Choose Them!

According to the mythological narrative of the General Scroll of Samsara, after the God of Samsara constructed the Gate of Samsara, he ushered countless departed souls inside, granting them true paradise and reincarnation. The words "ushered inside" glossed over the bloodiness of the primitive accumulation with a casual flick of the brush, leaving behind only hypocritical warmth. Just how many souls had entered willingly and how many had been forced in that era was impossible to tally now; one could only glimpse the era's true attitude toward the souls within from Raniedal's description of being ordered to dump garbage inside back then. Yet the fact remained: in the early days of the Gate of Samsara, due to the complex origins of the souls, the faiths of various major churches were all represented within. Over the passage of time, however, because the Gate of Samsara stood in Samsara Valley and the Church of Samsara could send its own youths into the gate every ten years for trials, the balance of faith within inevitably tilted drastically. Outside the gate, the Church of Samsara had been beaten by the Church of Order into suing for peace. Losing to the world's foremost church was not particularly disgraceful. Inside the gate, however, the status of the Church of Samsara was even more dominant than that of the Church of Order outside. The lineages of many other churches had long been severed, and the few that remained were merely gasping on their last breaths. It was no exaggeration to say that whether one truly believed in Samsara or not, praising Samsara was an inevitable political correctness within the gate. Karen and his companions had never expected to encounter believers of Order here. To preach for Order here was so difficult and under such harsh conditions that even the Light remnants outside would seem bourgeois in comparison. The elder turned back in a daze, looking at the young man standing atop the perimeter wall and sensing the aura of Order so dense it almost made his soul tremble. The thick chains wrapped in the flames of Order did not appear savage in the least to the elder; instead, they felt profoundly familiar and warm. Especially this young man's appearance! Long ago, he had followed his guide to a cavern that had once been a preaching hall of Order, already abandoned by the time he arrived. There, the elder had seen a damaged mural and made a rubbing of it. The mural depicted the God of Order. Although the God's face could not be seen clearly, one could clearly distinguish that the God's body and physical form were actually different from their own. God is not the same species as us! No— God has transcended our current level of life! Believers of Samsara inside the gate had gone so far as to fabricate claims that the false gods worshipped here were merely residual ideas brought in from the world "inside the gate," all to further squeeze and eradicate the living space of other churches. "Inside the gate" was already the world of Samsara; otherwise, how could one explain why everyone who emerged from inside the gate was a believer of Samsara? It had to be said that this was an extremely effective way of deconstructing faith, and it had achieved great success in cognitive warfare. From the end of the last era to the present era, over such an immense span of time, the trialists who entered every ten years almost all worshipped Samsara. Using an entire world as an example was enough to shake the foundational cognition of other religious faiths. And now, tears welled in the elder's eyes. His tears were no different from ordinary tears, just as crystal clear. He was moved because he saw hope; he saw the light of dawn. It was not merely because of the war spell Black Prison Castle Karen had summoned—a technique long lost here—nor merely because of the powerful aura of Order radiating from Karen, nor even because Karen had answered the call and appeared right when they needed him most. It was because of Karen's form and appearance! With the elder's understanding, he did not know the true difference between "inside the gate" and "outside the gate," for his level was not high enough. Furthermore, the Church of Order's framework within the gate had long been shattered; not only were spell heritages severely damaged and lost, but the disruption of knowledge was even worse. Thus, the elder had no idea how powerful the Church of Order was in the world he believed to be "inside the gate." From Karen's appearance, he only knew that in that world, there was still a group of companions upholding the faith of Order. Like himself, though their circumstances were equally arduous, they were still fighting, still persevering! That alone was enough. Several youths looked at Karen, their eyes filled with shock and longing. At their most difficult and desperate moment, any rescuer who appeared would be draped in a halo. Escaping death by a hairsbreadth, this feeling was no different from a newly hatched whelp seeing its mother for the very first time. The pursuers' leader quickly recovered from his shock. He recognized Karen's physical form and found it bizarre, but that did not stop him from barking out an attack order. At this juncture, losses no longer mattered. Not only did he have to wipe out these Order remnants, but he also had to kill the Order priest whose appearance matched the Auspicious Lord—or better yet, capture him alive. Facing the Samsara believers surging toward him, Karen spread his arms, sweeping chains of Order straight into their ranks. Weaker Samsara believers were directly impaled by chains or burned to death by the flames of Order clinging to them. While stronger believers managed to dodge or parry the chains, in the very next instant, the chains would detonate, inflicting even deeper wounds upon them. The detonated chains quickly condensed anew under the support of Karen's massive spiritual power and plunged right back into the battlefield. For a time, screams rose one after another. Karen flipped his right hand, and the Sword of Arius flew into his grip, for he noticed that several mid-tier Samsara priests