In front of him was a massive lake.
The lake was incredibly wide and unfathomably deep.
However, different from normal lakes, this lake was filled with a holy light.
He could occasionally see golden fish leap up above the water, and combined with the beautiful Fairies playing about, this created a beautiful scene.
It was like he was in a fairy wonderland.
At the center of the lake, there was a golden tree, with golden fruits growing on it.
The fruits were golden and had mysterious markings on them, making them seem quite profound.
"This… This is…"
Seeing this scene, the middle-aged Father was dumbfounded.
Looking at this scene, he felt a sense of familiarity.
"A golden tree, Fairies, and a lake…"
Standing there, he seemed to think of something and his heart thumped.
Thinking to there, he looked below the golden tree.
A figure was standing there, facing away from him and looking at the golden tree, muttering to themselves.
"The Holy Mother!"
The middle-aged Father finally realized something.
Wasn't this the Holy Mother's Golden Park from the legends?
In other words, this was the legendary holy realm.
In that case, the person below the golden tree…
Thinking to there, the middle-aged Father's heart leapt as he quickly headed forwards.
As if the wonderland sensed his thoughts, a formless bridge appeared above the lake.
On the lake, golden light flashed, looking eye-catching and beautiful.
The middle-aged Father was filled with reverence as he slowly walked across the bridge.
As he moved, waves of information appeared in his mind. Those were all stories of the past, such as epics of how the Holy Mother had saved the world.
Walking on the golden bridge and sensing that information in his mind, the middle-aged Father's eyes became teary, and he could not help but sob, feeling incredibly moved.
"Almighty and merciful Holy Mother…" he muttered as he began to move faster.
The figure seemed to sense his approach and slowly turned, looking towards the golden bridge.
Following this, the figure's appearance was revealed.
As the middle-aged Father looked on, it was a boy.
The boy was about 15 or 16 years old, but his features were astonishingly handsome and charming.
He wore a pure white robe, which was covered with inscriptions. He gave off a holy and dignified aura that no one would be able to forget.
What could not be missed was his pupils, which were a golden color, looking like those of a god's.
"Holy Mother…"
Looking at the boy, the middle-aged Father paused and stared in shock.
According to the legends, the one who should have appeared under the golden tree should have been the Holy Mother.
However, the Holy Mother should be a woman, not a boy.
The boy's looks were peerless, and while his appearance was somewhat similar to the Holy Mother's, it was also quite different.
The middle-aged Father felt quite confused but felt that it was explainable.
After all, the statues were created by mortals, and after such a long time, it was to be expected that the design of the statues had deviated from their original appearance.
But what was going on with this boy?
The Holy Mother of the legends should be a woman.
"Could it be that in order to make change in this age, the Holy Mother has chosen to come as a boy?"
The Father thought to himself, "To the mighty Holy Mother, gender is but a mere thought."
Indeed, to the Holy Mother of the legends, if she wanted to become a male, it was something she could achieve with a single thought; it was not a big deal at all.
Moreover, in the legends of the Holy Mother church, there was indeed a story about the Holy Mother turning into a young man and saving the world.
In that legend, the Holy Mother had turned into a kingdom's prince and saved that kingdom.
It seemed that this scene perhaps represented that.
At that moment, the middle-aged Father thought of many things, and his expression became passionate.
A wave of holy energy covered his body, and in that moment, he felt that his soul had become incredibly pure as if it had fused with the holy realm.
This feeling was amazing, and he wished that it would go on forever.
It was just that ahead, the boy stood there, looking at him with a faint smile.
"You should be going back now," a soft and gentle voice sounded out.
Following this, the middle-aged Father was shocked to his senses.
As the boy spoke, the surroundings started to go through changes.
Ahead, the golden tree gave off resplendent light, covering his body and pushing him out of this place.
In the surroundings, many scenes appeared, and the Father hazily watched on.
There was the prince fighting in battles…
The descent of the Holy Mother, tears of blood…
As well as a boy standing below a golden tree, a look of worry on his face.
The scenes all matched up with the things recorded in the epics.
"No!" the middle-aged Father was startled awake and cried out.
However, he soon realized that he was no longer in the holy realm but in his room.
He had already departed from that place and returned to the real world.
Realizing this, he felt quite dispirited and sat on his bed for a long time before getting up and looking out a window.
Through the window, he could see people hurrying about, illuminated by the lights.
It was already very late.
"Was it just a dream?" the middle-aged Father thought to himself.
That scene was still in his mind, and it felt incredibly realistic.
For it to just be a dream, that did not seem very likely.
