The intricate black patterns spasmed and contracted. The bold totems withered like tree roots, the divine mark retreating inch by inch to reveal his smooth forehead.

  As Luo Wei held her breath and watched, the decaying black flower withdrew to his brow, shrinking into a tiny black dot. But the transformation wasn't over yet.

  A white light suddenly burst from the center of the black dot, devouring the surrounding mark. Like a seed in darkness absorbing nutrients, it was breaking through its shell, sprouting, and growing rapidly.

  Troy's brow grew hot. He finally realized what was happening and reached up to touch his forehead.

  "Don't move." Luo Wei blocked his hand with her wand. "Let me see."

  She frowned, staring intently at Troy's brow.

  The light completely swallowed the black dot, rose below his brow, and flowed clockwise around it—like a winding spiral galaxy falling between his brows, forming a brilliant silver ring.

  Around the outer edge of the silver ring mark, radiant light spread outward like the sun's silvery-white corona, or like the hands of time sweeping through the river of history, the spokes of history's wheel turning. They all spun endlessly.

  Luo Wei had a strong intuition. This was her mark—the symbol of time's authority, the representation of life's passage, the end of death, and the origin of rebirth.

  This was the totem of the God of Death and Time!

  She reached out and touched that unreal silver mark. Feeling the warm skin beneath her fingertips, her fingers trembled. Not an illusion.

  Did having her own divine mark mean she was one step closer to becoming a god?

  But she still hadn't figured out what the rules for becoming a god actually were.

  Faith? She didn't have many believers.

  Merit? She hadn't done nearly enough good deeds.

  The path to godhood seemed to have no rules. It wasn't like leveling up in a game with clear quests, nor like climbing a corporate ladder with strict hierarchies.

  She didn't know how many more steps lay ahead, didn't know what achievements she needed to reach the next level. She was always being pushed forward in a daze, waking up to find she'd somehow made progress.

  No, not completely random.

  She'd intervened in the war at Golu City and prevented the Wesley family's destruction.

  So the blessed mark was heaven's reward.

  "Troy," Luo Wei said softly, her dark eyes looking down at the knight kneeling before her. "Do you believe in the God of Death and Time?"

  The God of Death and Time?

  Troy said strangely, "Isn't that the god you made up to save Rosie..."

  Under Luo Wei's suddenly fierce glare, his voice grew weaker and weaker until it faded into silence, but his face still showed complete confusion.

  No matter how hard Troy racked his brain, he couldn't figure out what he'd said wrong.

  The God of Death and Time was clearly the deity she'd invented last year when saving Rosie. She'd even dressed up as a demon and told everyone she was the God of Death and Time's divine messenger, named Ferryman.

  Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

  He remembered it crystal clear. There was no way he was wrong!

  Seeing Troy's bewildered expression, Luo Wei couldn't help but laugh.

  His forehead bore her blessed mark, yet he said the God of Death and Time was something she'd made up!

  No wonder the God of the Undead was so angry. Who wouldn't be furious with such a blockhead believer?

  Thinking of the God of the Undead, Luo Wei's mood improved considerably.

  Troy knew the God of Death and Time was a deity she'd invented and still chose to believe, yet refused to believe in the God of the Undead, a legitimate god. Didn't that perfectly demonstrate Troy's loyalty to her?

  Luo Wei smiled at Troy. "Troy, I'm going to tell you a secret today."

  Troy's scalp tingled. "What secret?"

  Luo Wei: "Actually, the God of Death and Time is a real deity. They're a god from our Misty Plains, and I am a fragment of their consciousness descended into this world."

  Troy's eyes wandered. Having seen her fool others countless times, he wasn't so easily deceived anymore.

  "Don't believe me?"

  Seeing his doubt, Luo Wei pulled a hand mirror from her spatial ring and held it out.

  "I just erased the God of the Undead's mark and made you blessed by the God of Death and Time. You can use this bronze mirror to look and see if a new divine mark has appeared on your forehead."

  Seeing Troy hesitate, she added, "Or you can pray to the God of Death and Time and see if they respond."

  Troy chose the bronze mirror. He slowly raised it, nervously looking at his reflection.

  When the mirror clearly reflected his current appearance, he froze.

  Was that face in the mirror really him?

  He hadn't looked in a mirror for two years. The face in the mirror had matured considerably compared to before his escape, making him feel somewhat unfamiliar.

  But soon he had no time to dwell on the traces time had left on his face. His gaze was completely captured by the silver mark at his brow.

  The large patches of twisted black totems were gone, replaced by this small silver ring pattern. The flowing silver light was like a miniature of the Milky Way and stars on a midsummer night, its brilliant radiance seeming to pierce his eyes.

  "See it?" Luo Wei walked behind him, her teasing gaze falling on his face in the mirror.

  Troy also saw her in the mirror. His vision suddenly blurred. He lowered his eyes in panic, his voice hoarse. "I... I see it..."

  Luo Wei: "Believe it or not?"

  Troy's Adam's apple moved with difficulty. "I believe..."

  Luo Wei smiled.

  An honest person on guard was indeed harder to fool, but honest people were still honest. They didn't understand how deep a con artist's tricks ran, always falling for one trap after another.

  The best lies were always half true, half false. Unfortunately, Troy's world was black and white—he couldn't grasp this principle.

  Luo Wei patted Troy's shoulder. "My knight, your loyalty to me—my true form in heaven has felt it. Therefore, I've granted you divine favor."

  "But you still need to be careful. I have a grudge against the supreme gods of the Western Continent. They caused my best friend, the Goddess of Life, to fall. The God of the Undead and I wounded them, and their angels are searching the mortal realm for traces of me. Don't let those angels catch you."

  Troy's pupils shook. That one sentence contained massive amounts of information. His brain cells twisted around each other until they nearly crashed.

  What? The Goddess of Life's fall was caused by the Sun and Moon Gods?

  She and the Goddess of Life were good friends, and she and the God of the Undead fought the Sun and Moon Gods together?

  Wait, she'd lied to him again!

  She'd told him before that the God of the Undead gave her Demon Island because she looked like their daughter!

  He'd thought something was off then. How could a god treat a human as their daughter? Now this explanation made sense. She was also a god—she and the God of the Undead had known each other all along.

  Troy's mind raced. All the questions he couldn't understand before now had answers.

  Why did Luo Wei dare impersonate the God of Death and Time's messenger to save people? Because she was that deity's incarnation.

  Why did she dare recruit mercenaries to go to Demon Island? Because she knew Demon Island was the God of the Undead's territory. Maybe the God of the Undead had already given her the island before she went.

  Why did she always like making friends with beastmen and demon races, and secretly develop her forces after coming from the Misty Plains to the Western Continent? Because she had a grudge against the Sun and Moon Gods. She came specifically to deal with the Church and take revenge!

  Troy gasped. After the brief shock passed, his blood boiled with heat, his entire body trembling with intensity.

  An ordinary knight's ultimate dream was only to become a Holy Knight, dedicating body and soul to a deity, protecting the deity's representative—the Pope.

  But he could directly become a god's knight, protecting a true deity, wielding his sword in righteous battle for a god!

  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  patreon.com/BZDXG - Unlock a HUGE stash of advance chapters now!

  Dive deeper into the story ahead of everyone else!