"O God, whose only-begotten Son, by His life, death, and resurrection, has purchased for us the rewards of eternal salvation; grant we beseech Thee, that meditating upon these mysteries of the most holy Rosary of the Blessed Virgin Mary, we may imitate what they contain and obtain what they promise. Through the same Christ our Lord. Amen." I said in a soft whisper, finishing the final prayer of the rosary. I turned and placed the rosary on the pew, then facing forward to the tabernacle once more in a continuation of prayer. Having already prayed my fill of Our Father's and Hail Mary's, and asking for God's blessing on a variety of needs for the week, I decided to let my prayers wonder slightly, hoping to find some sort of answer to a very simple question, why I and how I am kneeling right here in this very moment when supposedly three years ago in another time, I had most likely died.
'Oh Lord, what is your purpose for me?' I asked silently. It was a question that had been brought back to my mind recently over certain affairs. Months ago the newly ordained Pope of the Roman Catholic Church, Pope John Paul IV, had made an announcement that he would undertake a tour of the entirety of the colonies in order to reach out to God's children who had made their new home in space. John Paul's first visit would be to the colonies of Side 3, spending nearly two weeks before going to Side 1 on a two and a half month tour. Zeon's Catholic population had been quite ecstatic at the proclamation, something immensely special as there had never been a Papal visit to Side 3. In the past few months, I, along with the Prime Minister and Sovereign's office, had been coordinating extensively with the various Archdiocese and diocese of Side 3, along with State Security in order to ensure the tour went smoothly. I was quite excited at the prospect as in my previous life Saint John Paul had died when I was a child and I barely knew who he was until after death, both Benedict and Francis had primarily traveled across the Atlantic seaboard during their sole visits to the United States, so neither I nor my family had been able to see them in person (interestingly neither Benedict nor Francis were elected to the Papacy prior to the Universal Century, ripples that were primarily caused by John Paul living slightly longer). At the same time however I felt a certain uncanniness of the affair. For most of my life Pope John Paul IV did not exist, and the only reason that I would get to meet him was because I was the Prime Minister and Crown Prince of a nation that first existed as a work of fiction inside a Japanese anime. Thus I started to ask myself two questions on a daily basis, "Why and How was I here?"
Ever since I was educated in the teachings of the Church as a young boy, I had always believed that after a person would die, their soul would enter the afterlife and meet three very different fates; heaven, hell, and purgatory. In my first life whenever I thought of the topic of death, I assumed that I would mostly likely go to purgatory to cleanse my sins (I wasn't a perfect Christian but I'm pretty sure I never did anything to deserve going to hell), and once that was over I would go to Heaven to live in eternal paradise alongside God, and whoever of my family and friends made it there before me. However instead of appearing before the gates of St. Peter, after I had died to a drunk, I appeared in a hospital, wearing the skin of another man, someone whom for most of my life I only knew as the antagonist of a piece of Japanese fiction designed to sell model kits. It was something which under the doctrine of the Church should never have happened, a sick joke that promoted the blasphemies of reincarnation, yet here I was, living a false life as another man in an impossible world.
The more I tried to think about it, the more it made less sense. While God as the creator of the universe could hypothetically do anything he wanted, and reincarnation might not be impossible, why would he chose to reincarnate someone's soul when they could spend eternity in heaven? Why was I chosen out of hundreds of millions of other Catholics, what made me so special? Just because I had some weird dying wish? If I die for a second time, well I enter purgatory or heaven or just be reincarnated for a second time? Were there other people who could be reincarnated to any world they desired after death? Did others like me exist in this timeline? If the Universal Century is real did that mean that the many worlds theory is true? And if this is all real then what the hell caused Yoshiyuki Tomino to write Gundam? Was every work of fiction just a compact narrative of another reality?
Infinite questions, absolutely no answers. The only thing that I knew for certain was that I had to use my power that I have in this second life to save the Universal Century, make it a better place than the decades of endless war and stagnation of canon. I've accomplished a great deal in three years, yet thanks to that I'm pretty sure what little remnants of canon have been erased by now, leaving me on my own to deal with the fate of eleven billion people in the years to come.
