Chapter 152 (1): Gates of Heaven - Whose Sub-Account is It?
See that? They insist on treating me. I didn’t force them.
Wayne placed his hand on the Sacred Tome of Golden Law. Fine. If they didn’t buy him when he said that he wasn’t an angel, he would relent and have this meal!
The moment his fingertip touched the tome, the sacred power of holy light streamed into his body through his arms. The glow surged all of a sudden, shrouding him completely.
Gunther’s vision became drowned out by white, the intense holy light forcing him to shut his eyes. An invisible force rippled out, pushing him to the side. Atori and Mona had to take his arms to steady him. The three of them looked on with bated breath.
The holy light descended! Sacred, pure, and eternal!
They sensed the presence of God in the warm light, as if they were receiving His blessings and guidance, their faith reaffirmed and their courage bolstered.
Mona gulped, her heart racing and her eyes reflecting the holy light. She said in a trembling voice, “It’s him, Archbishop, isn’t he?”
“Quiet,” Gunther chided softly, worried that speaking a little louder would disturb the conversation between Wayne and the Sacred Tome of Golden Law. They couldn’t yet confirm if Wayne was the right person since his stigmata hadn’t emerged, but judging by what was happening, the chance that they had found the right person was high.
The Sacred Tome of Golden Law served as the channel of communication between the Church of Heavenly Father and heaven, compiled by the angels who controlled the Golden Law. It was a sacred artifact passed down through generations. Holding it would not only allow for communication with heaven, but also the summoning of angels to the human world.
Due to its importance, it often became the target of demons. Thus, it was important to choose the right person to hold the tome, and the church and heaven had each applied a seal to it.
The church went through a long process to make the selection. Every holder of the Sacred Tome of Golden Law was the top leader of a diocese. Their faiths had been tested by time, so they were all powerful in their own right, reaching Gold rank or above. Gunther, for example, had earned the right to hold the tome after many trials.
The tome was essentially a letter of introduction, allowing his thoughts to enter the gates of heaven. He could form a long-term partnership with one of the angels at heaven’s HR department, figuratively. Provided that he was powerful enough with a pure enough holy light, many angels passing by would respond to his call and volunteer to be his partner.
The seal applied by heaven was personally implemented by an angel, with an even stricter limit. If anyone tried to use the Sacred Tome of Golden Law without pure holy light and sanction from the church, they would be considered a demon and trigger the automatic defense mechanism. The resulting surge of holy light would knock them away. If they tried to force their control, the defense mechanism would push harder, swiftly killing them.
That ensured that no one could pretend to be an angel and trespass into heaven, but at the same time, it also made it incredibly difficult to find reincarnated angels.
Reincarnated angels didn’t have memories of heaven, so the church would have to seek them out. Finding the needles in a haystack was one thing. The bigger problem was the defense mechanism that would critically injure anyone who wasn’t an angel or even kill them.
The Church of Heavenly Father was on the side of justice. They couldn’t possibly grab people off the street randomly and conduct tests on them. Such barbarian and irresponsible actions would be no different from locking up anyone suspected of being a witch in a basement for interrogation before burning them alive[1].
Absolutely unacceptable!
That was why Gunther complained about angels’ reincarnation being too much of a hassle, and why the Pope was losing his hair.
Anyhow, Wayne wasn’t blown up by the sudden surge of holy light. He only staggered slightly as the Book of Greed feasted on the light. A partnership with the Church of Heavenly Father would ensure a long-term supply!
The defense mechanism increased its output. There was so much holy light that it overflowed, misleading Gunther completely. He had no way of knowing Wayne’s cheat, so he happily assumed that Wayne was who they were looking for.
With the great amount of holy light the Book of Greed acquired, Wayne felt hot all over. The overflowing holy light in his body had no release, so as it accumulated, it threatened to manifest as blazing sacred flames.
The Book of Greed was a picky eater. It wouldn’t eat something it had tasted and never touched scraps. After tasting the holy light, it refused to have a second bite, no matter how delicious it was.
The heat was becoming unbearable. To make himself feel better, Wayne had to move the gaze of the Book of Greed to convert his mana into holy light. That turned the heat into a comfortable warmth.
He had encountered the reincarnation altar of the Lord of Pride, on which the Golden Law was inscribed. Thus, he could easily pretend to be a member of the Church of Heavenly Father. The defense mechanism of the sacred tome halted, opening a brilliant door for him.
Actually, it wasn’t so much a door but two towering, magnificent pillars etched with countless mysterious patterns. Pure light poured out of the gateway, giving Wayne a sense of serenity he could not describe with words other than to say that it felt like his soul was ascending. The Book of Greed couldn’t wait, eager to rush over. Wayne had to slap it into submission.
I haven’t even gone in. Why are you rushing already? Line up!
He got greedy. The moment the gates of heaven appeared, his thoughts projected to the entrance. After 0.25 seconds of hesitation, he carefully looked inside. His thoughts were suddenly yanked in, shaping his form without his control. He transformed into a pale body with no facial features, his chest split into a large single eye, sharing all the physical traits of his transformed appearance when merged with the Book of Greed.
Inside, a mysterious light spread across the sky, casting the entire world in its holy radiance. Deep inside the clouds were white palaces of different sizes. The bridges were rainbows, and waterfalls of silver light flowed. Every now and then, the howlings of dragons could be heard from the sea of rolling clouds.
The incredible sight unfolded before Wayne, awe-inspiring in its mystery and grandeur.
Flutter—
Rays of light descended with winged angels manifesting vaguely within, their faces too blurry for one to make out any features but the glint of wisdom in their eyes. It contained gentleness, kindness, hope, and dreams, as well as a wish for the world’s eternal peace. Things were suddenly elevated to a different height!
Wayne wasn’t one for such lofty aspirations, and he suspected that the angels were putting on a noble act to fool an honest man like him.
The eyeball in his chest blinked, turning off the beautifying filter. The angels suddenly transformed. While they still had wings, and their wings were enlarged dramatically by proportion, the other parts of their bodies had completely transformed into various shapes. Everything Wayne could imagine, the angels embodied.
Some retained human features, some resembled animals, some were black, shriveled bodies, some had sinister-looking horns, and some were strange geometric shapes. More numerous were the combinations of different things.
They were so far from being humanlike that they shouldn’t even be talked about in the same conversation as humans. Given their hideous, horrific, and eerie appearance, their holy light didn’t make them seem merciful and sympathetic, and would instead make onlookers run away screaming.
Wayne’s thoughts reshaped his form. His six fleshy wings unfurled, and his limbs and head disappeared, leaving only the torso with an eye and tentacles writhing behind his back. The angels looked over curiously. He smelled of the Golden Law, so he had to be one of their own.
Whose sub-account is it? Why do this again?
Why are you looking at me? I’m not that bored.
I dunno!
More and more angels gathered and watched. Wayne extended his writhing tentacles, scaring the angels away.
The tentacles swung around and collected the sacred light for consumption. The angels gathered their heads and discussed the matter, and then one of them flapped their wings to throw Wayne out of heaven.
Why was he pretending to be a newbie? Log in to his main account before coming here!
1. A sarcastic reference to the witch hunting rampant in medieval Europe. ☜