Soshiyang was still fighting one second, but the next second, he found himself in a strange space.
He first touched his chest and found nothing wrong, but the sword strike just now was so real...
Suddenly, Soshiyang realized that his face was wet. The moment he raised his head, he saw the endless darkness suddenly torn apart by lightning bolts, and heavy rain rushing towards his face.
Soshyan was a little confused about the situation, but a building in front attracted his attention.
It was a church with almost no decoration except for the high roof. It looked quite simple and lacked the common expressions of imperial churches.
With some curiosity, Soshyan stepped forward and pushed open the cathedral door.
The moment the door was opened, the strong wind carried raindrops and swept across the originally dry ground, stirring up the curtains.
There is nothing out of the ordinary inside the church. There are benches on both sides of the main hall, and the transept next to it is an altar covered by broken curtains. The stairs in the north and south transepts can reach the cloister, and the corridor seats form a wide corridor.
Soshyan entered the church through the first part.
"anyone there?"
Soshyan greeted gently, but there was no response, only the occasional crackling sound when the candle burned and the roar of the storm outside.
He turned around and closed the door, and then the crazy world became silent again.
Glancing around carefully, Soshyan saw some old objects and some symbols he didn't recognize. They might be some local sects of the state religion. For example, the man who was nailed to the cross was probably a martyr for a certain faith.
Denomination symbols of saints.
When he raised his head, Soshyan saw that the roof was filled with a series of wide panels, each depicting a different scene. The one that attracted him most was the scene of a battle between a golden knight and a silver dragon. Regardless of time,
And the influence of unstable light sources, the vivid tones and smart structure in the painting really amazed Soshyan.
At this time, Soshyan noticed that there seemed to be a line of words engraved on the main beam, but it was not the Gothic language he was familiar with, but it was just very similar.
"Thunder...Stone..."
"Do you go to church often, Soshyan?"
A voice made Soshyan put his head down suddenly.
The man who called himself the Beguiler was standing in front of the church altar. On the altar were a bronze timepiece with a broken glass surface and a thick leather book, surrounded by six unlit candles.
“What does faith mean to you?”
He asked softly while lighting each candle, bringing a warm light.
"I only go there when I'm meditating."
“So what do you meditate on?”
"oath."
"The oath is the value of my life."
"So what do you get out of it?"
"Peace and courage."
"Why can oaths bring you peace and courage?"
Soshyan was stunned and speechless.
After the other party put out the match in his hand, he turned to look at him. The golden mask showed a little warmth in the candlelight, not as cold as before.
"So, you just want to get a moment of peace. Faith and vows are just means, and your courage is only supported by these."
"No, they are the goals I fight for."
"So can your goal buy you peace?"
"this--"
"Then it's my turn to ask the question now, why is your voice always full of confusion?"
Soshyan was stunned for a moment, then shook his head and said:
"I didn't... maybe I did."
For some reason, when talking to the other party, Soshyan always felt as if he was an insect specimen nailed to a wooden board and being dissected and studied.
In order to regain the initiative, he took a step forward and said in a deep voice:
"Confused, are you related to the Emperor?"
"Emperor."
The man shrugged.
"Who is the Emperor?"
"What?"
"You said you believe in the Emperor, right?"
"That is the belief of all mankind."
"Then...who is the Emperor?"
"The Emperor...is..."
It was the first time Soshyan encountered this question. He hesitated for a long time but could not answer the other party.
Then, the other party answered on his behalf.
"It's your faith."
"my faith......"
Soshyan blinked, his thoughts were a little confused for a moment, and he felt as if something was leaving him unconsciously.
"So there are two completely different levels in your heart. One is you, the awareness, the witness, and the other is the part observed by others, the imagination, the shaper. The problem is, now these two
You can no longer prove yourself."
"You, are you still you?"
Soshyan blinked, his consciousness was very blurry now, and even his vision became a little blurry.
"Why...not?"
"But you don't understand, is the you I'm talking about the real "you" in this question? Is it you today? Is it you a year ago? Or is it you a year from now? And the "you" in your mouth
"Yes" and what time period of "yes" are you talking about? Does it refer to you today? You in this hour? Or only this second in front of you? Also, which part of you is the real "you"
What about? Your body? Your thoughts and emotions? Or the actual actions you take?”
"I...I am not a philosopher and cannot answer..."
What is he doing here?
Suddenly, the thunder that had disappeared for a long time suddenly sounded, and Suo Shiyang was shocked and broke away from the whirlpool of his thoughts.
The confused man raised his head and looked out the window, and then sighed softly:
"That's all, the time has not come yet."
As he said that, he turned back.
"Since you don't even know who he is, why do you believe in him? And you think I am related to him."
But Soshyan decided not to follow the other person's words and continue walking.
"Regardless of whether you are related to the Emperor or not, what is the purpose of bringing me here! I have no interest in arguing with you."
"Whether you are interested or not, I hope you will make a decision after listening to a story."
"what story?"
"A long time ago, people on the earth suffered from floods and wild beasts. In order to survive, they prayed to the gods and offered their livestock and children regularly in exchange for peace. But there was a man who saw no reason to worry about the future and the future.
The fate of future generations rests on the elusive gods, so he calls on people to use bricks as stones and stone paint as mortar to build an eternal city and a giant tower reaching the sky, so that mankind can have a common but safe home."
"...Because everyone speaks the same language and works together, the cities built are prosperous and beautiful, and the towers reach into the sky. People live very well. They no longer have to worry about floods, wild beasts, and impermanent gods. But the gods do not
Give it up, they changed people's original common language, causing them to become alienated and fight due to language barriers. In the end, their homes were burned to the ground in the war, and the towers collapsed. People could only linger on the ruins of their former homes like wild beasts.
, continue to offer livestock and children to the gods.”
"...The person who made the original proposal finally realized the problem after seeing how far people had fallen. He gathered people who believed in him and began to change the world. First, he unified people's language again, and then their culture.
When a group without barriers appeared again, he started grand construction again. This time the giant tower he wanted to build was even grander and bigger than before. He wanted to reach the place where the gods lived. He wanted to remove the gods from the heavens.
Catch them so they can no longer invade the human world."
"...His plan went smoothly. People were building huge towers brick by brick, and they were getting closer and closer to the realm of the gods. At this time, they had a new plan, and they began to spread faith in the world.
, bestowed part of his power on mortals, and created many miracles. When the first believer was born, they told him that this giant tower was the source of evil and the devil's plan, and he must find ways to destroy it... Believers from
One turned into a hundred, and a hundred turned into a thousand. The believers began to use inferior materials to replace the original materials, and began to dig holes in the foundation of the giant tower. At first, all this was inconspicuous, but when the giant tower was nearing completion
At that time, its riddled foundation could no longer hold on and collapsed..."
"...the gods' plan was successful. The collapsed tower almost destroyed the city. The surviving people became believers, digging holes in the ruins and living a primitive life, forgetting the prosperity and progress of the past, and still