Chapter 118 Domain of God

“……What is this place?” a painful voice echoed in darkness.

“Did…I die?” the voice continued as it tried to move its body. Yet, the commands it was sending to the vessel did not reach their supposed destinations. Not because of the injury it sustained. Not because of this enduring agony it felt. But because it had nothing to command.

“What?” the young voice screamed again when it realized the condition it was in. It was as if the only thing it has left was its own consciousness. But a consciousness without a body? What could it be like? A soul free of its mortal shell perhaps? Or a harrowing desolation like two lovers being torn apart?

How frightening would it be, to be unable to do anything yet fully self-aware?

The soul was one of the few immortal things in this universe. Though it could be damaged, it could never really be destroyed, not even by a God. For all creations made by the Creator can only be removed from its existence by the Ender. That was the most fundamental law of the Old and the origin of a never-ending curse that haunted each and every one of us till this day.

Alas, that was a story for another time. For now, our story turned back its focus on this tiny soul. Unable to recall its own name, the soul could not even remember why it ended up here in the first place. It did not even know what it was ‘before’. All it could do was to struggle like an infant with its nonexistent arms and legs to find out what was happening, or what already took place.

Then, all of the sudden, a series of characters manifested themselves before the soul.

                                                   “ Do you wish to continue? ”          

The soul agitated furiously as if it wanted to nod its nonexistent head in agreement.

“ Even though everything will end up the same? “

Again, the soul ‘nodded’.

“ Are you sure?

YES                              NO“

Even though it had no body, the soul did its best to move toward the left option.

“ Absolutely?

NO                               YES”

Perhaps someone was playing him by switching the options this time. Or maybe ‘it’ was testing the cognitive and intellectual ability of a soul. Who knew? Still, the soul moved toward the right option this time.

“ …… “

It seemed the charade finally ended. At last, our tiny soul could escape from this place. It possessed none of its previous memories but somehow it knew that it must go back to….somewhere. Whatever it was, the thing it searched was not here.

“Request accepted!

Data downloaded!

Reloading…...

Reload complete!

Resetting parameters….

Babel Tower’s authorization acquired!”

Without warning, a bright light overwhelmed the soul and blinded it. Before it knew it, the surroundings have changed. But not just that.

“I…I am back.” The body of a young boy stood up as he attempted to move his arms around. Unlike before, he now had a body.

It was then that our little soul remembered what has transpired to him.

“All these times…it was her…” the boy muttered while referring to his own mother and also the culprit behind his tragic life. This person, whom everyone trusted and regarded as a hero, was actually the villain this whole time.

Perhaps it was by accident but when he was stabbed by his mother at the time of the grand betrayal, the boy saw her memories. Unfortunately, it was not what he hoped for.

There was no love, not for the husband, not for the child. Perhaps there was in a long distant past. But now, that love has been crushed, hidden away by the feeling of hatreds that consumed her.

The boy was devastated. His tragic past has always been the drive of his goal to search for peace. But now that he knew that it was just a big lie, a fabrication with a sinister motive to use him. So then, everything he did, all the people he killed, for what?

Yet still, the boy realized that now was not the time to feel sorry for himself. He has already done a lot of that in his life.

“No!” he shouted. Instead of moaning and doing nothing, he must do something. This could not be his legacy. He refused to believe so.

“There must be something….something I can do…” He spoke.    

A grain of sand hit the boy’s eye while he was trying to stand up. Such a trivial thing to happen but it was this tiny thing that brought the boy back down to earth for him to realize something crucial: he has not yet gone out of the ‘woods’ just yet. To say that he was in trouble would be a gross understatement.

This scorching heat he felt.

This sunken soft soil he walked on.

This wind blowing the sand to his face.

“What in the….?” He muttered in disbelief as he looked at his surroundings: a boundless wasteland of nothing but sand. 

How was it possible? Just a moment ago, the boy was in the middle of a heated battlefield. As he tried to remember what exactly happened, his head was hit with an intense headache.

“Did I die?” he asked himself. “But then…what is this place? Is this heaven…or hell?”

Judging by the landscape, the boy could only think of the latter option. For this desert looked nothing like the paradise one would expect. He wondered if this was the punishment for his sins. Still, what exactly was he supposed to do here? Must he travel across this barren land for eternity to atone for his sins? Was that why he was transported here? Whatever the answer was, it was not what he was thinking.

