What did you do with the dice?

"However, when the demons invaded, we fought fiercely on the front lines, but we were the first force abandoned in the great retreat. The gods believed that the influence of our Church of Joy was too deep, and they wanted to use the demons to eliminate our power. They succeeded, but we were severely damaged in this battle, and the betrayal was concentrated in the eastern part of Esdi."

"But even so, no one gave up."

At this point, Theresa's eyes flashed with a hint of hatred. "During the War of Demons, we trusted the dragons and orcs, our former allies, so much that we took the initiative to suppress the demons, but we were trapped in a city."

"Forcing the enemy to launch a siege is undoubtedly the fastest way to deplete their manpower and reduce their pressure on those settlements without the protection of city walls and fortresses."

"Originally, we shouldn't have rashly ignited the Fog of Celebration when we were outnumbered, leading to the Void Legion surrounding us. However, their gods promised the Goddess of Pleasure that they would provide us with logistical supplies and support from the air."

"Do you know what it's like to have to choose between dying of starvation and dying in battle?"

"Oh, by the way, I almost forgot, you were also there at the battle of Alice City."

Theresa's eyes were filled with melancholy and regret. "What a shame! Why weren't you born in my time? Why was it me who gave the death-defying order to charge out of the city? Why did you succeed, while we failed?"

Rusalka could understand that feeling, but her why could not make up for it. Life is nothing but choices and rolling of dice. It’s just that Rusalka threw out success, while Theresa threw out failure.

Two results, two destinies.

"Later, the Church of Joy was destroyed, and I was the only one left. The God of Light chose to give me power, making me His chosen one, and saving me from being surrounded by evil."

"At that time, I clearly wanted to kill all those who betrayed us. I clearly thought I had become cold-blooded enough. But when I saw those paladins gathered around me, when I saw the people calling me a hero and seeing me as their hope, I realized that I still couldn't be cruel enough."

"I choose to repay the life-saving grace of the God of Light, bury the sorrows of the past, hide my identity as God's chosen one, and simply guide the world as a patriarch. This way, I won't face the dilemma I once faced."

"Perhaps one day, I can secretly restore the faith of the Goddess of Pleasure?"

Theresa let out a long sigh. "If everything had ended peacefully like this, perhaps I wouldn't be the Great Saint now. In that case, you might still read about my glorious deeds in history books."

Rusalka: "Well, actually, it's recorded in some books now."

Theresa was a little confused. "Really? I clearly ordered all records related to the Church of Joy to be destroyed. After all, I've made the Church of Joy a 'heretic cult' in the eyes of the world. It seems that the archmages of Sneedi are just as rumored, always able to obtain some bizarre and strange records of knowledge."

Rusalka was very surprised: "If you do this, don't you care about the past at all?"

Teresa gave an answer that Rusalka found difficult to refute: "I care, but God doesn't."

"The Good God appears to be righteous on the surface, but in secret he only cares about his own interests. Even the Light God only wants me to support his forces, and doesn't care about the pain that would come from exposing my scars."

Rusalka actually deeply understands this statement. From the perspective of God, everyone is data, just like playing a strategy game. How can he care about one number among thousands of numbers that seem to be the same?

Even hero units are actually more focused on pursuing extremely efficient operations. No one cares what they think or whether doing so is in line with their personality.

Theresa slowly spoke, revealing a hidden past that even Sanita hadn't guessed: "Otherwise, why would God Light force me to run for the Grand Saint?"

Oh, no wonder there was one missing when I counted just now. It turns out that the one who betrayed Theresa for the third time was God Light.

This information is new. I thought it was the end.

But if you think about it carefully, the end had not yet come to the world, so the existence of the first person who guided Theresa to become the messenger of the end is indeed a mystery to this day.

Will the answer be revealed tonight?

Rusalka handed Theresa a chicken drumstick.

Come on, let’s talk about it in detail.

Chapter 523 The Saint's Struggle

Theresa is a very strong person, always has been.

When she was serving as the patriarch of a small town, she had actually completed her own redemption in her peaceful daily life, completely let go of the regrets and hatred of the past, and got rid of the nightmare of the ghost that haunted her that night.

Just as the world is willing to believe Theresa, even the gods believe that Theresa herself is a very special existence, otherwise she would not be like the protagonist of the world, acting as a multifaceted spy for different gods.

But once she came into contact with the gods, it was as if she was bound by cause and effect. Even the Iron Tower of Sani would be inadvertently affected. How could Theresa resist at that time?

After all, even God Light is not a fun-loving person who doesn't care about winning or losing, but rather wins in a way that satisfies himself.

So He certainly would not allow the Chosen One whom He had saved with His power to live a life of obscurity without any achievement.

Even if Theresa failed the first time, He preferred to believe that she would do better.

