If the spiritual sublimation under the Holy Mother's teachings only allowed Matthew to understand the true meaning of great compassion and establish an ideal, then the act of converting Euron completely solidified his faith in the Holy Mother's doctrine of compassion.
His soul underwent another transformation.
He had now surpassed the rank of angels and advanced to the second tier as an archangel.
In terms of a wizard's cultivation levels, he had comprehended his own divinity and become a demigod.
Yes, Matthew, this holy priest, had developed divinity, and it was not bestowed by the Holy Mother. On the contrary, the Holy Mother gained an equal amount of new divinity from Matthew, the divinity of compassion.
The night before last, when Big Black suddenly contacted Daenerys and informed her about the divinity of compassion, she was more shocked than delighted.
Even the true Holy Mother only possessed the "acquired Holy Mother divinity" that came with her divine office, without any specific compassion divinity.
The Holy Mother's divine office originated from the "imagination" of believers given form, and her divinity was also shaped by how believers believed she should be. This was different from the compassion divinity Matthew had personally comprehended.
This was more than mere innovation.
Divine offices were essentially knowledge, similar to divine talismans in cultivation worlds.
If someone who understood nothing obtained the divine office of the God of Water, they could command clouds and summon rain. But once their talisman was taken away, they would revert to an ignorant mortal.
If that same ignorant person, during their time as the God of Water, comprehended the divinity of water, then even without the talisman, they would still retain the abilities of the Water God.
Previously, when Big Black lost the Holy Mother's divine office, he reverted to a foolish black dragon. Now that he possessed part of the compassion divinity, even if he lost the Holy Mother's divine office again, he could still call himself a "Buddha" or "Bodhisattva."
Because he possessed the divinity of a Bodhisattva.
Clearly, it was Matthew who comprehended the divinity, yet the Holy Mother also obtained the same divinity.
Something gained without effort.
This was one of the benefits of gods nurturing believers.
Thinking about it carefully, it was easy to understand. Matthew had already offered his life imprint to the Holy Mother. Compared to that, what was divinity?
To put it simply: if I can give up my life, what does a little external possession matter?
However, divinity was knowledge. When Matthew gave this "knowledge" to the Holy Mother, he did not lose it himself.
This differed from the way gods plundered divinity from each other. The reason was simple: gods were separate individuals, while believers were merely a part of the god.
Believers like Matthew, at the "angel level," completely belonged to the god. Without such a deep connection, he would not have become an angel with a demigod soul.
It might sound cruel, but this was faith.
If you had already handed over your life imprint to a god, could you still be considered an independent individual?
What were you even thinking?
So why did Matthew undergo another spiritual sublimation?
Did he have masochistic tendencies and gain enlightenment after being stabbed through the heart by Euron?
Matthew was a normal person with no unusual preferences.
Even if he had, the Holy Mother's teachings belonged to proper doctrine, and the Faith of the Seven was not some depraved cult of a lustful goddess.
Followers of certain strange religions might comprehend masochistic divinity through such tendencies, but they could never comprehend the divinity of compassion.
That afternoon, when Saint Matthew returned to the Great Sept, he was actually very dejected, because his first attempt to practice the Holy Mother's doctrine of "transforming demons into saints" had failed.
A complete failure. Not only was Euron not converted, but he showed signs of descending further into madness and deepening his demonic nature.
Matthew was a normal person. Facing failure, he naturally felt discouraged, until someone arrived.
Randyll Tarly came alone to the Great Sept of Baelor at dusk to see the High Septon.
At first, Matthew thought he had come for Cersei. Shaking his head, he sighed and said, "Cersei is consumed by her desire for power and cannot extricate herself. I have already done my best.
At another time, I could guide her a second or third time, but in a week I will lead hundreds of thousands of believers south to Storm's End. I no longer have the time."
With a thud, Randyll Tarly knelt stiffly before Matthew and shook his head. "I did not come today for Cersei. I witnessed your attempt to persuade Euron this afternoon.
Your words, your actions, and your practice of the Holy Mother's spirit of self-sacrifice deeply shocked me.
I do not wish to deceive you, Your Holiness.
The Holy Mother's path of compassion moved me, but it did not resonate with me.
However, my terrible experiences in King's Landing over the past few years, the death of my heir Dickon, and the looming threat of the Long Night to humanity have left me exhausted and lost.
Your actions have greatly inspired me.
Your fearless spirit of self-sacrifice in practicing the Holy Mother's doctrine, along with the miracles you displayed, have guided me out of my confusion and helped me rediscover hope for the future.
That hope is the Warrior I have believed in all my life, one of the Seven!
I may not be able to comprehend the Holy Mother's compassion, but I can practice the Warrior's path of courage."
After explaining his motivations, Randyll said solemnly, "I am willing to abandon my identity, status, and family in the mortal world, and devote the rest of my life entirely to the Faith. Please allow me to join the Warrior's Sons!"
Saint Matthew was stunned and asked uncertainly, "You will no longer serve as Hand of the King? What about Horn Hill and the Reach's armies?"
It was no wonder he was shocked. In thousands of years of the Faith's history, this was the first time a Hand of the King had directly become one of the Warrior's Sons.
