The whirlwind carried pale dust and smoke, and gradually disappeared from Duncan's sight.
Agatha left.
"I always feel... she has changed a lot compared to before," Fanna didn't break the silence until the last ray of gray wind disappeared into the air, "especially the last words she said - they are absolutely nothing like
It's the former 'gatekeepers' who would say it."
"Experiences will change a person, especially everything she has experienced," Duncan said lightly, "On the other hand, the role she now assumes is no longer just a 'gatekeeper', which is destined to make her
changed."
Fanna was a little curious: "You don't seem worried?"
"Because she has not wavered - people who are fully enlightened will become more determined," Duncan said casually. "She is rational and will not embark on any paranoid or even wrong path just because of the pressure of the city-state's survival. Her last few words
The words may not be so pious, but at least they are sober.”
Vanna didn't respond for a while, but Duncan turned his head and looked at the young judge thoughtfully: "It's not Agatha you're worried about, right?"
"...My faith does not allow me to lie." After a short silence, Vanna finally sighed softly, "Yes, I am worried about my own condition. From Agatha, I see the same wavering of faith.
, the self whose words and deeds are apostate.”
Duncan didn't speak, just waited quietly for the other party to continue speaking.
"...I once thought that all I needed to do was to maintain firm faith and an unflinching fighting spirit to solve all problems head-on. God has determined the order in which the world operates, and we are just like gears, operating within the framework with peace of mind. But the fact is
Yes... order is as fragile as foam in the sea. Simple faith and fighting spirit cannot save our city-state. Our long-established understanding of the world is being tested...
"The 'sun' is not eternal. The 'boiling gold' that supports the development of modern civilization may be the product of ancient gods. Gods cannot always protect city-states. Under the deep sea is an unknown darkness that cannot be described or explained by any religious classics.
——Your appearance has overturned my understanding of subspace in the past twenty years."
"The last one, I suggest you still have reservations - the other ones you said are quite good," Duncan shook his head and said slowly, "Human beings' understanding of the world is one-sided.
From the beginning, we should not think that there is a set of simple and eternal 'logic' that can roughly explain everything in the world. Perhaps this simple and eternal 'truth' itself exists, but it is by no means what humans at this stage can do.
If we understand something, then on this basis, 'subversion of the worldview' should be an indispensable part of the progress of civilization."
Listening to Duncan's words, Vanna subconsciously fell into thinking. Her expression gradually became complicated, and after a moment she spoke as if talking to herself: "Then where are the gods?"
"I don't know, because I haven't dealt with them directly. I may have seen them from a distance, but that's not enough for me to make a conclusion about them," Duncan said frankly, "but I admit two things.
, First, the Four Gods do exist in this world, at least as objective individuals. Second... they have protected and guided the civilized world to a certain extent until now.
"
The look on Fanna's face was a bit astonished for a moment, because in her more than 20 years of life, this was the first time she heard someone use this kind of method that did not contain any good, evil or awe, just like appraising objects.
Evaluating the four gods - this evaluation method has no awe and can be called arrogance. However, when a being who returned from the subspace spoke them out, Vanna only felt...
These words are cold and precise, like some kind of ruler to measure the world.
At this moment, Duncan's voice interrupted Vanna's thoughts: "Fanna, don't think too much, you still believe in Gemona, don't you?"
"Yes, my beliefs are the same." Vanna said immediately.
"Yes, your beliefs remain the same, and Agatha still believes in Bartok - and your respective gods have not abandoned you because of changes in your thoughts, and their blessings remain the same. This shows that your thinking at the moment is not the same.
There is no deviation from them," Duncan said seriously. "Thinking does not necessarily lead to heresy, and the same goes for questioning. After thinking and questioning, you still choose to believe. This is the true believer——
"Maintain appropriate and healthy beliefs, and at the same time maintain appropriate and healthy doubts, try to understand the world, accept that it is not the same as you imagined, accept the narrowness and bias in your own knowledge, accept your own wavering - say something
To be honest, Gemona can accept you praying to Him on the Lost Home, what else can't you accept?"
Fanna was startled, but then she subconsciously raised her head and looked in the direction of the upper city, towards the silent great church at the highest point of the frost.