Releasing a prolonged sigh, I slowly looked up to the Cathedral's crucifix, a life-size recreation of Jesus and the cross, lying meters high above the altar. Kneeling before such a mighty figure with the eyes of Jesus boring down, it was a rather intimidating moment, as if the Lord himself was judging me at this very moment.
'Over two millennia ago you died for our sins. Was the purpose of my death to save the Universal Century for its sins?' I asked, receiving no response.
"My young Gihren, what a surprise to see you at this late hour." Said a kind, elderly voice to my left.
My concentration on the cross was broken and I turned to my left, looking up to see body of a tall figure dressed in all black with a dash of Cardinal Red. The man before me was of mixed Italian descent, having black and white hair akin to salt and pepper, along with a well-maintained skin that made him look about a decade younger than his age. It was Cardinal Roy Wood, head of the Archdiocese of Zum City.
When I had decided to stick to my faith after the first few months of my second life, I turned to St. John Paul's as my new place of worship, where Cardinal Wood had resided for the better part of the past decade. While Gihren's staunch Atheism wasn't something that was made too public, it was known that he had not been religious, as such the news that Gihren Zabi was turning to Jesus after making a swift recovery from a drive by assault had been a somewhat popular news and gossip topic for a couple of weeks. It was a rather bewildering time in my second life, thankfully when I had turned to the Church, Cardinal Wood had stepped in and offered to act as a guide to the faith, personally teaching (or in my case relearning) the doctrine of the Church and the teachings of the Lord and the Bible. As a confirmed Catholic in my previous life, I was able to speed through the RCIA program and with some intervention from the Cardinal due to my the time constraints of my position, I was confirmed early last year. Throughout it all Cardinal Wood acting as a kind and patient fatherly figure, helping me through my struggles of faith and helping me to deepen my devotion to God. It was thanks to him that I had preserved my spiritual life, something I will forever be grateful for.
Making the sign of the cross I ended my pray and stood up to greet the Cardinal, giving him a strong handshake for a greeting which he returned. "Hello Father, I had some late work to do tonight within the party, and after I finished I received a desire to do some prayers here. Which..." I looked at my watch, slightly startled that I had spent over an hour and a half within the Cathedral, something that I had never usually done before. "was quite a while ago." I finished.
"With your busy schedule, the fact that you manage to show up on a weekly basis along the sabbath along with Garma is already a strong commitment. The fact that you freely spend your time on a weeknight in the Lord's embrace shows how strong your faith is my son, if only more of our congregation could follow your example." He said, sparing a brief glance at the few dozens of people that were scattered throughout the Cathedral. Everyone who was present kept a large distance from myself, both out of respect and as a concession to the Royal Guard so that they could best protect me so that someone sitting in the pew behind me couldn't stab me in the back. Cardinal Wood had only been able to come so close without a fuss due to the close nature he had with me.
"I hope that I didn't interrupt you in prayer."
"Not at all Father, in fact I had just finished the rosary and my mind and soul was slightly drifting to say."
Cardinal Wood slightly nodded, though kept his face stoic, "Mind if I sit down?" He asked.
"Of course father, it's your Church after all."
At my statement Cardinal Wood let off a soft chuckle, "No Gihren, your wrong." He said, pointing his finger at the crucifix. "It's the Lord's house not mine, I'm just the bum who pays rent." He joked, causing me to laugh, a slight echo reverberating through the empty Cathedral, causing me to quite a little to contain my sound.
Cardinal Wood made the sign of the cross and genuflected, then sitting down next to me in the pew. An awkward silence sat between us for a few moments before I started the conversation. "If you wouldn't mind my asking, what caused you to be up at this late hour father?"
At my question Cardinal Wood released a slow sigh, his face revealing a somewhat tired and pained state, "Do you know Greg Hayes?"
"I think I've heard of the name but I'm not familiar with the man Father."
"Greg was a fourth-degree knight and one of the founders of our chapter of the Knights of Columbus. I wouldn't be surprised that you aren't familiar with him since you both went to different mass times, but Greg was a well-loved man, a staple of our community in a lot of ways. He was a kind man, loving husband and father, a good Christian. Hours ago I had to perform the last rites for Greg in Saint Luke's. If he hasn't died by now, he will most likely pass by tomorrow."
"I am sorry to hear, Father. Must've been a terrible time." I said.
