Chapter 427: Rebel

Chapter 427: The Rebel

"Richard."

"Present. Hey, I have to say, your mimicry is truly remarkable, even the tone of voice is identical. Did you enter my consciousness and read my memory?

But that is incorrect; you should only be able to perceive the fluctuations of my faith, and I never consented to opening my conscious space to you. Are you certain that I wouldn't dare to report you?

Then again, I truly wouldn't dare to report or complain about you. Ah."

"Richard, you may shut your mouth now."

"Yes! Yes! Yes! It is precisely this style of telling me to shut up, it is absolutely the same!"

"I am Karen."

"I know, I know, you are mimicking Karen now. Seriously, before I stepped into this small room, I knew I would be lashed by you in terms of faith, but I truly did not expect you to have so many tricks."

"It does not matter if you remain restless, just stay in this room and do not suddenly run out to end the examination."

Karen grew too weary to play the game of constant explanation with this fellow; he brought the quill in his hand into contact with the one on the desk before him.

This was the final unexamined quill. If there was no uncompleted mental imprint within this one, there would be no way to discern what Vice Dean Davinci was actually plotting.

After a brief moment, Karen received a response.

"To answer you, My Lord, it does possess one."

"Retrieve it for me to see."

"Yes, it shall be done according to your divine will."

A dark aura emerged from within the quill, gradually solidifying into a tablet, though this tablet was only half-formed, remaining incomplete.

The manifestations of mental imprints were varied; the transmission of magic using rubbings of scrolls as carriers was the most basic form. Back then, the Sea God's Armor and the Dark Moon's Blade had been transmitted to him by Kevin and Pu'er through the method of mental rubbings.

A slightly more advanced form was the old man in his study.

As for Lord Dahl within the Gate of Samsara, that ought to be among the highest tier of mental imprint manifestations.

What distinguished it from words and the various material media of the current era was its ability to manifest internal concepts in a more direct and effective manner.

Karen placed the quill in his hand upon the tablet and began to read.

"Hum!"

The surrounding scene transformed in an instant; Richard vanished, the desk vanished, and the small room vanished as well.

Karen now stood within an auditorium, surrounded by empty seats.

"Click!"

A figure appeared upon the podium. He wore a mask and, judging by his physique, was a middle-aged man.

Davinci had altered his own image here, which greatly heightened Karen's interest in the contents.

First, using an incomprehensible method to employ public tools for private use;

Then, altering his appearance within the mental imprint he created himself;

No matter how one looked at it, there was a sense of dancing on the edge of the forbidden.

Karen sat down in an adjacent seat; at this moment, he was the sole audience member here.

Once a mental imprint was completed, it could be rubbed onto scrolls; if a scroll were distributed, it could organize an event akin to a reading seminar. When everyone read that scroll together, the seats here could accommodate many people listening to the lecture together.

"Everyone, this lecture will continue the theme of the previous one, first making a brief conclusion of the parts left unfinished last time, and then conducting a realistic analysis and demonstration of the problems during this class."

Karen's attention focused once more on the podium. So, it truly was a lecture?

And who would the audience for his lecture be?

"In the last class, we spoke of the God of Order's future vision for the Order of Divine Religion. As I have said before, the Light of Order we see now is a version that has undergone countless revisions; in truth, it is more like a simplified youth edition.

When Lord Tyranus wrote the Light of Order, he used the method of demonstration, rather than the absolute statements we see today."

Before Davinci—or more precisely, in the center of the auditorium—the figure of Tyranus appeared.

Tyranus sat upon the steps, quill in hand, surrounded by a crowd engaged in discussion.

This was an image imprinted by Davinci himself, a manifestation originating from his own thoughts. In truth, in Karen's impression, he had never seen such an approachable and easygoing Tyranus upon any murals; as the actual founder of the Order of Divine Religion, Tyranus's image in internal propaganda had always been mysterious and majestic.

