"Hey, Fatty. You're finally here! You didn't come here yesterday. I thought you were sick!"
As soon as he entered the church, he met Father Cillian. Fatty had always believed that the Morris Church could be developed. Father Cillian was indispensable. This fat Father had a connate amiability. His simple smile and the funny glasses hanging on his nose made people feel good about him.
Especially the middle-aged women living in the community… It seemed that every time they came to church, it was not because they believed in God very much. Fatty believed that all of them came to find Cillian and ease their loneliness…
In fact, the area that Fatty and the others lived in was very big. It was said that there was a total of 6,000 households. Due to this population, the Morris Church was not the only church in this area. There was also a Buddhist temple not far away from the west side of the church. North of the church was also a local Daoist temple with considerably high popularity.
Compared to the Morris Church, they were slightly inadequate.
This was not blind worship. People's beliefs were just more disorderly. Some of them believed in Buddhism, some of them believed in Daoism, while some of them believed in God. There were also believers that worshipped all three of them. People worshipped any God. Therefore, regardless of their religious culture, there was a market for it in the area. Of course, this market targeted those who believed, which excluded Atheists.
Since there was a market, there would definitely be competition. In fact, competition had always existed in the church. However, the means of competition were different based on the period.
This was because, under the control of Father Cillian, the Morris Church was far more competitive than the other two religious buildings. The concise and bright architectural style of the church aside, Father Cillian had even gotten rid of the traditions. For example, in this Protestant church, a confession room had been set up that was only available in Catholic churches, which was also known as the little black room that was often seen in movies. This allowed people to go in and confess their sins.
Cillian set an example, so no matter where he was, he had to follow the customs and respond to the locals' thoughts beneficially to attract more believers.
Because of people's thoughts and God worship, the humanized design could keep a hold on the group of believers. Thanks to the control exerted by Cillian, the church developed very well. Thus, Fatty had always admired him and treated this Father, who was also a fatty like him, as an idol.
Fatty greeted Cillian, apologized for being late, and found an excuse to explain why he hadn't come to work the day before. However, Cillian did not blame him. After he pulled Fatty and guided him on where to clean, he left with a smile. Fatty guessed that he most likely knew that he had been playing games yesterday and hadn't turned up for work. After all, thanks to the overwhelming advertisement of the beta opening of the Chaotic Era, it was hard not to know about it.
Since he didn't bring it up, that meant that he thought that it was not a big deal.
Among the priests of the church, only the division of work was different. There was no difference in their status, so almost everyone cleaned up the church, including Father Cillian.
Fatty picked up the cleaning tools and started cleaning up with everyone. Although robots were now custom-made for cleaning thanks to the growth of technology, they were not allowed to be used in the church because that would be disrespecting the Lord. Hence, these cleaning tasks were still done manually.
Even though Fatty had come to work, there was nothing much that needed to be done. Cillian was a very open-minded person. If nothing was going on in the church, young people like Fatty would not need to come to work. He also knew that it was impossible to hope that young people would have a deep belief. With the development of science and technology, Atheism had already taken root in the hearts of the younger generation. Many people went to church for Mass and visited the temple to burn incense and pray to the Buddha, not because they revered the Gods, but because they believed it was fashionable!
Even if they really did join the church as clerics, they were more inclined to find a job.
Cillian, who was fully aware of this, would not demand that a young man like Fatty become an orthodox cleric. This was what had left the deepest impression on Fatty during these four years. This old man was simply too open-minded!
Therefore, even though Fatty had not turned up for work in a few days because he had been preparing for the beta opening of the Chaotic Era and ordered some devices for that, Cillian didn't say anything. This was why Fatty had been staying in the church and hadn't become a monk at the temple or a Daoist priest at the Daoist temple. When one had a boss who was easy to talk to, who would want to change careers?
Besides preaching and assisting the deacon with problems, Fatty's pastor job also included the basic sacraments of the church: weddings, communions, and baptisms. He usually didn't do much apart from being involved in a wedding or something else in the church. Furthermore, Cillian could deal with mass prayers alone, so this was a rather simple job.
In the past, Fatty might have found an excuse to slip away after cleaning up. However, he didn't do that today.
He walked to the preaching platform and stared blankly at the cross above it. He didn't speak a word, nor did he move.
Cillian believed that Fatty had not really believed in God at first. He had always insisted that if God truly existed in the world, his parents wouldn't have left him forever.
It was such a strange theory, right? Since he didn't believe in God, why had he chosen to get a degree in theology and become a cleric?
Actually, this was not hard to explain, as Fatty was conflicted deep down. On one hand, he hadn't believed in God ever since his parents had left him. On the other hand, because he missed his parents, he had chosen a career close to God because he imagined that he would see his parents again.
If this time travel had not allowed him to travel four years back, he might have left indignantly one day or even spent his whole life in the church.
