Only God

Eden would not forget the gratification from last night.

After he finished his retort, Arsia's face turned visibly red with anger. She glared at the priest, her fingers trembling like rose sea salt. Perhaps she was choked up, or perhaps because her mother was present, she ultimately could not speak her retort.

The sight of Arsia swallowing her frustration brought Eden a moment of gratification, even though his spiritual nature told him that a priest should not feel this way.

This retort was just a minor episode in the Imperial Palace. Soon after, Eden and Veldor were to accompany the princess in her wedding convoy heading to the Ausenco Kingdom in the south of the Empire, guarding Arsia's safety while investigating the matter of the Zor Elves in Ausenco.

Before departing, Eden had an important matter waiting to be handled—Ascension.

Having been confined in prison and awaiting the Emperor's verdict, Eden had touched the bottleneck but had not been able to prepare for Ascension. Now that he was free again, it was time to attend to this matter.

Eden informed his life-saving benefactor Veldor of this, who then took out his savings and bought some Ascension materials for Eden. The materials required to ascend from the First Rank to the Second Rank were neither expensive nor rare, and could be easily bought in the market.

Eden gratefully accepted these materials. After the trial, although he had not been expelled from the church, a heretic could not undertake priestly duties. It could be said that it was the most financially strained time of his life.

"These things have become much more expensive than they were twenty years ago."

Veldor said softly.

"Is that so... I hadn't noticed."

Eden replied.

Twenty years ago, he had not yet understood these matters, barely ever leaving the monastery, focusing solely on reading, writing, and studying the scriptures under the guidance of the deputy head.

He had not paid attention to the changes in the prices, thinking that those items were naturally priced as such.

"Some things, the price remains the same a hundred years ago and a hundred years later, such as pigs, cows, sheep. Fifty years ago, one sheep was six Lodden silver coins, and now it's still six Constantine silver coins, the same goes for a dairy cow, around eight gold coins or so, not exceeding ten...

But, these Ascension materials are different, the Emperor through the Great Council and the Imperial Council, had almost all the Ascension material merchants in the major cities controlled, setting up a dedicated market, and without a special permit, selling is not allowed, with violators potentially facing exile as a punishment. That's why these materials have become increasingly expensive."

Veldor spoke about the changes, being a Dwarf, naturally sensitive to prices, having an innate passion for gold and silver.

Eden listened, stunned. He had never paid attention to these things.

Seeing this, Veldor did not continue to talk further but urged him to get ready for the Ascension Ceremony quickly.

The ceremony of the Holy Chorus was simple, involving performing the Ascension through materials amid a holy song, where success usually was ensured as long as no key material was missing.

"One gram of saffron petals, ewe's blood, one kilogram of grass..."

Eden checked the Ascension materials and, with the help of Veldor, found a church where members of the Holy Chorus formed a circle around the ceremonial priest. As the bell rang, they began to sing the hymn of praise.

The circle quickly drew the spiritual essence from the Ascension materials, converging upon Eden as the hymn-like sounds grew louder. As Eden closed his eyes, it seemed as if a sacred bell tolled within his heart.

Soon, his soul was drawn forth, led onwards, entering into the Sea of Souls as mentioned by his predecessors.

.........

The journey through the Sea of Souls was exceedingly smooth.

Advancing from the First Rank to the Second Rank was not difficult; Eden faced no obstacles in the Sea of Souls, and, with his natural talents, he quickly completed the Ascension Ceremony.

Throughout the process, nothing was particularly noteworthy except for a moment at the end when a noble Fairy seemed to cast a glance at him.

That glance was fleeting, like an Illusion; as Eden regained his clarity, he heard the Holy Chorus release their voices in a hymn, just reaching the most poignant line: "May Heaven reign forever."

Having just ascended, Eden's soul was enshrouded by the sanctifying touch, and hearing this song, he was reminded of the Martyrs in history, who, facing collective execution, sang hymns. Their persecutors had never heard such sounds before. Many years later, the persecutors had turned to dust, and the seed of faith took root and flourished in that very dust. The hymn spread wider and sung louder; the descendants of those persecutors and those of the Martyrs no longer harbored hatred but were as close as brothers.

The holy feeling gradually faded, and Eden slowly came to his senses.

Stretching out his hand and inspecting it carefully, Eden felt as though slight changes had occurred to his body, but he could not pinpoint what exactly had changed.

All he knew was that he had successfully ascended, and he was now a Second Rank member of the Holy Chorus.

The sunlight filtered through the window, shining on his body, making him appear brighter than others.

Veldor walked up, clapped his hands, and congratulated Eden,

"Congratulations, you are blessed by God."

Eden gratefully thanked Veldor and inquired about the departure date,

"When do we leave this place?"

"Soon, in about seven days; we will meet the Queen's secret agent in a while."

Veldor paused, then added,

"Don't worry about any dangers on the way; with the Queen as our amulet, those who seek to please the Emperor will have to think twice."

Eden thought for a moment, then asked,

"What about dangers from Ausenco, like those Zor Elves?"

Veldor smiled,

"There's no need to worry about that either. The princess's wedding convoy will be escorted by the Royal Guard, led by the Emperor's Paladin—'Bladebreaker' Bright."

Veldor used the term "Paladin" in Logos, a name better known in Danschel as Monarch's Guard Knight, but this name is long and usually referred to as Holy Knight in literary works.

In this era, besides their allegiance to the True Religion, Holy Knights didn't have much association with the Church.

Hearing Veldor's words, Eden nodded; he had heard of "Bladebreaker" Bright, the Paladin who had followed the Emperor in campaigns against the Beastman tribes to the west and had helped suppress a rebellion within Ausenco, earning great merit.

With such a Paladin leading the princess's convoy, nothing could be more fitting.

Eden thought that even if something unexpected occurred, they wouldn't need to exert themselves; Arsia would surely marry into Ausenco smoothly, and he could finally bid farewell to this harbinger of doom.