Prologue

The Scar was moving. That hideous rift across the earth was creeping toward the sacred Pure Land step by step, and the entire Northern Parish had already fallen under the devil's shadow! The moment Limbo detected Tiancheng massing its military forces on a grand scale, it simply stopped keeping up appearances altogether. Its moving speed skyrocketed in an instant! At more than a dozen kilometers an hour, it began "racing" straight toward the Northern Parish. The earlier trains and raids, even the bizarre anomaly zones stirred up on the periphery, had all been mere smoke screens from the Enemy of God. The weapon truly aimed at the Order was the rift itself, its edge overlapping directly with the dreamscape! *I'm bringing my home to you!* *Surprised? Caught you off guard, didn't it?* The Scar pressed forward silently, heading straight for the Northern Parish's Central City without the slightest pretense, right under Tiancheng's surveillance. Though its pace was sluggish—incomparable to vehicles and barely faster than a walking stride—the colossal fissure's inch-by-inch advance stirred up a veritable torrent of chaos. Countless pockets of chaos previously expelled beyond the cities were drawn back in, converging around the Scar. Ever-shifting, bizarre realities churned ceaselessly like heavy armor, deflecting ray after ray of blazing light descending from above. Across the earth, railway tracks grew like living things, with trains patrolling all around. From time to time, armored iron dragons could be seen soaring up from within the rift. Literally: Hell descends. Even before its arrival, Central City of the Northern Parish had already descended into chaos. Terrified believers abandoned the city in droves, throwing it into turmoil, yet amid the confusion, fanatic believers actually organized themselves into ranks to launch assaults against the Scar and the fissure... It could only be said that the sentiment was admirable, but better left unthought. Regardless, Ji Jue gladly accepted every snack delivered to his doorstep. To host them properly, he even opened a new assembly line, spanning everything from sheet metal work to welding, to cater to diverse tastes and needs. *Our Limbo is simply far too user-friendly!* Confronted by Limbo's unrelenting advance, the Central Sanctuary of Tiancheng sat in dead silence. Staring at stack after stack of disaster reports delivered in bulk, no one could make a sound. Only a conscientious clerk, sweating profusely, forced himself to read aloud the briefings: "The Scar has formally entered the Northern Parish." "Divine light strikes have continued for more than two days with no observable effect." "The first surface defense line has been torn open. The Gospel Legion is shattered, and the legion commander's whereabouts are unknown." "Long-range strike assets on the second defense line have finished deployment." "The dragon of Limbo has risen. Warning: the Dedication Legion has suffered heavy casualties and requests reinforcements..." ... "Enough, stop reading." The Pope waved his hand coldly, looking at the College of Cardinals before him. "Discuss, gentlemen. Why the silence? In the past, wasn't every single one of you full of grand discourse, holding forth with sweeping ambitions? Now is precisely when Tiancheng needs men. Surely you won't remain entirely silent?" In the brief silence, glances crossed, but not a single person spoke. In the end, the Pope's stern gaze swept across and singled one out by force. The chosen elder wiped the sweat from his brow, hesitated for a moment, and ultimately spoke: "Now that Limbo has fallen and demonic arrogance blazes unchecked, their scheming ambitions must be vast indeed. Our situation hangs by a thread—truly a trial unprecedented in decades. I believe the most pressing priority is still halting the movement and spread of the Scar. "However, as long as we unite our efforts and respond with caution, we will surely sweep away the demonic fires and restore tranquility and peace to the Divine Kingdom." "..." Silence. A long, drawn-out silence. Everyone watched him without a word. Their expressions looked like they had swallowed shit. *Done? That's fucking it? You might as well have said nothing at all!* *You were asked for your opinion, not a summary of the obvious!* *Prattling on and on, repeating what everyone already knew without a single shred of substance—pure hot air, every fucking word!* For a moment, everyone subconsciously looked toward the Pope. The Pope's expression remained tranquil, showing neither anger nor pleasure, and merely shifted his gaze to another cardinal. "Continue." With a scapegoat having thoroughly botched it first, the others suddenly took courage and began speaking up. No matter what they said, after all, could it possibly be worse than that old useless relic? Mobilizing all military forces to encircle the Scar, evacuating the faithful from Central City immediately, deploying Tiancheng's extinction weapons, and so forth—through their collective efforts, a noisy, chaotic plan seemed to take shape. Until someone in the crowd gathered his courage and suggested in a low voice, "Facing such a dire predicament, perhaps we should report this to the Holy God, and root out Limbo once and for all..." In an instant, dead silence fell once more. From the head of the chamber, the Pope's callous gaze swept over, chilling and grim, glaring at him as if discerning what secret motive he harbored. Only after a long while did he ask slowly, "If even a trivial matter like this required the Holy God to deal with it personally, what would be the purpose of keeping the likes of you around?" "The Pope speaks absolute truth! Absolute truth!" "A mere demonic disturbance is nothing more than a superficial nuisance. How could it be worth troubling the exalted Holy God?" "Indeed, indeed!" Nods and echoes of agreement rose incessantly in chorus until the Pope finally lost all interest in wasting any more time. "Enough. You have played the fool long enough. For now, I shall not pass judgment on the sin of probing the divine. You have been kept up here in Tiancheng precisely so that, at critical moments, you might