After absorbing a Breath of Origin, Little Hell underwent a massive transformation.
Previously, storing souls meant compressing them into a special container—there was no concept of space inside, at least not until it grew strong enough.
Now, Little Hell had gained the concept of space.
A stable, unique pocket dimension, nearly identical to the material universe, sustained by souls and spirit. It could even hold physical matter.
In simple terms, Zeroy could now store people inside it.
She could even build her own heaven within, though currently only on the scale of a small village due to limited range.
And with faith as her brush, Zeroy could paint anything she imagined within Little Hell.
Mountains of blades, seas of fire, cauldrons of boiling oil, tongue-pulling punishments—anything she could envision, even the tortures of real Hell.
The souls of pests would suffer eternal torment within.
During this, their pain and regret would be harvested as nourishment for Little Hell, which in turn fed Zeroy herself.
Although she had amassed faith, Zeroy lacked a divine name, divinity, or proximity. Her link to faith was faint.
However, now, faith had a clear anchor—Little Hell.
Through it, those fragile strands of belief became clearer. Faith, too, became nourishment for Little Hell, and again, Little Hell nourished Zeroy.
Thus, she could grow stronger from faith without being shackled by it.
If faith faltered, Little Hell would be affected—but not greatly.
So long as faith was merely a side dish and souls and spirit the main course, Little Hell could fully digest it into harmless sustenance.
Meanwhile, its basic capacity expanded enormously: now able to hold 500,000 souls.
That said, with limited physical space, while it could store half a million souls, only a few thousand could be given distinct places of torment at once.
The revolution was far from complete—effort was still required!
"Emmm… does this count as having my own Divine Realm now?"
Zeroy shared Little Hell's changes with the curious Patchouli.
Patchouli thought for a moment after listening.
"Close, but not yet. It lacks the true power of a Divine Realm, where its master can make reality obey their every word."
"What do you mean?"
"Normally, within their Divine Realm, a god has command of reality itself. This isn't the god's ability, but the realm's."
Patchouli shook her head, then consoled her.
"Those realms are either entirely condensed from faith, giving their owner absolute authority so long as they control it—or they are personally forged, condensed into the god's very authority, granting full mastery."
"And reaching that level… only true gods can."
"In any case, don't be discouraged. Without doubt, yours is the prototype of a Divine Realm. Growing into what you envision is only a matter of time."
"Mm…" Zeroy fell into thought.
"Still, I didn't expect a Breath of Origin to work like this… Should I try something with it too?"
Zeroy glanced back. "Patchi, you've never used one this way?"
"Other than you, I doubt anyone would."
Patchouli gave a helpless smile. "As far as we know, they can only be earned as high-tier rewards. And since they're precious materials for breaking level limits, upgrading always takes priority. If not for this Pioneering Mission, you wouldn't have had spare Breaths to experiment with, right?"
"Still, the result is amazing—it became a Divine Realm prototype."
"That's thanks to you, Patchi. After all, you made Little Hell." Zeroy raised her thumb, openly praising her.
"No… it's hardly mine anymore…" Patchouli paused, choosing her words.
"Think of it like molding a clay figurine, then watching it turn into real flesh and blood."
"That impressive?"
"Yes. So even knowing its importance, I admit I'm tempted myself." Patchouli sighed.
"Such an improvement might not be any worse than upgrading."
"Mm… though to gain extra Breaths, it seems I'd have to act as a guide…"
Zeroy frowned deeply. She had no interest in being a guide.
Even with a Divine Realm prototype, where she could move innocents into safety and leave pests to the Main God and Reincarnators, earning more Breaths that way…
Her Little Hell still couldn't hold that many. It would take time, and she had no idea how much.
At that moment, a new window appeared before her and Patchouli.
[For humanitarian consideration, the pioneer of a newly discovered world will gain partial authority over it.]
[The pioneer may interfere with the world's mission details and participant selection.]
"…"
Zeroy raised her brows, crossed her arms, and studied the new window thoughtfully.
"Patchi, what do you think?"
"I believe it. If the Main God wanted to act, it wouldn't need such roundabout tricks, much less deceit."
There was no reason for it to lie. It had far simpler ways to coerce them.
It could order them to pioneer new worlds, punish refusal with erasure.
Their lives were already fully in its hands.
"Most likely, its goals don't conflict with yours."
"Though… knowing your nature, you'd never bow to coercion. So perhaps for that reason, deception isn't impossible either."
Zeroy gave her a surprised look. "Oh? That's how you see me, Patchi?"
...
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