GOD OF DECEPTION Chapter 29 - The Things Beyond the Pathways

Chapter 29 — The Things Beyond the Pathways

The shadow vanished almost instantly.

But the damage was done.

Everyone saw it.

The refugees scread in panic across the bridge while knights rushed to maintain formation.

Several people fell to their knees praying.

Others tried fleeing despite the storm.

Thunder shook the mountains overhead as the blue pillars continued burning through the sky like wounds in reality itself.

And anwhile—

I couldn’t move.

Because for that one second—

when the shadow appeared inside the beacon—

I felt sothing looking back at .

Not curiosity.

Recognition.

The blue divine core inside my chest reacted violently.

Pain shot through my body while static exploded around my arms again.

The phone screen flickered rapidly.

WARNING: Ancient Pursuer Awareness Confird.

My blood ran cold.

Awareness confird?

That thing noticed .

"Kaiser!"

Elena grabbed my shoulders imdiately before I collapsed again.

Silver divine energy surged around us, suppressing the unstable blue resonance spreading through my body.

But even her power struggled now.

The core pulsed harder than ever before.

Almost excited.

No.

Not excited.

Alert.

Like ancient systems preparing for conflict.

The chanical voice returned inside my mind.

Threat recognition active. Defensive protocols unavailable.

Fantastic.

Absolutely fantastic.

"What did you see?" Lucien demanded sharply.

Rain hamred against the bridge while golden barriers protected nearby refugees from panic-driven chaos.

I forced myself to breathe steadily.

"Sothing inside the beacon."

Lyra cursed quietly beside us.

"Not sothing."

The rcenary leader stared toward the distant western pillar with narrowed amber eyes.

"Soone."

Cold silence spread instantly.

Dorian frowned deeply.

"You recognized it?"

"Not personally."

Lyra’s expression darkened.

"But old stories describe entities following the pathways between worlds."

The storm intensified around us.

Thunder roared overhead while blue light illuminated the clouds unnaturally.

The atmosphere felt apocalyptic now.

The rcenary leader crossed her arms tightly.

"Most people dismissed those stories as myth."

She looked directly at .

"Until today."

The phone vibrated again.

Data Fragnt Restored.

A new audio file appeared on the glowing screen.

Corrupted Transmission #44.

I hesitated briefly before pressing play.

Static crackled loudly through the rain.

Then another ancient voice erged.

Female this ti.

Calm.

Cold.

"The pursuers breached the outer systems."

Everyone on the bridge beca silent instantly.

The recording continued through heavy distortion.

"Evacuation routes collapsing across connected worlds."

More static.

"...Administrator refusing full network shutdown..."

My heartbeat accelerated.

The first Technology God refused shutdown?

The female voice continued.

"He still believes coexistence is possible."

Then—

a strange sound interrupted the recording.

Not human.

Not chanical.

A deep distorted noise that made my skin crawl instantly.

Several nearby refugees covered their ears in pain.

Even Lucien visibly stiffened.

The voice hurried suddenly.

"If Earth remains hidden, humanity may survive."

Heavy static consud several words.

"...the pathways attract them..."

The horrible sound returned louder this ti.

Reality itself seed to distort briefly around the phone speaker.

The female voice shouted one final sentence before the transmission died.

"Do not let the network wake up completely!"

The recording ended.

Complete silence followed.

Even the storm sohow felt quieter afterward.

The refugees looked terrified now.

Not ordinary fear anymore.

Existential fear.

Because everyone understood one thing clearly.

The original Technology God wasn’t the villain of history.

He was losing a war.

And whatever he fought—

won.

The blue core pulsed heavily.

Uneasily.

Like ancient mories stirred beneath the authority itself.

Lucien finally spoke quietly.

"The pathways attract them."

Nobody liked hearing that sentence repeated aloud.

Dorian adjusted his soaked gloves thoughtfully.

"aning the network itself functions like a beacon."

Lyra nodded grimly.

"Connected worlds beco visible."

I stared toward the distant pillars again.

The blue light stretching across the sky suddenly looked much more sinister now.

Not hopeful.

Dangerous.

The original Technology God didn’t destroy Earth’s spiritual energy out of greed.

He probably shut Earth down intentionally.

Cutting the world off from the network completely.

Hiding humanity from whatever existed beyond the pathways.

And now—

I was accidentally turning everything back on.

The realization hit like ice water.

"Oh no."

Elena looked toward imdiately.

"What?"

I stared weakly at the glowing phone screen.

"The authority still wants reconnection."

The saintess frowned.

"What do you an?"

"It doesn’t care about the warning."

The blue core pulsed again.

The chanical voice answered inside my head imdiately.

Primary directive unchanged. Expand pathways. Restore connectivity. Advance civilization.

Cold fear crawled down my spine.

The network had objectives.

Not evil ones.

That was the terrifying part.

