"What do you think our world is like?"
"A good question." Raymond drew his chair closer to the fireplace, spooned sugar and cinnamon with a medicine spoon, and added them to the boiling goat's milk.
Back when he was still in Dunling, he had never been particularly interested in such warming drinks. Perhaps it was because he had officially entered middle age, spent less and less time outdoors, and the weather had recently grown ever colder, but his habits had gradually changed.
Sugar, calories, and a precisely measured dose of psychological comfort could invigorate both body and mind, and help him better handle a topic that would not be ending anytime soon.
"That begins with Genesis.
"Before all things existed, there was only the Heavenly Father—formless, eternal, and filled with wisdom. Without materials, without hands, without need of tools, He created all things through words alone.
"The Lord said, Let there be light, and there was light. This light was not sunlight, but the manifestation of the Lord, marking the first instant of time. Thus order was born from chaos; day and night were divided, time began to flow, and the world was split into above and below. Above was the firmament, while the waters below receded and dry land appeared.
"The Lord then set lights in the firmament: the greater to govern the day, the lesser to govern the night, along with countless stars arranged in their courses, moving along fixed paths and embodying an eternal rhythm.
"With the world's fundamental laws established, the Lord commanded the earth to bring forth living things. Plants, birds, and beasts came forth according to their kinds, each placed within its proper domain, filling the sky, the sea, and the land.
"By then, all things depended upon one another, and the order of