How to survive in the Romance Fantasy Game Chapter 755: Anomaly’s gift 2

As more and more people began to gather around the newcomer, quiet conversations started spreading throughout the temple.

Most of them seemed to be speaking out of nervousness.

Some whispered to the people standing beside them, while others kept looking toward the enormous statue at the center of the temple.

A few seemed excited, almost unable to contain themselves now that they were finally inside the place they had heard so much about.

Then suddenly, movement near the front caught everyone’s attention.

A man dressed in elaborate priestly robes stepped forward.

He reached up and slowly removed the hood covering his head before walking toward the podium positioned directly in front of the enormous statue.

The moment people recognized him, the atmosphere changed.

"It’s the High Priest!"

"The High Priest is here..."

"...So that’s the High Priest..."

Whispers spread throughout the crowd.

Some sounded surprised.

Others were filled with admiration.

There were even a few people who looked genuinely excited to see him.

Garan was among those who couldn’t help but stare.

So this was the High Priest?

He had expected someone older, perhaps an old man with a long beard after hearing the title.

Instead, the man walking toward the podium carried himself with an almost unnatural dignity.

His priestly robes were immaculate, and every movement he made seemed deliberate.

His expression was calm, almost peaceful, yet there was something about his presence that made Garan instinctively straighten his back.

He looked holy.

At least, that was the first word that came to Garan’s mind.

It was almost as though the man had been born to stand in a place like this.

Garan swallowed.

The man’s name was Garan.

He had only come here because a group of priests had visited his village some time ago.

At first, he hadn’t believed much of what they had said.

They had spoken about a new beginning.

About a great being who could change the lives of those willing to devote themselves.

About a future where even ordinary people could escape the circumstances they had been born into.

Garan had been desperate enough to listen.

His family had struggled for years, and after everything they had gone through, the promise of a better life had been enough to make him take the journey here.

But now that he was actually standing inside this temple, he couldn’t help but wonder if he had underestimated what he had gotten himself into.

As the High Priest walked past him, Garan suddenly felt it again.

That strange energy.

The same feeling he had sensed from the woman who had guided him into the temple.

Only this time, it was much stronger.

Far stronger.

Garan’s throat tightened as the pressure brushed against him.

What is this...?

He looked toward the woman standing nearby.

She possessed the same strange energy.

And then he looked around.

The realization slowly dawned on him.

It wasn’t just her.

The priests and priest-like figures scattered throughout the temple all seemed to possess something similar.

Garan had encountered powerful people before.

His village had once been threatened by a dungeon outbreak, and priests had arrived to help them.

Those priests had been incredibly strong, easily dealing with monsters that ordinary villagers couldn’t hope to fight.

Because of that, Garan wasn’t completely unfamiliar with people possessing great power.

But this was different.

The energy surrounding these people felt similar to what he had experienced before, yet there was something else mixed into it.

Something he couldn’t quite describe.

Something darker.

It wasn’t necessarily evil.

At least, Garan couldn’t say that.

But the atmosphere of this place seemed to change the way their power felt.

The energy seemed heavier here.

Almost as though the darkness of the underground temple had seeped into it.

Garan quietly gulped.

Why does their power feel like this...?

He wasn’t the only one thinking about it.

Judging from the nervous whispers around him, many of the other newcomers seemed just as confused.

Garan looked around.

There were people from all kinds of backgrounds.

Some wore simple clothing that suggested they came from villages like his own. Others looked like merchants, adventurers, craftsmen, or ordinary townspeople.

They all seemed to have one thing in common.

They were searching for something.

A better life.

A chance to change their circumstances.

A miracle.

Whatever their reasons were, they had all followed the priests’ invitations and eventually found their way here.

And now they were standing beneath the enormous statue of the Great Anomaly, waiting to hear what the High Priest had to say.

The conversations gradually became quieter.

The High Priest finally reached the podium.

He stopped.

Behind him stood the gigantic black statue, towering over the entire chamber.

For a moment, the contrast between the man and the statue was striking.

The High Priest appeared almost holy beneath the firelight.

The statue behind him appeared completely different.

Dark.

Silent.

Unknown.

Yet somehow, the two seemed to belong together.

Garan stared at them both.

He suddenly had a strange feeling that whatever happened next would change his life forever.

The High Priest slowly looked across the gathered crowd.

And the entire temple fell silent.

"My lost children... you have all come."

The High Priest’s voice echoed throughout the enormous temple.

His voice was clear and calm, yet there was something strangely powerful about it. Every word seemed to carry through the chamber with ease, reaching even those standing at the very back.

