Chapter 196: Amaiia

After Saifaar and Xianai finished their discussion, both were plagued by headaches over the general's recklessness; Saifaar sighed, looked around, and then remembered that he hadn't seen Amaiia all day.

"Where's the boy?" Concerned that others might hear, Saifaar asked vaguely.

"He's in the guesthouse."

Since Amaiia saw wanted posters bearing his likeness plastered all over the city, he was terrified to step outside the gate and hid in the camp's guesthouse day after day. That actually eased Saifaar's and Xianai's minds; they met with the general daily and had no spare time to tend to a child.

Although Xianai was not worried, the fact that the temple forces were dispatching every army to search for the boy raised her vigilance; whatever the shaman group's motives, if Amaiia's presence in the city were uncovered, it could even jeopardize the secret alliance between the Golden Legion and the Alliance.

With that in mind, Xianai hurriedly said goodbye to Saifaar and the warrior who had been watching her, returned to the guesthouse, and prepared to speak with Amaiia, urging him to be more cautious.

The guesthouse they stayed in was a standalone two‑story building, with Amaiia's room on the second floor; as Xianai stepped onto the stairs, she suddenly sensed a very subtle divine power fluctuation.

Her expression changed; only the shaman of the Maztek Continent could wield Divine Spell—could the temple have discovered Amaiia's presence here?

Xianai hurried up to the second floor, flung the door open, but the scene inside was not what she expected.

She saw Amaiia floating mid‑air in the room, eyes tightly shut, a green circular Spell Circle appearing on the ceiling, and at its center a green long sword.

The sword pointed directly at Amaiia, and a green beam of light linked them like a tether; though called a tether, the energy beam continuously poured into Amaiia's body, seeming more like it was siphoning the sword's power.

Xianai's sudden intrusion startled Amaiia; he snapped his eyes open, stared blankly at her, the Spell Circle on the ceiling vanished with a sound, and the green long sword whooshed into Amaiia's body.

Amaiia fell to the floor, cried out in pain, and, feeling a bit guilty, looked at Xianai and said, "Sister, why are you here?"

Xianai's face was cold, her eyes wary as she looked at him and asked, "What's going on, are you a shaman?"

Even though it was only a few seconds, she clearly saw the Rune on the circular formation, filled with prayers and praises to the deity—a typical Divine Power Rune.

Amaiia kept his lips tightly shut, bowed his head to the floor, and his body trembled slightly.

Seeing him stay silent, Xianai did not brush the matter aside; although she was kind‑hearted, no Mage's intellect is flawed—this boy who appeared out of nowhere not only attracted the Maztek Church's attention but also concealed his use of Divine Spell, and she instinctively sensed something amiss.

"What exactly is happening? What is that green sword?" Xianai pressed, asking again.

Amaiia hesitated for a moment, then seemed to make up his mind and whispered, "I am a chosen of His Majesty Qier Tizi."

Once he opened his mouth, the rest flowed out of Amaiia like a smooth stream.

It turned out that Amaiia's true identity was that of a chosen of the goddess of love, health, and fertility—His Majesty Qier Tizi's chosen.

Amaiia had been a wandering orphan since childhood, not knowing his parents, and survived by begging in Du Zula City.

A child with no strength at all, living in a brutal militaristic society, Amaiia shouldn't have had a chance to survive.

But he survived.

The reason was that ever since he could remember, a voice had constantly appeared in his mind, guiding him and granting him power.

The voice claimed to be the goddess of love, health, and fertility, yet Amaiia had never heard of that deity's name. Qier Tizi said she had been erased into the dust of history, but she still retained consciousness only because a fragment of her essence remained in a personal weapon she had left behind.

Amaiia was the first person able to communicate with her, proving his affinity for Qier Tizi's power was exceptionally high; most chosen in the world, unless directly fashioned by a deity, share this trait—religiously speaking, they are predestined to worship that god.

It is this sense of destiny that, after a chosen ascends to the divine realm, grants them the title of Saint, also called Apostle.

Thus Amaiia became Qier Tizi's chosen.

Qier Tizi's power was so weakened that even as her chosen, the strength she bestowed was only enough for Amaiia to use a single‑ring Divine Spell three or four times a day.

Nevertheless, with this special ability and Qier Tizi's careful guidance, Amaiia survived using his own strength.

But this situation changed a few dozen days ago.

A mysterious force shattered the seal that bound Qier Tizi's Artifact, and Qier Tizi felt it immediately.

Before that, the seal had continuously siphoned the Artifact's own energy, keeping it weak; although Qier Tizi had long known where her Artifact lay, she was powerless.

Thus, the moment the seal was destroyed, an excited Qier Tizi sensed it, quickly summoned her Artifact, and under her Summoning, the Artifact tore through the void to appear beside Amaiia—it was that green long sword.

!

With the Artifact's aid, Qier Tizi could grant Amaiia more power; to enable her chosen to better protect the Artifact, Qier Tizi infused divine power into Amaiia whenever no one was around, raising his shaman rank.

In just a month, Amaiia rose from a level‑2 shaman when they first met to a level‑9 shaman now.

"So that's how it is."

Xianai fell into thought; although Amaiia's words were hard to believe, his sincere demeanor convinced her.

However, she knew he hadn't told the whole truth and must be hiding some secrets. For example, why the temple was after him— even worshipping a vanished deity shouldn't warrant such a massive shamanic effort, right?

Yet, living in a world teeming with gods, Xianai knew some secrets were beyond her station to probe; if a deity truly stood behind Amaiia, even a dead one, she could not afford to offend.

"So what are you planning now?" Xianai asked hesitantly.

Now that she knows the truth, she doesn't believe Amaiia is stuck here simply because he has nowhere else to go.

Don't forget, he's now a level‑9 shaman! Though he's young, he could live respectably in any small tribe.

Amaiia's gaze grew distant, as if conversing in his mind with an unseen presence.

The next moment, his expression darkened, his eyes flashed with dazzling green light, and a mature, gentle female voice spoke from his mouth.

"I will destroy the Tezka and Azur churches."

(End of Chapter)