In the eerie room, the High Priest sat cross-legged on the bed, with the incense burner by the bedside wafting blue smoke into the air, adding a touch of mystery to the atmosphere.
The incense contained a kind of magic power that cald people down, making them feel sowhat... ethereal, especially when they closed their eyes and the chanting of the priests reached their ears, it seed as though their souls were about to transcend their bodies!
Whenever it was the day for religious rites, this incense ca to great use, and those believers who, in a trance, glimpsed "rebirth," "the afterlife," or "illusion" beca even more fanatic, further driving the overall religious fervor and atmosphere towards fanaticism.
People, in their state of trance, believed they had seen the truth of the world, comprehended the truth behind its rotation, and increasingly believed all the priests said.
This incense was the High Priest’s exclusive specialty, with each High Priest in various places having their own secret formula for mixing incense, a secret known only to the High Priest, passed down from generation to generation, and only transmitted to the next High Priest.
Ordinary incense couldn’t exhibit those mysterious phenona, and the priests’ authority would diminish.
This is why divine authority, like secular power, could continue to be passed down from generation to generation without being easily shaken; too many things were monopolized by the rulers, and ordinary people didn’t even have the opportunity to approach, let alone understand.
In the room, besides the High Priest, were his children, gathered together, kneeling on the floor. They held a respect for the High Priest not only as their father but also a deep-seated fear.
Listening to it sounds quite... incredible, yet this was their most genuine attitude, for their father, endowed with various unpredictable divine powers, was both their pride and source of terror.
People aspire to all that is divine, yet fear being observed by the divine.
The High Priest awoke from his contemplation, exhaling a breath of murky air. As he breathed out, the children kneeling seed to ease a bit too.
The blue smoke rising vertically from the incense burner added so pleats, but soon returned to its calm state.
"The divine has brought new instructions, the great catastrophe is imminent, but the divine has rcifully granted a way to escape disaster..." He looked at those children with their foreheads pressed to the floor, holding their breath once more, and softly said, "The Federation, go to Bail Federal."
"Only by going to Bail Federal, a place unobserved by the divine, can one escape the catastrophe of annihilation!"
None of the High Priest’s children showed signs of joy or distress, rely listening attentively to the High Priest’s words.
"I am the deputy of the divine, born of creation and certain to face destruction in annihilation, so I will not go; only you will."
"Bolorika..." he glanced at his youngest, and most cherished child.
Having fully assimilated into Federation society, the one now bearing a slightly more neutral na, "Rica," flipped the palms pressed against the ground from hand down, palms up, to hand back down, palms up.
This represented readiness to receive the divine’s instructions and blessings in local religious rites.
"You have visited that divine-free land, possessing a broader insight than them, you must take good care of them."
"In my absence, you are their guiding ssenger, with the duty to admonish them and the authority to punish them."
The High Priest’s two eldest children moved slightly, wanting to oppose this matter, but ultimately said nothing; the High Priest was different from the Provincial Governor.
The Provincial Governor’s authority ca from the power over life and death he wielded, whereas the High Priest’s authority originated from the divine.
The Provincial Governor might sotis make erroneous decisions, but the divine never would.
Rica flipped his hands again to show he heeded the High Priest’s words, which allowed the High Priest to finally turn his gaze to the others.
He looked at these children, remained silent for a while, and ultimately sighed, saying nothing, "Leave now, Bolorika stay, you should begin preparing, you will be leaving soon."
The other children stood, bowing, heads lowered, naturally extending their hands to the sides as they retreated backward, expressing their piety and sincerity.
After the others left, only Rica and his father, the tattooed High Priest, remained in the room.
"Will you really not leave with ?" Rica couldn’t help but ask this question at that mont, thinking he wouldn’t speak it.
In truth, regardless of how their statuses changed, a father was always a father, and a child always a child; their blood relationship endowed them with a bond exceeding that of ordinary individuals. Rica hoped the High Priest could leave together, though he was destined not to receive an answer he found satisfactory.
Perhaps because the room was left to just them, the High Priest appeared sowhat relaxed, patting his leg. "Look at , where else could I go?"
"Bolorika, I have devoted my entire life to the divine. I know so people say these are superstitions, that it’s all fake, that gods don’t exist..."