Furthermore, among those sitting on the ground discussing while scratching their feet, there were a few familiar figures; they were all characters from the murals, though their status and position were inferior to Tyranus.

Davinci walked into the midst of the crowd, appearing to blend into this discussion.

"You might think that what I wish to express through this image is praise for the atmosphere of primitive democratic discussion; in truth, it is not. Our time and energy are limited, and we do not involve ourselves in such tedious matters.

This image was created by me, but it does not originate from my imagination.

Look at the background of this image. Do you see it? Behind them is black smoke; this is a temple that has just been breached, an interval within the divine war.

So, what are they discussing?

Do you imagine they are discussing the subsequent war plans?

No, in fact, they are not.

I have told you more than once that the God of Order we believe in and follow is even greater than you imagine.

This image and introduction come from a very ancient version of the Light of Order, an archaeological discovery of mine within an ancient tomb."

Hearing the words "archaeological discovery," a smile could not help but appear at the corner of Karen's mouth.

"In this image, what Tyranus is discussing with the initial sages of the Divine Religion is how, in the future, to use a single rule to isolate and exclude the influence of other churches.

Well, I know that hearing this, you will feel somewhat disappointed; you will think this was something you could have conceived yourselves, and it fits the theme of the Light of Order and the Regulations of Order perfectly.

But two things occurred before and after this meeting; once I supplement them, you will have a deeper understanding of the meeting in this image.

Before this meeting took place, our God of Order reported the peculiar actions of the God of Samsara to the God of Light. That is the current Gate of Samsara; recently, Rerilsa almost escaped from within the Gate of Samsara, though I do not believe she is the true Goddess Rerilsa; her definition ought to be a powerful existence. Well, we shall not diverge too much here.

The God of Light was the leader of the faction at that time, and our God of Order was an existence standing behind the God of Light in those years. Although many parts regarding light have been excised from the Light of Order now, I believe that those of you capable of listening to my lecture should possess this basic knowledge.

The God of Order reported the God of Samsara to the God of Light, believing that the existence of the Gate of Samsara violated the order between life and death.

Standing from our perspective, it was the God of Light who shielded the God of Samsara.

Because the Gate of Samsara was ultimately established by the God of Samsara anyway, and it still stands in the Valley of Samsara today.

At the same time, I believe this incident was also the fuse for the split between Order and Light.

In your understanding, was this a split of factions, a split of power?

Like those stories between national forces in social history, was it for the sake of striving for power and profit?

No, no, no, in my view, this marked a split in the path between Order and Light.

The goal envisioned by the faction of the God of Eternity was to establish a set of operating rules for this world, descending step by step from the Supreme God, making the world present a pyramidal structure.

The God of Eternity believed that only in this manner could the stability between various levels be guaranteed.

But because of this, the mobility between strata was suppressed.

In the mythical narratives of many churches, the assault of the Light faction upon the Eternity faction was a challenge of the new gods against the era of the old gods.

This statement is not incorrect.

Well, do you find yourselves wondering once more where the significance lies in what I emphasized previously?

What I mean is, across the entire framework and trend of events, this is indeed how it stands. I do not deny that this is an ascendant war between two generations of gods, the old and the new. But within it, there is one god whose position is not like that at all. That is our God of Order.

I believe that when the God of Order originally stood behind the God of Light, it was not to seek a backer, nor was it to look for an environment suitable for his own growth and development. Rather, the 'Light shines upon all men' advocated by the God of Light resonated deeply with the God of Order's views within that specific environment—mind you, the point of comparison here is the eternal stagnation of the Eternal God.

Once the Faction of Light gradually suppressed the Faction of Eternity, a new contradiction emerged.

The God of Light wished to use his own methods to allow the relationship between gods, humans, and this world to achieve a state of fluid transition. What Light desired was the harmony and rhythm of this world, a vibrant spectacle of all living things competing for growth, much like a forest in springtime.