"I have written a letter of resignation and left it in the Red Keep along with the Hand's seal. The soldiers of Horn Hill will follow me to join the Faith, but they will only participate in the war against the Long Night and will not be considered part of the Faith's military, unless they voluntarily join the Warrior's Sons or the Poor Fellows.
As for the Reach armies that follow me, they may choose freely: return to the Reach, join me in the Faith, or continue serving the Iron Throne."
Randyll had been going through a very difficult time, filled with despair and uncertainty about the future.
Yet the fact that Saint Matthew repeatedly risked his life in court and survived made him realize how formidable the Holy Mother and the Faith were. The clergy, like the High Sparrow, the Dragon Queen, and Saint Matthew, were all outstanding and resolute.
The Faith was a good place.
Being a missionary was a good profession.
Especially Saint Matthew.
Randyll might not fully agree with the Holy Mother's compassion, but Matthew's unwavering belief and actions deeply moved him.
The Faith was no longer the corrupt organization of the past, where the High Septon preyed on boys. Nor was it a powerless institution devoid of real miracles.
Now, it had disciplined clergy who upheld ideals and were unafraid of sacrifice. It displayed miracles regularly and possessed immense supernatural power.
Compared to the current Iron Throne…
To be honest, Randyll even looked down somewhat on the Dragon Queen, because she was a woman, unconventional, and not very Westerosi.
But compared to her, what were Cersei, Euron, and Stannis?
The Iron Throne could never save the world. Only the Seven could end the Night King and dispel the darkness.
With this realization, Randyll Tarly's decision to join the Faith became natural.
And he was only the beginning.
Saint Matthew immediately baptized Randyll and personally draped him in a colored cloak.
The White Cloaks wore pure white. The Red God's knights bore cloaks with blazing red hearts. The colored cloak was one of the symbols of the Warrior's Sons.
Sir Theodore, the former commander of the Warrior's Sons, voluntarily stepped down and handed command to Randyll Tarly, one of the Seven Kingdoms' greatest generals, willingly becoming his deputy.
When news spread that Randyll had led the soldiers of Horn Hill to join the Warrior's Sons, more than twenty great nobles came to Saint Matthew that very night, requesting to join.
They were all believers of the Seven. In the great hall, before Saint Matthew and the statues of the Seven, they spoke honestly:
Matthew, you are incredible. Your self-sacrifice to convert a demon, surviving a pierced heart, your towering golden body, and your divine palm shattering evil have opened our eyes. We are convinced.
The stories of the Buddha cutting his flesh to feed an eagle or sacrificing himself to feed a tiger could convince believers mainly because the Buddha did not die afterward.
Not dying was the key.
If one day you saw a news report: a man died in Lop Nur, leaving behind a camera and fragments of bones gnawed by beasts. Authorities found a video in the camera showing the man recording himself before death.
In the video, he said he encountered a starving wolf. He only had instant noodles, which the wolf would not eat.
Unable to bear seeing the wolf starve, he decided to sacrifice himself to feed it.
What would you think?
A madman.
Cherish life and stay away from danger zones.
Amazing, mysterious Lop Nur must have strange magnetic fields that caused hallucinations.
Different people might have different opinions, but no one would revere him as a Buddha.
Not everyone was qualified to sacrifice themselves to feed a tiger.
If Saint Matthew had died from Euron's attack, he would have been a complete fool.
But since he did not die, it became a miracle, an act of righteous sacrifice, and the practice of the Holy Mother's doctrine of compassion.
Randyll and the nobles who joined the Warrior's Sons were all witnesses to Matthew's act of converting a demon. In the end, they became like the white doves in the story of the Holy Mother feeding the tiger.
Saint Matthew realized he had not failed. He had reenacted a story from the scriptures, strengthening his faith in the Holy Mother's teachings of compassion.
His soul ascended, becoming an archangel.
Encouraged, he pressed on. The next day, he went to Stannis's camp, using fearless self-sacrifice to try to influence Stannis and the Red Woman.
Yes, he did not even spare Melisandre.
Inside Stannis's tent, in front of many people, Matthew looked at Stannis with compassionate, loving eyes and said, "Poor child, you have lost your way. I can feel your pain. Your body is in the mortal world, but your soul has fallen into hell."
Though dressed in coarse cloth and plain in appearance, he exuded a warmth like a mother's compassion that reached into the hearts of those around him.
Almost everyone could feel his sincerity and his pain.
Yes, pain.
Because he sensed the suffering of Stannis's soul in torment, his compassion caused him deep sorrow.
This was a new ability after becoming an archangel.
Like the Holy Mother sensing her believers' hearts, Matthew could perceive others' pain and confusion at a glance, then convey his love and compassion to them.
Not only the believers of the Seven in the tent like Davos, but even Stannis's cold, lifeless heart was stirred.
Matthew used no illusions or mind-reading. He simply used his own heart to feel and care for others.
This was the true path of compassion.
No deception, only sincerity, and allowing others to feel that sincerity.
Stannis was deeply shaken.
After the shock came anger from humiliation, and he told Matthew to leave.
Not only did Matthew refuse to leave, he began reciting the Seven-Pointed Scripture with his compassion divinity, intending to help Stannis escape suffering through the teachings of the Seven.
Well, the scene was somewhat like Tang Sanzang chanting "Only You" to a somewhat moved Sun Wukong.
(End of Chapter)
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