Faith in the Kingdom of God

At night, the desolate earth had long since withered, silent beneath the heavens. The moon gradually rose in the sky, illuminating the mountains and rivers in a pale glow.

Chen Ming gazed at the wild landscape, so primitive, and found himself momentarily dazed.

“This is no longer Earth,” he thought.

He remembered, with stark clarity, the shock he experienced years ago upon first awakening. He had once been an ordinary university student in the twenty-first century, facing imminent graduation, his days consumed by the search for employment. Then one day, after returning from another interview to his shabby rented room, exhaustion overtook him. He collapsed onto the bed and fell into a deep sleep—only to awaken as a tree.

At that time, a group of people, as primitive as prehistoric humans, were kneeling before him in worship. A gentle warmth suffused his body, and then, startled by the scene before him, he almost panicked. Fortunately, he had already become a tree, unable to move; otherwise, who knew what disaster might have ensued.

In the years that followed, his soul gradually grew stronger. Recently, he had finally managed to break free from the ancient tree’s form and could, for brief periods, leave his body and wander.

He looked up at the sky, his brow furrowing slightly.

Outside, under the bright moonlight, as darkness deepened, faint black shadows began to emerge, bearing an uncanny air. Some of these shadows were shaped like humans, others like beasts—each different, but all displaying a fierce, menacing aspect. A strange,