Kingdom’s Bloodline

Nia closed the metal nameplate and struggled to drag it back into the luggage again.

In a brief silence, Thales thought about the story on Ansett's nameplate—or in other words, the story told by Megan through the nameplate.

The old priest withdrew his gaze from the setting sun outside the window, and waited for him quietly, as if expecting this silence.

"Faith and magic come from the same source, the battle of saints, the rise of human beings?"

Thales was chanting this story, but what flashed in his mind was the first meeting with Ashida.

[Mages are searching for the truth of the world, using various ingenious methods and wisdom to use the resources and energy of the world to serve a better world. 】

Megan glanced at him before speaking slowly:

"But that's just the beginning."

There was a touch of regret hidden in the old priest's tone:

"When foreign enemies are gone, differences arise."

"The attitude towards gods and beliefs eventually caused the elder and younger sons to part ways and gradually drift apart."

The eldest and the youngest have two sons, so this is their interpretation.

It's really hard to come up with this Abel and Cain-like argument for them.

Thales sighed secretly.

"The eldest son of God is loyal and rebellious against the youngest son of God..."

If you don't know...

"I thought it was Artanis attacking the swarm." The prince complained silently.

Megan, who has good ears, frowned:

"Artanis? Who?"

Thales raised his head, smiled innocently and sincerely:

"It's okay, it's just a joke from a certain Northland..."

Megan pursed her lips, the corners of her lips sharp.

The old priest quickly returned to the state of lecturing:

"Thus, for thousands of years, under the attention of God and the practice of man, the eldest son and the youngest son, faith and magic, church and mage, the two have been fighting endlessly, seeing back and forth in different paths and beliefs."

"Wait a moment?"

Taylor narrowed his eyes at the right time and interrupted:

"So according to you, the difference between faith and magic—is it because believers believe in gods, but mages don't believe in gods?"

"Can I understand that believers believe in gods in unknowable things, while mages only believe in themselves?"

Megan didn't answer right away, she looked at Thales quietly, with a slight wave in her eyes.

She remembered that two days ago, when she came to the Divine Grace Institute, she was full of expectations and was trying to find books to prepare lessons (Meghan accidentally glanced at it, it was the 1,024-line church classic hymn "A Thousand Miles of Light") Archdeacon Tilianides, and brought greetings from Priest Lisia, by the way...

Inform him that the duty of teaching Prince Thales and Duke of Star Lake will be replaced by himself.

She remembered the archdeacon's unbelievable shock and well-repressed anger.

It is true that, as one of the fifteen vice-bishops in Xingchen, Styrianides is young and promising. An opportunity to read the teachings of the setting sun, spread divine grace, and glorify holy merit.

Just like Archbishop Rondon to Tormund II, like Archbishop Clement to Mindis III.

Just, blessed by the setting sun, the lucky ones who bathe in the grace of God.

They will always be accustomed to the light in front of them.

So much so that I forget where the gift came from.

What's more, they forget that for believers in God, trials and obstacles are everywhere.

The stars are shining.

Only after sunset.

"It's the most common and dangerous misconception in history."

Megan smiled slightly, nodded slightly to the prince, and was gentle and polite:

"Especially for those who have not yet had the opportunity to know, only by hearsay, determinedly, abhorring faith."

Thales frowned.

He put on a helpless look, wanting to meet Gilbert with a tacit understanding.

But Earl Caso fell silent, just looking at Megan quietly.

"Mage doesn't believe in God?"

"No."

Megan's expression cooled down.

Her next sentence made Thales puzzled:

"Of course they do.

"

"Believe in God, believe in faith."

Megan's tone is still steady, but the content is sonorous and powerful:

"Even if they deny it many times."

What?

Thales blinked: "I don't..."

"It's just the gods they believe in," Megan didn't let him ask, and the voice of the priestess at the moment was gloomy and dignified:

"It is an existence that has no form, no name, no form, no quality and no material, but its power and status surpass everything in their eyes."

She said softly:

"They call it—magic."

Thales frowned.

Megan folded her hands, her posture was correct, but her imposing manner was overwhelming:

"However, they occasionally use an excuse to seek knowledge, a good name for rationality, pretense for truth, pretense for pursuit of progress, sophistry for self-sublimation, and worship for the supreme and unique."

After uttering a series of words that made Thales think about it, she remained expressionless:

"Does it sound familiar?"

Before Thales had time to think about this sentence, Priest Megan's eyes lit up:

"But no matter how eloquent they are, they can't cover up the indisputable facts."

In the next second, her words were extremely affirmative:

"Because magic itself is their god, their belief, their supreme principle, and even more so, what their 'church' is and what their 'creed' is."

Thales could feel the power in the opponent's words:

"In a way, it's in their minds as much as our God is in our minds, if not more so."