Cardinal Roy nodded his head slightly, "Yes, any occasion that sees our brothers and sisters is an occasion of great sorrow, but it was never a bleak affair. To most of the lay followers, the anointing of the sick is a depressing affair, but I like to see it as a service of both sorrow and joy. While the extension of someone's life is always a blessing, when I am performing the sacrament I am able to help the ill cleanse their souls and be at peace with their final hours. Greg Hayes may soon depart this world, but he shall have departed a content man who has lived a good life with no regrets left staining his mortal body. I have faith that it shall only be a short period before Greg enters heaven, and in the end, eternal paradise at the Lord's side is the greatest blessing on any son or daughter, no matter what their achievements may have been on Earth."
"I agree completely Father." I just hoped that my second death I would finally enter heaven, to get to see both my original family and the one that I have made in the Universal Century.
"Father, what do you know of Pope John Paul IV as a person?" I asked, switching topics to the partial reason for my visit.
Cardinal Wood looked to be in deep thought for a few seconds before responding to me, "It's hard to say. Naturally due to how we are appointed in our old age and how rarely the College convenes unless it's a papal conclave or some important issue of doctrine, few of the Cardinals form strong relationships with one another. I myself know personally all of Side 3's Cardinals and have a few friendships with Cardinals and bishops in the other Sides, but I never interact with the Earthnoids unless it's some inter-diocese matter, usually related to a holy order or another."
"But surely you must have gotten some knowledge of his character during the conclave?" I asked. Interestingly, Cardinal Wood had told me that during the conference he had maintained the consistent support of the rest of Zeon's Cardinals during the conclave until the seventh and final ballot where the votes shifted to John Paul IV. No one from the rest of the Sides or Earth had voted for him due to their weariness of Zeon, but still it was interesting to know that I had developed a close friendship with someone who was a candidate for the Papacy.
"I guess you could say that, although we didn't really interact until the final ballots when his supporters came to me to seek my endorsement for him, prompting me to have a conversation with the then Cardinal Brian Collins. From my memory, he gave off the impression of a devout and holy man, a description that should belong to all men of the priesthood, but you'd be surprised at how some of us sadly lose our way in our old age. What most struck me, and the reason why I voted for him, was of how in our conversation he constantly spoke of what he wished to do for others while asking me if any of his plans were flawed or how they could be improved for the betterment of the faithful, particularly we Spacenoids who have always felt a disconnect from Earth. He was never confident in ascending to the Papacy or proud in his support, asking me if I would be the better candidate or if there were others whom I should point him to.
In the past when I've heard from Cardinals of the possibility of assuming the Papacy, they always speak of what they would do in charge as if it is their personal reign to do as they see fit for the betterment of the Church. Instead of being a man who wanted to lead in front of or above others, Cardinal Brian wanted to guide the Church by standing side by side with the faithful, being with them as equals to further our relationship with God rather than lording over the Church from Rome. It's that humility and dedication to service that I believed guided me and several others with God's blessing to pick him as the head of the Holy See.
As for how he has acted as Pope, John Paul strikes me as a Traditionalist, not in the negative connotations of the reactionaries who want to completely turn back the social clock millennia ago, rather a priest who wants to have the Church return to its roots and revitalize the same model of faith that Christ's first disciples displayed, how the Church was built upon and to act as our teachings command instead of simply preaching it. In other words, we must venture forth into the world as disciples of Christ and be true and proud in our devotion to God rather then turning away in shame and making Jesus a small and reserved part of our life who we must follow in private, rather than making him who our lives must be dedicated to in the journey to salvation." Cardinal Wood said, myself nodding in agreement with many of the points that the Pope had made.
"If you are worried about being marked as some enemy of the Church Gihren, then you have nothing to worry about. In my personal opinion, you two are of similar mind when it comes to the mission of gathering the faithful together and creating a society of spirituality. He is a good man and will not mindlessly preach against you like many on Earth continue to do, unless you give him good reason. We've actually discussed about you in an exchange of emails around Christmas."
"You have?" I asked, stunned that the Pope asked about me, though I shouldn't have been surprised since I was one of the most powerful individuals in the Earth sphere, which would make me a person of interest due to my high devotion to the Church. "I hope you gave a good impression of me Father."
