Chapter 862 - 217: Initiation
Not long after, seven or eight tall and burly believers carried in a towering idol from outside, into the makeshift chapel.
This idol seemed somewhat strange compared to those Adis had seen before; cloaked and its features obscured.
However, he did not dare to look more, even if he wasn’t a believer, he knew that staring directly at the Divine Spirit was considered extremely rude behavior.
The idol was placed at the center of the chapel, and landed with a heavy thud.
With this heavy sound.
The whole atmosphere in the chapel seemed to change, though he couldn’t quite say how.
"I, what should I be doing now?" Adis asked the woman beside him, appearing a bit at a loss, suddenly feeling out of place as if he were a dirty presence here.
He wasn’t clear why he had such thoughts, but they grew stronger, feeling he wasn’t worthy of this place and might contaminate it.
The female believer, A Rui, accepted a robe handed over by someone beside her and passed it to him, then said: "Go to the side and change into this, then come with me."
Becoming a believer of the All Beings Sect was simple, merely swearing an oath under the idol sufficed.
This process was called initiation.
Almost anyone could become a believer, though there was a distinction; if one had enough loyalty to the Lord from the start, they were formal believers, otherwise, they were registered believers, until they achieved sufficient loyalty to the Lord.
Adis went to a small room at the chapel’s side dedicated for changing clothes; inside were many people like him from Du Lan, locals living in the vicinity, so even if unfamiliar, they had seen each other around.
"Adis, didn’t expect you to come too, your symptoms are so severe, I’m afraid they can’t be cured,"
Just upon entering, a man in a black earmuff sneered at him.
Adis recognized the man before him, they had considerable animosity, and coldly said: "What’s it to you? If you can come, why can’t I?"
The man with the black earmuff stepped forward, looking at others said: "Your plague symptoms are too severe, I’m afraid you’ll infect us."
Adis knew the other was picking a fight, he just quietly sat aside, too weak now, too feeble to argue back, in the past he’d have punched the man’s nose out of alignment.
The man with the black earmuff wasn’t ready to give up, stepped forward, ready to say more.
"What are you guys doing? Stop dawdling inside, change clothes and come out!"
A sharp reprimand came from the doorway.
Yifa stood at the door, calmly looking at them, apparently aware of what had just transpired, added:
"No fighting between believers."
After speaking, he turned and left.
The room’s occupants quieted immediately, the man with the earmuff’s expression changed slightly, said nothing more, knowing it was a warning to him.
"This clothes sure are clean, like sprinkled with a layer of snowflakes." A dark-skinned man in work clothes couldn’t help commenting.
The clothes they were given by the Church were exquisite and clean, for many of Du Lan’s lower-class citizens, they likely never wore such clothes in their lifetime.
After dressing, they were led beneath the idol.
"Follow the instructor’s lead and make your pledge right after, don’t speak randomly, and more importantly, open your heart to the Lord!"
The believer guiding them said, turning.
The others just looked at each other, finding it strange that they were made believers first rather than being cured of their plague.
Are they being deceived?
But that wouldn’t make sense.
Because those severely infected by the plague are unable to do much, essentially rendered useless, and none would want to take them in.
"I am willing to join the All Beings Sect, follow the Lord’s radiance, abide by reasonable rules, maintain balance within myself and others..."
"Life and death are not the end, but a cyclical process, following the Lord’s radiance can lead to better rebirth..."
"I promise to enact the teachings of the All Beings Sect, live loyally, and pursue constant spiritual transcendence..."
...
A brief initiation vow; some are born believers, some yet naive.
Adis followed the instructor, reciting the initiation vow, feeling a subtle change in the surrounding environment, like seeing a light, illuminating it fully.
That wonderful feeling was beyond words.
He seemed to understand the significance of believers’ existence, or what they pursued within the Church.
After completing the initiation vow, the instructor in gray-white robes said to them: "You have completed your baptism into the Church and are now part of the All Beings Sect. Rest aside for a while until your first prayer shortly."
But this was evidently not their purpose for coming here, the man with the black earmuffs raised his hand and asked: "Instructor, we are here for treatment of the plague, what about the plague we carry?"
The instructor looked at him, smiled: "It has been cured, during your initiation, the Lord will not let His believers suffer the burden of disease."
This statement caused an uproar among them, surprising them, they hadn’t expected the plague to be cured in such a way, not by medicine or any physical means, but through a mere declaration under an idol.
This sounded absurd.
Only then did Adis realize that his body seemed much lighter, his left hand having a twinge of pain.
But this was an unexpected joy for him, for his left hand had lost all feeling before, couldn’t feel anything, nor move.
The plague on him might have truly been cured.
A thought flashed through Adis’ mind.
This was entirely the power of the Divine Spirit.
He was convinced that there was a great Divine Spirit behind the All Beings Sect, willing to heal the diseases of the human world.
Some disbelieved initially, then they noticed signs indicating the plague on them may have truly been cured.
Later, someone came to apply a black ointment on their wounds, said to relieve pain, speed healing, and greatly prevent infection.
As they waited in the chapel, more people arrived, all plagued by the disease, symptoms fairly severe.
Many of them Adis knew.
"Brother, you were here after all, I was about to call you over," a youth in a white shirt said, guided by a believer, entering from outside, greeted Adis.
The youth’s name was Tarian, they both worked in the port factory before, and Adis was a veteran there, only after the plague spread did the factory shut down.
Tarian motioned slyly, asking if the Church was a scam.
Adis smiled and nodded at him: "Rest assured and go inside, I think this Church is pretty good."
The prayer process wasn’t long, yet quite deliberate, some were classified as formal believers, while the rest were registered.
"You’re now a formal believer," a blonde female believer said to him:
"Any skills you excel at?"
Adis thought briefly but also didn’t seem to think, said bluntly: "I’m quite strong, used to be part of a gang."
After saying this, he froze, thinking such things shouldn’t be said, yet he blurted it out.
The blonde female believer wasn’t surprised at all: "Since that’s the case, you’ll be assigned to the Law Enforcement Team, quite a fit for your skills."
...
Adis too was classified as a formal believer; he doesn’t know why, just informed he’d have another prayer tomorrow morning, then dazedly headed home along the streets.
Nearing sunset, the sky was dark, with flocks of seagulls flying.
"Brother, you’re actually a formal believer," Tarian said in surprise, "I see there’s not many who become formal believers, do you know anyone in the Church?"
Adis shook his head, feeling somewhat puzzled: "I don’t."
Tarian clearly didn’t believe, chuckled and said: "Brother, don’t fool me, who are we kidding, I see something in this Church, I want to become a formal believer too, help me out tomorrow."
The way All Beings Sect cured the plague already amazed him, confirming it wasn’t an ordinary church.
Divine Spirit and Magic are quite distant from Ordinary People in this world, the only Housheng Sect recognized by the Empire has few believers and rarely shows itself publicly, and those who wield magic are labeled as heretics by the Empire, inaccessible to Ordinary People.
Adis took a deep breath, his mind bewildered, said: "I heard from the instructor, you must open your heart to the Lord to become a formal believer."
"I suspect Du Lan is about to change, with the All Beings Sect mastering plague healing methods, it’s likely becoming formal believers will get harder later."
"But I really don’t know anyone in this Church, I swear I’m not lying, I truly consider you my brother."
Tarian nodded, no longer doubting: "That means then..."
He seemed to realize something, stared at Adis with a surprised expression.