Chapter 2 — The Prayer God Ascends
The storm above had not broken since Malek'tor's descent. The skies howled with divine fury, and in the ruined courtyard of the New Dawn Academy, five cultivators stood, blood-soaked and determined, facing down a god whose very presence distorted the laws of reality.
Frostveil's ice-soul aura roared, mingling with Jian's sharp-edged sword dao. Around them stood three newly introduced elite cultivators of the resurrected realm:
Qin Lanyue, Mistress of the Petal Blade Dao, her every movement weaving cherry blossoms and death.
Tai Shen, the Mountain Heart Cultivator, his inner world a peak forged from aeons of spiritual density.
Meiwu, the Silent Flame, who cultivated silence itself, erasing sound and thought as her flames licked space.
Malek'tor floated above them, hovering as reality bent around his form. The sacrifices of the 100 students, their souls offered in an ancient ritual, twisted the air in a vortex of divine cruelty. His eyes pulsed with divine flame, and his Dao had begun to manifest in full.
"You think five of you can stop a god reborn through worship? This world will know its shepherd."
He raised a single hand. Below, the city of Nanshi—a thousand miles away—fell under his gaze. A golden wave surged out.
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The Worship Dao Awakens
As the golden wave reached Nanshi, the citizens looked skyward. Some screamed. Some wept. But most fell to their knees. Their bodies were not theirs to command. Their thoughts not theirs to hold. It was the will of Worship Dao.
Malek'tor's voice echoed across space:
"Kneel. For every breath I grant you is mercy."
In mere seconds, half the city knelt.
That was all he needed.
A column of golden light descended from the heavens and engulfed him.
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Prayer God Form
He emerged transformed. No longer did he walk—he levitated, his body three times larger, golden skin carved with glowing runes of devotion, prayers whispering in the wind around him.
His new form: Prayer God Malek'tor.
His voice echoed with reverberations of every name ever prayed to.
Jian narrowed his eyes. Frostveil stepped closer.
"That's Worship Dao's peak stage… no—beyond peak," she whispered. "He's entered Divine Assimilation."
Jian's knuckles tightened around his hilt.
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The Fight Continues
Meiwu vanished into silence and appeared behind Malek'tor, flames of nullification around her. She launched her Silent Phoenix Art, a phoenix made from anti-sound and immortal fire, crashing into Malek'tor's back.
He didn't flinch.
A golden barrier of prayer absorbed it. Words shimmered in the light: Faith is unbroken.
Tai Shen roared. From his back, his inner world manifested—Mt. Ironsoul—crashing down as a metaphysical weight, dragging Malek'tor to the ground with gravity equal to a black hole's edge.
Malek'tor flinched, but the prayers grew louder.
Qin Lanyue danced through the chaos, her Petal Blade singing across dimensions. She struck—1,000 cuts in less than a blink—all aimed at divine pulse points. Blood leaked. The god bled.
But then he opened his mouth and whispered:
"Pray."
Thousands more fell across the continent.
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Jian's Counterattack
Jian vanished.
A sword hum vibrated across the heavens.
He reappeared behind Malek'tor, his body glowing. He had drawn from his restored 100% sword dao.
"I do not pray to gods. I cut them."
The strike he unleashed was called: Heavenrend Pulse — Form Zero.
One sword swing cleaved space. The universe itself paused.
Malek'tor blocked—but too late.
A deep, blood-red line appeared from shoulder to hip.
Malek'tor screamed, for the first time. Divine blood sprayed out in runes.
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Frostveil's Demon Unleashed
Frostveil, filled with memory and madness, stepped forward. Her soul dao surged, but this time, she activated something new.
Destruction Core: Spirit Annihilation.
She closed her eyes. Her father's voice whispered from beyond death.
Her body turned pure soul-ice. Her form glowed with ancient spirit blood.
"You do not deserve afterlife."
She unleashed her new technique:
Frozen Void of Soul's End.
A wave of white swept out, aimed at Malek'tor's divine essence. Not just physical. Not just spiritual. But foundational. The wave wrapped around him. His prayers shattered. His worship began to peel away. The aura of divinity cracked.
Malek'tor staggered.
"Impossible… my divinity…!"
Frostveil walked forward. "They prayed out of fear. Not belief."
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Lore Dump: Worship Dao
Worship Dao is one of the few Dao paths that tie into external sentience. It requires:
A conduit between self and masses.
A perception of divinity.
Rituals of sacrifice.
Laws of resonance.
Worship Dao grants:
Passive healing through belief.
Constructs of divine protection.
Reality shaping through prayer.
Divinity evolution into Prayer God Forms.
But it has a weakness: if belief is lost, power collapses.
Malek'tor was now at that brink.
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Ending Scene
The city of Nanshi broke free of his control. Prayers turned to screams. Faith into terror.
Malek'tor fell to one knee.
Jian stood above him, sword pointed down.
"You die not as a god. But as a lie."
The final strike fell.
Golden blood filled the air.
Malek'tor's form collapsed into ash.
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To Be Continued...