Morning in Greyhaven felt more restless than usual.
People walked faster on the city streets.
Several windows that were usually open were now closed.
News about the creature in front of the church had spread.
No one said the word monster out loud.
But everyone was thinking it.
Elias was still inside the church with Rowan and Luca.
Morning sunlight entered through cracked window glass and fell on the stone floor.
But the air inside the church remained cold.
Rowan broke the silence.
"So you think the words in that book can fight that creature?"
Elias did not answer immediately.
He opened the small book he carried again.
The page he had read last night felt different now.
As if something inside it had just awakened.
"I'm not sure," Elias finally said.
"But something reacted when those words were spoken."
Rowan crossed his arms.
"That doesn't explain much."
"No."
Elias closed his book.
"But perhaps this is not about words alone."
Luca stood near the church window.
The boy was still looking toward the city.
"It's moving again," he said softly.
Rowan turned quickly.
"You see it?"
"No."
Luca shook his head.
"I just know."
Rowan sighed deeply.
"This child is beginning to frighten me."
Elias observed Luca for a few moments.
Then he looked back at the large book on the altar.
If the Gospel truly had power…
then perhaps every part of that book had different meanings.
He opened the large book again.
The page that had moved earlier was still in the same place.
"The Word became the light of man."
But when Elias flipped through several following pages, he found something strange.
Several parts of the book had small marks on their margins.
As if someone in the past had marked certain sections.
Rowan approached.
"What is that?"
Elias pointed to one of the pages.
There was written about creation.
About how the world was formed from nothingness.
"In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth."
Rowan raised an eyebrow.
"That sounds like an ordinary story."
"Perhaps not."
Elias traced that writing with his finger.
If certain words had power…
then this part might have far greater meaning.
Luca suddenly approached.
He looked at that page for a long time.
"This page… is warm."
Rowan looked at him confused.
"Warm?"
Luca nodded.
Elias tried touching that page again.
This time he also felt it.
Very subtle.
But real.
Like small heat beneath the paper's surface.
Rowan stepped back slightly.
"I don't like this."
Elias slowly closed the book.
In his mind, an idea began to form.
What if the Gospel was not just one source of power?
What if every part of the Gospel stored different powers?
Creation.
Light.
Life.
Sacrifice.
Hope.
If that was true…
then someone who truly understood one part of the Gospel might be able to use it.
Not as prayer.
But as power.
Rowan broke his thoughts.
"Just say it directly."
Elias looked at him.
"What?"
"You're thinking about something."
Elias sighed softly.
"Perhaps there is more than one power within the Gospel."
Rowan laughed small.
"Good."
"Now we just need to find someone who can use it before that creature returns."
At the same time…
something happened outside the church.
Fog on the city street moved slowly.
The tall figure stood at the end of the street.
It did not approach.
Did not move.
But it looked toward the church.
Like someone who realized that humans were finally beginning to understand something that should have remained hidden.
And if humans truly began to discover the power of the Gospel…
then the Lament would also begin to change.
Because creatures like that were not only born from despair.
They also evolved from human fear of hope itself.
Inside the church, Elias closed the book completely.
He did not yet know how to use that power.
But one thing became clear to him.
Greyhaven was not merely a city that happened to be attacked by the Lament.
This city might be the first place where the war between despair and hope truly began.
And that war had just opened its first chapter.