*THE VILLAGE'S LITTLE PRIESTESS*
Day 19.
The girl had a name.
Mira.
Nobody called her that anymore.
They called her "Little Priestess".
She was 8. Hair tied with clean grass now. Clothes still patched, but washed.
She stood at the altar every morning from sunrise.
She didn't just listen.
She remembered.
"Old Man Taro's leg."
"Wife of Miller has fever."
"Baby won't stop crying."
And she helped.
A touch on a forehead. Fever down.
A hand on a swollen ankle. Pain dulled.
A whispered prayer. A baby slept.
She couldn't do big miracles. Not yet.
But small ones. Dozens a day.
And every time she did, the thread to Silas grew 0.1% stronger.
The villagers adored her.
"She's blessed."
"The God speaks through her."
"She's the darling of the village."
The most adored child in Greywater.
In the basement, Silas heard it all through the threads.
And smiled.
This was working.
*THE BREAKTHROUGH*
Day 21. Night.
`Energy Gathering 1 [100%]`
Silas sat with both hands on the altar.
No incense. No pills. No dramatic lightning.
Just collection.
He opened his Domain with Divine Energy.
Then he grabbed but this time he has to increase the quantity and force as he was breaking through .
From the vein.
From the threads.
From 6 believers praying to Mira.
Crude. Violent. Efficient.
The Spiritual Energy slammed into him.
It hurt. His meridians burned.
But Domain was already in his core, acting as a filter.
So the pain was clean.
There was no bottleneck.
Just a quiet _click_ in his chest.
`Day 21. Energy Gathering 2.`
Silas exhaled.
His Domain stretched to 12m.
That was it.
No fanfare.
F talent didn't get dramatic breakthroughs.
They just endured until the bucket overflowed.
He checked the threads.
Mira's thread had dipped to 5.8%.
Using her energy to push had cost her.
He would need to feed her more tomorrow.
*THE FIRST TEST*
The next morning.
A man was carried in.
Leg twisted. Bone sticking out.
Hunting accident.
20 villagers followed. All watching the Little Priestess.
She looked down at the leg. Then at the altar.
Her hands were shaking.
Through the thread, Silas felt it.
Her fear. Her doubt but not in god but herself.
_"I can't. What if I hurt him more?"_
Silas didn't speak.
He just pushed a thin stream of Divine Energy through the thread.
Warm. Steady.
Mira took a breath.
She knelt.
Placed both small hands on the man's leg.
"Lord of Lost Children," she whispered. "Please."
Gold light flickered under her skin.
The same light Silas had put in her.
The bone didn't reset.
The wound didn't close.
But the bleeding stopped.
The pain faded.
The man sighed in relief.
The courtyard went silent.
Then someone started crying.
"She did it," an old woman whispered. "The Little Priestess did it."
Mira stood up, swaying. Exhausted.
But smiling.
That night, her thread hit 6.5%.
*AFTERMATH*
`Day 22. Energy Gathering 2 [2%].`
Silas leaned back in the basement.
3 months to Stage 9.
If he kept this pace.
If no one interrupted.
If Mira didn't break.
He was no longer hiding.
He was growing.
Slowly.
Through faith.
Through a little girl the village adored.
The God of Lost Children was learning patience.
_END CHAPTER 5_