---Third POV---
Because most of the remaining bones had cracks, as if they might break further at any moment.
Hedgehog could only do his best to catch them mid-air to prevent secondary trauma.
But Luminaris was moving so fast and recklessly that Hedgehog almost fell off the wall!
Still, having Luminaris helping out had its advantages. The speed of collecting Viktor's fragments increased significantly.
"Here's another piece!"
ProGamer_Daddy held up an unidentifiable bone and ran to the church entrance.
There, the white bones were already laid out on the ground like a street vendor's display.
Garble counted the bones on the ground. "Three hundred twenty-one, three hundred twenty-two... five hundred one... six hundred thirty-three. Hmm, that should be all of them."
Even if there were a few missing, it probably wasn't much.
NeverShowOff frowned sympathetically. "So this is how much space human bones take up when spread out?"
Hedgehog scratched his head. "Can someone tell me what exactly happened here?"
Just a moment ago, he had been listening to Garble explain how the faction leader had authority comparable to game GMs.
But in the next moment, the faction leader had exploded!
"What kind of plot is this? Doesn't anyone know?"
The players exchanged confused looks.
If they knew, would they all be standing here dumbfounded?
LootGoblin looked doubtful. "The guy's shattered into this many pieces. Are you sure he's still alive?"
"Whatever it is, it's better than him exploding and the game shutting down on the spot," ProGamer_Daddy waved dismissively.
For whatever reason, keeping the game running was the priority.
He turned to look at Edgar, whose face was dark and grim, and felt a chill.
"Hey, Lord Viktor isn't really done for, right?"
Edgar snapped back to reality and shook his head. "These injuries won't kill him."
But they'll make Viktor's situation much worse, he thought.
What worried him more was the deeper implications of the ritual.
"…" You call this minor injuries?!
Edgar crouched down.
"Leave the rest to me. Once the body is put back together, Vik can handle the rest."
He picked through the pile of bones, occasionally selecting a piece.
Before long, he had assembled two fingers.
ProGamer_Daddy gaped. "He's so skilled, it's heartbreaking."
NeverShowOff's face was dark. "Would it kill you to stop joking in situations like this?"
Mimicking Edgar's actions, he crouched down and began comparing bones. "I studied a bit of anatomy before; I should be able to help!"
"I'm in too!" Garble joined him.
Human skeletal structure was something drilled into his head as soon as he entered the military.
"I guess I'll help as well," ProGamer_Daddy said, grabbing two bones and trying to match them. "Might as well treat it like a 3D puzzle."
The veteran players stepped up one by one.
Not to be outdone, the newer players also rushed in to help.
When Viktor's body was finally pieced together, Edgar distributed magicoins from the mission rewards.
Yet, not a single player left.
This was obviously hidden plot content—only an idiot would leave now!
---Viktor's POV---
When I woke up from the chaos, I hadn't even fully processed my body's condition before finding myself staring at a circle of fluffy heads above me.
"…"
The players were more excited than I was.
"He's glowing! The flames in his eye sockets are lit—he's alive!"
Another player leaned closer and held up two fingers. "Leader, look here. How many fingers am I holding up?"
"You're awake! And guess what, you're a girl now!"
NeverShowOff quickly pulled the players back. "Shh, keep quiet! Don't break him into pieces again!"
As the only notable gaming content creator for Chronicles of Aeltia, his words carried weight.
The other players nodded repeatedly and stepped back, even slowing their breathing.
They treated me as if I were fragile porcelain.
I struggled to sit up, glancing around. This was where players logged off to sleep.
The floor was covered with grass fabric they'd bought for 10 magicoins.
It is a bit hard.
Aside from the players, Luminaris, Edgar, and Alyanne were also present.
"Your injuries are too severe," Edgar explained, handing me a bottle of sapphire-blue potion, only as big as two thumbs.
"This is the last vial. It should restore your ability to speak."
Luminaris hesitated to get closer. "How do you feel? Please don't die!"
I poured the potion over my head, coughing violently as its effects kicked in.
"Cough, cough! I think I'll survive for now."
My voice was weak and hoarse.
"Also, who put my hand bones back? They're reversed."
ProGamer_Daddy jolted upright. "Impossible! I double-checked several times!"
"What's going on? Did the NPC just catch you mixing up left and right?" LootGoblin mocked mercilessly.
After laughing, he suddenly found himself the center of attention—all of us were staring at him.
He mimed zipping his lips shut. "Not another word."
Edgar turned to me. "Should I ask them to leave?"
ProGamer_Daddy and LootGoblin panicked.
A sea of arms quickly shot out from behind, covering their mouths.
"Mmph!"
"Mmph!"
NeverShowOff quickly promised, "Don't worry, we've got these two under control. We absolutely won't interrupt!"
With that, they retreated to the wall, as if putting more distance between us would make them invisible.
My mood, initially sour, improved slightly.
Silly players never failed to live up to their reputation.
"Let them stay. Someone needs to know what happened."
As I absorbed the potion's effects, my speech grew smoother.
Luminaris darted in front of me, visibly anxious.
"Yes, what happened earlier? Why did Sel'Kanus' divine power fall onto you?!"
I watched as his expression shifted through various stages of confusion and denial, his head shaking vigorously at whatever conclusions he was reaching.
The way his eyes darted between me and empty space suggested he was deep in thought about something concerning gods.
I adjusted my reversed hands and chuckled softly.
"You're so narrow-minded. Do you think the only use for divine power is granting blessings to chosen ones?"
"Divine power uses..."
He repeated, suddenly freezing. He didn't even have time to question me reading his thoughts before looking up in shock.
"A resurrection ritual! Sel'Kanus is trying to resurrect through you!!!"
"Correct. No prize, though."
