"Who… who is this transgressor?"
An unknown voice sounded in the Telesterion as the spatial fabric above the air rippled from various points. All of the Echidnae got down on their knees and bowed in a submissive manner as they heard the voice.
It was the voice of their god's priest after all who was supposed to be even more significant than their king Har Jahar. Eren was standing on the altar platform near the spatial fabric disturbance. He knew that the question was meant for him.
The butcher held his arms folded behind his back as he looked at the ripples that were getting generated over the lucid spatial fabric. He chuckled before answering.
"I… I am what I need to be. Who am I talking to?"
Ror was visibly stressed when his new king casually addressed their god's priest, without answering any of their questions. But at this point, he couldn't do anything.
"Hm? You don't know who I am? How can…"
The voice was laced with surprise as it heard Eren's response. It also seemed to have learned something from that brief exchange. It took its time before adding up.
"Your Oni tongue sounds broken. And you don't know who I am. Am I talking to the denizen of the land of the forest?"
The voice asked Eren with curiosity mixed in its voice. The latter knew he couldn't hide that fact from the owner of that voice anyway. So he chose to play a different game before cutting all forms of communication.
Eren raised his hand and gestured for the war drums to stop playing. The sound of the war drums was somehow suppressed after the voice started talking. It was as if the war drums were located far away from the sacred hall. So when they stopped beating the war drums, the already present silence only intensified.
Eren then took a long breath before answering the question he was asked.
"That's right."
Eren spoke in a simple Oni tongue. It prompted the voice to ask another obvious question.
"Har Jahar?"
"No more," Eren chuckled before answering.
The voice was silent for some time and didn't speak. The spatial ripples also stopped forming with the same intensity as before. But they didn't stop.
"I see. What are you planning to do now?"
The voice started sounding grimmer than it already was. It had also started to change the atmosphere of the sacred hall. Ror and Kaal looked at the back of their newly crowned king, who kept his posture casual before answering.
"You tell me. What would benefit me the most? What opportunities are you ready to offer me? And at what cost?"
Eren had decided to poke the beast and see if he could gain anything out of it. The voice again took its time to reply.
"I understand now. I would like to know more about you but that can wait. First of all, let me tell you that there are a lot of benefits you can get just by doing what I tell you to.
You just need to release the divine flame that you have taken hold of."
The voice asked Eren to release the divine flame just as Alephee had predicted. However, it had not yet embarked on the offensive against Eren. He knew the owner of the voice was thinking that there would be benefits to be gained for themselves if they cooperated with him. And that's what Eren was making them think anyway.
Eren and voice then started to have a brief chat about how the sacrifice ritual worked. The butcher was testing the limits of Anfang's world will by asking the voice various questions.
Eren had also come to realize that the pyramid was the reason behind him not suffering any backlash this time. The reason the final sacrifice could be held here is because of the subspace and the pyramid. So this was the right place for Eren to gain as much information as he could about the world of Echidna.
The voice had also started to realize that Eren was not interested in sacrifice and the energy generated by it. He was also not too keen on increasing his ranking status with the help of sacrificial energy or blessing.
He was more interested in how it could be generated and used to open the spatial channels between the two gates. But it wasn't that easy for Eren to conceal his intentions from the owner of that voice for long.
Soon, the voice started treating the knowledge it held as its asset. It controlled the flow of the information while suggesting to Eren things he needed to do to gain benefits.
There were times when the connection would completely disappear before the priest put some effort on their end to reestablish it. They both knew that it was done by the Anfang's Will so they kept on recalibrating their questions and answers.
In the end, Eren had a general idea of how sacrificial energy could be used. He was also made aware of how he could gather it using various means and procedures. In addition to keeping a connection with Echidna, the energy was also needed to open a channel between the worlds.
"Transgressor, our Lord God is kind and merciful. Even though you have caused a significant disturbance in the ritual, I can see that you are willing to cooperate.
Could you not release the divine flame in good faith? We can then form a mutually beneficial setup and take our talks further.
You are from the land of the faithless. I am sure you are still not aware of many things about the past and present. Your path to power is also limited by your lack of knowledge. Believe in our god and we shall offer you all that you desire.
How does my offer sound?"
Eren had almost gotten what he needed from the voice. There were some obvious blanks left behind by the owner of the voice. But they were easy to fill for Eren with whatever knowledge he had gained from the digested memories.
His purpose was fulfilled. Now he needed some time to use the knowledge to his advantage. The whole time the voice was thinking about using Eren as Har Jahar was not there to sort things out for them anymore.
"I'll think about it."
