Chapter 89: Flourishing Growth

The Church of Nightfall's growth exceeded Wang Yu's expectations. This nascent, foundation-less church demonstrated extraordinary vitality in the unique realm of the capital's shadow thanks to its inclusiveness.

Its embrace of the marginalized brought together non-human races shunned by humans. These individuals, who built and shaped the church's territory together, experienced a unique sense of fulfillment and belonging.

That feeling—think about it this way. Imagine that you've purchased your first home on Earth. Using your hard-earned money, you slowly decorate and renovate it until it suits your tastes. It may not be a grand mansion, but there's a true sense of achievement in knowing that this small piece of land is yours, yours by blood and sweat and tears. The resulting sense of satisfaction is indescribable.

For these displaced non-humans, that sense of fulfillment was even stronger. In the Church of Nightfall, there was no discrimination, no prejudice, and limited hierarchy. In practice, the church had only two leaders: Wang Yu and the Lady of the Night.

One was a benevolent and kind goddess whose deeds bore little connection to her divine nature and who tended to take a hands-off approach. The other was a reluctant archbishop whose main responsibilities were issuing wages and hiring workers.

In fact, the tasks listed on Wang Yu's work board were already completed. These tasks had been for expanding the Nightblades' outposts and were unrelated to the Church of Nightfall's growth. What Wang Yu observed among the church's faithful was entirely voluntary labor.

There were no enforced obligations—just individuals who had gathered by circumstance. Perhaps it was merely a matter of seeking warmth in numbers, but there was nothing wrong with that.

A lack of entangled interests made the Church of Nightfall remarkably pure. Wang Yu didn't know if this purity would last, but for now, the church was new, vibrant, and simple.

"How does it feel, Lady of the Night?" Wang Yu leaned against a pillar and asked the Lady, who stood beside him and watched her followers busy themselves.

"It's... wonderful. I can sense the faith of these believers, and they are genuinely content. In fact, their faith in me is purer than that of the ‘devout' believers of the past."

"Purer?" Wang Yu tilted his head in curiosity.

"Yes—it's free from messy thoughts. Their faith isn't based solely on worshiping me. It's a simple form of recognition and gratitude. They don't try to define me solely as a ‘Goddess of Night,' nor do they attempt to direct me toward embodying the concept of darkness."

"Though this lack of direction means my power will recover more slowly, and my mastery over darkness is not as strong as it once was, I am truly myself now. At the very least, I act according to my own will—I'm no mindless puppet mechanically responding to prayers and wielding powers tied to my divine nature.

"So, if possible, please call me Darkness instead of the Lady of the Night or Eunice. I greatly enjoy the relationship I now have with my followers."

"Very well. Congratulations, Lady Darkness." Wang Yu nodded, smiling as he respectfully bowed to her.

He also understood why the Lady of the Night liked the perfunctory name he had given her. Perhaps it wasn't the name itself that mattered, but what it represented.

"One more thing... If you have the chance, please help me monitor the movements of Erphine, the Font of Life. His agents have infiltrated the sewers beneath the capital. It's highly likely that the capital's shadow will also come under his influence. I'm counting on you."

Wang Yu handed Darkness a faith crystal extracted from the remnants of Erphine's influence.

"Consider it done, my friend. I will keep a close eye on my mad kin." Darkness accepted the crystal solemnly.

"Wang Yu, your Church of Nightfall is amazing! I want to join too! Can I worship both the Lady of the Night and the God of Light? The old man upstairs wouldn't mind, would he?"

Charles's loud voice came from afar. He had quickly befriended two elven children and was now carrying one while running toward Wang Yu.

Regardless of whether the God of Light would mind—why didn't Charles ask if the Lady of the Night would? Wang Yu turned to glance at Darkness with a wry smile.

The goddess wore a serene smile, her eyes still veiled by dark silk. Well, since she seemed unbothered, he supposed he could let Charles' irreverence slide.

"Go talk to Darkness. I'm off to check on Avia's alchemy workshop." Waving his hand, Wang Yu sent Charles off to speak with the goddess.

In the distance, Holo and Avia waited for Wang Yu and Darkness to finish their conversation. Seeing that Charles was interested in joining the Nightfall Church, the druid smiled with the satisfaction of an elder watching a youth grow.

"Got it!" Charles, with the two dark elf children in tow, ran off toward Darkness. Hopefully, he wouldn't offend the good-tempered goddess.

Following Holo's lead, Avia and Wang Yu walked along a pathway carved into the cliffside. Below lay an endless abyss. The Church of Nightfall's faithful had claimed and developed this unused cliffside territory beyond the reach of Black Street.

The cliffs themselves, previously unutilized, offered ideal open land for expansion. Pathways were built over these cliffs, and the rock face was carved out to create spaces for use. The church's growth was unfolding in this seemingly constrained yet infinitely expandable space.

