Endless Chaos – Chaos Void Plane: The Path of Knowledge
Chapter 11 – The Divine Test
Night had fully fallen across the quiet village.
A pale moon hung in the sky, casting silver light across the empty fields and the lonely hill where Arin had been conducting his experiments.
The small stone shrine before him was still warm from the faith condensation formation he had carved earlier.
In his hand rested a tiny Faith Crystal—the first successful result of his experiment.
Golden light slowly rotated inside the crystal.
Arin studied it carefully.
"This proves it…"
"Faith energy can be condensed artificially."
The Chaos Wonder Artifact of Knowledge floated beside him, analyzing the crystal.
Streams of information appeared in Arin's mind.
[Faith Energy Structure: Stable]
[Energy Density: Extremely Low]
[Classification: Proto-Godhood Crystal]
Arin nodded.
It was still weak, but the principle worked.
If he could gather enough faith energy, larger and more powerful crystals could be created.
Which meant something very important.
Godhood itself was not purely divine.
It was a system.
A mechanism built upon belief.
But suddenly—
The Faith Crystal trembled in his hand.
Arin frowned.
"That's strange…"
The Chaos Artifact reacted instantly.
[Alert: External Faith Energy Approaching]
Arin's eyes widened.
External?
Faith energy normally moved slowly between believers and their god.
But now a powerful stream was descending directly from above.
Arin looked toward the sky.
At first, nothing seemed different.
But then—
A faint golden light appeared high above the clouds.
A small sphere of pure faith energy slowly descended like a falling star.
Arin whispered quietly.
"…This isn't natural."
The Artifact confirmed his suspicion.
[Faith Source: Unknown High-Level Entity]
Arin's mind immediately reached a conclusion.
"A god."
Only a divine being could send faith energy directly like this.
But the energy did not attack him.
It simply hovered above the shrine formation.
Floating.
Waiting.
Almost as if it was observing him.
Arin slowly smiled.
"A test."
Someone was watching.
The thought should have been terrifying.
But instead, Arin felt excitement.
If a god had noticed him…
Then his research had already touched something significant.
He stepped closer to the formation.
The golden sphere continued hovering silently.
Arin spoke softly.
"If this is a test…"
"Then I'll answer it."
He activated the shrine formation again.
The carved knowledge diagrams lit up faintly.
The golden faith sphere slowly descended into the structure.
Immediately—
The entire formation began shaking violently.
The energy was far stronger than the weak belief power he had used earlier.
Cracks spread across the stone pedestal.
The Chaos Artifact warned him.
[Structure Overload Detected]
Arin remained calm.
"Adjust the flow paths."
The Artifact projected new calculations into his mind.
Arin quickly modified the formation using small carved channels.
The faith energy stabilized slightly.
The golden sphere slowly began compressing inside the formation.
Minutes passed.
The energy gradually condensed.
Arin watched closely as the light shrank smaller and smaller.
Finally—
A new crystal formed above the pedestal.
This one was far larger than the first.
About the size of a small coin.
And its golden light was much brighter.
Arin carefully picked it up.
Warm divine energy flowed through his hand.
The Chaos Artifact finished its analysis.
[Divine Faith Crystal – High Purity]
Arin's eyes shone with excitement.
"This one is real…"
Compared to the earlier fragment, this crystal contained much stronger faith energy.
Enough to be used for larger experiments.
But Arin didn't know that far away…
Inside a hidden divine realm…
A pair of ancient eyes were watching him.
The God of Belief stood silently within an ocean of golden faith.
He had sent the energy only to observe what Arin would do.
Most mortals would kneel.
Some would worship.
Others might fear the divine energy.
But Arin had done something completely unexpected.
He had studied it.
Analyzed it.
And turned it into a tool.
The ancient god spoke softly.
"A mortal who studies divinity…"
"How interesting."
He did not stop Arin.
Instead, curiosity slowly grew in his mind.
Because knowledge could be dangerous.
And sometimes…
The most interesting mortals were the ones who refused to worship.
Back on the hill, Arin placed the Divine Faith Crystal inside the Chaos Artifact.
His mind was already thinking ahead.
"If divine-level faith can be condensed…"
"Then large-scale faith systems could produce enormous energy."
Villages.
Cities.
Kingdoms.
Entire worlds full of believers.
Arin whispered quietly.
"Gods harvest belief to grow stronger."
"But knowledge might harvest it better."
The Path of Knowledge had taken another step forward.
And somewhere in the darkness beyond the sky…
A hidden god continued watching with growing interest.
The experiment had only just begun.