Chapter 20

My Lord commanded, “Cherish the potential of humanity.”

This humanity does not merely refer to the human species, but to all beings with intelligence and the ability to think.

From dawn, I rose to recall His words and prayed.

Though it’s called prayer, it’s nothing grand. The prayers are not given by Him but crafted by me. With my humble skills, I cannot create prayers as splendid as those of the Three God Faith.

“Lord, You are here, and I am here. Have mercy on us.”

I simply repeat these words over and over.

During prayer, it feels as if a spiritual channel has opened; even with my eyes closed, I can see all around.

I saw Roka stumbling into my room. Rubbing her eyes, she looked half-asleep, still dazed.

“Yawn, are you praying?”

“What brings you here so early? You should sleep a bit more.”

“I wanted to, but there’s a smell of rotting corpses outside.”

Whoosh.

Roka jumped up and clung to my back. I can still carry her, but I feel her getting heavier. Whether she’s growing or gaining weight, I can’t tell.

“I’ll protect you, Master.”

“Thank you. I feel stronger with you.”

My praise made her tail shoot straight up. She’s such an easy child to understand.

“With Roka protecting me, I have nothing to worry about.”

“Hehe…”

“Now I can sleep without locking the door. Even if bad people come, Roka will chase them away.”

“Hehehe…”

She likes it. She really does.

How can she be so adorable?

‘I wish I could see her grow up, find a partner, and have children. Do I have that much time?’

This time will also pass and become the past,

A memory for both Roka and me.

So, both Roka and I try to be as happy as we can now.

No matter how much we reminisce later, we won’t feel the same joy as we do now.

-Apostle, come here.

A voice. But it’s not the Lord’s.

Once you hear the Lord’s words, you know immediately. But He is usually silent.

This voice is a call from another angel serving Him. I can almost see the angel gesturing for me to come to his side.

-That place is too small for you.

If the end of a person is death,

My end is not death but ascension. I knew this since I was chosen by Him.

But to me, it was no different from death.

‘It’s not yet time.’

It’s not yet time to leave this world and go to His side. This is my first and last rebellion against the Lord. I want to stay here.

To stay and see the first snow of the next winter with Roka. To see the sunflowers of the next summer.

I want to see her grow up and no longer need me. That will be the time for me to leave.

“Mr. Kyle. Are you there? I know it’s early, but it’s urgent. Could you come out for a moment?”

Knowing there is a next, I am not afraid of death.

Especially not in this house.

This sanctuary, lit by candles, is my home but also His palace, where His will reigns.

Here, I have nothing to fear. I opened the door to greet someone I didn’t know. Seeing Roka clinging to my back, he stammered.

“Uh, um, uh… Ah, hello, Priest Kyle.”

“Ah, Mr. Ralph! Hello. And who is that…”

My gaze turned to the person he was carrying. Funny, both of us were carrying someone.

Though Mr. Ralph didn’t seem to find it amusing.

“She was sleeping so soundly, I couldn’t wake her. Uh, Priest.”

“Go on.”

“Well, you see…”

After hesitating, Mr. Ralph spoke.

“Can you, by any chance, cure leprosy?”

“I cannot cure any disease.”

It’s not me who cures. Only the Lord does.

That’s why, even if it weren’t the Three God Faith, I wouldn’t charge for healing. It’s not my merit but His grace.

“Everything depends on His will, and I am merely His vessel.”

“Well…”

“Please, come in. Lay the person you’re carrying on my bed.”

I suggested they lay her on my bed, but both objected.

“Huh? Ah, but… is it really okay? To lay a leper on your bed…”

Mr. Ralph worried about me, and Roka too…

“No! If her smell gets on Master’s bed, I won’t be able to roll around in it anymore!”

Huh?

Hmm… I’ll pretend I didn’t hear that, Roka.

No wonder I’ve been finding fur in my bed.

“The Lord will take care of me.”

Anyway, I wasn’t worried. There was no reason to be.

Mr. Ralph, busy with the alms house, couldn’t stay long and left. Watching the woman sleeping on the bed, I went to the kitchen to make tea.

Warm tea and sugar cubes.

Healing the body is easy. But healing the heart is hard.

That’s why tea is necessary. The disease is not as heavy as the wounds it leaves on the heart.

Even if the disease is driven away, the wounds remain and can fester.

“The smell of rotting garbage is covering Master’s scent…”

Returning with the teapot, I heard Roka muttering as she glared at the woman.

