Chapter 793 Timeskip (1) The church of cowards
( Time-Skip )
[ 12 years after the birth of Kremeth Jr. ]
As Zippo finally returned to Dombivli a full 12 years after the incident with Angakok, he could almost not recognise the place anymore-
The Dombivli that he had left was a well planned city that had two or three storeyed civilian housing predominantly covering every sector and modestly empty streets.
The Dombivili he returned to on the other hand, had barely any two storeyed housing left at all as it looked like an urban metropolitan with high rise buildings and crowded streets.
The war against Dracula had taken it's toll and many individuals had lost their home planets in the attack while many had chosen to flee their home planets to seek a better life in Dombivli which was considered a relatively safe haven.
While almost every other lordship had suffered surprise attacks from Dracula in the past decade, losing anywhere from one to two planets under their control. The Bloodfall clan was left untouched and the commoners believed that the reason behind it was that the Bloodfall lord Max, was a Rajput.
Not even Dracula had the balls to antagonise Shakuni The Terrifying as it seemed like he was the only god that Dracula paid any respect to.
12 years ago, in his thirst to get stronger, Zippo had left with the clear goal to only return to Dombivli as a god with some means, and although it took him a while to get there, he had finally achieved his ambition.
He was now a tier6 god with some powerful and ingenious divine techniques under his belt that gave him the confidence to return to Dombivli with his head held high.
In the past decade he had undergone several adventures on his own and had gained significant strength by encountering several near death encounters.
Although he was by no means a powerhouse that even a monarch would have to acknowledge, having him in the Bloodfall clan was undoubtedly a reassurance as his current strength rivalled that of a 250,000 strong legion.
On his return to Dombivli , a peculiar sight that caught his attention on his way to the Dombivli palace was the Church of Coward's.
The church of cowards had grown absurdly large in the past decade, amassing millions upon millions of followers.
Initially it was only Max and Sebastian who talked weirdly about the way of the coward and said words like ' May the cowardice be with you- ' but now it seemed to be everyone.
The first time Zippo realised that the church of cowards had grown exponentially was when he was on an adventure inside the Angel controlled territory and was visiting a restaurant for a meal.
There, in bold letters on the wall, right beside where the guests were supposed to seated, it was written with black ink-
"May The Cowardice Be With You, Amen"
And there was a painted picture of Sebastian in white robes doing a namaste beside.
The restaurant owner was apparently a devout believer of the church of cowards and it was shocking to find someone like him in the territory of the angels which was an area that prayed to Beniogre for centuries.
Apparently, as the times grew more tumultuous with each passing year, the harder the struggle became to survive as a commoner, and in such uncertain times, the church of cowards with its 15 golden rules provided the commoners with a guidebook towards survival that was invaluable.
There was something unique about the church of cowards, maybe the fact that it did not have its belief centred around an entity but rather the principle of self preservation that made everyone feel like they were the only ones responsible for their own life or death.
Via Sebastian's sermons that gave real life examples of how one should not provoke even those weaker than themselves, or how one should always hide their true strength and stay low-key, he helped a lot of youths prevent making stupid mistakes and converted them to devout believers.
Now, the church of cowards was a cultural part of Dombivli and ' May the cowardice be with you ' became a common greeting between individuals.
Wives greeted their husbands this way before they went to work.
Soldiers greeted each other this way before they went to war.
Businessmen greeted each other this way because it was considered good fortune.
Commoners in general greeted each other this way because it was polite.
The church of cowards had a huge cultural impact on the universe and it's holy shrine, the central church of Dombivli was almost a pilgrimage site that tens of thousands visited everyday.
Not only did the increase in tourism bring Dombivli a lot of prosperity, but it also helped alleviate the financial burden which the state was facing by having to house and create jobs for many migrants.
Somehow because of all this, Sebastian's prestige had surpassed even Max's within the universe as he was now considered an important religious figure and was treated with reverence wherever he went.
Last that Zippo heard, Sebastian was still continuing his duties as the foreign minister of Dombivli, however, he had apparently resigned from leading the Coward's legion and was focusing more on leading the church.
However, even that news was half a decade old when the church of cowards was not a third as popular as it is today, so Zippo had no idea about what Sebastian was up-to these days.
Shaking his head, Zippo moved past the church of cowards ignoring the large crowd that had assembled in front of it, wondering how Angakok would feel when he saw such a sight.
Yes Angakok killed Kremeth, but his beloved disciple now immortalised his legacy in a way that would not be forgotten for generations.
It was an irony, but by killing Kremeth, Angakok had ended up immortalising his legacy forever.
As Zippo reached the palace gates, a soft smile spread on his lips as even after 12 years the palace guard immediately recognised his face and bowed deeply to grant him entry.
" I'm back…. " Zippo said softly as he strolled into the familiar palace grounds hoping to see what Max and the rest were like after all these years.
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/// A/N - This is just one out-crop of the Time-Skip, we still have multiple other POV'S to cover to get the whole picture, hope you agree with this format of story progression ///