Alice in the Land of Steam

Chapter 306 Is it going to snow?
A golden stone exuding a sacred aura floats quietly above the fountain pool in the center of the greenhouse garden. It looks man-made, because nature cannot give birth to such a peculiar hexagram shape that looks like two triangular pyramids spliced ​​together; but it also has the most natural characteristics given by the Creator, because no matter how skilled the craftsman's hands are, they cannot carve out such perfect arc proportions that conform to mathematical laws without divine revelation. Between those straight and intertwined lines, there is a rational brilliance that far exceeds that of humans. It is simply an invisible existence that wants to use its hand to tell mortals: There are still many secrets that you have not understood, and for me it is just a casual work.

With this holy stone as the center, the spring spirit believers scattered, some kneeling on the floor, some immersed in the water, all with their hands clasped together, heads slightly lowered, offering the most pious prayers to summon their gods to descend here.

What should prayer be like? No matter how many times you listen to it, it is nothing but the same old things: praising the magnificence and greatness of God, describing the suffering and sorrow of the world, asking for the confession and comfort of the soul, and longing for the judgment and verdict of justice.

Listen, the words of praise are "The spirit in the spring nurtures my heart; all living beings come from here." This sentence means that the believers of the spring spirit still believe that water and rivers are the mother of all things, and the spring spirit Ti Fu, who dominates water and rivers, is naturally the creator of all things. He kindly shares his spirituality with all living beings, thus creating such a beautiful and vibrant world.

Listen, the words narrated are "living things are swept away, the torrents are surging; dust is rising and falling, the mud is turbid", this prayer reveals a sense of compassion and helplessness. The sacred water source has been polluted and has become a filthy swamp that breeds original sins. All living beings in the world are floating in it, longing for the gift of salvation.

Listen, the words being requested are "Those who are in darkness cannot wake up; those who walk on the shore cannot stop." They will admit their weakness and humility before the throne of God, just as those who walk in the dark are as ignorant and stupid as if they did not open their eyes even if they open their eyes; those who walk on the shore of the river can only watch the turbulent river water rising up and gradually submerging their ankles, but they cannot stop moving forward, because this is their weakness and destiny.

Listen, the words I long for are "Spiritual nature, please purify my heart; Spiritual creator, please purify my world", and this desire sprouts from the heart: God who gave me spirituality, please purify my heart when I fall! God who created spirituality, please purify all the filth and evil we see when this world is tainted!
Then, the prayers gathered together, forming a pious prayer, washing and shaking every stone brick on the floor and wall, and making the roots of ivy and marigold branches climbing in the cracks of the rocks tremble, as if they were in great shock. If sound had a tangible force, Rochelle believed that this prayer would surely lift up the remaining half of the dome, so that the greenhouse garden that Queen Ladais was proud of in the past would also be filled with the cold wind of the ice moon.

However, the gods are more rational and more heartless than their believers, so they remain unmoved by such piety. The holy stone floats in the sky, silent and dim.

Rochelle watched this scene silently, and suddenly shook her head: "That's not the case."

His deep, heavy voice spread throughout the greenhouse garden, and after hitting the wall, it reflected back and disappeared among the grass and vines that grew wantonly. Someone stopped praying, looked up, and looked at him with confused eyes.

"But," the traveler from the Fertile Soil Sect said calmly, his rough and stubborn face revealing a rock-like tenacity and toughness, "Your voices are too hollow, and God doesn't want to hear such prayers. He was born to grant your wishes, to respond to your calls, and to bestow your faith, but he can't hear your true heart, so he doesn't know what you really want. Isn't this ridiculous?"

Therefore, in terms of status, the current displaced and homeless believers of the spring spirit may be in the same position as His Majesty Besia, who wrote letters and explained the interests to the city government in the past and saved the Sullivan Ancient Spring. Their prayers have transcended the boundaries of time and space, echoing in each other's ears, and tempering the same devout belief.

But if we do that, isn't it the same as asking for something from the gods? Strength, wealth, power... Isn't it because of the greed of mortals that the world has become a filthy quagmire, and we ourselves are sinking into it, unable to extricate ourselves, and need the gods to purify, save, and guide us?
How can one be so greedy and stubborn?