"Nope, only the most horrid and wicked details about you." He lightly joked, "He was mostly curious about what role your faith had in your politics and if you had any plans to make the Church Zeon's state religion with the Principality's establishment. There are few politicians who are part of the Church, even fewer who are truly devoted to Christ and actively practice. Not only do you do both, but you have also created a state that grants immense powers to your family. A Catholic Principality is a nation that would leave a great footprint on the Church and the greater Earth sphere." Cardinal Wood said.
He then pressed his hand on my shoulder in a reassuring manner, "Do not bother yourself with what might happen and instead focus on what has happened after tomorrow. Have faith in the Lord Gihren and he will guide and protect you in return. I believe it'll work out, one way or another."
I smile in return, a slight amount of pressure being alleviated, "Thank you Father. I think I shall return home for now and get some rest, wouldn't want to fall asleep during the tour." I say lightly.
"Of course. Good night Gihren, I shall see you tommorrow. God bless."
"And you two Father." I say, genuflecting in front of the cross then slowly making my way out.
As I exited the Cathedral, a tight knot that had been gnawing at my stomach refused to leave. For most of the day a great amount of apprehension resided in me over my future meeting with the Pope. If I had to be honest with myself, it had nothing to do with trying to present a good image of Zeon or gaining favorable relations with the Vatican. Rather it had to do with a confrontation I had in mind with the Holy Father. If there was one mortal man who could find answers to my situation, it had to be the Pope. I had to reveal as much of the truth as possible tomorrow in order to understand my purpose in the Universal Century. I had to seek a clear answer so that I could be greater in my devotion to God and protect my immortal soul. I dreaded to fathom what would happen if my worst fears were confirmed.
June 14th, 0070. Zum City, Principality of Zeon. St. John Paul II Cathedral.
If I had to use the hundreds of meetings with politicians, corporate bigshots, and celebrities that I had within my second life as a basis of comparison, I had to say that the Papal visit so far was going pretty well. It all started with Pope John Paul IV arriving in the Spaceport to a cheering crowd of hundreds of thousands of Catholics as well as some curious but supportive non-believers.
Security was probably hell for Kycillia to arrange and I promised myself to give her a strong thank you later today. In this timeline, there had been only two assassination attempts on the Popes since John Paul II's near brush with death, and I very strongly hoped that Zeon wouldn't be the third. Everything did go fine but there's always some crazies out there who want to do evil and combined with anti-Zeon fanaticism, it doesn't paint an optimistic picture.
After John Paul had exited the Space Popemobile as I termed it, Degwin, Garma and I gave him a general tour around Zum City, showing him some of the major national monuments and cultural sites to give him a strong impression of who we are as a people. Overall it was a pretty nice and relaxing day as I got to play tour guide to the Holy Father, who by all accounts seemed to match Cardinal Wood's character descriptions. He gave off a very warm and inviting demeanor, one that gave me strong nostalgia in reminding me of my parish priests who helped draw me into the faith more in my first life.
Garma was a delightful and great addition to the tour as a lot of the time he spent asking John Paul questions about the Church's theology and doctrine, wanting to know more about Christ's teachings and what it meant to be a Christian. His innocence and energy did well to give off an impression of the Zabi family as people first instead of the vile fascists that propaganda made us out to be. I think that John Paul was generally happy to be conversing with Garma as he seemed to get great enjoyment out of acting as a sort of teacher to my younger brother.
Degwin was far more mild mannered than either of us and mostly kept a neutral political poker face during the tour, but he was entirely civil throughout and outside of questioning John Paul on the Church's position of remarriage (with a Vatican III council allowing it through a special process sanctioned by a priest) he was mostly quiet and content to let me and Garma do the talking. I took that as a sign of success and hoped that meeting the Pope would give Degwin a more favorable view of the Church. I was fine if he never decided to convert all the way to his death, I just wanted Degwin to be accepting of what I believed in and wouldn't object to my active practice.
The last stop of our tour was a visit to the Flanagan Institute where John Paul would see the good doctor's work and witness with his own eyes how Zeon was researching its Newtypes and their potential. This was the make or break part of the tour as I had to show Newtypes as being gifted by God instead of practicing psychic witchcraft. The last thing I needed when I was preparing for independence from the Federation was a schism in doctrine or being excommunicated for being the metaphorical heir.
