Another Heaven

It was an exhausting but inconclusive conversation.

Santo thought. The guards behind him were getting impatient and started complaining one after another.

"Ya'an is no different from before, just like the stones in the toilet, smelly and hard. Even if you talk to him nicely, that old fox will not be tempted."

"It's as expected. After all, Ya'an doesn't welcome us."

The group walked up the stairs of the hotel in the dark. They refused the room arranged by the count and chose to find a place to live on their own. Although this would be a little inconvenient, it could largely eliminate the ubiquitous eyeliner. The spider-web-like lines were distributed on the priest's eyeballs, revealing an unexpected sense of holiness.

"There are two more outside. Send them back. Be gentle. We don't need to conflict with this group of people."

"yes."

The guard bowed his head and answered, and then disappeared in an instant. Santo continued to walk up the stairs.

It is a common understanding among the church that the owner of Ya'an City is a difficult guy.

Unlike bloodlines in other places, the ruler of Ya'an City is a family. Each successor changes his name to Ya'an. In addition to strength, they have one thing in common that the church hates.

The bloodline of Ya'an does not welcome the church.

As a bloodline with the power of purification, the church and the noble association have cooperated in many aspects. However, Ya'an City is located in the south, far away from the black fog. The earl is powerful and has recruited bloodlines who can reduce pollution. There is no benefit and it is difficult to intervene. The church has always ignored this place.

However, this matter concerns the Son of God, so we obviously cannot just ignore it.

Santo was thoughtful. This priest from a noble family had a farsighted vision beyond that of ordinary people. As the oldest high-ranking clergyman in the church, he had received the grace of the Lord of All Things and All Powers. This made no one object when Santo proposed to welcome the Son of God. It was not until he arrived here that he discovered that the Son of God appointed by the gods had already left Ya'an City.

Should they follow the footsteps of the Son of God and leave here? Or should they stay here to avoid losing time? Santo was a little hesitant because he could not get divine revelation in the City of Faithlessness. He pushed open the door of the room, came to the statue, bowed down and prayed.

"May you guide me through the maze, may you be my guide in the dark mist, my Lord..."

As he murmured his prayers devoutly, his aura became more peaceful. Sensing this, Mason sat on the roof and silently marked the other party.

His perception was indeed correct; the other party exuded the aura of Heaven.

The so-called "Heaven" is actually a general term for the positive energy field in Canaan. Before this, Mason had never thought that he would encounter another "Heaven".

Does this mean that there is also a blessed one in the church?

Is there a curse on that person?

Will the opponent's ability be as useful to Oreus as Canaan's was to Oreus? Will he become a threat?

How much does the other party know about the fruit of the World Tree? Where do blessings and curses come from, and how can the curse be removed?

A series of questions flashed through Mason's mind, but there was no answer. He seemed to be in a huge mystery, and no matter how he analyzed it, he could not get an answer. Only by moving forward can the fog be dispelled. When the city quieted down, Mason quietly climbed into the corridor window and stood in front of the door of the church visitor.

“Knock, knock, knock.”

The knock on the door was neither fast nor slow, but it was very obvious at night. Santo calmly prepared his magic and opened the door carefully. The first thing he saw was the visitor's pale robe.

The moonlight outlined the thin and long shadows around him, vaguely like a painting. Santo's eyes were attracted by the creeping vines, and he sensed a wonderful rhythm from them.

"You seem to be looking for me."

The speaker stared at him and questioned him in a declarative tone. This visitor was born with a convincing temperament. The priest's heart began to beat, and a strong joy surged. Without any hesitation, he blurted out: "Sir, the Holy Son!"

The call was sincere and heartfelt, like a guide. The priest's aura extended to Canaan very gently, and there was even a sense of intimacy and acceptance.

Holy Son?

This address made the silver-haired young man frown slightly: "Are you calling me?"

"Yes, you are the Son of God appointed by our Lord himself. I have come here this time just to take you back."

In his surprise, Santo did not forget the proper etiquette. He respectfully invited the young man in and personally poured him tea.

"Perhaps this is a little sudden for you, but for us, we have been waiting for a new divine gift since the death of the previous Holy Son."

The young man did not drink the water, but just listened to his narration quietly. Santo, who saw the urging in his eyes, coughed and thought about how to explain to him. What he was going to say next was a very dark and hidden history of the entire church. If he scared away the new Son of God, he would be a sinner who would die without redemption. But no matter from what perspective, the other party had the right to know the truth.

The elder chose his words carefully and said slowly, "You should know the five taboos, right?"

"The previous Holy Son, like you, had a powerful purification ability. As a result, he was envied by the Black Mist and died in an attack by a monster... This is the truth that has been made public."

“But in fact, this is related to the Lord of Monsters. The previous Son of God died in the second disaster brought by him. We have reproduced the scene many times since then.”

Santo has lost count of the tragic price the church has paid over the years behind these simple words. However, these blood and tears have never made believers retreat, but instead have become the direction they insist on.