He paused for a mont, and when he spoke again, his tone was filled with a very special flavor, "But I know as long as I believe, it’s real."
"I can’t go to the Federation, nor anywhere else. What sustains is the god in my heart. Leaving here, I would no longer be myself, so I won’t go anywhere, not because of power or status, but because of faith. I hope you understand."
Rica was destined not to understand this passage, but the High Priest didn’t expect him to, "Let’s talk about the Federation, how have you been over there? I haven’t had the ti to really ask until now."
"Those young people caused too much trouble, delaying the ti for us to communicate."
The "young people" that the High Priest ntioned actually referred to those from the Nagariel Youth Party. These young people not only actively opposed foreigners, but they were also targeting divine authority and faith.
Recently, they destroyed a town’s temple, smashed statues that had been there for centuries, and expelled the priests and saintesses. They claid it was superstition, saying it was these things that hindered Nagariel’s societal progress for years.
People fucking believe in being reincarnated into a good life after death, how could they possibly work hard to develop society? No matter how hard they try, they can’t escape the identity of being lower-class and outcast, but reincarnation can, so they might as well just wait around idle.
To make these fools understand the benevolence of the gods and to also provoke anger, the High Priest arranged for so people to represent the gods and te out punishnts.
Only now did he have the ti to chat with his youngest, the one most like him, and also his most beloved child.
Rica pondered for a mont and described his experiences in the Federation, "That’s a society that worships money everywhere. In our country, power is absolute, but in the Federation, as long as you have money, people can buy anything, including power!"
Rica indeed felt deeply. After Lync’s "warning," he started moving in the right direction and beca a priest himself. He began to understand Federation society and started to reflect.
"As long as people are willing to pay for themselves to be known, they can participate in city elections, with the chance to beco mayor. Even their President is elected this way, and it’s all related to money..."
"I’m preaching too now. I’m planning to buy airti from so cheap TV stations in the area where I live to preach on TV, which can attract more attention to us, and none of this can be seen here..."
Work, study, life, Rica explained everything in detail, and the High Priest listened carefully. Occasionally, he would interject with comnts like, "I’ve heard Federation people are really gullible, they believe whatever you say, is that true?"
Rica nodded, "I already have more than a dozen followers, Father. They have more faith than I do that our deity exists and that this world will be destroyed..."
"It’s the guidance of the gods!", the High Priest corrected Rica, "Your thinking is dangerous, you need to be aware of these things!" He paused, then added, "From how you describe it, it does sound like a nice place where you could live comfortably."
Rica shook his head, "Not entirely, Father. The Federation is a society ruled by law. Their legal system is more comprehensive than ours. Even divine authority cannot interfere with legal decisions. Many things that are normal here might be considered cris there."
"I’m worried my brothers won’t be able to adapt to the rule of law there. They might create trouble for themselves, and even for , and for us."
The High Priest nodded while thinking, "That’s why I want you to supervise them in my stead and te out punishnt when necessary."
Rica hesitated a bit but eventually expressed his thoughts, "That’s not enough, Father. They are my brothers, they are older, and I can’t restrain them, not even with what you said."
"I must have sothing that can control their behavior, otherwise, they could just leave..."
The High Priest slightly furrowed his brow, "What do you want?"
Rica paused for almost half a minute before uttering a word, "Money!"
"I need to manage our joint account; only then can I restrain their actions..." Saying this, Rica lowered his head. He knew his excuse was naïve and believed his father could guess his intention.
Nevertheless, he voiced it out. The High Priest was unwilling to go to the Federation, which ant this might be their last eting. So whatever he said, whatever he requested, he did not feel it was excessive.
The High Priest was silent for a while, slowly nodding, "I will seriously consider this matter, maybe through other ans, like...a fund."
Although the High Priest could not be sure if those children were all his—because of the saintess tradition, before the saintess beca pregnant, anyone could give them so genetic fragnts, and the boys born afterward would be claid by the temple priests.
The children claid by the High Priest might not necessarily be his flesh and blood, but they also might be, even if the youngest son looked so much like him, he wouldn’t completely favor Bolorika.
When he ntioned the word "fund," Rica was a bit shocked, although he didn’t show it and managed to control his emotions well, showing his approval and acceptance of the High Priest’s choice, as this was all he could do now.
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