Todd whispered to Abel, "In heaven, did you see everything you wanted to see?"

A devout expression appeared on Abelard's face: "Yes. I never imagined that one day I could be so close to God's dwelling place. In heaven, everything seems so perfect, too perfect."

Todd rested his chin on his right hand and looked at Abelard, saying, "I have a question. You were once a member of 'Emerald,' so why did the other three abandon the religious path, but you stayed?"

Abel pointed to his barren head and said in a half-joking tone, "Because I'm smarter and think more than the other three."

Hearing what the other person said, Todd couldn't help but shake his head and laugh, "If Terence hadn't left, this place would probably be in complete chaos right now."

Abel bowed slightly to Todd and said slowly, “People often say that truth is a road without end. In fact, the further you go, the more you will find that there are thousands of roads in this world, and truth is only a small part of them.”

"When people are young, what they see and hear is nothing more than what others have instilled in them, and few people think about the essence of things; when they reach adolescence, people begin to come into contact with knowledge and cases, and under the guidance of others, they begin to understand the world. At this time, they are easily misled by words and mistakenly believe that what others say is true and that what they see and hear is everything."

"As people get older, they will encounter more and more inexplicable and completely contradictory things, and may even begin to doubt all the common sense they have learned in life."

Abel paused for a moment, then continued, "Only at this moment can we say that humanity has truly begun to try to understand the world."

“That old stubborn Terence often said that truth can explain everything. But he never thought that after a problem is explained by truth, there will be more inexplicable problems, like a jar full of worms being opened and crawling everywhere. Some of these can be explained by truth, while others are completely contrary to truth.”

"They say the world is made up of particles, so what would be inside if you opened up these particles?"

"They say this world is a sphere, located within a galaxy. So what's it like outside this galaxy? Is there a wall at the far end, announcing the end of space?"

"They say that the creator of mankind is not God, but nature. Then who is the creator of nature? And who is the one who created this creator?"

Todd leaned forward and asked Abel, "It sounds like you don't believe in the truth?"

Abel said, “No, quite the opposite. I do not oppose truth, nor do I deny religion. To me, most of the world is unknown, and any definition of matter and spirit that humanity currently holds is merely imprecise speculation and inference.”

Todd looked at Abel's bishop's robes and said, "So, you're an agnostic."

Abel touched the top of his head with his palm, thought for a moment, and then said, "Agnostics believe that the world cannot be known, and that any human attempt to interpret the origin of the world is futile. But I disagree with this view, and I acknowledge the progress that such attempts bring. No matter how small or humble humanity may be, it can eventually unravel all the mysteries of the world's origin through continuous learning and cognition. Therefore, I yearn for truth, believing that truth can give humanity the motivation to move forward; but I also have a affinity for religion, hoping that humanity can use religion to overcome itself."

Todd pressed further: "To overcome oneself through religion?"

"Humans are composed of bodies and minds. They do not possess the powerful insight and resilience of gods. When faced with the unknown, they can only choose more reassuring options to escape and comfort themselves. But these reassuring options often hinder human progress."

"I'll use death as an example to explain this."

"For non-believers, the end of life is a cruel and terrifying outcome. At the moment of death, all senses, including taste, touch, hearing, and sight, fail, and the person is placed in a bottomless, dark space, forever losing the concept of time, quietly awaiting death. When the last breath is taken, the person is buried in the ground, the corpse becomes food for maggots, and the mind completely dissipates as the brain withers."

"Humans will completely disappear from this world, leaving behind nothing and no will."

"The mindset held by non-religious people leads them to have the most pessimistic and negative attitude towards death. The most common view is that living is the most important thing, and once you die, you can't take anything with you, so you must enjoy life while you can. This kind of thinking causes people to prioritize their own survival over the survival of the species. The direct result is that some people will not hesitate to use vicious means to harm the interests of the public for their own selfish interests."

"The existence of religion serves as a warning to humanity from the divine, preventing believers from prioritizing personal gain."

Todd frowned and asked, "But why has the Church of God become like this?"

Abel sighed: "The significance of religion lies in teaching humanity to abandon arrogance and respect the unknown. On the one hand, it gives believers spiritual peace, making them mindful of their words and actions; on the other hand, it gives believers something to look forward to in the future."

"However, with the development of doctrine and the evolution of religion, the teachings of God have gradually been distorted in human hands, and have ultimately been completely changed from their original meaning, becoming a means for a minority in the Papacy to acquire power and amass wealth."

Abel shook his head helplessly and said, "Just like the poems often say, those who should have been the closest to God's favorites have now become the most depraved sinners."

Recalling the church's actions over the years, Todd remained silent for a long time before saying, "Let's not talk about that for now. What are your plans regarding the union of the two churches that you mentioned?"

"Although the direct military force of the Church's radical faction was greatly reduced after the war in Holy City, if you include the Knights, the Believers, the Church Guards, the Believers, etc., there are still about nine thousand people in total."

Todd said nonchalantly, "These troops pose no threat to me."

Abel took a booklet from his pocket and handed it to Todd: "I know, but according to intelligence provided by royal spies, those war fanatics seem to have approached the infidels in the south and bought a lot of weapons from them."

Todd seemed to have heard the funniest thing in the world: "You mean, the Church bought muskets and cannons from the Empire?"

Abel looked up at Todd: "That's not surprising. When cornered, even the most docile rabbit will bite."