# 914
Capítulo 914: El Poder de la Fe
Lin Qiye permaneció en silencio.
"¿Qué? ¿Ni siquiera sabes si te gusta alguien?" Merlín arqueó ligeramente las cejas.
Lin Qiye miró hacia la habitación, reflexionó durante un buen rato y respiró profundamente:
"Me gusta... solo que..."
"¿Solo qué?"
"Solo que no estoy seguro de si este cariño proviene de mi verdadero corazón... o de una ilusión falsa." Lin Qiye se señaló el pecho y suspiró无可奈何.
"Antes, ella misma clavó una flecha del amor de Cupido en mi corazón."
"¿La flecha del amor de Cupido?"
Merlín se quedó atónito, sus ojos recorrieron el pecho de Lin Qiye, entrecerró los párpados y lo examinó attentamente durante un buen rato. Su expresión se volvió cada vez más extraña. "Hmm... Entiendo."
Merlín lo miró con una sonrisa enigmática, giró sobre sus talones y caminó hacia el carruaje. "Ve a despertar a esa chica. Es hora de continuar el viaje."
...
Bajo la luna carmesí, un carruaje plateado atravesaba a toda velocidad las ruinas entre los escombros. Las pesadas ruedas dejaban surcos profundos sobre la tierra, como elegantes arcos trazados sobre la tierra ensangrentada, misteriosos y cargados de ritmo.
"Señor Merlín, ¿por qué hemos vuelto?"
Lin Qiye contempló el paisaje que le resultaba familiar más allá de la ventana y preguntó confundido.
Merlín, sentado frente a él, tenía los ojos cerrados y respondió con calma: "¿Sí?"
"Sí, creo que he visto estos edificios hace un momento..."
Merlín abrió lentamente los ojos. La fatiga en su rostro se había intensificado aún más. Se frotó las sienes. "Los edificios de Takamagahara son todos similares. Debes estar equivocado."
Lin Qiye se quedó perplejo.
Justo cuando estaba a punto de decir algo más, la punta del dedo de Merlín se alzó ligeramente y el carruaje plateado se detuvo lentamente.
"Baja. Tu regalo está ahí dentro."
Merlín señaló hacia afuera con la mano.
Lin Qiye se giró para mirar. En lo alto de una montaña cercana, un torii bermellón se alzaba tranquilamente en la ladera. Detrás de él, una enorme silueta dorada difusa se dejaba entrever.
"¿Qué es eso?" Lin Qiye entrecerró los ojos, intentando ver la silueta completa.
"Ya lo sabrás cuando llegues."
Merlín sonrió misteriosamente. Llevó a Lin Qiye y a los demás a bajar del carruaje. Siguieron los escalones de jade blanco que ascendían por el centro de la montaña, subiendo peldaño a peldaño directamente hacia el torii bermellón en la ladera.
Esta montaña debía ser el punto más alto de todo Takamagahara. Lin Qiye caminó hasta llegar frente al torii bermellón y se volvió para mirar hacia atrás. Bajo el cielo carmesí, la tierra desolada y en ruinas se extendía hasta el infinito hacia la distancia. Near where his line of sight ended, he could barely make out a mountain of corpses. Faintly, Lin Qiye heard anguished wails drifting from the direction of that mass grave. Was that the innermost reaches of Takamagahara? After gazing at that spot for a moment, he looked away and followed closely behind Merlín, passing through the vermilion torii gate.
Only then did Lin Qiye see what the golden figure actually was—a grand, imposing golden temple. Though its corners showed some wear, it remained the most complete structure he'd encountered. The gilded roof emanated a sacred glow beneath the crimson moon, and several wind chimes hung from the temple's eaves, their crisp tones dancing through the faint breeze carrying the scent of blood.
Merlín approached the temple's entrance, casually waved his hand, and the doors swung open automatically. Inside stretched a vast chamber far larger than the exterior suggested—a towering black dome rose overhead, embedded with twinkling stars like a night sky too distant to reach. In the center of the spacious hall, a cracked silver mirror floated suspended in midair, while countless streams of brilliant aurora flowed outward from its surface, weaving together and connecting across the starry expanse, dreamlike and otherworldly.
The sight of those flowing aurora rivers struck Lin Qiye with sudden recognition. His mind flashed back to the ruins—the palace floating above the clouds, and that mysterious prayer cushion beneath it. During his time in Japan's Círculo Humano, he had followed those very aurora streams across the sky to find Baili Pangpang sitting at their source. He clearly remembered that the prayer cushion Baili Pangpang occupied had the same aurora rivers flowing through it.
"What are these?" Lin Qiye pointed toward the floating aurora streams. Merlín began walking forward, navigating through the intersecting light. "Faith," he answered calmly. "Faith that has been continuously generated from within the Círculo Humano over these fifty-plus years."
Lin Qiye stood frozen. Faith born from the Círculo Humano? His gaze followed where Merlín was headed, landing on the suspended mirror at the center—continuously pouring out those aurora rivers. "So that's..."
"One of Takamagahara's divine artifacts for containing the Círculo Humano. The Yata no Kagami."
Shock crossed Lin Qiye's face as he approached the mirror, examining it closely. The Círculo Humano—an exact replica of Japan's territory, home to tens of millions of people—was actually contained within this small mirror's surface?
"The Yata no Kagami's mirror has yin and yang sides," Merlín continued. "What we're seeing now is its yang side. Its yin side lies beneath the Japanese waters, reflecting all of Japan. This is the true source of Takamagahara's Círculo Humano."
Lin Qiye appeared stunned as he stared at the mirror.
"The Círculo Humano exists solely to generate faith, and this temple was built to gather and store it. When Takamagahara descended into chaos fifty years ago, the gods withered and the Círculo Humano was abandoned entirely. Yet faith production never stopped—every ounce generated over these five decades has accumulated here."
Merlin gestured upward toward the glittering stars suspended above them. "So that's how it is..." Lin Qiye murmured, still processing the revelation. He turned to Merlin with a question forming. "Merlin, what exactly does faith accomplish for a god?"
"For deities, faith has countless applications. The most crucial is amplifying their own divine laws."
"Amplifying laws?"
"Once you've achieved godhood, power still varies considerably. Using faith to amplify one's laws represents the fastest shortcut for a god to increase their strength—no need for extensive periods of accumulation and沉淀, provided you have vast reserves of faith, you can effortlessly elevate your law's power to terrifying levels. Most apex deities currently existing across various pantheons reached their positions through massive faith amplification."
He paused, then continued: "This explains why gods favor spreading their legends throughout the mortal realm, and why pantheons with deeper cultural foundations tend to be stronger."