Only God

The fervor of martyrdom.

Like a righteous man who sacrifices himself for the cause, for the beautiful, good, and virtuous things, it is a glory.

Eden slowly immersed himself in this glory, sighing for himself.

At that moment, a voice suddenly come from outside the cell.

"Hey, Eden, I heard that you are a heretic?"

Eden turned his head, withdrawing from his spiritual cultivation state, and looked at the speaker.

It was Timian, the half-breed of Fahela and humans.

"I am not a heretic."

Eden furrowed his brow,

"The Great Council has not judged me as a heretic."

Seeing that he seemed to have offended Eden, Timian quickly said:

"Yes, yes, a suspected heretic, I misspoke, may God forgive me."

Eden nodded,

"So, what do you want to ask?"

Timian looked around, saw that no one was paying attention to them, and continued:

"You said you heard a prophecy that a Savior will come in the future, and that Savior is God."

Eden did not deny,

"Besides God, who else could possess such power?"

Upon hearing this, Timian lowered his voice and said mysteriously:

"Hey... I've heard people say that in the future, far in the future, there will be a new God...

Do you think He could be the Savior?"

"What are you talking about?"

Eden raised his eyebrows, glaring at Timian,

"Do you know what you are saying?"

Timian was taken aback, seemingly not understanding why Eden had such a strong reaction.

Soon, he came to his senses and hurriedly said:

"It's just a rumor I heard, just a rumor..."

Eden was not so easily placated,

"That is not just heretical thought, but also cultist thought. Many followers of other divinities try to lure True Believers to convert and apostatize with such claims."

Hearing this, Timian's face turned pale, and in front of Eden, he quickly clasped his hands together, begging God for forgiveness.

After Timian pleaded for forgiveness, Eden slowly said:

"Do not think that because I am suspected of heresy, I will make peace with the heretics. I am to stand against them."

Timian nodded eagerly, continuously saying yes, yes, yes.

At this time, Eden's tone finally softened,

"Repent,

Anyway, only He is the Lord."

He had glimpsed at Timian once in his spiritual cultivation state, and in his soul, there was not much sin; therefore, Eden did not continue to scold him harshly.

After saying those words, Eden turned away and quietly sat leaning against a corner of the wall.

The emergence of a new God is nothing special, in the Celestial Kingdom divine beings are awakening to self-awareness from time to time, but Eden neither accepted nor believed that this so-called new God would become the Savior. What Timian was suggesting was audacious nonsense, pure fantasy.

God had sacrificed Himself for mankind, saving the world, and now there were heretics claiming a new God would replace God's deeds, wielding God-like power; from any perspective, this was the terrifying thought of heresy or even a cult.

With the emergence of God's Path, more and more heretical ideas appeared inside and outside the Church.

This, Eden was well aware of.

After all, he himself had nearly been condemned as a heretic.

After being reprimanded, Timian carefully sat down on the ground, giving Eden a look.

"Such a stubborn priest..."

Timian murmured to himself,

"I thought he would be interested in us, I didn't expect him to be so difficult to influence..."

Eden, though he urged Timian to repent, and Timian also begged for God's forgiveness, but... those were all just for show.

Timian was well aware that he had long been seen as a heretic in others' eyes.

He had been gently interacting with Eden all along and casually mentioned the new God, all to develop Eden as one of his own brethren.

In Timian's homeland, a new and distinctly heretical belief was spreading.

People called it the "Fahela Sect," whose doctrine was that man is the struggle of righteousness against wickedness, good against evil; whether a righteous man or a wicked one, everything is predestined, and in the distant future, a new God would ascend to the throne, He would test the righteous, punish the wicked, and make the divine world replace the mundane one.

Although this sect had not yet fully developed and grown, it had widely spread in the frontier areas where the Empire's control was lacking, and Timian was a believer of the Fahela Sect.

He had come to Danschel originally to probe the environment and spread the teachings, but by an accidental twist of fate, he ended up in prison due to a dispute with someone else.

Timian stealthily sized up Eden, thanks to being rooted in the frontier areas, the Fahela Sect was not short of some stupid and ignorant lay Believers. What it really lacked was knowledgeable theological elites; it urgently needed batches of Priests to support that divine cause.

"Just wait for the opportunity, just wait for the opportunity..."

Veldor and Casas, the two old men, got their wish and visited Her Highness the Queen.

Her Highness received them in a Palace and personally poured wine for the servants of God.

After a brief exchange of pleasantries and blessings, Casas immediately explained their purpose,

"Noble Queen, you are the Emperor's deputy, the crown of the Empire, only you can help us."

The Queen wasn't surprised they came with a request. She elegantly placed down her wine glass and asked,

"Good Priests, what do you want?"

Casas glanced at Veldor, who then took a deep breath and slowly began to speak,

"Under the widespread grace of Heaven, we never indulge in falsehoods. We have come this time for the sake of Eden."

"Which Eden?"

The Queen asked reflexively, then suddenly remembered who and exclaimed in surprise,

"That Eden?!"

Veldor nodded his head,

"Exactly that Eden. Not long ago, he acted rashly and offended your great husband."

The Queen twirled the glass wine cup, her face becoming solemn, and she sighed softly,

"Offense? Good Priests, you make it sound too simple.

What he did to the Emperor was not merely offense, but... he humiliated the whole of Danschel."

Casas quickly said,

"We will make him turn over a new leaf, and he will write a letter of repentance, confessing to the whole Empire."

Even though Casas the Pastor had no hope that a young man like Eden would write a letter of repentance, in a moment of desperation, one must paint a rosy picture first and foremost.

Veldor also hurriedly said,

"In any case, Eden indeed made a grave mistake, but that is just a mistake, not a sin. In this world, there are many things that can be called sins, but slapping someone isn't one. It only insults one's dignity, and my Godfather has said that dignity is like a beard, even if trimmed off, it will grow back."

The Queen said,

"Dignity is like a beard... quite a Dwarf-like metaphor.

However, good Priests, he is the Emperor. Even though you Priests do not pledge loyalty to secular Monarchs, he is still the ruler of this land."

At this point, the Queen expressed her regret,

"I have noticed his eloquence in debates, he truly is a talented young man.

Yet, even if I could intercede on his behalf, would the Emperor accept it? I think not.

May God have mercy, perhaps it is time for this Priest to surrender his soul to God."

The Queen's voice carried a hint of sympathy, but more so, a sense of helplessness; when Eden struck the Emperor, she was equally infuriated, but years of religious teaching soon made her let go of such meaningless hatred. In her heart, she bore no animosity towards Eden, instead, she felt a pang of regret.

Next, no matter how Veldor and Casas pleaded, the Queen did not grant their request; this time, they truly returned without achieving anything.

On their way back to their lodgings, Veldor was burning with anxiety. He kept looking towards the direction of the Imperial Palace, praying for an Envoy of the Royal Family to stop them with news that the Royal Family had had a change of heart, but that was obviously impossible.

"Now what should we do..."

Veldor asked Pastor Kassess.

Faced with Veldor's question, Casas shook his head helplessly, after a long moment he said,

"We can't save him... pray for his soul after his death."

Now the Great Council was nearing its end, it wouldn't be long before Priests from different countries and cities would start their journeys home, by then, everything would be too late.

For a while, a cloud of despair hung over the heads of the two Priests, unable to be dispelled no matter what.