I checked the bottle to make sure not a single drop of potion remained before setting it aside with a look of regret.
Our team's potion reserves were dangerously low.
Being weak was truly terrifying; every step was a dead end.
Luminaris, unable to accept this, bristled like a startled cat.
"How is that possible?! You don't have the his divine essence, nor are you a willing sacrifice. How could he resurrect through you?!"
"Why is he showing signs of revival while the God of Light hasn't?"
"What's your relationship with Sel'Kanus?!"
"Why should I answer your question?" I asked.
If resurrection rituals had to be voluntary, wouldn't that make the gods look bad?
Luminaris froze mid-motion as he hovered in the air.
I casually set him aside, expertly silencing him and restricting his movements. That was the tyranny of a one-sided contract.
Even though I was so weak that I could barely stand, I still had him completely under my control.
Through probing, I discovered that the memories Luminaris had access to were pitifully few. Probably even less than the inherited memories the gods received at their creation. No wonder his intellect resembled that of a four- or five-year-old child.
After confirming his identity, I decided to leave him alone for now. What I needed to do was wrap up the monologue that the players couldn't understand. I needed to give them some solid story content to motivate them to level up and complete their quests.
For now, I couldn't let Alyanne know about any of this. So, I tactfully asked her to leave.
She glanced at the surrounding crowd, who hadn't moved, looking somewhat embarrassed. Still, she could understand my wariness. As someone who had only signed a 50-year indentured contract, she wasn't suited to learn about deeply classified matters.
It wouldn't be good for either me or herself.
Without saying a word, she quietly closed the door as she left.
---
I turned my attention to Edgar.
He sighed and began to speak cooperatively.
"Sel'Kanus is one of the earliest new gods to ascend. He is the husband of Eileen Alves, the Goddess of Water."
"Though a new god, he is a staunch supporter of the ancient gods. With the divine authority Eileen willingly shared with him, he actually resembles an ancient god more than she does."
"He is also called the Lord of Tides and the King of the Seas and is the creator of the siren race. His date of birth is unknown."
"He perished six hundred years ago in the Divine War, and his divine body has not been found. All that remains is the weapon he carried—a trident worshipped by generations of sirens."
"Using an artifact to anchor divine power is far more efficient than using a shattered divine essence and makes absorbing faith easier. By this point, it makes sense that the sirens would have gathered enough divine power to perform a resurrection ritual."
When he finished, I picked up where he left off.
"Creating a new god from scratch is the most wasteful method, with the highest risk of failure. The best option is to find a highly compatible vessel for the resurrected god to inhabit. Unfortunately, I am that chosen vessel—or rather, my compatibility with all gods is 100%."
Whether it was an ancient or new god, any of them could take over my body if they wanted to. But I wasn't ready to die, so I was, of course, unwilling to let someone else take over my body. That's why I had been fighting the white light for control over my body.
The god-resurrection ritual was tyrannical.
Although its success rate was pitiful, whether it succeeded or failed, the chosen vessel would die! The only solution was to forcibly expel the invading power from the beginning, preventing it from reshaping and assimilating the body.
"Wow, a perfect furnace!" Hedgehog exclaimed. "A 100% compatibility rate—that's a furnace physique!"
"No, that's more like a possession physique!" LootGoblin slapped his knee in rebuttal.
"..." I remained silent. Thanks, great insight. Next time, don't say it.
Ignoring the players' chatter, I continued explaining. "There have already been several similar god-resurrection rituals—this is the fifth."
"And the most devastating one," Edgar added.
In the previous worst case, I had only been shattered into over 300 pieces. I nodded and lavishly praised him: "Speaking of which, we have the legendary Knight of Dawn to thank!"
If he hadn't intervened, I would have been in for an even worse fate.
Although I could survive this ultra-long-distance resurrection ritual, I'd be in trouble if my bones shattered into four digits. If that happened, no amount of piecing together would make my body usable again. I'd be forced to possess something lower than an undead creature.
After much consideration, my only option would be a slime.
"Your praise is too much for me," Edgar said solemnly, before questioning me. "Even if the Deep Sea Cult developed beyond expectations, you shouldn't have been completely defenseless. What happened in the white light?"
"Ahem, let's discuss that later," I deflected, coughing into my hand. "If I recall correctly, you told me Claire didn't come looking for me because she returned to the siren tribe to stop the sacrificial ceremony?"
The Sirens, as Sel'Kanus' staunchest supporters, happened to be conducting the resurrection ritual for the God of Sea. It was likely they were behind the ceremony!
Edgar nodded. "She told me the ceremony was scheduled for these days."
Claire had returned to her tribe intending to stop the ritual. Now that the ceremony had proceeded smoothly, she hadn't sent any warnings or updates...
"She is likely in grave danger," Edgar speculated.
"Not necessarily," I quickly rebutted. "Something may have gone wrong on her end, but she's definitely still alive."
The white light had descended so swiftly that I had no time to dodge. But its lack of follow-through suggested that the ritual had hit a snag at the end. Since Edgar confirmed her whereabouts, I was willing to believe the final anomaly was caused by Claire's intervention.
"From the time you lost consciousness until you woke up, I received no distress signals from her," Edgar said.
I suggested, "Perhaps she's trapped somewhere, unable to act?"
I raised a hand and gently patted him on the shoulder. "Young man, don't dwell on the worst-case scenario. Think positively. Maybe she's just waiting for us to rescue her."
Edgar silently pulled out his broken silver sword, which had been split in two under the strain of divine power. The once-radiant blade was now dull, its jagged edges uneven. The gem embedded in the hilt was also missing.
Then he looked up at me, who couldn't even lift my hand without difficulty.
His tone was one of pure skepticism. "Just us?"
"..." I was silent.