Mystery: The Undead Don't Die from Linking the Fire

Chapter 295 The Priest

In the world within the book, the original harshness has long since vanished, replaced by a vibrant realm where all things flourish.

Not far away, a city with walls over fifteen meters high stood, with guards in leather armor standing at the city gate, checking the passersby and collecting entry taxes from them one by one.

The large characters engraved on the city gate tell the story of this city:

Pessot.

In a relatively remote part of the city of Pessot.

There is a church built of stone blocks, with a rough exterior that looks like it needs polishing. The most eye-catching and exquisite part inside is an altar, on which stands a wooden cross and a tall statue carrying the cross.

A simply dressed, bearded priest sat in the front row, facing the statue of God, head bowed, eyes closed, praying intently. Even the footsteps behind him did not disturb him in the slightest.

Ember sat down beside the priest, quietly waiting for the prayer to end.

After a long while, the priest finally opened his eyes slowly, his golden eyes fixed on him.

The priest slowly began to speak:

I thought you would arrive earlier.

Ember's gaze remained fixed on the tall statue carrying the cross, and he asked as if chatting with a friend:

"I think it's quite early. How long did you spend in the book?"

"I can't remember exactly, but it must have been several decades. The time flow in the world of the book is not synchronized with the time flow in the outside world."

"Haven't you ever thought about leaving?"

The priest did not respond, but instead asked:

"So, what do you plan to do with me?"

The priest's golden eyes were utterly calm, as if he were not discussing his own fate.

Ember thought about it seriously for a moment, then smiled and said:

"Who knows? Maybe I'll let you go."

"After all, you are just a product of imagination, and killing you would be of no use."

"really."

The priest nodded slightly in agreement.

He did not object to the claim that he was a figment of imagination. Because the truth was that he was not the real Adam, but merely a figment of imagination, a 'priest'.

"When He created you, did He not intend to infuse you with even a trace of humanity?"

"Humanity is a burden."

The priest's tone remained unusually calm:

"That would only increase the risk of me betraying you."

The priest spoke without any reservations or concealment about the possibility of "betraying oneself."

Ember asked in return:

"Have you ever considered that perhaps divinity is the burden?"

"You want me to deny the meaning of my own existence?"

The priest asked again, and he calmly replied:

"You're not good at disturbing others with words, nor do you have the authority to do so, so why waste your time?"

Ember's expression was strange:

"I thought we were just having a casual chat, which means you were actually subtly trying to disrupt me with your words, right?"

The priest nodded calmly.

"right."

The priest was quite frank and didn't think there was anything to hide.

After all, this was an open conspiracy, and he never expected that Yu Jin wouldn't see through it.

As for whether a calculated strategy will be effective, who knows?

Before they even met, the priest had already envisioned what their meeting would be like.

Perhaps Ember will kill him outright, which fits his impression of the undead.

Perhaps Ember will choose to chat with him casually, just like now. Only if the other party has the intention to talk can his open scheme have room to be implemented. As for whether it will be effective, that is not his concern; that is for his true self to consider.

He was just doing what he was supposed to do.

Yu Jin chuckled and suddenly asked:

"What do you think God is?"

He pointed to the tall statue carrying a cross and asked the priest beside him.

The priest countered:

"Which God?"

"In your memory."

The priest remained silent for a moment, and then the scene before him suddenly changed.

The original stone church has disappeared, replaced by another church, an exceptionally magnificent one.

Classic stone pillars support the towering dome, yet the hall remains surprisingly spacious without being fragmented.

The church's doors were so tall and wide that even giants would find them too high and wide, and on either side, candles placed in silver cups emitted a warm glow.

The altar at the very front is magnificent, with a gray cross and a statue of a god carrying the cross standing on top.

They remained seated in the front row, facing the altar, gazing at each other.

The priest spoke calmly:

"I am God."

"Let me correct that."

Ember interrupted the priest, and the magnificent church vanished in an instant, returning them to the simple stone church. Ember then said earnestly:

You're probably referring to your original form, or rather, your original form from before.

The priest's tone remained calm:

"We are one."

"Therefore, I am God."

The stone church was replaced once again by a magnificent cathedral. This time, Ember did not interrupt him, but calmly watched him.

An invisible ripple was generated, and the altar in front of the church suddenly became blurred.

This magnificent thing, along with the cross and the statue above it, simultaneously blurred and distorted, then suddenly unfolded, bursting forth with light and shadow that wasn't particularly intense.

The interplay of light and shadow created a three-dimensional image: a majestic, continuous mountain range with its main peak soaring into the clouds. However, the white clouds dared not obscure the main peak and parted to the sides on their own.

At the summit of the mountain stood a huge cross, taller than the mountain itself, and in front of it sat a majestic figure shrouded in layers of light.

Angels with two, four, or six wings, some carrying trumpets, some playing harps, and some blowing flutes, circled and danced around that majestic figure, sometimes praising and sometimes singing.

Eight blurry human figures with twelve pairs of wings on their backs clustered around the majestic deity, some sitting at His feet, leaning on Him with dependence, others floating on either side, awaiting His command.

Amidst this magnificent scene, the embers suddenly spoke:

"Of the eight angels, more than half chose to betray God, which aligns with my impression of God."

"What was the name of that painting again?"

The priest calmly provided the answer for him:

"The Last Supper".

Ember sighed in admiration:

"Yes, the feast of Judah."

The priest nodded slightly:

"They are indeed Judas."

Ember stroked his chin and asked, puzzled:

"Didn't you see any of this back then?"

The priest turned his head again, his eyes clear, and said:

"In order to counter the original revival, I expelled the characteristics of dreamers and errors, and gave birth to Adam and Amon."