As he searched for clues to where exactly he was, the boy, following a strange instinct, looked up. Hovering high in the cloudless sky was a giant door, the same door that appeared after the close encounter with the Celestial God. Apparently, it led to the heavenly seat of Eden, Celestia. Unfortunately, he never had the chance to cross it.

Still, this was a good thing. For the first time since he stepped in this place, the boy finally found something evoking a sense of familiarity.

The first question that needed answers was his current whereabouts. From the landscape alone, it would be impossible to guess where he was. Although, the door itself could provide a clue. Back in the world of Astora, the door was also seen hovering in the sky. However, this place where the boy was could not possibly be Astora. At least, not the one he was familiar with. If so, where could he be right now? It could not be a random location. Else, why would there be the same door in the sky? That left only one possibility.

The boy was on the other side of the door. In other words, this god-forsaken wasteland was the rumoured heavens of Celestia where the Gods resided. If so, and this place was indeed Celestia, then either the Gods here had a very different sense of what a paradise would be or something terribly wrong happened here.

“No use staying here thinking about it. I must move on and find a way out of here.” The boy decided after spending a moment to think about his options.

So began his journey to cross the boundless desert of Celestia.

* * *

Day 2

Days passed without anything in sight. Or at least, that was what the boy believed. There was no way he could know since the night never came in this place. The sun never went down and so did the heat. All he could do was estimating his times here. But alas, he sometimes forgot to do that too.

So far, all the boy found was nothing but sand. In this dead silent place, the only sounds one could hear were the whistling sound of wind and one own’s footstep.

Under this unwavering and harsh fever of the desert, the journey has been unforgiving. Combined with the strong body odor and the smell of dry baked earth, it could only add to the displeasure of the journey.

In first glance, this seemed to be an ordinary desert. However, it was clear that something felt incredibly wrong in this place since the very first moment the boy began his journey.

First of all, for some reasons, the dark crystal embedded on his chest was gone. Though that in itself should not have been a problem since it would mean that the boy was finally freed from that treacherous God who has inhabited inside his body since his birth. The boy would have no regret if that was the only downside. The actual problem lied elsewhere: the boy has lost all of his powers. The demon lords’ power, the soul magic, they were all gone as a result of this broken covenant. Still, the boy did not fall into despair. He could not afford to.

With no real destination in mind, all he could do was moving forward, aimlessly.

* * *

Day 4

With nothing but sand in his dry throat, the boy continued his endless walk without not much as a single drop of water for days. It has been a long time since he felt so close at death’s door. This powerlessness, this frailty…this mortality he perceived. It was only now that he finally comprehended his own insignificance. Up until now, all he has done were thanks to the powers given so easily to him. There were a few moments of struggles but in the end, he managed to overcome them all with brute strength.

There was nothing special about him. If not for that treacherous God, the boy would have never made it this far. Even more, he has always been a puppet dancing to the whims of his manipulators.

Yet, strangely, the boy managed to somehow remain alive despite having lost all the much-needed magical powers. Was it due to the influence of this place? Since he already died once, he could not die here? If so, then perhaps this was really his punishment: to wander in this place for eternity.

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* * *

Day 6

Something caught the boy’s attention when he overlooked from the large sand dunes. A structure could be seen around the horizons with its tips reaching above the sky. At first, the strange thing looked like a shiny needle reflecting the light of the sun. However, the closer the boy moved it, the more it revealed its true nature. It was no needle at all but a tower. Furthermore, only when the boy crossed the mountain of sand ahead that he finally caught a glimpse of the full picture: a giant black cube with a silvery tower rising out of it toward the sky.

With a glimpse of hope in sight, the boy decided his new destination.

* * *

Day 7

The boy has made it to the outskirts of the strange black box. The closer he got to it, the more astonishing he found it to be. Not because of the size or how strange for such object to be here, in the middle of the desert but because the cube inspired a sense of familiarity in the boy, as if he has seen it before, and not just once.

Still, it could not help him in being at ease in this place. Perhaps it was due to what was in the proximity of the cube instead of the cube itself. During the time when the boy made his way toward the cube, he found an abundant number of debris.

Metallic fragments of some kind of machinery lied scattered around as if it was blown off in the sky before falling down to where they were now. “Were they shot down by something?” the boy wondered.

