only god

Chapter 579 Three forces that shape power
"I forgive you."

This sentence was what Eden said in his heart.

As if she heard something, Althea raised her face at the right time. She stared at Eden under the firelight.

"You have become a martyr again."

Althea said, with a hint of joy in her tone.

In this way, Eden can offend his father again, and he can see his superior father deflated again.

Althea thought selfishly.

"More than that, I forgive you."

Eden spoke up.

Althea looked at him doubtfully, and then felt an inexplicable anger.

Because when Eden said this, he looked like a winner, as if he had made some mistake but was forgiven by him.

"Forgive me? I don't need your forgiveness, so what does your forgiveness mean?"

Althea spoke out.

Eden replied:

"I'm a priest."

"Yes, still the youngest priest, so what?"

Althea sneered:
"You are nothing more than a heretic. As I said before, you will be cast aside even after death."

Logically speaking, she should not irritate Eden anymore. She sneaked over to see the suspect to confirm whether he would embarrass her father like before. She hoped that Eden could embarrass her father.

But now, after talking to Eden for a few words, Althea's blood boiled. This princess seemed to not tolerate offense from others.

Surprisingly, Eden was not angry. After he said the words of forgiveness in his heart, his anger completely disappeared.

He looked at her calmly,
"Then let me be despised by others. What do you think? And what does it have to do with God?"

Althea said:
"What did you say?"

Eden continued:
"I was deceived by you before, and I cared too much about my reputation after death. However, how can you compare with the words of God when you have cursed me thousands and thousands of times? How can you overthrow the words of God when you have cursed me thousands and thousands of times?" Have you gained the light of truth?"

Althea suddenly became speechless. She realized that for some reason, this person suddenly didn't care about his reputation after death.

The change of situation suddenly pushed Althea into an unsuitable environment, leaving her at a loss as to what to do.

She asked angrily:
"You're a heretic, and you're still talking hard even when you're about to die.

The clown of the drama,
Where did you get your peace from? "

Eden looked at her silently. Those words were very irritating, but he was not angry at all. It is said that when death is about to come, people will have two reactions, one is uncontrollable excitement, and the other is indescribable. The calmness, unfortunately, seems to be the latter.

The detention room was small and closed, and there was a moist smell of rust in the air. Eden was silent, and the tip of his nose could smell the spices of Althea's clothes. She was beautiful, and she looked graceful and luxurious with a little dressing. She was a beautiful dress for power. The aggressive gaze turned this place into a abyss of sin.

But Eden felt as peaceful as if he were in a holy place.

"Where did you find your peace?"

Seeing that he was slow to speak, Althea asked again, her tone even more unkind.

"There were birds chirping just now."

"what?"

Althea wondered.

"There was a robin's voice just now..."

He said word for word,

"There was the sound of a robin just now...I was baptized."

Althea couldn't understand this sentence. Why did she hear the sound of a robin? She had been baptized. If she had been baptized, who had baptized her? !

This is really unclear.

She stared at Eden, trying to force him to speak more and explain more, but the latter said nothing.

This time, it was Althea who became angrier and more anxious.

"Wait to die, you heretic!"

Abandoning these words, Althea's figure disappeared into the firelight.

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

The two old men, Verdo and Casas, had always been worried that Eden had heretical ideas, and in the end he was actually judged as a heretic by everyone on the court.

By then, no matter what they do, they can't save him. If the emperor wants to sentence him to death, he can sentence him to death, and no one will say anything.

"His performance this morning is something to be thankful for."

Patriarch Casas said,
"Although he has been silent and has not excused himself, it is better than stubbornness, which will lead to no good end."

Verdo nodded slightly, and then said with a complicated expression:
"Is he afraid?"

Patriarch Casas said:

"maybe."

Verdo fell silent. Inexplicably, a wave of disappointment arose in his heart.

