I Became the Priest of Blasphemy of the Outer Gods

Chapter 67: On the Island

Eldritch did not like to consider his life as unfortunate. Such sentiment was for humans to embrace, not for beings like him.

“I should be closer to Him, yet why do I feel closer to humans?”

Every time he felt regret for living a life as a mutant, devoid of any value, it only contributed to his feeling like an inferior being. He feared that he would never escape this fate.

“Looking back now, what I once considered an opportunity—the meeting with Ethnos—seems just another part of my unfortunate life….”

In Eldritch’s eyes, Ethnos was a human whose fate refused him even a moment of peace, going beyond mere bad luck. Reflecting on the fierce enemies he had confronted and the unexpected events, it all seemed evident.

“Who exactly are these people? I came to this island assuming there’d be no one here, yet such bad fortune seems typical of him.”

In hindsight, he thought Ethnos’s reckless decisions had led to the current situation. While it seemed a wonder he hadn’t become a rotting corpse long ago, if these mishaps were the extent of his punishment, it was terrifying.

A man who committed blasphemy and yet faced no reprisal from the fearsome Outer Gods. His true identity was unknowable.

“Hurry, pour the oil! It won’t burn just on its own.”

“We need to burn it before it wakes up.”

Despite living such a bizarre life, Ethnos now faced the threat of being burned alive. Eldritch, however, knew that if he intervened, the matter could easily be resolved.

“They don’t seem like mercenaries…”

They appeared more like common folk hired for odd jobs rather than exceptional warriors. Eldritch wondered why these individuals had suddenly appeared here and how they recognized the cocoon of the Leng Spider and aimed to burn it.

“Surely someone ordered them… Are they affiliated with the black market?”

Eldritch recalled someone purchasing the “Scripture of the Weaver of Destruction’s Thread” at an auction, despite his warnings. He couldn’t remember their name, but he pondered if they were involved in this incident.

“No matter what, Ethnos must still be alive.”

Though the thought was unappealing, Eldritch prepared a spell. However, there was no need to use it.

With a thud.

Humans fell quietly, one by one. They didn’t seem attacked, but lay sprawled like marionettes with their strings cut. As he cautiously observed in confusion, he realized the humans had merely fallen asleep. The problem wasn’t with the suddenly sleeping humans.

“Why are you doing this to me….”

Eldritch felt a wave of sleepiness sweep over him. Before he could resist, he was pulled into slumber, and a dream began.

“This space…? While unfamiliar, the terrifying aura…”

An endless darkness. The overwhelming presence within the void. The darkness constituting this space seemed to have a will of its own. Eldritch felt that just by the aura of the presence, his existence could fade away at any moment.

“The Great Avatar. The master of the Dream Chamber. I greet Sevika, embraced by Dreams.”

Eldritch immediately showed reverence. Among the priests of the Outer Gods, Sevika was the most powerful, dwelling in an alternate realm called the Dream and favored by the divine. For some reason, she showed particular interest in Ethnos.

“Do not raise your head. Do not attempt to comprehend. Simply listen.”

Sevika’s voice was both dreamlike and commanding. Each time the voice echoed in his mind, Eldritch felt as if he experienced death.

“I will neither gaze nor try to comprehend. This lowly creature merely wishes to listen and bow respectfully.”

Eldritch endeavored not to displease her. There was nothing else he could do.

“A scripture of the Outer Gods has spread in this city. The ‘Weaver of Destruction’s Thread’ did not grant this scripture to humans. Foolishly, a copy was made, and its spread has often stirred His wrath among the stars.”

Eldritch had wanted to protest that he tried to prevent it as well, but he couldn’t bring himself to do so.

“The significant matters of the Great Old One have been disrupted. Ethnos, the one who receives the will of many Gods, once showed mercy before the ignorant committed the great sin. But now that is no longer possible.”

The darkness was watching Eldritch, seemingly grasping him, and simultaneously weighing him down.

“This is largely your fault. You have failed to provide adequate aid to him.”

Once again, he could not protest. A being like Eldritch had no right to hold an opinion before her.

“I had my minions handling this matter. Yet you abandoned your master’s side, nearly causing two incidents. This, too, is largely your fault.”

Eldritch merely wished for this terrifying time to end. However…

“Do you have any reason to be alive?”

When the end finally approached, Eldritch felt regret. He felt the flow of an eternity as his existence fragmented into dust, facing his death.

Yet it was but a dream. Upon awakening, he once again met death after an eternity.

“Mercy… mercy… mercy… mercy… mercy… mercy… mercy…”

Eldritch couldn’t utter a sound, endlessly pleading for mercy within his own mind. Even madness was not permitted, nor was death.

