Only God

The Emperor looked down upon him from his lofty position, exchanging words with the envoy from Ausenco.

"In the morning, this man was so feeble."

The prince from the Ausenco royal family said.

"Some people appear unmoved by riches and power on the surface, like righteous men, but in reality, their hearts are so fragile, a little threat and their knees buckle."

The Emperor said with a smile, feeling great satisfaction at Eden's cowardice shown earlier in the day.

The envoys from Ausenco echoed the Emperor's sentiment, praising his hawk-like sharpness of sight.

Constantine continued,

"Envoys, you may not know, but I had originally intended to forgive him, unwilling to bicker with such a commoner. Yet unfortunately, the Prophet's Letter arrived, demanding a trial for this heretic."

Arsia, standing to the side, felt a continuous disgust at her father's insincere words.

Having returned here from the detention room, Arsia's anger had subsided, not only forgetting the displeasure Eden had caused her but also looking forward to seeing the accused with some anticipation.

"Just you wait, my Emperor."

Arsia said cheerfully.

Nothing mattered about how Eden had displeased her before; as long as it could embarrass her father, that was enough.

Constantine VI looked down from his high position at the suspect.

If Eden continued to act as feeble as he had in the morning, he was likely to be acquitted as a heretic and set free.

Despite an acquittal not being Constantine's initial wish—his former wish was for torture and humiliation, followed by a secret execution—

but now, Constantine felt that his former wish was truly inadequate; secretly executing him was too light a punishment, not enough to vent his anger.

As Emperor, Constantine had ordered the execution of many, among them, many who cursed until their dying breath, and every time he recalled those faces, it displeased the Emperor greatly.

Compared to directly executing a defiant person, seeing a defiant man submit to himself was far more gratifying.

With that in mind, Constantine no longer wished to execute Eden. Let him be acquitted; after all, the man had already submitted, had begged for mercy. Why not be magnanimously forgiving?

The ruler of the Empire thought as he gazed down at Eden.

At the defendant's bench, the priest slowly raised his head to look at the high-seated Emperor.

Constantine VI was momentarily stunned.

In that man's eyes, cowardice had vanished, leaving only pure contempt, as if it were not the Emperor looking down on him, but he who was looking down on the Emperor.

Constantine VI was enraged and cursed under his breath,

"This madman."

The Great Shepherd Danschel stood at the judgment seat and said with a solemn and authoritative voice,

"Priest Eden, you have shamelessly offended His Majesty the Emperor in full view of the public. We all witnessed it. Tell us, did you do such an act guided by heretical thoughts?"

Everyone watched Eden. Many priests expected he would remain silent as he had that morning, shaking their heads in disappointment in advance, while many more fixed their stares on Eden, guessing he would claim it was a momentary impulse.

Under those thousands of gazes, Eden spoke slowly,

"Indeed,

I acted for the sake of my faith."

As that "Indeed" dropped, everyone's ears pricked up, and when he finished speaking, the whole hall erupted in commotion, everyone staring at him, incredulous at his response.

But what was more terrible was yet to come. Eden raised his hand, pointing at Constantine VI and said,

"The Emperor, under the guise of God's name, has falsely claimed miracles to realize his own ambitions."

Constantine VI was furious, his hand gripping the armrest tightly; who could have imagined that the man who had been utterly feeble this morning was now raising his hand to accuse him.

Casas was visibly flustered and looked for help towards Veldor.

Veldor, too, was astonished. Did Eden not want to live?

The Great Shepherd rebuked,

"Accused, we are here to judge your heretical actions, not to have you accuse His Majesty the Emperor!"

Eden stood at the defendant's bench, took a deep breath, lifted his head, and saw countless eyes staring at him. Among them, some looked at him with sympathy or pity, while others could not wait for him to be crushed to pieces.

The gazes here were so numerous, it seemed as if the entire world had gathered in this place, with a single thought, one could receive cheers, receive praise, receive glory. Likewise, in a single thought, one would be spat upon, be harmed, be humiliated as a madman.

The scorching sun shone over the entire venue, yet Eden felt an eerie silence, like a glass bottle shattering on the ground, but no one coming to pick up the pieces. A mist hung in the air within the venue, rising and seeming to reach the sky.

Under the scrutiny of the crowd, anyone's inherent cowardice would be awakened; nobody wanted to be the person spat upon by the masses.

"I wish to make a statement."

After a long while, Eden spoke.

The crowd was startled by his words. During the morning, he had been utterly passive, silent no matter what others said or asked, as if he had lost his soul. Many had been disappointed in him.

It seemed he might yet live to leave this place if only he did not admit, did not proclaim the Savior's prophecy. He would not be judged a heretic, and this trial would finally have a result. His future would still be boundless.

The Emperor stared intently at Eden, lost in thought.

The choice was a mere thought away—truth or glory? Death or survival?

The Great Shepherd approved his statement, and Eden stood, looking forward, his gaze fixed on the Emperor—the embodiment of absolute power—and he made his statement:

"All servants of God,

If you say I am a heretic, then so be it, a heretic I am!"

Eden declared.

The hall instantly plunged back into uproar, this time more intense than before, even the Great Shepherd trembled and gaped in astonishment.

"What did you say?"

The Great Shepherd quickly regathered his composure and demanded.

"The Savior will indeed come, He is bound to come."

Eden articulated each word:

"I know you all take these as the ravings of a madman, as shocking lies, but I know it is a prophecy, it is the truth.

I also know why you refuse to accept this prophecy because once the Savior comes, it means the end is not far off. You do not wish for an end thus, though you praise God's grace, you do not wish for a Savior in your hearts!

But He is still going to come, still going to come, no matter how the dark clouds cover the sky, they will eventually disperse."

Slowly people recovered from the shock. In this trial, where Eden could have begged for mercy, yielded for a chance at life, he chose to be stubborn in his beliefs.

The priests supportive of the Emperor suddenly gained the upper hand, seizing this opportunity, they clamored one after the other:

"That is a heretic!"

"If he is not a heretic, then who is?"

"He has denied our authority, oh God, pray punish him!"

The venue erupted into noise; for a moment, it sounded like mountains collapsing, seas roaring. The priests sympathetic to Eden were struck dumb, their arguments for defense were lost in the face of Eden's candid admission.

Eden stood upright, his gaze fixed on the Emperor above,

"I know, your majesty wishes me to submit; his subordinates, bearing that secret command, have tortured me repeatedly in prison."

The priest's words completely infuriated Constantine VI, veins on his wrist bulging visibly.

How dare he, how dare he!

Constantine was enraged beyond measure, as Eden's words peeled away his mask of hypocrisy.

"We are not discussing your shameful duties towards his majesty, we are judging your heretical thoughts."

The Great Shepherd said, sweating profusely.

He feared that if Eden continued, it would provoke the Emperor. Once he had dared to challenge the Emperor, but now he was old and had lost his former courage, and moreover, he had recently gained favor from the Emperor himself.

But it was already too late; the Emperor would intervene in this trial.

"Great Shepherd, he has already made me out to be an enemy of God."

Constantine VI rose to his feet, sneered,

"Let me conduct his questioning!"

The Emperor himself had entered the fray.