The air smelled like desperation and divine capitalism, thick with the musk of a hundred unwashed peasants who had just witnessed a miracle.
Luo Feng clutched his bleeding palm—where a stray arrow had grazed him—and watched in horror as his liquid starlight dripped onto the village well.
The water glowed.
A sickly child drank from it—and sprinted up a tree.
An old man splashed his face—and regrew all his teeth.
A chicken pecked at a droplet—and laid a golden egg.
[System Alert: Unauthorized Divinity Detected]
[Warning: You Are Now Liable For:
87% of Local Miracles
45% of Impending Heresy Charges
100% of Death Queen's Profiteering]
The Death Queen materialized at his side, already bottling his sweat with a merchant's grin.
"Darling, you're oozing charisma today."
THE ECLIPSE CHURCH RISES
By sundown:
The Village Square had been renamed "Starblessed Plaza"
The Local Tavern now served "Eclipse Ale" (just water + a drop of his bath runoff)
The Children were reenacting his greatest hits ("And then he said 'Oops' and blew up a god!")
Worst Offenders:
The Baker selling "Eclipse Eucharist Bread" (stale buns dipped in his footprint dirt)
The Bard composing "The Ballad of the Sweaty Messiah"
The Death Queen's Stall, featuring:
"Tears of the Eclipse" (onion juice in pretty bottles)
"Sacred Nail Clippings" (not his)
"Divine Dandruff" (100% fake)
Li Qing watched from the rooftops, frosting over every attempt to charge for "blessings."
"This is why we can't have nice apocalypses."
THE INTERVENTION
Three disasters forced action:
A Pilgrimage began (first worshipper: a very confused goat)
The village renamed itself "New Eclipse City" (population: 63)
The Death Queen started auctioning "divine laundry water"
Luo Feng tried to stop it—
—but his starlight tear of frustration was immediately caught in a vial and sold for "three cows and a slightly used plow."
[System Notification: CULT LEADER ACHIEVEMENT UNLOCKED]
[Perk: Prayers Now Fuel Your Eclipse Core]
[Penalty: Responsibility]
THE AFTERMATH
As they fled the now-gold-plated village:
The Death Queen counted her profits
Li Qing froze all remaining "holy relics"
The Nine-Tails' memory fragment laughed in his dreams
And etched on the village's new "Eclipse Shrine" wall:
*"He'll be back. Probably. -DQ <3"*
[New Mission: "Stop Being Worshiped (Optional)"]
[Side Quest: Collect Royalties]
The plush demons opened a souvenir stand.
END OF CHAPTER 66