Secondly, arms, ranging from basic ones like swords to sophisticate long range weaponry like the gun that was given to the boy, were also found, gathering together like a pile of trashes outside the cube. This begged the question about the origin of the owners of these weapons. “Did they really come from Astora? … or some place else?”

Though the boy did not need to go far to get his answers. As he was investigating the weapons, picking them one by one, his leg tumbled over the sand dune, making him slide down toward the center of a crater before hitting his head against something hard.

“Ouch!!!” he yelled while hugging his head. Thankfully, it seemed like he was hit with a blunt object, whatever it was. If it has been a sharp weapon like one of the swords he saw just before, he could have died. That was it if he could die in this place. Still, it did not stop him to be shaken up a bit from the shock. Right now, he was just a normal kid after all.

However, the boy did not have time to recover before he realized that he has ended up in a death trap: a quick sand. The loose sand began to drag him down, burying him alive. If this continued, he would be dead and everything would have been for naught. The boy looked around to try to find something he could grab on. What he saw were these weird white objects sticking out of the sand and there were quite a few of them, all of different shapes. But the moment he grabbed onto one of them, it broke. That was when the boy realized their true nature. These white objects were not stones like he thought they were but bones. And not just human bones but monsters as well as some unknown creatures.

Alas, whatever mystery was hidden behind these remains, it would have to wait or instead, the boy just might join them very soon. Unfortunately, for a little boy with no magic nor strength at his disposal, escaping this quicksand seemed like an impossible task. The boy did try to struggle at first but the more he struggled, the quicker he sunk. He tried to call for help. But who on earth could hear him now? With the sand now up to his mouth, the boy remained still in fear, waiting for his ultimate demise.

‘The once powerful Alastor who fell the Gods, the strongest demon lord in history, died to a quicksand.’ The irony could not escape the boy’s thought as memories of his adventure passed through his mind like a wave of images.

And so ended the journey of Alastor.

…..

* * *

Location: ???

‘Am I…not dead yet? …..I feel heavy…’ Alastor started to regain to consciousness. He tried to open his eyes but his body felt so heavy to do that. 

The boy felt a warm touch on his forehead.  ‘What is this soothing feeling?’ he wondered.

Then suddenly, a man’s voice could be heard. “How is he doing? Is he alright? Should I call for Amelia?” The man spoke with a worried voice.

“He is fine! It is just a fever. Will you calm down a little?” a woman scolded the man. Based on the voice, it seemed that she was the one who was putting her hand on his forehead.

Unable to hold back his curiosity, Alastor forcefully opened his eyes faintly. At first, his eyes hurt a bit, making him shedding a few drop of tears. ‘I must have passed out for a long time.’ He thought to himself. Despite the impaired vision, the boy could still make out the outlines of two persons in this room he was in.

“See??? You woke him up!!!” the faint form of the woman turned to the man before turning back to Alastor. “I am sorry, honey. Did we wake you up?”

“...Where….am…I?” Alastor spoke softly. The last thing he remembered was the quicksand. If so, how did he end up here? Did these people rescue him? …Or was this just another ‘paradise’?

“We are at home, of course.” Answered the woman.

“..Ho…Home?” uttered the boy. “Wh…what happened?” He still could not discern the face of these two strangers. His eyes were still recovering after all. But at the very least, he could see that the woman had blond hair while the man’s was white.

“You were playing with your sisters when you fell into the lake. Thankfully, Magnus warned me in time to save you.” explained the man.

“What? Magnus?” shouted the boy when he heard that treacherous name. But then, a voice echoed in his mind.

‘Hey kid. That was close, wasn’t it? You can thank me later.’ That voice unmistakably belonged to Magnus. Alastor was sure of it. By instinct, he put his arm on his chest, only to feel the presence of the crystal gem once again.

“Hey, slow down!” the woman pushed him down to his bed. “You have to rest.”

‘…sister?’ thought the boy to himself.

‘Alice is fine. She cried a bit when we pulled you up though. Don’t worry! Lilith will take care of her.’ Magnus spoke. ‘As for…’

“SHUT UP!” Alastor cried out to the surprise of the two strangers. He simply could not forgive the God for what he has done.

“What’s wrong honey?” asked the woman worriedly.