ease the Holy God's burdens. "Tired clichés are quite unnecessary. It is time for you to serve some purpose." He said slowly, "I intend to activate the Heavenly Radiance, to shine across the Divine Kingdom. What say you, gentlemen?" Instantly, the dead-silent hall erupted. Panic seized everyone's face, and they rose to speak, but a roaring din sounded as angels marched in in formation, pinning the cardinals down into their seats one by one. "Things having reached this pass and Limbo's demonic fires raging unchecked, if we wish to strike decisively and weed them out root and branch, sacrifices must inevitably be made. "Tiancheng has sustained you for so long; it is time you were put to use." Ignoring their pleas and curses, the Pope slowly stood up. "At most, you are merely serving as offerings. After enjoying wealth and luxury for so long, what regrets could you possibly have? "Drag them down. Merge them into the Heavenly Radiance and forge them all into vessels—wait, not this one." He paused, singling out the old fool who had spoken first. Before the man could burst into tears of grateful thanks, the Pope waved a hand coldly. "Such an idiot would only defile the Holy Light if turned into a vessel. Burn him. Keep it clean and quick." With that, he flicked his sleeves and walked out of the conference hall. The heavy doors shut, cutting off the sound of curses and pleas. Amid the silence, the trembling clerk prostrated on the floor heard the Pope's decree: "Relay my order. The day of destruction for the heretics and sinners has arrived. Mobilize the garrison forces of all four quarters; deploy Tiancheng's legions and knights. "The moment the Heavenly Radiance descends marks the start of the Holy War! "Spare no cost, count no losses. Hunt down and slaughter every last heretic!" A quarter of an hour later, grand, resounding bells tolled from the highest peak of Tiancheng. The mobilization for war spread outward from the apex of the Divine Kingdom to every corner of the land. In sanctuary after sanctuary, descending angels delivered divine decrees. Immediately afterward, across the Central Cities of all four quarters, every sanctuary Hierophant conveyed the Pope's command: gather all believers within one day to hold a grand prayer ceremony for the departing legions, summoning the Holy God's protection and bestowed grace! Soon, within a few short hours, dense crowds converged at the call of the bells. Guided by the priests, the sounds of prayers and sacred hymns resonated between heaven and earth. Even in the storm-tossed Northern Parish, the Scar looming right before their eyes was forgotten for the moment. Believers cast aside their worries and terror; wrapped in unprecedented piety, tears streamed down their faces as they prayed, yearning for their God to descend and eradicate the demons! At that instant, beams of blazing light descended from the heavens. When Tiancheng's colossal gates swung open, pure white radiance instantly illuminated the entire world! Divine power! Divine power had descended into the mortal realm! The revisions from the Order began once more. The rampant dream chaos was dispersed piece by piece, forcibly driven to the corners and fringes of the Divine Kingdom. Under the universal illumination and purging of the Heavenly Radiance, all living things beyond the four Central Cities were reduced to ash and dust. Mountains collapsed, and rivers evaporated. In the end, boundless ashes converged into a startling expanse of stark pallor. And amidst that boundless expanse of white, the slowly extending Scar... was an unbearable eyesore! As boundless faith surged upward, cardinals upon the altars wailed, burning and dissolving in the brilliant torrent of divine power. In the end, they turned into skeletal remains that seemed cast from pure gold. Just like that, they fused with the divine power accumulated by the Order across vast expanses of time, truly becoming holy relics harboring limitless divine might! At once, braving the risk of being incinerated into nothingness, attendants fished out the relics and set them reverently onto trays. The holy relics likewise radiated the light of the Heavenly Radiance. Wherever the light passed, the kneeling angels receiving the command shuddered violently. The remaking had begun. Wings of flesh and blood were quickly ignited by invisible flames and burned to nothing, replaced by wings of light woven from radiant brilliance. Former shackles shattered. Unimaginable power poured into the bodies of the frantically shouting angels, swelling them instantly into giants several meters tall. Ornate, sacred armor gleamed with brilliance, and flames ignited along the spears in their hands. It was as though the heavenly hosts had descended, bathed in boundless radiance, bringing judgment and destruction upon all! And that was not all... Inside the Central Cities, believers kneeling in prostration lifted their heads. Staring at the holy relics descending from above, their eyes were overwhelmed with frenzy! They forgot their names, forgot their pasts, forgot everything—leaving only pure faith. Beneath the grace of Heavenly Radiance, wings of light unfurled from backs one after another. Angel after angel ripped free from old shells, ascending from once-mortal vessels. Countless believers were temporarily transformed into angels in the blink of an eye! At this moment, every soul within the dreamscape had become a weapon of the divine! "The sacred day to exterminate the heretics has arrived! The hour to wipe out the host of demons and restore glory to the Divine Kingdom is at hand!" The Pope's raspy voice echoed between heaven and earth: "Today, God's wrath shall fall, and it shall not cease until every heretic and sinner is burned to ash!" The moment his voice fell, the gates of Tiancheng opened once more. [Heavenly Punishment] initiated! Immediately following, a brand-new sun formed behind the gates of boundless brilliance, billowing endless flames as it hung high above the Scar's rift. Locked onto Limbo's presence, it crashed down! From this moment forth, a holy war that would never cease until one side was utterly eradicated finally drew back its curtain!