Before he could continue, Renas spoke up and interjected: "Master, you should keep an eye on your Faith Points. Creating a few such beings shouldn't be a problem, but more would significantly deplete your points."
Asher simply nodded in agreement, aware of that himself. To be safe, he decided to check his current Faith Points balance. Before creating Achilles, he had just under 3,600,000 points. After the creation, slightly over 3,000,000 remained.
Creating Achilles had cost no small amount, as he was on the Transcendent tier in strength and designed for combat. The price was not insignificant and made it clear that mass production wouldn't have been possible.
Having now crafted his first specimen—a powerful Transcendent-level, ageless being—Asher turned his attention to designing the other three.
I have enough Faith Points. Even if I create them all at once, it won't be a long-term burden, since with some world intervention, I can quickly regain points.
Asher was confident and full of anticipation. No longer could he be held back, and he quickly began creating the other three figures.
The next template he chose corresponded to his second identity—under which he appeared on Gaia—the hero of Norse mythology, the dragon slayer Siegfried.
Siegfried was a Norse hero and warrior, especially renowned from the Nibelungen saga for slaying the evil dragon Fafnir, as well as the betrayal that claimed his life. It's said that after defeating the dragon, he bathed in its blood and gained immortality, yet he fell a tragic victim to betrayal later.
Asher intended to craft, just as he previously portrayed Siegfried to train young Ethan, a mighty warrior and passionate dragon slayer, skilled both in combat and in teaching disciples.
Siegfried was to be over two meters tall, even slightly taller than the stocky Achilles. His silver-gray hair flowed like a mane down his back. He wore heavy armor and helmet all over his body, and carried a large broadsword on his back, which Asher specially crafted and named "Gram."
Beneath the giant's helmet was an extraordinarily handsome face, marked by a gruesome scar that testified to fierce battles and ran above his left eye—but it in no way diminished his beauty; it rather gave him something wild.
The other two specimens Asher created were meant, unlike the previous ones, to form a pair and complement each other.
The first was named: "Arthur Pendragon," modeled after the King of Knights and Lord of the Round Table from Arthurian legend. The other was a woman: "Morgana Le Fay," also drawn from the Arthurian saga as a famous witch and Arthur's half-sister.
These two were to be a pair, specializing in teaching heroes and transforming mortals into heroes like themselves.
Arthur Pendragon was a handsome, young yet mature man with golden hair, wearing splendid, gold-adorned knight's armor. Instead of a helmet, he wore a golden crown on his head and carried a long sword at his waist—also created by Asher and named "Excalibur," the sword stuck in the stone, able to be drawn only by the future King of Britain.
Morgana Le Fay, in contrast, was a stunning young witch with long navy-blue hair, dressed in a shoulder-baring dark-blue witch's gown adorned with small white star-like embellishments, wearing an oversized witch's hat, and wielding a wand.
"We greet our master!"
As soon as Asher created the three mythical figures simultaneously using a function, and their creation was complete, they bowed in unison and, just like Achilles before them, greeted their master and creator.
Asher nodded approvingly and turned to the four in a solemn tone: "You three will become my four heavenly generals—the heroes chosen by God who shall guide mortals and support them in times of crisis."
"As you command, Master!"
The four answered immediately and simultaneously, bowing slightly.
They seemed to have no objections and appeared created exactly for this purpose. Even though they had their own personalities and values, they displayed subservience and clearly showed loyalty and devotion to their creator.
Asher observed his creations for a moment. Though his facial expression remained mostly indifferent, his eyes sparkled with success and joy.
He finally decided to house the four in his heavenly palace, in the divine realms, where they would dwell alongside the angels for a time.
With a casual wave of his hand, a bright, golden light appeared, enveloping the four and instantly transporting them to the Divine Realm.
Thus this matter was settled and Asher's curiosity sated, allowing him to turn his attention back to Gaia with a clear conscience.
However, since his Faith Points were now largely depleted, he decided to directly intervene in events and then, using his remaining points, accelerated Gaia's time by a few decades to observe the outcome of his intervention.
A few years passed on Gaia.
After only a few decades, sudden upheaval and drastic changes occurred.
In the 197th year of the Redeemed Saints, following the death of the previous, fourth pope of the Church of Salvation, the new fifth pope, Pope Almen, assumed office.
Within only a few years of his ascension, the new pope issued several decrees.
First, he banned the use of mana—a gift from God and a privilege that should belong solely to the truly faithful.
Following this decree, he also founded the so-called "Pure Inquisition," consisting of several thousand Awakened and loyal believers of Salvation who were permitted to use mana, most ranking F, and a few even E.
This Inquisition persecuted those Awakened branded by them as "unbelievers," imprisoning them or executing them on the spot in God's name.
These radical changes and other questionable decrees by Pope Almen had only been possible because he had gained considerable influence before his appointment, even receiving support from the First Saint, Maria Raktos, who was trying to keep the Second Saint, Ethan, in check.
After the powerful and imposing new Saint appeared, the Holy Woman grew fearful that he would surpass or even displace her.
These thoughts were not unfounded—she had once been a princess of a realm that exploited its people, and moreover, the new Saint was a commoner.