Fortunately, nothing bad seemed to occur as while I noticed that the Pope was highly apprehensive upon entering the institute, said apprehension seemed to slowly melt as Doctor Flanagan presented his work and just what exactly the powers of the Newtype were. When Lalah showed off her psychic abilities, he seemed to be more impressed than afraid and complimented her as a gifted child with incredible talents. So for now it appeared that we had no reason to fear a Vatican Inquisition against Newtypes. Yay!
Before we left the Flanagan institute with us returning to the manor for the night while John Paul went to the Cathedral, I pulled him aside and asked if he could personally hear a confession from me at the Church later tonight. Fortunately he agreed to my rather sudden request, most likely due to my position and power that gave me heavy importance over the average lay Catholic. Hopefully I would get some sort of answer and closure over what has been bugging me for the past three years, how and why I was brought here.
Walking into the confessional room I was greeted with the friendly presence of the Pope, who like Francis forewent the traditional Papal regalia to wear the simple white pontifical robes.
Coming in here sprouted a feeling of guilt within myself. Hundreds of millions of Catholics would do anything for minutes with the Holy Father, and here I was thanks to the position that I accumulated due to three years of scheming and a virtual silver spoon from the body I had inherited. I vowed not to waste such a blessing.
"Thank you for agreeing my request Your Holiness." Bowing slightly as I took my seat a little more than a meter from John Paul IV.
"Your welcome Gihren, but please, call me Father John. Here in this room, we are not the Prime Minister of Zeon and Pope of the Catholic Church, we are two disciples of Christ, I am simply a priest hearing a confession from one of his flock." He said with a warm and calming smile. "What seems to be troubling you my child?"
I took a deep breath, preparing myself as butterflies swarmed in my stomach as they usually do before Confession.
'Here we go.'
"Forgive me Father for I have sinned, my last confession was seven months ago. What I am here to confess is not exactly a sin persay, or at the very least not something I would count as a conventional venial or mortal sin. I don't even know if this is something to warrant the sacrament of reconciliation, but it is something I feel must be addressed in some manner of confession. For you see Father, when I went through RCIA and converted to become a member of the Church, I lied about why I became a Christian."
This statement caused John Paul's eyebrows to rise in puzzlement, confusion highly visible in his face. "What do you mean? Why would you have any reason to lie about your decision to follow in Christ's light? Is this something political?"
I shook my head in response, "No, not exactly. It's just that...the reason I converted was through a highly extraordinary experience that I don't think anyone would normally believe."
"Try me."
I took another deep breath, then began to tell a story I never told another soul. "Three years ago on New Year's Eve, my brother Dozle and I were out celebrating and getting drinks. While I was crossing a road, a drunk driver went crazy and ran me over, landing me in a coma where I spent the next three days in the hospital until I woke up. It was this event that caused me to convert, but not for the reasons I had said before.
What I said to Cardinal Wood and others about this event was that during my time in a coma, I had a vision of Jesus who showed me the path of righteousness, leading to my conversion. This is a lie. What actually happened was while I had seen visions during my comatose period, they were of something else entirely.
I saw two different timelines of a past and the future. In the former I had seen, no lived through the eyes of a young American man in the early 21st century, a 21st century where there was never a World War III and there was no concept of an Earth Federation. The man I witnessed lived a pretty unremarkable life, though one particular trait about him was his strong devotion to the Roman Catholic Church, which was a major reason I had decided to convert to the Church when I awakened as it felt the most natural and right.
The latter vision was far more disconnected and was something I more experienced in third-person. You see it was a vision of a possible future, of a war at the end of the decade where I lead Zeon in a rebellion against the Federation, and in the process became the most evil person in human history by killing over a third of humanity."
I then proceeded to regale the Pope with a tale of the details of those two "visions", my original life and the overall story of Mobile Suit Gundam. I was far more detailed with the former in giving specific information as I gave an overall synopsis of how my first life went due to my actual experiences versus the story of Gundam where I only saw a limited point of view of a few key certain events. The Universal Century that I was living in was a different experience than the highly simplified plots of the anime and manga. I also took great care not to mention specific players such as Amuro or Char, laying most of the blame on me as a good portion of UC's chaos could be traced back to canon Gihren and I didn't want the Pope to form biases against people like Haman who most likely would never become the villains that they were originally destined to be.