had bypassed the chains and were attempting to close in on him. Right at that moment, the two squads commanded by Muri launched their attack from the perimeter. Their offensive was far more coordinated and fierce. From the very first instant, they ripped open a massive breach, rapidly following up with fierce, aggressive charges. Muri personally led Bart, Ventura, Yilaman, and Demel as the vanguard, plunging into the encirclement like a sharp dagger. Blanche and Xijinni applied priest spells to buff the five of them, further augmenting their strength and defense. The offensive array coordinated by Mars, Paxio, and Digat summoned a vicious beast of Order that plummeted from the sky, crashing straight into the center of the Samsara believers before raising its arms and thrashing wildly in all directions. Aisli once again summoned her truest friend, Sandy—the phantom of the monster beast previously sent to steal exam papers during the final selection, only to be shot dead instantly. After that incident, Aisli's parents had spent a long time soothing Sandy with gifts before the beast itself grudgingly agreed to let its totem remain on Aisli's body. This time, Aisli did not summon its phantom to send it to its death, but to have it soar above. Its most notable trait was its magnificent appearance, embodying sanctity and majesty, commonly seen on ceremonial occasions. And right now, crushing the enemy's momentum was precisely what was needed. Once the pincer attack from inside and outside began, the Samsara believers immediately began to collapse. Gripping the Sword of Arius, Karen hesitated for a moment, ultimately choosing not to force his way in to eliminate the leader himself. First, there was no need; second, his primary objective was still to protect the women and children here. Finally, the Samsara believers broke and began fleeing in disarray. Seeing this, Muri did not order a pursuit, instead directing everyone to rally toward Karen. The sunken ground fell completely quiet. Karen dispelled the Black Prison Castle and instructed his team members to quickly relocate these people. Then, he went over to find the elder. The elder stood there with a smile on his face. As Karen walked toward him, he crossed his arms over his chest and said sincerely, "Praise Order." No sooner had the words left his mouth than he began to dissipate, leaving only his garments falling to the ground. In the end, Karen did not even have the chance to say a single word to him. Tears in their eyes, several youths rushed forward to gather the elder's clothes. Putting their grief aside, they helped organize everyone for the evacuation. After relocating to another concealed spot, Mars, Digat, and Paxio began setting up concealment arrays, while Muri led others to establish perimeter sentries and patrol squads. Karen sat alone inside, chewing on a bamboo shoot to replenish fluids. The water in this world tasted awful. Even after Blanche's treatment made it essentially harmless, the flavor remained bizarre, like water intentionally run through rusted pipes. Still, bamboo shoots were not easy to harvest either. Even after the village chief mobilized the entire village, they had only dug up a modest amount. The bamboo here was delicate, growing in solitary patches rather than sprawling groves, making it quite troublesome to obtain. Aisli was applying something to her forearms. It was not skin cream, but a special protective balm meant to keep the totems on her arms "fresh"; if damaged or blurred, they would fail to resonate with the original entities. "Captain, do you think having so many totems tattooed on my arms looks unattractive to men?" "Yes." With her sleeves down, Aisli looked like a willful young lady, and a pretty one at that. Roll up her sleeves, however, and not even a female gang boss possessed tattoos this dense. "Do you dislike tattoos as well, Captain?" "Yes," Karen answered frankly. "What if there were fewer of them, placed in more discreet spots? For example, in certain private areas—would that enhance the mood?" "That depends on personal aesthetics." "What about yours?" Karen shook his head and said, "I believe a woman's body is made of water. And water, of course, looks best when clear and untainted." Aisli nodded. "Still, tattooing them on my body is more convenient than carrying scrolls." "Don't overthink it. You're using them as tools. The man you come to love in the future will understand." "I hope so." Just then, the four youths walked over, flanking an elderly woman. The elderly woman gently pushed aside the boys supporting her and knelt down before Karen. Karen gave a look, and Aisli stepped forward at once to support her. "Thank you for saving us. We will remember your kindness forever." "It was our duty, because we are... family." Hearing the word "family," the elderly woman's tears flowed even more profusely, though she quickly wiped them away and said: "Ganfusen often said that too. He used to say that inside the gate, there must be others holding fast to Order just like us, living in even harsher conditions, but still fighting to persevere." At these words, Aisli blinked. Their lives outside the gate were actually quite comfortable. Having supplanted the former Church of Light, the Church of Order was the undisputed preeminent church, and the First Day War had further solidified its status. While internal competition was cutthroat, they could hardly be said to be struggling to survive. "There is something I need to tell you. Please sit down and listen," Karen said, then gestured to the four youths. "You sit down too and listen." Once everyone was seated, Karen explained the concepts of "inside the gate" and "outside the gate," as well as the truth about the Gate of Samsara. Mrs. Ganfusen and the four youths were completely stunned. They had genuinely never known that what they thought was "inside the gate" was actually the outside world, that they themselves were the ones truly inside the gate, or that the Church of Order was so immensely powerful out there. Karen had considered whether it was appropriate to shatter their worldview like this, but in