I, the Lord of the Fifth Throne, am the source of all things!

So, how exactly can we make them happy?

"—Then I bestow upon you the 'moments' of happiness and joy—"

The gods from the heavens spoke softly, yet it seemed as if they were speaking right next to everyone's ear, resonating in everyone's spirit and soul.

The moment the deity responded to the emperor's wish, the enormous clock wheel in the sky began to turn.

The clock hands began to rotate counterclockwise, and a time force powerful enough to change the world began to reverse, unleashing a powerful fluctuation that distorted the world.

Whoosh whoosh whoosh whoosh...

Golden rain of light poured down from the sky, the first wave of divine grace descending.

Everyone struck by the light rain experienced a phenomenon of time reversal.

They are regaining their youth and vitality; their gray hair is gradually turning black, and wrinkles, age spots, scars, and other blemishes on their skin are fading away little by little in the struggle, leaving their skin smooth and new.

People with physical disabilities regained their former appearance with all four limbs intact, and people who had become old began to look young again.

Young people and young children alike clearly felt that they had been given the opportunity to live to a ripe old age, and that their bodies had become stronger and healthier.

This can indeed bring happiness and joy, but that's not all.

Amidst the dazzling light of that enormous clockwork, a kingdom from the high heavens appeared.

In that country, the people on earth saw countless human figures.

They all transformed into shooting stars, falling from the divine realm to the mortal world.

When they landed on the ground and came into view, everyone was stunned into silence.

Because they recognized these people, who were people who had long since died.

Some died from war, some from illness... They, who had long since passed away, reappeared before people, before their relatives, friends, and family.

"dad!!"

"Big Brother!!"

"It's you! Lando!!"

"You...you're alive! You're really alive!?"

The miracle of the dead coming back to life brought tears of joy and overwhelming emotion to the families, loved ones, and friends of the deceased.

Rejuvenation, resurrection... such miracles leave countless people stunned and driven mad.

Their fervent emotions immediately clouded their thinking, causing them to howl like madmen; only in this way could they vent their pent-up excitement, exhilaration, shock, and other emotions.

We don't know what the past was like, nor what the future holds, but everyone here feels happiness and joy right now.

On the day the empire was founded, the whole country was filled with a celebratory atmosphere.

This miracle was witnessed not only by the empire, but also by people living on the border and in other places.

When people from other places came to the empire, and those who later joined the empire to expand its territory, 99% of them felt their hearts were bleeding after realizing what they had missed.

I should have come to the Empire.

Why didn't the empire conquer our small country sooner?

Why didn't I come here before?

Why......

Accompanied by such feelings of resentment and regret, Kurumi Tokisaki's "Cult of God" began to experience explosive growth.

No one knows if such a miracle will ever happen again.

There's no harm in joining a cult so you won't miss out on such good things in the future.

Perhaps the god of time will grant me favors because of my piety, and perhaps because of my devout faith, I will receive the glory of ascending to God's kingdom after death...

Such wishful thinking exists in the minds of most people.

However, there will certainly not be any more miracles like today in the future.

King Solomon, the third king of Israel, performed only one miracle in his lifetime.

Too many miracles cease to be miracles.

The same applies to miracles; it is enough to let people know that gods do exist in the world.

Too many miracles will only terrify the people or corrupt them.

............

The Imperial Palace in the capital city is the emperor's sleeping quarters.

Duanmu Lian, Liu Zi, Tokisaki Kurumi, Honjou Nia, and Shu Ji are gathered together dealing with the enormous faith from the people.

The miracles that Kurumi Tokisaki accomplished before had almost used up all the time she had saved up.

The ability to reverse aging, to grant time, to be resurrected—all of these took a heavy toll on her.

However, such a huge investment yielded equally enormous results.

In addition to flowing into the statues of gods throughout the country, a portion of the power of faith also entered Kurumi Tokisaki's shadow space.

After being processed and modified by Duanmu Lian, Tokisaki Kurumi's shadow space was expanded hundreds of times, forming a huge shadow kingdom.

The continuous flow of faith power into the shadow space transformed into a part of the starry universe.

Because the power of faith contains complex thoughts, it needs to be filtered before it can be used with confidence.

Therefore, Duanmu Lian used the magic formulas in the magic book to weave a pseudo-divine kingdom for Tokisaki Kurumi in the shadow space.

The core of the pseudo-divine kingdom is another [Spirit Crystal].

Duanmu Lian, who was already capable of mass-producing the Third Spirit Crystal, used the most suitable material for Tokisaki Kurumi.