Now that he was here, he felt a great power watching over him. Otherwise, how could such bizarre things be explained?
Hence, as he stood in front of the cross, Fatty began to wonder whether there were really Gods in the world…
If Gods did exist, why had he been chosen? Why hadn't he traveled back to the time before his parents had passed away, but had instead traveled to the time when he had graduated from the seminary? Were all of these things hinting at something? What did it, or maybe he, want him to do?
Since he was lost deep in thought, he didn't know that a pair of eyes were looking at him from behind. It was Cillian.
"Having doubts?"
Fatty had no clue despite thinking, yet he heard Father Cillian's voice behind him.
"What?" Fatty, who didn't understand, subconsciously asked.
"Hey, Fatty. I remember that thinking like a wise man isn't your style!" Cillian said with a smile. He walked over to pat Fatty's shoulder as he teased him.
After a moment, Fatty sensed that the fat Father, who would be very close to him four years later, had appeared.
"I've taken a look at your resume!" Cillian did not give Fatty a chance to speak. Instead, he said with a smile, "I know that you are different from the other young people who have joined the church for work. You chose to study theology at university because your parents passed away. Therefore, you came here to become a cleric. Am I right?"
"Yes!" Fatty nodded his head, as that was a fact.
"You are now having doubts and believe that it was cruel of the Lord to take your parents from you. You are skeptical and furious. Isn't that so?" Cillian asked.
This time, Fatty did not utter a word.
"Listen to me, kid!" Cillian did not make things difficult for Fatty, nor did he demand an answer. He instead said sincerely, "Do you know that beliefs take some time to settle and accumulate? Many people I know, or rather many people I have met, were also Atheists when they were young. In fact, as they grew older and gained more knowledge, their viewpoint would change bit by bit. When they grew old, they would become devout believers. Do you know why?"
Fatty shook his head in confusion.
"That's because faith is actually a kind of spiritual sustenance!" Cillian said, "Nobody can prove whether Gods exist. That is not the point. People themselves are the point. There are many kinds of turmoil in the world. After you experience a lot, it will have an impact on your worldview and values. Just like the death of your parents, you will feel that everything that supports you has collapsed. If you continue to be in such a mental state, I'm afraid that it won't take long before you lose yourself… Thus, you need spiritual sustenance that will support you again. This sustenance is faith!"
"Although I don't know what happened to you that made you look so full of worry, I want to tell you that you should find your spiritual sustenance!" Cillian smiled and said, "I'm not saying this to make you have faith in the Lord but to tell you that you should live happily and strive to pursue what you want. I believe this is what your parents are most eager to see in Heaven."
Fatty looked up at Cillian, his gaze appearing somewhat radiant.
Upon seeing this, Cillian suddenly smiled slightly and said, "When I looked at your resume in the past, I saw a comment made by your orphanage teacher: Although he sometimes likes to play pranks, Tang Ji is also an optimistic, hardworking child. Did you know about this comment?"
Of course, Fatty remembered that when he had lived in the orphanage, he had been a troublemaker. However, the teacher of the orphanage at the time had been a good old man who had always worried about him…
At the thought of this teacher, Fatty couldn't help but smile.
Why was he thinking so much? He should play his favorite game and do what he wanted to do the most. A great mysterious power had brought him back four years ago. Who would dare to say that this wasn't supposed to help him fulfill his dream of becoming an expert in the game?
Perhaps, his parents might have seen his previous self, who had been feeling lost and grief-stricken, struggling in the game and had in dismay prayed to that great power for another chance?
Even if his head burst from thought, he would not understand that power, so why not cherish this hard-won opportunity?
Upon seeing the frivolous smile on Fatty's face finally come back, Cillian couldn't help but chuckle. He patted his shoulder before he said, "Okay, don't go back in a hurry. A beautiful woman just brought her child over and wants to sign up for the church choir. Go receive her. I know that you didn't become a Daoist priest because there are more young and pretty women at the church!"
"He he… You know me the best!" Fatty smiled smugly. The old man was truly a friend!
As he eagerly ran to the reception room, Fatty pushed open the door, feeling full of expectations.
He was a straight man, so it was normal that he liked looking at pretty women. Because the Morris Church was well-known in the community and the surrounding area, many pretty young women loved coming to this church. Hence, Fatty could always feast on them with his eyes.
Before pushing the door open this time, Fatty was imagining what this pretty woman, whom Cillian had called beautiful, looked like. However, after pushing the door open, he was dumbfounded.
Wasn't this chick the legendary unjust ghost who specialized in pestering him? How come he saw her everywhere he went?
That was right. The person sitting in the reception room was actually Luo Moling!
Upon seeing this eccentric neighbor of hers, Luo Moling widened her eyes in shock. She couldn't help but call out Fatty's name.
"You… You… You're a priest here?"