But to our God of Order, the very entity disrupting the stable structure of this world was precisely 'the gods.'

Yes, everyone.

What I am telling you now is that the enemy of our God of Order is the gods themselves, even if he happens to be a god as well.

This is also why only our Church of Order has no branch deities, because the God of Order does not like the existence of 'gods.'

I suppose the God of Order’s thoughts back then might not have been quite so extreme. My apologies, I probably shouldn’t use the word extreme here, but you should understand my meaning.

Yet when Light shielded Samsara, our God of Order likely realized that he and Light were no longer walking the same path.

Next came the moment when Tyranus and a multitude of early Order sages sat together to discuss the Regulations of Order.

Following that, another event transpired.

An upheaval occurred in the God-Burial Ground. Now we all know that deities are interred there, but in reality, it was the place where a host of heavily wounded deities from the Eternal Faction perished collectively after a divine war.

They died, yet they were not entirely dead. The concept of life and death for a god is different from what we understand.

The God of Light, and later our God of Order, both visited the God-Burial Ground.

Regarding the handling of this place, the God of Light adopted a policy of placation, whereas our God of Order chose banishment.

Now, when you combine that with this painted scene of the discussion, you can savor a distinctly different flavor.

Starting from this very painting, the four great retainers represented by Tyranus, the twelve Knights of Order, and the various founding sages of the Church had already received the will of the God of Order.

The very existence of the Church of Order is meant to banish gods from the world of mortals!

So, why were these accounts deleted from the Light of Order? Because it is somewhat obvious, and it would make it far too easy for those with matching intentions to taste this underlying flavor.

And what was the purpose of the deletion?

Look,

look at what they are doing right now. They are actually working alongside other churches to alter the mythological narrative.

A recent example: to absorb the Pamires Church, they altered the historical encounters between the God of Order and the God of Pamires, turning the God of Pamires into a mere messenger under the command of the God of Order.

After the Samsara Church was defeated, they altered the history between the God of Samsara and the God of Order. Even though the two master gods clearly had a discordant relationship, the God of Samsara became an important helper and comrade-in-arms behind the God of Order.

And now, they are negotiating with the Moon Church. I believe that once the negotiations conclude, our great God of Order will gain a lover.

Yes, you might think we have profited, that the Church of Order is growing stronger and stronger, that we are progressively dismantling, crushing, and absorbing the power of other churches, that our Church of Order will become increasingly mighty, and our God of Order will become more and more illustrious.

But is this truly what the God of Order desired?

They know it isn't, so they deleted certain things.

Perhaps you might think that when our Church of Order grows so strong that it is completely without rivals, that will be the moment the God of Order's goal is realized.

No,

you are wrong.

At that time, we will have merely created, under the name of 'Order,' the most formidable, ordered enemy!

If one day our great God of Order returns, what he will behold is a behemoth that looks very much like himself. It could be called 'Eternity,' or it could be called 'Light,' but it will absolutely not be Order!"

Davinci began to take deep breaths.

During his previous narration, every time he mentioned an instance or a scene, a corresponding projection would appear in the auditorium.

The sensation was extraordinary, so much so that even Karen could not help but become immersed in it.

When Davinci paused to rest...

Well, Karen figured that the real-world Davinci, who was using the quill pen to create this mental imprint, had probably stopped to smoke a cigarette.

Karen broke away from the previous "classroom" atmosphere. A suspicion formed in his mind: this was likely a "rebel faction" within the Church of Order, and Davinci was their theoretical mentor.

They believed the current high-ranking officials of the Church had betrayed the original intent of the God of Order. All theoretical groundwork would eventually form either a banner or a sword; this was an objective law.

It was just like owning a gun. If you wiped it down and meticulously maintained it every single day, could you resist the urge to fire a shot?

Davinci was different from Mr. Gandilo. The things Mr. Gandilo dabbled in were actually subverting the God of Order from the very foundation, deconstructing the God of Order's capabilities.

