Ritual

Su Qi floated in the air, looking down at the people spread across nearly the entire mountainside, silently observing them.

At that moment, his gaze turned in one direction, where the two Gobil brothers were talking.

The younger brother, Habil, had just returned from tending the sheep. Wiping the sweat from his forehead, he said to his older brother with a bright smile, "Tomorrow is our day of sacrifice again. Brother, have you prepared your offering?"

Ever since that time, Adan and the other had entrusted the sacrificial rites to them, hoping that this would make God watch over them a little longer and perhaps favor them a little more.

Thus, all the sacrifices afterward had been conducted by the two of them.

Gobil, with a blade of grass in his mouth, froze for a moment before answering vaguely, "Mm, mm, mm, it's ready..."

"What about you?"

"I prepared three firstborn lambs and some fat. I think God will like them," Habil said happily.

"Oh, oh..." Gobil responded casually, thinking that his younger brother was truly foolish beyond belief.

God surely did not care about offerings. Why waste so much food on sacrifices?

Besides, after all these years, God had never shown any sign in response to their rituals. He clearly did not care about their sacrifices.

Yet his brother wasted such good things every time. What an idiot!

Wouldn't it be better to give those things to the tribe?

Early the next morning, the sky was gloomy, with dark clouds covering the heavens. Still, that did not hinder the brothers' sacrifice.

Habil washed up early and made himself presentable. Taking three lambs and some sheep fat, he headed for the Pyramid Altar at the mountaintop.

Gobil yawned. Watching his younger brother hurry up the mountain after briefly urging him along, he finally remembered that he had forgotten his offering.

He hurried back into the house, grabbed a Stone Knife, and ran toward the fields.

As soon as he reached the fields, he bent down to cut some of his own grain for the sacrifice.

But then, seeing no one around, he subconsciously glanced at the grain in the neighboring fields. His eyes shifted.

Rather than cutting his own, he might as well cut someone else's.

Taking advantage of the empty surroundings, he inconspicuously cut a little from each field and quickly gathered a large bundle of grain.

Then he casually picked some wild fruit and hurried toward the mountaintop.

Su Qi, floating in the air, frowned slightly. He had seen that scene clearly.

Habil, who had been anxiously waiting at the mountaintop, finally breathed a sigh of relief when he saw his brother run up carrying grain and fruit.

"Let's begin," he said with a smile.

Two small platforms had been added near the Pyramid Altar. Habil quickly placed the three lambs on them, then slaughtered them with the Stone Knife.

Fresh blood stained the small altar.

He then poured the finest fat onto the altar and lit it, flames devouring the offerings.

The fragrant scent of burning fat drifted in every direction.

Then Habil knelt on the ground, his face full of devotion.

Having just placed his offering on the platform, Gobil turned and saw his brother's actions. He did not care in the slightest and simply curled his lip.

Every sacrifice was the same. Was there any need to make such a solemn display? God would not care anyway.

He picked up a flint and was about to strike it to make fire.

Su Qi, floating above the Pyramid, frowned as he watched Gobil's actions.

There was something wrong with both this man's behavior and attitude.

He considered whether he should interrupt the man's sacrifice.

But if he acted, he would obviously have to show a Divine Miracle. That would be troublesome. If something were exposed in the movie afterward, things would become difficult.

As he hesitated, Gobil had just lit the fire. Before the flames could consume the offerings, a violent gust of wind suddenly swept in.

Whoosh—

The gale not only extinguished the newly lit flame, but also scattered the grain and other offerings.

"My offering!" Gobil cried out in panic.

The offerings flew everywhere!

Gobil's face filled with terror. "What's going on? How could this happen?!"

If that had been all, he would not have thought too much of it. At most, he would have assumed the weather was bad and that he was simply unlucky. But as the next scene unfolded, his expression completely froze.

As the gale passed, the dark clouds in the sky shifted as well, revealing a gap at just the right moment. A ray of golden sunlight descended from the heavens, illuminating the area around his younger brother's altar.

Under the sunlight, the flames burning atop the altar seemed somewhat sacred.

Su Qi, who had done nothing and was still hesitating, "..."

Staring at the sunlight, Gobil could hardly believe it.

Habil was stunned at first, then overwhelmed with joy.

"Divine Miracle!" he gasped softly.

"God answered me!"

His face was full of happiness.

As he rejoiced, he failed to notice his brother's expression darken.

If the offerings had merely been blown over, it would have meant nothing. But that golden light, like a Divine Miracle, seemed to explain something.

God had chosen his brother's offering and rejected his...

"Why?! What is so good about Habil's offering? Why was it accepted by God?!"

Watching his ecstatic younger brother, his face twisted, his heart brimming with jealousy.

He could not accept it.

The God who had never responded had answered, yet it had nothing to do with him!

Why Habil? Why was Habil worthy of God's favor?!

Consumed by jealousy, Gobil never considered whether there was anything wrong with his previous behavior or attitude. He merely believed that because of his younger brother, his offering had not been chosen by God.

At the same time, he felt his position being threatened.

Over these two hundred years, it was not only the population that had changed, but also people's hearts.

Because sacrifices had become frequent and God had never responded, the tribe had gradually formed two factions around the brothers due to the matter of offerings.

One side believed that God did not care about offerings, so there was no need to waste too many resources on sacrifices. A token of sincerity was enough.

The other side believed that God was supreme, and that their present lives were entirely thanks to God. They should not commit such acts of disrespect toward God, but should offer the very best sacrifices to please God.

The two factions had remained balanced before, but now that God had responded, that state of affairs would surely no longer exist!

Everything had rested on the premise that God had not responded. Since God had answered, Habil's actions clearly pleased God more, and the others would naturally change their behavior.

After this, his position as the eldest son would surely become unstable as well.

His unwillingness was only one part of it. What he envied even more was that Habil had actually received God's response!

Why was he not the one God favored?!

Driven by jealousy, on their way back after the sacrifice ended, he said to Habil, "After we return, let's go to the fields. I have something to tell you."

Habil did not think much of it, joy still lingering on his face. "Don't worry, Brother. I'll go."

The two walked down from the mountaintop.

Su Qi watched their retreating backs, still thinking about that inexplicable scene from before.

"I didn't do anything, did I? A gust of wind came and scattered the offerings? Then the dark clouds were blown apart, and sunlight happened to shine down?"

The corner of his mouth twitched.

That coincidental scene—let alone Habil and Gobil—if he had not known he had done nothing, he would probably have thought he had acted himself.

Thanks to 'Uh Er Ah Mm' for the 500-coin tip.

Thanks to 'Endymion00' for the 100-coin tip.