Only God

Eden had a dream.

In the dream, he stood at the highest point of Danschel, facing the city, surrounded by countless soldiers, with countless people crying for him at the foot of the mountain. The sound of their lamentation spread throughout the entire city, filling every street and alleyway, but he felt no sadness. Instead, he smiled and offered his final blessing to the Mortal World.

Under the brilliance that illuminated the earth, he was like an Emperor scrutinizing his city!

Emperor, punishment, questioning, humiliation—all vanished at that moment, and after praying, he became a Martyr to his own cause.

The scene paused here, suddenly torn apart by something.

Eden felt a surge of panic; he tried to escape the dream, desperately trying to wake up, but there was no escape.

In the scenes that followed, he was no longer a Martyr. He endured humiliation and harm. On the execution ground, there were no tears for him, no one mourned. Everyone hated him, cursed him, threw clumps of dirt at him, spat on him. After his death, his reputation was tarnished, smeared by others. Everyone said he was a lunatic, a terrible heretic, often speaking false prophecies, bearing false witness, and even using children for alchemy. Under this tyranny, he was no longer an Emperor overseeing a city but a criminal scrutinized by the city.

Eden was pained and terrified; despite never complicit in evil, so many wicked labels were attached to him. He could see the sins of others' souls, but they could not. How tragic was that place.

The terrifying sights persisted for a long time, eventually fading away slowly. The vision in the dream finally fixed on a certain place.

Above the heavy, undulating Cloud Sea, there was a holy figure watching over him, shedding tears for him.

"I told you long ago, those hardships were not meant for you to bear..."

The holy figure shed tears, and Eden awoke from his dream in time.

The prison guards woke him up as usual.

Following the Prison Director's orders, they woke Eden intermittently throughout the night to torment the Priest's spirit.

And before, each time he was awakened, Eden would quickly fall asleep again.

But this time was different.

The fear from the dream lingered; Eden breathed heavily, his heart raced ceaselessly, unable to calm down.

Arsia's beautiful visage came to mind again, her words echoing in his brain. Eden trembled; he understood that everything would proceed as Arsia had said, yet he was powerless to change it.

"Those hardships were not meant for you to bear..."

Eden murmured the words he heard in the dream,

"These hardships were not meant for me to bear..."

The painful rubble accumulated, building higher and higher like a small mountain, as if poised to collapse and completely crush him, driving him into an irreversible abyss. Eden's lips quivered; the tyranny's sins were too numerous, having persecuted countless righteous people before, and now turning to persecute him, affecting not only his body but his spirit.

A world controlled by tyranny, covered in boils, oozing poison, truly inconceivable that God sacrificed for such a world.

Oh God, why must I endure all this?

Eden's thoughts were in extreme disarray; he was shrouded in fear and anxiety throughout the night until dawn arrived in this magnificent city.

............…

"It worked, it really worked!"

Receiving the written response from the Great Shepherd, Veldor exclaimed excitedly.

Casas, the Pastor, was also glad; he smiled, stroked his beard continuously, and murmured prayers.

The Emperor and the Great Shepherd, these two most critical figures, both agreed to hold a public trial for Eden's crimes.

And for this, all thanks to the Prophet's Letter.

In the city, no one dared to openly doubt the letter; the vast majority believed it genuinely came from the Prophet's hand.

The contents of the letter were simple: Prophet Xilan heard of the Savior's Prophecy, and this great Prophet suggested that the Great Council re-examine the heretical words and deeds of the Priest, and if necessary, he would make a judgment for the people.

How reasonable the situation was, and the request so incontrovertibly sensible that no one could find fault.

The appearance of the letter instantly shook the Emperor and the Great Shepherd, and they agreed to a public trial—this shortly after Veldor and Casas had lost hope in either of them.

To tell the truth, Veldor was still nervous when he brought the letter.

Because...

The letter was not actually written by Xilan.

It was completely forged.

Veldor had met Xilan before, but after that encounter, he hadn't seen Xilan for decades, let alone corresponded with the Prophet or known how to contact him.

Regarding the origin of the letter... when both men were at their wits' end, Veldor suddenly remembered that Xilan had given him several books, which still contained his notes and handwriting.

Hence, Veldor forged a letter from the Prophet based on the handwriting in those books.

To avoid suspicion, Veldor did not mention the incident of Eden slapping the Emperor in the face.

After all, that was a trifling matter—God's Prophet paying attention to such mundane affairs would inevitably lead to doubts about the letter's authenticity and reasonableness.

For similar reasons, he also did not request the immediate release of Eden in the letter.

Directly requesting Eden's release might be seen as if the Prophet, to some extent, acknowledged the heretical thoughts, thus further increasing the likelihood of suspicion.