"Later we discovered that the Monster Lord was most likely here for the previous Holy Son. The previous Holy Son was holding a promotion ceremony at the deepest part of the human habitation area."

So in order to destroy the human race's path to resist the Black Mist, the powerful Taboo led an army of tens of thousands and personally descended, crossing the entire human kingdom. In front of the Great Wall built by human flesh and blood, He stopped and sent assassins to contemptuously kill Hope on the high platform.

Humanity lost almost all of its S-rank and above bloodline members, and the church lost its only Holy Son.

Even the Lord of All Power fell into a long sigh afterwards. It was not until the appearance of the Son of God that the church saw a ray of hope.

Suffering is only an obstacle to the right path, and the reaction of taboo can only prove that this is the right path. To this day, the church is still tirelessly exploring forward, and the young people in front of them are their hope for new life.

"The path taken by the previous Holy Son is also the path you will take. The power of purification is a powerful and dangerous force, and you should also feel that there are great hidden dangers in yourself. Only by completing the ritual can you control this gift. The ritual is divided into four stages. Only the church knows the true method of advancement. If you want to truly master this power, you must join the church."

This is what gave Santo the courage to tell the other party the truth. Looking at the human race, only they know how to improve the power of purification. The young man in white robes listened silently, his heart was in turmoil.

If there was a second option, Mason would turn around and run right now, without stopping. Nothing would stop him.

But he didn't.

If before there was a 60% chance that Canaan would join the church, now it was 100%.

What else could he do if he didn't join? He had heard so much. According to what the other party said, if the power in him attracted the attention of the Monster Lord, where could he run?

The former Son of God had the entire human race to protect him and he died, so what qualifications does he have to fight with them? In addition, there are promotion methods and other [heavenly places], so he has to go to this church whether he wants to or not.

Mason sighed silently, and finally nodded in agreement. Santo's face was filled with joy, and he wanted to take the other party back immediately. But thinking that he needed to notify the church in advance to make preparations, he suppressed his impulse and agreed to set off the next day.

To show respect, he immediately booked a room for Mason to rest, fearing that he might suddenly run away when he wasn't paying attention. Mason saw it and felt helpless. He was already here, how could he leave?

After listening to Santo's instructions, the room finally fell silent. Mason locked the door, and in the dead of night, he regained consciousness and began to move on the bed again.

With servants taking care of you during the day, it is difficult to do strenuous exercise. Nighttime is undoubtedly the best choice. Sweat rolled down the boy's face drop by drop, and the tired and sore muscles tensed together. Mason almost numbly repeated the process of trying to stand up and then falling. The silk bed was not painful to fall on, but the repeated failures were unnerving.

Rehabilitation is a very hard exercise. Loose muscles cannot support movement, and one can only rely on constant practice to regain the ability to walk. If only there were some shortcuts, Mason thought with regret. But he knew that these were necessary efforts.

It would certainly be more efficient if someone else could help, but that would mean he would have to deal with the caregivers who might come at any time, instead of just dealing with the maids who came at regular intervals like now.

Since Canaan had solved his physical problems, it would only take time for him to get used to his stiff legs. In comparison, he would rather devote this energy to exploring the world.

After another failure, the boy fell heavily on the pillow, his chest rising and falling rapidly. After a long while, he slowly exhaled and tried to get up again.

I thought to myself, this is better than continuing to be paralyzed, right?

Two days passed in a flash.

Oreius wasted time, riding the carriage provided by Ronald and slowly returning, making sure to miss Canaan. The latter quietly left Ya'an in the early morning of the third day, and set out on the road to the city of the far north with the church members.

Being able to reach Ya'an City in just one day, Santo and his companions certainly did not come in an ordinary way. They spent half a day leaving the Ya'an territory and came to other cities where temples were built. There, Mason saw a magical tool that seemed to exist in fantasy.

A flying machine that looks like a spaceship.

It was made of copper-gold metal, with a smooth and complete shape. The church's symbol was painted on the bow: two folded hands with a faceless human figure in the palm. Similar to the snake he saw in Amela, this aircraft was also driven by several energy jets and could carry dozens of people. Needless to say, it must have come from the Mechanical City.

"The aircraft has enough fuel to reach the Holy City tonight."

Santo led Mason onto the aircraft. All the operators on board were dressed in clergyman's attire and saluted them respectfully. Many of them looked at the new son of God in secret, showing their excitement and longing.

Mason was not at all surprised, he just felt like sitting on pins and needles. Fortunately, these people watched, but under the strict system of the church, no one left their post without permission. Only Santo accompanied him throughout the whole process, introducing the internal equipment of the aircraft one by one.

"...This is your room. If you need anything, please tell me and I will prepare it immediately."

"I do need something."

The silver-haired young man suddenly said.

Is the room not big enough, or is the decoration too simple? He had said before that they should drive the largest one, but this aircraft was the fastest, so in the end they had to accept it. Now, what if the Son of God thinks that he is not worthy of his status and is unwilling to leave with them?

