"What could possibly be so important that you came here in person?"
I indifferently asked the Emperor his business as he slowly approached me.
He stared at me quietly, then subtly turned his head and glanced past me at Alpharius, who was disguised as a Custodian Guard.
Then he returned his gaze to me and spoke in an even tone.
"Noah, it seems you already knew what I intended to do here."
"How could I not? That [Imperial Truth] you so grandly proclaimed rejects every religion and faith at their roots."
"Yes. And it seems you do not approve of that."
The Emperor appeared to have seen the book in Alpharius's hand, soaked through with rainwater and mud.
His son Alpharius would hardly dare drag through the muck the book his lord and father had written for the Imperium's future.
He would not need to see it to know who the culprit was.
"To be honest, I don't. The Imperial Truth may look plausible on the surface, but underneath, it is full of contradictions. You wrote it yourself, so there's no way you don't know that."
"Even so, it is something absolutely necessary for the Imperium."
"Ha. Of course it is. So what is it you came all this way to ask of me? As always, I'm merely recording a moment in history."
"...Noah, come with me to that church."
At those words, I silently studied the Emperor's eyes for a moment.
He had perfectly concealed the overwhelming psychic radiance and immense presence that usually surrounded him.
He looked like a god pretending to be an ordinary man.
But no matter how thoroughly he hid it, he could not erase that fundamental pressure completely.
His existence was still strangely overwhelming amid the rain.
"You're forcing yourself into clothes that don't even fit you... In the end, what you want from me is for me to be an observer who witnesses the end of an era?"
"Yes. At this moment, Noah, you alone are best suited to that role."
"I'm not particularly pleased to dance to your tune, but fine. It will be better for my records if I observe it up close."
And so, I walked with the Emperor toward the Last Church.
Krrraaa-boom!
Was it because the end of the ancient faith that had always accompanied humanity throughout its long history was drawing near?
The thunder and lightning crashing down from the heavens raged more violently than ever.
The hour was deep, dark night—two minutes before midnight.
Fierce wind and rain shook the great bell in the bell tower, spreading the toll of an era's end in every direction.
At last, the long, long age of faith, built upon blood and wine, sacrifice and forgiveness, was nearing its end.
As the Emperor approached the church's massive wooden doors, the doors of the Last Church seemed determined never to admit the master of the new age.
They tried to resist with an unpleasant scraping sound—creeaaak.
But—
Craaaash!
The being of the new age ignored such pitiful miracles and slowly stepped through the open doors.
I too slowly followed behind him into the church.
The moment the Emperor made his overwhelming entrance, the countless lit candles within the church all went out at once, and the interior was swallowed by pitch-black darkness.
Only the eerie flashes of lightning that occasionally struck beyond the windows momentarily illuminated the church's aged interior.
Amid the roaring thunder, the familiar face of a man finally emerged from the darkness.
An old bald man, his face deeply furrowed by scars, blemishes, and the wrinkles of age.
Uriah Olathaire.
He was the last priest and clergyman remaining on this planet.
The old, faded silk vestments he wore trembled faintly in the cold wind and rain blowing in.
Yet the priest within those robes did not move so much as an inch, silently watching the Emperor's arrival.
Blood-red light passing through the church windows' ornate stained glass flickered over and obscured the priest's face.
It seemed to attest to the deep confusion and sorrow he felt before the merciless fate steadily drawing nearer.
Once I was fully inside, I quietly closed the heavy wooden door.
In the silence cut off from the fierce storm, Uriah welcomed us in the calm voice of a priest.
"Welcome to the Church of Thunderstone. I was just about to hold a service. Would you care to join me?"
"No."
The Emperor pushed back the hood he had pulled over his head and answered in a solemn, weighty voice that was not ostentatious.
"We did not come to attend a service."
"...That is regrettable."
Priest Uriah lowered his head softly.
He seemed to have sensed the fate that awaited both himself and this Last Church.
