The Saint sat on a prominent rock on the ground and began to tell his story.

"The religion of the Great Lord ruled the planet of the Franks for many, many years, but heresy spread among the people of our planet, and the age of philosophers began. They started attacking religion and the clergy, accusing them of corruption because they supported the king.

The clergy on my planet had great power and authority, many positions, and advantages. People turned to them in all their affairs. However, these rebellious young people spread the seeds of heresy in the minds of the youth and exploited the corruption of the king and his entourage, involving the clergy with them.

Then they ignited a bloody revolution in which they killed the king and his soldiers, destroyed the Churches of the Candles (houses of worship), slaughtered the clergymen one after another, burned their homes, and committed heinous acts against them. Then they began to call for a world based on logic and science, not on religious superstitions, according to their claims.

Then they dragged us into great wars with all the Zurix empires to satisfy their ambition for a new Franks empire capable of ruling the entire universe. And so we suffered losses, lost miserably, and our debts to the planet Ghlizan—the planet on which we now stand—increased.

This forced the new Emperor to put some of these philosophers on trial and curb their evil from the planet of the Franks and from the galaxy as a whole. The clergy returned to the forefront a little, but without real authority like before, to bring the people back to their senses, even if only through preaching.

But I know that these wretched heretics will not stop spreading their atheism until power is in their hands again. That is why I decided to preach the religion of the Lord far from the planet of the Franks, where things are no longer guaranteed."

The Saint coughed, then resumed his speech.

"If the legends are true, and this crystal is as they say, then I will use it to perform miracles here on this planet so that everyone will be amazed and enter the religion of the Lord in droves after seeing His signs and miracles that the Lord will pass through me.

And after I succeed in spreading the religion of the Lord here, I will go to the planet of the Franks with this miracle of mine, bring the people back to their senses, and eliminate the ideas of these wretched philosophers and their alleged republic, which on the surface calls for equality and freedom but in reality calls for hostility to the religion of the Lord and calls for wars and ruin for our great people.

Damn them all."

Sairi smiled from behind the mask that covered the lower half of his face.

"So you want to deceive them, Saint, and claim that these are your miracles, not the miracles of the crystal?"

The Saint shook his head in denial.

"I will not deceive them, for this crystal is a gift from the Lord. Otherwise, what is its source? Do you think a weak, ignorant creature in this universe could have created something that gives life to everything it touches?"

"Maybe, and maybe not," Sairi said. "But there is no doubt that the violence you brought to this planet will not encourage anyone to embrace your religion, even if you made the rain fall from above them and made the earth bring forth its treasures for them."

The Saint's face soured.

"If it weren't for those vile philosophers, we would not have had to occupy this planet. The great Franks Empire is on the verge of bankruptcy, and if that happens, the rest of the Zurix empires will come to take revenge on us most severely after what the previous heretic Emperor did to them, with unparalleled brutality. He even instilled terror in their hearts at the mention of his name, and all the Zurix feared him.

We have no choice, young man, but this planet, or we will all perish. We must remain strong in everyone's eyes so that they think more than once before attacking us as we attacked them. And with this crystal, no one will ever dare to attack us."

Sairi cleared his throat.

"Or perhaps they will attack you like vultures descending on a carcass to obtain this great power, if what you say about this crystal is true.

As I told you, no one will embrace your religion with this brutality that you brought. Perhaps you needed to occupy this planet, but what is the purpose of this intimidation, ruin, and burning of villages, farms, and fields? What do you gain from that?"

One of the soldiers waved his rifle threateningly, shouting,

"Be polite when speaking to the Saint, you lowly scum, or I'll beat you!"

Sairi gave him a look that made him tremble for a reason he did not know. He felt a tremor run through his body, as if Sairi were terror incarnate on earth.

The Saint noticed this frightening look in Sairi's eyes and narrowed his own.

"This brutality came because when we came here thirty years ago, the previous Emperor, Darleon, who was ruling, was influenced by some of the ideas of the wretched philosophers.

They suggested to him that he send to this campaign on the planet Ghlizan all the scum of the Franks: thieves, criminals, beggars in the streets of the capital, and everyone unworthy of setting foot in the new Franks Republic. Thus, they would get rid of the dregs of society and sacrifice them in the wars fought on the planet Ghlizan, while keeping their original army.

But I came with them, trying to refine their souls and restrain them from violence, but to no avail. Some souls reach a stage of baseness beyond which they can never be reformed. They delight in burning everything beautiful here, practice all kinds of oppression on the people of Ghlizan, and behave with a barbarity that embarrasses me.

And worse than that, they are a group of scum who suddenly obtained power and influence and found themselves on a vast planet that they could exploit as they wished without any consequences.

And now many of them have gained wealth and money and have become of great importance among the Franks.

But the prince of Ghlizan instilled terror in their hearts with his fierce resistance to them, killing many of them until they begged for help from the real army, which carries the true values of the Franks.

Now things are under the control of the real Franks army, but these dregs still commit atrocities from time to time.

So, do you wish to join me, stranger? I promise to drive the Franks from this planet if you help me and hand over this crystal to me."

Sairi glanced around at the five soldiers guarding the Saint.

"I regret that I will not," he said. "I do not know your true intentions hidden behind these sweet words.

Perhaps the philosophers are right, and perhaps you are a group of corrupt old men who exploit the power of religion over the souls of your people to plunder their wealth. And perhaps your goals are noble, but I will not risk interfering in the politics of your planet. Besides, I need this crystal to save my own planet."

The Saint smiled, his eyes gleaming.

"So you have finally admitted the importance of this crystal and that you realize its power. Then I will help you regain your planet if you help me."

"Thank you for your generosity and kindness," Sairi said, growing weary. "But I do not want the Franks scum army to enter my planet and do to it what they did to the people of Ghlizan. I prefer to reclaim my planet myself."

The soldiers raised their rifles, anger showing on their faces.

The Saint raised his sword and stopped them. "Be careful, he is dangerous."

One of the men fired a blue shot from his rifle.

Sairi raised his hand and stopped it in mid-air. The soldier dropped his weapon, and his comrades' mouths fell open in amazement.

The Saint clapped.

"That is a wondrous power. Where did you get it, stranger? Is it from the crystal you carry?"

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