_THE THIRD VILLAGE_
Day 95.
Stonewell. 15km north.
Drought.
Their crops were dust.
Their wells were dry.
An old man came to Greywater.
Walked 3 days.
"Please," he said to Mira. "Our children are thirsty."
Mira looked at Silas through the thread.
_"I can't."_
Silas pushed warmth again.
_"Go. Try."_
She went with 3 villagers.
She stood in the dry field for 3 hours.
She prayed.
She pushed Divine Energy until her nose bled.
It didn't rain.
Gods can't make rain. Not yet.
But she touched 4 wells.
And the water rose.
Just enough.
The village wept.
15 new believers.
A new shrine.
Wood and prayer.
Now Mira was listening to 3 villages.
Her thread: 9.4%
But she was breaking.
_THE BREAKING POINT_
Day 105.
Mira collapsed at the altar.
Not from lack of faith.
From too much of it.
60 voices.
3 villages.
Sick children.
Dry fields.
Bandits.
Dead husbands.
All of it in her head.
"I'm not enough," she whispered.
"The Lord chose wrong."
Her mother held her.
Crying.
Through the thread, Silas felt her fraying.
If he didn't do something, she would snap.
And if she snapped, the whole system collapsed.
_THE DECISION_
Day 106. Night.
Silas couldn't do this alone.
He needed more hands.
Not to replace Mira.
To help her.
He called her in a dream again.
"Child. You are not failing.
You are growing.
But a tree with too much fruit breaks.
You need branches."
"Who?" she asked, voice small.
"Find two.
One for Stonewell.
One for Riverbend.
They will listen there.
And they will speak to you.
And you will speak to me."
The next morning, Mira did what he asked.
To Riverbend: The Miller's eldest son.
19 years old. Strong back. Thread 3.2%.
He believed because his sister lived.
To Stonewell: The old man who had come begging.
61 years old. Thread 2.8%.
He believed because his grandson drank water.
Silas saturated them both.
Not much.
Just enough to hold a village.
By Day 110, there were 4 people listening.
Mira in the center.
Guiding.
Teaching.
Hearing the other 3, and sending only the important prayers up.
She was no longer just a priest.
She was the one who listened to the priests.
_THE FOURTH VILLAGE_
Day 110.
Greenhollow. 12km west.
Bandits.
The Mother Priest went this time.
She couldn't heal like Mira.
But she could organize.
She could pray.
She could give hope.
12 new believers.
A fourth shrine.
Now the network was complete.
4 villages.
4 listeners.
1 girl in the middle holding it all together.
_THE GROWTH_
Day 115.
`Energy Gathering 3 [51%].`
`Domain: 15m. Full power: 5hr.`
`Step 2: Threading - 9.6% [Mira]. 4.1% [Mother]. 3.2% [Riverbend Priest]. 2.8% [Stonewell Priest]. 82 believers total.`
`Shrines: 4`
Mira was 9.
She looked 11.
Dark circles. Calloused hands.
She spent 8 hours a day at the altar.
Not praying herself.
Listening.
"Riverbend Priest says 3 are sick."
"Stonewell Priest says the well is low again."
"Mother says a baby was born."
And she decided.
Who needed Silas most.
Who could wait.
She was tired.
But she didn't cry anymore.
Because now she wasn't alone.
_THE PUSH_
Day 116. Night.
Silas looked at the threads.
Mira: 9.6%. Stuck for 10 days.
He could wait.
Hit EG4.
Then help her.
Or he could help her now.
Make her strong enough to carry 4 villages without breaking.
Gods don't get strong by training.
They get strong by making others strong.
And he wants to see how good a divine body is after all at 10% all her body will saturate. Then only when divine energy Purity will increase will her grade of body will increase.
He chose.
He poured everything he had into her thread.
Not to make her Head Priestess.
Not yet.
Just to make her stable.
_Click._
`Day 117. Mira. Thread 9.9%`
Upstairs, Mira gasped.
Gold light under her skin.
For the first time, she healed a broken bone.
Clean.
Without shaking after.
She stood up.
And smiled.
Not because she was strong.
Because she wasn't alone anymore.
_AFTERMATH_
`Day 118. Energy Gathering 3 [52%].`
`Domain: 15m. Full power: 5hr.`
`Step 2: Threading - 9.9% [Mira-Guide]. 4 Priests. 82 believers.`
`Shrines: 4. Territory: 4 villages.`
Silas leaned back.
4 months.
4 villages.
4 listeners.
1 girl guiding them all.
The grind was working.
But 82 people praying to the "God of Lost Children" in Azure Sect territory?
It was only a matter of time before someone asked:
"Who is this new god?"
_END CHAPTER 8_