Perhaps it was the shock that awoke his sleeping senses, making him aware of his surroundings. Nevertheless, the boy could now take a good look at the faces of his rescuers.

“It can’t be…” the boy uttered in awe, refusing to believe what, or rather who, he was seeing.

The couple looked at each other face in confusion, unable to understand what was wrong with the little boy. A frightening thought hit them. Maybe the accident from earlier has caused some kind of trauma in him, or even worse.

“Son, are you okay?” spoke the man with a genuine worried face.

Without a moment to waste, Alastor ran out of his bed as he rushed to the door. Why was he able to know where the door was so quickly? The answer was simple. He spent quite a while of his time in this very room. After all, this was the same room as the one he used during his stay at the demon lord’s castle.

Pushing the door violently, the boy tried to escape outside. To him, this was certainly some kind of trap. There was no way those two could be there. He never met them face to face in the past but he knew their face too well. If one was to visit the demon lord’s castle, a large portrait could be seen the moment one was to enter the palace as they showed who were the last master of the castle alongside their spouse. But in this case, the two were already dead. Even more, one was actually not and was trying to kill the boy just recently.

“Alastor, where are you going? Come back!” the woman shouted loudly.

“No no no!” the boy mumbled as he ran across the familiar hallway. Without a doubt, this place was the demon lord’s castle, or at least a very good, if not perfect, replica of the original. How could this be? For now, Alastor must focus on getting out of this obvious trap. Based on the last two, there was a strong possibility that the enemy, whoever they might be, would be using other people close to him in order to let him lower his guard down. But now that he knew this, there was no way he could fall in this trap…right?

History has shown that despite so many progresses, humans were doomed to make the same mistakes again and again. The only time when they no longer made mistakes was when it was their last.

Indeed, he crossed so many familiar faces on his way to the entrance: the four royal demon guards, the hero party from ten years ago and even Alice who could not help but hug the boy in tears. Nonetheless, he pushed her away, knowing that this could not be real. So far, none of them had any intention of restraining him or even showed the slightest hint of deception. Instead, they all reacted just like the real things. The person behind this charade must be a great deceiver for him to be unable to distinguish the real and the fake.

Finally, he arrived to the main hall. The entrance lied just up ahead. Just a couple more steps and he would be out of here. Or so he thought.

“Big bro, where are you going?” a young girl’s voice called out to him at the end of the hall.

“Are you abandoning me, my love?” this time it was a young woman who stood next to the little girl.

Both of them were people Alastor held most dear to his heart, even more than his own parents. For an orphan like him who never knew his parents’ face, he never found the needs to love them back. Although, a part of him did want to see them, to know what exactly he missed in his childhood. Be that as it might be, what he felt when he saw these two persons in front of him was something else.

“Shana….Ikarus….why are you here?” he spoke in disbelief.

“To save you of course!” the two answered in sync. Something felt wrong about them. Unlike those ‘fake’ he has met so far, the two showed much more emotions on their faces. But that emotion was not something you would expect in this case: grief. “Please stay with us, Alastor!”

“Save me?” the boy questioned the intention of the girls. Even though he was clearly aware of how wrong this place felt, the boy could not hide his impulsive urges, the desire to stay here with them. “What do you mean?”

“We can’t explain it to you.” Shana said while looking at Ikarus who shared a sad expression. “But please! Don’t go outside! You will die!”

“She is right, Alastor. Please don’t go outside! Stay here with us! Please!” Ikarus said.

“No…this is…this is not real.” The boy scratched his head violently.

“Alastor, we don’t want to lie to you. But please understand! There is nothing out there. Nothing you want to see!”

“What don’t I want to see?” shouted the boy.

“….” But the only answer he got back was silence.

“Fine! If you don’t want to answer, then I will see it myself.” Alastor angrily walked toward the door despite the two girls standing in his way.

”No, you can’t!!!” insisted the two.

“STOP!” a loud voice echoed from behind. “Let him go!”

The voice made everyone turn their head back to the source. The blond woman, accompanied by the silver hair man, showed herself in an elegant manner, as expected from a princess such as herself.

“Ikarus, Shana, let him go!” ordered the woman.

“But he will….” Retorted the two.

“It’s his choice. And we will respect it.”

The two girls reluctantly released Alastor, who was confused by the woman’s action. If she was the enemy, or a subordinate of one, why would she let him go? Or was it another trap?

