Karen's... Family Faith System!

Karen reached out a hand and pressed it gently downward, gesturing for the old man to quiet down. The old man fell silent and just watched Karen quietly. He naturally understood the importance of these three fundamental stages of the orthodox churches: God's Servant was a purification of oneself; God's Revelation was listening to God's teachings; and God's Shepherd was inviting the image of God into one's own heart, allowing God to guide one's steps and illuminate the path ahead. This was the most basic stage, yet at the same time an extremely vital one. It could even be said that a priest's future prospects and upper limit could roughly be discerned at this moment. God was like your parents, supporting you as you learned to walk and teaching you anew how to perceive the world. The transformation at each stage was actually a form of examining one's past. Because your past was clearly visible, only by re-examining it could you better clarify the future. Yet what shocked the old man was that this young man before him had just blasphemed God to his face—why, in the blink of an eye, had he begun "God's Shepherd" again? You doubt God and turn your back on God; how could God possibly remain in your heart? Or rather, since you are clearly already doubting and abandoning God, how can you invite God in again? In truth, the answer was very simple. If Karen's purification stage of becoming a God's Servant, though a bit noisy, had at least remained within the procedural framework, then starting from the subsequent God's Revelation, Karen had actually embarked upon a path that belonged to him and suited him. If God's Revelation merely established a goal and a direction, then God's Shepherd now was the replenishment of his own courage and hope. Having a towering figure standing ahead indeed gave one a sense of security, but on the path Karen intended to tread, he was the one standing at the very forefront. He had no back to look upon; those behind him could only look upon his back. At this moment, within Karen's consciousness, this old man appeared. The old man's body carried an ethereal quality; he was not alive, nor was he an avatar or a puppet. A white radiance encircled him, or rather, he was entirely composed of this radiance. Purr, Kevin, and Alfred had all inspected this house thoroughly and hadn't found anything abnormal. Because this old man truly was just a lingering thought left behind. The house's former owner had read here, pondered here, and this study had preserved the traces of his thoughts. Therefore, setting aside the possibility that this "old man" might lead someone astray, he was actually harmless, possessing no power to do anything at all. Within Karen's consciousness, Purr's figure emerged. The black cat stood there. Though her fur was pitch-black, hidden deep within that blackness seemed to be a streak of dark red, like a flame suppressed to the absolute limit. Purr was the fire-attribute successor of the Allen family faith system; this color was not surprising. Immediately afterward, the golden retriever appeared in Karen's consciousness. The golden retriever also stood there. A soft, milky-white glow and a mass of black shadow emanated from its body. The two were not repelling or opposing each other; instead, they continually intermingled. At one moment they blended completely, and at the next they gradually drifted apart, only to merge back together after being apart for a while. Neither side seemed inclined to fight, instead finding the most comfortable balance between them. Then, Alfred's figure appeared in Karen's consciousness. Alfred's eyes flickered with a red glow, but upon his body, a faint purple thread was flowing, tracing down to the tops of his feet and extending outward, travelling all the way toward Karen's "field of vision" to connect directly to Karen. Karen clearly sensed the faith and adoration coming from Alfred toward him. As the object of worship, Karen found this phenomenon bizarre, because even he couldn't imagine how on earth that fellow Alfred had managed to pull it off! Presently, Karen felt like a central dot gradually expanding its perspective, re-examining each person he had ever come into contact with. In fact, these were all images of them in his memories. These radiances and colors were not nonexistent before; they had always been there—at least at the moment Karen had last seen them, they had genuinely existed. It was just that his past self had been unable to see them. It was just like a maxim: When you are very young and first learn to read, you can recite it and understand it—or at least you think you understand it. Yet when you grow older and read it again, you savor a different flavor. When you reach adulthood, when you enter middle age, when you reach your twilight years, after you have lived through hardships and weathered trials, every time you revisit that phrase, it brings different insights and echoes. Over all those years, not a single word of the maxim has changed, but you have. Life is often likened to a road, so people subconsciously picture it as some street they once walked in reality, flanked by people of every stripe and trees dappled with light and shadow. In reality, when you stop walking, the road stops as well. But on the road of life, when you stop, you discover to your astonishment that the path beneath your feet moves forward on its own, utterly indifferent to your will or your actions. Sitting in his chair, Karen raised a hand and gently massaged the space between his brows. His expression was not pained; rather, he was completely engrossed. The reflection and discovery brought by this self-examination felt remarkably comfortable, even somewhat mesmerizing. He saw Eunice, Boge, Judia, and one