𝙬𝙚𝒃𝒏𝓸𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝓬𝓸𝒎

"Well... maybe?" Wang Yu thought about Charles' mix of reliable and unreliable behavior and concluded that he was somewhat more reliable than not.

With that digression over, Holo resumed recounting how he came to join the Church of Nightfall.

When Holo and his family first arrived in the capital's shadow, the initial problem they faced was food. With no money and nothing humans considered valuable, they struggled to obtain sustenance in this chaotic, greed-driven underground city.

Fortunately, as a druid, Holo could easily grow edible plants outside the corrupted lands. Using seeds he had brought with him and the native mushrooms near the underground river, he managed to keep his family fed.

But that wasn't enough. The greed and chaos of the city targeted not only humans but also non-humans. Dark elves, though ill-reputed, were no different from elves in appearance.

Elven women—and even men—were highly sought-after commodities in certain markets.

Unlike the powerful and well-protected elves, dark elves, with their poor reputation and limited strength, were even more desirable.

Unsurprisingly, a chance encounter exposed Holo's family to the city's gangs, whose greed marked them as targets for capture.

Once again, Holo found himself on the run as he evaded pursuers to protect his family.

In the chaotic environment of the city, confusion could sometimes aid escape. However, this only applied to humans.

Non-humans struggled to blend in. Faced with distrust and wariness wherever they went, they were avoided by weaker individuals and coveted by powerful ones. Kindness was rare in this chaotic city, and encountering someone benevolent was even rarer.

But as luck would have it, Holo found one such rarity—not a person, but a god.

One day, while being pursued, Holo chose to distract the pursuers by letting his family hide while he transformed into a black panther and darted through the streets and alleyways.

However, Holo was far less familiar with the city's layout than the gangs. Even in his swift panther form, he couldn't evade capture for long.

Poisoned arrows pierced his body, and their venom sapped his strength. Cornered at the edge of the cliff on 7 Black Street, he slumped to the ground in front of a small cabin, prepared to meet his fate.

He resolved to take down the first attacker with his claws and fangs.

But despite waiting for what felt like an eternity, the gang members never arrived.

The poison in his body slowly dissipated. Puzzled, Holo opened his eyes to see a calm, profound gaze focused on him.

"Are you alright? I concealed your presence. Those chasing you won't find you. Oh, and would you like to devote yourself to the Lady of the Night? I'm Darkness, the church's saintess," the Lady of the Night's avatar said.

"This is our church, the Church of Nightfall. Here's the holy scripture written by our archbishop, Wang Yu. Also, here's a job board. If you're interested, you can help out. Oh, and the board doesn't say dark elves aren't allowed, so you should be fine."

The Lady of the Night's recruitment pitch wasn't just disorganized—it was downright bizarre. But after enduring countless hardships, Holo was deeply moved by her calm, unwavering sincerity.

That moment marked the start of his faith. He was particularly moved by the invitation to believe in a god again. As a former apostate of the God of Nature, Holo had never had the courage to pledge his faith to another deity. This was the first time someone had extended such an invitation.

"I... I'm an apostate. Can I still join?" Holo's voice trembled with uncertainty.

"An apostate? Have you committed any of the evil deeds listed here? One or two minor infractions might be fine, but if they're too egregious, that's a different story." The Lady of the Night handed Holo the holy text written by Wang Yu—a compilation of principles promoting goodness, truth, and beauty, interwoven with esoteric reverence.

With his tired body now restored to human form, Holo read through the text and found that his actions bore no resemblance to the wicked deeds described in the scripture.

Moreover, the worldview it presented struck a chord within him. The inclusiveness and boundless compassion it espoused were worlds apart from the scriptures of the God of Nature, which consisted almost entirely of hymns to nature.

Holo hesitated but eventually nodded.

"Then there's no issue. Are you interested in believing in the Lady of the Night?" The Lady of the Night nodded, seemingly unconcerned by the title of "apostate." Holo remained unaware that this woman, who introduced herself as Darkness, was none other than the Lady of the Night herself.

