NOVEL NEXT Chapter 18
Whoosh-!!
In the cold, biting winds of the Northern Iron Wall Fortress, skin-chilling blizzards swirl endlessly. Here, where snow and frost pile year-round, Saint Beatrice and the Phantom troupe have arrived.
Prepared meticulously to present the play, Exodus, in collaboration with members of the Holy Church, including the Choir.
“Welcome, Your Holiness!”
As soon as he meets Saint Beatrice, the officer salutes sharply. He scans the Phantom and the company members with a solemn demeanor and reports.
“I’ve gathered all the Paladins on duty at the fortress training grounds! They’re eagerly awaiting the performance to begin!”
“Thank you, Officer. Please guide these individuals.”
“Understood!”
With an enthusiastic reply, the officer leads us toward the training grounds. It’s a spacious area where the temporary training equipment has been dismantled and the stage set up for today’s performance.
“Now, everyone take your seats! As pre-announced, our Holiness has prepared a special performance for you! Please watch with a respectful heart, thankful for Her love!”
The officer commands the assembled Paladins, who are lined up perfectly despite the cold and hardships.
“……”
“……”
Contrary to the officer’s enthusiasm, the Paladins remain silent, their faces shadowed with deep sorrow and fatigue. A visit from one saint and a one-time performance couldn’t erase their pain and weariness.
“This Iron Wall Fortress was completed through the cooperation of the Empire and the Church during the reign of the Emperor to prevent the flood of the Demon Race.”
Saint Beatrice speaks softly, exhaling white breath. Her pale cheeks redden against the cold. Away from the actors and choir on stage, she quietly converses with Phantom.
“This place constantly faces the threat to life, and the surrounding environment is an extreme battlefield. The Paladins, devoted to their faith, solely protect it with their conviction.”
“……”
“Do you understand what this means, Phantom?”
With beautiful, silvery eyelashes, she gazes at Phantom with her eyes tightly shut.
“If the performance of Exodus fails, we might all pay a great price. Me, you, and the citizens safely living in the warm south.”
The divine barrier can only be maintained by the will of humans. While supporting nations share their faith, that alone is not sufficient. Without the determination of those guarding the barrier, everything will inevitably collapse.
However, Phantom’s reply is still firm.
“Do not worry, Your Holiness. I swear there will be no failure. Have you forgotten what we agreed to name the Protagonist?”
“Ah, yes. Moses. It means ‘to draw out from the waters’ in ancient language, surely fitting for a shepherd who crossed the sea.”
“Y-yes, exactly.”
“Hmm? Why are you stuttering?”
“It’s nothing. I was just thinking how sometimes, certain languages or cultures can be surprisingly similar, even if totally from different places.”
“Puhuh, all of a sudden?”
Saint Beatrice bursts into a laugh like a girl, waving her hands lightly before continuing.
“Anyway, I get it. I’ll be looking forward to it, Phantom. To see if your genius can manifest once again.”
“You flatter me.”
The playwright pretends to be modest in response to her words. But Beatrice isn’t just throwing empty praise.
“Words reflect the soul, Phantom.”
Narrowing her eyes secretly, Beatrice murmurs inwardly.
“I want to find out through this performance what exactly the meaning of your bizarre soul is.”
There’s no doubt about the talent that has repeatedly shaken the Empire with successful works. However, it’s also true that this great writer possesses an unusually strange soul.
So she wanted to confirm it for herself.
How well can he write a religious play praising God?
What true color of the soul will his work reflect?
[……This story takes place long ago in a kingdom called Egypt, known for its paganism—a mysterious and sacred record.]
This narration marks the beginning of Exodus in earnest.
The Bible of Christianity is divided into two parts: the Old Testament and the New Testament.
The Old Testament deals with events before the appearance of Jesus. The New Testament focuses on his actions after his arrival.
And the most significant figure in the Old Testament is none other than Moses.
Before Moses finally appears, the Hebrew people in the Bible were merely lowly slaves.
[Work harder! You lazy slaves!]
[Build the pyramids for the great ruler and living God, Pharaoh!]
In the pagan kingdom of Egypt, the oppressors worship false gods.
Under them, the Hebrew people, who serve the ‘true one God,’ suffer daily.
It’s a common sight to be whipped under the scorching sun while constructing massive pyramids.
The construction of the royal granaries, Pitom and Ramses, pushes them to their limits.
They even resort to drowning every newborn male in the Nile out of fear of rebellion.
