Lowly Ascent

After the ceremony, Cain immediately made plans to meet the King of Puffrid. His apostles had a grand entourage arranged to bring him to Peoria.

Just before leaving, he also grabbed the black box in his laboratory. Perhaps this king might know what was inside, but it was just a passing thought that led to action.

Finally, a carriage surrounded by horses left the city of Carc.

With the passing of 2 days, they reached the capital. Upon nearing Peoria, guards could be seen stationed on the walls, and soldiers were keeping peace in the streets.

As a summons from the King, the church notified the Royal family ahead of time of Cain's arrival, luckily there was an envoy there during the ceremony who was able to leave straight after to send this message.

Unlike the last time he was here, the once filthy streets filled with vermin and manure were now clean.

Many residents who were dirty and immoral now appeared clean and civilized. They looked to Cain's carriage with worship with many on the ground praying in its direction.

This change wasn't accidental, Peoria was a city ridden with abuse and crime. It was the perfect and first target for the church. Now, with religion, the entire outer area was under the control of the church, more than the nobles and even the royal family ever were.

This control was why Cain suspected the King wished to meet him. His religion practically took over his capital city. It was like a declaration of war on his throne, he had already taken Carc as well.

He was a threat to this young king.

Religion never existed before in Netherane, and only those who studied academics knew its origins. It was simply a word in old dictionaries that was from a time when the other territories shared information and resources with this place.

Cain's interest was piqued knowing Religion was elsewhere. He couldn't understand why in places where people were free from influences like Numineer, they would voluntarily worship someone or something. He could only suspect those places were in similar situations as Netherane.

But he quickly corrected this foolish thought. He knew the human mind better than most. Even without a threat or struggle it was natural for people to cage themselves unknowingly.

True freedom was hard to come by when human nature naturally led people to become their own slaves.

This "something" would be like wealth or security, the most common examples seen.

Realizations like this made Cain remember just how sad the human race was and how glad he was to end its continued existence.

'To free oneself is to free all others. When I become free all of you will too hehe. Only I will still be living.'

As Cain gazed at the crowds of people kneeling in adoration, he couldn't help but wonder what drove each one of them to voluntarily worship him. He contemplated the innate human tendency to become slaves, being enlightened on the fragility of true freedom.

'Humans are such fickle things.'

Pulling the curtain over the window, Cain laid back in his seat and awaited arrival at the Royal Palace.

From his sources, the palace is nowhere near as big as the Salazar family's royal palace, but that place is ancient and has many factions residing in it.

The royal family of Salazar was huge, and many noble families had blood ties to them, creating multiple factions in the royal palace. It was almost the size of their capital on its own. Its location was undisclosed, but it wasn't hard to miss if one traveled north of Salazar.

Eventually, the carriage stopped, and Cain walked out while being helped by his flock. They fawned over him, and those who were able to touch him would excitedly show off to the others saying they were blessed by him. This behavior was entertaining for Cain, but he wasn't here for games.

Looking over to the entrance, he saw a woman covered in silk and a man wearing military a uniform waiting to greet him.

"Lord Cain, I am Isabella Puffrid. This is General Tyrek. We will be bringing you to our King."

Upon using his real name, Cain's believers became angered. They responded to this outrage by eyeing daggers at Isabella, not caring for her status as royalty, and keeping their outrage silent in front of god.

Cain's eyes moved as from the corner of his eye he saw Isabella clench her fists under the blatant contempt shown for her.

She was a princess, after all. No one had ever treated her like this before especially commoners, and so blatantly at that!

Her pride was so easily damaged that Cain wasn't even surprised, he quickly lost interest in her and tried to speed things up.

"Well, then I would be so gracious as for you to lead the way, princess."

Isabella gracefully performed a slight bow before leading the way inside, with the general and Cain in close pursuit.

The palace stood as a testament to regal magnificence, with its pristine white walls adorned by meticulously arranged pictures. Lush greenery and ornate small tables embellished the long hallway, their presence enhancing the opulence of the space, while luxurious velvet rugs laid on the marble floors

It was like a tour, the Princess went on about the history and culture of Puffrid. It was all very boring, and Cain just drowned it out.

After who knows how long, they stopped in front of a pair of giant golden doors. Surprisingly, the double doors were somewhat impressive in Cain's eyes, due to the presence of runes embedded in its frame.

But it was ultimately still an over-the-top door. Cain could destroy it with a single punch. Things like gold and money only had value to him anymore. The only importance they had was that they could help him acquire what he wanted if no other means were available.

"This is as far as we go. The two of us will wait here for you to finish your talk with my brother."

As her she finished her sentence, the golden doors slowly opened, and hidden behind them was a vast open room with pillars of marble holding the ceiling as if they were holding up the sky.

There was a long thick red carpet leading to a throne a few meters above the floor. The room had light coming in from the windows on each end of the hall, beautiful moonlight reflected off the floors and gave a perfect atmosphere of beauty and elegance.

Along the perimeter of the room and on either side of the red carpet were guards in shiny gold-lined plated armor, they held swords in one hand and shields with the royal family crest in the other.

They were the royal guards.

The only thing that interested Cain was the person sitting on the throne. The throne itself was made of stone and plated with gold.

The top of the throne had the crest of the royal family carved into it, declaring the status of who sat there.

Sitting on this throne was someone who should be around the same age as Cain. They looked young and had good features, It was King Edward Puffrid.

Edward's hair was short and golden, and his eyes were a deep brown. Although his appearance was extraordinary, Cain wasn't influenced. He felt no danger from the man before him, even if his physical condition looked to be almost perfect.

He tried to send out bacteria to probe his abilities, but as it neared the throne, the bacteria disappeared in an instant.

Even so, Cain still wasn't afraid, he had the instinctual feeling that he was standing before his favorite prey.

He felt no fear in front of this King of a country and his joy only rose, realizing how powerful he had really become and how fun the next moments will be.

The King spoke. 

"We meet, at last, God of the Church of Pestilence. Or should I say, Defiant Slave?"