Rise of Pestilence

Cain had completed the first half of his plans, and all that was left was action. He began to collect his things to head out, picking up the black box he had gotten from that exchange with the Kingdom.

It was as if the box was calling to him. Cain had never found out how to open it, but with this feeling of attraction, opening the box went high up on the list of things he needed to do.

He put the box back in the hidden compartment and walked out the door to enter the world once more.

During the time he was gone, nothing had really changed. Nobles still took advantage of the lower class while the Empire remained militaristically strong, yet talks of rebellion still lingered. The Kingdom seemed more stable than the Empire, but that wasn't the truth.

One of the reports Cain had been given over the years stated that plans of a coup against the young king were slowly growing. A group of nobles were undermining their leader at every chance, and civil war was soon to become a reality.

In the Kingdom, nobles were never allowed to have private forces beyond a hundred men, but over this past decade many broke this rule, and the King did nothing to stop them.

When he read these reports, Cain guessed the King to be a fool or had tricks up his sleeve that made the noble's actions useless. 

But that was not the only interesting thing, something else had piqued Cain's interest. He was surprised when he learned of a massive city in the south called Cardin. It was a city larger and wealthier than Peoria, yet it was able to stay out of almost every conflict.

It was going to be one of the first visits Cain planned to make.

As he exited the building to the outside, the Merchant's compound seemed to cover almost a third of the city.

It was no longer just a place for the groups' activities but seemed to have become a part of the city itself, where workers lived and many support facilities were located.

Cain passed tens of shelters, orphanages, and soup kitchens on his way to his destination.

When reached his stop, he stood before a giant building with stained glass windows depicting a figure wrapped in black. The figure seemed to be a great deity as the images depicted the great god blessing the humans below it.

The church was at least eight stories tall and gave off a majestic and holy appearance. Walking inside, Cain saw a familiar face standing at the altar. It was Yonio, who was now called the Apostle of Advancement.

Apparently, Yonio had made quite a few serums that could work well with normal everyday people, giving them better immune systems to even giving them the strength of five men. Yonio was beloved by many, and he was one of the Cardinals of the Church of Pestilence.

Yonio's eyes switched to saucers at Cain's appearance. He looked as if he almost lost control of himself for a moment, but he pulled himself together and motioned for Cain to meet him in another room.

As soon as they were in a private area, Yonio dropped to the floor, kneeling in front of his god.

"My Lord, it is my greatest pleasure to see you again. Please tell me anything you need of me."

Smirking, Cain responded, "Gather the rest. I need updates on everything."

Cain abruptly disappeared, and Yonio got to work. Cain waited in a room inside the church where it seemed the meetings between cardinals were held. Looking up, the ceiling depicted another scene of Cain, appearing to bring destruction to the world.

The door opened, and a group of people walked in with ecstatic faces. Their zeal was radiating and even made them look like holy priests.

Before taking their seats, each of them bowed to their lord before sitting down and waiting for him to speak.

Cain had changed in this past decade; to them, he gave a sense of unfathomableness and holiness. He had truly become a god to them.

They would sacrifice themselves if he asked them to in an instant.

Cain was laid back and nonchalant, "Give me reports on anything important of recent date."

Everyone looked to Cassian, who had a grin as he stood up, "Ahem, my great lord! The light that outshines all, I-"

"Get to the point, Cassian." Cain interrupted him.

"Ah...yes, of course. Other than the reports already given, not much has changed, believe it or not. The only events worthy of mention are the City of Cardin becoming a main city as well as the coup forming in the Kingdom. Oh, and the rebellion brewing in the Empire."

Cain felt like Cassian was hiding something else, he stared at his believer intensely.

Sweat started to perspire on Cassian's forehead.

"There is one more thing, but I didn't think I should bother you with it. The King of Puffrid has been asking to meet our god for the past year. We have sent envoys, but they have always been sent back beaten. Recently, the King has been demanding to meet you."

"And this was not worthy to bring up? I planned to meet the King anyway. I have good reason to test a new tool."

Cassian calmed down, he seemed displeased with himself, "I apologize, my Lord. I have something to ask: will you show yourself to the people? We have built a massive following all over Netherane, and with the growing threat of diseases, more join every day. However, many are not true believers, ah uh.... seeing is believing."

Cain thought for a moment. His perfect face slowly creeping up a smile. It subconsciously caused everyone's heart to beat faster.

"When shall we hold the event to unveil me as God?"

...

A few days later, everyone in Carc gathered around the town square. The church had announced that their god had exited seclusion and was going to show himself for the first time ever.

Not only were the believers of the church here, but everyone in the city was curious about what the so-called "God" looked like.

However, when the ceremony started, no amount of understatement could be said as Cain descended from the sky, from out above the clouds.

He wore luxurious black robes adorned with expensive jewelry. His pale skin glowed like the moons, and his eyes pierced through the crowd as if he were all-knowing. Black, long hair fluttered in the wind as it shined and appeared semi-transparent.

His face was indifferent as he looked at his believers in the crowd. He only did this exhausting ceremony to create more expendable soldiers who believed wholeheartedly in him.

When he landed the ceremony commenced, the Pope of the church, Austin, walked forward and kneeled holding up a cup. Cain took a dagger and cut his arm, blood dripped into the cup and Austin proceeded to drink his blood.

Upon the blood going down his throat, Austin felt an indiscernible amount of strength enter his body. His skin began to become soft and clear with a slight glow similar to Cain's.

Seeing this, the crowd became captivated by this God who stood before them. On that day, the church gained numerous new followers, and it would be written down in their Bible—the day God descended and bestowed his boon upon his chosen.