Chapter 15: Holy Mountain
After a little trouble along the way—one of them even catching on fire—the villagers finally arrived at the top of the mountain. The mysterious burning orbs followed close behind.
Egg was the first to reach the top. Normally, Bear would have led the people. Today, however, he wasn’t feeling well and had Egg take his place. Egg was a reliable hunter—the bravest in the village and the second strongest among their men.
Egg was proud to receive such an honor—leading his people in a miraculous event called forth by their revered Goddess. Yet he couldn’t help feeling concerned about the village chief.
“Chief, okay?”
“... Yes... Okay...”
“Ah…”
The villagers had always seen the chief as a stoic, reliable, and wise leader who did not know defeat. Yet, the same man held an expression of deep exhaustion as he stood behind Egg.
Surely, the chief wasn’t exhausted by the trip. Few could match his stamina in battle. Egg knew that better than anyone. He could tell this wasn’t physical exhaustion.
Then… was it an ailment of the heart? That was an area Egg had little expertise in. The women of the village always told him he was the dull sort when it came to understanding others.
That dullness was why he was still a bachelor, despite having been of age for years. Not that these villagers knew what a bachelor was, that is. Marriage was still a distant concept to them.
Whatever the case, Egg decided to keep watch over Bear in case he needed help. While he couldn’t help with matters of the heart, he could help with everything else.
“Need, help, say, okay?”
“... Thank.”
“Yes, chief.”
The rest of the villagers eventually arrived, exhausted by the trek.
The climb itself was smooth, thanks to a clear path prepared by a certain mortal and goddess pair. Even so, it was long and tiresome. Enough so that the older ones among the villagers almost collapsed on the spot upon arrival.
The younger ones, while they were also tired, were eager to see where they had been led.
A large, flat open space stretched across the mountain’s summit, devoid of even a hint of debris.
The dirt and stone looked as though a massive hand had pressed them flat. The villagers could sense that something grand was about to happen.
In reality, though, this place had been cleared out by Esphera at Yvell’s order, using her intense flames to melt down the place enough to create a suitable location for rituals.
To the villagers, the artificial nature of the place was deeply intriguing.
This practically screamed ‘holy site’ to the primitive villagers whose faith was still in its infancy.
“So, clear. So, smooth.”
“Smooth, like, head.”
“Bald! Bald!”
The ‘spirits’ led the tired villagers to a mysterious structure.
A large, flat, blackened stone disk lay at the center of the site, perfectly shaped into a circle—another one of Esphera’s divine crafts.
At the center of the structure loomed… a slim, pale man wearing a pelt loincloth, a hide cape, and an elongated skull of a deer-like monster covering his face.
The skull-wearing stranger held an ornately decorated blackened wooden staff, carved with mysterious shapes and symbols.
His presence emanated a mystical aura unlike any the villagers had seen before, drawing forth the primal fear of the unknown in the hearts of the men and women.
He pointed his staff towards the group of villagers as if issuing a command.
Bear, understanding this, widened his eyes in realization and turned to his people.
“Sit! Sit!”
The villagers, upon receiving the order from Bear, quickly lowered themselves to the ground and sat upon the smooth dirt floor.
The sensation of the fine earth upon their rears was a new one to them. Curious, some of the children dug their fingers into the ground. Digging through the dirt felt like combing through fine clay.
The skull-wearing stranger, satisfied by the villagers’ response, nodded his head and opened his mouth to speak.
[[Children of Esphera.]]
The voice reverberated in their minds, as if he were speaking from within their heads. The voice sounded strangely familiar to the villagers. It reminded them of the man among the pair who had recently joined their settlement in the plains, who had claimed they had been sent to them by Esphera herself.
“... Apostle?” Egg muttered in surprise.
The voice belonged to the Apostle, who stood before them dressed in shamanistic cosplay. Before Egg could process the Apostle’s changed appearance, the Apostle continued speaking with his arms spread.
[[Esphera has brought you here to enlighten you all about your destiny.]]
[How is it, Esphera? Is my voice reaching the villagers’ minds?]
[Yes, Lord Yvell. It is reaching them just fine.]
[Excellent.]
Truly, excellent.
