Tea

After taking a sip from his tea Zerem made a delighted expression. This made Ogden's impression of him better. Since he can appreciate good tea he couldn't be that bad now, could he?

"Okay, now you can start talking"

"Is there a heaven or hell?" Ogden asked the question that was bugging him just now.

"Depends," said Zerem while taking another sip.

"Depends? Depends on what? If there is a god shouldn't there be a heaven or hell?" Ogden asked back puzzled.

"And there are but it depends on the person"

"I don't understand"

"Well, if you believe heaven or hell exists you will go there after your death. If you don't then either you get on with your next life or your soul dissipates"

"But how? Doesn't all religions scream that you have to believe in their god or you will burn in hell?"

"Well, in order to explain that we have to talk about god. So what do you think about it?"

"I don't believe god exists. Even if he existed he wouldn't care about human's prayers. I mean why would an almighty being care for such stuff? If we are all his children even more so reason that he wouldn't care about such things. If we are created to worship him then doesn't this make him an egoist?"

"Well, it depends. What if he needs your worship and prayers?"

"Are you suggesting that God needs our prayers? But isn't it contradictory? If he needs our prayers he couldn't have existed in the first place"

"Actually there are three types of gods I am aware of. I don't know what kind your world has or if it even has one. The first kind is the creator god; the type of god that existed since creation. They are the ones who created the universe. Usually, they either appear naturally and create a universe or a world and there are also cases where one comes from a higher dimension and creates a universe for purposes unknown. They don't really need prayers but the power of faith actually makes them stronger.

As for the second kind, they are the ascended gods. They are gods who were born as mortals and became gods due to the power progression of the world, comprehending natural rules or just because they were hailed as gods in their myths and became gods as a result. The power of faith is actually more significant than you think.

Lastly, there are the natural gods; they are gods who existed as a type of concept. They didn't exist in reality but appeared due to the collection of belivers' faith. Now, this type of god actually needs prayers. They came to being due to the faith of their believers so if people stop worshipping them they stop existing. That's why other gods like calling them; false gods.

Anyway, I can't say one god is weaker than the other. At the end of the day, they are all gods"

Ogden didn't know what to think. So did that mean the god of Christianity exist or not?

"So you are saying all religious fanatics scream that we will burn in hell because their god needs our prayers?"

"Maybe? Or it's because they really believe that to be true. At the end of the day all gods like adding such a thing to their doctrine because it makes it easier for people to have faith hence making them stronger but there are cases where fanatics add such a thing on their own because they want every living being to worship their god and what better way is there than threaten them with eternal suffering?"

"Then heaven and hell really exist?"

"Think of gods' heaven and hell like our underworld. It's just a place to rest before our next reincarnation. You can go to one if you want before your next cycle"

"Wait! I can still go there despite being a perpetual reincarnator? Don't I just appear here, after dying automatically?"

"Yes, after dying if you are believing in a god your soul will feel a sort of pull towards heaven or hell and if you allow it you can go there instead of here but remember, if you go there instead of Underworld you won't be able to come here until your next death. Because they are not designed to let people out, it's only a one-way ticket"

Ogden nodded but he had no desire to go to heaven. He wasn't a religious person in the first place and to be fair he was kind of afraid. He didn't want to be detained by gods to stay in their heaven or hell. He would much rather just going through his next life or spend some time in the Underworld.

"Last question, how do I reincarnate?"

Upon hearing that question Zerem's expression changed. But why?

"Why ask? Do you want to go on with your next life as soon as you have arrived here? Why not just take a couple of centuries of vacation? We can hang out, go fishing, make cake etcetera"

Hm? Was this fierce orc just lonely and didn't want to see him leave?

"What do you mean take a vacation for a couple of centuries? I have only lived up to my 30s! I would go crazy!"

"*Sigh* I guess you are right. You are still a newbie so of course, you are excited. Okay then start talking"

Ogden made a dumbfounded expression. What did that have anything to do with his question?