Al stood still, overwhelmed by the revelation. Every Logos citizen had pondered this question.
But he had never imagined the answer would be so astounding, so seamlessly fitting.
Al looked up at the light breaking through the clouds.
The figure he had seen before descended from the light onto the mountaintop.
He felt an unmatched shock encompassing his whole being.
The figure slowly approached. Al, trembling and ready to collapse, relaxed completely after receiving the answer, unable to support himself any longer and fell to the ground.
"Al, of the Logos people."
The Main Priest trembled, hearing this voice; he longed to rise from the ground, to not be so undignified.
The figure reached Al, extended a hand, and the snow atop the mountain instantly melted into clear, clean water.
Al watched, dumbstruck, as the figure scooped up the water, lifted his shoulders with one hand, and washed his face.
It was like a gentle commendation, like a father caring for his child, and like a kind of love... indescribable.
The hand brushed his face, and all prior wounds and dust disappeared in an instant.
Al was stunned; a new strength surged through his limbs.
He slowly rose from the ground, staring at the figure.
A vibrant vigor burst from Al's lean body.
At the journey's start, he had misjudged the mountaineering's peril and hardship, but now, he realized, death too had miscalculated.
He had reached the mountaintop and met the being that bestowed language.
"Why must we die..."
Al murmured, having received the answer,
"Because our spirits need to come alive."
"This is the answer you sought," the being said.
Al lifted his face, looking at Him, and asked with a trembling voice,
"Why… why don't you appear directly to us? So many on earth desire... desire this answer."
The being's voice was forgiving and gentle,
"Because the answer cannot be given; it must be realized by yourselves."
Al listened, struck by these words.
At that moment, Al belatedly realized,
Rationality lies in realization.
If the answer were to fall from the sky, rationality would no longer cling to realization.
At that point, rationality would die.
Countless thoughts sprang from Al's mind, nearly toppling him, tears of intellectual joy streaming from his eyes.
It began with quiet sobs, then gradually turned into loud lament, and finally, uncontrollable weeping.
It seemed that in front of that figure, no matter how weak someone was, he would receive immense absolution.
After a long while, Al finally stopped, slowly wiping the tears from his cheeks.
The luminous figure still stood before him.
In His presence, Al let down his guard and asked,
"You must know much, but I want to know, what should we, the Logos people, do now? Is there anything that can overcome death?"
He looked at Al, softly asking,
"Do you wish to overcome death?"
Al nodded vigorously.
The figure paused, then looked intently at Al.
Al felt as if He was looking at him, yet not at him, as if looking at his future.
Finally, He whispered a simple phrase.
Upon hearing it, Al was stunned and unknowingly muttered the words,
"What does not blame, what does not fear, what does not coerce, what endures forever, what is endless, that overcomes death."
The Main Priest was captivated, excitement and a thirst for knowledge surged within him.
The words seemed to unveil the answer, yet it remained hidden in the dark, waiting for people to discover it themselves.
Al was deeply overwhelmed by awe.
Once the answer was revealed, it would conquer death.
The eternal mystery was within reach...
Al slowly lifted his head, gazing reverently at the figure, from his heart tremblingly saying,
"You are light, you are reason, you are life…"
"You are..."
A grand speech that encompassed everything burst forth from the spirit.
"Lord,"
"My God!"
Al descended from the mountain; God had sent him down.
Chen Yi watched as Al's figure gradually disappeared into the mountain forest.
Al found his answer, and at the moment of his enlightenment, Chen Yi felt a certain change.
He bowed his head.
His own figure seemed a bit less ethereal.
"People have understood death... the understanding of mortals has solidified my existence."
God stood atop the mountain summit, pondering the connection between the two.
And, in his conversation with Al, he vaguely saw his future.
It was as if woven from a faint golden thread.
Thinking this, Chen Yi glanced casually at a unicorn on the ground.
The unicorn neighed, chewing the fresh green grass.
Chen Yi saw the golden thread, faintly pointing towards the river.
Soon after, the unicorn, as if it had eaten its fill and become thirsty, turned and walked towards the rushing river.
Then, it bent down to draw from the water.
"Do you see the future?"
That faint golden thread, like the Fate Line, pointed towards a certain future direction.
God gazed at the Fate Line; this faint golden thread was neither firm nor precise but could only lead to a general location.
"Not bad."
A smile appeared on Chen Yi's face.
His delight stemmed not only from his existence being solidified but also because after its consolidation, the world fused further with him, allowing him to see the Fate Line.
Moreover, with the Fate Line, many things became clearer. If those mortals moved towards self-destruction, like children about to fall off a cliff, he could foresee it and further intervene in the Mortal World.
Al returned to the Logos Kingdom.
Previously, the Sapo King had only seen a few Hunters return and, upon hearing of Al's disappearance from them, was about to execute those Hunters in a rage.
However, Al came back, alive and well.
The Logos Kingdom was thrown into a sensation; the great Main Priest had found the answer from the summit of a high mountain.
The ultimate question that troubled all of Logos was finally about to be resolved.
Countless people gathered in the square, and the elders or sages of Logos converged in the palace.
In the palace, the Sapo King watched Al incredulously, who was travel-worn yet his eyes brimmed with brilliance.
His appearance made the Sapo King both anxious and curious.
"Al, where is the answer to death?" asked the Sapo King, barely containing his excitement.
"In the heavens and not the earth, on the mountain and not in the ravine, in spirit and not in flesh. There, I saw God. It is the fire you speak of."
Al softly recounted his experiences, from the initial mountain ascent to the subsequent avalanche, the death of the Sage, and the final desperate struggle.
The Sapo King silently listened, occasionally marveling inwardly, and when he heard that Al had encountered God on the mountain, he was deeply shaken.
Not just the Sapo King, many people from Logos gathered in the palace; some were sages or wise men, some were long-lived elders, some were brave Hunters, and without exception, they were all captivated by Al's vivid narrative and amazed by his tumultuous journey.
"You said you saw a beam of light, and that figure descended..." the Sapo King couldn't help but ask.
Everyone stared intently at Al, afraid to miss a word.
Al slowly nodded and spoke softly:
"I asked: 'Why must we die?'"
"God said:"
"'Because the false flesh must die to allow the true spirit to henceforth live.'"
As his words fell upon their ears, everyone present was struck by immense awe.
A thunderbolt of the soul struck their reason, startling them awake from the clouds of death.
From then on,
Al was honored as the Prophet.
For he was the first to know God.