Chapter 1200 - The Power of Faith

Church of the New Path.

Faith of the Great One.

The Colony Way.

The faith that sprung up around the seemingly miraculous advent of the Colony came to be known by many names. I want to emphasise I’m not being dismissive by describing the existence of the Colony as ‘seemingly miraculous’. A sapient monster collective that chose to cooperate with other species rather than consume them is as close to a miracle as this non-believing academic can bring themselves to acknowledge.

For the Colony were a true monster species, unlike the braun’chii, born from a Queen who spawned in the Dungeon and laid eggs that matured into monsters themselves. At no point in the cycle were they ever acknowledged as anything but monsters by the System, as far as I’ve been able to determine anyway.

This ‘miracle’, this incredibly unlikely occurrence, was taken by many of the early believers to be a sign of divine providence, that the Dungeon had birthed a saviour to protect them in their darkest hour. Had this belief been held exclusively by a few farmers and craftspeople, perhaps nothing would have come of it, but one of those early faithful was a Priest of the Path, named Beyn, who would eventually prove himself to be one of the most powerful religious figures of the age, second only to the entity he worshipped.

- Excerpt from ‘New Faith’, by Siemon.

Fervour burned in the eyes of the priest, and he was pleased to see it reflected back at him in the gaze of his audience. He could almost feel their blazing faith like heat against his skin, hot enough to burn him to ash.

Still not hot enough. Until his soul itself was melted to nothing, he would never be satisfied.

“Remain strong in the faith,” he demanded of his audience, his one hand stretching forward grandly, “and it will reward you. All of our lives have been transformed by the Great One, by the New Path, but they can change even further, spiritually, but only if you let it. This is a new world that we live in, separated from the before. Don’t be like me, it took time for me to recognise what had changed, and something dramatic was required to wake me up.”

He waved the stump of his missing arm at them and their gaze flicked to it and back to him.

“Embrace the new world,” he urged them, “and it will embrace you back. Embrace the Colony, and they will be there to support you. Embrace the Great One, and you will become a part of them, and they will always be with you.”

Beyn didn’t know when or why that last part had become a regular part of his sermons, but it felt right to him, in a way he couldn’t explain. He knew that the Great One was watching over him, always. This knowledge was embedded in him as deeply as he knew his own name.

“We thank you for your words, High Priest,” a member of the congregation bowed to him, but Beyn brought up his hand.

“Please, I do not like to be called High Priest. Call me Beyn, or Priest Beyn, if you must.”

The ants did not lift themselves up above others. If one general was higher in the hierarchy than another, did they look down on the other? No. Did they have a larger, more fancy title than the other? Also no. They were both generals, who did the best they could in the work that they did.

“I am a priest, no more important than any other priest. We work together, rise together and fall together.”

The audience bowed once more, many exclaimed at how humble he was, how dedicated to the faith. At this, Beyn frowned.

“Please,” he said to them, “do not elevate me, for that is not our way, that is not who we aspire to be. The Great One is watching over me, watching over all of us. I simply do my best to live in the way we are supposed to live, to walk the Path we have been shown. If we stay steady to the Path, we will walk from the darkness and into the light.”

Finally, they appeared to get it and he smiled upon them as the congregation filed out of the chapel in which he was preaching. When he was alone once more, he breathed a deep sigh of satisfaction. Bringing enlightenment to the people was his greatest joy, leading the lost, until they became found. Even after the people were brought into the faith, still they needed guidance, leadership, and spiritual nourishment. All of this, he was only too happy to provide.

He was about to leave himself, when he heard something impossible, something unbelievable, something miraculous.

Not a bad sentiment there, Beyn, very antish. Looks like you actually started teaching something worthwhile. Anyway… when the heck did you figure out I could hear you?

As the words of the Great One rang out in his mind, Beyn experienced a kaleidoscope of powerful emotions that crashed through him like the waves of a storming ocean. His mouth moved, but no sound came out. His ears rang, but he heard nothing. His body twitched, but he could not take a step. Unable to process, he simply stood, jerking uncontrollably, foam dripping down his chin, his eyes staring but seeing nothing.

You didn’t actually know, did you?

Beyn could not reply. His eyes rolled up into his head, and he collapsed.

Ahhhhh nards. This is going to come back and bite me RIGHT in the thorax.