Only God
Chapter 51 - 47 Al’s child is to become King!

Chapter 51: Chapter 47 Al’s child is to become King!

Al listened in astonishment to all of this.

He couldn’t believe it, suspecting his old, blurry eyes had misread and his ears had misheard.

The Prophet hurried towards the palace, seeing the multitudes surrounding the stone-built palace, anxiously and awkwardly looking up at the Sapo King above, who stroked the Dragon Bone and loudly proclaimed a new god.

"Logosians! These great fish are the messengers of the new god! Give me some time, and they will heed my command!"

The Sapo King stood tall, his large frame casting a long, narrow shadow on the extended steps.

The dust-covered Al and Yarlessto entered among the masses, unrecognized, their appearances too haggard.

After a brief inquiry, father and son Prophets heard a shocking and outrageous story.

In the name of God, the Sapo King had persecuted the Logosian Priests, deserted the Pattern Garden, and declared to the people that the Prophet had forsaken God, hence God had rechosen Sapo as King and sent a great flood to punish the Logosians for their errors.

After the flood came, most of the Kingdom was submerged, yet miraculously, not a single person died; those caught in the flood all encountered the group of great fish with unicorns and miraculously survived.

After these events came to a temporary halt, on the first night, the Sapo King conveyed his will to the Kingdom’s Elder Sages.

"What was the will?"

Al asked eagerly.

The Logosian being questioned replied in a trembling voice:

"The King is to declare a new god, the King says: ’The old God has shown us no grace, yet those long-horned great fish are messengers of the new god.’"

"No grace... no grace..."

Al murmured these words, then stared fixedly at the Sapo King above the palace.

His gaze held anger, sorrow, and the pain of betrayal... He remembered a phrase.

God had said, "Someone says I have shown no grace; as the end times approach, someone curses and forsakes me."

The Prophet finally understood who that "someone" referred to in those words!

"My brother... how dare you do such a thing!"

The Prophet trembled with a mix of rage and sorrow, barely able to contain his emotions.

The Sapo King, still standing atop the palace, grew restless and uneasy as the fish remained disobedient; he then knelt down, facing the Dragon Bone, relentlessly kissing its pale, sharp horn, expressing his devout and loyal heart.

"Great new god, please let me command those great fish, let them obey my command, so that my Logosian people may rule the earth for you."

The Sapo King humbly prayed to the Primordial Will, continually stroking the Dragon Bone, seeking the authority to control the unicorn whales.

Al, observing his brother’s actions and adding the stories of bystanders, could guess what had happened.

"Let’s go, Yarlessto."

His eldest son slowly nodded, fists clenched in anger.

The Pattern Garden’s Priests had been persecuted, those who had discussed the laws of the world with him for years suffered heavy casualties and injuries, Yarlessto felt only murderous intent and rage towards the King.

The Logosian who relayed the situation to Al was startled; he heard that name and then incredulously watched as Al walked away.

...Yarlessto... That was the name of the Prophet’s eldest son...

Could it be... could it be...

The Prophet has returned?!

The Logosian nearly fell to the ground, fainting.

Great walls of water stood in all directions, as the unicorn whales maintained the turbid floodwaters, curiously observing the Logosian people.

The Logosians were uneasy, having never before seen such huge creatures, many could be seen praying to the old god mentioned by the King.

Despite the Sapo King earlier claiming the Prophet had forsaken God and now proclaiming the descent of a new god.

Yet not many truly believed this rhetoric, most people were simply half-convinced, hesitant because of the Sapo King’s persecution of the Priests, and no one dared to vocalize their thoughts.

The Elder Sages looked at the indifferent great fish, their gazes uncertain and uneasy.

No one dared to question the King, nor did anyone dare to believe in the King.

The entire Kingdom had fallen into a stalemate.

Until...

A pair of weary father and son ascended the palace steps.

The onlookers watched in astonishment as the duo slowly made their way toward King Sapo, speculating about their identities.

Their stride was so composed and deliberate, as if they had come prepared, that even the guards did not know how to react for a moment and dared not step forward to obstruct.

Al stared fixedly at King Sapo.

The prayer to the Primordial Will, the Curse upon God, and the humble reverence displayed before the Dragon Bone... All these images stabbed at Al’s eyes.

He didn’t understand why his brother, the first ever to be granted language, would betray God.

The only thing the Prophet knew was that the fire of his anger grew fiercer within him, sweeping through every bone in his body.

He could also hear in Yarlessto’s footsteps a rage no less intense than his own.

The Prophet approached King Sapo, who was kneeling and kissing the Dragon Bone.

King Sapo, sensing a tall shadow cast over him, mistook it for a moment as the Divine Descent of the new deity and turned around with great excitement, only to face a weathered visage.

He froze on the spot.

"Al, Al... It’s you, it really is you... No, how could it be you?!"

King Sapo scrambled up from the ground in a panic, and Al saw the King’s body revert to youthful strength and his hair to deep black, all proof of the King’s betrayal of God. The more attentively the Prophet noticed these details, the more thoroughly his heart shattered.

"Sapo,"

"I am the chosen Prophet Al."

Al spoke in tones calm yet alien.

King Sapo listened incredulously to this unfamiliar timbre, which seemed to distance itself from him and sounded like the proclamation of a great judgment that would bring him to ruin.

"Al! Al!"

King Sapo cried out in terror, the sight of Al returning unharmed instantly filling his mind with ominous thoughts.

He stared incredulously at the pale Dragon Bone.

Could it be... could it be...

A thought, utterly terrifying to him, surged forth.

The new deity he had worshiped had already...

The thought was chillingly dreadful.

The promise of sharing Eternal Life, the proclaimed betrayal of the Prophet to God, the proclaimed greatness of the new deity... These claims shattered into pieces the moment Al ascended the steps, beyond recognition.

And now... Al was to judge him on behalf of the God he had forsaken.

Fear instantly overwhelmed the King’s sanity.

King Sapo’s reason disintegrated, and he went mad.

He stood up and stumbled out of the palace, shouting:

"Al, Al! Al has returned, his son will be the King! Dreams have come true! New deity, the dreams have all come true!"

King Sapo fell on the steps, tumbling down, and when he hit the ground, the Elders approached him, terror-stricken.

The Elders saw tears of fear streaming down the King’s face.

He looked less like a King, more like a wounded and mad beast.

King Sapo convulsed, screaming madly:

"Why, why..."

"Why has neither the new deity nor the old ever blessed me, shown me any grace?!"