The Greece Antagonist

At night, in the Great Temple.

Athena, who was processing documents, heard familiar footsteps outside the door. Her iron pen sketched idly forward as the room's wards were magically dispelled, and a figure tiptoed in.

"Why have you come?"

"Couldn't sleep, came to drink with you."

With a smile, Luo En placed two jars of Ambrosial Honey Wine on the table and filled two cups, the rich aroma of wine and the sweet scent of fruit began to permeate the temple.

"It's my latest brew, care to try?"

Athena picked up her cup and sipped the wine, which was the color of agate. After a moment of contemplation, her face showed a hint of surprise.

"This isn't grape wine?"

"Hmm, I used pomegranate."

As Luo En explained, he picked up the jar and refilled the empty cup in front of Athena.

This time, Athena observed and tasted much more carefully,

the novel pomegranate wine had a pure body, bright and clear color, and was refreshingly sweet and tart, retaining the natural flavor of pomegranate's sourness, sweetness, astringency, and freshness, while seemingly also containing some strange effects.

Soon, the Goddess of Wisdom opened her eyes thoughtfully and gazed deeply at Luo En sitting across from her.

"Does this thing have other effects?"

"Exactly!"

Luo En gave Athena a thumbs-up for her acumen, then explained the true purpose of the "Forbidden Fruit" to the Goddess of Wisdom, and finally revealed his plan.

"Since it can enlighten the mind and break down class barriers, why not use Athens as a starting point, to spread this miracle to all, and gradually bring change to the world."

On hearing this, Athena became intrigued, "Tell me more, how exactly?"

Luo En nodded and spoke his well-prepared pitch in a serious tone, "I plan to establish a regular assembly for the worship of deities, tentatively set to occur every seven days. During this time, the Divine Blood Guard will maintain order, ordinary clergy will listen to confessions in private spaces, offering appropriate guidance and assistance. The officiants will preside over the ceremonies, distributing divine wine and food to the congregants, easing their travel's fatigue."

He paused, a sly look appearing in his eyes.

"The name I've given to this ceremony is 'Mass'."

This ceremony was inspired by the "Bible's" Last Supper, where Jesus, on the eve of his Passion, took bread and wine, gave thanks and blessings, then transformed them into His Sacred Body and Holy Blood, handing them to His disciples to eat, and instructing them to do the same in His memory. This was the world's first Mass.

In Latin, 'mass' originally means "to send you forth," suggesting that after Jesus's Passion, his blessed disciples would disperse, spreading His grace and love throughout the world.

Athena's purple eyes flitted across the wine jars on the table, her gaze flickering, face thoughtful.

"You want to subtly change them?"
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Luo En nodded, his eyes deep with understanding.

Athena was only half right; this change was not merely to rid them of misfortune and disease or to activate Divinity, but was also aimed at fostering psychological identification.

Greece had too many deities, and faith was too scattered, with worship practices being too casual.

Even in Athens, where Athena was the primary object of worship, the faith power she garnered was not particularly pure or vast.

Though the crowds visiting the Great Temple to pay homage were constant, they were disorganized and perfunctory.

According to Luo En's understanding, the best method was to use a specific time, a designated place, and a systematic ceremony to formalize the act of worship, thus crystallizing disparate individuals into a united community.

As a result, a group under the control of a unified consciousness would generate strong and pure power of faith, sustaining the deities.

Successful religions of the future often carried some level of thought control.

For instance, the Five Precepts and Ten Good Deeds in Buddhism, the Ten Commandments of Moses in Christianity, and the Eight Prohibitions of Islam... all of these could be considered indoctrination for the faithful.

And the more stringent the demands, and the more frequent the religious ceremonies, the more extreme the belief becomes.

Take worship services, for example. Christianity requires a communal gathering once every seven days, known as Sunday Service, dedicated to God and prayer.

Islamic teaching, besides the Friday noon gathering known as Jumu'ah, also requires daily prayers at dawn, noontime, afternoon, evening, and night. A failure to observe these prayers is considered a severe sin punishable—unless there is a valid reason.

So, strictly from a thought control perspective, Islam, sharing its roots with other Abrahamic religions, tends to be somewhat more extreme than Christianity, more likely nurturing followers who lean toward the extreme.

Because human energy is limited, and once the greater part of the day is consumed by religious rituals and prayers, the faithful lack space for personal reflection, gradually becoming indoctrinated and transformed into puppets acting on the religion's teachings.

Moreover, the examples Luo En provided were merely the orthodox denominations. They certainly had an element of control over the spirit, but they were restrained and adhered to certain rules of the game, acceptable within universal values.

If taken a step further, that would be the template for a cult.

—Daily extensive rituals and group activities to discipline individuals, leaving no room for contemplation and gradually shaping them into puppets without self-identity.

If these techniques were employed in contemporary society, it would manifest as what's known as a "pyramid scheme" organization.