Only God

Eden, still shaken, gasped for air as he observed his surroundings.

"I... I'm back again..."

Quickly, Eden scrambled to his feet, touched his body to affirm it was still physical, not a deceased soul's state.

"I... really came back."

Sighing deeply, Eden plopped down on the ground.

The familiar tent, along with mats and blankets, had never been more cherished by him.

He whispered a prayer, praised the Divine, and felt fortunate to have escaped death.

After a moment, Eden regained his strength. He checked his pack to make sure everything was still inside.

"It really was... a close shave, I nearly died."

Eden muttered to himself,

"If I had died there, where would I have gone? Would it be to the Heaven of this era or that era..."

If it was the Heaven of that era...

Eden frowned, a discomfort swelling in his chest.

According to heresy, the King of Kings had taken over the Lord's Heaven, becoming the master of that Holy Space.

Eden didn't entirely believe the heretics' claims, yet he couldn't help but worry.

"Never mind, let's not dwell on it. I'm not dead yet. God hasn't ordained my death."

With a shrug, Eden said.

Now, more pressing matters awaited his attention.

He took a deep breath and pulled out the horn he had brought back from in front of the altar.

Eden still remembered what he had seen there.

A Great Angel with twelve wings on his back, standing resolute on the afflicted land, against the radiance.

Beneath the figure's feet, three figures knelt, offering up three different things.

Those three figures, akin to an angel but upon closer reflection, Eden realized there were significant differences from the angels of the True Religion.

This led Eden to think of the Divine Envoy, Angel, and Spirit Envoy mentioned in the heretical theology.

The figure offering the crown exuded a transcendent sanctity incomparable to the other two.

The one presenting the tainted skull resembled the True Religion's angels the most, yet subtly differed, appearing far less emotive than those of the True Religion.

Lastly, the figure presenting a bloody, eviscerated infant, always gave Eden an ethereal sense of unreality. His legs were like viscous substance, resembling some kind of spiritual life.

"The Main Priest of that Cult, upon first seeing that painting, thought it depicted Heaven.

From the beginning, they heard sounds I couldn't hear, smelled scents I couldn't smell.

Until I moved this horn...

Why is that? Is it because I'm not from this era, hence I can't hear? Hence I can't see? Hence I'm unaffected by this horn?"

Looking at the horn in his hand, Eden understood it certainly hid many secrets.

To unravel these secrets, he needed to organize the available information and retrace everything.

"That painting and that place seem like relics from a period of secret beliefs."

The so-called period of secret beliefs was when worship was persecuted, and believers had to secretly worship a Divine entity away in deep forests and mountains.

If it hadn't been for the era of secret worship, who would have gone through the trouble of creating such a place within the cliffs without the guidance of the Divine?

The True Religion, and some heretical sects within it, also had such periods.

"If it is the era of secret worship, perhaps it means that this place was built even before the heretics wrote the 'Abyss Chronicles.' Could it be from the era when the 'Miracle Book' was written?"

"According to the 'Abyss Chronicles,' during the era of the female Prophet, the Giant King Sect was no longer in a secret worship period, and the Giant King faith had become mainstream in many countries."

After several months of immersion, Eden, who was inherently talented, had a comfortable grasp of various Scriptures of the heresy.

"Hmm… It's very likely from the era when the 'Miracle Book' was written, so, is this really the Prophet Abyss? Did the heretic Prophet Aizahar really go there?"

Eden muttered doubtfully to himself.

His uncertainty stemmed from the moment when Molemos, the Main Priest, regained consciousness and bellowed that this was not the Prophet Abyss, but a Blasphemous Land.

"Blasphemy! Blasphemy! Such blasphemous sights! King of Kings, curse them! No, this is not the Prophet's Abyss! This is not Holy Land, but a den of heathen blasphemy!"

The angry and fierce expression of Molemos, the Main Priest, was still etched in Eden's mind.

Such a respected Main Priest, proclaiming that this was not the Prophet Abyss, made Eden hesitant and unsure in his judgment.

Suddenly, Eden thought of something.

In the story of the 'Abyss Chronicles,' when the King of Kings demanded that Aizahar jump into the Abyss, the latter did so without hesitation.

And heresy touted it as a textbook of faith, defining what faith was and how heathens should believe.

If… all these clues were connected...

"That place is exactly the Prophet Abyss, and after witnessing all this, Aizahar still believed in her God!"

With his innate theological gift, Eden exclaimed.

If that were the case, everything made sense.

Perhaps this was one of the reasons why the 'Abyss Chronicles' was hailed as a textbook of faith.

"I was almost misled."

With a clear line of thought, Eden continued to speculate:

"The scenes depicted in the religious paintings must indeed be the origins of the King of Kings, and moreover… closer to the true history than the texts of the heretics.

And the King of Kings… might truly have been one of the Great Angels of the Lord before He… took over the power to dominate the world from those three figures… such blaspheme…"

Eden was somewhat frightened by his own deductions and, after asking for the Lord's forgiveness, continued his conjecture,

"The King of Kings brought about an apocalyptic destruction and thereby achieved his divinity, according to heresy, He… inherited the Lord's authority.

But… is it really inheritance? Could the Eternal Lord have a successor? No, only mortal beings who can die have successors.

And besides, even if it is an inheritance, how could a being that inherits the Lord's will bring about destruction? Isn't that saying that the Lord's will is to destroy?"

Destruction…

Eden caught onto something.

He suddenly slapped his head,

"Primordial, the Primordial Will in the Scriptures?"

The King of Kings and the Scripture's Primordial Will must have an inseparable connection.

"And, what do those crowns, skulls, and infants mean?"

Eden pondered.

The items depicted in the religious paintings weren't drawn without reason, and those particularly symbolic items held profound symbolism and implications.