Only God

Eden finally fully recovered, no longer stuck in shock and confusion; he now firmly believed that he had traveled through time to the future world.

"Although I do not know why this stone pendant has brought me to the future world, God must have His purpose in arranging for me to encounter all this."

Eden calmly analyzed,

"Now, I can use this pendant to travel through time, and moreover, my actions have a great impact on this world.

If, just suppose, everything that heathen speak of is true...

Then, I must use everything at my disposal to change such a future."

Thinking this, Eden took a deep breath, a sense of noble mission spontaneously arising; he believed his arrival in this future had significance, perhaps holding a unique mission of his own.

Eden looked around; it was almost dark,

"Hmm... I have not returned to my original world yet, it seems I'll be staying here a bit longer."

Curfew bells echoed throughout the city, presently, the most urgent task was to find a place to stay.

Fortunately, Eden had recently traveled through a battlefield, scavenging some wealth, roughly a dozen copper coins, which should suffice for a day's lodging.

Eden walked along the street, although unfamiliar with his surroundings, he was still lucky enough to find an inn that offered accommodation.

The inn was shabby, located at the border between the city's poor district and the Inner City. Eden walked in, briefly exchanged blessings, and then asked the inn's owner for a bed.

"Six Fluo."

Eden placed all the copper coins he had in his hand on the table; the owner picked up six, weighed them, and then returned the rest to Eden.

The Priest sighed in relief; he slowly ascended the inn's stairs. In such inns, there were usually not many private rooms but rather one large room with a dozen beddings; Eden had requested just such a bed.

There were not many people in the large room, two Three-eyed Ape People and four humans; Eden casually found a bed and sat down, ready to close his eyes to rest.

At that moment, one of the Three-eyed Ape People stood up and walked nonchalantly toward Eden. The Priest warily glanced at him a few times, seeing the latter pretending to be casual as he drew an arc on the wall with a wet finger.

"This..."

Eden looked at the arc and then at the Three-eyed Ape Person, whose gaze shifted in other directions and did not look his way.

This seemed like some operation of a secret signal; Eden suspected that the Three-eyed Ape Person mistook him for someone coming to make contact.

He glanced at the arc on the wall, bowed his head, and pondered for a while.

Eden hesitated and silently entered into a state of Spiritual Cultivation.

On that arc was a faint trace of spirituality.

The Priest guessed something.

He himself was not someone coming to make contact, he should not get involved in this matter.

But if he didn't get involved, he might miss some useful clues.

Eden looked at the Three-eyed Ape Person again, scanned the secret signal, and after intense contemplation, made a decision.

Take a gamble!

After all, it wouldn't be long before he returned to his original world.

Eden took a deep breath, extended his hand, and drew another arc next to the first, forming a circle together.

Then, he lowered his voice and softly said:

"May God watch over you."

The Three-eyed Ape Person immediately turned his head, and without changing his expression, chanted a piece of scripture,

"You must surrender life, and self…"

Eden relieved a breath and promptly continued,

"For what you believe."

At the fall of his words, the Three-eyed Ape Person imperceptibly nodded, then whispered:

"My True Religion brother, come with me tonight."

Eden slightly nodded, it seemed he'd guessed correctly.

Throughout the process, his judgment was three parts reasoning and seven parts guessing,

That arc had actually appeared in True Religion's history, likely before the advent of Heaven, when persecuted True Believers, on the eve of underground gatherings, would often draw a circle to indicate each other's identity.

Eden thought of this and combined it with the fact that the man was a Three-eyed Ape Person from Ajia Land, the origin of the Church, where many Three-eyed Ape People had converted to True Religion; thus, he deduced that the man must be a True Believer.

"Even in this heathen-ruled city, our faith has not been extinguished, and still tenaciously survives."

Eden thought thus, feeling moved in his heart.

When he entered the city, he saw not a single church; to say his heart wasn't stirred would be a lie.

At that time, despite being mentally prepared, a slight sense of despair still swept across his mind.

