# 916
Chapter 917: Merlin's Gift
"I cannot see through its fate." Merlin stared at that gap for a long time and sighed. "The existence blocking the Red Moon's invasion of the Yata Mirror has far exceeded what I can probe... Never mind. Let's hurry."
He turned around and looked at Lin Qiye seriously.
"Are you ready?"
"Ready for what?" Lin Qiye asked blankly.
"Ready to receive the baptism of faith." Merlin smiled faintly, extending his hand to point at the countless stars glittering within the black dome. "The faith power accumulated by a divine kingdom for over fifty years—that is my gift to you."
Lin Qiye looked up at the flowing aurora river overhead and the brilliant stars scattered across the sky, unable to help but open his mouth in shock...
"This, this..."
Lin Qiye was completely stunned.
After all, what hung above them now was the faith that Takamagahara's gods had accumulated over half a century! It was faith derived from the daily prayers and offerings of millions of people within the Human Enclosure!
Compared to truly vast and ancient kingdoms, this faith might not have been terrifying, but it was still the foundation of an entire nation. Most importantly, the one who would wield this massive reservoir of faith was not a complete divine kingdom with its many gods...
But a single person.
"But... I haven't become a god yet."
Lin Qiye clearly remembered what Merlin had just said—that only gods with divine status could amplify themselves through faith power. He was merely a human at the "Unmeasurable" realm. Even if he possessed such terrifying faith, he shouldn't be able to use it.
"Don't worry, I'm not asking you to use it now." Merlin smiled. "I've sealed all this faith inside you using a forbidden spell, like a treasure vault. When you ascend to the divine realm on that day, you'll be able to use it freely...
By then, with such a faith treasury supporting you, even if you've just entered the divine realm, you will possess terrifying power!"
Merlin looked into Lin Qiye's eyes and patted his shoulder.
"What Nyx left you is a path to godhood; what I've left you is a magnificent future after you've become a god...
Lord Qiye, do you like this gift?"
Lin Qiye was stunned for a long moment before coming back to his senses from the shock. His gaze at Merlin was full of complex emotions.
He nodded heavily.
"I like it... Thank you, Uncle Merlin."
This was the first time Lin Qiye had called "Uncle Merlin" rather than "Lord Merlin."
It also meant that Merlin's position in Lin Qiye's heart had transcended the ordinary patient relationship or friendship—he was, like Nyx, a cherished family member he deeply respected. He was expressing his gratitude as a junior to his elder.
Hearing this address, Merlin was slightly stunned, and the smile at the corner of his mouth deepened.
"Although this faith will be sealed within you by the forbidden spell, it will still flow through your body. This will also serve as a baptism for your physical form, bringing great benefits... However, this process may be somewhat difficult to endure. You must remain conscious the entire time." Merlin said seriously.
"Okay." Lin Qiye nodded. "What should I do?"
"Just sit down. The rest... leave it to me."
Merlin slowly raised his magic staff. A gust of wind howled from the void, billowing his deep blue mage robes. His eyes traced mysterious star-like trajectories, and strands of his hair floated upward on their own.
In the howling wind, he pressed one hand on his large wind hood, and the staff in his right hand heavily struck the ground!
Boom--!!
Languid magical radiance surged out in waves, nearly blowing away the distant Jialan. Dense lines of magic spread from the base of the staff, coming alive as if and rapidly sketching out a dazzling magical formation.
The magical tide instantly swept through the entire temple!
"[Devourment of the Dark Side]."
In the terrifying magical fluctuation, Merlin parted his lips, slowly and rhythmically intoning cryptic syllables. As his voice rang out, terrifying jet-black tendrils grew from the magical formation, reaching toward the glittering stars overhead.
At the same time, beneath the seated Lin Qiye, a pristine white ring slowly unfurled, enveloping his entire body.
The black tendrils wildly danced among the stars, gradually wrapping around the surface of each star. The terrifying faith power flowed through the tendrils into the magical formation. The lines of the magical formation blazed with blinding light, like an overloading lightbulb.
Then, the light pulsing within the magical formation flowed entirely into the white ring beneath Lin Qiye, transforming into countless snowy-white threads that drilled into Lin Qiye's body.
Lin Qiye let out a muffled grunt, his tightly shut eyes firmly closed.
He felt a surging and scalding tide rampaging through his body. As the faith power wildly poured in, his body swelled like a balloon.
Just then, Merlin raised his magic staff and struck the ground once more!
Boom--!!
A blinding golden magical formation rapidly unfurled—this was the second forbidden spell Merlin had activated.
"[Holy Glory Prelude: Caged Bird]"
Nine consecutive blazing golden light spears凝聚 in the center of the magical formation, rapidly rotating in the air, transforming into the残影 of a birdcage. They instantly shattered the void and crashed into Lin Qiye's chest!
The tide-like faith power flowed through Lin Qiye's body, drawn by some mysterious force, simultaneously racing toward the golden birdcage in his heart. No matter how massive the faith power was, upon entering that tiny birdcage, it would shrink into dust the size of a grain of rice, drifting gently.
Lin Qiye's eyes were tightly shut, his brow creased with pain, but his body did not waver in the slightest.
Time passed second by second. Wrapped by the black tendrils, the stars in the sky dimmed one by one. The interwoven aurora river in the air also gradually dried up, eventually vanishing into nothingness.
The faith power that Takamagahara had accumulated over more than fifty years was being depleted at a visible rate.
After the final wisp of faith power surged into the golden birdcage, the scattered dust within converged into a thumb-sized golden caged bird, silently flying within the cage,撞击着笼壁 again and again, yet unable to shake it in the slightest.
A scalding birdcage imprint branded itself on Lin Qiye's chest, transforming into a golden scar.
Lin Qiye's swollen body finally returned to normal. The pain on his body receded like a tide, and his barely sustained spirit suddenly relaxed. He felt unprecedented exhaustion surge into his mind, and he directly fainted.
Jialan, who had been waiting at the doorway, swiftly rushed forward and steadily caught his body, gently laying him flat on the ground.