However, today, after absorbing a large amount of filtered faith power, the spiritual crystal, which was infused with divinity, has changed.

"It's a very special divine crystal. This change must be due to the relationship between the elves and the Kabbalah Tree of Life."

Duanmu Lian sat next to Tokisaki Kurumi, observing the shadow space that the other had opened in front of them.

At this moment, various mysterious and profound incantations were circulating within the shadow space, transforming into veins that transmitted and circulated the power of faith.

A large amount of faith power has been filtered and has now transformed into pure, liquid faith, forming sizable lakes and rivers in the shadow space.

However, none of these changes can compare to the spiritual crystallization that takes root and sprouts under the nourishment of the water of faith.

The spirit crystal has transformed into a glowing tree branch, which is thriving within the shadow space.

This is the change that occurs after the spiritual crystal transforms into a divine entity.

“Duanmu-jun, the spiritual power within my body has begun to sublimate into divine power, but at this rate, it will probably take a long time to complete.”

Sitting next to Duanmu Lian, Tokisaki Kurumi raised her slender white fingertips, and the spiritual power that was changing with the divine power floated on her fingertips. She could clearly sense the power that this change brought her.

"Slow is the right way. Your spiritual crystal is still missing something in its transformation into a godhood."

Duanmu Lian raised her finger and pointed to the spirit crystal branch that was sprouting in the shadow space, and said in a deep voice.

The spirit crystals in the shadow space are equivalent to Kurumi Tokisaki's Outer Path Golden Core; they are first used externally for experiments, and then used on herself.

However, the process of the spirit crystal transforming into a godhood is slow, and Duanmu Lian has already noticed the problem.

"It has only sprouted, but it has not taken root at all."

Looking at the spirit crystal in the shadow space, Shuji directly pointed out the most crucial issue.

Yes, the spiritual crystals that were transforming into divinity only grew branches, but did not take root.

Kurumi Tokisaki gazed intently at the shadow space and then sensed the changes in her own body. She did indeed feel that something was missing.

Duanmu Lian immediately took out relevant knowledge books and began to look for the source of the problem.

Five minutes later, Duanmu Lian looked at Tokisaki Kurumi and said in a deep voice:

"You overlooked the Reverse Kabbalah Tree of Life. Besides your [Angel] needing to transform, your [Demon] also needs to transform, otherwise it will become 'malnourished'."

"Aha!?"

Tokisaki Kurumi was somewhat bewildered after hearing Duanmu Lian's words.

Malnutrition... I guess that's more of a metaphor.

With Duanmu Lian's explanation, everyone present understood what was missing when the spirit crystal was transformed into a godhood.

That is the opposite of the elf, also known as the inverted form.

That is the qualitative change that occurs when a spirit falls into despair. After the reversal, the spirit is called the Reversed Spirit. The Reversed Spirit's Spirit Armor will change accordingly. In addition to the obvious change in Spirit Armor, the Reversed Spirit can manifest a weapon that is more powerful than an angel. This kind of "despair with form" is also called "Demon King".

Previously, we only focused on developing the [Angels], while neglecting the power of the [Demons].

If the upward-climbing tree is the true Kabbalah tree of life, then the downward-growing tree, rooted in the depths of hell, is the reverse Kabbalah tree of life.

"So, does that mean I have to master my Reversal Power?" Kurumi Tokisaki asked to confirm.

"Yes, you only possess the power of the [Angel] in your spirit crystal, but not the power of the [Demon King]. According to my calculations, you need more than just faith as a form of spiritual energy; you also need the negative emotional energy of fear."

"...fear?"

"Faith belongs to angels, fear belongs to demons. We have only nourished the angels within your spiritual crystal, but demons also need nourishment."

Duanmu Lian has analyzed and calculated everything needed for the Spirit Crystal.

The belief in positive energy is given to angels and belongs to the positive Kabbalah Tree of Life.

The fear of negative energy is given to demons and belongs to the reversed Kabbalah life number.

For a tree to grow upwards, its roots must grow deeper into the soil.

This is similar to the principle that if you want to grow taller and bigger, you need to lay a solid foundation.

"Let's try to turn things around, Kurumi."

Duanmu Lian calmly looked at Tokisaki Kurumi.

"Um... I remember that an elf reversal requires feelings of despair and pain, right?"

When Duanmu Lian suddenly wanted to reverse things, Tokisaki Kurumi's lips twitched slightly, and she shifted her position, creating a small distance between herself and Duanmu Lian.