Part 1: Fate
Haruto could perfectly able to read that ancient book despite its blank appearance to others.
So Haruto immediately decided to took that unique book along with him.
He directly asked the owner of the library to buy the book from the collection.
And Haruto easily bought that book from the counter.
He paid exactly for 200 Reo to finalize the purchase.
All though it completely feels like a massive scam to any regular observer.
But as Haruto literally could read everything that was written inside, it's definitely not a scam for haruto at all.
Haruto then calmly came out of the the giant library building.
Then.
Haruto began to slowly walk through the crowded public streets of the city.
He saw many different shops lining the pathways.
There were colorful fruit shops.
Tidy clothes shops.
Loud bars.
Ordinary residential houses.
And many more everyday sights.
In the middle of his afternoon walk.
Haruto suddenly noticed a giant cathedral standing proudly among the buildings.
This holy place was also widely called the church of Fate by the locals.
Haruto look at the magnificent cathedral for some quiet moment from the street.
Then Haruto decided to visit the grand cathedral to explore its secrets.
Haruto then walks forward and stepped inside into the wide cathedral halls.
He immediately noticed many rows of wooden seats and a huge central hall.
And he also noticed a solitary priest standing near the altar.
Haruto goes over and sits in one of the empty wooden seats.
Haruto was quietly thinking about the mysterious lord of this specific church.
Then the elderly priest slowly comes walking straight at haruto.
"Who are you, young traveler?" the Priest asked curiously.
"I am completely new here in this kingdom, and this is my absolute first time stepping in this cathedral," Haruto says honestly.
"Oh, that's perfectly fine," the old man smiled.
"Do you know anything about the underlying Church of Fate things or about how our churchs operate across the world?" the Priest asked.
"Not actually quite a bit, to be completely honest," Haruto says.
"If you truly want to understand, I can easily tell you the history," the Priest says kindly.
"I have no problems listening to it at all," Haruto says, shifting in his seat.
"There are exactly 6 churches in total constructed across the vast land of tenzu," the Priest began.
"Each kingdom has exactly one primary church standing in its territory."
"Each individual church has their own separate divine lord."
"But every single church ultimately believes in one true god above all."
"And also, every single church's lord must fully obey the word of the true god."
"But to properly get the absolute authority of the true god."
"We absolutely need a local lord and a population that deeply believes him."
"And also, we simultaneously have to believe in the true god himself."
"And whenever we pray to our own lord God of fate, or any other regional lord, some specific lines always stays identical in every church prayers."
"That standard text is."
"Say, He is God, [who is] One."
"God, the Eternal Refuge."
"He neither begets nor is born, Nor is there to Him any equivalent."
"That is the main foundational lines that every single churchs uses for worship."
"And the next lines of the prayer changes as per the specific churches' attributes," the Priest says thoroughly.
"That's really nice to know," Haruto says, memorizing the holy text.
Then, a young girl suddenly entered the hall dressed in a striking uniform.
She wore a dark purple, floor-length cultist robe with a slight front split displaying a light grey or white inner lining.
A matching short, wide shoulder capelet rests over her upper body, beautifully detailed with a thin red trim running along the neckline.
The wide sleeves of the robe are accented near the wrists with thick red bands and ending in flared, ruffled coral-pink cuffs.
Simple white gloves perfectly cover her hands as she moved.
"Where exactly I would find my missing book, I completely forgot where I accidentally drop it last time," the young girl asked the priest in a hurried tone.
"I highly guess you leave it lying around in the training room," the Priest says gently.
"Thanks a lot for your help," the young girl told to the priest with a quick bow.
Then she quickly leaves the main room.
And she went straight going to the training room where she had previously dropped her book.
"Who exactly is she?" Haruto questioned.
"And why on earth she wear such a highly specific type of outfit?" Haruto asked.
"Oh, she."
"Her actual name is Rebecca."
"She is a dedicated Fate scholar," the Priest says proudly.
"What exactly is a scholar?" Haruto asked, deeply intrigued.
"Scholars are those highly trained individuals who fought bravely for the church, or you can basically say they are the church's official standing army."
"Usually, if a normal person wants to become a scholar."