At the end of my talk, the Pope sank in his chair in contemplation. A grave silence hung in the air for a while before he responded.
"This is quite the revelation that you have shared with me. I don't think anyone within the history of the Church, even the Saints, have ever gone through what you have witnessed Gihren." John Paul said, so far giving me a hopeful impression that he believed me.
"But there has to be something off with it right? From those memories of the past it appears like some sort of reincarnation, but reincarnation can't and shouldn't exist...right?" I asked, fearful of how my existence conflicted with the traditional doctrine of the afterlife with heaven, hell, and purgatory.
"As the creator of the Universe and all life that dwells in it, God the Father should be able to do anything, including reincarnation. However, you are right that reincarnation should not exist as there is no need for such a method for the soul. When Jesus died on the cross, he died so that all of mankind could receive salvation so that at the end of times in Revelations we shall all gather at the right hand of God in heaven for eternity. As it says in the Nicene Creed, 'He ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father. He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead and his kingdom will have no end.' What would be the point of giving a soul a second life on Earth when it would deny them salvation in the Kingdom of God? There is only one soul and it experiences one life from birth until death."
The Pope's words did little to calm myself as I was freaking out on the inside, immense dread filling me over the complications of his words. Fortunately it seemed that John Paul wasn't finished. "However, there may be a reason for why you have...memories in the life of another. Although this is just a theory that I have just thought of and there are no precedents in scripture or the Church's history."
"And that is...?" I ask, begging with my body language for him to go on.
"You see, a major part of the reason for my visit to Zeon is to investigate Newtype powers, primarily their gift of foresight and reports of divination that we have received across the Earth sphere. As you know, fortune telling and divination is a mortal sin of the occult and an affront to God as it is said in many times within the Bible. No one mortal, and not even the angels can know of what is to come, only God the Father knows of all that is to pass. However, in the Old and New Testament there are many prophets who arose that foretold the coming of Jesus, these prophecies being committed through the Holy Spirit and direct interaction with God. I believe that this Newtype foresight is not an ability of the occult, but a gift from God as these powers are granted from the awakening of their souls, a miracle that God has granted upon the human race, though for what purpose I have yet to know. You aren't a Newtype, are you Gihren?" John Paul asked.
I shook my head sadly, "No, I tested myself three times at the Institute just to be sure. I'm just as much of an Oldtype as you are." I said with slight melancholy. It was quite the disappointment to me when I first found out I wasn't a psychic in my new life. It partially made sense as Gihren was an Oldtype, and perhaps there was something about my soul being foreign that made it impossible to become a Newtype.
Nodding at the information, John Paul continued, "If you are not a Newtype then I believe is that these visions you have seen were due to the direct intercession of God. The one of the future is rather obvious in intent. While I personally do not find the Federation's policies on Spacenoids to be benign, and I do find multiple flaws in its current system of governance, your potential future self went too far in a quest for independence against the Earth, becoming an incomparable monster of a far worse level than any evil within the Federation government. This was God showing you of potential evils that you could commit as a warning to steer you on a better path in your rise of political power.
The second one of the past is more troubling, and I admit it opens up a disturbing possibility of the multi-verse theory being true, but I believe that those memories of another life were given to you to show a model of faith to follow on. You said that man was a Catholic, and when you reawakened from your coma you were fervent on joining the Church. Perhaps those memories of another life were purposely given to show you of a path of salvation that one can obtain by following God. There is the saying that you must walk a mile in someone else's shoes before judging them. Personally I belief that you must walk a mile in someone's shoes to understand them. Our missionaries are the best examples of this, taking on vows of poverty and partaking in the cultural traditions of those they are proselytizing in order to best understand who they are as individuals to guide them to the Church.
This has also occurred in the Bible, with Moses once being a proud Egyptian until he saw the turmoil of his people and God spoke directly to him, then becoming a champion of Israel by leading them in the Exodus. The point is that you saw the life of this man through the intervention of God, which led you to come to the Church and of your free will become a disciple of Christ. It is thanks to these experiences of another life that guide you in how to live while the memories of a dystopian future show you what to avoid. All of this was done by God's hand, to guide you to salvation. What matters from this point onward is how you choose to act with this information and live your life."