"But He revived within me, which forced me to use my trump card prematurely, ultimately leaving me no choice but to kill myself. In my condition at the time, I could no longer see much."

"Even if I know they will betray me, I will still act, because I have no other choice."

"However, the person who betrayed me was different from what I had expected."

"Adam and Ammon were born to confront the Primordial One, and their birth is inextricably linked to the Primordial One."

"Herabergen is an opportunist. His becoming the King of Angels is merely a way to appease other races; he is not trustworthy in himself."

"The others were all trained by me, and I treat them like my own children."

"But of these people, half chose to betray."

"Even though I've given them enough, they never know what it means to be satisfied."

"And the others."

The priest paused for a moment, then slowly began to speak:

"I cultivated the Night, and Lilith owes me a favor."

"As it turns out, they did repay the favor; at least they didn't get involved, otherwise I probably wouldn't have survived."

"The only thing that surprised me was that they were all your people."

The priest sighed softly, seemingly with some regret:

"I originally thought that Night and Lilith would restrain each other, and there was also the God of War, who was her mortal enemy, by their side. Even if one of them had ulterior motives, the three of them restraining each other would not cause any accidents. But I forgot that she is the God of War's mother, and Night and she have known each other for a long time. They both chose to stand by and watch."

Ember asked thoughtfully:

"What about the young lady and Sister Friede?"

The priest leaned forward slightly and gave a simple explanation:

"They are not in my plans."

"They weren't part of my original plan at all. Perhaps they contacted me under the cover of darkness, or perhaps they came uninvited, but none of that was related to my scheme. Although their appearance didn't affect the ending, it was still a destabilizing factor."

"So even now, Herabogen and his men don't know the true identities of these people."

Even when I first met you, I didn't connect all of this. By the time I truly understood, everything was already set in stone.

"Did you awaken when you became a 'dreamer'?"

"no."

The priest looked ahead and answered gently, "When I fall and 'truth' is born."

"He inherited humanity, while you only have divinity. Why not just have the same person inherit it from the beginning?"

"That would mean losing the path of fantasy, just like 'Amon,' which would only make my situation worse."

"Even if it means sacrificing a son?"

The priest calmly said:

"This is a necessary sacrifice."

"Their birth was an accident."

"If you could split yourself into three, wouldn't even Amon be unable to escape your clutches?"

"No."

The priest denied it:

"His methods are not suitable for me; they will only push me to the brink of losing control again."

Ember asked in return:

"Then why didn't you just make Amon a god from the start?"

"If He could have become God, perhaps things wouldn't have been so bad for you, would they?"

The priest's seemingly pure golden eyes remained calm:

"A naturally born mythical creature and a naturally born god are two different concepts."

"Being born a mythical creature already makes him flawed; being born a god would cause him to lose control completely."

"By the time he grows up, my condition will no longer allow me to help him become a god."

"Moreover, I didn't trust him enough at the time. He might help me, but he might also betray me. If he became a god, whether I could actually survive was unknown."

Inside the magnificent temple, the enshrined deity calmly recounts the fact that he does not trust his own son.

Ember shook his head and asked:

Do you know why I'm telling you so much?

The priest's eyes were clear:

"You're assessing whether I or reality is a better investment."

"But that's meaningless. To me, we are all one."

"No matter who you invest in, I'm the one who benefits."

Ember chuckled to himself:

"If that's the case, why don't you just sacrifice yourself and become one with the true Creator?"

"In this way, His power may increase dramatically, and He may have the opportunity to reclaim the lost authority one by one."

"So, in the end, even divinity has a selfish side?"

The priest said gently:

Everything has a selfish side.

"Even though we are already one, we still hope to gain the initiative after the integration."

"Is that why you're cooperating with Him?"

"He is my best choice."

The priest turned to the embers and said slowly:

"And you, you may experience the same thing as me."

Ember smiled. "Is this considered a curse?"

"Let's just say that."

The priest withdrew his gaze and said calmly.

Yu Jin nodded slightly, then suddenly asked:

"Aren't you really going to try and escape from here?"

The priest asked calmly:

"What happens after you escape? Will you find your true form by following me, or will you be absorbed by it?"

Ember thoughtfully reminded him, "These two things don't conflict."

The priest said calmly:

"So I might as well stay here; at least I can catch up with old friends."

No sooner had they finished speaking than the scene before them changed once again.

The once magnificent temple has vanished, replaced by a giant crater in the deep sea, with a city the size of an island in the center.

The city's foundation is grayish-white, upon which stand magnificent stone pillars, some tens or even hundreds of meters high. They stand alone or together support towering, ancient palaces. The whole structure is both strange and grand, unlike anything that ordinary creatures could build.

"The City of Miracles, Levihard..."

The corresponding knowledge appeared out of thin air in Yu Jin's mind.

Levihide is a floating city imagined out of thin air by the ancient god Angorweid, the "Dragon of Imagination." From any perspective, it can be called a miracle, even a divine feat.

It is more magnificent and rugged than the "Giant's Court," and has an otherworldly character. Each stone pillar is nearly a hundred meters high, like a seat for dragons to rest. It is a city that leaves a deep and unforgettable impression just by hearing about it.

Ember suddenly asked:

"Can you do something similar?"

"easy."

I mean now.

"Slightly difficult."

Yu Jin smiled but didn't expose him.

The priest stood up from his chair and, for the first time, extended an invitation:

"If you're going to explore the Giants' Court, why don't you take this opportunity to explore the kingdom of another ancient god first?"

Yu Jin gladly accepted:

"Lead the way."

The priest took a step forward, and when he reappeared, he was already in that magnificent city of miracles.

This is an ocean of the subconscious, where priests on the dreamer's path thrive and can unleash their full potential.