"For that, I give you praise..."

He slowly spread his arms.

"Because change is not a simple task."

The moment those words left his mouth, Garan felt a strange shudder run through him.

It wasn’t because the High Priest had shouted.

He hadn’t.

If anything, his voice remained gentle.

But there was something behind it.

Something that seemed to reach deeper than his ears, almost as though the words themselves were brushing against his soul.

Garan swallowed and listened carefully.

The High Priest welcomed the newcomers, speaking about the organization they had entered and explaining its purpose.

They were people who had been forgotten.

People who had been pushed aside by society.

People who had suffered while those with power continued living comfortably.

At least, that was how the High Priest described them.

"We are the lost lambs..."

His voice grew louder.

"...who shall spread the gospel of the sullied and the oppressed throughout this world!"

The crowd remained completely silent.

"We are those who have been cast aside!"

His eyes swept across the gathered people.

"We are those who have been denied the lives we deserve!"

He raised one hand toward the enormous statue behind him.

"And we are the change this world needs!"

The words echoed through the temple.

For a moment, nobody spoke.

Then the crowd erupted.

Some people raised their hands.

Others whispered prayers beneath their breath.

A few newcomers looked completely overwhelmed, staring at the High Priest with admiration.

Even Garan could understand why.

There was something about the man’s speech that made his words easy to believe.

He spoke as though he wasn’t simply giving them a speech.

He was giving them hope.

And for people who had spent their entire lives struggling, hope could be more powerful than anything else.

Garan, however, remained quiet.

He had been listening carefully to everything the High Priest had said.

And the more he listened, the more certain he became of something.

This is a cult.

There was no mistaking it.

A secretive religious organization gathered inside a hidden temple beneath a mountain, worshipping an unknown being called the Great Anomaly.

If the Church of Light discovered this place, Garan had little doubt that they would eventually come here and destroy it.

The Church had always been extremely strict when it came to other religions, especially those surrounding beings considered dangerous or evil.

And from what Garan had felt ever since entering this temple...

There was no way the being they worshipped could be considered normal.

The strange power surrounding the priests was proof enough.

Their faith seemed to grant them actual strength.

That alone was enough to make Garan uneasy.

So this is the power of their god...?

He looked toward the enormous statue again.

The hooded figure remained completely motionless, its three orbs held firmly within its hand.

Garan couldn’t understand what they represented.

He couldn’t even understand what kind of being the Great Anomaly was.

But he could feel something coming from the statue.

Something powerful.

Something that made the air around him feel heavier.

Garan gulped.

This has to be an evil god...

He couldn’t think of any other explanation.

Yet despite that realization, he didn’t leave.

He couldn’t.

He was already here.

And more importantly...

He wanted to stay.

His family was still struggling back home.

He had spent his entire life being powerless, unable to protect the people he cared about whenever something went wrong.

The priests had told him that he could change that.

That if he devoted himself to the Great Anomaly, he could become stronger.

Maybe it was foolish.

Maybe it was dangerous.

But Garan didn’t want to remain powerless forever.

He lowered his gaze.

If this really can change my life...

He clenched his fists beneath his robe.

Then maybe it’s worth the risk.

The High Priest suddenly raised both hands.

"Let us all pray!"

The crowd immediately became quiet.

"Pray for prosperity!"

His voice echoed through the temple.

"Pray for a new life!"

Several people lowered themselves to their knees.

"Pray for the desires within your hearts!"

One by one, the remaining people followed.

Even those who had only just arrived hesitated for a moment before eventually kneeling alongside everyone else.

Garan looked around.

Veteran members of the organization were kneeling.

Newcomers were kneeling.

Even the woman who had guided him here lowered herself without hesitation.

Finally, Garan slowly lowered himself as well.

The High Priest looked toward the enormous statue.

"And the Great Anomaly..."

"...shall answer."

The moment he finished speaking—

The flames surrounding the temple flickered.

Then darkness began to spread.

It wasn’t ordinary darkness.

It seemed to seep from the corners of the temple itself, slowly crawling across the floor and surrounding the kneeling members.

The torches remained lit, yet their light seemed strangely distant.

Garan felt the hairs on his body rise.

The whispers stopped.

Every person in the temple lowered their head.

And within the darkness, hundreds of voices began praying together.

"Great Anomaly..."

Garan’s eyes widened.

The sound echoed throughout the temple.

"Great Anomaly..."

The darkness continued to swell around them.

And for the first time since entering the cave, Garan wondered if he had truly come here to find a better life...

Or if he had just stepped into something far beyond his understanding.