Only God

Afterlife Town.

Ever since Wally announced that the "deceased" could have the chance to build a bridge to Punishment Wilderness, the whole town had been abuzz. Over the following days, people were continuously taken away from the town to serve labor, escorted by the guards of the Netherworld.

To Veldor, this seemed like a godsend opportunity.

Ever since that newly arrived "deceased" had told him about the rumors beyond the town, Veldor had hurriedly searched the Scriptures for traces of the heavenly staircase.

After a thorough interpretation, Veldor discovered hints of the heavenly staircase's existence in the Holy Scripture.

This was no small matter, and the initially skeptical Veldor immediately became excited.

As the saying goes, a piece of Scripture can always be interpreted in different ways, and people tend to believe what they want to believe.

Obviously, Veldor didn't understand this principle.

He just felt that there must be a staircase leading to Heaven somewhere in the Netherworld, and if he couldn't find it, it would prove that this place wasn't the Netherworld and he hadn't really died at all.

Veldor's conclusion wasn't wrong—he indeed hadn't died—but his reasoning process was fundamentally flawed. Of course, he didn't realize this, and the dwarf once again had his eyes blinded by "hope."

Not long after, Veldor shared his thoughts with Gomu.

"A staircase to Heaven?"

Gomu looked puzzled,

"Is there really one? Maybe it's just your imagination."

Veldor immediately retorted,

"The scripture says, 'Even though we linger in the realm of the dead, a path shall be kept for us.' Clearly, it refers to the staircase to Heaven."

Gomu thought Veldor was indulging in fantasy and said,

"Perhaps it doesn't refer to a physical pathway."

Veldor shook his head,

"No, all the signs indicate that it refers to a physical path.

Moreover, not just one person is spreading this news; many are."

Hearing this, Gomu countered,

"Many people believe they are dead, so why don't you believe it yet?"

Veldor was at a loss for words for a moment, and after a while, he said resentfully,

"If you don't believe me, then I'll just go find it myself."

The dwarf wasn't discouraged by the lack of support from his friend.

He had already decided that whether or not Gomu supported him, he would unravel the truth about Afterlife Town.

The best way to do this was to seize the opportunity to build the bridge, leave Afterlife Town, and look for the staircase to Heaven.

If there really was a staircase to Heaven, maybe he could ascend to Heaven. If there wasn't one, it would prove that this place wasn't the Netherworld and he hadn't really died.

Either way, it was a win-win situation.

In the days that followed, Veldor behaved himself and quietly waited for the time to go and serve his labor.

Before long, it was finally his turn to be taken to build the bridge in the Punishment Wilderness.

By that time, many of the Afterlife Town's "deceased" had already left. Almost everyone obeyed the guards' commands along the way, which caused the guards to gradually lower their guard, paying little attention to anyone attempting to escape.

After patiently waiting, Veldor finally found his chance to escape on the way.

After many days of planning, during a rest stop on the way, Veldor managed to escape from the labor team without alerting anyone. So much so, that when the next day arrived, the guards didn't even realize one "deceased" was missing.

............…

Veldor was running across the lands of the "Netherworld."

He was gasping for breath.

Running on the wild lands, he was breathing deeply.

An almost forgotten sensation surged through his heart.

It was the feeling of freedom.

The static life of the town, suppressing human nature, Veldor only then realized how important the forbidden entertainment was.

"Don't get too excited, don't get too excited."

After making sure that the guards hadn't followed, Veldor stopped and, gasping for air, said,

Escaping wasn't merely about freedom.

There was also...

The staircase to Heaven.

"Where exactly is that staircase?"

Veldor leaned against a hillside, sat down, and began to ponder.

In truth, he knew very little about the so-called staircase to Heaven.

His entire theory was based on either vaguely related Scripture or hearsay.

Veldor, troubled, clutched his forehead and muttered to himself,

"Lord, what should I do?"

Under a leaden, oppressive sky, the wilderness remained silent. Veldor's muttering didn't disturb anything in the Netherworld. The pitch-black forests remained mute, everything was silent, yet Veldor seemed to have vaguely received an answer from God from this silence.

What was He saying?

Veldor perked up his ears, trying hard to listen, as if he heard something, yet heard nothing.

The dwarf took a deep breath, rested for a while, then slowly stood up, picked up a stone from the ground, and casually tossed it.

The stone pointed to the southeast.

Veldor collected his emotions, nodded, and set off in the southeast direction.

............

"What's going on? Didn't you count the people?"

Wally, feigning anger, shouted loudly at the group of guards.

The guards looked at each other meekly, no one daring to speak.

"You worthless trash!"

Wally stomped his foot, saying,

"How am I supposed to explain this to the great Slaier?

If He finds out about your incompetence, you'll be banished from the Temple soon."

Hearing Wally's words, the guards all turned pale.

Being banished from the Temple was a punishment far more terrifying than death for these devout followers of deception.

"Lord Wally, please plead for us!"

A guard pleaded tremblingly,

"You are our only hope."

The other guards echoed this sentiment. Facing everyone's pleas, Wally put on a reluctant yet frustrated look and agreed to their requests.

"Alright, I'll plead for you and let the great Slaier know you've done your duty. We'll let this matter rest, and none of you go looking for him. If you find him, good, if not, I can't cover this up."

The guards continuously acknowledged before Wally, swearing they would never go looking for Veldor so as not to cause trouble.

Wally nodded in satisfaction.

This way, exposing Slaier's deception wouldn't be far off. Regardless of whether Afterlife Town collapsed after this, he would escape from Slaier's clutches.

He thought so to himself.