[Ahhh, no! Baby!]
[Our child! Please, have mercy! Just kill me instead!]
[Filthy Hebrew slave girl! Get lost!]
[Drown all the newborns this year to feed the crocodiles! It is the decree of the great Horus, Pharaoh!]
As they finish their lines, the Egyptian soldiers ruthlessly collect the props, rocking cradles. The Hebrew slaves are struck by the thunderous disaster of losing their beloved children in a day.
And as the wails of the slaves resonate throughout the village,
[Oh, Elohim! Where are you, our God?]
The Hebrews cry out in despair, tearing their hearts as they call on the name of a God who seems to have forsaken them.
[Why do you ignore our suffering? Do you not hear the cries of your people?]
[The pain of whipping! The bitter salt of sweat! Why do you leave us here!]
[Save us! Deliver us! Send us to a beautiful land flowing with milk and honey!]
“……!”
Gulp, gulp! The Paladins, who had been indifferent until now, begin to stir restlessly.
The agonizing cries of the Hebrews suffering under Egypt resonate with their own circumstances, hitting today’s Paladins’ hearts.
And this was precisely the effect I intended.
‘The audience’s reactions vary wildly depending on their circumstances.’
This was perfectly exemplified by the absurdist play from the 1950s, Waiting for Godot.
Waiting for Godot simply features two men waiting for a man named Godot. But Godot never appears on stage throughout the play.
Thus, when Samuel Beckett introduced this experimental play, the audience was baffled.
To an average person, Waiting for Godot seemed a confusing, strange failure.
However, in November 1957, when this play was performed at Quentin State Prison in California, the 1,400 prisoners who watched it cried tears of joy, giving it a standing ovation.
‘Those prisoners who had their ‘freedom’ taken understood the despair of waiting for something indefinitely.’
They knew that if Godot did appear, he might disappoint them compared to their expectations.
‘……Of course, if it had been an entirely foreign religious story, the reaction would have been different.’
But remarkably, the story of ‘Moses’ about to unfold closely parallels the actions of the ‘shepherd who crossed the sea,’ a saint of the Heavenly Church.
According to records, the ancient saint who crossed the sea lived as a prince in an unknown pagan kingdom.
Having committed a great sin, he escaped the kingdom, received divine revelation, and returned home, eventually using divine miracles to save the people subjugated in the pagan kingdom.
He crossed the sea and migrated to a faraway land, establishing a state that remains a legend.
So surely the Paladins would think, ‘This is an adaptation of the records of the shepherd who crossed the sea!’?
Although the details of the deeds are riddled with gaps, adapting or modifying those ‘gaps’ without crossing the line of blasphemy is the primary task of religious play writers in another world.
Therefore, I could more freely project Moses onto the saint of this world.
‘I changed the identity of the mysterious ancient kingdom to Egypt, and gave the oppressed people the name Hebrew, meaning ‘to cross over’ in ancient language, naming the legendary theocracy ‘Israel,’ meaning ‘God intervened.’’
Meanwhile, the play continued without pause.
[Forgive me, my child. May God watch over you. I will pray every day for you to be safe and happy.]
Moses’s mother, Jochebed, who hid her newborn son from the soldiers.
Eventually, she couldn’t bear it anymore and sends baby Moses adrift in a basket woven from reeds on the Nile River.
Hoping the miraculous baby can survive.
And remarkably, the miracle occurs.
At that moment, the princess of Egypt, bathing near the Nile, discovers the drifting Moses and lovingly takes him as her adopted child.
[Oh my! What a cute baby!]
Of course, the princess vaguely suspects the baby’s origins.
Yet, she takes him in without hesitation.
After all, Pharaoh’s cruel decision to eliminate innocent newborns due to fears of rebellion is met with significant opposition within Egypt.
[I will name this child ‘Moses’ and raise him as my own.]
[From today, this child shall be my son and a member of Egypt’s royal family.]
“Moses? Moses. Is that an ancient word meaning ‘to draw out from the waters’?”
“……Well, it’s a well-suited name for the shepherd who crossed the sea.”
“Unlike Tom or Peter, there’s some sincerity in it.”
Mumbling. The Paladins, pretending not to care, increasingly seem to show interest.
Seeing this, I bitterly smile inwardly and let out a sigh of relief.
‘Thank the heavens that the ancient language used in the Heavenly Church is similar to the Biblical Hebrew; otherwise, completing Exodus
would have been rough.’Words like Moses, Hebrew, Israel, etc. lose their meaning, and the content would simultaneously fade if their significance were neglected.
