"The sacred texts tell us that the Creator never tolerates corruption and injustice..."
Urien devoutly held a copy of the Creator's Ten Commandments. His gaze wandered among the dozens of people, young and old, before him.
For two weeks, Simon and Urien had drawn attention on the street they occupied by continuously drawing the peasants into the city and hiring nuns and priests for the church.
Simon and Urien prepared a hierarchy for the church. They had determined that social policies like free healthcare and social assistance would be the path followed by the Church of Creation.
Once, Simon had discovered that he possessed healing abilities. Yes, he had the ability to heal the mummified remains of an evil god.
They believed that only the devout followers of the Light Goddess had the ability to heal. But seeing what Simon could do, Urien finally understood.
The healing power was strong. According to Simon, it simply happened when he thought about it. Urien was pleased, believing it to be a gift from God.
On the continent of Albion, apart from Healers and Light Priests, there were very few people with healing abilities. Even in the Holy Mary Kingdom, which was the gathering place for healers, the fees required for healing were very high.
In these times, free healthcare would be highly appreciated and would attract people's interest.
Although not many people came in the early days, by the end of the first week, the church was operating like a hospital. Eventually, Urien, who had drawn the interest of some people, was giving his first sermon.
Interestingly, many people seemed pleased while he preached. This satisfaction did not stem from curiosity about the Creator God, but from the healthcare services.
This was a problem that furrowed Urien's brow. How much longer would people come to listen to the sermon just to show their satisfaction with the healthcare services?
Gathering this many followers was already a challenging task. Moreover, making this many followers become devout was even more difficult.
"High Priest, I have a question."
Urien turned his gaze to a young boy. The boy was dressed quite simply, with black hair and brown eyes. "If the Creator cannot tolerate injustice, then why doesn't He intervene?"
A few people who heard the young man's question nodded in support. Urien looked thoughtfully at the ground. His eyes narrowed. He quickly began to articulate the sentences he had formed in his mind.
"As humans, we live in a narrow slice of time and tend to evaluate events only in the short term. However, God's perspective is infinite; He encompasses everything from the beginning to the end. Therefore, what seems to us like 'injustice' may actually serve a purpose in God's grand plan."
The young man, who did not understand Urien's words for a moment, looked at him in astonishment. Urien then engaged his silver tongue. He used hand gestures to draw people's attention to him.
Then, calmly continuing his words, Urien made sure to maintain eye contact with everyone.
"If we are looking for a God who instantly stops every injustice and evil in the world, that would actually mean a world where human free will is completely eliminated. God has left us free to live by our own choices and face the consequences."
Urien paused for a moment. A faint smile settled on his lips. "Free will exists within all of us. When we feel like eating, we go to get food; this is our free will."
"What do you mean?"
Urien walked toward Captain Helga, whom he saw as a new friend.
Captain Helga had served here for 10 years and was now the Church's guard by the decision of Lord Wilfried.
Helga, who protected the Church and its streets, had quickly established a friendship with Urien.
As Urien approached the guard captain, he thanked her. "Thank you, Captain Helga. I didn't even think they would cause trouble on your first day."
Helga shook her head nonchalantly. A mocking smile appeared on her lips.
"By now, you should understand how I am with people coming from Königreich der Tumpen," Helga said with a laugh. Urien sighed. Despite the tired expression on his face, he had a smile on his lips. "You know, I was born in Holy Mary Kingdom too."
"Still, you are different," Helga said, patting Urien on the shoulder playfully. "You and your friends saved my lord's beloved daughter. There's no way someone who does such a virtue could be filthy."
As Urien and Helga chatted for a while longer, somewhere else, Seth had picked up a pen and paper again. No, he was carrying a large book with him.
The front cover of the book showed portraits of two men. The first was an elderly man with white hair. This man was reaching out his hand to the man lying on the ground. The man on the ground was lazily extending his hand toward the elderly man depicting God.
Yes, the cover of Seth's holy book Genesis was an exact replica of Michelangelo's legendary work, The Creation of Adam.
The title Genesis was written in gold letters on the front cover, while the colors of Michelangelo's painting had been faded slightly to make them more translucent.
At the same time, golden threads that wrapped around the book like golden branches added a beautiful detail. On the back of the book was a large eye.
From behind this eye, hundreds of black and white wings were emerging. Each wing appeared to stretch infinitely, while the eye was a frightening shade of red.
The depiction on the back of the book was that of Seraphim. It looked terrifying and supernatural. This could probably be the most horrifying painting of this era.
"599 pages and 5999 verses..."
Seth had written 5999 verses on 599 pages, working non-stop for two weeks.
He examined all the sacred texts, including those of all Hebrew religions. Then, with all the experiences he had learned, he wrote a new holy book.
A smile formed on his lips as he proudly reviewed Genesis. He had truly worked tirelessly for two weeks to write this sacred book. In the end, he felt genuinely satisfied.
"Now all that's left is to give this book to Simon."
Producing copies of the holy book was no longer on Seth's mind. Gradually, everything would fall into place.
What mattered now was laying the foundation of his Church and gathering more followers.
Then, turning into a shadow and disappearing from sight, Seth quickly headed to the city of Erntestadt.