If there’s anything I’ve learned over the past few weeks of being together with Esphera, it’s that creation deities are basically like those all-in-one utility knives. They can practically do anything and get anything done so long as they’re creative with their powers.
Of course, there might be some limitations to their abilities depending on the nature of their divinity, but even those can be surpassed with a little bit of ingenuity. Esphera was the prime example of this.
At first, I wasn’t certain how to set up a stage for our grand plan. Then I remembered—Esphera was indeed a Goddess walking among primitive men, not just a cute, innocent disciple of mine. I had her get to work on the mountain.
Since she could transfer entire condo units into her own world, I had her warp a boulder up to the top of the mountain. Then, using her divine fire, I had her shave it down to just the right size and shape to serve as a stage for the ritual scene we had in mind.
It was a bit of a shock to me, seeing a boulder suddenly disappear in front of me, only to reappear at the top of the mountain, but at this point, I think I’ve grown a bit of a resistance to these kinds of absurd scenes.
[These articles you have crafted are truly of excellent quality, Esphera. I am quite impressed by your work.]
[Thank you, Lord Yvell! I made sure to give it my all! You look absolutely… splendid!... Haaa~]
What was that strange sigh there at the end?...
Anyway, on top of being a constellation that possessed a useful array of abilities, Esphera was also a quick learner.
Over the past three weeks, Esphera had taken my advice to heart. She joined hunts, protecting her followers from harm, and at other times helped the village women with their crafts.
She picked up a few useful skills along the way and suggested I put on a costume she had prepared for this day. It seems that teaching her about the value of theatrics had paid off well, as she had managed to put together quite an array of convincing cosplay items.
The staff she seemed to have given special care to, as its surface had been carved out to form various mystical shapes and such depicting her ringed star form and various other stars in the sky.
Speaking of stars…
[How is our protagonist coming along?]
[She will be arriving soon, Lord Yvell.]
[Good. Then I will keep our audience company in the meantime.]
“What? What, Apostle, say?”
“Destiny, what? Confused.”
The villagers scratched their heads.
While it was true that Esphera had granted them the gift of language, that wasn’t to say they understood words they had never heard before. There were some exceptions to this, of course. Particularly with words that would see common use in this prehistoric era. But with words like loans and taxes, that all sounded like gibberish to them.
These bastards are lucky they don’t have to pay taxes.
Whatever the case, it was important to put on a grand show here.
Mythology and theology loved to obsess over one question: purpose.
For what purpose was man put here in this world teeming with all sorts of magical dangers?
Various stories on Earth had many different answers to this question, but Esphera already had a purpose in mind from the very start. It’s for that very purpose that I’m here in the first place.
But explaining this to these primitives would be… difficult.
These men and women don’t even understand basic arithmetic, so throwing such a concept as a utopia to these ignorant apes would be like teaching a dog politics.
So, for now, I ought to keep things simple and leave that final grand message to our protagonist who’s on the way here.
[[You have all done well to survive until now. So, I have been tasked by Esphera herself to give you a most wondrous gift.]]
I pointed my finger at Egg and gestured for him to come forward. Although he was a bit surprised at first, he got up from the ground and approached the stone stage.
Then, I tapped his knee with the tip of the staff, urging him to kneel.
Formalities were important in ceremonies, after all. And in a way, this was a kind of primitive ceremony for bestowing gifts upon the faithful.
A scene like this demanded theatrical flair.
I raised my staff toward the sky.
[Esphera. You know what to do. But do not make it hurt.]
[Understood, Lord Yvell!]
Crackle. Crackle. Crackle.
“What, noise?”
“Uh, don’t worry about it, Egg. Just stay still and—”
KABOOM!
“Aaah! Egg!”
“Egg, light, boom!”
“Esphera! Esphera!”
The sky suddenly split open and sent a pillar of light down, enveloping Egg’s body and causing the villagers to panic. The lightning striking the ground kicked up some dirt, creating a temporary dust cloud that obscured the stage.
Egg and I reappeared, unscathed. The villagers breathed a sigh of relief, but Egg was confused. Although he had been bathed in holy light descended from the heavens, Egg felt no different than he had before.
“What… just happened, Apostle?”
[[Have you not realized yet, brave hunter? You have been granted the gift of brilliance.]]
“Brilliance…?”