It was clear that there was a high chance that Eden would not be judged as a heretic, and Eden could survive, but Verdo could not feel much happiness, and was filled with deep disappointment.

He was disappointed in Eden.

What was the reason for him to run around for this young priest? Isn't it the priest's strength and perseverance, isn't it the priest's passion?
But now, Eden looked cowardly, and in a daze, Verdo felt that he might have seen the wrong person.

Many people will be afraid and cowardly when facing death and guilt. There is nothing to criticize, but Verdo is still disappointed.

"If he survives, Lord, let me continue to be disappointed."

After thinking about it, Verdo prayed silently.

The afternoon bell rang, and after noon prayers, Eden was pressed into the venue again.

He walked unhurriedly to the dock of the venue, and everyone's eyes once again focused on him, and this time, they unexpectedly found that the priest seemed to be a different person, straightening his chest.

The emperor looked at him condescendingly and communicated with the envoy of Osenko beside him.

"This man turned out to be so cowardly in the morning."

said the prince who was born into the Osenko royal family.

"Some people appear to be unmoved by wealth and power on the surface, like righteous people, but in fact, their hearts are so fragile that their knees will weaken at the slightest threat."

said the Emperor with a smile, feeling great satisfaction at the cowardice Iden had shown that morning.

Osenko's emissaries echoed the emperor and praised his eagle-like gaze.

Constantine continued:
"Messengers, you may not know something. I originally intended to forgive him and didn't want to argue with such a vulgar person, but by chance, a letter from the prophet came over, asking for the trial of this heretic." Althea on the side listened. Hearing his father's hypocritical words, he felt disgusted.

After returning from the detention room, Althea's anger dissipated. Not only did she forget the discomfort caused by Eden, but she also stared at the suspect in the dock with some expectancy.

"Wait, my Emperor."

Althea said lightly.

It didn't matter how much Eden had brought discomfort to him before, as long as he could make his father feel defeated.

Constantine VI was on high ground, looking down at the suspect.

If Eden had continued to be as cowardly as he had been in the morning, he probably would not have been convicted of heresy and acquitted.

Although acquitted, not Constantine's previous vision, the emperor's previous vision was one of torture and humiliation and finally secret execution.

But now, Constantine felt that his previous vision was so bad that executing him secretly was too light a punishment and not enough to relieve his anger.

As the emperor, Constantine ordered the execution of many people. Among them, many people were still cursing when they were about to die. Every time he recalled the faces of those people, the emperor was very unhappy.

Rather than directly executing a strong person, seeing a strong person surrender to oneself gives oneself more pleasure.

Thinking of this, Constantine no longer wanted to execute Eden, and let him be acquitted. Anyway, this man had already surrendered and begged for mercy, so why not be magnanimous.

The ruler of the empire was thinking as he looked down at Iden.

In the dock, the priest slowly raised his head and looked at the emperor above.

Constantine VI was stunned for a moment.

In that man's eyes, the cowardice had disappeared, leaving only pure contempt, as if the emperor was not looking down on him, but he was looking down on the emperor.

Constantine VI became angry and cursed in a low voice:
"This lunatic."

Patriarch Deschanel stood on the trial bench and said in a solemn and authoritative voice:
"Priest Eden, you once shamelessly offended His Majesty the Emperor in public. Everyone witnessed this scene. Tell us, did you act under the guidance of heretical thoughts when you did this?"

Everyone looked at Eden. Many priests thought that Eden would not answer anything like in the morning, so they shook their heads in disappointment. More people looked at Eden directly, guessing what he would say. Just an impulse.

Under the gaze of thousands of people, Eden slowly said:

"good,
I do walk for the sake of My Word. "

When he said "Not bad", the whole audience pricked up their ears. When he finished speaking, the entire venue was in an uproar. Everyone stared at him and couldn't believe that this man would answer like this.

What's even more terrifying is yet to come. Eden raised his hand, pointed at Constantine VI and said:
"His Majesty the Emperor used the name of God. He pretended to be a miracle in order to realize his ambition."