I slowly walked over to him and greeted him warmly.
"It's been a long time, Uriah."
"That voice... Noah? Is that you?"
"That's right. And where have you left your glasses this time? You're standing here bare-eyed when your eyesight is already failing."
"Heh heh. I was cleaning the church recently and accidentally broke them."
When I appeared—someone he had known well for a long time—delight spread across Uriah's face, as if he had discovered an unexpected light amid ominous darkness.
But it was not the expectation that I might save him. It was the pure pleasure of seeing someone with whom he shared a long friendship.
"Heh heh. Seeing you arrive with that inscrutable fellow... the situation is clear enough."
"That's right. Regrettably, I came to record this. This historic moment."
"Every age needs someone to record its history. I am truly glad that role has fallen to you."
While Uriah and I exchanged friendly words, the Emperor quietly rested his hand on the wooden pews and slowly made his way deeper into the church.
Even beneath the dark pressure hanging over everything, Uriah wore a gentle smile as he approached the Emperor.
Then he extended his hand first and spoke.
"My name is Uriah Olathaire. I am the last priest of the Church of Thunderstone. If it is not too presumptuous, might you tell me your name as well?"
Perhaps he liked Uriah's boldness. The Emperor gave a faint smile, slowly took Uriah's hand, and shook it.
"My name is of little importance. If you truly wish to call me something... call me ‘Revelation.’"
"That is quite an unusual name."
"Perhaps it is. But it is the name most suited to my purpose tonight."
"Then what exactly is your purpose?"
At Uriah's question, the Emperor silently regarded him intently before replying in a low voice.
"I wish to speak with you."
A superhuman who sought to rule the new age, and the last priest of the fading old one.
And so the two men began their conversation within the church.
Standing between them, I quietly activated my camera.
Without a word, I recorded this moment that would become a page in human history.
They walked together through the spacious church, admiring the ancient human murals carved into its walls.
Naturally, they began a philosophical discussion on the essence of art.
Yet as their conversation deepened, the calm and peaceful artistic discussion gradually turned toward the sharp subjects of faith and human nature.
Before long, the Emperor began mercilessly disparaging the value of faith.
Pointing one finger at an exquisite mural upon the church wall, the Emperor spoke evenly.
"When people encounter beautiful creations like that, they try to explain them by invoking their holiness. But I believe a base element called ‘jealousy’ is at work beneath it all."
At that arrogant word, Uriah furrowed his brow and asked quietly,
"Jealousy?"
"Indeed. Ordinary people instinctively refuse to believe that someone else has completed a great work which they themselves could never dare create with their own hands. So they try, somehow, to erase the cause of that perfection from their minds. It is a far more comforting consolation for them to believe that some invisible, transcendent divine being possessed the artist's mind and breathed inspiration into it."
"...That is exceedingly cynical."
Uriah did not conceal the discomfort in his voice as he showed his displeasure.
"It has been a rather interesting discussion, but I would like you to leave now, ‘Revelation.’ I must prepare to receive the worshippers who will soon arrive."
Uriah had plainly ordered him to leave, but the Emperor did not move an inch. He merely smiled coldly.
"No one will come. Tonight, the only people who will exist in this place are the three of us."
At that cruel declaration, Uriah glanced at me, silently filming the entire scene with my camera.
Then, with troubled eyes, he turned to the Emperor and asked,
"What exactly... is your purpose in coming here tonight?"
"As you well know, this is the last church remaining on Terra. As of tonight, all the history this church has lived through will come to an end. And before I bring that history to a final close, I merely wished to summon forth this old friend and recall the years we have passed through together."
At the Emperor's merciless declaration, Uriah gave a bitter, hollow smile.
"I had a feeling tonight would be especially unusual..."
Over Uriah's face as he muttered as though to himself, blood-red light passing through the church's vast stained-glass window was once more drowned beneath a ghastly flash of lightning, accompanied by thunder.
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