Chuck, clutching the urn of ashes, looked fearfully into the pitch-black room before him.
After hesitating for a moment, he lifted his foot and walked forward. With a loud bang as the door slammed shut, Chuck's figure disappeared into the pilgrimage site.
The square was silent, everyone's eyes were fixed on the gates of the pilgrimage site, waiting to see what would happen next.
To everyone's surprise, Chuck didn't stay inside for long. In just five or six minutes, the slave boy emerged from the pilgrimage site.
Completely different from his demeanor before entering, Chuck's face no longer showed timidity or inferiority; instead, it was filled with utmost devotion.
"I have seen the sacred realm of the gods!"
"There are beautiful landscapes there! There are endless fine wines and delicious food! There is wealth that I can't even imagine in my lifetime! It's the legendary paradise!"
Amidst the persistent questioning, Chuck wiped away his tears: "My father told me before he passed away to take care of my family..."
Looking at the pilgrimage gate behind him, Chuck said to those around him, "One day, when I die, I will enter this place! I will see my father again! I will!"
Hearing the boy's bold words, the people in the square did not utter any words of ridicule or doubt. On the contrary, everyone's face showed approval and envy, and some even echoed loudly.
Minnie nodded to the people behind her and announced loudly to the crowd in the square, "The second pilgrim to be honored is..."
One by one, residents carrying ashes entered the pilgrimage site under the watchful eyes of everyone.
Those who went in wore expressions of fear and unease, but those who came out were left with nothing but endless fervor for the gods.
"I have lived for so many years and heard countless songs of praise from bards, but their verses cannot even express one ten-thousandth of the beauty of the sacred land!"
Hearing the endless stream of praise around him, Ackerman felt a little nervous.
Shaman Minnie had already called out the thirty-seventh Heroic Spirit, but Casper's name still hadn't been called.
Just as Ackerman was worrying whether the Son of Gods had forgotten his brother, Minnie looked at the restless former and said with a smile, "Stop looking around and come up."
Ackerman's eyes widened: "You mean...?"
Minnie nodded: "Kasper is on the list of heroic spirits who made the pilgrimage. Come up here."
Holding Kasper's ashes, Ackerman excitedly walked up the steps to the gate of the sanctuary and asked, "What should I do after I go in?"
Minnie gestured for the apprentices to open the stone door and whispered to Ackerman, "You don't need to do anything; the will of the Son of God will guide you."
Ackerman let out a long sigh and walked into the sanctuary without looking back.
As the stone door closed, Ackerman found himself plunged into complete darkness.
Just as he was filled with doubt and uncertainty, a beam of light shone from directly above the house onto Ackerman's head, causing him to look up.
A group of orbs radiating a gentle glow slowly descended from the rooftop to Ackerman's side, circling around his body.
Ackerman felt his body getting lighter and lighter, and he slowly rose into the air with the ball of light, passing through the rooftops and entering a distant place.
In the clouds of the sky, there is a huge, towering tree with a golden trunk, jade-green leaves, and a canopy that blocks out the sky.
Beneath the golden tree lies a magnificent palace.
An endless marble tabletop is laden with all sorts of delicacies; a lavish garden is planted with vibrant and dazzling flowers and plants; and a brightly lit palace is piled high with priceless gold and silver jewels.
As Ackerman flew through the air and watched all of this, he finally landed slowly and discovered that there were many people he recognized standing not far away.
"You're Tim! The first Heroic Spirit allowed to enter the Sanctuary!" Ackerman recognized the honest and kind-looking middle-aged man at a glance.
The latter scratched his head sheepishly: "Actually, I just arrived here too."
Looking at the dreamlike scenery around him, Ackerman finally saw that familiar face.
"Kasper!" Ackerman shouted as he charged forward.
Still looking completely bewildered, Casper stared at Ackerman running towards him from a distance and asked in a daze, "Where...where am I?"
Ackerman patted Kasper on the shoulder forcefully and laughed, saying, "You've become a heroic spirit in the Holy Land, an immortal being!"
"Heroic Spirit? Immortality? Me?"
Kasper still seemed confused: "I remember taking my last breath in the Junca Fortress. Then my body slowly became lighter, wandering from one familiar place to another. I don't know how much time passed, but suddenly I was sucked into this place by a powerful force."
“You are in the sacred realm of the gods. If I’m not mistaken, behind us should be the Golden Tree. This is the legendary Midgard of Asgard, the former abode of the gods.”
Casper looked around and saw only a few dozen other fallen soldiers like himself: "There are... very few people here..."
“I heard from the shamanic gathering that you were the first heroic spirits to enter the Sanctuary…” Ackerman stroked his chin and guessed, “After Ragnarok, Asgard was destroyed and the Golden Tree collapsed. This should be the rebuilt Sanctuary that the Son of God once mentioned.”
"A rebuilt divine realm?" Casper was somewhat bewildered. "Then are we the only heroic spirits remaining in this place? Are there still gods here? Just how big is this place?"
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