In fact, He was right. Theresa never disappointed God Light.

However, when the blade pierced the heart of the former Great Saint, her heart also died at the same time.

The feud between her and the former Grand Saint actually arose from an unnecessary misunderstanding deliberately created by the God of Light.

Humans are very complex creatures. They show integrity and nobility in times of crisis, but they also feel that they deserve to feel superior when they are at ease.

The same was true of the High Saint at the time. She was a well-deserved hero during the war and a good ally who fought alongside Theresa's Church of Joy during the Demon War. She was also one of the few good people who did not abandon her during the war.

The purpose of most hostile acts is based on the struggle for interests. Originally, there was no conflict of interest between Theresa and the former Grand Saint, but the other party heard that Theresa, as a believer of joy, had the qualifications to become the next Saint.

What made her feel most in crisis about her status was that Theresa also gained the favor of the God of Light.

How could she, the chosen one of the goddess of pleasure who can only seduce others, gain the favor of the god Light?

However, despite this, the great saint was of course aware of Teresa's life full of glorious deeds, which were so dazzling that they made her pale in comparison. Even the words of slander seemed so weak and powerless that they could only focus on her charming body.

So how long will it be before Theresa replaces her?

She asked the Light God, but the God did not respond.

So, Theresa became her inner demon, as if she was following her every day, trying to take the final step to surpass her at all times.

The feeling of uncertainty and fear that came from being pushed off the altar from behind made her unable to sleep or eat.

There is no two suns in the sky. He is obviously the hero of Esdi. Peace has only been enjoyed for ten years. How can he let others take it away so easily?

Even if she is a hero, it doesn’t matter, the gods chose me first!

Jealousy and insecurity made her decide to strike first.

She is a hero of Esdi and a great saint who is high above everyone else.

She was also a former ally of Theresa.

"This is a forbidden technique. Once you learn it, you can use it to sever your connection with the Holy Light and completely leave Esdi."

"Or, I could expose you, the undercover agent of the Church of Joy, to the world, telling them that you abandoned the people of a city during the war and fled alone to live in seclusion here. Then I'll send out my Angel Left Legion to wipe out everyone in this city who's harboring you!"

"pick one of two."

The High Saint's actions were so decisive and resolute that when she gave Theresa this order that came like a bolt from the blue, she had already sent paladins to capture most of the nuns and priests in her church.

The White Knights abide by the rules and regulations and generally do not disobey orders that are too outrageous, especially the orders issued by the former Grand Saint are very clever, which is just "suspecting that they are colluding with devil believers and temporarily bringing them to Wright City for investigation."

But those are people Theresa cherishes very much, they are like family members.

The Holy Light was originally a gift from God Light to save himself. It was a cold and dead object, while those who lived with him were warm. Of course, he chose to give up the former in exchange for the latter without hesitation.

What's more, Theresa was not a person who longed for power at that time. She just wanted to spend the rest of her life in peace. She thought that since the Great Saint was chosen by the God of Light, the orders she issued must be the will of the God of Light.

Since the god wants to take back his power, he should give it back to him. After all, he has saved his life, so he has no reason to blame him.

The Great Saint Lady had always been loyal to his power and had done her best. Now that he had indeed threatened her position, or perhaps the gods had forced her to do so, he should not hold a grudge against her. For the happiness of those around him, he should just leave quietly.

"Do you really think you can do this?"

Just when she practiced the forbidden technique and was about to let go of the holy light, a woman broke into her life.

She is like a ghost, visible only to herself. No matter when or where, even in the blink of an eye or when she turns around, she will suddenly appear at that place.

And that woman looked exactly like her.

This should have been a terrible thing, but every time Theresa saw her, she always had an inexplicable sense of intimacy, as if her soul was involuntarily attracted to her and wanted to become like her.

Is this my own inner demon?

She felt that she was not a greedy person, so she decided to ignore this guy who suddenly appeared. It only took her one day to practice the forbidden technique. She also did as it was said above and cast the forbidden technique on herself at the darkest and darkest moment of the day, completely cutting off the perception of the holy light.

The inner demon did not disappear, but instead sneered at her.

But it didn't matter, she closed her eyes and fell asleep peacefully: the next day she would set out for the Wright Cathedral to prove her choice to the great saint and ask her to release those people.

However, when the sun rose the next day, she suddenly woke up and sat up in bed.

The endless holy light once again returned to her body.

The forbidden technique has failed.

Theresa said this and gave Rusalka a wry smile. "I made the worst decision of my life back then. I went to the Wright Cathedral and confessed everything to that guy. I even performed the forbidden technique in front of her. Of course, the outcome was the same."

If before he just doubted Theresa's identity and wanted to eliminate the dissident.