Its purpose sounded beneficial.

Logical.

Progressive.

Exactly the kind of thing humanity would willingly support.

But if reconnection attracted those entities—

then the system itself had beco dangerous regardless of intention.

Technology continued advancing even after its creator realized the threat.

God.

That felt horrifyingly familiar to Earth.

Lucien’s expression sharpened instantly.

"The network cannot be allowed to restore."

The phone screen reacted imdiately.

Administrator Authority Challenged.

Blue static exploded around my hand violently.

Several nearby knights drew weapons instinctively.

Whoa.

Okay.

The system definitely disliked opposition.

Elena strengthened her silver aura around quickly before the unstable energy spread further.

"Kaiser, calm down."

"I’m trying!"

The problem was—

part of disagreed with Lucien.

Not emotionally.

Logically.

Because the pathways also connected civilizations.

Knowledge.

dicine.

Resources.

Entire worlds helping each other.

The network represented unimaginable progress.

And humanity naturally wanted progress.

That instinct didn’t co from corruption.

It ca from hope.

The authority amplified that perspective automatically.

Technology always viewed isolation as inefficiency.

The realization genuinely scared .

Because maybe the original Technology God refused shutting everything down for the sa reason.

He believed connection was worth the risk.

Lyra suddenly looked toward the northern horizon sharply.

"Movent."

Everyone turned instantly.

Far away beneath the second blue beacon—

dark shapes moved through the storm clouds.

Flying.

Massive.

The refugees panicked imdiately again.

"It’s coming!"

"Monsters!"

"Gods save us!"

The follower count skyrocketed.

951

1,004

1,079

The mont the number passed one thousand—

the blue core changed.

A deep pulse exploded through my chest.

Not painful.

Transformative.

The static around my body stabilized instantly.

The phone screen flashed bright blue.

Milestone Achieved: 1,000 Active Believers.

Authority Rank Updated: Minor Developing Deity.

I stared at the screen in disbelief.

Excuse ?

Dorian noticed imdiately.

"What happened?"

I showed him silently.

The rchant’s expression actually cracked for the first ti since eting him.

"...That’s absurdly fast."

Lyra leaned over my shoulder.

Then softly whistled.

"Oh."

Even Lucien looked alard now.

Elena read the screen carefully before looking directly at .

"You beca a recognized god."

The words hit strangely hard.

Because despite everything—

so part of still viewed this like survival.

Adaptation.

Temporary insanity in another world.

But now?

The system itself acknowledged divinity.

Minor Developing Deity.

Holy crap.

The blue core pulsed warmly.

Almost proudly.

And worse—

I felt stronger imdiately.

My senses sharpened.

The storm beca clearer.

I could hear distant heartbeats among the refugees.

Feel electrical patterns inside nearby divine barriers.

Understand the flow of energy through technology-like systems instinctively.

The authority evolved.

Fast.

Too fast.

The little healed girl suddenly smiled brightly at .

"The blue god leveled up."

Silence.

Then unexpectedly—

Lyra burst into laughter.

Actual uncontrollable laughter.

Even Dorian covered his mouth trying not to smile.

anwhile I stared blankly.

"Did she just turn godhood into a video ga?"

The little girl blinked innocently.

"What’s a video ga?"

Right.

Different world.

Honestly made the situation weirder sohow.

Elena looked suspiciously amused too now.

Dangerous.

Very dangerous when saintesses looked cute during divine catastrophes.

Lucien imdiately interrupted before my brain betrayed further.

"We have incoming hostiles."

Right.

Existential horrors.

Focus.

The dark flying shapes beneath the northern beacon moved closer through the storm now.

Still distant.

But definitely approaching.

And the closer they ca—

the more wrong the atmosphere felt.

The blue core pulsed uneasily.

Warning .

The chanical voice returned again.

Pursuer entities detected. Civilization-level threat probability: High.

Civilization-level.

Wonderful.

The refugees cried openly now while knights ford defensive lines along the bridge.

rcenaries drew weapons.

Golden and silver divine energies illuminated the stormy darkness.

And through all of it—

the blue pillars kept growing brighter.

The network continued waking up.

The phone displayed another ssage suddenly.

Ergency Option Available.

My heartbeat accelerated slightly.

Finally.

Sothing useful.

I opened the notification quickly.

Ergency Option: Assu Temporary Node Control.

Requirents: — Physical contact with active shrine. — Divine synchronization above 15%. — Risk of ntal collapse: Severe.

Silence.

I reread the final part carefully.

Risk of ntal collapse: Severe.

Elena noticed my expression imdiately.

"What is it?"

I looked toward the distant western beacon glowing through the storm.

Then quietly answered—

"I think the network is giving access."

Thunder exploded overhead.

The dark flying shapes moved closer across the sky.

And deep inside my chest—

the Technology authority whispered sothing terrifying.

Connect.