"Then they could freely visit any church they want across the continent and can study there."
"After completing the long education, mastering fighting skills, and learning various complex rituals, they finally become an official Scholar."
"Scholars are considered the main combat power of the church."
"They contain multiple powerful rituals and secret techniques stored directly in their books."
"That's exactly why they are extremely powerful entities."
"And they could easily be dangerous for the safety of any sovereign kingdom."
"Scholars are universally called God's holy servant by the public."
"The rank of Scholar has exactly 4 distinct levels."
"1st is the Semi scholar, they are those who are still actively studying right now, but still they already have good combat power."
"The young girl you see just now is also a Semi scholar."
"2nd is the proper Scholar, they are the certified, proper scholar of the church."
"3rd is the senior scholar, if anyone continues to study even after achieving the scholar rank, then they successfully become the senior scholar."
"And if that specific senior scholar have good battlefield experience, high power, deep religious devotion, and leadership skills for a long time."
"Then it is officially promoted straight to the prestigious Priest position."
"And I was also a proud scholar of my time during my youth," the Priest says with a nostalgic smile.
"Oh, that's absolutely great to know."
"Thank you very much for your great kindness to tell me about the entire global church system," Haruto says respectfully.
"No problem at all, young man."
"I am right now very old in age."
"And my sole remaining work in this world is to bring everyone safely into the True god's path," the Priest says softly.
"That's very nice."
"I am planning on leaving the cathedral right after praying for a moment," Haruto says.
"Okay, as you wish," the Priest says, bowing his head slightly.
Haruto was deeply thinking in his mind to connect himself with at least one church faction.
As a terrifying, evil entity is actively haunting him day and night, haruto fully knows the danger he is in.
So if the supreme true god and the powerful God of fate, who strictly obeyed that true god, could shelter him.
Then it would be significantly better for haruto to control his unstable situation.
And also, he hoped it might can help haruto to completely escape the Dark forest curse that he is currently facing.
Then he slowly stands up from his wooden seat.
He goes straight Infront of the altar.
Then he makes his hand join together as a traditional prayer pose.
Then Haruto loudly chants the words exactly as they were written Infront of him.
"Say, He is God, [who is] One."
"God, the Eternal Refuge."
"He neither begets nor is born, Nor is there to Him any equivalent."
"Who is standing high above the mortal destiny."
"The great lord of Fate who whispers secrets in people's Destiny."
"And clearly shows them their ultimate eternity."
Haruto slowly chants the final line of the prayer.
Then suddenly.
Haruto's consciousness was violently yanked away, and he saw some horrifying, apocalyptic glimpses.
He saw a massive town which is completely burning in wild flames.
And absolutely everyone in the area is dying a painful death while burning alive.
Some helpless people was crying out loud in agony.
And some terrified citizens was running around frantically trying to find an escape.
High above the destruction, Haruto saw a mysterious person dressed in a pure white cloak.
The figure was silently flying on the sky, looking down like a merciless god.
Then.
Suddenly.
In the real physical world.
Haruto's actual face started to literally melt off his skull.
His flesh and skin melts rapidly and drops heavily on the stone ground.
His entire physical body was completely melting down at an alarming rate.
Crimson blood rapidly flows through his body from the immense internal pressure.
From deep inside.
His vital organs started to violently bust and rupture one after another.
And haruto started to see everything around him turn completely blur and dark.
His own stomach starting to rapidly digest itself and consume haruto's own internal organs.
And haruto was absolutely gonna die right then and there on the cathedral floor.
But in the very next second.
A brilliant, blinding light of beam lands directly on haruto from above.
And the intense shock caused haruto to completely fainted there on the cold stones.
The old priest quickly comes running there to his side in total shock.
And he immediately realised that something unprecedented had occurred.
"Something absolutely monstrous happens with this young man's body."
"He was actively dying a horrific death right before my eyes."
"He was destroying completely from inside out."
"But before the destruction was complete, as he sincerely chants to the lord of Fate."
"The benevolent Lord of Fate personally intervened and saves this young man's life."
"But what exactly did this young man just saw inside his mind to trigger such a divine wrath?" the Priest says, staring in utter terror.