Now, Theresa, who has displayed "miracles", has completely lost her status as God's chosen one and has become a real threat to the status of the Great Saint.

Kill her?

No, she couldn't do it. Even if she was cruel and ruthless, she didn't dare to directly attack the chosen one of God Light. If she did so, she would fall directly into evil and lose the holy light.

Since the forbidden technique cannot cut off the connection, there is another way.

That is to make Theresa feel regret, make her completely collapse, and lose her faith. In this way, the holy light based on faith will also leave her.

Theresa didn't elaborate on the details. She simply stared at the fire before her and spoke calmly, "In that dark, unknown dungeon, she had the Inquisitor torture my family to death right in front of me, claiming they were heretics. She wanted to break me. Unfortunately, I'd already been betrayed several times, so my heart wasn't that fragile. So, I killed her and all the Inquisitors. After all, they were too weak for me at the time."

"Looking at the dungeon littered with corpses, after calming down, I'm not sure if my choice was the right one."

"But if I were given another chance, I would still kill her. I just regret that I did it too late."

"At that time, I also thought I was doomed. That was the crime of murdering the Great Saint. Should I turn myself in and avoid implicating others, or choose to live and bear the infamy and escape as a wanted criminal?"

"Just when I didn't know what to do, the inner demon appeared before me, smiled and said something that will be deeply engraved in my mind."

Fool, why do you, a chess piece, think so much? As a chess player, God Light will naturally guide you in the direction and position of your next move.

Theresa's eyes became incomparably cold at this moment. "He was right. That very night, as I lay in the dark dungeon with a restless heart and fell asleep, I saw the God of Light again in my dream."

"He told me that it was the followers of Lady Shadow who killed the Great Saint, and that I was His final chosen one. I should take over the mission of the Saint and Esdi, avenge the former Great Saint, and eliminate the followers of Lady Shadow who betrayed their alliance during the war and chose to flee and hide."

All these excuses cannot stand up to scrutiny. Even the most incompetent detective only needs to understand some of the causes and consequences and take a look at the crime scene to know that it was Theresa who did it.

But what if this is how the oracle was issued, and Teresa was really God's chosen one?

Who dares to question that a righteous God is lying!

Who would dare to believe that a lawful and good God's chosen one would kill another God's chosen one!

Theresa paused. "You know, Rusalka, I realized then that even God can lie."

"The death of the Great Saint and my selection were not an accident or coincidence. It was just that Light God felt that she was no longer qualified, so he killed her through my hand. Light God felt that it was time to settle accounts with Lady Shadow and achieve victory, so he used her death to make a point."

"For me, I have no choice at all."

“Is this fair?”

So Lady Shadow chose Phoenix and asked her to carry out the assassination in Esdi, which was actually a revenge for the slander and destruction of her forces by God Light.

The reason for all this is that Theresa was chosen by the God of Light, and she did not want to die like this, so according to the will of the God of Light, after succeeding to the throne of the Great Saint, she began to take action to eliminate the forces of the Shadow Lady.

As the queen chess piece in the hands of God Light, there was nothing wrong with her desire to live, so her life began to go wrong again and again.

Until one day, the inner demon showed her everything.

Don’t you think it’s strange that the former great saint knew her identity? Even if some people think Theresa is God’s chosen one, Theresa never shows up in public. This kind of thing will be treated as a rumor and will soon die down. Don’t you think her reaction is very extreme?

The truth is, it was actually the God Light who also gave her the oracle of "wanting to change people".

And this pressure from God was the culprit that made her anxious and worried, leading her to this point.

And why can't her holy light be cut off by forbidden techniques?

Fool, God Light wants to support you as his trump card, how can he bear to let you go like this?

His trick is to give you despair in hope and cut off your last ability to think.

Otherwise, why did He come to you after the incident instead of warning you beforehand when everything could have been salvaged? Why didn't He issue an oracle to another great saint and ask her to release the person?

The inner demon not only told her the truth behind everything, but also told her the nature of this world game and Theresa's special identity in the game.

In Rusalka's words, Theresa should be one of the S-level golden general cards that can be fought over by the entire server.

If these were not convincing enough, the "inner demon" even showed her the plasticity of the world.

In front of Theresa, He resurrected the dead people in the dungeon, erased their memories of Theresa, and replaced them with a new priest named "Ellie".

They left the place in a daze and returned to their own lives, and all the traces of Theresa's life there were filled by Ellie.

And that Ellie is Rewi Alley's ancestor.

This is also why Aery was not affected by the Severing Curse, and later Theresa chose to give the power to Aery - because this guy was not a 100% native of the Eternal Plane, and had the special characteristics of the creation of the Inner Demon.

The inner demon told her that he was not her inner demon, but was called "The End", and was also a god, and was far more powerful than the Twelve Gods.