Only God

Eden stared straight at Bruce,

"If the law says everyone who eats bread must die, should people lose their right to eat bread?

In the hearts of men, there is natural law."

Bruce, the priest, furrowed his brows,

"Natural law... such an ancient term.

You are indeed a learned priest, you must have read many ancient texts."

From the words of Priest Bruce, Eden heard that many concepts from the past were no longer wholly accepted, or even recognized, in this era.

"No matter how ancient the term is, it still holds its meaning, God has imbued natural law in our souls, and regardless of how many secular laws there are, those that violate natural law belong in the trash heap."

After speaking, Eden asked with a mocking tone,

"Do you have any more sanctimonious reasons?"

Priest Bruce's frown deepened; he seemed somewhat angered,

"Priest, it is you who speaks of sanctimonious reasons!

You who prattle about faith and natural law, this is sheer hypocrisy!

And I, I am different, I just want them to live, and I believe that is God's will too."

"Is God's will for you to collect coins?"

"Oh, just on that basis, you think you can negate me?"

Priest Bruce laughed as he looked at Eden,

"Haven't we all collected the coins of the True Believers?"

Eden was like a lion, eyes filled with anger, poised to pounce at any moment,

"That is their donation to the Church.

Their money is used either for ceremonies and rituals, or for helping the poor, or for the repair of the Church, or for the weddings and funerals of the Believers..."

Before Eden could finish, Priest Bruce interrupted,

"Priest, how self-righteous you are, simply the most outstanding servant of God.

And yet, how many are like you, not taking a penny?"

When these words fell, Eden choked for a moment; he had met many priests like himself, who were honest and God-fearing, as well as many who had a façade of gold but were rotten inside. The Church was like a sack that could hold anything; it appeared sacred and splendid, yet it contained all sorts of people, encompassing both sin and virtue, both strength and weakness, both filth and holiness.

Priest Bruce, as if he had found a breakthrough,

"I also once wanted to be a righteous person like you.

But what's the use of being a righteous person? In the end, one might not even be as good as a sinner.

Scripture speaks of many miracles, but have those things happened nowadays?

When our Church urges people to be righteous, it always says they will receive God's mercy, but when a righteous person dies horribly, they say he will find happiness after death.

Look, when the facts prove otherwise, the Church always has another explanation!"

Eden fell silent, silently staring at Priest Bruce.

The latter was still talking incessantly,

"On this point, the heathen are much wiser than us.

They have long since denied the claim that righteousness in this world will be rewarded.

Don't you know, in the Pagan Scripture 'Abyss Chronicles,' that female Prophet lived a life of righteousness without witnessing a single miracle?

And in the 'Miracle Book', no one truly received what we consider a good recompense."

Facing all these words, Eden coldly responded,

"You have become a heathen, you have abandoned the faith."

Priest Bruce's face flushed with a wave of red, his eyes furious with anger as he glared at Eden,

"You are so presumptuous!

You are a madman, a self-righteous fool!"

"You say I have abandoned the Church, but do you know that I only did it to save God's lambs, not to betray them?"

Oh, I see, it's just that your prejudice against heresy runs too deep, so you stubbornly believe that all heathens are evil and that True Believers should not fall to heresy."

"I haven't."

Eden denied.

"No, you have."

Priest Bruce said with a cold laugh:

"Many Priests like you harbor the notion of rescuing True Believers from the Demon Cave, risking their lives to come here and proselytize.

But what you don't understand is their Scriptures too speak of love, they also acknowledge the authority of the Lord, and they respect our Prophets."

"They have been persecuting True Believers, is that their love, their acknowledgment, their respect?!"

Eden challenged.

Priest Bruce then raised his voice,

"Persecution! Yes, persecution!

These heathens who worship the King of Kings are always persecuting True Believers.

But do you know if,

True Believers have never persecuted heathens?

In the cities of the True Religion, have there been no heathens who have died for their faith?!"

With this, Priest Bruce seemed to have seized the advantage, unleashing a barrage of aggressive arguments,

"I'll tell you, there's no difference!

There have also been heathens who were strangled by True Believers while shouting slogans of justice and the Divine.

There have been heathens willing to help True Believers, to free them, forgive them.

Don't you understand yet? The kindness between us is just as genuine, the baseness just as vile!"

This offensive was so fierce that the heathen soldiers around Eden nodded in agreement, clearly resonating with these words.

Eden looked straight into Priest Bruce's eyes,

"No, it's not the same."

"Where is it not the same?! You're merely spooked by the horror stories of the Giant King Sect. When have you ever heard the horror stories of the True Religion?"

Priest Bruce said as if it were obvious,

"To be honest, I once wanted to deny all this like you."

"Don't you dare compare me to a grasshopper tied to the same rope as you, I won't be bewitched by you!"

Eden retorted angrily,

"Your heart has been devoured by the Devil."

After saying this, Eden gradually calmed down, realizing once again that senseless anger served no purpose.

Priest Bruce took Eden's changing expressions as a sign of victory, apparently mistaking Eden's moment of quiet for a wavering in his conviction.

"Think over my words carefully, you're a smart man.

Priest after priest comes to this city to die in vain, a meaningless sacrifice, which will only end when all the True Believers in this city are gone.

Rather than that, it's better to crush their hope once and for all, for only in that way can more people be saved.

As I said before, for the sake of living better, they should have abandoned the faith, truly abandoned it."

After finishing, Bruce stood up from the table,

"Let's leave it here for today, may God bless you. Tomorrow, I will come to see you in the cell myself."

Eden lifted his head, didn't offer him a blessing, but said calmly:

"When the earth was in great disaster, countless people renounced their faith, no longer believing in grace.

But miracles appeared, both to the eyes of the righteous and in front of the unrighteous."

Priest Bruce responded with a cold laugh:

"There are no more miracles in this age."