Only God

"No, it shouldn't be like that."

She didn't know why she was so anxious that she lost the dignity a queen should have.

Although she didn't know why, the feeling of intense urgency was undeniably real; she looked as if she were desperately trying to salvage something.

"You don't have to understand; in the future, someone will surely grasp the meaning."

Schiller declared indifferently:

"The words I need to say, someone will say for me; the deeds I need to do, someone will do for me."

Sofia then asked:

"So… in the future, what will these people say?"

Schiller began to speak, using a narrative tone:

"[This is a spiritual admonition.

The righteous walk the earth with many tribulations, yet their righteousness is ignored, unseen by eyes, unspoken by lips.

A watchtower, plain and unremarkable, but a tree that witnesses a miracle, proclaims God's mercy and justice.

Firstly, it became a tree because it was God's thought, only secondly because it was the righteous man's thought.

Originally a cage, the watchtower represents hardship, and yet God raised a tree there, His actions towards the righteous are like flowers blooming in the most barren of sands.

At the same time, the righteous receives what he desires, placing all meaning within the hardship of the watchtower, just as we place all our belief in God; initially perplexed and in pain, but ultimately cherishing it.

The tree on earth also prefigures our harvest—witnessing the miracle, achieving completeness.

After witnessing the miracle, the righteous stands as a tree amidst the snow and storm, the storm still not ceased, many puzzled, why when the righteous transcends his suffering, the tribulations do not stop even after the miracle.

All this affirms the words of the Scriptures—I saw him like a righteous man, so I tried him with fire.]"

...

After hearing Schiller's recitation, Sofia looked up at the great angel, not understanding why, but the present Schiller seemed both familiar and strange to her.

"I saw him like a righteous man, so I tried him with fire."

Sofia pursued, saying:

"I have never read that sentence in any Scriptures!"

The Fairy's Great Library had nearly half of the world's books, and Sofia, as the Fairy Queen, knew every single one of them by heart.

And she had never seen such phrases in the scriptures of any religion.

Schiller slowly said:

"That Scripture has not yet appeared, it is not yet time."

From Schiller's words, Sofia grasped the key.

That Scripture has not yet appeared, it is not yet time…

Could it be, Schiller had seen the future Scriptures?

But, but…

"Schiller… what exactly happened to you?

Did you… possibly go to the future, saw something?"

Sofia promptly asked.

The great angel slowly turned,

"I indeed went to the future.

In that time, the Sea of Souls and the Holy Realm will merge into one, and fairies and angels will also gather together."

He spoke as if divine.

Just as, God's radiance stands in the sky, never hidden.

Sofia gasped.

Schiller… what exactly had he seen?

From what she knew, Schiller would not do things like transforming people into trees.

Not only would he not do it, no matter how much the righteous suffered on earth, Schiller would always remain an observer.

Just like rain falls on the righteous and the unrighteous alike, whether it was the "Mechanical Book" or those forty Nameless Books, he dealt with them all the same.

But now, Schiller had manifested a miracle upon a righteous man.

And that miracle was sacred… yet peculiar.

With this thought, Sofia urgently asked:

"What exactly did you see in the future?

Why have you changed so much, you were not like this before…

It's almost like, you betrayed yourself, betrayed God."

Sofia's last words seemed to stir something in Schiller's heart.

The great angel's gaze shifted slightly, but quickly reverted to normal.

"You are mistaken,

I have betrayed neither myself nor God."

The one who seemed like God gazed into the distance, his eyes seemingly fixed on the farthest point in the world,

"I saw myself there,

Since that is the case, where is there to talk about betraying myself?

I saw the throne made by God there,

I sat upon it, having inherited God's will. Have you ever heard of an approved successor who betrayed his father?"

The way the one who seemed like God spoke was not in defense, but in declaration.

Regardless of how others viewed him, he was declaring one emotionless fact after another.

Faced with Schiller's response, Sofia was rendered speechless.

Schiller… had ascended to the throne made by God?

The impact of the information was overwhelming.

She stood frozen in place, trying to untangle what Schiller had actually said.

Sofia could not comprehend what had happened.

She tried to calm herself down, to not be so panicked.

After a moment, she more or less understood the context,

Schiller had encountered his future self in the future, and that future self had ascended the throne made by God, inheriting God's will and becoming Divine.

It seemed… Schiller was not wrong in what he said; he had neither betrayed himself nor God.

Yes, Schiller was a Great Angel, how could he commit an act of betrayal?

Yet, for some reason, Sofia still felt uneasy.

Her unease was akin to those Dwarf members of the Gold Silver Clan faced with a complex steam engine.

Sofia, somewhat reluctantly and whimsically, said:

"You said you saw yourself,

What if… that person wasn't you? Is He truly you? If it is you, did He explicitly tell you that?"

As soon as she finished speaking, Sofia was regretful.

Schiller, being a Great Angel, possessed unimaginable might, and she, merely his creation, a small Fairy, how could she determine that the person wasn't Schiller?

As expected, Sofia's words did not stir any ripples in Schiller.

He slowly turned his head and looked at Sofia.

Sofia hesitated.

In that gaze, there was no mockery, but a contained pity.

A sort of pity that the wise have for fools.

Normally, Schiller would not look at her with such pity.

He seemed… different from his former self…

He had become… more like… a Divine.

"I do what you do not understand."

The godlike figure slowly said.

That tone, so much like the God on the throne.

Sofia was somewhat unclear, in that future, was it God descending upon this Great Angel, or was the Great Angel… usurping God?

Schiller slowly lifted the Fairy Queen from his shoulder and then step by step departed from the highest point of the Sea of Souls.

Sofia opened her mouth, wanting to say something, but eventually held back, staying silent until Schiller's figure disappeared from her sight.

What had the Fairy Queen wanted to say just now?

The changes in Schiller were so immense, immense to the point of making him unrecognizable.

Therefore, she wanted to ask:

"If He is the future you, then did you become Him, or did He become you?"

Yet she ultimately held back, didn't ask, regardless of what she intended to say, it was foolish speculation, a fool's whimsical thoughts.

After all, the world seen by the wise is not the same as the world seen by the fool.

Even if Sofia had really asked it,

It would have been drowned in that pitying gaze.

Sofia stayed alone at the highest point of the Sea of Souls for a long time.

So long that the fairies, despite the risk of being rebuked, came to the highest point to find her.

The Fairy Queen had still not left; she seemed to be pondering something, devising something.

Faced with such a changed Schiller, Sofia decided she had to do something… this couldn't go on… she had to stop him.

She didn't consider whether what she was doing was wrong, nor did she think about the consequences her actions might cause,

She must find a way…

To establish contact with those Great Angels, to let them know of Schiller's current form.

The seed of resolve was planted into the soil.