Thus, she could not help but fear for her position and sought to support a powerful figure to secure her future—even if that might entail consequences.
In the 209th year, the Pope's decrees became increasingly radical until he finally formed an army, raised his banners, and declared a "holy war."
In God's name, the Pope and his troops began the conquest of all human realms to unite them under the Church and create a truly divine empire to which every realm and species would belong.
Whether this plan sprang from his greed, madness, or genuine faith is still unclear.
In the 218th year of the Redeemed Saints, less than a decade later, the Church's first triumphs were recorded.
The troops led by Pope Almen and supported by the miracle-working Saint Maria succeeded in conquering all human territories under the Church's banner, suppressing kingdoms and empires alike.
One must say: since the rise of the divine messenger Achilles of Troy and the subsequent appearance of two Saints, faith in the God of Salvation had taken deep root among the inhabitants of Gaia—humans, elves, and dwarves alike—making every second person a believer. As a result, the Church's overall strength far surpassed that of any other realm.
After subjugating the kingdoms, the Church then established, under the Pope's rule, the Holy Empire and brought all realms under its dominion. But only two years later, the Church decided to invade the Elven Forest.
The Pope baselessly claimed the long-lived race of elves possessed a divine secret and treasure that allowed them to live far longer than humans—and accused them of blasphemy.
Naturally, the Church could not tolerate such "blasphemy," as they claimed God's treasures rightfully belonged to the Church and should be shared with all believers.
Thus, a massive army of over one hundred thousand men marched upon the Elven Forest, homeland of the elven race.
In response, the elves allied with the dwarves to form a defense force, their territories being close together and united in preserving their existence.
This combined force was surprisingly large—though still not as vast as the human army. Nevertheless, together they managed to repel the humans—partly because they had far more Awakened in their ranks, and because the Saint Ethan had refused to wage war against them at the time.
Initially, Ethan had no objections to the radical decrees and laws, believing they benefited the faithful—and said nothing against forming a holy empire that would bring peace to all humans.
However, when the Pope began hurling baseless accusations, Ethan became visibly doubtful and decided to withdraw from the war, weakening the Church's power by at least 30%.
In the ensuing years, the Church launched more attacks against the elves-dwarves alliance, but was repelled time and again—more decisively each time—until the majority of its forces disintegrated.
This was largely due to mounting losses in battle, but also because multiple priests spoke out against the war, asserting that these two races were protected by God, which explained their repeated victories.
This severely weakened the Church—and especially the Pope's faction—and eventually split the Church into two camps.
A decade later, in the 130th year of the Redeemed Saints, unrest erupted in the Holy Empire, spearheaded by several cardinals and priests who opposed the Pope's rule.
Ethan also joined the uprisings and declared that God would never have intended such oppression of living beings—believers or non-believers, humans, elves, or dwarves.
After multiple uprisings and a large civil war, the Holy Kingdom fractured into many small kingdoms.
History had repeated itself, albeit from different causes.
This did not surprise Asher, for he knew human nature well—and for the time being, observed how events unfolded.
In the 145th year, a world war erupted among the newly fragmented realms. Again, various realms declared themselves kingdoms, duchies, empire-states, or imperial dominions.
Thus began a war for riches, power, and territory—ushering in an age of endless conflict.
After a few decades, three main human factions emerged, wielding the greatest influence and military power.
These factions were each led by Maria, Ethan, and Emperor Augustin of Wallram. Each possessed vast territories and armies.
Maria had always viewed Ethan as a thorn in her side, and she seized the opportunity to form a force to oppose him—aiming to reclaim her position as the one true Saint of God.
A few years later, Asher finally decided to interfere. He seized the opportunity to introduce a great catastrophe to the world and present another hero who would reunite them.
In the 167th year of the Redeemed Saints, magical beasts began to emerge once again, without warning—and they were even more powerful than before, instilling a dark foreboding in people, as if this was just the beginning.
From that day on, each day grew harder, and the war-ravaged world more perilous.
Only a few years later, their ominous premonitions proved true.
A colossal monster of boundless power appeared in the middle of the human realms and unleashed unprecedented destruction.
This monster—resembling a giant, golden-brown, multi-headed serpent—had razor-sharp fangs and a mighty body that no steel, nor even the once God-gifted "Sword of the Chosen," could wound. It moved like a force of nature.
Everywhere it went, it wreaked havoc, slaughtered people, annihilated fields, and razed entire stretches of land.
Thus, people eventually bestowed upon it the title: "King of Beasts."
But Asher himself also gave this monster a name: Ananta.
The title "King of Beasts" was indeed apt and matched Asher's tastes exactly. He had designed this creature so that it would grow stronger the more it consumed—whether humans or magical beasts. With that ability, it could be seen as the pinnacle of evolution.
After its appearance, Ananta destroyed several kingdoms and devoured countless people. Unlike the wyvern, it even commanded other magical beasts—leading them, more or less like an army, against the human realms.
Ananta devastated entire nations and defeated multiple human armies—until finally, the three main military forces united to fight back.
Only after a large portion of human lands had fallen and many kingdoms perished did an alliance form—but it failed miserably, even with cooperation between the two Saints.