Santo was shocked and secretly guessed what the other party needed. The other party's eyes swept around the room, and Santo was nervous wherever he looked. Finally, the blue eyes looked at Santo: "I need some history books about the era before the black fog."

...a history book about the time before the Dark Mist?

Santo was completely confused and couldn't figure out what the other party was trying to do, but he immediately agreed and asked the church in the city to prepare immediately.

Not long after, a pile of related books was delivered to this room. After receiving a satisfactory answer from the Son of God, Santo left. Mason, who was alone in the room, sat at the table, reached out and silently opened the first page, and began to look for information related to religion.

He had to give Canaan a past identity before he came to the church.

Oreius is the child rescued by the Knight of Glory, and he treats him as his brother. Canaan, who is in the same position, cannot be too bad, so this identity is best related to a long-standing character and faith, with a high enough position, enough mystery, and preferably vague records.

After watching from day to night until the aircraft was about to land, Mason finally found a suitable target from the last one.

That was an anecdote recorded in a travelogue. In the era before the black fog, there was a mysterious place that many people had never discovered. Legend has it that someone once saw a magnificent festival in a mysterious place. Hundreds of people, wearing white robes, built a long dragon leading to the top of the tower.

The intruder walked with them bravely and found a priest named Nasir who was accepting sacrifices on the platform at the top of the tower. Anyone who accepted his blessing would be free from disease and be happy and healthy.

But when he saw the intruder, he suddenly said, "You are not from here." The white-robed believers around him suddenly turned their heads and stared at him. Under the firelight, they all looked like the same face.

The intruder was frightened and fainted, and when he woke up, he had returned to the normal world. He told others about his experience, but no one could find this mysterious place again.

This anecdote sounds like something out of a strange story. Mason chose it because it was close to Christine's time, and because, compared to other stories, the travelogue at least mentioned the name of the priest. The third reason is very simple...

Although the technology tree of this world is a bit weird, at the beginning, its essence is still a Western fantasy world dominated by gods.

Looking back at the history before the Black Mist, the famous priests were all the gods' favored ones. The God of All-Knowing was the descendant of the gods. Mason really didn't want to offend others with this, so he gave up the favors of the villain gods and the wild gods of blood sacrifice.

After choosing from thousands of sources, Mason could only bite the bullet and pick out a relatively reasonable one from those vague and exaggerated travelogues. As for the script... he just wrote it.

From now on, he is Nasir's apprentice.

Mason closed the book and looked out the window. The dusky sunset was left behind, and the sky was already painted black. But in the city in the far north, even the night was stained with light.

The lights in every house in the city were as bright as day. The copper-gold aircraft landed slowly, and the good shock absorption system greatly improved the passengers' experience. At least Mason didn't feel any fluctuations when Santo came to ask him to go out.

Standing in mid-air and looking down at the city below, the river of light flows between the buildings, and the most moving thing is the huge church in the center of the city. It is like a giant standing upright, majestically and magnificently supporting the heart of the entire city. But in Mason's eyes, the beautiful scenery in front of him has a completely different image.

Countless virtual threads are generated around the church, connecting every household in a shallow or deep way. Wherever Mason's sight reaches, these threads are like strings, plucking waves of reassuring positive energy, and everyone walking on the street has a peaceful face and a humble and gentle look.

The huge [Heaven] covered the entire city. Santo looked at the holy city that he was proud of, and a smile appeared on his face unconsciously. His aura merged into [Heaven], forming an inconspicuous drop in the vast ocean, but it also gave power.

He suddenly recalled the scene in which he used Canaan's identity to sense the call in the World Tree. If that scene became a physical object, would it also become a thread connecting countless people?

If Canaan's [Heaven] still cannot control its infant, then the holy city in front of it is already a mature elder.

In Mason's perception, the city was gently accepting his power. If he wanted, he could immediately integrate his own domain into this formed domain, and everyone would treat him like the master of Heaven.

The silver-haired young man's eyes gradually became darker, and the energy around him was compressed to the maximum extent, just short of posting a note saying "Don't get close to me". Feeling his resistance, the holy city "Heaven" was obviously stunned for a moment, and then carefully released a signal of comfort.

A gentle force came towards us, and the Central Church was bathed in golden light, emitting a sacred breath that made people yearn for it. Wherever it was affected, people's hearts were pure and beautiful, their faces showed pious expressions, and they bowed their heads and prayed silently.

Santo looked at the church with his eyes full of enthusiasm: "You are indeed the beloved son of our Lord, Son of God. Our Lord has bestowed a miracle upon you once again!"

...What the hell, the master of another [Heaven] is the Lord of all things and all powers?

Mason, who thought the domain owner was a high-ranking member of the church, was stunned and almost couldn't help but want to retreat. No matter how friendly the other party was or how sacred the holy city looked, it couldn't dispel the deep panic in his heart.

He had not forgotten the curse of Canaan's power.

It would be fine if the other party didn't have a curse, but if he did, would the Lord of All Things and Omnipotence, who has absorbed so many years of pollution, still be Him now?

Mason shuddered at the thought of this possibility.