He wasn't rash or righteous in character; he could only strive to do the right thing as long as he ensured his own safety, gathering as much information as possible before forming a plan.
The Scepter Priest was still begging for mercy frantically.
The golden embryo continued to hover, unmovable.
It did not respond, had no emotions, not even the action of "listening" — it merely existed, like the center of the universe, with everything as its nourishment.
A wizard on the brink of death lay on the ground, using his last ounce of strength to raise his head, glaring at the Scepter Priest, his voice hoarse: "Fool... do you still not understand at this point?"
The Scepter Priest was taken aback.
"You... you priests... the god you are trying to create..." The wizard's mouth bled, yet he revealed a mocking smile, "It doesn't need you... it doesn't need any 'servant'... what it desires is... for everything to become a part of it..." he gasped, the last words almost inaudible.
"It... is its own... priest... its own disciple... its own god..." Before the words fell, his body utterly withered, turning into a mummy, dragged away by the Ghost Bride.
The Scepter Priest was stupefied.
He finally understood.
They thought they were creating a god, but in reality, they were nurturing an entity that devours all. This embryo does not need faith because it is the endpoint of faith itself; it does not need priests because it can convert all life into its extension; it does not need believers because it wants the entire world to become its "body."
It is not a "god," but an anti-god — a supreme existence that refuses to be defined, worshipped, or separated. What it craves is not dominion, but fusion.
"No!"
The Scepter Priest could not accept such a situation.
He realized one most severe problem, one he had always ignored. The artificial Sun God plan was indeed progressing smoothly, but this Sun God embryo had misunderstood the meaning of the sun shining over all things! This was a reverse perception, intending to turn everything into a part of the "sun," and he and the other priests had ultimately botched the experiment!
As if to verify the information the Scepter Priest and Ian received simultaneously.
A newly transformed mummy slowly turned its head, the hollow eye sockets "watching" the priest, the jaw opening and closing with a raspy voice: "No need... to serve... all things... are me..."
It was clear that this was the embryo expressing its will through the living corpse. These words were like the final death knell. The Scepter Priest dazedly looked around, suddenly noticing that all the mummies had fleshy buds on their foreheads pointing in the same direction — with each transformation of a sacrifice, the network of control by the meat egg expanded a bit.
"So that's it..." An Old Wizard dragged into the corner laughed tragically, "You haven't created a god at all; you've created a plague! It wants to turn all life into a part of itself!"
The Scepter Priest felt like he was struck by lightning. He suddenly recalled the warning in ancient texts.
[The Pseudo-God devours, the true God bestows blessings.]
This should have been the first commandment rigorously prohibited, but now the Scepter Priest only realized it was the truth. But it was too late, seven Ghost Brides had already gathered around him.
Their red veils moved without wind, revealing the mummy-like bodies beneath.
"No... you cannot..."
The Scepter Priest retreated in despair until his back hit the meat egg. Sensing the touch of a living creature, the meat egg suddenly split open with a crack, countless golden threads extending out like tentacles, instantly piercing into the priest's seven orifices. His screams turned into an inhuman shriek. His eyeballs bulged, pupils at the last moment reflecting the horrific truth.
The essence of that embryo was a creature with the visage of a Sun God... but devoid of any humanity.