Whether it was the priests on the half-elevated platforms or the believers below listening to the "theological debate," everyone suddenly felt as though their brains weren't large enough. Small worlds, medium worlds, great worlds; boundless domains, numberless as the grains of sand along the River of Solna—it was all utterly unheard of, unseen, something they had never even imagined. Yet such a grand structure of the cosmos, such staggering numbers, felt overwhelmingly magnificent, further elevating the "God of Resurrection, Abundance, and Salvation"—El—to supreme and unassailable heights.
Anseus, hiding in a corner, stared blankly at Lucian and Francis, murmuring, "Is this truly the great El? I… I don't even recognize him anymore…"
Francis watched Lucian with a mixture of amusement and admiration, suppressing laughter so hard his stomach hurt while silently giving a thumbs-up. Truly talented—undeniably talented! Even if he couldn't become a proper "disciple" in the future and didn't know how to play any instrument, he could still become a Bard specializing in storytelling and legends, and never waste his remarkable "gift." He would undoubtedly become an epic figure.
Across from them, Nob watched the effortlessly composed Lucian and felt as though his imagination had been utterly crushed—even his boasting couldn't compete. Filled with rage and humiliation, his body trembled as though he might collapse from a cerebral hemorrhage at any moment.
Although, following Lucian's logic, one could go on to fabricate small boundless domains, medium boundless domains, and great boundless domains, placing the Moon God above El—and boasting that way wouldn't be difficult even a year from now—doing so would mean that even the uneducated believers below could tell this was outright plagiarism of the "God of Resurrection's" divine power. Only a small handful of diehard followers might believe it, but the vast majority would conclude that the Moon God had run out of tricks and was merely parroting his rival's words to stay relevant. It would unquestionably cost them the debate and, worse, give the impression they had been deceiving everyone from start to finish—which would destroy their only hope after being expelled from the valley.
Similar thoughts ran through the minds of the priests of the Ruler of the Underworld, the God of Thunder, and the God of Sun and Justice. Each furrowed their brows and pulled bitter faces, searching desperately for a concept that could surpass Leviathan's worldview. But they all belonged to primitive religions whose crude philosophies had not yet even developed—their imaginations were constrained by their own limitations and the limits of their era. What did they have left to keep "boasting" with?
The priests of the Earth Mother Goddess, the Wisdom God, the Wind and Rain God, and the Love God—who had already lost the theological debate earlier—watched the remaining priests with twisted expressions of schadenfreude. If they were going to be expelled from the valley, then they would all be expelled together.
Lucian smiled serenely and spoke with unhurried ease: "My Lord created the boundless domains, maintains the boundless domains, and destroys the boundless domains—then from destruction, creates new boundless domains. Bearing the three functions of creation, maintenance, and destruction, this is the cycle—this is resurrection."
Truly outrageous… The priests, including Nob, racked their brains but could think of nothing, and could only silently seethe.
"My Lord created, beyond this Boundless Domain of ceaseless cycles of creation and destruction, an everlasting paradise that will endure through all eternity — this is what I spoke of earlier: where brothers and sisters who truly believe in the Lord and earnestly repent shall receive salvation and enjoy eternal bliss. My Lord calls it…" Lucian had intended to simply say Heavenly Mountain, but doing so might alert Francis to something amiss, so he forced himself to change course. "The Paradise of Supreme Bliss, the Realm of Supreme Bliss, or the Pure Land of Supreme Bliss."
Below, the faithful released a continuous stream of gasps and exclamations. They had never imagined that the God of Er was already so great and yet would still save the likes of them — but this was entirely consistent with Lucian's earlier description, the pieces fitting together perfectly, making them secretly willing to believe. It truly seemed as though that Paradise of Supreme Bliss existed; it truly seemed that devout faith in the great "God of Resurrection, Abundance, and Salvation" could, after death, utterly free them from this world full of suffering and depravity.
Truly, He is the God of Salvation!
Nob and the other priests had their momentum stolen, their faces deathly pale. They wanted to rebut but could find no opening, and even Nana narrowed her eyes slightly, looking as though deep in thought.
Suddenly, Nob rose from the Silver Throne, took a step forward, and bellowed: "Leviathan, let me ask you — before your so-called God created the world, what state was the Boundless Domain originally in? And what state was this Paradise of Supreme Bliss originally in?"
Lucian had not expected him to ask such a critical question. He faltered for a moment, then quickly caught on, because behind him, Nana's lips were ever so slightly moving. Others might not have noticed, but Lucian, who possessed the strength of a knight, could hardly fail to detect it.
So the priests of the God of War could not sit idle either.
"It was nothingness, and it was also chaos — the origin point of space and time." Lucian deliberately let a flaw slip through; behaving too flawlessly would arouse Francis's suspicion.
Nob let out a hearty laugh: "Then let me ask you — whence came nothingness, whence came chaos, and what lies beyond nothingness, beyond chaos?"
He added silently in his heart: the great Goddess of the Moon.
The congregation was also puzzled — indeed, where did nothingness come from? What came before nothingness? And what lay beyond nothingness? Could there be an even greater existence?
Francis's eyes lit up slightly when he heard this question, as if he had finally found his rhythm. He signaled to Lucian with a look, then stood up and declared: "Beyond nothingness and chaos lies the Indescribable — that is my Lord!"
"The Indescribable? What is that?" Nob and the other priests jeered loudly.
Francis replied with great solemnity: "Whether it be nothingness, chaos, or the origin point of space and time — all are human definitions, human concepts, existing within the bounds of human imagination. But my Lord's existence transcends all definitions, all meaning, all causality, all concepts, all matter, all spirit, all language. Therefore it is indescribable, impossible to describe."