"I do have a small question. Why does the holy text of the Lady of the Night's church contain almost no words of praise for her?"

Indeed, Wang Yu's scripture, for all its merits, had one glaring flaw: while it borrowed some phrases of praise from the Church of Light, the bulk of the text focused on practical guidelines and exhortations for believers. Words of praise for the Lady of the Night were sparse—perhaps the closest was the sentence, 'The Lady of the Night sees all; do naught but good in her sight.'

While neither Wang Yu nor the Lady of the Night found this peculiar, it was extraordinarily strange to other believers and churches in this world.

"The Lady of the Night doesn't care about such things. She probably just hopes her followers live well and remember her, that's all," said Darkness with a smile.

"I-Is that so? Then please allow me to place my faith in the Lady of the Night, great deity that she is. I vow to follow her teachings and uphold her tenets."

Holo's heart was filled with awe that would not dissipate. As a former follower of the God of Nature, he understood that deities were always regarded as supreme beings by their followers.

But the deity described by this woman was unlike anything he had ever encountered. Even the Church of Light, known for its peculiarities, was fundamentally different from the Church of Nightfall. To borrow Wang Yu's words: one was deity-centric, while the other was devout-centric.

"Welcome to our faith." The Lady of the Night helped Holo to his feet, her eyes shimmering faintly with darkness. As a deity, she could discern falsehood and malice with ease, and was pleased that this new follower had demonstrated neither.

"I pay my respects to you, esteemed Saintess. I am honored to bask in the... darkness of the Lady of the Night."

The rituals and etiquette ingrained in Holo during his years as a follower of the God of Nature resurfaced, though he cleverly substituted "darkness" for "light" to better suit the Lady of the Night.

"The goddess is delighted to have a new believer. By the way, one more thing: would you be interested in working here? This would be the compensation for your labor." Darkness, in her divine persona, accepted Holo's pledge and once again inquired about his interest in joining the workforce.

Holo turned to look at the job board's requirements. Once again, he was astonished.

In the capital's shadow, it was nearly impossible to earn money unless you had exceptional skills or connections. At best, you might receive food in exchange for labor. Often, you'd be coerced at knifepoint to work without pay.

The terms on Wang Yu's job board shattered Holo's understanding of how things worked in this place. It also deepened his belief in what Darkness had said earlier: the Lady of the Night truly wished for her followers to live decent lives.

"Such kindness, such compassion..." Holo murmured to himself. Recognition and reverence took root in his heart. His mental energy began to coalesce into faith, forming a connection between him and the Lady of the Night.

"I'm willing! Can my family join as well?"

"Of course."

"So that's what happened." Wang Yu stroked his chin thoughtfully. After listening to Holo's account, he finally understood why so many non-human followers had joined the Church of the Night. In the capital's shadow, their lives had been unbearable. A sanctuary that welcomed them without discrimination and offered them protection naturally earned their faith.

Take that vampire, for instance. The poor soul had been turned into a vampire by a passing noblewoman of his kind, who fancied his youthful and handsome appearance. Afterward, the woman was killed by a paladin of the Church of Light for indiscriminate bloodsucking.

The young man had been on the run ever since, ceaselessly evading vampire hunters eager to claim the bounty on his head. Then, he stumbled upon a missionary from the Church of the Night. With no better options, he joined—and found a new lease on life.

"It's not bad at all." Wang Yu nodded. The scene before him exceeded even the visions conveyed to him by the Lady of the Night. It was vibrant, thriving, and filled with hope. It wasn't perfect, but it was good enough. Perhaps this was the true meaning of faith.

But what did the righteous gods think? Why did they remain silent when their churches committed wrongdoings? Were they bound by the chains of faith? Or was it that the ones truly fabricating and exploiting faith for control and profit were never the gods, but their so-called "believers"?

Wang Yu didn't know. But now he understood what truly drew people to the Church of Nightfall.