Only God
Chapter 82 - 74 We Will Never Find God Again

Chapter 82: Chapter 74 We Will Never Find God Again

Dertulian was jolted awake by the panic-stricken alarm calls of the Logos people.

He opened his eyes, his unease never having been this intense before, he abruptly rose from the ground and rushed onto the deck.

Before him lay nothing but the boundless sea.

The waters below were deep and dark, the Unihorns that were supposed to escort them were nowhere to be seen.

Dertulian frantically turned his head to look behind him.

He stood frozen in place.

None of the other fifty-nine Oar-sail Ships followed behind.

Upon the vast and limitless sea, there was only their single Oar-sail Ship.

"Dertulian! What should we do?"

Seeing Dertulian on deck, the people of Logos crowded around him in panic, begging the leader of the fleet for a way to save their lives.

Dertulian stood petrified, fear squeezing his chest, making breathing difficult, his mind a complete blank. The closer people got to him, the more he retreated.

It was not until his back was against the wall with no place left to retreat that Dertulian finally managed to recover.

Looking at the dozens of Logos people with faces full of panic, Dertulian’s hands trembled and, after a long while, he said:

"Row, row to the nearest land. We will surely find land, God protect us."

After speaking, Dertulian suppressed all of his panic, striving to return to his usual demeanor, and continued:

"God will not forsake us, we are the children of God. This is but a minor tribulation. Do you wish to shrink back?"

Perhaps Dertulian’s determination infected the crowd, as the people of Logos suppressed their own unease and slowly moved back to their original places.

The Logos people who climbed up from below deck re-entered the cabin, exerting all their strength to row forward, as the sea breeze puffed the sails.

Dertulian summoned Antion.

"Dertulian... this is the trial the Gods have given us."

Antion looked around the boundless sea and despairingly collapsed on the ground.

The sea ahead was completely empty, they knew not into which waters they had ventured, completely losing their way, and even the most experienced sailors, facing such circumstances, would sincerely feel despair.

Of the sixty Oar-sail Ships, ten were specifically for carrying food, and the stores of food on board were meager, barely enough for two days’ needs, and now, their Oar-sail Ship had become separated from the entire fleet.

If they could not find land, then it was no different from being dead.

Antion punched the deck, then suddenly stood up and yelled at Dertulian:

"We should have done as I said back then! Dertulian! Now everything’s ruined, all is lost! We’re going to die here..."

By the end, Antion’s legs were trembling from despair, and then he knelt down on the deck.

Dertulian said nothing, enduring Antion’s hurtful words.

Now that things had come to this pass, no matter what was done or said, it was impossible to reverse this predicament.

This terrible ordeal seemed to result from his own unwillingness to feign conversion to the Gods.

Dertulian clenched his hands tightly.

But...

Why should these Gods so rightfully decide the fate of mortals?

Dertulian didn’t understand, he slowly released his hands, and pressed them against the cabin wall.

"We must survive on this sea until land is found."

"We..."

"We have no choice but to do so."

Antion gave no indication of agreement or disagreement and raised his head, staring blankly at the ceiling.

.........

Dertulian sprang into action quickly, immediately rushing to the storeroom where the food was kept. He placed the food under strict watch and reduced the daily ration for each person.

At the same time, Dertulian also guarded the ship’s remaining fresh water. He organized a team to modify the ship’s filtration equipment, barely filtering seawater into the range of fresh water while constantly scanning the sea for any schools of fish, ready to lower the nets.

This second son of the Prophet was doing everything in his power to secure a sliver of hope for those on board.

But...

Not all were possessed of strong will.

On the third day, a Logos person collapsed.

Tormented by hunger and despair, the man went mad, shouting wildly on deck, saying one moment that God would surely save us, the next that God would not save us. He climbed to the masthead, muttering verses from the "Book of Kings and Prophets" before leaping into the sea.

Dertulian tried to save the man from the water, but he swam determinedly away from the ship until he eventually sank and was lost from sight.

The one who jumped was emaciated with hunger.

Once a suicide occurred, an inevitable shadow was cast over the others.

Although Dertulian tried his utmost to console and unite the crew, in the face of raw fear, these efforts seemed futile.

Every person’s spirit was tortured.

The Oar-sail Ship seemed to be pushed by the Gods, inching towards the Abyss of despair.

Time drifted into the deep night.

Dertulian’s face was gaunt, and with food on the ship dwindling, he had no choice but to instruct the cook to dismantle some planks, break them into pieces, and boil them in a pot.

He and other strong-willed Logos people stood on deck to prevent the desperate from jumping into the sea.

Suddenly, a shadow burst from the cabin and charged towards the mast, about to leap into the sea. Dertulian, with quick eyes and hands, grabbed the person and pulled them back.

In the darkness, Dertulian barely made out the man’s face.

It was Antion.

The young Priest’s hair was a disheveled, foul-smelling mess, his whole being dazed, his eyes showing a flicker of madness.

"Dertulian... why would you stop me?!"

"...I’ve tried in these past days to make promises to the Gods, to swear to them my faith...

But Kagawus refused us, saying that only in a brush with death can true faith be seen."

Antion’s voice was hoarse as he almost roared his question at Dertulian:

"I’ve said it before, the Gods will send tribulations... as long as we feign conversion, we could remain unscathed, without enduring such torment!"

"Do you know, Dertulian, we would lose nothing!"

"Now... it’s all over, there’s no chance left... we will fall into the grasp of death..."

Antion cursed at Dertulian, who remained silent, holding tightly to Antion, refusing to let him end his life just like that.

Finally exhausted from cursing, Antion stopped and sat down on the deck, his spirit broken as he cried silently.

Seeing him calm down, Dertulian finally released him.

After a while, Antion lifted his head and murmured:

"We Logos people... are so easily frightened... do you know the root of it, Dertulian?"

Before Dertulian could respond, Antion spoke up:

"Rationality,

It’s because of rationality... We have the rationality bestowed by God, so we fear death more.

We try our utmost to survive in this miserable environment. If we were beasts, we would have given up everything by now, but because we possess rationality, we’re compelled to struggle painfully.

And yet, it’s all in vain. The Gods will push us step by step into despair, and rational Logos people will be unable to seize even a thread of hope."

"Dertulian..."

"We will never find God again..."