The middle-aged Father could clearly sense that that scene was different from a dream.
The boy's appearance still lingered in his mind.
If that really was a dream, it would be too strange.
Or could it be…
"Magnificent Holy Mother…"
He stood there with a reverent look, "Is this your will?"
If it wasn't the magnificent Holy Mother's will, how could he experience what he had just experienced?
It was just that…
What was the Holy Mother trying to tell him through that?
Standing there, he thought for a long time before suddenly turning and walking out.
He moved very quickly; his destination was the church that he worked at every day.
For Fathers, churches were their place of belonging. It was where they worked but also where they dedicated their everything.
As such, he lived quite close to the church and soon reached it.
However, what surprised him was that when he reached the church, the doors were not closed.
"Is there still someone inside?" he thought to himself as he walked into the main hall.
The hall was very big and beautifully decorated.
Of course, the most important thing was that statue.
The statue was massive, and it was of the Holy Mother.
In the past, the Father had done many sermons under the statue.
However, the feeling he got this time was different.
Normally, he would stand in front of the statue, giving sermons.
However, right now, there was no one giving a sermon.
He sat down at one of the pews like a congregant.
He did not know if it was just him, but the feeling he felt was quite different from usual.
He had seen this church many times now.
He had grown up here and was incredibly familiar with everything.
However, today, he felt a sense of unfamiliarity as if something was different.
A golden light flashed before his eyes.
"This is…"
Sensing this golden light, the Father rubbed his eyes and was stunned because he saw something unusual.
On the statue, golden light was flashing.
A holy energy appeared as mysterious runes covered the surroundings, causing the entire church to seem incredibly holy and bright.
This energy was incredibly holy, and it could cause people to feel extremely pure, bringing them a sense of peace.
However, to the Father, this felt exactly the same as the energy he experienced in his dream.
"This isn't a dream…"
Hot tears filled his eyes, and his expression was extremely excited. He did not know what to say to express his emotions.
"Merciful Holy Mother… you've once again awakened and shown your light to your believers…" his expression was incredibly excited as he instinctively mumbled.
In that moment, he felt incredibly passionate.
This lasted for a while.
Behind him, sounds rang out; they sounded like footsteps.
Hearing those sounds, the Father came back to his senses and looked back.
There, a figure slowly walked over.
It was a boy.
The boy was about 15 or 16 years old, and he wore a black robe.
Looking at the boy, the Father let out a breath.
"It's this late and you're still here?" he looked at the boy as he asked.
"I talked to Sister Fang and the others."
Hearing the middle-aged Father's words, the boy smiled and said, "The church needs someone to stay over to look after it, and I don't have much to do these days so I decided to do it."
"Is that so…" the Father nodded and came to an understanding.
"Father… Why did you come so late?"
The boy looked at the Father with a look of confusion.
"I…"
The Father opened his mouth, trying to explain. However, he stopped and said, "I had some matters that I wanted to check up on."
The boy looked at the Father and did not continue to ask and just nodded.
Following this, he silently walked to the side and continued to light candles.
This was part of his duties.
"Do you think… the Holy Mother really exists?"
Standing there and looking at the boy, the middle-aged Father hesitated for a moment before suddenly asking.
Hearing this, the boy paused.
"I believe that the Holy Mother has always existed…"
He turned and looked at the Father as he said seriously, "And she is always by our side."
"Really?"
Hearing the boy's answer, the Father felt quite surprised, "Why do you think that?"
"Because of faith," the boy smiled and said softly, "There are some things that cannot be seen by the human eyes or sensed, but they indeed exist.
"Due to the divide between humans and gods, we can never sense the existence of the Holy Mother, but she indeed exists and continuously affects us.
"Humanity's faith is a kind of power.
"Perhaps, to most people in this world, the so-called Holy Mother is just a story…"
"But…"
The young man paused before speaking again, a smile on his face, "To me, as long as I'm alive, and there are others who believe in the Holy Mother, the Holy Mother exists.
"When I exist, she exists with me; when I perish, she will perish with me…
"That is faith…"
His gentle voice sounded out, but it was filled with determination and sounded quite infectious.
Standing there and listening to the young man's words, the middle-aged Father could not help but look at him with admiration.
The young man's words were not too complicated.
But the faith and determination he revealed was what truly surprised him.
A person with such faith was no ordinary person.
"You…"
Just as he was about to say something, he stopped, feeling stunned.
This was because faint light began to shine from the young man's body.
This light was warm and pure, and the Father could feel that it was exactly the same as the light he had felt from the statue…