The Sun God

The Solar Union.

The seat of the Church of the Sun God's spiritual authority.

Deep within the Grand Cathedral constructed at its very heart, four cardinals and the Pope were holding a meeting.

One of the cardinals slammed his fist on the table.

"You are all being too reckless! Why did you allow this!? Relations with the Deianclure Kingdom are already hostile after the statue incident. If we continue like this, it will lead to war!"

"Then so be it."

"Indeed."

"… We are a religious state, not a nation of conquerors."

The cardinal said the words with deep exasperation.

As a moderate, he had often clashed with the other cardinals, but their recent actions had clearly gone too far.

Mobilizing the Church of the Sun God's covert forces to assault a ducal house was beyond all reason.

Relations with the Kingdom had already gone cold after the statue incident.

Trade had ceased, and proselytizing had been banned.

Even maintaining their churches over there had become difficult.

He had been working to smooth things over when he learned that the covert forces had been deployed, prompting him to demand this meeting.

An attack on the Triwright Auction.

And just before this very meeting, he'd received word that they had launched an assault on a ducal territory within the Kingdom.

They had even brought along some of the very statues that had caused the original scandal.

The other three cardinals leaned toward the aggressive faction, but they had never been this rash before.

Deploying the covert forces required the Pope's authorization. He could scarcely believe the Pope had approved such barbarity.

"We need to pull them back immediately. If they brought the statues, suspicion will fall squarely on us."

"We will do no such thing. The Sun God demands the Elemental Stones. They belong in our hands."

"Even so…! Your Holiness!"

The other cardinals had been like this throughout. Completely unwilling to listen.

His moderate views had never gained easy acceptance, but this was abnormal even by those standards.

He turned to the Pope for a ruling.

The aged Pope struck the floor twice with his staff.

"Arius. It has been ten years since you became a cardinal."

"Y-Yes."

"I thought we could afford to have at least one man who had risen through the ranks. And indeed, you are capable."

"Thank you."

Caught off guard by the sudden praise, Arius thanked him uneasily.

It was the Pope who had elevated him from a mere priest to cardinal.

He had felt a deep debt of gratitude for that and had worked tirelessly ever since.

"I think it is time, wouldn't you say? Time for him to meet God. Once he meets God, he will understand everything."

"As the Pope says. He does not understand, so he cannot grasp our intent."

"God is absolute."

Arius felt cold sweat run down his spine. They weren't making sense. It didn't even feel like he was speaking to human beings.

The Church of the Sun God was a religion that had expanded enormously in recent years.

The Solar Union itself was the very symbol of that growth.

But at the same time, there were many inexplicable things about the church.

If you traced its history back past a certain point, everything before that was a complete blank.

It could only be that the information had been deliberately erased.

Furthermore, after becoming a cardinal and examining the church's budget, he had noticed a suspicious number of facilities being constructed outside the church's official operations.

Yet he could not find the location of a single one of them.

What were these facilities for?

The covert forces were another matter entirely.

An excessive military capability meant for resolving situations through violence.

He questioned whether such a unit was even necessary.

Arius knew of the covert forces' existence, but they were outside his jurisdiction.

He had only uncovered this latest operation by having his subordinates dig into it.

The teaching of the Sun God was simple: salvation for all who believe.

Its simplicity made it easy to spread, and missionary work had been going well.

To convert every person on the continent to the Church of the Sun God.

He had believed that the other cardinals and the Pope were working toward that same end.

But lately, he was no longer so sure.

To rein in their excesses, Arius had been quietly building his own influence within the church.

If it came down to it, he was prepared to seize power himself.

"Follow me."

The Pope stood and moved toward the back of the cathedral, the other cardinals falling in step.

Arius knew there was a room back there.

A room restricted to everyone except the Pope.

The Pope took the rosary hanging from his neck and pressed it into the depression in the center of the door.

The sound of a lock opening echoed through the chamber.

"The sun is bright and clear today. You should be able to catch a glimpse."

"What have you been talking about this whole time?"

He felt as though he alone were the odd one out.

The Pope seemed like a different person from yesterday.

Were this Pope, these cardinals, truly the real ones?

The absurd thought crossed his mind.

When the door opened, the brilliant radiance forced Arius to shut his eyes.

He opened them slowly.

There were no windows in the room.

And yet, a light like the sun itself illuminated the chamber.

Something stood at the room's center, emanating that light.

It was an extraordinary sight.

"Oh, the radiance is particularly strong today."

"Arius, how fortunate you are. To feel it this powerfully on your very first audience."

The other cardinals seemed to regard the spectacle as something magnificent.

It was admittedly a fantastical scene, but to Arius it was nothing short of bizarre.

"O Sun God, please show us your magnificent form."

The Pope set his staff on the ground and offered a prayer to the glowing presence.

His posture was fervent, and it appeared wholly sincere.

"Is that the sacred icon?"

"Just watch. You'll understand soon enough."

The light converged, shifting into a humanoid shape.

The other cardinals began to pray as well.

… Arius followed suit, assuming a posture of prayer.

Even as he did, he kept his eyes fixed on whatever the sacred icon was.

The silhouette was unmistakably human.

"What is it you want?"

A voice resonated directly inside his mind.

It was nothing like communication through wind magic.

It was a sensation he had never experienced before.

"O Sun God, today I have brought Arius before you. Arius appears to have reservations about our methods. If you would demonstrate your divine majesty, I am certain he will reconsider."

"Very well. Your deeds have brought the day of my resurrection closer. Allow me to reward you."

"We are honored beyond words. We shall surely bring the Sun God unto this earth."

"Surely."

God.

Through faith in God, clerics could wield miracles.

It was for that reason that gods were believed to exist.

But he had never imagined one could actually exchange words with one.

And yet, if the Pope and the others were to be believed, the Sun God itself was urging them to use force.

"Arius, was it?"

"Y-Yes."

"Once you have witnessed my power, you too will understand. Who it is that should rule this land."

A small light drifted toward Arius.

And then it entered him.

In that instant, accompanied by an overwhelming surge of heat, he caught a glimpse of the Sun God's true form.

(Is this… a god?)

What he saw was far too much for a human to bear, and he lost consciousness on the spot.