"This strange 'god', the dominance and cruelty, indifference and ruthlessness in its hands far exceed all the existences that have been worshiped and revered throughout the ages."

Megan's tone gradually turned cold:

"The prohibition is the strictest, the hegemony is the highest, those who doubt are hard to ask, and those who disobey are not tolerated."

Thales wondered:

"You mean to say that they worship the ideas and principles of magic as gods?"

Megan just snorted softly and didn't answer directly:

"As for those thousands of believers who have been infected and brainwashed by it—whether they are mages or not, whether they are qualified to use magic or not—it is even worse."

"They regard themselves as orthodox, and reject those who differ as hypocrisy. They are even more fanatical than all believers in gods and demons. They are even more hypocritical and do not know it."

Extremely fanatical, hypocritical, and unaware...

Thales was silently dazed.

But at this moment, he suddenly remembered a long time ago, when he was still on the road from Heisha to Longxiao City, when his future was unpredictable and he was worried.

At that time, the strange doctor Ramon who was very interested in magic explained it to him like this:

[Magic is a meaning, an attitude, a belief, and a principle of life! 】

Thales still remembered Ramon's expression at that moment, and his almost crazy tone.

[This is the mage! This is magic! In the history of the rise of mankind, the most important, most splendid and precious chapter that has been forgotten by everyone! 】

The sacrificial words gradually took on the meaning of praise and criticism:

"They are clearly heretics, but they call themselves unbelievers. They clearly have a position, but they pretend to be neutral. They clearly have countless prejudices, but they pretend to be objective."

"They are obviously incompetent and powerless, but they insist on thinking that they are detached humanoid false gods. While playing with the world and enjoying the admiration of everyone, they also say complacently: This is the noble, truth-seeking, magic research attitude. .”

Megan's complexion tightened, obviously uncomfortable, but she still insisted on finishing her sentence:

"So yes, mages, they not only believe in their gods, but they are the worst and most fanatical superstitions, who can receive from their gods without prayer and confession, without baptism and hearing, without sacraments and sacraments. Get motivated, full of energy to self-orgasm servants and servants of gods."

The old priest coughed lightly, and Niya quickly handed her the teacup, and then gently patted her back.

God servants and god slaves who are full of energy to self-orgasm...

After listening to a long list, Thales took a deep breath, and tried to drive away the man in blue with a cold face who automatically entered his seat in his mind:

"Whoa - whoa."

Ashida.

it seems...

While slightly surprised, Thales couldn't help thinking gloatingly:

You have met your match.

"So, you want to tell me that magic is wrong as a belief, and a mage as a believer is bad, with countless consequences?"

After Megan had finished resting, Thales gathered his thoughts and tried to lead the topic to curious places:

"And that's why we resist, ban magic?"

But to his surprise, after being asked this question, Priest Megan, who seemed very pious and hated magic, paused for a moment, seeming to be thinking, a little confused and hesitant.

She took a deep look at the sunset outside the window:

"I have no idea."

Thales was a little confused:

"What's the meaning?"

Megan looked back and shook his head.

"As a believer in our God, tolerance and strictness are our precepts."

"So we can't be so arbitrary, just because we see that the consequences are not harmonious, we should first judge that magic itself is wrong."

Hearing the other party's answer, Thales was slightly taken aback.

I saw the old priest rubbing his arm, thinking carefully while saying:

"The most we can say is that countless mages in history, countless people who use magic and admire magic, have done many wrong things."

Megan's thoughts seemed to be a little clearer, and she nodded immediately:

"But if so many people who believe in magic are doing the wrong thing..."

The elder priest sighed slowly:

"Who can say that the supreme magic itself must be pure and flawless, and stay out of it?"

"So, I don't know the answer."

"Don't mislead your answer."

Thales was a little dizzy by the series of judgments that chased after and then let go:

"You've confused me."

Megan turned her head and smiled apologetically at Thales.

"But I can find another angle."

The priest resumed his soft-spoken words just now:

"As I said at the beginning, this is a science about people."

"When I believe in my God, the important thing is not how great and omnipotent I believe God is—although she is indeed—but whether I can become better after I believe in God, in myself, in others, in everything and everything , more beneficial?”

Megan looked at him with a smile:

"Thales, I think, God doesn't want us to look at them with admiration and blind faith."

"It's about asking us to look at each other with tolerance and compassion, and to reflect on ourselves."

Don't blindly believe...

Thales had a strange expression: These words actually came from a believer?

Megan thought for a while, feeling a little bit emotional:

"I think we believe in gods to make ourselves better."

"Instead of making the gods higher—that's not, and shouldn't be, our job."

"As long as we don't misunderstand God, he won't mislead us."

Megan took a deep breath:

"So back to our previous question, is magic good or bad..."

