Only God

The boy widened his eyes and said,

"Move to where?"

Slaier bowed his head and, after a moment of thought, began slowly,

"There is a group of Divine who want to share the Path of Divine Creation with mortals and lead them. It seems they are now gathering in Cecil, so let's go there."

Wally swallowed and asked,

"How are we going to move?"

Slaier casually replied,

"Just move everyone there, and add some sedative to their food when the time comes."

Slaier's plan sounded so casual that Wally found it extremely unreliable.

But the boy thought again, perhaps, he could use this opportunity to break free from Slaier's control?

The God of Lies and Tricks had a bad reputation in the Mortal World, as he had offended many Gods, so he was despised in the faith of various sects, and people even often regarded Him as an evil god.

Who would want to serve under an evil god?

Wally had been coerced and had served Slaier out of desperation. He had no loyalty or faith in Him originally. Now that the opportunity had presented itself, he thought he must grasp it well.

"How should I grasp it? How should I grasp it?"

Alone in the room, Wally repeatedly asked himself this question.

All of a sudden, Wally slapped his forehead, remembering,

"Got it, that True Believer called Veldor...

During the previous riot, besides the Philosopher who was impersonated by Slaier, he was the most revered.

Although it seems he has accepted his fate now, but... what if, just what if he still thinks he's not dead?

Yes, it's him. I'll help him secretly, and collaborate with him if necessary, to let him know, all this is a lie!"

Wally clenched his fists; he had made up his mind to find an opportunity to break free from Slaier's control, as for this afterlife town, as long as he could escape, why worry about its being overwhelmed by a deluge.

Veldor was enjoying ordinary meals.

Since that riot, hardly anyone in the afterlife town dared claim they hadn't died.

They all looked at their leader, defeated before the Judge, and regarded him like stray dogs. Such a scene destroyed people's minds more than piles of corpses and seas of blood.

Anyone who claimed they hadn't died was considered a madman.

Veldor had also returned to his original post-death life. The society was disbanded, and he no longer claimed that he had not died.

Gomu, who had already believed in his own death, welcomed back this prodigal friend. As fellow True Believers, they began living a life of poverty in the afterlife world, similar to their lives in the Sect.

They would start their mornings with prayer, reading scriptures, and then breakfast. At noon, it was the same with prayers, scripture, and lunch, and the evenings followed suit.

In the Sighing Plain devoid of entertainment, their day-to-day lives, in comparison to others, were already quite diverse.

In this afterlife town, as entertainment no longer existed, everyone became rigid, living a life akin to walking corpses; they were neither in pain nor happiness, just feeling bored endlessly, and never-ending boredom.

Who let this be the Sighing Plain?

Here there was no light, only darkness, no warmth, only cold, no joy, only sighs.

One day, Veldor surprisingly found that he had gotten used to the life in the afterlife world.

He was astonished; all along, he didn't believe he had died, but his soul was more honest than he; he truly had adapted here.

He shared this realization with Gomu, who responded,

"Veldor, we have all gotten used to it.

Even if there's a slight possibility that we haven't died, we are indeed 'dead.'

Our souls have become accustomed to death, and life is now alien to us."

Gomu's words made so much sense. Veldor listened and nodded, yes, they really were dead, and death had left an indelible mark on them.

So, what use was there in persisting in the belief that they hadn't died?

"Death is not a lie."

Veldor bowed his head and resignedly uttered a sentence.

At this moment, he felt the stone that had always been hanging in his heart drop, accepting the fact of his own death suddenly made him feel much lighter.

He began to fully immerse himself in this post-death life, choosing to believe in what Wally had said before, continuing to pray, and waiting for the day he would return to Heaven.

This situation continued until…

"How come there are only you two True Believers here?"

One day, a new "dead" person asked with a puzzled face.

This question startled Veldor, but he quickly regained his composure.

Since no other True Believers had come to this post-death town, it was naturally suspicious, but was it really so suspicious? Perhaps those who had converted to the True Religion were taken to other areas and just hadn't come to this town.

Therefore, Veldor didn't take the "dead" person's words to heart.

Until, that "dead" person privately told Veldor that the guards in this post-death town seemed to occasionally recite a few verses of the Scriptures of the Gods of Lies and Deceit.

This immediately raised Veldor's alertness.

"The Gods of Lies and Deceit, Slaier… Could it be that these guards are followers of lies and deceit? Aren't they loyal to the Death God?"

This was a huge doubt, and it was much more difficult to explain than the previous doubts.

The fire of doubt in Veldor's heart was reignited.

However, this time, he became much more cautious and much more careful than before.

He first pretended to loudly scold the new "dead" person and firmly claimed that this place was the Netherworld governed by Nakbet.

During this period, news that shook the post-death town spread.

"Constructing the bridge to the Punishment Wilderness will grant you the blessing to go to the Peaceful Plain!"

Wally stood on a high platform, holding up a Sheepskin Scroll, and proclaimed to the crowd of the dead in the post-death town.

For the post-death town, which had been living a stagnant life for many years, this was indeed a wave-starting stone.

Life in the stagnant town suddenly became lively, nearly all the inhabitants were Believers of the Gods, they were familiar with the structure of the Netherworld, and the so-called Peaceful Plain was, besides the Great Plain, the best place within the Netherworld.

In that place, life would not be as stagnant as in the Sighing Plain; people would no longer sigh all day, but instead would enjoy a peace and a beauty often described by the Poets as wonderful pastoral life, it seemed as if just by going there, everyone could enjoy the leisure of being Nobles.

When the news spread, the dead were eager for it, they were eager to go to the Peaceful Plain, even if it meant serving labor — building the bridge to the Punishment Wilderness.

"Be grateful, for the great feast of the Death God today will give all of you an opportunity to build the bridge."

Wally announced so.

The so-called construction of the bridge to the Punishment Wilderness was actually a small trick by Slaier, an insignificant lie.

The true purpose of the Gods of Lies and Deceit was, by building the bridge to the Punishment Wilderness, to transfer all the "dead" to a new location.

As a spokesperson for Slaier, Wally naturally knew this, he believed that it was imperative to seize the opportunity to let Veldor soon discover the falsehood of the post-death town.

Thus, he once again pretended to be a new "dead" person, asking Veldor about the views of the outside world.

"What would it be like outside the town?"

"Veldor, could it be that the Heaven of you True Believers is just outside the town?"

Wally's words immediately caught Veldor's attention.

Outside the town?

Veldor suddenly thought of something.

Yes,

all this time, because of the guards, no one had ever tried to go beyond the town.

What could be beyond this town?

An empty Netherworld wilderness, or perhaps... the gates of Heaven?