“Egg, speech! Speech, different!”
“Different! Like, Apostle! Spirit!”
“What?... Oh! You’re right! It is as if… my mind has become clear.”
The sudden change in Egg’s speech caused the villagers to stir. Suddenly, he was speaking just like the Holy Spirit and me, so it must have served as quite a shock to them. Now, they were looking at me with expectant eyes.
I’ll need to respond to those expectations soon.
[[Now that you have been granted the gift of brilliance, you will be capable of far more. No longer will you compare to the dull beasts, and fall prey to their superior strength. Your mind made anew will teach you the way to overcome all that threatens you. Persevere, and greater gifts await you.]]
“I-I… I thank you, Apostle! I thank you for this gift! I will be sure to persevere and live up to your expectations!”
[[Live with sincerity, brave hunter. The Ringed Star Mother is always watching you.]]
“Me, next! Stone, next!”
“No, Rock, first! First!”
“No! Elderly, first!”
“Fat, old, man!”
“Silence, fools! Rude! Apostle, want, speak!”
At least Bear could read the room.
Those two bald idiots couldn’t tell TPO even if it hit them square on their smooth, shiny heads.
Thankfully, with Bear’s help, the chaos died down right as it had begun, and we could get things in order.
I had the villagers line up to receive their blessing. Naturally, I wasn’t the one granting it. It was Esphera who was simply timing the lightning strikes to my commands.
[Strike… now.]
[Yes, Lord Yvell!]
KABOOM!
“Ah…! I have been reborn anew! I feel Esphera’s love rushing through me! I AM TRULY LOVED!”
Fuck. What’s wrong with this pot-bellied old man? This guy’s a nut job.
Anyway, the lightning wasn’t actually blessing the villagers. Once again, that was another one of Esphera’s abilities at work: the power to tinker with her followers.
Right as the lightning enveloped a follower’s body, Esphera would use her divine powers to tinker with their mind to improve their base abilities.
This was what the gift of brilliance was all about—making them just a bit smarter, so they can survive long enough to build a proper civilization.
The next gift was something we had decided on a while back, but took some time to iron out.
Guardian spirits.
[[Strong hunter, come to me. There is another gift that has been prepared for you and your people.]]
“Another gift?... I understand.”
At my call, Bear came up to the center of the stage and stood right in front of me. Slowly, as not to surprise Bear, I pulled out a sharp-edged, blackened stone shaped like a knife. Another one of Esphera’s many crafts.
While Bear’s eyes widened slightly at the sight of the knife, he did not move from his spot.
I should reassure him.
[[Worry not, strong hunter. Your life will not be harmed. I wish to draw a few drops of your blood. It will be necessary to summon forth a being that will serve as your protector.]]
“Summon… my protector? I’m afraid I don’t understand, Apostle. But… here is my arm.”
[[The cut will neither be deep, nor will it be painful.]]
Carefully, I drew a shallow cut on Bear’s thick skin. Or at least, I tried to.
Wait, fuck. This is harder than I thought it’d be. What is this guy’s skin made of? Kevlar?
[Esphera. Heat the blade’s edge ever so slightly. Enough to help cut the skin, but not so hot as to cauterize the wound.]
[Yes, Lord Yvell!]
Psss.
Time for a prehistoric one-thousand-degree knife challenge.
I pressed the heated edge onto his forearm, drawing a shallow cut into the skin. Blood trickled down onto the stone knife’s blade.
Now came the next step.
I pulled out a wooden bowl full of ash and sprinkled Bear’s blood into the pile. I mixed the blood into the ash with a stone pestle and, with some of Esphera’s special effects, the bloody ash pile lit aflame and burned silver.
“Whoa! It’s on fire!”
“That’s amazing! I’ve never seen anything like this before!”
Naturally, this elicited a surprised reaction from the villagers.
Using the burning mixture, flaming ash traced a large symbol across the circular stone stage as I worked.
This formed the ritual circle for the summoning magic.
On cue, just as I had finished drawing the circle with burning ash, Esphera arrived at the scene, descending from the heavens in her Holy Spirit form.
This time, however, instead of a red flame covering her head, the flame was silver, like the burning ash that formed the ritual circle.
[[The Ritual of Borrowed Flames has begun.]]