Wang Yu's gaze glanced down into the abyss, piercing through the darkness. He saw into the chaotic sea of madness emanating from the depths. The abyssal will projected endless insanity. Anyone walking this path, immersed in darkness, was destined to succumb to madness.

This was why no one else had tried to develop the cliffside despite its potential.

Far from the Nightblades' three lighthouses, their sanity would be as fragile as a sail-less ship adrift on an endless sea. Under the relentless waves, only two outcomes awaited: either they would sink into the abyss or start worshiping it as one of the lunatics in the abyssal cults.

Why, then, were the followers of the Church of Nightfall unaffected? Wang Yu's ripples had already revealed the answer.

A faint, flowing "darkness" enveloped the domain belonging to the Church of Nightfall, absorbing and shielding its land from the madness projected by the abyssal will. These madness-inducing factors that could drive others insane were effectively blocked.

Shaking his head, Wang Yu handed a lantern to the nearby Holo. "Holo, please take this lantern to Lady Darkness. It's a token of my appreciation."

"Understood, Bishop Wang Yu," Holo replied without hesitation. He carried out Wang Yu's request without asking any questions.

This lantern was the one that the Nightblades had provided Wang Yu to absorb fragments of the abyssal will's madness. Through the lighthouse, it could cleanse madness across a wide area, albeit only reducing its concentration rather than eradicating it entirely.

The lighthouse itself was merely an amplifier for the lantern's effects. Wang Yu's lantern alone was more than sufficient to protect the Church of Nightfall.

The Lady of the Night had been using her own power to shield her believers from the relentless abyssal corruption.

Wang Yu didn't want such a caring deity to suffer harm. With this lantern, at least, she wouldn't need to absorb the madness herself.

As for the lighthouse and the Nightblades' tasks, Wang Yu himself was more than sufficient to handle the corruption. Using the lighthouse, he could touch the abyssal will and shatter its madness even without the lantern.

As he walked along the cliffside path, Wang Yu occasionally encountered various non-humans who bowed to him. Their races were diverse, and their accents even more so.

𝚏𝕣𝐞𝗲𝐰𝕖𝐛𝐧𝕠𝕧𝚎𝚕.𝐜𝚘𝗺

Wang Yu's Earth-derived name was already challenging to pronounce in the common tongue. Coupled with the fact that the ones greeting him were non-humans—kobolds, beastmen, and the like—their pronunciation sounded even more peculiar, causing Wang Yu's eyebrows to twitch in barely restrained laughter.

Next to him, Avia was covering her mouth and giggling softly. She had entirely forgotten her own embarrassment about gifting Wang Yu a magical device with his name engraved incorrectly.

"Greetings, Archbishop Wang Yu!"

"Thank you for the job, Archbishop!"

"Hey, show some respect! That's our archbishop!"

"Oh, thank you, Lord Archbishop Wang Yu!"

"Adding 'Lord' doesn't make it respectful!"

"How should we say it, then?"

"I don't know!"

"Then why are you shouting so loudly?"

"I don't know!"

The exchange between two lizardfolk nearly made Wang Yu lose his composure.

Initially, he had been somewhat awkward about his role as archbishop. After all, he had no prior experience of the sort on Earth or in this world.

After hearing the two lizardfolk's conversation, however, he quickly relaxed. At the end of the day, these non-humans hadn't gathered because of him. They were drawn by simple yet fundamental reasons.

A sanctuary, stable jobs, and a discrimination-free environment—these were enough. The seemingly foolish conversation between the two lizardfolk reflected the essence of their respect for Wang Yu.

Did they truly admire him as a person? No. Their gratitude and respect were simply a natural result of the Church of Nightfall's prosperity and its alignment with their needs.

Rather than revering him, they were paying homage to the miracle that had arisen from the Church of Nightfall—a serendipitous creation that had given them hope.

"Alright, keep up the good work," Wang Yu said, casually waving his hand. He had no intention of maintaining a lofty image for the Church of Nightfall or cultivating a mysterious, powerful persona.

The Church of Nightfall was inherently a popular organization. Wang Yu didn't believe it could ever become something like the mysterious and immensely powerful "Tarot Order," "Knights of the Round Table," or "Council of Elders" from the novels he'd read on Earth.

The foundation of this organization was neither Wang Yu nor some enigmatic, omnipotent being. So, he decided to go with the flow. All he needed to do was focus on his role. There was no need to pose or project an air of mystery.

"We're here, Lady Avia. This is the alchemy workshop Mr. Elliot built for you," Holo announced, gesturing before him.

"Damn it! You swamp beast, could you stop getting mud on my tools? I don't need your help—get out!"

Before Holo could continue his introduction, an angry, familiar voice came from within the workshop. A wrench covered in muck flew out from the iron door embedded in the cliffside.

Wang Yu's gauntleted hand intercepted the flying wrench, producing a crisp metallic sound as he caught it.

"Ah!" The gnome froze awkwardly as he suddenly noticed Wang Yu.