Anyway, in that ironic twist where Pharaoh’s evil deeds to suppress a slave rebellion would end up giving birth to their savior, Moses could grow up comfortably as part of the Egyptian royal family.
However, that comfortable time wouldn’t last long.
Witnessing the persecution and abuse against his fellow Hebrews, Moses always felt a deep anger.
In a fit of rage, he ends up killing the overseer tormenting a fellow countryman and buries him.
Having committed murder for the first time, Moses is filled with fear and, fearing his crime will be exposed, decides to flee.
Wandering alone through the desolate wilderness, he unexpectedly comes into contact with a priest of a foreign nation, leading to his permanent settlement among the nomads.
For forty long years, Moses lives as a shepherd, escaping from his painful reality.
[Moses, my Moses.]
One day, while searching for a lost lamb, he comes across a burning bush on a holy mountain.
[Who are you?]
[I am Who I am. I am the God of your ancestors, the Almighty. I have seen the suffering of my people in Egypt and have heard their cries.]
The voice of the deity resonates warmly through a magical sound device, maximizing the mystical sound.
The actor playing Moses, Renoir, kneeling in front of the prop bush, is addressed by the divine voice.
[So I send you as the savior of my people. You shall go and deliver my people from Egypt.]
[H-how could I dare to save my kin from Egypt? I lack eloquence, and when my kin ask of your name, I have no ability to answer. Send someone else instead.]
[Moses, who made a mouth for man? Is it not I who creates the mute, the deaf, the seeing, and the blind?]
Moses hesitates, unable to accept that he is the savior of the Hebrews.
The deity rebukes his foolishness and timidity in a stern yet warm voice.
Yet, the deity does not merely criticize Moses for his burdens.
[I will be your strength. I will be your mouth and show you signs that I have sent you.]
At the same time as the divine voice, colorful lights bathing the stage in warm hues.
The bright, colorful glow gives the illusion that the love of the deity envelops the protagonist’s entire being.
[Moses, raise your staff with both hands.]
[Through this staff, you will perform my miracles……]
With the deity’s final words, the flames of the bush gradually extinguish.
Moses finally realizes that what he has seen is not an illusion.
Thus, awakening to his destiny, Moses prepares to turn back.
Back to Egypt, the homeland where his people are enduring unending suffering.
“Phantom? Is this really enough?”
During the intermission of Exodus, Saint Beatrice looks at the murmuring Paladins and asks.
Her expression carries a hint of anxiety as she bites her lip.
“I can’t deny it’s an interesting piece. But you haven’t forgotten our original goal, have you? What the Paladins need right now is……”
I know well what the saint is worried about.
To be honest, so far, Exodus has been merely an enjoyable, entertaining performance.
It hasn’t significantly differed from other commonplace religious plays in this world.
There hasn’t been a decisive moment that can invigorate their spirits and revive their faith—yet.
“Do you know the saying that the pen is mightier than the sword?”
“No. That’s news to me.”
At my question, the saint shakes her head in confusion. I shrug my shoulders, conveying the meaning.
“A sword can only strike one target at a time, but a pen can, through the ‘influence’ of magic, strike numerous targets simultaneously. Sometimes, well-written words can change the world more swiftly and surely than a finely honed sword.”
“Hmm.”
The saint gazes at me with a somewhat perplexed expression.
She might be considering, ‘Is a pen really stronger than a sword in a fight?’
Of course, the metaphor I just used is merely poetic fancy.
The pen isn’t Excalibur, after all, claiming to be actual superior to swords.
“Did you forget the revelation given to Moses by the deity?”
I smile broadly behind my mask, producing a teasing response.
“The deity will be the mouth and strength for the Paladins through His compassionate love. Thus, let us not lose our faith and carry on through to the end, with the sentiment of Moses returning to save his kin from the pagan kingdom.”
Perhaps at a loss for words, the saint almost rhythmically blinks her eyes, as if mystified.
That expression reminds me of a dazed white rabbit, and I feel an urge to pet her.
Of course, I wouldn’t actually do it, as that would be blasphemy.
“Oh, it seems like they’re trying to resume the play.”
Renoir and the troupe are gathering their props to return to the stage.
Behind them, the members of the choir are getting ready to sing.
Glancing at them, I tell the saint,
“Let’s enjoy the show together, to see how Moses ultimately saves the Hebrews.”