person after another from Allen Manor. He saw the white light upon Miss Bertha, which bore many similarities to the old man before him. He saw Little John, around whose heart a red shadow swirled—the source of his pollution. He saw Mr. Pavaro; upon that balding, scruffy middle-aged man flowed an exceedingly pure darkness. He saw Mr. Hoffen, saw Ms. Molly... Yet solely, Karen did not look at his grandfather. It wasn't that he couldn't, but that he was unwilling. Deep down, Karen wanted to preserve the fondest memories of his grandfather, waiting until the day came when he returned home to look upon him in person and wake him once more. Because Diss was not a mere point in his memory, but a part of his past itself. ... From the old man's perspective, black mist continually drifted out around Karen, churning into a liquid-like darkness before sinking back into Karen's body. It was a cycle. The problem was, this cycle was lasting far too long. Just as Mr. Bede had felt during Karen's God's Revelation, the old man now began to marvel at Karen's "depth." What terrifying accumulation was this, to endure until now without the slightest sign of stopping? Purr had once used a very down-to-earth analogy with Karen: when everyone scored a hundred, for Karen, it was simply because the test paper only went up to a hundred. An accumulation far exceeding that of ordinary people was bound to manifest in extraordinary ways at special moments. And Karen himself had already grown somewhat accustomed to this sensation. He continued selecting people from his past memories to examine, continually exploring the unique details he had seen before but failed to notice. This was a rare opportunity. Just as ordinary priests only had the chance to receive teachings from God during God's Revelation, the self-examination of God's Shepherd yielded its best results during this exact window. Finally, Karen finished examining his memories, yet he still felt a lingering desire to continue. And the root cause of that unsatisfied feeling was that he still had strength to spare. ... Is it ending? Is it finally ending? The old man marveled inwardly. Just what kind of person had he sold his house to? Unfortunately, his existence was confined to this study—even confined solely to his "contact" with Karen. In the eyes of others, he simply did not exist; even from the perspective of his real-world self, the same was true. "I can only hope the me who sold the house decides to come back and visit," the old man thought to himself. Hm? What is this? The old man saw a figure appear behind Karen. This figure was merely an image that radiated no tangible aura, yet anyone who saw her would sense her presence. It was a woman. The old man finally realized. "He is observing... examining his guide?" Right now, Karen was like someone who, having finished a work and still craving more, started reading its side stories. Seeking out beings with special connections, to re-examine and understand them anew. A guide was precisely such a relationship. In the secular world, a priest who baptized ordinary infants fell into this category, while in church circles, it referred to the person who ushered you into the circle, specifically denoting the one who guided you through purification. Beyond a doubt, Karen's guide was Purr—or rather, Purr Allen. The figure behind him gradually grew clear. This woman wore a black wide-brimmed hat, a red gown, and gem-encrusted magic boots on her feet, holding a purple wand in her hand. Phew... The old man let out a long breath. He could sense that this was an immensely powerful being. Her existence could almost be considered, to some extent, the pinnacle of a family faith system. Because behind this woman, a mass of netherfire flickered incessantly. For an existence capable of controlling netherfire, her mastery over fire-attribute power had reached a terrifying degree. The old man stood up from his chair and bowed to the woman's image in a gesture of respect. Although she looked very young... on the path of cultivation, rank was not divided by age. Of course, the old man also figured the woman before him might not necessarily be younger than him; perhaps she was far older. What the old man didn't know was that the true form of this formidable woman was currently lying on the bed in the bedroom across the hall, fast asleep and snoring softly, smacking her cat lips from time to time, whiskers twitching as though dreaming of eating squirrel mandarin fish. Yet from Karen's perspective, he saw a different picture. In this vision, he seemed like a portrait artist painting a portrait of the noble existence before him. She sat upon a chair, at one moment a noble young lady, and at the next a proud, aloof black cat. This made him, as the painter, break out in cold sweat, able only to soldier on with a trembling heart. As he painted, Karen discovered the floor beneath his feet turning to magma. The terrifying, churning aura of consuming incineration burst forth like erupting volcanic ash, not only choking his eyes, ears, nose, and mouth, but annihilating his conscious senses altogether. He began rubbing frantically at his eyes and digging at his ears, hoping to restore his sight and hearing. Deep within, he sensed that some special power was guarding against and preventing his "examination"—or perhaps more accurately, his "peeking." His eyes remained blind to everything, but by his ears sounded a woman's exceedingly proud and dissatisfied voice. "Sigh, why did I ever put my faith in you, Progenitor? I truly never expected your accomplishments to be so limited. If I'd known earlier, I would have found some church to believe in instead. That would have been far better than reaching a point so young where I have no room left to grow. "What