"Shen Qi's two sons, who believe in magic, come from the same source, and the old and the young are separated."

Megan raised her head, but the meaning in her eyes was much firmer:

"As the eldest son of God, when we believe in God, what we should believe is the humility and introspection, sincerity and purity we can gain when we stand before God—this is the key to faith."

"As for the youngest sons of God, what they are most easily deceived in history is precisely the greed and desire, resentment and self-respect that they gave birth to after abandoning God and standing on their own—this is the tragedy of magic."

Humility and introspection before God.

Avarice and lust for self-reliance.

Thales sat up straight without knowing it.

strangeness.

These words sound... very familiar.

He realized again that he would be wrong if he only regarded this old woman who paused and hesitated while thinking and answering as a fanatic who only had "God is great" in her mind.

And Gilbert hadn't interrupted her for a long time.

"And whenever the youngest son is in power, instigating people to question gods and beliefs, and exaggerating their own power and status, it is the arrogance and ignorance of mortals themselves that finally come out."

Thales frowned: Is this still... a humanistic religion?

"So, what you want to say is," the prince tried to keep up with the other party's words steeped in religious language for a long time, "Magic is not wrong, but people who believe in magic may go to the 'sorrow of magic'? To degeneration? Sow evil fruits?"

Megan smiled.

"More than magic, my child, more than magic."

The expression on her face became much kinder.

"Every age, everyone has their own beliefs, their own gods: kings believe in power, merchants believe in wealth, artists believe in love, nobles believe in status, scholars believe in knowledge... There are too many, not only magic. item."

The king believes in power.

Thales' nerves tightened.

"But no matter what you believe in, the original belief in your heart may be tarnished and replaced unconsciously."

"It can change from the awe of the greatness of the gods, from the awareness of one's own smallness, from the need to maintain humility, from the beauty that countless original beliefs can bring, to something else."

Megan said solemnly:

"So, no, it wasn't magic that brought the way of the young son, but the way of the young child corrupted the man of magic."

Thales pondered:

"for example?"

Megan was silent for a while, and began to think, her expression gradually changed, sometimes feeling emotional, sometimes sad:

"For example, every time, when the greed for external demands in people's eyes has become blazing and boundless, far exceeding their share in this world, when this greed is enough to make them ignore the pain and price, life and happiness, and throw a knife and fall , tearing one's own soul inward, fanatical pursuit of the ultimate and perfect self..."

The ultimate and perfect self...

Thales' nerves seemed to be touched by something.

In reality, Meghan's words continued:

"Every time, when the world no longer has awe, no longer honors beliefs, no longer recognizes limits, no longer believes that there are unattainable things, unknowable things, and unbreakable laws in this world..."

Thales suddenly remembered the night when his fate changed, and the first meeting between Ashida and him in the chess and card room:

【... Standing on the sky, surpassing the gods, and looking down on all living beings! 】

The words of the female priest began to mix with the voice in his head, but they were extremely clear:

"Every time, when the world no longer humbly faces its own weakness and ignorance, but uses it as an excuse to justify its insatiable greed..."

Thales' eyes flashed past the prison of bones, the entrance to the deep black prison, the strange emblem that looked like a deep eye, and the line of words under it:

[Leading to... omniscience. 】

Megan's sigh came slowly:

"Every time, when people in the world pursue strength and omnipotence by whatever means, they think this is the only good and correct choice."

Thales lowered his head and frowned, and the eager words of the strange doctor Ramon appeared in his memory:

[Magic is the sum of all knowledge, discovery and truth, the progress of magic... Humans can become more perfect, greater, more progressive, and closer...to the truth! 】

Megan's lament brought Thales back to reality:

"Every time, when the world believes in something, no matter the cost, to the extreme..."

"Then we know that the way of the youngest son should be followed, and the world is not far from falling and reaping the consequences."

Megan was silent for a while, then picked up the teacup that was refilled by Nia.

Thales stroked the scar on his left hand quietly, without saying a word.

After a while, Megan said slowly after drinking the water:

"Two thousand years ago, the unified belief in the supreme god created the boundless splendor of the ancient empire."

"A thousand years ago, the strong rise of the Holy Day faith witnessed the revival of the final empire."

Speaking of this, longing and awe inevitably flashed in the eyes of the priest.

But she immediately dimmed:

"However, when the utilitarian creed of magic overshadowed the noble insistence of faith, and the self-collapse of the Myojin Church heralded the decline and division of the ancient empire."

"And the crazy and bottomless pursuit of the mages brought about the greatest crisis since ancient times. Until the end of the war, they reaped the consequences and self-destruction, playing the tail of the final empire."

Having said that, Megan raised his head and looked straight at Thales with stern eyes:

"And you, child, you have already seen the power, horror, cruelty, and madness of those monsters."