Constantine VI was so angry that he clenched the armrest. Who would have thought that the man who was so cowardly in the morning would actually raise his hand to accuse himself.

Casas looked panicked and looked at Verdo for help.

Verdo was also surprised. Does Eden not want to live?
The Patriarch scolded:

"Defendant, we are trying you for heresy, not for you to accuse His Majesty the Emperor!"

Eden stood in the dock. He took a deep breath and raised his head. He could see countless pairs of eyes looking at him. Some of them showed sympathy or pity to him, while others wished that he would be broken into pieces as soon as possible. .

There are so many eyes here, as if people from all over the world are gathered here. In just one thought, one can be cheered, praised, and honored. In the same instant, one can be spurned, harmed, Humiliated as a madman.

The hot sunshine shone on the entire venue, but Eden felt deserted and quiet, like a glass bottle that fell to the ground and broke, but no one took care of it. The venue was filled with mist, which kept rising, as if it reached the sky.

Under the public gaze, everyone will be awakened to the cowardice in human nature, and no one wants to be a person despised by all people.

"I want to make a statement."

After a long time, Eden spoke.

Everyone was shocked by these words. In the morning, he had been cowardly. No matter what others said or asked, he remained silent, as if he had lost his soul. Many people were disappointed with him.

He seems to be leaving alive. As long as he does not admit it and no longer claims the messianic prophecies, he will not be judged as a heretic. This trial will finally have a result, and he will still have a bright future.

The emperor stared at Iden, not knowing what he was thinking.

The choice is between a thought, truth or glory?Is it death or survival?
The Patriarch agreed with his statement. Iden stood and looked forward. He stared at the emperor, the embodiment of power, and made a statement:
“Dear servants of God,

If you say I am a heretic, then I am a heretic! "

Eden said.

The whole place suddenly fell into an uproar again. This time the uproar was more violent than before. Even Damu capital trembled and his jaw dropped in shock.

"What did you say?"

The Patriarch hurriedly calmed down and asked.

"The Savior will come eventually, He will come."

Eden said word for word:

"I know that you all regard this as crazy talk and an appalling lie, but I know that it is a prophecy and that it is the truth.

I also know why you are unwilling to accept this prophecy, because once the savior arrives, it means that the end is not far away, and you do not hope for the end. Therefore, although you praise God’s grace, deep down in your heart, you do not hope for a savior!
But He is still coming, He is still coming, and no matter how dark clouds cover the sky, they will eventually disperse. "

People gradually recovered from the shock. In this trial, in which they could have begged for mercy and surrendered in exchange for a way out, Eden chose to be stubborn.

The priests who supported the emperor suddenly gained power. They immediately seized this opportunity and shouted one after another:

"That's a heresy!"

"If he is not a heretic, then who else is?"

"He has denied our authority. God, please punish him!"

There was a burst of noise in the venue. For a moment, it was like a mountain collapsing and the sea roaring. The priests who sympathized with Eden were speechless. Faced with Eden's honest admission, they did not know how to defend him.

Iden stood upright, staring at the emperor from above,
"I know that His Majesty wanted me to surrender. His men accepted the secret decree and tortured me in prison many times."

The priest's words completely angered Constantine VI, and veins popped out on his wrists.

How dare this person, how dare he!

Constantine was furious because Iden's words revealed his hypocrisy.

"We are not talking about your shameless duty to His Majesty, we are judging you for your heresy."

The patriarch said with a cold sweat.

He was afraid that if Eden continued to speak, he would irritate the emperor. He once dared to refute the emperor, but now he is old and has lost his courage. What's more, he benefited from the emperor not long ago.

However, it is already too late, the emperor is about to intervene in this trial.

"Patriarch, he has regarded me as God's enemy."

Constantine VI stood up and sneered,

"Let me interrogate him!"

The emperor himself ended.

(End of this chapter)