Endless Chaos – Chaos Void Plane: The Path of Knowledge
Chapter 11 – The Divine Test
The night was quiet.
Arin was still standing on the hill outside the village, the faint glow of the Godhood Crystal fragment reflecting in his eyes.
But suddenly—
The crystal vibrated.
A warm pulse spread through his palm.
Arin frowned.
"That shouldn't happen…"
The Chaos Wonder Artifact of Knowledge immediately activated.
A stream of information appeared in his mind.
[Alert: High-Density Faith Energy Detected]
[Source: Unknown]
[Energy Level: Far Above Village Faith Output]
Arin slowly raised his head toward the sky.
The false moon hung silently above the flat horizon.
But something invisible was descending from above the world.
A thin golden stream of faith energy fell through the sky like a silent meteor.
Arin's eyes narrowed.
"This isn't natural."
Faith energy normally flowed slowly through believers.
But this energy…
It had been sent.
Directed.
Controlled.
The Chaos Artifact confirmed his suspicion.
[Conclusion: External intervention detected]
Arin felt a cold realization form in his mind.
"Someone noticed the experiment."
But instead of panicking, he became excited.
If someone could send faith energy like this…
Then it meant only one thing.
"A god…"
The golden stream of faith energy gently descended and stopped above the broken shrine formation Arin had carved earlier.
It hovered there like a small sun.
The energy was extremely pure.
Extremely stable.
Far beyond the weak belief power of the villagers.
Arin whispered softly.
"So this is what real divine faith looks like…"
The Chaos Artifact immediately began recording everything.
[High-Level Faith Energy Sample Acquired]
Arin approached the shrine carefully.
The golden energy sphere did not attack.
It simply floated there.
Waiting.
Observing.
Almost as if someone far away was watching his reaction.
Arin smiled slightly.
"A test…"
If this was truly sent by a god, then the god must be curious about him.
Which meant he had two choices.
Ignore it.
Or experiment.
Arin had already made his decision before the thought finished forming.
He knelt beside the formation and activated the carved knowledge structure again.
The runic diagrams glowed faintly.
The golden faith sphere slowly began moving.
It entered the formation.
But the moment it did—
The structure trembled violently.
Cracks appeared across the stone pedestal.
The system Arin designed was too weak to handle such powerful energy.
The Chaos Artifact warned him immediately.
[Warning: Structure overload]
Arin remained calm.
"Of course."
His first design was meant for village-level faith.
Not divine-grade energy.
But failure was part of experimentation.
Arin quickly adjusted the formation.
He erased several flow paths and carved new stabilizing channels.
The Artifact projected improved calculations.
Arin followed them precisely.
The energy stabilized slightly.
The golden sphere began compressing.
Slowly.
Carefully.
The faith energy condensed under the pressure of the knowledge formation.
Arin's heartbeat quickened.
"This might actually work…"
Minutes passed.
Then finally—
The golden sphere collapsed inward.
Light condensed into a small crystal floating above the pedestal.
But this crystal was very different from the first one.
The first crystal had been the size of a grain of sand.
This one was the size of a small coin.
And its light was far brighter.
Arin carefully picked it up.
The moment he touched it, a powerful warmth filled his body.
The Chaos Artifact completed its analysis.
[Divine Faith Crystal – Prototype Level]
[Purity: Extremely High]
Arin stared at it with amazement.
"This one could last for years…"
His artificial godhood experiment had just advanced several levels.
But he still didn't know that far away…
Inside the hidden divine realm…
The God of Belief was watching everything.
The ancient god leaned slightly forward.
His eyes shone with genuine surprise.
"…He succeeded."
The test had not been meant to help Arin.
It was meant to observe his reaction.
Most mortals would worship the energy.
Some would fear it.
But Arin had done something completely different.
He had studied it.
Dissected it.
And successfully condensed it into a stable crystal.
The God of Belief slowly smiled.
"A mortal who studies divinity instead of worshipping it…"
His voice echoed through the divine dimension.
"Very interesting."
For the first time in thousands of years…
The god had found someone worth watching closely.
Back on the hill…
Arin stored the new crystal inside the Chaos Artifact.
His mind was racing with new ideas.
"If divine-level faith can be condensed…"
"Then large-scale faith systems could produce enormous energy reserves."
He stood up and looked toward the distant horizon.
Villages.
Cities.
Kingdoms.
Entire worlds full of believers.
Arin whispered quietly.
"Gods harvest faith to become stronger…"
"But what if knowledge could harvest it better?"
His path was becoming clearer.
Not faith.
Not cultivation.
Not worship.
But understanding the system behind everything.
The Path of Knowledge had taken another step forward.
But the deeper Arin went…
The more powerful beings would begin to notice him.
Because in the Chaos Void Plane…
Knowledge was the most dangerous power of all.