“Very well, I shall grant it.”

However, it was simultaneously a mere dream. That eternal period had been a fleeting dream, all the suffering an illusion.

“Answer. Why should you live? The beings beneath the sea, in the deep abyss, reject and treat you as a bug. No God shows any interest in you. Why should you live?”

“I…”

Finally able to respond, Eldritch paused, lost in thought. While he dreamt of dying over an eternity, he had felt something, yet that memory had become faint.

“I seek the opportunity to serve…”

“How worthless. Is that not what all beings desire? It does not give you a reason to live.”

“I, I…”

Why should he live? What value did he have? Eldritch racked his brains with a desperate resolve and finally recalled someone.

“Because… I must fulfill my contract. My contract with Ethnos. I wish to live to accompany him on his journey.”

Silence ensued. Eldritch feared that his eternal dream was beginning anew.

“Even within dreams, do not forget.”

In the next moment, Eldritch was finally set free. He saw the clear sky and the ground scattered with humans. The cocoon shook and split open, revealing Ethnos rising from within.

“Did you… kill them all?”

Eldritch shook his head.

“No. They are dreaming, and…”

He shuddered, recalling the distant and empty existence within the dream.

“I too was just severely scolded.”

* * *

The recovery was complete. My body felt refreshed, even better than usual, but seeing something akin to my own skin peeling off within the cocoon was slightly disturbing. It resembled a spider shedding its skin.

“… They’re sleeping way too well.”

The ones who had mistaken me for a Leng Spider and tried to burn me to death were smiling as if they were dreaming a happy dream.

“But what happened to Eldritch?”

Eldritch must have been offended, yet as usual, he was perched on my shoulder. Even when I asked what happened, Eldritch repeated that he couldn’t dare speak of it.

Given how suspiciously he emphasized being on my side, I found it strange.

“Eldritch, first take these people to the mainland. I have to perform the Awakening Ritual.”

“Understood. After I return, I’ll make sure no one can approach the island.”

I nodded. Eldritch boarded the humans onto the ship, and I proceeded to the center of the island. A barren island, sparse with life. I found a suitable pond, waded into the shallow end, and took my place.

“The second awakening, huh.”

The first awakening… I somehow couldn’t quite recall it, but this time the procedure was quite different.

Normally, I would have to immerse myself in a pit, made up of blood from various sacrifices and the pool of defilement, but because I possessed the Heart of Hue, that wasn’t necessary.

Sitting quietly by the lake, I first employed the 〈Forbidden Transformation〉.

“I’ve grown reluctant to do this again.”

As I drove a long needle into my head, forgotten knowledge and wisdom flooded into my mind. From that wealth of information, I realized how to conduct the Awakening Ritual with the Heart of Hue.

“Grasp the Heart of Hue with both hands…”

Eyes closed, I drew out the Heart of Hue and held it in my hands. Upon feeling its unsettling pulse, I began chanting the prayer for the ritual.

“In the depths below, o Slumberer of the Abyss, devourer of the dead. The master worshiped by formless residues.”

I felt my body sinking. A sensation different from falling into a dream. As my consciousness expanded into meditation, I felt an exquisite feeling of expansion.

“If my offering becomes your delight, bestow your light upon me.”

The heart in my hands gradually vanished. The sensations of my body dulled, seeming to spread out like mist.

“I beseech to be awakened by your light.”

Light kindled within me. A murky, dark light. As that light flared intensely, it felt like my body was plunging into a profound abyss of defilement.

Since this was the second awakening, there were two lights within me. Each shone with a distinct and foreboding Hue, emitting a mystical aura that seemed to transform me.

“Grant your blessing. Bestow favor upon those who offer sacrifices in your name.”

At that moment, through the fog-like dispersed feelings of my body, I sensed something. A tremendous presence.

At the moment I felt it, I should have lost consciousness—yet the long needle worked effectively.

Even with my eyes closed, I saw visions. The black abyss appeared, gleaming with a peculiar sheen. It wasn’t the abyss but an eye. An eye that was watching me.

However, that scene became obscured as formless residues appeared, enveloping my vision so that I could no longer see.

『Do not gaze any further.』

Through a consciousness that was one with me, they warned me so. A vision cloaked in darkness. From beyond that darkness, I saw myself.

Meditating with my eyes closed, much like I was doing now, perhaps as viewed from the outside.

“Injuries?”

Wounds quickly appeared all over me. Yet these wounds healed swiftly and flawlessly, a fact I instinctively knew was my blessing.

“Thus, the awakening is completed.”

When I and the other me simultaneously voiced this, opening our eyes—I had finally advanced to the 2nd rank.

TL’s Corner:
Upgrade complete.