Only God

At the Great Council, the Emperor, under the guise of God's name, proclaimed that a miracle had manifested within him. At that moment, Eden was so furious that he went up and slapped him.

Logically, this old man, Eden should have slapped him as well.

But the old man's words were so shocking that they made Eden forget his anger, and he stood dumbfounded in his place.

The Priest's words continued,

"In this world,

under this sky, over these oceans, across this land, there is a new God, whom you shall worship!"

As his words finished, a simultaneous prayer burst from the crowd, they repeated the last sentence,

"You shall worship!"

Then, people prostrated their heads to the ground one after another, only Eden remained standing straight.

When Eden came to his senses, he did not bow his head either; he just stared straight at the Priest.

The latter was also gazing at him.

That questioning gaze seemed to ask, why do you not worship.

People slowly straightened their bodies, continuing to wait for the Priest to recite the Scripture.

"King of Kings, King of all Kings, He is the king of the sun, the moon, the stars, and all things, the God of all things, you shall believe in Him, truly believe in Him."

The Priest once again recited the Scripture.

Listening to these Scriptures, Eden, at that moment, belatedly began to tremble with rage,

It was simply unimaginable, simply unimaginable...

Eden had seen many denominations within the True Religion, and read about many renowned heretical sects in books, but there had not been any sect like them, claiming that the Lord had perished and would not rise again, and that a new God had replaced Him, taking control of ruling the world.

"He is the king of the sun, the moon, the stars, and all things, the God of all things, you shall believe in Him, truly believe in Him."

The Priest again proclaimed loudly,

"To this day, all people prostrate, and He has already ruled the world."

The crowd burst into another round of enthusiastic chanting, and once again prostrated their heads to the ground, shouting:

"We shall believe in Him, truly believe in Him, all people prostrate, and He has already ruled the world."

Once again, Eden did not lower his head.

The gaze of the Priest remained fixed on Eden.

He could not help but interrupt the prayer, angrily saying:

"Believer, why are you so disrespectful in this holy place? Hasn't your body and mind been cleansed by the Scripture yet?"

"I've already been baptized, but not with your Scripture."

Eden, with widened eyes, murmured

"No, no, the ruler of the world is not your God."

Then, he stood up, ready to rush to the stage.

The Priest's gaze revealed a hint of panic, about to call for help.

Just then, the Stone Pendant suddenly emitted a strong light, swallowing Eden whole, just like last time.

A white light burst forth again, and Eden was once again unable to see anything, as if he had become blind.

Endless darkness ensued, the world grew slightly quiet for a short while, that quiet time was very brief, yet seemed endless, then in the midst of the darkness, everything spun wildly again.

The space around rapidly spun and transformed, nausea and other discomforts surged up, it was unknown how long it lasted before the changes around halted.

Moments later, Eden slowly opened his eyes.

"This place…"

Eden said hoarsely:

"I...have I come back?!"

He looked down at his body, then lifted the curtain, and surveyed his surroundings, the heretic small town had disappeared, replaced by tents starkly standing in the vast meadow.

Eden turned his head, glanced at the items inside the tent, identical to what he had seen before.

"I really came back... What on earth is going on?"

Eden said incredulously:

"Did I just… fall into an illusion? Or did I… travel through time?"

The scenery of that place seemed too real, not at all like an illusion.

Compared to an illusion, it was more likely time-travel.

"Only...where did I travel to?

They said…the Lord had perished for a thousand years, was that place, perhaps, the future?"

Muttering to himself, Eden suddenly felt a sensation as if struck by thunder, as if his worldview had collapsed.

God... had fallen?

How could He... how could He...

The Holy Scripture didn't lack experiences of God's decline, documenting that at the day of apocalypse, God had sacrificed Himself for mankind and thus had fallen, but thousands of years later, He and His Heaven descended upon the world.

However, the priests there not only proclaimed that God had fallen but also declared that a new god had inherited His authority and ruled the entire world.

"It's fake, it must be fake, they've been deceived."

Eden denied subconsciously,

"God, forgive my fear."

In this world, there were many who spoke boldly, those people included. When Heaven descended, there had been those who doubted the existence of God, but when the Great Angel sounded the trumpet, faced with various doubts, the truth stood up to prove itself.

After such reassurance, Eden gradually calmed down. He thought to himself, why should he panic?

Eden exhaled and began caressing the pendant on his chest.

"I can't immediately cross over, does this pendant have a time limit? It must, I need to study it more."

Thinking this, Eden slowly walked out of the tent and immediately bumped into other Night Watchmen and the Cavalry Captain.

"Blonde Eden, have you found anything?"

the Cavalry Captain asked.

"I found some clues, here's a letter."

Saying so, Eden adjusted the pendant around his neck,

"And this pendant."

After the Cavalry Captain took the letter, he looked at Eden suspiciously.

"What's wrong?"

Eden asked.

"What pendant? You have nothing in your hand."

the Cavalry Captain said.

"You... can't see it?"

Eden said, puzzled.

"See what? Are you crazy?"

the Cavalry Captain retorted.

Eden blinked and looked around, realizing from their expressions that no one else but him could see the Stone Pendant.

"Alright... never mind, I encountered a devil; perhaps it influenced me."

Eden explained like this.

Everyone on the scene nodded, believing Eden's words, and several Night Watchmen walked into the tent behind Eden to try to identify any gaps.

Eden stood aside and took a deep breath, his heart uneasy.

What exactly is that world...

Eden was somewhat perplexed.

Regardless, until this matter was thoroughly investigated, he couldn't tell anyone.

Thinking this, if word leaked out, letting others know about the pendant and the world behind it, it would not only bring him a great deal of trouble but even cause a crisis for the Church.

Soon after, the investigation concluded. The Night Watchmen gathered together, exchanging their findings.

"Blonde Eden and Carlson encountered that devil; it seems to come from someone called Lodzwell."

"Is that a wizard? There are traces of witchcraft here."

"Possibly, and probably a wizard who manipulates devils."

Hearing this speculation, the Night Watchmen all furrowed their brows, everyone could tell from their expressions that this Lodzwell was no good.

"Really troublesome."

Eden said slowly.

"Who's to say otherwise, may God watch over us."

a Night Watchman sighed.

Different races and countries had varying views toward wizards and witchcraft, some places revered them like gods, some despised them, and some respected them from a distance. The only commonality in these views was that wizards were not easily provoked.

And wizards that manipulate devils, even among wizards, were the most feared and despised.

Because these wizards faced the manifestation of humanity's evil—devils—and embraced it, almost without taboo, lacking any morals or rules.

There had been rumors that a devil-wielding wizard had once let the devil in his heart manifest and transformed it into a woman, coupling with it to seek deeper evil.

"Anyway, let's head back. When we reach Ausenco, be wary of that person called Lodzwell."

the Night Watchman Captain said.