Chapter 248
Ikenga smiled as he returned to his realm, a gentle hum spreading throughout, welcoming him back. As he surveyed his domain, he sensed how much it had expanded. Ikenga noticed that when he began receiving worship, it not only increased his strength but also expanded his realm. However, recently, this growth had slowed down, and his strength had also plateaued.
Faith brought him immense power, a level that would have taken hundreds of years to achieve otherwise. Yet, this influx of power had diminished, seemingly reverting to the levels from before he began receiving worship. It wasn’t that he was no longer receiving worship or faith energy; he was still receiving a substantial amount every second. However, the faith energy had shifted from quality to quantity.
Initially, Ikenga thought the issue might be that his followers weren’t pious enough. But he soon dismissed this idea because his realm contained an altar that refined faith energy. Regardless of whether the faith came from an ordinary believer or a devout one, once the faith energy reached the altar, it was refined into divine energy before being transferred to him.
After meeting with Murmur, Ikenga’s perspective changed. He realized the limitation was due to the level of his world. The faith provided by the believers in his world had reached its maximum quality. For the faith energy to improve further, the world’s origin would need to be elevated, pushing every race to a higher level. Only then could the nature of the faith energy change.
Ikenga knew it was the same for the other gods. The excessive amount of faith energy they have now just acts like a battery to quickly replenish the divine energy spent. The long journey he is about to undertake with Keles will change everything for everyone. Ikenga was ready to find out the limit of his power. He could only instinctively guess that he was now planetary, as he had this feeling at the back of his neck that all he needed to do was plant a seed on this world and watch it go boom.
Of course, when the thought appears, Nana always cautions him to hold off on that thought, as all he will gain is momentary satisfaction of his strength before feeling the impact of what he has done.
Sending a quick message to Keles to meet up with him, Ikenga once again sensed Murmur calling, which he dove into, appearing in the cage of golden light.
Keles, in her realm, received Ikenga’s message. A quick sweep of her realm’s condition brought a smile to her face. It was slow, but the underworld was beginning to shape into a world of its own, as souls who had regained their intelligence were beginning to develop the underworld in their own way.
Keles stood up from her throne and stepped into her realm, marveling at the changes taking place. Souls that once wandered aimlessly were now building structures and forming communities. The underworld was transforming from a barren wasteland into a thriving, dynamic world.