He couldn't help but stand up, walk to the window, and take in the view of half the heathen city. He wouldn't forget, those heathen Priests claimed that God had died, and would not rise again. The heathens looked down on True Believers, calling them dullards. At this moment, Eden especially wanted to quote and adapt Arsia's words: The so-called new gods... are like a breeze, a chirp of an insect, a snowflake, disappearing in the blink of an eye, yet God, even after countless years, will still save the whole world for one person.

.............

Soon after, night fully descended, the sky clouded over heavily; it looked like it would rain tonight, and the city was nearly submerged in silence.

The two Three-eyed Ape People almost simultaneously rose from their beds, scanned around, and after confirming that the humans were asleep, the one who had drawn an arc earlier approached Eden and gestured him over.

Eden swiftly got out of bed.

"May God bless you."

The Three-eyed Ape Man whispered softly.

Eden nodded,

"May He bless you as well."

"Come with us. Today, Priest Bruce will come to preach."

One of the Three-eyed Ape People said.

Then they hurriedly left the large room, the two Three-eyed Ape People holding lamps and seemingly having daggers at their waists; under the cover of darkness, they hurried out of the inn, constantly looking around them.

In this heathen city, the faith of the True Religion was not permitted. When the Giant King Sect conquered this city, they demanded that the city's True Believers either convert or become slaves. Additionally, the heathen rulers destroyed one of the city's churches and converted another into a Scripture Institute.

Though many True Believers converted on the spot to save their lives, in private, they still maintained their faith in the True Religion.

For this reason, since the city's fall, countless Priests had risked their lives coming here to preach, teach scripture, and conduct mass for those who held fast to their faith.

Eden followed the two Three-eyed Ape People through the wide streets, avoiding the Guards' sight as they headed towards the city's edge. There was a large open area nearby. After crossing the open area, they reached a quiet, deserted alley. After looking around, the two continued to lead Eden into the alley. The sky above was pitch black, with the moon obscured by the clouds.

After turning through several alleys and passing several empty spaces, Eden felt dizzy. The Three-eyed Ape People slowed down. Eden looked around and saw several black figures holding lamps.

As these people saw Eden and his companions, they approached and blessed them.

The group continued together. As they went further, the number of people increased, and small lights twinkled around them. Prayers were occasionally heard from within the crowd; Eden listened carefully, almost all were scriptures he was familiar with.

The night was deep, making it difficult to discern directions. Those around him seemed familiar with the area. Here, on the edge of the city, True Believers gathered, seemingly isolated from the heathen city beneath their feet, unrelated.

The clouds slowly passed, the moonlight emerged, illuminating the earth. At this moment, Eden realized that the open ground below them had amassed a sea of black figures. They were silent in the darkness, as always, steadfast in their faith.

Eden's heart beat intensely.

If there were even one traitor here, everyone here would be captured in one fell swoop.

The True Believers could not be unaware of this, yet they still gathered here, listening to the Priest's preaching, performing their Mass.

The lights dimmed, and torches were lit around, brightening the space considerably.

Eden stood, the two Three-eyed Ape People seemed to have disappeared, and for some reason, a soft hymn spread through the crowd, a hymn of praise, people singing for their faith.

Many looked up at the vast sky, clouds continuously passing, but the sky still remained, as if they were pleading, hoping, waiting for someone's return, waiting for the day of victory.

In the soft singing, Eden gasped for breath, his hands trembling with emotion, feeling a sincere nostalgia.

"Bruce, Bruce is here!"

A sound burst from the crowd, everyone turned to look in one direction, including Eden.

There stood a middle-aged man in priestly attire, on a platform, raising his hand, signaling everyone to quiet down.

Under the Priest's gesture, the True Believers gradually quieted down, a strange rustling sound came from afar, but no one minded, their attention was on the Priest, waiting for him to lead the Mass.

Eden held his breath, entering a state of Spiritual Cultivation, focusing on the Priest's soul.

In that instant he looked, Eden froze.

That soul was filled with countless sins.

Suddenly, Eden had a bad premonition; he scanned the entire crowd, noticing that nearly half the city's True Believers had gathered.

A voice seemed to urge him to stand up, to step forward.

"Leave! Leave this place! This is not the Mass you seek!"

Eden stumbled forward, shouting at the top of his lungs.

In the streets outside the open ground, the clashing sound of armor suddenly rang out.