The people of Logos understood why they had to die.
Though the resolution of one question would bring about another, and though death would not cease at their reason, but... compared to their original bewilderment, the spiritual visage of the Logos Kingdom had been completely transformed.
Al stood before the altar, he was to extinguish the fire within the altar.
Long before the Logos Kingdom developed, bonfires were scattered throughout the territory of the kingdom, but now, the flames on the altar served only the purpose of offerings and had no other use.
"Prophet, what are you doing?"
The accompanying priests looked at Al before the altar with sincere anxiety, as the first to know God, Al's prestige had become unparalleled for a time, and the priests dared not stop his decision but could only advise.
"Prophet, that fire has been offered for a long time, and God has appeared before it many times."
A young priest stepped forward, earnestly trying to persuade:
"This fire here is like God being here."
Al looked intently at the priest, if it had been before, he certainly would have heeded the latter's advice, but since he had snatched life from death and ascended to the summit of the mountain, Al was no longer so weak.
"I want to tell you, this fire is not God."
Al looked intently at the priest, his gaze was plain, but the latter couldn't help but feel intimidated,
"I have seen God's face on the mountain, this fire is not God's image."
"But..."
The young priest spoke:
"Besides you, who else can know what God looks like?"
"Do you have to identify a wolf as a lamb just because you haven't seen what a lamb looks like?"
Prophet Al made a comparison, his expression becoming solemn,
"You regard the fire as God, just like identifying a wolf as a lamb."
The young priest still had doubts after hearing this, his mouth opened, but he stopped himself from speaking.
Al gestured for him to continue.
"Prophet, so many people will come here to pray, to offer sacrifices... how can we just extinguish this fire?"
The young priest said softly, then shrank back a little, thinking he would receive Al's rebuke.
But Al extended his hand, kindly caressing the young man's face, just as God had caressed him.
"This fire must be put out because God is not in the fire but watching us from the high mountain. Extinguishing the fire does not mean we no longer worship God."
Al explained gently and calmly to the young priest:
"God knows many things, what prayers we should make, what offerings we should present, God will know. Where is the need to pray here, to present offerings before the great fire?"
The young priest listened to this explanation, his mouth agape, while the other priests could not help but exchange glances.
At that moment, another young priest stepped forward, gathering the courage to ask:
"Father, if people no longer need to come here to pray, to offer sacrifices... then what use do we priests have?"
The priests were shocked at these words; they had initially only felt it strange, hence the exchanged looks, but now, hearing this priest speak, they suddenly became aware of the significance.
"Yarlessto. What is it that a priest is supposed to do?"
This young priest was Al's eldest son, and facing him, Al suddenly grew stern,
"The priest is to serve God, and it is for this reason that others come here to pray and offer sacrifices."
"Now that we know 'the fire' is not the image of God, and still regard 'the fire' as God to worship, how shameful that is. Are you saying this to have others serve us under false pretenses?"
Yarlessto was left speechless and slowly took a step back, following Al's decision.
Seeing that Al was resolute, the other priests knew that persuasion was futile and they all stepped back, allowing Al to command the attendants to extinguish the flames.
And so,
The fire that the people of Logos had worshipped for hundreds of years, and the original appellations of God, were submerged in the river of history.
The priests, who had originally served the everlasting fire, now felt something in their lives was lost with the extinguishing of the flames on the altar, and in an instant, they fell into a state of bewildered distress.
Al walked slowly down the long steps, and the priests gathered around Al, asking:
"Prophet, you who know God, what are we priests to do now?"
Al did not immediately answer, first, he looked to the summit of the high mountain, and after a long pause, his gaze fell on the priests before him.
"The fire has gone out, but that does not mean we no longer serve God."
Al solemnly instructed the group of priests,
"God has endowed us with language, with reason."
"We must not only worship God but also seek to understand the gifts bestowed by God, even to grasp God's revelations and creations, and ultimately to comprehend God in His very essence, and embrace the whole world…"
The priests listened in silence, their eyes revealing an epiphany at the end.
It was not about tending to the flame day after day to prevent it from extinguishing, but realizing the language and reason granted by God, recognizing God's revelations and creations...
The words of Prophet Al marked a historic turning point for the collective mission of the priests.
And so,
The people of Logos began to learn how to comprehend the world, to understand the deities.
...
...
God saw what Al was doing on Earth.
Chen Yi closely observed Al.
Since the Main Priest of Logos returned from the mountain, he had been called a prophet by his people.
In this Logos, who still had hundreds of good years to live, Chen Yi saw something that set him apart from the others.
The Al of the past was cautious and wise, but when push came to shove, he always lacked courage. This was why his brother, Sapo, had become the king of the Ape-men, sitting upon the King's Throne.
However, after undergoing trials, Al had changed. God could see that he now assessed the situation, discerned wisdom, acted decisively, and commanded belief.
Al had realized that fire was not his own image and had carved a path for the Logos to recognize language and reason.
"That is surely a prophet,"
God declared.
He had not originally chosen the Logos intentionally; it was just because these Ape-men were closest to the mountain at the time, similarly, He had not chosen Sapo to be the first to receive language, it was just that Sapo was the first to step forward.
Throughout the process, everything happened unintentionally.
But Al was different.
Al, with his personal insight and steadfast will, had climbed to the peak of the mountain and found the answer.
God could not help but show favoritism toward the world's first prophet.
"He is the foremost among men."
Chen Yi pondered, for the Logos, Al meant a great deal, and for himself, the same was true.
He contemplated, pondered whether to choose him.
God looked at Al, gazed at the Fate Line around him, watching the trajectories of those pale golden lines.
Soon, God saw how closely connected Al was to the civilization of Logos.
God realized,
The emergence of the first prophet signified that the Logos were about to break free from the Prehistoric Era of raw flesh and blood consumption.
"Al…"
God murmured and in an instant, made a decision.
In the oral traditions of later generations,
People would recall in songs the rise and fall of the Logos Kingdom, and the deeds of the prophet.
The world did not understand the cause of death, nor why they had to die.
Al of Logos endured great hardship and ascended to the mountain's summit.
In persistent questioning by Al, God appeared.
God wiped the prophet's face, revealing the ancient secret.
Al returned, and his deeds shook the heavens and earth and moved the Holy Spirit of God.
God was pleased with humanity, yet among many, only Al ascended the mountain.
Therefore,
God would say:
"Al, you are the chosen one."