After John Paul had made his deduction, we spent the next forty minutes conversing, further contemplating on the precise meaning of my experiences and how I could best act as a Christian moving forward. We ended the session with a prayer, with John Paul asking for God to watch over me, guide me and my family in governing Zeon wisely, and to steer clear of evils that I could have committed.
When I left the Cathedral and returned to the manor, a flurry of conflicting emotions were boiling inside of me. While the Pope was of great comfort and I knew his words were honest and sincere, I knew there were two missing pieces that still didn't fit. Firstly was how this entire world that I now resided in was a work of fiction in my first life (a fact that I had wisely chosen to omitted), and how such a universe could possibly exist in this reality and as the creative work of a Japanese author.
Then there was the question of whether or not I had simply "received" those memories of my first life, or if I truly had lived through them and it was my soul in Gihren's body. Souls were an undeniable fact of the Universal Century both in canon and now so I knew that my soul entering Gihren's body, just as Char's will had entered and dominated the body of Full Frontal, was entirely possible. That still led to the question of why I was chosen and why through this method.
For now I had to resign to the status quo and continue to move forward in my plans to uplift Zeon and protect it from the Federation. Pope John Paul promised to remain in touch with me and to have researchers in the Vatican look into if anyone in the history of the Church had similar experiences, so there was always opportunity in the future to confront this issue once my immediate goals are completed.
In the meantime all I could do was pray and have faith in whatever God had planned for me. In the end our fate is determined by our free will and how we choose to act with it, and I intend to earn my salvation instead of wishing for it to fall in my lap. Good endings must come from good works after all.
A/N: Hi everyone, Kaiser Chris here with my latest chapter of Gihren's Glory! Sorry for the long wait as this was definitely one of the hardest chapters of the story to write as I struggled to get the tone and atmosphere write and I had to go through multiple drafts while getting rid of a lot of extra content that I wanted to include in. There is good reason as this chapter covers a scenario that is rarely if ever explored in SI's, what happens when a religious SI gets transported to a fictional world. The self-insert Kaiser Gihren is modeled off of my personality and experiences, and one of his core traits is his strong belief and devotion to Catholicism which is based off of me. While I wouldn't consider myself pious and am far from the model Christian, I am a faithful member of the Church and choose to include this aspect in Kaiser Gihren's character. A major theme in the future is how Kaiser Gihren's faith affects his actions and shapes his perception of the world around him with some struggles on how to deal with a scenario that goes against traditional scripture. However, just because Kaiser Gihren is a Catholic does not make him righteous and perfect. He is a protagonist with many flaws who isn't always in the right with many of his actions either directly or indirectly responsible through a butterfly act for bad events to occur. He doesn't live a perfect life in accordance with the Bible and will make major decisions that can heavily lean to morally gray. All of this makes him human with his faith being a strong part of him, though not what he solely revolves upon. Just so we're clear, I don't intend to turn this story into a platform to spread my beliefs and any readers who choose not to believe in the Catholic Church or Christianity in general are free to continue doing so. Kaiser Gihren won't preach to the masses and convert everyone around him to the word of God. Most Gundam canon characters, including many of the core cast who are considered friends and family of the protagonist will continue to not be Christian or Catholic and they are not wrong or evil for it. I primarily aim to portray how religion in the Universal Century would organically evolve along the lines of canon and new developments and how it personally affects some of the major characters. Every major faith will be given a fair portrayal with a primary focus on the developments of Christianity, Islam, and Buddhism. I can't promise that I will never be biased in my writings, what I will promise is that I will try to do my best to portray religion in a fair and respectful manner and to allow the readers to make their own choices in whether or not they agree with and enjoy what is written. Next chapter will be a direct buildoff to this with a point of view from John Paul IV, and then afterword we will continue on our regularly scheduled programming of UC politics and mecha. I may or may not also write an update for Cosmic Crusade before the next chapter in order to give the readers for that story a gift for New Year's. Lastly this chapter was beta'd by fellow Gundam author Jaenera Targareyan. Be sure to check out all of her excellent wor Thanks to everyone who has read and have a very happy New Year and a hopefully great 2020's. See you next year!