meaning is there in a life like this? Ha, I might as well just become a cat." The voice came to an abrupt halt there. Just as Karen thought it was over, suddenly, a flash of light burst forth, instantly dispelling all obstructions before him and enveloping him entirely in radiance. At that moment, Karen was like a moth pressed flat against a lightbulb—somewhat bewildered, and somewhat awkward. The old man saw a halo of light appear behind Karen, his jaw instantly dropping: "He... he... was an adherent of the God of Light all along?" The old man placed both hands against his chest and declared with utmost sincerity: "Praise the Light." The appearance of light was actually no surprise. Purr was indeed Karen's guide, but the "sacred relic" Purr had used was a finger of the God of Light. Before long, the light dissipated, and along with it went Purr's image. Karen showed signs of mental exhaustion. The old man clambered up from the floor, his gaze toward Karen turning much gentler. Though the lad was rebellious, though he spoke without restraint, though he had all manner of shortcomings, he was one of their own. Still, it ought to be over now. Not only did the old man think so, but Karen himself thought so too. He could sense that his "examination" had lasted a long time and that he had seen many sights he had never noticed before. Therefore, he could end it now and get a good night's sleep. Thus, Karen took the initiative to conclude the process of "God's Shepherd," and in accordance with his will, the process drew to a close. However, when he tried to wake and open his eyes, he found himself utterly unable to do so. An invisible force was suppressing his impulses to open his eyes and stand up. This force did not come from outside; it came from within his own body. God's Shepherd was over, but the "examination" had not ended. Since you have already examined others, how could you overlook examining yourself? God's Shepherd could be called a primer, a baited hook cast into the depths. It had caught a fish, but the line had also snagged and dragged back a vast tangle of waterweeds. A gray shadow appeared before Karen, staring at him coldly. From this shadow, the old man sensed a chilling, terrifying aura. What kind of existence was this? Even though the old man was no ordinary remnant of Light, he still could not connect the gray figure before him with an "evil god," for the existence of evil gods was simply too mysterious and too distant. Yet this body of Karen's had indeed been remodeled by an evil god. This was originally the body the evil god had remodeled for his own use, only to have his place usurped by Karen, leaving him reduced to a dog. Finally, Raniedal's figure dissipated, his appearance seemingly just to prove that he had been there. In the dog bed in the bedroom across the hall, the golden retriever rolled over and continued sleeping soundly, completely unaware that in the study across from him, his image had just been dragged out to be flogged once more. The old man was somewhat dazed. Because he was merely a thought imprint to begin with, this succession of scenes began to warp his mental projection slightly. He now felt that the real-world self who had sold the house had best never come back for a visit, for he had no idea what fate would befall that self upon encountering this bottomless young man. Yet, this was still not the end... Well, the old man no longer felt surprised. He even thought it made complete sense. Fine, fine, carry on, carry on. For Karen's God's Shepherd, he had eschewed inviting God in, choosing instead to stand in the place within his heart where God was originally enshrined. This was not a simple difference between idealism and materialism, nor was it a pure distinction between "praising" and "mocking" God. It wasn't that adhering to materialism earned you special treatment, nor that blindly criticizing God gained you God's special favor. Subjective consciousness divorced from practical reality lost its meaning entirely. It was like a wealthy man saying he didn't care about money versus a street beggar saying he didn't care about money—the impression conveyed was entirely different. After all, no matter how much the beggar mimicked the wealthy man's tone in saying he didn't care about money, it wouldn't make him rich like the tycoon. Take Karen, for example: that he dared to critically argue the path of God while progressing step by step from God's Servant to God's Revelation, and from God's Revelation into God's Shepherd, was fundamentally because he had long possessed the qualifications to stand on this path. The world never lacked thinkers, nor did it lack skeptics, much less truly clever people. The problem was, none of them possessed conditions as favorable as Karen's. Take right now: something flowing in his veins began to manifest. Behind Karen, the figure of an old man appeared. He was very old, but his back was ramrod straight. When Diss used the blood sacrifice ritual to extract the spirituality from the descendants of the Inmerlais family, it also meant that Karen was the sole preserver of the Inmerlais bloodline. One could even interpret it somewhat recklessly: this grandfather and grandson of the Inmerlais family could be regarded as a brand-new beginning—a fresh start formed after weeding out impurities and severing ties with the church. Perhaps in all the world, only this grandfather-grandson pair could do such a thing. The old man, a remnant of Light, slumped back into his chair. If the preceding scenes had merely warped his imprinted thought, then the scene unfolding before his eyes now had practically overturned his understanding of reality. Because, upon a priest who had only just achieved God's Shepherd, he actually saw: "A family faith system!"