Davinci belonged to the internal reformist faction, while Gandilo belonged to the subversive faction.

So, what about himself?

And then... which faction did Neo belong to?

Davinci must have returned from his smoke break. He rested a moment, giving his listeners time to digest the information.

"They have betrayed the God of Order, and furthermore, they have committed an even more terrifying act..."

Two dynamic images appeared in the central area of the church.

In one image, a man sat in an open-top car, waving to his supporters all around.

Karen remembered him. He had appeared multiple times in the Order Weekly. He was an ordinary man named John Rottini, the mayor of Manral City, whose campaign theme was freedom and democracy.

According to political analyses in secular newspapers, he was highly likely to become the leader of his party and participate in the next general election, giving him a shot at competing for the position of Prime Minister of Wien.

The other image featured an old acquaintance, someone Karen had crossed paths with more than once on the streets. It was Mr. Koma Luther, the leader of the purple-haired equal rights movement. By his side stood Clerics of Order protecting him.

A long time ago, Karen had harbored a doubt as to why he so frequently saw news about these two ordinary men in the Order Weekly. This was even more absurd than a leftist newspaper dedicating pages to reporting and praising the fine upbringing of an old noble family.

Davinci spoke up:

"I originally thought they had merely betrayed the God of Order, but I never expected that they were already denying the God of Order. Because, they want to... create a god!

I absolutely will not allow such a thing to happen. I believe that any believer loyal to the God of Order should not sit idly by and watch this happen. We must take action, we must..."

The imagery and sound stopped abruptly at this point.

Because this mental imprint had not yet been finished.

Karen closed his eyes, and when he opened them again, his consciousness had returned.

He saw Richard leaning in right in front of him, their faces practically touching.

"What are you doing."

"Ah!"

Startled, Richard fell straight backward onto his buttocks. He had originally thought Karen was a phantom conjured by the quill to enhance the scolding effect. Only when he saw Karen holding the pen with his eyes closed in silence, and noticed the quill had stopped speaking as well, did he realize this seemed to be the real Karen.

"Karen, is it really you? How did you do that?"

"The quill pen felt that I am exceedingly loyal to the God of Order, so it permitted me to act as the study group leader to check up on your faith. If I say it like that, do you believe it?"

Richard nodded and said, "I don't believe it."

"Right, keep it a secret. Can you do that?"

"Of course!"

"Alright, carry on then." Before Karen departed, he spoke to the quill pen on the desk, "Increase the intensity."

"Yes, I obey the divine decree."

Karen returned to his small cabin and sat in the chair for a moment. He first digested the previous message in his mind, and then mentally prepared himself. It was hard to imagine that this idle vice president, who held no real power, was actually such a figure behind the scenes.

Seeing that the time was about right, Karen decided to leave this place.

"Give the score."

"Please give a specific score, sir."

"Ten points."

Karen was no longer pursuing an overflow of faith, because an overflow on the soul level could be explained as talent, but if you overflowed in terms of faith, what exactly were you trying to do?

A piece of paper floated down, landing upon the tabletop.

Karen stood up and discovered that no score had been given on this piece of paper.

"What is wrong?"

"I am guilty. I have no way to judge you, sir. Please score yourself."

Karen picked up the quill and wrote "10 points" upon it.

The feeling of grading oneself was actually quite pleasant.

"On the basis of retaining the third layer of conscious thought, clear the memory."

"Yes, I obey the divine decree."

Karen walked out of the small cabin.

As it turned out, he was still the first to emerge; the other two were not yet finished.

...

Richard's cabin.

The quill: "The next item that requires criticism regarding you is..."

Richard: "I beg of you, I beg of you, let it end, let me out, let me out, I can't take it anymore, I truly can't take it anymore."

...

Alfred's cabin.

Alfred: "The next item that requires correction regarding you is..."

The quill: "You have already achieved a perfect score, you may end the test and leave, truly, I beg of you, leave, leave..."