Church of Creation

Little George nodded at Ivan's words, then gestured for the next believer to step forward.

The stream of water rose from the dish once more, as gentle and precise as before, landing upon the second believer's forehead.

This old woman, who had once begged by the canal, felt the water touch her skin and could not help but redden her eyes.

"Warm... it's so warm in my heart!" Her withered hand brushed over her forehead, as if she could feel the temperature of the spirit.

One by one, the believers stepped forward, the silver-thread stream of water weaving through the chapel, each touch accompanied by a heartfelt praise.

"Thanks to the grace of the Lord of All Spirits!" "The light of the Lord of All Spirits protects us!"

The exhaustion and confusion of the believers were washed away by the ceremony, replaced by firm faith and vivid hope.

Bathing in the continuous flow of faith energy in mid-air, Ivan felt that all his efforts were worth it.

He transmitted his voice to Little George with great satisfaction.

"You did well, child!"

The believers who had completed the baptism sat back in their seats, filled with excitement, the fanatical atmosphere in the air refusing to dissipate for a long time.

After Little George finished baptizing the last believer, he felt his vision darken and nearly collapsed to the ground.

The delicate manipulation of the water stream had pushed his Spirituality to the brink of exhaustion.

Gais hurried forward to support Little George. The ability this Bishop George had just displayed felt truly miraculous, and he secretly decided to find an opportunity to obtain another extraordinary material from the Church of Divine Grace as soon as possible.

Seeing Little George's exhausted state, Ivan felt a twinge of pity.

"Gais, you preside over the upcoming Holy Communion."

Without needing further words, Gais silently praised the great Lord of All Spirits in his heart before helping Little George to a seat on the side to rest.

"Bishop George, leave the rest to the Lord's missionary."

Gais walked onto the platform with confidence. He cleared his throat, his gaze behind his gold-rimmed glasses sweeping over the excited believers below, his voice steady and imbued with a certain infectious quality:

"Everyone, what we are about to hold now is the Holy Communion belonging to the Holy Spirit Society."

He pointed to the black bread and wine at his side.

"This is not ordinary bread and wine, but the most tangible grace bestowed upon us, who struggle in suffering, by the great Lord of All Spirits!"

"This bread is wrapped in the Lord's blessing. Eating it will not only fill your stomachs but allow the power of the spirit to take root within our bodies!"

The believers below looked up at the bread, their eyes filled with solemnity.

Gais picked up the bottle of table wine, the dregs at the bottom casting flickering light:

"This wine may not be mellow, but it is more real than the holy wine kept in silver bottles by the Church of Divine Grace!"

"It is the comfort of the spirit. Drinking it warms the body and reminds us: even if we shiver by the canal, even if we go hungry while begging, the Lord of All Spirits has never abandoned us!"

This Gais is truly as good at swindling people as ever; isn't it just ordinary bread and wine...

Though he felt a bit of disdain internally, Ivan was very satisfied with this ability of Gais, especially when he saw the tears in the eyes of the believers below.

As his voice fell, the black bread was distributed to the believers' tables by Gais, three pieces for each person, and several clay cups filled with wine were placed on the front tables.

He walked to the wooden box, took out several white candles, lit them, and placed them on the table. At his signal, Little George extinguished the gas lamp at the entrance.

Under the flickering candlelight, the wheat aroma of the bread and the slight bitterness of the wine intertwined. The believers held their bowls with both hands, raising them up piously.

"May the Lord of All Spirits protect us forever."

Gais prayed solemnly, then was the first to pick up a piece of bread and taste it with the wine.

"May the Lord of All Spirits protect us forever."

The believers chanted in unison and began to partake in the Holy Communion, their faces full of solemnity.

To them, this was not just food to satisfy hunger, but a mark of connection to the great Lord of All Spirits.

The wine was passed among them. Some believers, unable to hold their liquor, reddened their eyes after drinking and sobbed softly, thanking the Lord.

The ceremony was brief but solemn. When the last piece of bread was distributed, the believers bowed in unison, and praises sounded softly.

"Praise the great and merciful Lord of All Spirits."

This sound merged with the crackling of the candles, forming a scene that was both sacred and eerie in the dead of night.

The candles on the table had burned more than halfway down, and the believers had all dispersed after finishing the Holy Communion.

Ivan looked at the flickering candlelight, recalling the fanatical believers and the eerie shadows.

Tsk, with this atmosphere, even just eating bread feels like a cult ritual site.

It's a good thing no Night Watchman came to patrol here today; after all, they just made arrests here yesterday—the darkest place is right under the lamp.

Ivan was very satisfied with today's baptism and Holy Communion ceremony, feeling the harvest of his faith energy.

Hmm, just under thirty faithful believers, and my energy has increased by about a third. If I hold a few more baptism ceremonies like this or get more believers, I'll be able to break through again, right?

He was somewhat excited, looking forward to what novel abilities he would gain after his next breakthrough.

Only Old Harvey, who had been left behind by Little George, remained in the chapel, his hoarse voice gradually drifting over.

"Bishop... you asked me to stay, it must be to ask about the church I previously believed in..."

Little George slumped there and gave a grunt of acknowledgment.

"Four years ago, the Rhine Kingdom was home to religions of all shapes and sizes.

The most mainstream faith was the Church of Creation, which I followed.

We believed in the omniscient and omnipotent God, the Lord who created the world.

The Lord created all things in the world, and everything in existence was His child.

Back then, the baptism for new converts was nothing more than a priest gently dabbing dew from a clay bowl onto one's forehead and saying, 'Child of the Lord, welcome home.'

It was just as benevolent as the Lord of All Spirits of the Holy Spirit Society; there was no such thing as a Holy Blood Ritual that required a donation to be baptized..."

His aged face now revealed a look of reminiscence, tears seemingly shimmering in his eyes before they turned dim.

"But then, everything changed.

I had the misfortune of suffering from a hysteria at the time, living in a daze day after day. One day, I suddenly woke up to find that the Church of Divine Grace had become the state religion of the Rhine Kingdom.

I didn't know what had happened, so I grabbed passersby to ask about the previous church.

The terrifying thing was that in the entire Rhine Kingdom, no one remembered the Church of Creation.

Everything from before seemed like a void illusion, as if it had never existed at all.

Every time I spoke to others about the Lord who created all things in the world, I was treated like a sick lunatic."

Little George and Gais exchanged a glance and both shook their heads.

"In our memory, the Church of Divine Grace did indeed suddenly become the state religion four years ago, but as for the church before that... we truly have no impression of it."

Little George was a native of Trino and had never even left this city.

Gais was also a Rhine native, and although he had lived in the Southern Continent, that was only within the last two years.

"Heh, that's just how it is. Only I remember," Old Harvey smiled helplessly, his wrinkles bunching up on his face.

Listening to Old Harvey's description, Ivan formed a conjecture in his mind.

It must be that the high-ranking members of the Church of Divine Grace used some kind of ability to tamper with the memories of everyone in the Rhine Kingdom.

But why didn't the people of the Church of Creation resist? Logically speaking, the Church of Divine Grace shouldn't have been the only one with Beyonders.

New questions followed one after another, and Ivan wanted to have Little George ask more.

He only saw the boy's body go limp, sliding off the chair and hitting the floor with a thud.