The God of Humanity never asked one to convert to his faith or display faith towards him. As Compass Carburettor had mentioned at the start, they formed a symbiotic relationship.
As long as they remained a human, they could seek his blessings even without being a devout follower. All they needed was to have faith while seeking a blessing and it would happen.
They would obtain what they needed without any repercussions. Moreover, as his commandments dictated that it was perfectly fine to pray to him while following another faith, no human would ever have any problems requesting his blessings.
The God of Humanity's favour extended to all humans. It was as simple as that. If one wished to faithfully devout to oneself to him, it was fine. If they wished to leave the faith, that was also fine.
There was no punishment regarding it. Even an apostle of the God of Humanity could be part of another faith. After all, as humans typically belonged to varying faiths, why would the God of Humanity restrict that to his faith alone? That would be hypocritical.
There were no obligations, no restrictions, nothing. It was truly a faith meant for humans to maintain blissful lives.
Days turned into months and months into years. Pneua was an adult now, having married, with a child of her own. When the Village Head died from old age, as the wisest in the village, she took up the position of the village Head next.
After all, she was the one that managed to gain the most blessings out of everyone in the village. And hence, her repertoire of knowledge and experiences allowed her to handle various complicated situations.
The village had also developed as the houses had been rebuilt with better hygiene and sanitation facilities. Moreover, the village layout had been improved to create a harmonising atmosphere.
There were tiny ponds in certain wide areas in the village. Small canals connected these ponds, keeping the water circulating to prevent the growth of any harmful insects.
The fish and plants growing in these ponds were beneficial to the villagers in that the species survived by consuming harmful bacteria, insects, etc.
A wide variety of grass had been planted throughout the village. Each variety secreted substances that had beneficial properties. Just because of this, as long as the villagers walked barefoot on them, their health bettered.
Plumbing, drainage, recreational activities, entertainment, agriculture, etc. every field experienced a drastic improvement that resulted in a sharp increase in the villagers' life expectancy. From the original late fifties to early eighties, it was a drastic jump in a mere few years.
And as the villagers continued to accumulate more blessings, they worked on bettering their lives further, engaging in a virtuous cycle of growth.
While everyone was busy living happy lives, Pnolli entered the village's grand library and kneeled before the boulder that had been transformed into a grand monolith, safely preserved for future generations.
His heart thumped as he stared at the seven rules and prayed, "Your Lordship, I wish to go on a journey to help the needy. Please show me the way."
Swoosh!
Immediately in response, Pnolli experienced a surge in knowledge, memories, and experience. It was not to mention his shadow stirring up in response, nodding in comprehension, "I see, so that's how it is."
Pnolli didn't receive any of the God of Humanity's power, but he gained all the related knowledge. This allowed him to understand the situations where he could receive the power temporarily.
With that, he packed his belongings, intending to venture forth.
"Are you sure?" Pneua asked in worry, "You'll encounter countless dangers along the way. It's not safe outside."
"That's exactly why I must head out." Pnolli smiled, "From the day we awakened our Deity, I always felt the need to do something beyond living in our village."
"This is my path."
"I won't stop you." Pneua said and hugged her younger brother who had grown into a brave youth now, "But when you wish to rest, return home. We're all waiting for you."
"I know, sis. Take care." He said and then pinched the cheeks of Pneua's child, laughing upon hearing the cheerful cries of the brat.
"I'll take my leave now." Slinging a bag of rations on his back, Pnolli exited the village and ventured deep into a forest path, making a sprint. Once he was away from view, Pnolli joined his hands together for prayer, hearing the sounds of his heartbeats ringing aloud.
Immediately, he temporarily gained power from the God of Humanity, watching his shadow come to life as it coiled around him, layering over his body.
His entire body now resembled a three-dimensional shadow as tendrils shot out from them that coiled around a tree branch and contracted, slinging him forward.
With dextrous expertise, Pnolli swung from one branch to another and quickly travelled through the forest before soon, he came across a clearing. There, one of the tentacles tugged harder, sending his figure high into the sky.
The shadow on his back extended to resemble a pair of wings that flapped and allowed him to fly across the sky. The shadow was sentient as another him—his mind—now controlled it.
Currently, it wasn't his shadow but an entity that had been born out of his shadow. So, even when it became dark and there wasn't any source of light, the shadow remained perfectly functional. Of course, this was only because it had already been created.
Had Pnolli tried to create it in darkness, it wouldn't have worked, for he didn't have a shadow at that moment. The size of the shadow body depended on the shadow his body cast when he created it.
So, when the light source was the strongest and the cast shadow was the longest, the resultant shadow body was the strongest. It all depended on the time of the shadow body's creation.
Pnolli had chosen a somewhat decent location and time of the day, so his shadow body was plenty potent, allowing him to continue gliding across the night sky.
After a couple of hours of flight, he became exhausted, unable to bear the burden of the God of Humanity's power flowing through his being. And hence, he made a descent, finding a sturdy tree on whose branch he landed.
Following that, his shadow body expanded to become a cocoon, sporting a soft interior that he used as a bed to sleep in. Maintaining it in this state was still bearable and hence, Pnolli could rest the night without worries about insects or wild animals harming him, not to mention the cold of the night affecting him.
He was warm and safe within the cocoon that hung from the tree's branch.