Gilbert at the far end hesitated to speak.

Thales took a deep breath, only feeling that his thoughts were mixed:

"Catastrophe?"

Megan observed him and nodded slowly:

"Catastrophe."

"And that's just one of their consequences—albeit the worst."

Although he got the answer countless times from hints from Ramon, Ashida, and classic books, when the authoritative church in this world told him so openly, Thales found that he still couldn't get used to it.

The young Duke thought of the night of dragon blood, and the smell of blood that had faded seemed to return to his nose.

Made him queasy.

"Remember, this is the 'way of the youngest son'. It started with arrogance, experienced countless times, and finally regretted it. It is the devil's favorite, the evil's darling, the cradle of disaster, and the starting point of misfortune."

Megan suddenly tightened his tone:

"And Thales, you have to be more vigilant."

The prince was slightly taken aback.

I?

I saw Megan said seriously:

"Because of the way of the young son, its harm has countless incarnations. It will appear in various appearances, change names, and change forms in various ages, lingering like a shadow: those who seize power claim to survive, those who seek profit advocate prosperity, Those who want to sing about freedom, those who seek positions use dignity as an excuse, those who seek knowledge resort to curiosity..."

"A person who is blinded by a leaf will kill himself, and it is not just a case of magic."

Megan paused.

Thales took a deep breath, tried to sort out the chaotic feelings, and grasped the logic:

"but……"

"According to this, Madam Sacrifice, wouldn't your beliefs, your gods, not become victims of the way of young children?"

Megan's expression changed slightly.

Thales observed the other party's reaction:

"For example, when people in the world believe in the goddess of the setting sun, so blindly believe in fanaticism, suppress dissidents at all costs, and resort to extreme either-or?"

"Even, your current statement, such a decisive answer, also falls into the pattern of 'the way of the youngest son'?"

The elder priest was silent.

But beyond his expectation, Thales, who thought that the other party was going to avoid the important and justify himself, only saw Megan's expression darken slightly.

"certainly."

Nia, who was beside the priest, listened very carefully. Thales had no doubt that if she was given a pen, she would be able to start taking notes immediately, which was detailed and comprehensive, and perhaps with important thoughts.

Megan sighed softly:

"I hate to mention it, but yes, you're right."

Thales frowned.

"In the days when our ancestors struggled with magic and mages, with the Way of the Young Son..."

"The Mingshen public religion that spreads all directions, once recruited the guards of the temple, and punished heretics;"

"The generous and selfless Church of the Holy Days also set up a tribunal to correct misconduct."

Megan looked dignified, with vigilant eyes:

"Crazy beliefs don't know the bottom line, rejection is only about position, curb the lingering voice, and I am the only one, and the methods resorted to are extremely sinister, and they use everything to the extreme..."

"It's useless for preaching, it's useless, and it makes countless enemies. It's notorious, and it ends up losing itself. It's a heinous sin."

Megan raised her head solemnly, as if what was weighing on her shoulders was not the sacrificial robe, but the heavy history:

"That was the ugliest and most embarrassing page in the history of faith and the church."

Thales looked at her with a frown.

"Excessive respect for something or a certain way, infinitely elevating their high status, throwing away awe and bottom line, despising other paths and choices, and ignoring the wishes and meanings of others, this is exactly the scourge of the young son's way."

"Historically, believers who were supposed to be the eldest son of God, my brothers and sisters, many people gradually lost their hearts, forgot their vocation, and finally walked on the same path sadly—self-esteem, arrogance, and ignorance. without knowing it."

Megan sighed softly, showing regret and lament:

"They failed the test and went down the path they should have fought so hard to reject."

Having said that, Megan started to pray again, and Nia, who was fascinated by the sidelines, also hurriedly prayed:

"The gods are inherently perfect, so perfect that they can even accommodate imperfections—such as its believers."

"The power of the gods is infinite," the priest continued:

"But it does not mean that those who believe in it also have unlimited power and authority, act on behalf of the heavens, and speak for God."

Megan's voice echoed in the room, making people think deeply:

"So when we reflect on the disasters brought about by magic, we must be careful, reflect, introspect, and ask questions—we can't be taken advantage of by our most vigilant opponents, and we will fall."

"Only by glorifying self can God be glorified."

"Too much superstitious belief in gods will only lead to loss of self."

Megan finished the prayer and stopped talking.

As if it had come to an end, there was a long silence in the room.

Thales tried his best to get out of the previous heaviness and think about some light things.

interesting.

He raised the corner of his mouth.

Therefore, according to the words of Megan Sacrifice just now, not only must you not believe in God, but you must not believe in God too much.

If you don't believe in God, your world is "forever missing a part."

But if you believe in God too much, there is "the way of the youngest son" waiting for you.

So, what is God, Tsundere?

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