(MC POV)
The tunnel had no lights but that didn't matter to Iris or me who could just make it such that we could see no matter the circumstances.
I inspected the carvings on the walls, wondering who could have made all this.
They all seem to be depicting some kind of heroic or godlike figure as their main subject. Judging by how some of the carvings had people worshipping the figure, I'd guess it was a god or something along those lines.
Why would something like this be present behind my disciple's wardrobe? Was this something new that was built in the past three years? Was it some kind of hidden tunnel that was already present even before I came here? Who could have built this and for what purpose?
Good thing I already told omniscience to shut up for the whole of today or my surprise would have been ruined.
I even told Iris not to spoil me about it too. Only if I can't figure this out by myself would I consider taking a peek at the answer.
Now let's go deeper in to find out who's behind all this!
.Iris turned to me, "Master, if you want to know who made this--"
"Ah, ah… What did I say, Iris? Don't tell me, please. Here, I'm going to teach you that sometimes finding out things the hard way makes things much more interesting than if you already knew beforehand."
"Ara? But wouldn't that just be a waste of time?"
"Pffft, we have all the time in existence, why shouldn't we just enjoy things slowly? Besides, weren't you talking about how you were willing to wait billions of years just for me?"
"Fufufu~ To wait for Master is a different matter than waiting for someone else of much less significance. Speaking of which… Since there's no hindrances around now… Could Master…"
I knew what she wanted and motioned for her to come closer and reached up to pat her head.
Iris giggled and squirmed, acting more like a love-struck girl than the cosmic phenomenon she was supposed to be.
Once she was satisfied, we continued down the staircase until we reached a giant cavern.
I didn't even know that such a cavern existed underneath our Sect.
Judging by how symmetrical and straight the walls were, this cavern was most definitely not natural and most likely man made.
In the centre of the cavern was a giant cathedral-like building that I was quite surprised to find here. The fact that it doesn't look old meant it was only recently built.
"Master…" Xun Guan suddenly whispered from my collar. "If I may suggest… Could we leave this place alone?"
"Eh? Why?"
My slime girl hesitated, "I admit that I know what this place is and what purpose it serves… But I don't know if it's wise for Master to know…"
Iris's eyes lowered dangerously to my shirt, "Ara? Is this slime monster trying to decide what Master can or cannot know?"
Xun Guan was immediately petrified by her stare so I had to step in, "Iris, no."
She looked away and said nothing more, allowing Xun Guan to breathe again.
"Now, you were saying, Xun Guan?"
She was silent for a moment before she finally relented, "No… Mistress Iris is right. This shouldn't be something hidden from Master. Just… Be prepared I suppose…"
Well that just sounds ominous… Now I'm hesitating a little bit on whether I should actually continue.
"If Master wished, I could End everything here and save you the trouble too," Iris suggested.
"I don't even know how that would help with anything?"
"If this place doesn't exist, then there's no need for Master to think or worry about this place, right?"
That's quite an extreme leap of logic you did there Iris…
I shook my head, "No, no. I don't mind this place at all. So let's just go and see what this place is, ok?"
"Ara? But Master, I already know what this place is. I can simply just tell you."
"Like I said, just let me find out for myself."
"Hmm… If that is what Master wishes then I shall not say more."
We reached the cathedral building's entrance and I looked up at the stained glass art directly above the double doors.
The glass was depicting a man floating in the air with his arms stretched out in a sort of welcoming gesture, he actually looks kind of charming.
I'm guessing this might be the figure of worship for this place, maybe this is a place of worship dedicated to one of the gods of this world?
That reminds me… I never actually met any of the gods of this world so I'm wondering if that's fine? Maybe I should like… Go meet them and let them know that I'm currently staying in their world or something?
While my thoughts were occupied in thinking about how I should go meet the gods of this world, I reached for the door and pulled it open as silently as I could.
Peeking inside, I realised that this wasn't just a building that looked like a cathedral, it was indeed functioning as a cathedral of some sort. There were multiple rows of pews facing towards the end of the building where an elaborate altar was even set up.
The cathedral was filled to the brim with people, so much so that quite a number of people had no place to sit and had to stand at the sides of the hall.
Behind the altar was a giant painting of who I assume to be the god of this…
Eh?
The figure on that painting that hung on the wall behind the altar… Why does he look suspiciously like me?
"The picture is you, Master…" Xun Guan whispered.
Me? Why would there be a picture of me here?
"Fellow believers!" A voice called out, surprising me out of my stupor.
I shifted my gaze to the altar and I was utterly flabbergasted to see Delta standing there, wearing what looks like a church priestess's garb.
The elf swung her hand in an arc, "These three years were the darkest of times! The world had forsaken our Master and even dared to pronounce Him dead! We were bullied and ridiculed, doubts may have even sprouted in the hearts of some but today! Today our patience and belief has borne fruit! The one that we worship has returned!"
The people inside the cathedral cheered.
Now that I got a proper look at the hall, I realised the other servants of Guiying were here as well. Alpha, Beta and Gamma were standing off to the side and looking up at Delta with smiles on their faces.
In fact, I recognised a lot of the people here were also Heaven Sect members. Heck, even Sect Master Qing was seated amongst the crowd.
Didn't I just rescue you? How did you even get here so fast?
Eh… The other servants of my house are here too... Even Sophia, the former demon lord, was seated in the pews for some reason.
But that was not the most surprising thing, no.
The most surprising thing was Delta gesturing off towards the side of the hall, "Our High Priestesses have returned with news of His return! Our Golden Age is at hand! The ones who are against us will burn once more!"
Right there were my disciples, all of them looking especially proud of themselves.
Ok…
Just this once… Just this one question...
Erm… Omniscience… Please tell me what exactly is going on here?