She made a mischievous remark to me.

“Master, just say the word-”

No, correction. Not to me.

She was looking at the woman who had just opened her eyes, narrowing her olive-colored eyes,

Growling at her. It almost sounded like a growl.

“I’ll take this trash out and be back.”

I want Roka to live freely, but not at the expense of others’ dignity.

I silently looked at Roka. She looked back and shrank.

“Master…?”

“Roka. You shouldn’t say such things carelessly.”

In the eyes of the Lord above, we are all cripples, incompetents, blind who can’t see an inch ahead, and hopeless problem children.

For us to look at each other and mock is the most ridiculous thing.

No one has the right to demean others as trash. Not even me.

“Apologize. Say you’re sorry. Or I’ll really scold you.”

“Well…”

“You need to apologize.”

I stared at Roka. She couldn’t lift her head and looked down.

I didn’t hug or pet her, just watched quietly.

“Anyone can make mistakes. But if your mistake hurts someone, you must apologize. Roka. I know saying sorry isn’t easy. But you must fix your own mistakes.”

Or do you want me to take the blame for you? Should I kneel and beg for forgiveness on your behalf?

When I asked, Roka quickly shook her head. Our house wolf apologized in a tearful voice.

“Sorry, I’m sorry…”

“Well, honestly, I didn’t really care…”

The woman spoke with a detached expression.

“But are you Priest Kyle?”

“There aren’t many people who are both a priest and named Kyle.”

“I heard you can cure my disease.”

In her eyes, I saw desperation.

Behind her, I saw death lurking. Her body had reached its limit. She could die tomorrow without it being strange.

“…Can you do it? Or did I come here in vain, chasing false hope?”

But this is a sanctuary,

Where even death cannot approach unless one is already dead.

“The tea is ready.”

So I just smiled.

“How about a cup of tea while we talk?”

Before the Lord, we are all equal, whether we are rotting flesh or not. To Him, she and I are no different.

Welcoming a guest to our home is, of course, my duty.

*****

In the biting cold of the storm,

The man trudged through the snow piled on the icy path.

He was one who had fallen from a great height to the abyss.

Betrayed by comrades whose names he no longer remembers.

Falsely accused and abandoned by all. The great scholar Gelié.

“It’s time to wake up again, Mother.”

He knelt and brushed away the snow with his hands.

The Antarctic is a continent. But the Arctic is not. When he first realized this, no one knows how surprised he was.

“When will you stop this cycle and open the world I desire?”

The man who desired the annihilation of all things murmured.

‘Mother’ paid him no attention. She was deep in sleep, repeating her own cycle. Yet, all life in this world exists because of that cycle.

“Mother. I now know why this world is so absurd.”

The truth he didn’t want to know plunged him into despair.

Yet, even knowing that the end of knowledge is despair, he couldn’t stop seeking knowledge. Because he was born a scholar.

Long ago, this scholar realized a truth unknown to others.

He understood the deepest secret of this world and wept.

“The creator of this world is not a god, but mere flesh.”

Humans and insects. Different species,

But humans can eat insects, and insects can eat humans.

To some extent, they are compatible.

Humans and beastmen. Different species,

But they can interbreed and produce hybrids.

The compatibility is higher. All life in this world is like this. Because they all originated from a common ancestor, the Primal Body.

“From the beginning, we are but flesh evolved from your cells.”

If a true divine being looked down from the heavens,

The state of the world would be laughable.

The same flesh, divided into groups, killing each other.

Unaware that all their comedies and tragedies would vanish like bubbles when the Primal Body awakens, they boast of their wisdom and act superior.

“Isn’t it obvious what a world made of flesh would be like? Don’t you think?”

When he realized this,

The Primal Demon King Grimudo abandoned his throne.

He returned to being just a scholar, Gelié, as he originally was.

Now he serves no god.

The deepest secret of the world took all the light from his heart.

“Let’s watch this cycle together. You’ll wake up again and call back the cells that have flourished. Mother, there is no light in my heart now.”

Watching the rise and fall of intelligence, he realized he was neither the beginning nor the end.

The meaningless cycle leaves nothing behind. It just rolls on like a wheel.

‘Those who claim to be gods are ultimately born from the faith of our flesh.’

Neither gods nor humans can stop this cycle.

Because the ancestor and origin of all life in this world is the Primal Body.

‘In the end, their fall is no different from humans.’

The cries of those who think themselves great, amidst collapsing civilizations,

Are his favorite spectacle.