Laval did not answer the question.

He was silent. In the dappled light and shadow, his presence seemed to become a little blurred, and people couldn't help but want to reach out and confirm that he was still there.

"A long time ago, when I had just entered the temple," he began, referring to the distant past, "an old priest was expelled from the temple. They said he had blasphemed the gods and that his faith was a lie...... He was said to be an unbeliever. I should have spit on him, I should have been angry, but in fact, I was more curious at that time—he had left so calmly, not like a vile betrayer, but like a noble martyr. And when I asked my teacher, he told me that he did something wrong, but there was something respectable about him. ”

For a teenager, this is a bit incomprehensible.

The old priest, who had taken off his white robe, did not go far, and lived in the village outside Balach, which was his hometown. Laval couldn't help but look at him from time to time, not close, just watching from afar. He wanted to see him punished, full of remorse, and miserable, but the old man calmly faced all the rejection and abuse, and lived a difficult but calm life.

His life was already coming to an end, and as an expellent blasphemer, he was relieved as if he had finally been freed.

On the day of his death, Laval hovered outside his door. He wanted to sneak a peek, for it was said that the old man had not appeared for several days, but suddenly a low voice came from the dark room and invited him in.

As a human being, the old man still doesn't want to die lonely like that after all.

On that day, Laval spent a long time in the house where there was almost nothing, full of the smell of aging and death. He couldn't remember how the topic began, but they talked a lot on and off...... Until the old man stops breathing.

"'There is no good or evil in the gods.' From his mouth, I heard this phrase for the first time. ”

The old priest narrowed his eyes slightly. The memories that faded in the long time are suddenly vivid again.

There is no good or evil in gods, just as there is no good or evil in power. Floods can destroy villages, but they can also bring fertile soil, and flames can burn everything, but they can also bring warmth and light.

This is not difficult to understand, what the young man cannot accept is another conclusion that the old man has come to - the good and evil of the gods are given to them by the beliefs and actions of their believers.

The shock these words brought to the teenager was indescribable. They are indeed blasphemy, in every sense of the word. How could the gods who created all things be influenced and defined by humble beings who could only look up to them?

Anger diluted doubts and uneasiness. Gifted and favored, Laval became the successor of the High Priest almost without any controversy, and the doubts of his youth gradually turned into a tiny speck of dust that was not even necessary to be brushed away.

Yet, decades after the old man's death, when Laval qualified to enter the library in the deepest part of the temple, he saw on an ancient parchment scroll an almost equally bold question—what kind of gods really were, what were they good for?

"Some old stories...... Some of the history that I don't know is true or false has long been forgotten or erased. The old priest calmly recalled, "It took me a long time to get to know ...... She also argues with Felicity from time to time - she is the only one who can talk to me about this without hesitation. I have come to know that the elves do not really think that the gods are good or evil, and that they think that everything the gods do has a reason, not of unresistible awe and obedience, but of some kind of deeper understanding, at least for once. But it is more acceptable for humans to distinguish between good and evil among the gods. Because they have anger and hatred when they encounter calamity, it is the easiest and easiest option to pour out these emotions on one, or a few evil gods, and their followers. ”

It was a chaotic time more than a thousand years ago. Some of the gods called "evil gods", even created entirely by humans themselves, have gradually gained many followers.

The wickedness of the human heart is in the name of God.

What makes elves and dwarves incomprehensible is that such "false gods" can actually receive the power of God in their clergy. They can only think that these gods do exist, but their true intentions, distorted by their human believers, have led to all kinds of atrocities.

Because of the conflict of beliefs and ideas, because of the uncontrollable power of magic, the whole world was in constant conflict at that time, and believers of different races, different countries, and different gods were fighting with each other, like being carried by a turbid torrent, and gradually lost control.

However, there is no complete record of how that era ended.

"We know that access to other worlds has been closed, that many high-level magic has lost its heritage, and that some gods have been completely forgotten, leaving no trace of them. Humanity's beliefs have become closer to those of the elves, but there is still the bigotry that belongs to this race - we have come to think that all gods are good and great, and that no one should be allowed to question or disrespect them. If they bring calamity, it must be a test or punishment, and if they are silent, it must be because we have failed them. Awe, introspection, seems to make us better, and the development of human beings in the past thousand years has been incredibly fast...... However, in the course of this development, the brilliance of the gods gradually dimmed. Even as we keep warning that 'the unbelievers will go to hell', there are still more and more people who no longer believe in any gods, and many of them have little to blame in their lives. Is this change good or bad? I don't have an answer until now. But I finally understood why the old pastor had been banished, and as a man, he had done nothing wrong, and could even praise him for his bravery in his pursuit of truth. But as a priest who once wore white robes, when he proclaimed his 'truth' under the eaves of the temple, he reneged on his oath and undermined the foundation of the temple...... Although the latter cannot be separated from the protection of our own interests, what do those clergy who still have a devout faith and who have not harmed others because of it do wrong?"

The old man's breath was slightly rapid. Ed felt that what he was saying now seemed to have deviated from his original purpose, and at the same time felt that he should not interrupt.

When he began to speak incoherently, Ed believed that it was indeed Hoyt Laval, a once-majestic and formidable high priest...... A human being who hides many questions deep down and is at a loss, but still struggles to find answers, not just obsessed with power and power.

They may have different choices, but they may not be unable to respect each other.