Agatha must have returned to the temple through the "Grey Wind" at this moment - she will return to her prayer room, and then continue to think about the cooperation with the "Shadow of Warp" in front of Bartok's icon
Will she continue to think about the future of the city-state and come to the conclusion that "it is heresy to hinder survival, and everything else is allowed"?
After a long time, she withdrew her gaze from the distance and murmured to herself: "...The Lord doesn't care?"
"I don't know, but if it were me, I wouldn't care," Duncan shrugged, "And judging from the current signs, the God of Death and the Goddess of Storms really don't care - what they care about may be something else.
"
Vanna was lost in thought, while Morris, who had never spoken at the side, couldn't help but sighed softly: "I didn't expect that you have such profound thoughts in the field of faith... I thought you were not interested in these things."
"How come, I have always been interested in theories that try to explain the world," Duncan said with a very serious expression. "For example, now, I am going to learn about another 'belief' that tries to explain the world."
Seeing the confused looks on Vanna and Maurice's faces (except for Alice, she didn't understand), Duncan smiled: "You don't have to worry about things in the city-state for the time being. It's almost time to read the 'Book of Blasphemy'
Book'd."
…
Shirley fell asleep - when she was writing the fourth oral arithmetic question card.
The sound of the chain shaking slightly resounded in the cabin. Agou carefully held the black chain next to it with one paw. While standing up, he held the blanket in his mouth and draped it over Shirley, and then used the other paw to pull it at will.
Tap the oral arithmetic cards on the table several times to prevent them from getting wet with Shirley's saliva.
While tidying up, Agou glanced at the cards filled with simple addition, subtraction, multiplication and division, and paused slightly: "... Most of them are still correct?"
It whispered in surprise and turned its head subconsciously, only to see Shirley adjusting her lying posture in her sleep, mumbling something in her sleep, and a thin line of shiny saliva dripping from the corner of her mouth.
"...Let's just consider it serious."
Agou shook his head and lay down again. Then he calmed down, seemed to hesitate, weighed it up, then stretched out his paws and pulled one of his own books from the pile on the floor.
The cover of the book is unremarkable, it is just a paperback textbook that can be purchased from any city-state, with the words "Algebraic Calculation" printed on it.
Agou lowered his head, and the dim light flickered in the blood-red eyes. He quietly stared at the book in front of his paws, and after a long time, he slowly opened its cover.
But then, it suddenly raised its head and quickly looked around the room.
Everything was normal on the bookshelves stacked with books. There was peace in the dark corner of the room. Sunlight was shining into the room through the window, and the sound of the waves coming from the window was soft and soothing.
"...Okay, the environment is safe, interference factors are eliminated, the type of book is still mathematics...try again...the third test."
Agou muttered, finally lowered his head, and began to read the contents of the book with concentration.
Understand those formulas, memorize those symbols, deduce those numbers, and try to understand how the world works based on the knowledge and wisdom of the past.
This was difficult at first, because there were always some distracting thoughts and concerns about the surrounding environment that would interfere with the thinking process, but soon, Agou's thoughts calmed down - as usual, mathematics can always help him concentrate and make him think.
Immerse yourself in thinking.
Symbols and numbers were combined in his mind, and his understanding of the world gradually enriched his mind. Agou concentrated on learning. Gradually, he felt that something seemed to appear in his mind...
Study companion.
Someone is reading along with it;
Who is thinking with it;
There is a being observing here curiously, a glance without good or evil.
Agou tilted his head.
Under the pure white book paper, in the gaps between the words, in the city of knowledge outlined by symbols and lines, a red light source is surrounded by countless flickering, matrix-like light spots, staring at it like eyes.
Agou was stunned.
It also stared at the red light.
It couldn't help but stare at the red light.
It even felt like it was moving forward - actively approaching the matrix of flashing light spots.
However, this feeling only appeared for a moment.
The next second, a sudden force from the symbiosis chain "pulled" it back, allowing it to break away from the illusion of being attracted.
"Fuck..."
Agou immediately let out a cry of surprise and woke up from the brief illusion. The next second, he instinctively looked at the dark chain around his neck.
At the last moment, it was the power from the chain that pulled it back - obviously, it was Shirley who pulled it back.
However, the chain still fell loosely on the ground, not tightened at all.
On the other end of the chain was Shirley, who was still sleeping on the table.