"The church of Nogudi" I replied. It was a no-brainer after all.

He nodded.

"I knelt outside, in front of the church and prayed, stating any word of praise and prayers that came out of my mouth. And before I knew it, a peculiar wave of power washed over me, and I was healed. My sickly appearance which once looked like a dying corpse in a lab beamed with muscles and strength. And my stomach felt as though I have just consumed a whole buffet by myself. Nevertheless, I could never forget what happened next" He paused, letting his words sink in before he continued.

"That day, I felt the same power pushing my body into the church. It was blasphemous to walk into the church at closing hours during that time, so my body was filled with fear as my legs marched forward, irrespective of the warning and dread that filled my being. I couldn't even feel or interact with my body"

"And then, in that instant, it dawned upon me that maybe this was the work of the god that healed my body and answered my prayers. So instead of fighting back for control over my body, I let it do as it wished. Before my very eyes, I pulled open the locked doors with ease and stepped into the church, and walked directly to the Head priest"

"And just when I was in front of him, I knelt and spoke without trepidation in my heart….. I can still remember those words like it was yesterday" He paused, washing his hands over his face and cleaning up the tears that managed to leak out of his eyes.

For the first time since I have known him, Priest Elijah was actually... crying. His varied display of emotions was too much and too sudden even for me.

"And so, as our god willed it, I became a second-generation priest. In all my years, never would I have thought that I could become a blessed once, yet here I am" And then he sighed, shook his head and looked at me with a chilling gaze, combined with a much more serious expression on his face.

"Although I don't know why you aren't like the rest of your peers who have quickly adapted to the world around them since the war, as I am sure that you barely have any memories of what the world was like before the crusade. But since things are now the way they are, the only thing I can do for you now is to compel you to pray and find meaning in your prayers..... Pray for the bottom of your heart and will your faith around it"

"If you are still doubting my words, I can tell you how you feel right now" He locked his gaze with mine and I could feel his stare trying to peer into my soul.

I would have been shaken if I were a normal teenager, but I wasn't.

"You see, that is what I am talking about. Your eyes hold more intelligence than a child should. You come here every day to hold your hands together with a counterfeit faith while you uttered words of prayers together with the congregation. You are still holding on to the past and are still refusing to accept the world you are in currently -in short, you still try to find logic in the world around you"

"My dear boy, if you continue with this path, you will keep on doubting your existence and the world around you till you perish. Stop trying to find logic in this incomprehensible world and just accept things as the way they are, if not, you wouldn't even know when you are at your wit's end. Look, I am only telling you this because you have the potential to become more of a person than I am"

"With the way you pull in masses into the church, I do not doubt that you have talent in becoming a priest. However, before you even think about that, I want you to see the world as it is right now and not what it could have been thirteen years ago".

I sighed. Well, he got most of my emotions on point.

Priest. Interdimensional portals. Humanoid monsters. Superhumans, and gods walking amongst men.... How- -How was I supposed to transition from all that especially when I had just reincarnated?

Hell, I remembered when the only thing I had to do was read two or three books a day on how to become a perfect butler. And now, all this….. isn't it? - - isn't it too much for even a grown man like me to handle?

Like what the hell am I supposed to do in this upside-down world?

Did I get stomped to death only to be reincarnated into a life where I get to live through one harrowing event to the other for the rest of my life?

Huh!!

Water!! Before I knew it, tears came out of my eyes simultaneously.

Even though it was only a drop, I still felt my eyes aiming to release more.

A hand patted my back.

"When I was lost, all I did to find myself was to pray. Why don't you try it and see what happens next?..... You already have nothing else to lose right? So why don't you pray with all your heart and see what happens?" He replied before he turned to stare at the altar with a terrifyingly calm gaze "However, If nothing happens, then I will never bring up this topic again, but I doubt it. You see, my faith in my god is stronger than the pillar of this church and that is enough for me to know that he will never let his followers go astray".

Pray to a god huh!!

To be honest, I had my reservations about that since an all-knowing being capable of performing miracles at the fling of their fingertips and using it to selflessly grant the desires of a common man. There had to be more strings attached to that apart from becoming a follower or a religious lunatic, right?

Even pri….

Immediately, I shook my head and dispelled my thoughts. Wasn't this the topic he had addressed just now?

Maybe, I should just give it a try and pray.

And as though he read my thoughts, Priest Elijah tap my back gently and said "Pray boy, to find yourself again…. Pray".

I sighed. I nodded my head in understanding, before clasping my hands together and opening my mouth, along with my heart in prayer.

"Oh, ye! Pestilence, my god Nogudi commands you,

He who watches and adorns my life with good health and prosperity,

I adore you.

He who stands and makes my enemies shrivel to death,

I adore you.

He who makes my heart be at peace.

I adore yo…..

My eyes snapped open as I turned my head to look at Priest Elijah who stared at me with a peaceful expression on his face, as his left palm was pressed against my back, feeding my body with a strange wave of energy.

Divine power!

I gazed at him curiously as I felt the strange occurrences taking place in my body. It was peaceful, calm, and most of all soothing.

Is this the power given to humans by the so-called gods?

Is this the ability that one man wields at the tip of his fingertips?

"Don't worry too much about it?" He spoke, breaking my train of thought as he removed his hand from my back, carrying along with it, the divine power that washed through every fibre of my flesh.

"It seems that god Nogudi has used me to bless you" He added with a smirk on his face "For now boy, your body has been healed of all forms of diseases end even the potential ones. You are now healthier than you were when your mother gave birth to you"

My mouth went agape. This was incredible!!

It is one thing to see supernatural abilities, but another to experience them yourself.

"But be careful not to tell anyone else as I am not supposed to use my abilities recklessly without the Head priest's approval. What I want you to do is to take this opportunity and lead more people to our church. If you can do that, I won't mind finding a time to do this again once every week" He added.

Immediately, I nodded my head in approval.

"Don't worry, my mouth is sealed shut. And from now on, expect double the amount of people attending the service with my fliers" I replied, letting my emotions show on my face because there was no use hiding it, especially when this is the first time I felt a divine power coursing through my body and feeding me with a strong sense of security.

Besides, the smirk on his lips shows that he is enjoying the look on my face.

"Alight. Since the prayers will soon end, I have to get going to keep an eye on the gates" He responded.

I watched him walk away before turning my head back to the altar and, for the first time, I prayed along with the congregation, with a prayer from the bottom of my heart.

I can't wait to tell my mother and aunt Gilda how much I have earned today!