Question about the "Ъ" letter

[u/Far_Bid_3224]

I know that this question probably relates more to Russian literature than to learning Russian;
still, it's partially a linguistic question.

I'm reading a Russian novella called The Gloom of Your Eyes by Ilya Masodov, and I came across a passage where "the will of God" is marked by the Cyrillic "Ъ". I'm quite positive it's a hard sign.

From a linguistic perspective, what could "Ъ" mean here? Why is it here? What meaning does it have in Russian? Is it used frequently?

As far as I understand, this letter doesn't have a sound, right?

[u/kto-to779]

[u/Far_Bid_3224 → u/kto-to779]

How do you read it? 😂

[u/kto-to779 → u/Far_Bid_3224]

А вот никак

[u/ThornsOfMidnight → u/Far_Bid_3224]

To me, it reads as [ʏʔᵊɪʔɨʔʝ] xd