Only God

When I returned to the camp, the church bells had long since stopped, and Eden gradually came out of that ethereal and holy state.

He stretched his arms out curiously and glanced down at his body as if he had undergone baptism once again.

"This is... this is truly strange."

Speaking, Eden became a little excited, he put his hands together in prayer and couldn't help but pray to God and praise His miracle.

The experience of this day, for some unknown reason, seemed to give him some insight, and his understanding of God's Path had deepened a lot compared to before.

At this rate, it might not be long before he could advance to Third Rank.

"It's time to start preparing the materials for ascension."

After praying, Eden muttered to himself.

The cost of materials for promoting from First Rank to Second Rank was not high, but those for promoting from Second Rank to Third Rank were a different matter; not only were they several times more expensive, but one key material was priceless.

The difficulty of ascension was not only in the materials but also in the fact that even if all materials were prepared, one needed to understand the Ancient Language of Third Rank, otherwise the success rate would be greatly reduced, and in the Ancient Language of Third Rank held by the Holy Chorus, there were two Ancient Words that were yet to be known to anyone.

It has been about ten thousand years since the Second Prophet Noen's incarnation. Over such a long history, even mountains have had their edges worn down, and thousands upon thousands of Ancient Words have undergone a process of being lost, rediscovered, and lost again.

Even the Church, which has passed down teachings from generation to generation, has recorded far fewer Ancient Words today than there were thousands of years ago, so it's quite normal for some Ancient Words to be unknown.

For this reason, he needed to prepare early.

"The Second Rank Ancient Words of the Holy Chorus are 'Divine, Inspiring, Soul, Possession...' and so forth. Given this, perhaps the two Ancient Words of Third Rank also relate to faith or spirit."

Inside the tent, Eden pondered,

"Combining the characteristics of the Holy Chorus, I might need to make a trip to the Holy Land to find related clues."

The Holy Land, also known as the towering land—Logos Ancient Kingdom—since that nation perished, the place that nurtured the world's first civilization has not experienced war or turmoil, although minor conflicts were inevitable, it still remains one of the most peaceful places in the world.

This peace is partly due to the sparse population of the Holy Land's inhabitants, who did not form kingdom city-states or tribal clans, and partly due to the Elves of Nus, those wealthy, long-lived elves who dislike war, and also possess the military power to stop wars, along with their beliefs, the Holy Land has always maintained its peace.

Because of this peace, many clues and legends about the lost Ancient Words have been passed down there.

Before becoming a priest, Eden had made a pilgrimage to the Holy Land to study God's Path, so he did not pay much attention to those lost Ancient Words at that time.

"Now the situation is different... the sect from Ausenco, the Zor Elves, and... this pendant, there are just too many mysteries."

A sense of crisis spontaneously arose within him, and Eden clenched his fists, realising he held far too little power.

Night had completely fallen, and even the birds had all returned to the woods; many torches around the camp had gone out, leaving only a few for lighting or heating.

Feeling a slight tiredness surge up, Eden lay back and was about to close his eyes.

Just then, suddenly, a burning sensation came from his chest.

"What's happening?"

Eden sat up abruptly and reached for his chest.

The Stone Pendant was getting hot; Eden had only grabbed it for a short while before the heat made him let go, his palm red.

"What in the world is this?"

Eden exclaimed in astonishment, feeling slightly panicked.

Since the last occurrence, this Stone Pendant had been silent for nearly half a month; no matter how Eden tried, there was no response, making the pendant seem just like an ordinary pendant.

Now, it kept heating up constantly, as if burning, scalding to the utmost, causing Eden to feel searing pain.

Eden grabbed the pendant, trying to take it off, but discovered the pendant's chain was surprisingly hot, and he had to let go shortly after just touching it.

"Damn..."

Before he could finish speaking, the stone pendant suddenly erupted in light, just as dazzling and magnificent as the last time, swallowing Eden's vision.

A familiar feeling welled up; after the white light, darkness followed immediately, and the world quieted down, devoid of any sound.

The sensation of the world spinning surged once again, the space around him transformed, and Eden still couldn't stop himself from wanting to vomit.

Just like last time, soon the chaos faded, and the space stabilized once again; Eden breathed a sigh of relief and opened his eyes, the glaring sunlight scorching his face.

It seemed to be noon.

"I... am in this kind of place again."

Eden got up from the ground, looking around, and said breathlessly.

The town he had seen earlier had disappeared, the air was filled with a stench of blood and decay, he looked around, and a cruel, bloody scene unfolded before his eyes.

It looked like a battlefield, where two armies had recently clashed; fallen flags were half-standing on the battlefield, surrounded by rubble and ruins; there were hundreds of bodies on the ground, their armor and weapons already stripped away, leaving only half-rotten flesh being pecked at by crows, almost making Eden vomit.

"Has that town... been leveled by time?"

Eden walked on the battlefield, touching the surrounding rubble and ruins and looked around, confirming that this was indeed the location of the town.

"What exactly happened?"

Eden searched for clues on the battlefield.

He suppressed his nausea, blessing the souls of the soldiers on the battlefield while rummaging through the bodies.

"This flag... looks like the Empire's flag."

Eden found a broken military flag, and after carefully identifying the crest, he found that this flag bore a strong resemblance to that of the Empire.

Not far away, Eden found another military flag, clearly that of the Empire's enemy; it bore no crest, only a simple yet solemn painting, somewhat similar to the religious painting of Heaven's Gate that Eden had seen before.

"Could it be... the King of Kings faith I saw before?"

Eden speculated.

Evidently, on this battlefield, two armies holding different faiths had erupted into a major battle, and it seemed that no victor emerged.

After searching for a while longer, Eden soon found a Pagan Scripture on a heretic military priest's body.

For some reason, perhaps due to the stone pendant, Eden was able to understand the text.

"The 'Miracle Book'?"

Having briefly skimmed through it, Eden finally learned the name of this heresy and some of its doctrines; it was known as the Giant King Sect, worshipping the King of Kings, a new divine being born from the decay of self-governance, inheriting the authority of the Lord, and ascending to the supreme throne.

This time, mentally prepared, Eden was not as agitated as before; he simply quietly collected the Pagan Scripture and muttered to himself,

"No matter what, this isn't real... just a heretic conspiracy, a vile lie."

Saying this, Eden recited some Scriptures, prayed to the Lord, and sought forgiveness for those misled.

Just as the priest was praying in place, suddenly, at the edge of the battlefield, a rustling sound arose.

Eden hurriedly turned around, only to see a Zor Elf suddenly emerge next to the pile of bodies, his skin pale blue, holding a bow and arrow, and watching Eden warily.