“What are you planning?” asked Alastor.

“Nothing!” the woman spoke with a smile. Her face bore no hint of deception, only truth.

“You…all of you…are not real!” claimed the boy.

“We are as real as you want us to be.” Answered the woman.

“Then tell me! Who or what exactly are you?”

“I am the person your mother failed to be. As for the others…” The woman smiled awkwardly yet gently before giving her answers. “They are who they are. I cannot speak for them. But we all share the same goal: to keep you safe and happy.”

“You seriously think I would believe that obvious lie?” retorted Alastor.

“I assure you, what I tell you is no lie. But of course, I understand why you can’t trust us. After all, many of us are supposed to be dead.” Said the woman with a straight face.

“So you won’t even try to hide it. What exactly is your goal?”

“To keep you safe.”

“That’s not it.”

“But it is.”

“No! You are hiding something.” Rebutted Alastor. “Keep me safe from what?”

“What is out there!”

“WHAT IS OUT THERE?” shouted the boy.

“… I am afraid I cannot answer that question. I wish I can. But I cannot.” Said the woman in a sad tone.

“I will discover it myself.” The boy turned to the door, putting his hand on the handle.

“I won’t stop you then.” The woman said. “It is your choice. If you want to discover the truth, go to the base of the tower. He awaits you there.”

“He?”

“That’s all I can tell you.”

“Then I will be on my way.”

“Have a good trip, son!” the woman waved her hands with a smile. Although, her smile seemed forceful and sad, as if it would be the last time she would see him.

“…I am not your son!” Alastor spoke as he closed the door behind him and disappeared.

“You always are!”

* * *

“Now…where am I again?” contemplated Alastor as he closed the door behind him. Now he was really in unknown territory.

There was no more sand where he was. Instead, the boy was now standing on an onyx floor made of some kind of metal. And not just the floor but also the buildings, the vegetation around him were made by the same material. However, they were not pitch black but adorned with trails of blue light travelling across the surface, all in one single direction in a pulse-like manner.

It was as if someone with a strange sense of style was trying to imitate a city. For some reasons, this place reminded Alastor of the city he visited in the Other World where he met doctor Vincent and the others. Although a bit different, they did share many similar points in term of architecture and arrangement. Except for the weird color, or absence of one.

Alastor remembered the woman’s words about a certain tower. He also remembered that he saw one structure that fit the description during his times at the desert. However, at the time, the tower was surrounded by a black cube with only its upper levels visible and poking out toward the sky. Yet, the boy could see clearly the bottom levels of one similar tower in a distance from where he was. This meant that he was now actually inside that black cube he saw earlier.

With no real other option, Alastor decided to go deeper into the black city of Celestia in order to get to the base of the tower. But not before he made a few rounds to check if there was anything that could help him understand where he actually was.

As the boy travelled across the empty citadel, he continued to find some unusual artefacts like the ones outside the city: weapons, metal shards…and bones. Lots of them, scattering around. All of them looked to have been around for a very long time. Some even turned to dust the moment he touched them.

Was there some kind of battle here? Who were these people? The closer he got to the tower, the more he found these ancient artefacts. Could it be that these people were all trying to reach the tower like him? But then, who or what killed them?

He asked himself tons of questions but never got an answer. Then he stumbled upon something unusual: dozens of skeletons wielding shields lying against the wall of a two-stories building as if they were trying to protect what was inside. But something else was strange. Many of the remains were found stabbing each other. Some even had a skull in their skeleton’s hand, indicating either they picked it up after the victim’s death or worse, they tore it off themselves. Either option sent chill to the spines of the young boy.

“What happened here?” he wondered. Looking forward, he saw that the tower could not be far from here. If he continued, he would reach it in a short while. Yet, the boy was also curious of what was inside this building. Maybe it could provide him with additional information about this place or at least what happened to the people outside. If they gave their lives to protect whatever was inside, it had to be something important, right? Furthermore, it was best to gather as much as info he could before proceeding to the tower. Or so the boy thought.

And so Alastor decided to take a detour into this eerie building. As a precaution, he grabbed a sword still in good condition that fit his current size from a nearby corpse and walked into the building.

