Lynch gazed at the perfect being he had crafted with his own hands, his eyes like admiring a peerless work of art. His lips naturally curled into a smile tinged with both achievement and playfulness, and he softly greeted, "Long time no see."

There was no emotional fluctuation on Messiah's exquisite face, like frost that had not melted for millennia, or a precise instrument running strictly according to a set program.

She simply nodded slightly, her movement precise to the millimeter, as if the figure before her was not the creator who granted her existence, but merely a devout believer that required her to treat him with divine equanimity.

Lynch was long accustomed to this surpassingly distant and absolutely rational demeanor, even harboring a trace of inexplicable helplessness and self-mockery deep within.

Although this Light Goddess was born of his will, meticulously constructed by him using the Soul Essence of the Underground City, and personally bestowed with a divine name, infused with the core doctrines of the Light Church as her foundation.

However, once she truly became the embodiment of "Light," she transcended beyond the "tool" category he initially set and acted entirely according to her own core logic.

Her core logic, her entire will, was the "Holy Scripture of Light" that Lynch had compiled to facilitate control of his power and unify ideologies. Every precept in that book, every rule, had now become her inviolable holy law and sole guide for action.

This was undeniably a sort of brilliant irony.

Lynch founded the Light Church and authored the scripture with the core guiding principles initially driven purely by pragmatic aims to more effectively consolidate resources, control minds, and establish an organizational framework that answered to him. Personally, he never sincerely believed a single word of it.

Yet, the paths of destiny are often unexpected. As he gradually built this system, endowed it with names, structures, rituals, and set it in motion, it seemed to take on a life of its own, operating, evolving, and expanding according to some intrinsic rule.

Especially after Messiah, this genuine "Divine," came into being, the system experienced a qualitative change.

Faith became tangible and real, and divine power was no longer a fallacy.

Countless devotees' sincere prayers, yearning for light, and adherence to precepts converged into a vast Power of Faith, continuously reshaping and solidifying Messiah's existence, while also influencing the "Holy Scripture of Light" itself—

It was no longer an empty handbook but a divine classic bearing billions of souls' hopes and genuine power.

The Light Goddess Messiah was no longer a fictive idol conjured by Lynch for the sake of domination, but a bona fide spiritual entity constructed entirely out of pure faith and Soul Essence, the executor of the Light Law in the present world, and the sole supreme entity in the minds of countless believers.

She was born of Lynch's will, yet now, she only followed the "rules" written by Lynch's hand, but imbued with real power by millions of believers. This causality, this misalignment, made Lynch's smile even more complex and inscrutable.

Lynch set aside his musings on creation and destiny, pulling his thoughts back to reality, and asked, "How is it? The sample of spiritual power I gave you, have you analyzed it? Is there any difference from the Power of Faith you wield?"

He had taken a special sample containing particular Power of Faith from Lanice and also passed a portion of it to Messiah for analysis.

After all, as a divine entity born from pure Power of Faith, there was hardly a better authority under him or throughout the entire Jade Land who understood the essence of faith better than she did.

At his words, Messiah's dawn-filled eyes remained unperturbed, her tone ethereal and straightforward, as if reciting scriptures, as she explained, "In essence, all are aggregates of Power of Faith, crystallizations of mortals' beliefs. The difference lies in the different 'subjects' of faith, resulting in differing directions and attributes of belief."

Her words were clear and objective, as if stating a natural law. She paused slightly, the brief silence adding a touch of gravity to her subsequent words.

"However..." she continued, her voice still gentle, "in this sample of the Power of Faith, there is an intense personal Spiritual Imprint from the 'subject' of worship, the object of veneration. As believers offer their faith, they inevitably, subtly accept and integrate this imprint into their souls."

Lynch raised an eyebrow, keenly picking up the key point: "What specific impact will this have?"

Messiah's response was direct and thorough: "The exact mechanism and ultimate goal cannot yet be fully deciphered. But what's certain is that when the Spiritual Imprint successfully implants into the believer's soul, the 'subject' of faith can, through this imprint, reverse... 'connect' and exert influence over the believer."

"Reverse control?" Lynch pursued, "Specifically control which aspects? Thoughts? Behavior?"

Messiah slowly, clearly spoke two words, encompassing all possibilities:

"Everything."

She met Lynch's gaze calmly, as if stating an established fact:

"Thoughts, behaviors, emotions, willpower... even the ultimate ownership of their souls. Once the imprint sinks deep, believers will no longer entirely belong to themselves. Everything about them, in theory, can become an... extension that the subject of faith can manipulate."

Lynch's brow furrowed slowly, his fingers unconsciously tapping the wooden chair armrest.

Messiah's analysis corroborated the conclusion Gulwige had drawn from that lock of hair. This was no coincidence but clearly pointed towards a fact that the "Father God" Erodion, hidden behind the Freemasonry Church, was indeed plotting some vast, clandestine scheme that far exceeded the usual scope of religion.

Such extensive, nearly coercive implantation of his personal Spiritual Imprint within all believers' souls, converting everyone who believes in him as potential "controllable nodes"...

This was no ordinary collection of faith but more akin to weaving a vast, intricate spiritual network covering the whole Ancient Ruins land.

"What exactly is it?"

Lynch murmured, his gaze sharp, as if piercing through the void before him, directly confronting the shadow at the core of the Freemasonry Church.

Though he couldn't yet fully unveil Erodion's ultimate purpose, Lynch was utterly certain that employing such means and spending such effort could not possibly be for some shining altruistic cause.

To have thousands, or even more souls constantly under surveillance, even absolute control, this in itself was the most profound evil.

Lynch lightly stroked his chin, and the last trace of hesitation in his eyes was replaced by cold determination.

The original step-by-step advance plan was evidently no longer sufficient to keep pace with this potential crisis.

He raised his head, looking at the luminous Messiah in front of him, his voice steady but carrying an undeniable weight and urgency, clearly announcing:

"It seems, the pace of our war... needs to be hastened."

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