The woman's voice was tearing and painful: "He... soon after returning home, his wound festered and stank... he died in agony!"
"Leaving us, mother and daughter..." She couldn't continue, holding her child and weeping.
After the woman's cry, it was as if the floodgates had opened.
One by one, over a dozen people stood up or testified for their relatives who couldn't be present.
Some told how their wives, due to their slight beauty, were forcibly violated by a noble young master, and later slandered for seducing the masters and beaten to death;
Some said how a portion of their only assets was taken by noble privilege, and they were falsely accused of "theft," with fines bankrupting them;
It was said that their son was arrested and thrown into the dungeon for disobeying a tax collector and never came out...
One after another, a litany of accusations, blood and tears, tragic experiences almost covering all the injustices and oppressions that people at the bottom could suffer.
The entire temple was filled with cries, accusations, and uncontrollable sighs of anger.
Karl's light and shadow incarnation floated quietly, like an eternal sun, listening to the world's suffering.
He was an incarnation of faith, capable of distinguishing truth from falsehood, and everyone present spoke the truth.
Including the strong emotions contained in their words, there was no falsehood here.
These were tragedies that had truly happened, steeped in blood and tears.
When everyone finished hoarsely, seeing that the golden light and shadow had not responded for a long time, the temple fell into an uneasy silence.
Some people began to look at each other with panic on their faces, thinking that their actions and accusations had angered the god.
Gil again pressed his head to the ground, crying out: "My god! Forgive me!"
"It is all Gil's fault, Gil who led them to resist, Gil who killed those nobles and priests!"
"Let all the sins be borne by Gil alone! Please forgive me and spare these poor people! They were just forced to live, to survive!"
Just as an atmosphere of despair began to spread, Karl's loud voice finally sounded again, with a slight sigh.
That sigh seemed to contain compassion for the world's suffering, and a hint of helplessness at the complexity of human nature.
"Gil." His voice was clear to everyone.
Gil abruptly stopped prostrating and listened with bated breath.
"You, you have done nothing wrong."
This sentence was like an amnesty, instantly relieving all the worried believers, and many collapsed directly to the ground, weeping for joy.
But Karl's words didn't end: "Those heretics who oppress and cripple in the name of god are truly cursed."
"They have defiled the faith, trampled on life, and their demise is deserved."
His voice became serious and reproachful: "But, Gil, you need to remember something."
"You and the other nobles in the mortal world, and even all those who hold power, are not all such bloody, sinful villains."
"Among them, there may also be impartial, merciful, and kind people, or at least those who have not committed unforgivable crimes."
The golden light and shadow's gaze swept over all the believers below who had raised their heads to listen attentively.
"You need to learn to discern carefully, to judge cautiously: the flame of revenge can burn all evil, but it can also burn the innocent."
"Avoid letting anger and hatred blind your eyes, and inadvertently hurt those who shouldn't pay the price."
"This is a trial for you, and it is also the wisdom needed for growth."
Karl's voice echoed through the temple, affirming the justice of Gil and the others' resistance, while setting a boundary for them.
He wanted not only to gain faith but also to guide these believers away from blind hatred and indiscriminate killing.
When Gil heard the oracle, he didn't hesitate and immediately knelt down in the most pious posture.
His forehead pressed against the cold ground, and he replied in a deep voice: "I hear the teachings of my god, Gil will remember and act cautiously!"
He understood that this was the god guiding him in the right direction, so that he wouldn't get lost in hatred.
Karl's light incarnation slightly lowered its head, looking down at the fanatical but faithful believer at its feet.
The loud voice sounded again, but this time with a hint of barely perceptible concern: "Gil, where is your daughter, Lina? Bring her."
Hearing this, Gil's body suddenly trembled, and uncontrollable joy filled his face.
He vaguely guessed the god's will, and his heart pounded with excitement.
"Yes! My god!" He scrambled up from the ground almost on all fours.
Ignoring the still-bleeding wound on his forehead, he rushed out of the temple gates as fast as he could.
After a while, he carefully returned with a gaunt figure in his arms—his daughter, Lina.
Compared to before, the consumption of faith power could no longer contain the disease, and Lina's condition had clearly worsened.
She curled up in her father's arms, her face an unhealthy gray, her eye sockets sunken.
Her breathing was weak and rapid, and her exposed arms and calves were so thin they looked bony.
The cancer that had plagued her for a long time was gradually eroding her young life without effective treatment and nutrition.
She weakly opened her eyes, vacantly looking at the radiant golden light and shadow in the temple and the excited crowd.
Karl's light and shadow looked at the poor child, and the majestic voice seemed to soften a bit.
"Poor child... May the light of the sun always dispel the fog from you and warm your body and mind."
Before the words fell, countless tiny, warm, pale golden specks of light appeared from nowhere in the temple.
They were like summoned fireflies, quickly converging into a flowing, pure stream of light.
This stream of light first softly surrounded Lina, to everyone's amazement.
Most of these light spots, like bees, rushed to sink into her thin body.
The remaining light spots turned into a golden drizzle, evenly sprinkling over all the believers in the temple.
When these warm light spots touched the skin and were absorbed, everyone couldn't help but let out a quiet, comfortable moan.
Immediately after, something even more shocking happened to them—the abrasions and cuts on their bodies caused by their earlier resistance,
even some wounds still seeping blood, healed at a speed visible to the naked eye.
The scabs fell off, the skin became smooth, leaving no trace of a scar.
"A miracle! This is a true miracle!"
"Praise the god! Praise the god for this gift!"
The believers erupted in even more fervent applause, many weeping for joy and bowing endlessly.
And everyone finally turned their gaze to Lina.