Shota's Isekai NTR Adventure Chapter 2147 2147: A little bit of…

The church matched the ruin of everywhere else in this area.

"The tides of time truly show no favoritism, treating everyone equally before them." I sighed upon spotting the chaos filling the church.

All the debris scattered around made it appear even more wrecked than the surrounding structures.

That said, being a church, this building dwarfed the others in size from the start. Naturally, more items meant more rubble to collapse into piles.

Yet after scanning the area, one item stood out as completely undamaged amid the destruction.

Positioned squarely in the church's heart, it felt shameful that it had escaped my notice until this moment.

"Another Solista statue?"

The massive figure dominating the church's core revealed this as a former sanctuary for city folk devoted to Solista. Moreover, its grand scale highlighted the depth of their devotion to her.

Otherwise, they never would have erected such a grand edifice in her honor.

"Any shot at reaching the gods has to be here in a spot like this."

I understood these statues' significance firsthand, owning one myself.

Every such statue linked to the deity it depicted. Unless utterly demolished, that link persisted in some form to the god it honored.

Displaying true faith allowed a connection to form with the divine.

Even I sensed a faint tie when followers prayed before my own statue, so Solista surely could detect my prayers at hers.

"To be safe, though…"

I approached the statue directly, pressing my hand against it while bending forward.

Upon contact, I unleashed my divine energy.

Rather than directing it, I simply enveloped the statue with it, hoping to forge a link. Yet no reaction stirred from the statue.

Praying brought no sense of being observed.

"Maybe because this site's totally forsaken? Does that imply it's sealed off too?"

The idea grew more convincing with each passing thought.

Still, I persisted in trying to reach Solista, my sole viable path. No matter my efforts, no response echoed back.

Ultimately, failure forced me to abandon the attempt, as it led nowhere.

"In a city like this, a grander church must exist somewhere. Given the city's scale, a central hub for this faith likely awaits. Locating it could provide the bridge to Solista I need."

With success impossible here, that remained the next step.

However, rising to leave, I found myself glancing back at the statue.

"Was that my imagination, or…"

Muttering this, I crept closer to the statue, detecting no emanation from it directly. Only a thorough inspection revealed something emanating from its rear.

Discovering it proved tricky with no real gap behind the statue. Spotting a tiny nook finally unveiled the object.

"A cloth fragment?"

Confusion twisted my features as I examined the item tucked in that narrow space.

Try as I might, its purpose eluded me entirely.

Still, the aura it emitted was unmistakable.

Odd as the aura was, faint traces of divine energy clearly lingered within it.

"Some relic perhaps?" Hesitantly, I extended my hand for the cloth, only to meet resistance.

As my fingers neared, a subtle light barrier materialized, halting my grasp.

This held mere seconds before the Mark of God flared into view.

With the Mark of God manifest, the barrier crumbled instantly.

Evidently, the barrier acknowledged the Mark of God, even harmonizing with it, prompting its swift dissipation.

"Clearly tied to Solista, but exactly what?"

The reaction it had to the Mark of God from Solista proved beyond doubt its tie to her. Yet, when I infused divine energy into the cloth, no response appeared at all.

"If it were a relic, it surely would've shown some reaction. Or maybe it's stayed like this so long that its power has faded away?"

No matter its true nature, this pointed to some link with the gods right here.

That meant I could reach out to them somehow.

Even as I fought to stay hopeful, pushing back the creeping despair was no easy task.

"What if it doesn't work?"