NOVEL NEXT 46. The Divine Web
Neia, The Spider Priestess Pov:
Location: Divine City of Arachnumec, Mexico
"May the threads of your fate be spun by Lady White!" Neia, dressed in her sacred white robes, spoke to one of the citizens who had come to the sanctum and prayed to the Supreme One.
The divine beasts created by Lady White had already departed. Everyone was sad as they could no longer serve them by offering food and basking in their glory while listening to the tales of the Supreme One.
This settlement had been renamed as the Divine City of Arachnumec. The city where the Spider Goddess first spread her divine presence.
The sanctum's massive stone pillars soared high, supporting a ceiling adorned with shimmering gemstones that mirrored the night sky. The auspicious colour of white was visible in every direction.
At the centre of the sanctuary, an ornate altar fashioned in the likeness of a magnificent spider's nest awaited, its delicate patterns woven from precious stones and metals.
Elaborate murals graced the walls, telling tales of the Supreme One's legendary deeds, her divine powers, and her benevolent rule.
The place used to conduct rituals and worship the false gods they believed in had been demolished and in its place stood this sanctum of worship. Neia got enraged every time she thought about their false placed beliefs in these false gods.
Luckily, the Supreme One had brought them back onto their rightful path and given Neia the opportunity to fulfill her true calling as the apostle of the Supreme One. She did not know why she was selected as the apostle but she was determined to fulfil her sacred duty.
It was no surprise that Neia was at the top of their hierarchy now. While just a few weeks prior it would have been unfathomable that an ordinary person at the lowest strata of society would suddenly be the leader of them all.
Of course, this was all due to the aforementioned divine grace that the Supreme One had bestowed upon her. For the chosen apostle of god to be in the highest position was an undeniable fact that citizens agreed.
Those few handfuls of people whose interests were harmed and who tried to play little tricks to usurp power were ruthlessly curbed by the citizens themselves before the Supreme One or her subordinates arrived. They could not show the filthy side of the populace to the Goddess after all.
The sanctum was a divine work carved with remarkable precision by skeletons brought over by one of the Supreme One's subordinates. They were called 'undead', a term completely foreign to her.
But none of the citizens were surprised as their feeble minds could never understand God's divine might.
These undead are the sinful souls who were not allowed to be reincarnated as they had committed crimes and left the embrace of the almighty Supreme Beings. They were visible moving about the entire settlement carrying out tasks tirelessly.
They would be tasked to toil for all eternity and work to repent for their sins. This was one of the lowest punishments that sinful souls could obtain. There were much more dreadful punishments depending on the severity of a person's crimes.
Naturally, the citizens were freaked out after hearing but a few of the punishments possible, and their faith grew stronger as a result. They were more eager to prove their faith.
Neia was not scared off by the punishments. She felt that those who deviated from the path defined by the supreme beings deserved as much so she was not sympathetic to those fools who dared to defy the spider goddess.
The Supreme One's subordinate whose name was Demiurge had apparently been tasked with watching over them. He had looked over the construction of this sanctum and told of the divine tales of the Supreme Beings. Gods who created and ruled over everything.
The sinful souls who would never reincarnate would never reach the domain of the Overlord of Death, one of the Supreme Beings. The one who ruled them all earlier.
Similarly, they knew of other Supreme Beings as well and Lady White was now the one who overlooked everything. The one above all.
The multitude of false gods in existence had tried to usurp power from the Supreme Beings for their own personal gain while they slumbered. They had succeeded to an extent as the Supreme Beings avatars had passed away to their schemes and fell into an eternal slumber.
This had happened to all but one of the Supreme Beings. Lady White had remained behind to bring everything and everyone back to order the way it should be with her in charge.
Neia recalled one of the conversations that she had with Lord Demiurge a few days prior:
"Do you miss your younger sister and wish to bring her back?" He asked her smiling in the same manner as all the times she had seen him until now.
"Naturally, I miss her. If she had lived for a little while longer she could have witnessed Supreme One herself and worshipped her as well. But I know that reviving her is not in my hands. I just hope she finds peace after returning to God's embrace." Neia replied while closing her eyes and putting her hands together in order to offer a prayer.
She did not know if the Spider Goddess had heard the pleas of one lowly as herself. She might have been her chosen apostle but Neia knew that her worth was very low in the grand scheme of things.
What she did not expect was the reply that Lord Demiurge gave:
"It is not impossible to bring her back to life."
"What? How..?" She exclaimed even if she knew how it was possible but her question was cut short by his reply.
"Naturally, the Supreme Beings can bring her back easily. For them who created everything such a feat is as easy as breathing." He raised his hand in the air and exclaimed.
Neia got excited at the prospect but this was short lived as reality struck her. She dejectedly questioned:
"Why would the Supreme Beings care to bring her back?"
"I understand your dejection but I only said that such a thing is not impossible. As long as you do your duty as an apostle well and bring all humans to worship her with all their hearts,
I can ask Lady White to grant you this simple wish. In the end, this depends on your own performance. Lady White might even bestow immortality upon the two of you if she so desired."
She was motivated more than ever after that conversation. She would make sure to bring all the humans who were swindled away by the claims of the false gods back to whom they should truly worship even if it took her entire lifetime.
She desired immortality so that she could serve the Supreme One forever and adding on the temptation of her sister being revived, Neia was easily hooked by the demon's whispers. After all, the fruit placed at the end of a long dark tunnel was worth it.
Neia had heard from Lord Demiurge about the people who would eventually be called Mayans. They were but a few tribes of people now without rich customs and heritage who would end up worshipping the so-called Mayan Gods.
She had already begun planning to bring them under their fold and convert them into believers of the Supreme One before the false gods tempted them with their promises and acts of grandeur. All of those lost humans will worship the great goddess
As she was thinking, she suddenly heard a voice in her head. It was a voice she would never forget. The voice of the Spider Goddess whom she worshipped. 'That's right, I am the apostle of the Goddess' she thought fervently before focusing every ounce of her will to listen to the divine oracle.
'Neia, there are some intruders approaching the settlement. Tell everyone to hide in the spaces that Demiurge had designed. My subordinates will deal with them' The Spider Goddess spoke.
Neia was a little bit disappointed that she was not bestowed a task she had to accomplish herself, but she would carry it out nonetheless. She still had to prove herself through her own hard work.
Regardless of her thoughts, she could not keep the Spider Goddess waiting so she replied quickly:
"Of course, Lady White" The voice of the Spider Goddess disappeared just as quickly as it had first sounded. Putting aside the feeling of emptiness and abandonment the lack of this voice caused her, she ordered the citizens to hide in the pre-designated spaces.
Apparently, these spaces contained the Supreme One's power and could hide them from prying eyes. She did not know how that worked but she did not question it.
As everyone hid in the designated spaces, they watched as the barrier cast by the Spider Goddess was opened ever so slightly and people dressed in strange clothes glinting golden in colour entered.
As much as she wanted to rip apart these heretics, she knew she lacked power. Neia waited with bated breath for the subordinate of the Supreme One to appear and punish these fools for their transgressions.
***
Please give ideas for rituals and stuff that can be put into holy texts about Shiroari, Supreme Beings, Nazarick, etc. I have a few ideas but I want more. I want to write a chapter in the near future about Demiurge creating all these standardised rituals and texts as I had mentioned in an earlier chapter.