Eternity and Transience

Richie stood atop the steps of the Temple of Eternity.

He led his people in gazing upon this great Wonder.

Time had left a deep and indelible mark upon him.

The skin beneath the linen robes, which flapped loudly in the cold wind, was long covered in wrinkles.

From the torment of illness.

This old chieftain's figure had grown increasingly stooped.

Yet, beneath his graying brows, those piercing eyes remained unchanged.

"I named this temple the Temple of Eternity, not only to signify the eternity of the gods, but also to hope that you will forever hold reverence and gratitude for all that the gods have bestowed, and never forget the path we have walked, nor all that we have learned from that history."

Richie spoke slowly from above, his voice weathered with age.

The people knelt respectfully below, listening to everything.

They still held deep respect for this old man.

Though Richie spent most of his time convalescing in a cave.

And the clan's affairs had largely been taken over by Boer.

Still, the people knew that this old man, nearly retired and frail, still governed everything.

Everything within this temple.

Only he, as the God-Chosen, had the authority to decide.

Richie stood in the temple, slowly recounting all there was to know about it.

Finally, he said to the people:

"This great temple rightfully requires a priest to manage it."

Hearing this, the people were all taken aback.

They all knew what an important position the temple priest signified.

Only then did they snap back from the grandeur of the sight.

They couldn't help but murmur among themselves.

"Could it be the young chieftain Boer?"

"No, I remember Chieftain Richie saying that the priest and the chieftain cannot be held by the same person."

"Then it must be Master Ned?"

The clan members' gazes began to wander toward Ned.

Boer also instinctively looked toward his older brother.

At the same time, he looked at his father with hope.

He believed his father would never give up on his brother.

But his father's gaze did not turn in that direction.

Ned's face was calm as well.

He too seemed to have long anticipated that none of this concerned him.

Someone glanced at Ned and lowered their voice as much as possible:

"I'm afraid it's not Master Ned. Ever since that incident, Master Ned has fallen out of favor with the elders."

"Right! Could it be the wise Lord Blair?"

"I recall Lord Blair saying he didn't want to get involved in these matters."

Finally.

Amid the heated discussion.

Someone brought up an elder named Liva.

This Liva was no stranger.

He was Boer's clan father.

Boer had started a family two years earlier than his brother.

He had two wives.

One of them was Elder Liva's daughter.

Thus, Elder Liva was considered part of the chieftain's family.

If Chieftain Richie were acting out of personal interest, he might choose Elder Liva.

But, to everyone's surprise.

Richie simply spoke a different name.

"Huxter."

"From this day forward, you are the priest of this temple."

A gaunt middle-aged man, upon hearing this, knelt and kowtowed.

When he raised his head, those who saw his face beheld a devout fervor upon it.

"Rest assured, Huxter will not fail the mission of the temple's priest."

Huxter became the first priest of the Temple of Eternity.

This could be said to be unexpected, yet it was also within reason.

After the deity bestowed the Rot Spirit Flower.

Huxter, using those miraculous Rot Spirit Insects, pioneered many strange and novel insect-based herbal remedies.

He cured many ailments for his tribesmen that were previously impossible to treat.

Many among the tribe also believed that Huxter had received divine revelation, that the flower was a gift to Huxter, granting him mastery of miraculous healing arts.

And Huxter himself believed this without a doubt.

Though in the eyes of the tribesmen, this elder was cold and aloof in his dealings with others.

Over the years, his contributions to the tribe and his devoutness toward the deity were evident for all to see.

His appointment as temple priest might not have been universally acclaimed.

But it would not spark excessive controversy; it could be considered fair.

And so.

The first civilization Wonder, witnessed by all the tribe, truly ushered in its new birth.

Mona had already sensed the fluctuations coming from the mountain.

He looked toward the mountain's peak.

At that Wonder, named the Temple of Eternity.

[Your believers have constructed the first civilization Wonder.]

[Though built without any extraordinary materials, it has gained unique greatness due to the convergence of the Fire of Faith.]

[This Wonder concentrates the most devout and pure faith of your believers.]

[It has acquired a unique Wonder effect.]

After the believers built the Temple of Eternity.

Mona discovered that a new [Wonder] had appeared in his [Faith] column.

He lightly touched [Faith].

Within it, the name [Temple of Eternity] appeared.

[Temple of Eternity]: A magnificent stone temple, it is a powerful Anchor Point gathering the most devout faith of the believers, and a place yearned for by pious souls. Within a certain range, the souls of deceased believers will not dissipate immediately but will drift toward this temple, gaining a period of respite.

Mona touched the temple atop the mountain peak.

In that instant, he immediately sensed all the information about this Wonder.

Just as he had thought earlier, upon completion, this Temple of Eternity became his most powerful Anchor Point.

But it was not only that.

After the accumulation of quantity, the purity of [Faith] increased, causing this Anchor Point to gradually undergo a qualitative change.

This Anchor Point could not only absorb the Fire of Faith from believers but could even draw in people's souls.

When people died, after the color of their souls left their bodies, they would be unconsciously attracted to this temple, thus heading into it to linger and stay.

Like a wondrous temporary haven for souls.

"In that case, even if time is missed later, the souls of these believers can still be gathered up."

Mona withdrew his hand.

He gazed at the soul-hues dancing like the aurora above the temple, a trace of reflection rising in his heart.

Faith, at times, is so wondrous.

Clearly.

Originally, this temple, built by the people over countless ages, was indeed nothing more than an ordinary structure of piled stone, at best a stronger Anchor Point.

But the people who devoutly believed in the deity deemed it all magnificent.

And so, it truly became tinged with a hint of the extraordinary.

The souls of deceased believers could thus have the chance to return to the embrace of the deity.

A god is not great because of faith.

But believers become great because of it.

If this was a gift offered to delight the deity.

So they had indeed succeeded.

Only, for the sake of this offering, the people of the tribe had trekked for over twenty years.

"Time really flies..."

Mona's gaze lingered in the temple for a long while, taking in the faces that were now utterly unfamiliar within its halls.

This Wonder, from its foundation to its final completion, had consumed a full twenty-plus years of the tribe's time.

Many of the faithful who had labored tirelessly to build it never got to lay eyes on this magnificent, wondrous sight before their eyes closed forever.

But to a god, this was nothing more than the briefest of moments.