Only God

He paced several times around the church, and the monks present counted his steps, the number of circles, a total of ninety-two steps, three circles. What did this mean? It surely had a deeper significance.

The monks of the Fahela Sect racked their brains, utilizing their theological knowledge to interpret the meaning.

"You all..."

As soon as Eden began to speak, everyone turned to look at him, no longer guessing at deeper meanings. They pricked up their ears, listening intently to Eden's words.

"You should understand that in this world, there are commands.

Among these commands, the very first is most precious,

You must not, you must not call others fools, nor may you harm your brothers who are True Believers."

The monks listened with their whole heart, silently repeating Eden's words in their minds. Seeing this scene, Eden nodded in satisfaction.

Although he had only spoken these few lines.

But... without a doubt, they would be recorded in the Scriptures.

Thinking this, Eden turned around and opened the "Miracle Book" in his hand.

No one dared to come forward and disturb him. The monks all stood still, not even daring to breathe too heavily.

"This... really has the power to change the future."

Eden murmured to himself.

Because,

Right after the night's miracle, he saw in these Scriptures:

The Envoy said,

Among these commands, the very first is most precious,

You must not, you must not call others fools, nor may you harm your brothers who are True Believers.

Prior to this, this Scripture did not exist.

The night's miracle, and this Scripture.

Eden seemed to have caught on to something.

The future seemed to have determined the present, and the present... had also changed the future.

After ascertaining his influence on the future, Eden's plans in his heart grew ever more mature.

First, he confirmed his direction, which was to use all means to change the Fahela Sect, until he forced them back into the orthodox fold of the Church.

Only by doing so could the source of heresy be eradicated, and by then, he would no longer have to witness heathens persecuting True Believers.

And to change the Fahela Sect, it was imperative to understand who exactly their "New God" was.

Eden was well aware that people do not believe without reason.

Some philosophers who thought they saw through the world believed that faith was not practical, not substantial; that faith was merely an ethereal thing, and believing in the Divine was just a fear-driven act of conformity. However, they were actually arrogant and short-sighted.

Faith is not a symbol created out of thin air; faith always has its reliance, be it a certain person, a Prophet, a miracle, or a Divine entity. People are not believing in something completely unfounded; on the contrary, faith has its origins.

And Eden was determined to uncover the source of the Fahela Sect's faith.

Eden believed that their so-called "New God" must have a corresponding existence; perhaps he was one of the Gods, or maybe he was not a Divine being at all, or it could even be that Fahela was merely playing tricks and pretending. In any case, he absolutely had to find that "New God" and either change him or destroy him.

After careful consideration, Eden realized that his idea was sound but... its realization was guaranteed to encounter obstacles.

"I must... visit the future once more,"

Eden murmured.

For the monks and Believers of the Fahela Sect, his greatest advantage was the Stone Pendant in his hand. Through it, he could travel to the future world, obtain more Scriptures, and thus play the role of a Prophet.

However, the future wasn't a place one could simply choose to visit; the time-traveling ability of the Stone Pendant was highly unpredictable. Despite his prolonged research, Eden had yet to understand how to actively travel to the future.

So... for the time being, he could only wait.

...

For three consecutive days, Eden visited the church, delivering one commandment after another.

The monks treated these commandments as sacrosanct, recording each one meticulously, while the "Miracle Book" in Eden's possession visibly grew with more words and sentences.

The "Miracle Book" professed that the words of the Envoy were the intentions of the King of Kings. However, only Eden knew that most of these words were conceived as he lay in bed at night, unless those sudden flashes of inspiration were also the intentions of the King of Kings; otherwise, his words were forgeries.

Eden was pleased with this scene in his heart, but he also understood that he was not an Envoy at all, and far from being able to act on the Divine will. He knew that sooner or later, the truth would come out.

Following the wisdom that speaking more leads to more mistakes, after those three days, Eden seldom visited the Fahela Sect's church anymore, maintaining a necessary air of mystery while the monks, out of reverence, dared not disturb Eden, the "Envoy."

Several days passed in which Eden continually awaited a response from the Stone Pendant.

The many days of inactivity from the Stone Pendant had the Priest feeling somewhat anxious, worrying that this magical item had lost its Magic Power.

Fortunately, his concerns were unfounded.

One day, the Stone Pendant once again shone brightly, the intense white light engulfing Eden within. Space twisted and turned chaotically, followed by a tranquil darkness. With past experiences, Eden calmly accepted the various phenomena occurring to his body.

Soon, after a dizzying swirl, the space around him slowly stabilized again, and Eden opened his eyes to find himself in a True Religion city.

The characteristics of True Religion were evident throughout the whole city. In the streets and alleys, exclamations or greetings like "Lord, oh Lord" abounded. The former Fahela Sect church was gone, transformed into a luxurious residence, while a white church stood tall at the city's center.

"... It really has changed."

Eden looked up, surveying the scene before him, and muttered to himself.

By asking around, he learned that the city belonged to the Danschel Empire. He also inquired about the former city's recent state and found out that it, too, fell under the empire's jurisdiction.

Digging deeper, he discovered that the heathen had once conquered the city; however, bound by the constraints of the Scriptures, no one dared to massacre the True Believers on a large scale, and they could only kill their leaders, using penalties to coerce the True Believers into conversion. Because of this, a force for insurrection remained within the city. When the Empire's troops sought to reclaim the territory, the True Believers, seizing their opportunity, rose up and overthrew the heathen rulers.

This meant… the True Believers could not possibly be persecuted anymore.

Eden's hands shook with excitement.

He really had done it.

After a moment, Eden took a deep breath, calming his excitement.

From others, Eden learned that the heathen sect that worshipped the King of Kings still existed, which meant his mission was not yet accomplished.

"I need to get my hands on other Giant King Sect Scriptures,"

Eden said to himself.

He looked up, scanning the city before him. Over time, the Ausenco Kingdom had been absorbed by the Empire, not even remaining as a vassal state but becoming a province within the massive territory of the Empire. Nevertheless, the concept of being Ausenco people lingered, and many customs here starkly differed from those in the heartlands of the Empire.

With the passage of time, the city didn't resemble the barbarian city described by Arsia; it had grown larger and more prosperous. At the city's heart, there was a typical imperial-style plaza. The local Governor had even hired Dwarves to construct a vast network of sewer systems. The city housed no fewer than three marketplaces, and its ground was laid with tens of thousands of semi-circular stone bricks.

After asking for directions, Eden made his way to the marketplace, intending to find a bookstore or workshop to see if any heretic Scriptures were available. However, after searching half the marketplace, he found no heretic Scriptures, only works by theologians that criticized heresy.

"Is it forbidden?"

The scene before him seemed to validate his guess; in this city, the heretic Scriptures were prohibited.