The Paladin in the Abyss-Chapter 735 - 756: The Birth of a New God

"Kalalin’s soul has been hidden away?" Lancelot frowned, "Who did that?"

"Let us turn back time a bit, at the top of Black Rod Tower, how did Shrek kill Kalalin?"

"With that thing called the Deicide Sword…" Lancelot’s eyes widened, "The God of Thieves, Mask? Damn, you had already hinted at it to me..."

"Haha, yes, but Shrek himself was oblivious to this. It was that sword that made His position, and the Prince of Lies didn’t realize until the last moment that he had always been deceived by lies." Kalalin said with a chuckle, "From the beginning, Mask planned to betray Shrek, aiming to steal His divine office. So, when He pierced Kalalin’s body, He also concealed the victim’s soul. Actually, making a soul undetectable to the Lord of the Dead is something only another deity can accomplish, which further fueled Shrek’s paranoia, and He decided to create a Divine Artifact named Shrekonomicon as revenge against the deities."

"Shrek…onomicon?" Lancelot scratched his head in confusion, "From the story I just heard, it seems that thief prefers to hold a dagger for murder rather than a feather pen for writing."

"Certainly not, but while inheriting the divine offices of the triad of death, Shrek also inherited the churches of the triad of death gods... at least those who were willing to swear allegiance to Him. Although He Himself couldn’t use magic, those wizards who were once devotees of Bane, Baal or Milko invented special inks, parchments, and prayers, and by integrating these prayers into the text in a specific pattern, the Shrekonomicon could make anyone who read it believe everything written in it—that Shrek as the only True God was the truth of the Multiverse. This technique isn’t really mysterious but it’s extremely clever, because it’s basically making the reader cast a spell on themselves, so there’s no chance to resist, and it takes effect immediately." fгeewёbnoѵel.cσm

"Don’t read things of unknown origin, keep that in mind." Lancelot nodded, "But such a Divine Artifact wouldn’t be easy to create, right?"

"Correct, it is said that Shrek used hundreds of scribes, but each one went mad before finishing. Shrek hung these poor souls in chains in His palace and set them ablaze to torment them forever. It wasn’t until Shrek kidnapped Lynda, perhaps the only kind soul in Santiel Fortress, that the Shrekonomicon was finally completed. Convinced by this Divine Artifact, He believed He could convert the followers of other deities to worship Himself, and according to the will of Ao, those deities losing their followers’ support would gradually wither away and ultimately perish..."

"Could such a conspiracy really deceive the deities?" Lancelot’s eyes widened, "They couldn’t possibly have no reaction to this..."

"Yes, when Shrek attempted to create this Divine Artifact, He had already caught the attention of Ogma—the patron of bards and the God of Knowledge. Meanwhile, Mask couldn’t sit still either. If He let the Shrekonomicon be completed, the Prince of Lies might actually rewrite history. Thus, He used Kalalin’s soul as leverage, demanding the cooperation of Midnight and Ogma, to help Himself defeat Shrek and take His place."

"After Xirei was finished, the Prince of Lies wanted to test it first on Fzoul Chembryl, a former priest of Bane and also the Lord of Santiel Fortress. However, Chembryl had already read ’The True Account of Shrek,’ a booklet authored in conspiracy by Mask and Ogma, also transcribed by Lynda, detailing the true exploits of Shrek. Subsequent events proved that Chembryl never abandoned his true master Bane..."

"So, Shrek ultimately ended up with this voluminous tome full of flattery about Himself," Lancelot raised an eyebrow. "I have a hunch that creating such a powerful and dangerous Divine Artifact was bound to go wrong somewhere..."

"Haha, you guessed right." A happy smile appeared on Kalalin’s face. "Perhaps curious to see how he was praised in the Xirei, the Prince of Lies couldn’t resist reading this grand work named after Him. And the Xirei, just as Mask had anticipated, worked on Shrek, too, though Shrek Himself didn’t immediately realize it."

"What happened next?"

"Shrek used the Deicide Sword to kill Lynda, and ordered Chembryl to publicly recite the Xirei at dawn the next day in Santiel Fortress, and then left in a state of triumph... However, Mask had secretly held back. Shrek had no idea that everyone around Him was secretly opposed to Him. Lynda was healed by Ogma and left with the Xirei and an Amulet of Non-Detection gifted by the God of Scribes, whereas Chembryl publicly read ’The True Account of Shrek’ in Santiel Fortress, the most important center of faith for Shrek in the Mortal Realm. Meanwhile, another conspirator, the demigod Dandel, the devourer of mortal and divine nightmares from the Domain of the Vague, took the opportunity to release all the nightmares of the dead from the Land of the Dead—mostly about being eternally tormented by Shrek. This immediately ignited a rebellion against Shrek. At this point, Shrek was hard-pressed to distinguish reality from the lies He had woven, and Dandel’s release included Shrek’s own nightmares, making Him believe that Cranvo had returned and was seeking revenge on Him. In madness and despair, Shrek snapped the Deicide Sword, which dealt a heavy blow to Mask but also released Cranvo prematurely, turning Shrek’s own nightmares into reality..."

"Wait a minute," Lancelot interrupted, although engrossed, he had noticed something amiss. "The Deicide Sword, or Mask, only imprisoned Cranvo’s soul, right? Does the Domain of the Vague have some quality that grants a physical body to souls?"

"As expected of you, noticing such a detail..." the Scholar commended. "Yes, all souls in the Domain of the Vague automatically receive a new body that mirrors their best state whilst still alive. Cranvo picked up the remains of the Deicide Sword, sought justice from his killer, and Shrek, now engulfed in madness, was utterly unable to muster any resistance. Cranvo thrust the Sword Blade into Shrek’s chest, and the scribes, burning with the Eternal Flame and hung from the ceiling, broke free of their shackles to completely engulf the Prince of Lies..."

"Is He dead?" Little Isha asked hopefully.

"No, Shrek is like a plague, a germ that even the combined fires of the entire lower planes can’t destroy," the Scholar shook his head gently. "However, being affected by the Xirei and killed within His own Divine Kingdom greatly weakened Shrek’s powers, preventing Him from immediately reshaping His physical form in the Multiverse. With Shrek gone, Mask severely injured, and the Land of the Dead unable to be without a ruler for even a day, Cranvo, on Yago’s advice, ascended to the peak of Skeleton Tower and pledged to every soul tortured by Shrek that He would bring them each a fair judgment. The dead agreed, and the Power of Faith surged into Cranvo’s body, and the new Lord of the Dead was thus born. He opened the gates of the Land of the Dead and allowed the deities to come and fetch their followers..."

"And atop Skeleton Tower, He passionately kissed Midnight, the first to rush in," Shuni’s priest added from the side. "All under the watchful eyes of Ogma and Tom."