"Don't let the futile and solemn prayers that are actually empty blind your piety. What is the purest and most flawless spirit that is the elder among all living things saying? Have you ever listened attentively?" He slowly clenched his fists and placed them on his chest, as if recalling something. His eyes were deep and his voice was low: "Have you lost something and want to get it back? Is there something you want to get? Is there something you regret and want to make up for? Expressing such a wish is better than thousands of holy words and teachings."

The prayer sounded like a candle flame drowned in water, extinguished with a hiss. One after another, people looked up and cast their eyes on him, with a surprisingly consistent look of confusion. They didn't understand what Rochelle wanted to express, because this prayer was passed down from generation to generation and rooted in their memories. In the past thousands of years, when the Holy Spring Monastery was still standing at the end of Mount Seschel, the lush spring ivy and summer cherry trees, the gurgling springs and rivers, the frost and snow and ice flowers that withered in winter...what they saw, heard, and felt were exactly the same prayers as now.

Rochelle stood on the steps, a position where she could overlook everyone, and said in a deep voice: "The prayers God wants to hear are not the kind of prayers you have."

Rochelle wanted to deny it? That was impossible.

Everyone looked at the traveler in confusion. These words were fundamentally different from the religious theories they had known in the past, and these poor people who had lost their gods for too long had no way of telling right from wrong.

"It doesn't matter." Rochelle said word by word, seriously: "What you ask for from God and what God promises to you... is the true meaning of faith."

The scene fell into a strange and dead silence, as if everyone was trapped in a world without sound, so even breathing was extinguished, even heartbeats were strangled, and there was extreme emptiness. I don't know how long it took before someone said tremblingly, "Then... Lord Rochelle... I want to pray to the spirit in the spring, the Great Lord Tifu, to bless my mother to recover soon... Is that okay?" All things have spirits, and the symbol of spirits is God. Such spirit gods are called Great Lords; and the great source where the spirits of all things gather, the source of all Great Lords, is called the Supreme Lord, that is, the Holy Spirit.

The spirit god of water, the great master Tifu.

"That makes sense." Rochelle nodded gently to the pale, anxious young man. "It is natural for a son to worry about his parents. Even the Great Master Tifu has no reason not to agree to your request."

As if to confirm his words, a dazzling silver-blue light suddenly flashed from the young man's body and flowed into the strange holy stone floating in the sky like a river flowing into the sea. The latter seemed to be awakened from its slumber, gradually emitting a sacred light, and the mist dissipated.

This scene is the best proof, far better than Rochelle's thousands of words. After a moment of silence in the greenhouse garden, a huge uproar suddenly broke out, more exciting than the most surging waves, instantly drowning all the running water and every grass stem and every green leaf in the room. I'm afraid the opening ceremony of the World Expo will not be louder than this. But please don't be annoyed by such a noise, listen carefully, that is the real voice in their hearts -

"Great Master Tifu, please bless me so that I can reach my destination smoothly every time I travel and my goods can be sold out in time!"

"Master Tifu, please bless me and make me lucky! I am extremely unlucky and I don't want to encounter those nightmare-like things again!"

"I, I am very poor! So, please give me money, Master Tifu! This is a very simple request. I don't want anything else but wealth! I will become a rich man, build many shrines and churches in the city, and plate each of your statues with gold foil. I will do it, so..."

"Lord Tifu, I don't want anything. I have nothing and have lost all hope of living in this world. All I ask of you is to punish the woman who betrayed me! Let her fall into the dirtiest mud pit, let her parents get sick, let her husband go bankrupt, let her son die, let all this happen in front of her eyes, let her be as miserable and powerless as I am! Please!"

"I need power! Without power, you will only be bullied, even beggars dare to step on your head! You will give me power, right, Master Tifu? Because you also need me, you need my pure and flawless faith. I dedicate everything to you, my whole life from the past to the future, as long as I can reach the pinnacle of power in ten years, no, one year, it will be enough!"

……

The scene was chaotic, like a ridiculous farce.

But it doesn’t matter, because when faith is stripped of its sacred outer layer, it is just like this: desire, greed, demand, promise, revenge... The purest desire is the purest faith.

Rochelle was in the midst of a noisy and harsh torrent. She slowly raised her head and saw the cold and monotonous sky through the broken hole in the dome. Dark clouds gradually gathered, bringing a terrifying shadow that shrouded the city.

It's getting dark, he thought.

The heaviest and coldest snow in Nimsher this century is about to arrive.

　Give me some meow
　　
　
(End of this chapter)