What you think you know, you actually do not know. That is to say, the long read is not going to be very long after all. The scroll, in its open, magnificent form, began to separate from the runes written on it. The runes formed a galaxy of dimly glowing whispers lining up in front of Samuel, waiting for him to accept them into his mind. If he did not have any experience with similar techniques in the form of Mortal’s Ascent, then he would have been consumed by the ocean of whispers already. But, because of his enforced mind and the people thinking about his scuffle with the Overlord Sect, he gained a certain amount of command over the Path of Faith. The Path of Faith, as indicated by its name, is a form of cultivation based on the infinite and often unused potential of the sentient mind. A being's thoughts and emotions all contain one of the most mysterious forms of energy ever known. This energy needs a place to go after the thought or emotion passes, which most often is reintegrating with the fabric of the universe, but some creative souls have managed to discover a way of directing it into themselves for their own betterment. That is the Path of Faith—the improvement of the soul, which in turn improves the physical body.

“This sound is unfathomably grating to my ears. Please don’t tell me that I'll have to deal with this all the time after absorbing the knowledge. I won’t go crazy, right? I mean, surely the Path of Faith is superior to Mortal’s Ascent. The latter might have those dangers, but the former must be superior in safety and power. No person would choose to cultivate in this way if it leads to the erasing of their self or insanity. Hopefully."

With no time to waste and immeasurable confidence in himself, Samuel simply opened his mind to allow the whispering runes to surge into his mind. What do you think happened? Did he absorb all the information without a hitch? Did he engage in a badass struggle for control of his mind before finally succeeding in his endeavor, transcending mortality forever? Or did he perhaps pass out instantly before relying on luck to survive and integrate with the technique? Hint: He was dreaming about how he would become the god in everyone's hearts as the integration took place. That’s right, he passed out as the first rune entered his mind! Samuel is simply so superior to other creatures that he doesn’t have to stay awake to cultivate one of the most difficult and dangerous techniques in existence and non-existence alike. Or he’s too weak, with his mind not being capable of processing the information at an adequate speed. Who knows? However, what is known is that the integration lasted for exactly 90 days. For 90 days, he lay inside the inventory, basking in its purple glow. Moments before Samuel woke up, however, he was ejected by the rune, reappearing in the derelict cavern.

“Cough, cough. Eww, what is that? Fucking dust and shit in my mouth upon waking up is NOT okay. No, I won't stand for this. Revenge! Revenge is in order. Guy who stayed here before me, just wait, you bitch. Hmm, Mina stayed here? Thank you for the information; I won't forget it. Do you need some help? What do you mean? Dead? Um, sure, buddy, you are definitely very dead; I think I should go now. I have revenge to get to, you know? No, no, I 100% believe you; I just have things to do. Oh, someone else seems to need my help nearby. What do you mean, stop using excuses? She is literally screaming into my ears; what part of that is an excuse? Stop playing dumb. If I can hear it, there is no reason for you not to. Wait, we’ll continue this baffling conversation after I send a quick helping hand to her. By Creation. Okay, it’s done. Where were we?”

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What the fuck is happening? Samuel is sitting and rambling to himself in the cave, acting like there are people around. Even more confusing was the fact that he actually cast By Creation to some mysterious place not known to even himself. Had he truly lost his mind? Well, no. To any other creature in close proximity, it would seem that way, but someone truly was speaking to him. Not just someone; a lot of people. However, only a few of them were potent enough to be understood and truly heard. Among them was the aged voice of a male. The voice was so potent that a physical projection of his form appeared in Samuel’s mind, making him believe he was truly there. This was the reason why Samuel did not at all believe the man when he said he was dead, which he was. How he was dead and speaking to Samuel was unknown since it seems to go against the laws of the Balamier Universe, but none of them know about this, so it’s irrelevant.

“Oh, it was no problem. It’s always nice to help. Okay, old man, back to our conversation. You are not dead, because I am not dead. How could we possibly talk if what you are saying is true? In all my years in this realm, I have yet to see any form of undead. Whether they’re ghosts or liches, none of them can be found here. No tales of spirits or the supernatural seem to be circulating either. So, the conclusion is that you are a liar and a fraud. You slag. If you truly are dead, tell me how you died then.”

Silence consumed the cavern as one of the most disturbing and unhinged tales of greed and deception was narrated to Samuel.

Samuel: “...”

“Paul… WHY WOULD YOU TELL ME THIS!? Now I have to live with this, and for some strange reason, I'm seeing the scenes playing as you told me. This is hell! I’m in hell. Oh god, make it go away. Animus Imperium. Damn, it doesn’t work on me!”

I don’t know what kind of misery Samuel was witnessing, but it must be mind-destroying because the obvious solution to his problem is echoing throughout his soul constantly. Paul, the old man, is capable of projecting his voice throughout universes and dimensions to reach Samuel because of his prayer for revenge. Intense thoughts and emotions are the foundation of the Path of Faith. If a person praying or doing wishful thinking truly wants something, then their voices will echo across the nothingness to reach creatures like Samuel or the different gods in Balamier. Paul was in the right place, doing the appropriate things to reach Samuel, albeit unknowingly, resulting in this situation. For Samuel to stop seeing the visions, he will simply have to resolve Paul’s wish: revenge. However, regardless of how simple it truly is, Samuel will still need quite a while to collect himself enough to realize this. Then comes the problem of how he can help someone in a different universe. As Mike said earlier, Samuel is far from powerful enough to wander the void. He can only stay in selective zones where there is a surplus of stable space and void energy to sustain himself. If he were to, say, move a thousand meters backwards from where he was standing in the void earlier, he would have been torn asunder from the intersecting spaces present.