Only God
Chapter 159 - 137: Seeking to Regain Past Beliefs

Chapter 159: Chapter 137: Seeking to Regain Past Beliefs

The food in the cell was neither good nor sufficient, and the slaves confined here had no choice but to endure the torment of hunger and thirst.

It was obvious that the Kingdom had rarely imprisoned so many criminals before, and had never prepared adequate food. Moreover, since those imprisoned were slaves, the death of some due to starvation was of little concern.

For the first few days, they could barely endure, but by the end of the week, the slaves were all skin and bones.

In the mornings, the cell was filled with a filthy stench.

Noen sat listlessly in front of the cell door, his stomach painfully torn by hunger.

As the days went by, the old Priest’s day of death drew closer.

Yesterday, a minister from the Palace, holding his nose, came into the cell to announce the day of execution to the old Priest.

It was to be in the afternoon, four days later.

Noen watched as the old Priest walked out from the depths of the cell, looking concernedly at the slaves inside.

Here, after hearing the stories told by the old Priest, many of the slaves turned to believe in the Lord he spoke of.

The slaves didn’t quite understand the relationship between the divine beings, and their understanding of faith was superficial. Moreover, the stories recited by the old Priest were so beautiful that it was easy for them to convert.

However, Noen had not converted yet.

Because he had not yet felt that kind of inescapable force that the old Priest had once talked about.

...

Life in the prison was too painful, and on the day before the old Priest’s execution, someone began to starve to death.

No one knew how that person died, nor did anyone know if he had left any last words. In the blink of an eye, he was gone.

Panic swept through the prison instantaneously, and the slaves were deeply grieved by his death. When the prison guards threw his body out of the cell, the slaves surged forward, protecting the body, never allowing the guards to take it away.

At that moment, the Stone Slaves displayed remarkable vitality despite their torment from hunger and thirst. They began to use their emaciated hands and mottled nails to dig a pit in the ground, where they buried the body for a peaceful rest.

For the numerous Three-eyed Ape Nobles, this group of slaves had always been like a domesticated flock of sheep. They did not know what it meant to escape, and even if they did, they would not run; the Stone Slaves were born into slavery.

But this did not mean that the slaves lacked emotions.

In those repeated lashings, in a series of scars, in body after body that fell, there was a heart made of flesh that was still beating.

That heart was not stone, to be carved by the Three-eyed Ape People.

The bodies of the slaves were restrained by fetters, but their spirits could strive for freedom.

Thus, between Kagawus and the Lord spoken of by the old Priest, the slaves in the cell chose to convert to the latter.

They began to learn how to pray with clasped hands like the old Priest, praising the God who saves the world, and they became accustomed to no longer mentioning Kagawus but instead discussed the legends of the Elves among each other.

Noen watched these Stone Slaves in surprise.

His heart, too, was shaken.

No Stone Slave could break free from the worldly shackles; they lacked sufficient strength to resist, and they knew not how to resist.

Even if physical shackles could not be broken,

those who could domesticate the body could not domesticate the soul.

The spirit of the Stone Slave was constantly striving for freedom, and faith was to be awakened from suffering.

Another morning.

When the other slaves gradually awoke from their stupor, the old priest once again recounted that ancient history.

"At that time, the apocalypse had arrived, a great flood engulfed the entire world, dark clouds covered the sun, darkness was everywhere, and people on earth could do nothing but watch as the flood destroyed the mighty trees of the forests and annihilated the creatures on the ground."

The old priest’s voice was filled with passion, stirring the emotions of the slaves who stared intently at him.

"Countless people knelt on the ground, worshipping the Dragon Bone under the leadership of Sapo King, but this did not stop the flood. The fate of destruction on earth seemed to have already been determined."

Noen listened intently to every word of the old priest, committing each story, each episode, to memory.

In the old priest’s narrative, the image of the Lord gradually took shape in the boy’s heart.

"The apocalypse had come, and people had done everything they could, but to no avail. At this point, they clasped their hands together and prayed to God for the ultimate salvation.

And God, listened to the prayers of the people.

Suddenly, flames spread across the entire sky, those light-obscuring clouds instantly caught ablaze!

Those sacred glows instantly filled the heavens, and everyone looked up, witnessing the rain being stopped, and a group of massive Unihorn whales emerging majestically from the valleys, their glowing unicorns stopping the flood that threatened the kingdom!"

The old priest narrated the last episode from the "Book of Kings and Prophets" to everyone, where people, facing adversity, prayed to God for salvation, and God extended his hand, embracing the suffering and despair of humanity.

The slaves looked at each other, seeing similarities in their own predicaments to those of the elves in the story.

They faced the despair of prison, just as those elves faced the apocalyptic flood.

They were powerless in their hunger and thirst, just as the elves were helpless in their destruction.

The Stone Slaves empathized deeply with the story of the elves, clasping their hands together, praising God, and reflecting on the story told by the old priest.

After hearing the entire story, Noen couldn’t help but ask,

"And what happened after that, what happened then?

The kingdom that had received grace, those Logos people who once prayed to God... why did they later execute the Divine Angel?"

The old priest heard Noen’s confusion and smiled,

"Just like I answered you before, I don’t know, Noen.

Now my life is coming to an end,

If you want to know, you must seek it out yourself."

Go and seek it out yourself...

After hearing this, Noen remained silent for a moment, then lifted his face and saw the old priest’s gaze.

In that gaze, there was earnestness, there was expectation.

"The blood of God’s children flows in your veins; you must return to your homeland."

The priest’s voice trembled,

"You must regain your past faith, for God once stood on that mountaintop."

Return to your homeland...

Noen’s hand clenched the prison bars, trembling violently.

Regain your past faith...

He felt an invisible force from deep within his soul gently pushing against his shoulders.

Was this the irresistible force the old priest had spoken of?