the end, he decided to tell the truth. Their current plight could not get any worse. Rather than leaving them to struggle bitterly here, it was better to let them know that genuine hope existed outside the gate. Sure enough, while the elderly woman remained somewhat slow to process it and weighed down with heavy thoughts, the four youths showed instant delight upon learning the truth, their previous despondency and oppression swept away. They had endured humiliation and yearned for change; this subversive revelation was precisely what they desired most. Mrs. Ganfusen finally came to her senses, murmuring: "So our Order is already this strong... Ganfusen was wrong, yet at the same time, he was right." He had been mistaken about the state of the Church of Order in the "world inside the gate," but his conviction that the Church of Order would inevitably flourish had been entirely correct. Karen said, "I regret that I was unable to exchange even a single word with Mr. Ganfusen." Mrs. Ganfusen said immediately, "I saw the expression on his face before he passed. He had no regrets left." Karen pointed at the four children and asked, "Are these four your and Mr. Ganfusen's grandsons?" "Yes, they are my grandsons. Though not of our blood. Our children perished in the purges against Order, and their parents met the same fate. They are orphans Ganfusen and I adopted. They are all fine children." Karen waved to the four youths. "Come here, let me have a look." At this, excitement flashed across Mrs. Ganfusen's face, and she urged them at once, "Step forward, quickly!" The four boys promptly stepped before Karen and stood in a row, quite nervous and rigid before him. Immediately after, Aisli noticed blackness swirling in her captain's eyes. Karen was employing the Dark Moon Eye, disguised beneath the blackness of Order. At its current stage, the Dark Moon Eye was particularly perceptive of souls. Earlier, when he and Muri observed the encirclement from afar, he had already evaluated the caliber of these youths. Observing them up close now with the Dark Moon Eye, Karen keenly realized that his earlier evaluation had been too superficial. The soul density of these four youths was astonishing. This meant their innate talent was extraordinary. Once they matured, they would be natural warriors of Order. Karen could not help reflecting that Mr. Ganfusen had likely adopted them out of recognition for their talent, believing that once they grew up, they would be the church's future hope here. This could not be called mercenary of Mr. Ganfusen; rather, the brutal living conditions had forced his hand. "Aisli, call Bart, Ventura, Yilaman, and Demel over." "Yes, Captain." Before long, Bart and the other three walked over. Karen stood up and approached them, putting some distance between them and the others before setting up a simple barrier. Mrs. Ganfusen wrapped her arms around the four youths, waiting for the outcome with a mix of deep anticipation and apprehension. She knew what might happen next, and what it would mean for these four children—or perhaps for a few, a pair, or one of them. ... Yilaman asked in shock, "Captain Karen, you mean you want us to choose to sign soul contracts with these four children?" Demel also found it preposterous. "Are you sure you aren't joking?" Bart hesitated as well; clearly, this was not the outcome he had envisioned. What they wanted was to find powerful souls to anchor themselves to, not play a nurturing game here. "I've examined them. Their talent is astounding. Right now, they're only youths, but in a few years, when they reach the soul stage of young adulthood, their soul strength will increase even further. "Their future potential will not be inferior to the currently powerful souls you could find in Black Forest City. Faced with the same eventual returns, choosing long-term gains over immediate ones is usually how you maximize benefits. "Two more points are vital. "First, they all believe in Order. Your faiths align, and since we just saved them, you are close to them both emotionally and spiritually. Signing soul contracts with them will not only prevent issues like loss of faith or emotional conflict, but their presence will also provide you with companions to study alongside as you comprehend Order. "Trust me, supplementary boosts to your capacity for learning are paramount. "Second, you must consider the attitude of our upper echelon. We passed the selection and entered the Gate of Samsara to gain credentials, and securing the assistance of powerful souls provides capital for our future. But at the same time... do you really think the higher-ups will trust you completely? "Won't the higher-ups worry about whether you might be influenced by another soul inside your body? Won't they worry about the possibility of you losing yourselves or becoming corrupted? "The higher-ups will certainly place you in important roles, but they will also be on guard against you. Three of the four of you come from families with knight order backgrounds, and I believe you will definitely want to rise into the knight orders' upper ranks and vie for true commander positions in the future. "However, if you bring back other powerful souls, your futures will be capped. At most, you'll reach the ceiling of middle management; they will never give you a genuine high-ranking position. "The moment we bring powerful souls out of the Gate of Samsara, we become tools in the eyes of the leadership, not one of their own. "Fusing with these boys avoids that issue entirely. Not only will it not count against you, it will actually be a bonus. When it comes to religious loyalty, hardly anyone will be able to compare to you, because you will be two souls in one body, both devoted to Order. "So I hope the three of you can... Hm? "Where is Ventura?" Karen turned around, only to realize that the moment Ventura heard him suggest signing soul contracts with the four youths, he had discarded all doubts and explanations and hurried over to the old woman and the four boys. Right now, Ventura was scratching his head, asking shyly: "Which of you wants to play with me?"