283 Desire to Change

A green light flickered in the Caramel Snail's eyes, but after a few seconds, it returned to its original color. His will seemed to have overcome something, and he persistently asked:

"Why is it that when they are clearly protecting people, they end up causing them more suffering?"

Click.

As Li Aoz put down his camera and waited for the film to finish rolling, he looked up and gazed back at the Caramel Snail.

He saw the confusion in the other person's eyes and knew perfectly well where the doubts in their heart came from.

"You should know the truth in your heart."

Li Aoz said:

"This is not a world that people can live in."

Long-distance travel is a bit too much for a used bicycle, and problems arise along the way.

Fortunately, thanks to Igor's abilities, she earned a lot of travel expenses along the way and also learned how to maintain her position.

"You say the church's idea is good? Hmph, maybe, but that's not the life mortals should live."

Xia Beiluo, who was repairing the spokes of a bicycle, immediately looked up when he heard Igor say that, and asked in confusion, "Huh? What does that mean?"

Igor Tsoi leaned against the highway fence, looked up at the sky, and said lazily:

"Mortals have seven emotions and six desires, they have warmth, they grow old and ugly, they are kind and gentle, and they can also be cruel and inhumane. But the church does not acknowledge these."

"You have to understand that you live on a planet where people manipulate souls and master spiritual arts. In that case, the dead are a resource."

"The church wants people to be as clean and blank as ghosts, obediently following their plans. This way, although the world is very dull, the number of people and spirits must be strictly matched, neither too many nor too few, while the technology of psychic energy must also gradually improve."

"So..." Xia Beiluo seemed to understand something. "So the church is intentionally controlling the population and spirits?"

"You're not too stupid."

Igor put his hands behind his head. "Guess why the church did this?"

"... Because they want people to have a better life?"

"No, they think people can live better in this environment. They are like a superior parent who refuses to communicate with you and hopes to use their absolutely correct experience to erase your personality, undermine your independent will, stifle your imagination, and turn you into a so-called 'upright' happy child who can live a peaceful life—that's the church."

Igor explained:

"They don't want you to have joy, anger, sorrow, or happiness. They want to turn you into a mere living machine to build their Divine Kingdom on Earth and please the Bizarre Three Gods of faith. But what do the gods in heaven care about these things? To the gods, even if our creations were completely destroyed, they probably wouldn't be too sad."

"But doesn't the church say... that God loves the world?" Xia Beiluo asked hesitantly, "If God doesn't love us, why did He create us?"

"Would you love the canned food, or the meat inside? Would you carefully appreciate every can of food mass-produced on an assembly line?"

Igor countered, "You love the deliciousness of the canned food in that moment, but you certainly don't love the can itself."

Xia Beiluo opened her mouth, for Igor always managed to shatter her traditional way of thinking with these amazing metaphors.

"Igor, since you also know that the church's existence is necessary," Xia Beiluo asked, "Then what is your purpose in spreading Rock and Roll?"

"For what purpose? To liberate people from this oppressive world, so that they can truly live by their own strength rather than by God's charity."

Igor stood up, walked to the bicycle, paused for a moment, and said, "You should understand one fact: children only Guild Leader they are separated from their parents."

"But I've never heard of a child needing to kill their parents to grow up," Xia Beiluo retorted. "You're too extreme, Cui. Your thinking is far too idealistic."

Igor glanced at her and said:

"Aren't you one? Without your parents, you suddenly became a strong and mature young woman."

"This is different!" Xia Beiluo bit her lip. "If I have to lose something important to grow, then I'd rather stay in my infancy forever."

"It's because of cowardly thinking like yours that people are trapped in the church's cage, damn it!"

Igor retorted sharply, "You stubborn and unfortunate Unlucky Guy always give away your strength little by little, and are used to relying on the power of the church. You never think about how wonderful the outside world is! How romantic the starry sky is! If the church says that the outside universe is dangerous, you dare not look up."

"Then how do you know that the sky must be beautiful?" Xia Beiluo said bluntly, "The Church has various cases, histories, and ancient relics that tell us that the universe is full of dangers. Isn't it enough that we can live peacefully in one place?"

"Of course I know."

Igor Tsoi Sunglasses, pointed to the guitar case next to him, and said:

"Because it comes from that Star Abyss."

"... What?" Xia Beiluo asked, bewildered. "What does that mean?"