“More corpses….” He mumbled upon entering the building. From a quick glimpse, Alastor could spot a campfire, worn tents that have passed their ages and many more skeletons. It looked like someone has turned this building into some kind of temporary camp. The building itself was nothing special, void of any decorations one would expect in any home.

He quickly searched the first floor but found nothing special.

“Next, upstairs!”

As expected, more skeletons were found on the stairs, all trying to keep something out. But judging from their states, they failed. The boy carefully walked over one skeleton after another while paying attention to not just the surroundings but the skeletons too. What if they suddenly jumped him? The heavy atmosphere has made him a little paranoid but that in itself was to be expected if one wanted to survive.

Upon reaching the final stair, Alastor spotted only a single room. But the path was not empty. An armor was sitting with its back against the door. This one had a much more luxurious armor than the skeletons Alastor has seen so far, suggesting it belonged to a high rank or important figure. Nonetheless, in the end, he ended up in the same state of the rest.

“The door looks intact. It doesn’t seem like whoever attacked this place managed to get inside.” Alastor commented upon inspecting the door. He turned to the knight. “You protected it to the very end. Please rest in peace!”

After giving his respects to the knight, Alastor proceeded to open the door. But he would not be able to do it with the heavy armor lying against the door. He had no choice but to move it.

“Excuse me for doing this!” said Alastor before grabbing onto the armor and pushed it.

Suddenly, the moment he put in a little force, the armor crumbled and released a cloud of dust.

“ *cough* *cough*” It looked like time has not been so forgiving with this armor.

The boy has expected to see another skeleton but all he found was a pile of yellow shiny dust inside the armor. But with a closer look of the dust, the boy found a shocking revelation.

“This is not dust….this is gold!”

Why would there be gold dust inside an armor? The longer he was in this place, the more questions he found, all without a single answer. At this point, he did not bother to think about it anymore. He had no choice but to move on.

With his left hand opening the door, Alastor peeked into the room.

“So a table with a candlestick on it and…a chair…Doesn’t seem like there are any trap.” He muttered silently. “Alright, let’s move in!”

He was disappointed. The room did not contain any treasure or legendary weapon. Of course it wouldn’t. Why would there be some legendary sword or chest filled with treasures in some building inside a creepy city lying in the middle of a freaking desert? That made no sense at all.

Approaching the only decoration in the room, Alastor began to search for any info that might help him understand his current situation.

The first thing he found was an expensive looking ashen robe made of a strange material: so light yet very durable. But the moment he picked it up, the robe released a cloud of golden dust to the ground, just like the armor from earlier. What could this mean?

On the table lied a hand-written note that seemed to hint the fate of the owner of the robe. Strangely, it was in the same language as the one used in Astora.

“Oh Almighty Creator, please forgive this faithful servant for wasting the life you have granted to me and for failing the task you have given to me!”

From the looks of it, the person who wrote this note seemed to have taken their own life out of despair. Remembering what happened to the men outside, Alastor was not really surprised if this person chose this path. But then, what happened to the body? The only thing he found was just this robe and no skeleton in sight. Looking down at the golden dust scattering around the floor, a thought crossed the boy’s mind.

“It couldn’t be….right?”

Alas, that was not his concern. This still did not give any info about this place or anything in fact. The only thing left in this room was this old dusty notebook lying on the table. Perhaps it might contain something useful for once. However, the rotting state it was in meant that Alastor had to be very careful in dealing with this book or else he might just lose his only clue.

But before going through the journal, Alastor picked up a paper with its edges poking out of the notebook. It read:

“EXPEDITION NOTICE

To all Mortalis volunteering in this holy mission, please refer to this notice as a guideline to understand the hierarchy and roles of the key members of this expedition. A more detailed copy shall be provided upon arrival. If you have any question or any confusion about this notice, please report to your commanding officer!

Superior Caeles:

-          Estellia’s representative: Lord Eden Numen

-          Mu’s representative: Lady Lilith R'lyeh

-          Umbra’s representative: Chancellor Magnus

Military roles:

 -          Appointed High Commander: Sir Baldo

-          High Priestess Fate

Superior Officers:

-      Gnome

-      Merkabah

-      Amon

-     Luna Elemyr

-     Solana Elemyr

Please remember that this is a joined expedition! We expect you to conduct in a proper manner toward those from other realms. Any inappropriate conducts shall be heavily punished.

Glory to the Almighty Creator!”