âSo this is the Paragon?â Danielâs eyes landed on the old man sitting on a cushion.
His face looked ordinaryâshort hair, long white beard, a plain robe. But there was a strange spiritual aura around him.
It gave off the exact vibe of someone divine or something like that. Even Daniel, for a moment, was tempted to see him as a role model.
That made him frown deeply. His spiritual power surged, snapping him back to his senses.
"Donât be fooled. Heâs using a type of Enchanter Path," Evangelin said after noticing the frown on Danielâs face.
"A type of Enchanter Path? That actually makes sense." He nodded.
(*To avoid confusion: âPathâ here means the same as âLaw.â In ancient times, people referred to Laws as Paths.)
Even for him, it was strange how quickly he felt drawn to the old man. It was a weird feelingâthough his spiritual strength was more than enough that something like this couldnât easily affect his mind.
"Isnât that kind of thing supposed to be forbidden? Donât his followers know?"
"I donât really know. My Master is aware of it but never says anything. As for his followersâthey obviously have no idea. Only me, my Master, and the other Paragons know. But since the other Paragon does similar things, neither of them exposes the otherâs secrets," Evangelin answered.
"Such bastards," Daniel said mockingly.
The Saintness just nodded in agreement. That was exactly why she didnât want these freeloaders to become the next leader of the religion.
If they did, she had no doubt that the Eternity Faith would be destroyed.
"To my dear followers, to all the faithful of the Eternity Faith who came here todayâwelcome. Many new faces have joined us,"
"Clearly, the world is starting to see the importance and truth of our faithâof the Eternity Faith. May our numbers grow by the day, and may we bring eternity to everyone," said Paragon Velmiran with a smile.
As soon as he stopped talking, his followers burst into applause and cheers. Many of them were Endurers who had never seen their ParagonâVelmiranâbefore.
Now that theyâd witnessed his presence and charisma, they became even more drawn to him, cheering with full devotion.
"Many of you came here because of my sermons, drawn by my understanding of the Path of Eternity. So letâs not waste time," Velmiran said, and began preaching his interpretation.
Everyone started listening closely. Even Danielâwho had lost his respect for the old manâstill paid close attention.
He didnât want to miss such a good chance to understand the Law of Eternity. Evangelin, though, was more focused on whether the saboteurs might show up.
Even though she was younger than the Paragons, she had no doubt her understanding of the Path of Eternity was just as deep. Besides, she had her Master to guide her.
The Paragon began preachingâhis understanding of the Path of Eternity.
What is Eternity? Where did it come from? How was it formed? What does it mean? Whatâs the true path?
"You think of eternity as a lengthâas something stretched through time, like an endless road. But thatâs an insult."
"Eternity is not the future, and itâs not the past. It is not the continuation of life, nor is it an escape from death."
"Eternity means to stand stillâcompletely still, in a place that never changes, never wants, never seeks. I have come close to that place. A place where being brings neither pain nor joy."
"A place where the self is separate from the self, and time no longer needs to be counted. Here, there are no desires. And when there are no desires, there is no suffering."
"So ask yourselves: do you truly seek Eternity... or are you just afraid of ceasing to exist?"
"We do not follow the line of infinityâwe are the line. And anyone who wants to touch eternity must empty themselvesâof name, of voice, of desire."
"The one who endures remains. The one who desires collapses. And the one who understands... becomes silent."
As he continued preaching, golden auras began to surround all the pilgrims. They were completely immersed in the understanding of the Path of Eternity.
"This...?" Evangelin looked at Daniel in shockâbecause although he too was wrapped in a golden aura, his was much purer.
So pure that even her own aura, when she listened to her Masterâs sermons, never looked like this. It felt as if Eternity itself wanted to embrace him.
"What kind of monster is he? Could my Master really be right?" Her expression became a little unreadable, and no one knew what she was thinking.
At the same time, notifications started popping up in front of Daniel.
[ You have successfully understood a Supreme Law: the Law of Eternity ]
[ You have comprehended 1% of the Law of Eternity ]
[ You have comprehended 0.1 of the Law of Eternity ]
[ You have... ]
The more he listened to the Paragonâs sermon, the deeper his understanding became.
The entire sermon lasted two hours. When it ended, the Paragon stopped, took a glass of water from his attendant, and drank.
His eyes swept over the crowdâbut his main focus was on Daniel. It wasnât just Evangelin who had noticed him.
He too had seen the white-haired boy and the aura he gave off while listening to the sermon.
âWhere did this monster come from?â
Daniel slowly opened his eyes. The golden aura around him faded, and he rotated his neck a little.
"Why are you looking at me like that?" he noticed Evangelinâs strange stare.
"Itâs nothing... Looks like you managed to understand the Path of Eternity! Congratulations."
"Thanks," Daniel replied and turned his attention back to the notifications.
[ You have successfully comprehended 1.5% of the Law of Eternity ]
[ The Law of Eternity has been added to your Comprehension tab ]
His eyes lit up with excitement as he read the messages. Without wasting a second, he tried to activate the power of the Law of Eternity.
But the result was a total failure...
âFuck it, I totally forgot,â he frowned.