"This guitar is called ' Soul Casino,' which is a Social Institution. It's made from the body fragments of monsters and beasts that fought against the gods."

Igor Tsoi guided Xia Beiluo forward and stroked the guitar case:

"This guitar comes from a being called [Outer Society] Pergalai. It can not only play uplifting music, but most importantly, it can bring wealth and good fortune."

"What? This, this can't be!" Xia Beiluo exclaimed in surprise.

"There's a price to pay," Igor said calmly. "Each time you play, it consumes your soul, and the way to bring good fortune is to take a part of your soul and use it as a stake for gambling."

"The better the outcome of gambling, the better your fortune will be; conversely, the worse the outcome, the worse your fortune will be."

"Even so, this is a creation beyond the Church's imagination. This is the power of [society], and the power of each [society] is different."

"...If we follow the Church's explanation, in the astral plane, the gods and [society] are still locked in battle." Xia Beiluo raised his head and looked at Igor: "Doesn't that mean that such a treasure still bears traces of the gods..."

"Yes, that's pretty much what you thought." Igor nodded. "You could guess with your toes—there are so many amazing places in the universe. If you just stay on this planet and stagnate because you're afraid of the gods and society, then you're destined to be abandoned."

"Igor, I think I understand your purpose..."

Xia Beiluo stood up and said in a deep voice:

"There are probably many aliens with such power. If we don't strive to enter the astral plane, then one day the sky will inevitably be shattered by powerful astral beings."

"But what if we venture into space and find ourselves surrounded by enemies?"

"I have no idea."

Igor stated frankly:

"All I can say is: what I seek is not war, and what the future holds—well, only God knows."

"But even so... do you still want to rebel against the church?"

"No, you're wrong. I'm not rebelling against the church, but against a world that uses divinity to hijack humanity."

Igor said:

"I have witnessed the Church's soldiers blocking the Barren Sea, their corpses piled up like mountains—and I have crawled out of those cenotaphs myself. I understand their ideals, and then the Church uses that name to expand its power everywhere."

"After a while, I retired from the Redemption Army and was assigned to boil water in the boiler room. The work was repetitive and monotonous, just like the world where everyone has their own job and is assigned a fixed position and a predetermined fate. I couldn't help but start to think, what is the meaning of living a life like this?"

"So I went to the Diocese Area, where everything was orderly, peaceful and serene. But even in such a well-planned church city, you could see destitute homeless people and pet dogs gnawing on steaks. God loves the world, but some people are loved more. In this world, there is no such thing as equality. If you want to rise up, you can only follow the path they have given you and struggle and fight monotonously."

Xia Beiluo quieted down and listened to Igor recount his experiences. But Igor suddenly changed the subject and asked:

Do you know where the church rules came from?

Before Xia Beiluo could speak, Igor explained, "Let me give you an example—in the beginning, because people's education level was low, the church forbade you to drink raw water. The reason might have been to prevent parasites, but later it became a religious taboo."

"Several hundred years later, they came to regard drinking raw water as a sign of demonic possession."

"Later, they even attacked and fought against everyone who drank untreated water! They called them demons and bad seeds? Is this what God wants to see? Is this the goal of the church from its inception?"

"From the spiritual realm to the secular world, the church always adheres to the bottom line, but it is only the bottom line. If it stagnates forever, how will people fight against disaster when it strikes? At that time, people who have been tamed by the church will only become a flock of lambs to the slaughter."

"Let me tell you why I fight—the Church has transformed from an organization that Teachings the people into a tool that serves a minority. It drains the blood and nutrients from the Violet Star people to feed a small number of top Church members."

"They have betrayed their original noble ideals and become slaves to desires and pleasures. This is not the church. I want to liberate people from such a church and bring them back to their original path."

"Xia Beiluo, what I'm rebelling against isn't the church itself. I'm declaring war on rigidity and backwardness. This world is definitely vast, and our planet isn't the only one that exists in isolation—yes, we need the spirit of rebellion."

"That's the fucking reason why rock and roll exists—if I could, I hope one day you never need rock and roll again."

"When I pluck the strings, a fire ignites in my heart, and wherever my song reaches, people cry out the same thing—'Change!' I remember it clearly; that was the voice they were telling me."

"Remember, little girl, never give in to the world."

Scarlet Lord lv.5 (Survive)

"I can't survive without writing."

I, Deep Crimson, am reborn!