Mayne was stunned. He stared at the old man in front of him, trying to see something from his eyes.
However, his eyes were cloudy.
His eyes were no longer as deep and frightening as they used to be, able to pierce people's hearts. He may have the wisdom passed down by the previous Popes, and the knowledge obtained from the Canon of Ten Thousand Laws, but... everything was no match for time.
His Holiness was not joking. Mayne realized that his journey had come to an end.
His eyes became a little blurred.
He knelt down again, his forehead touching the ground. This time, His Holiness did not ask him to get up as usual, but waited for him to complete the whole set of movements before saying, "Follow me."
The serving guards helped the Pope onto a cart, and then pushed him to the gate of the Pivotal Secret Area. Mayne followed closely behind. They left the Pivotal Secret Temple and turned into a long and narrow tunnel. On the smooth stone wall, there was a glowing crystal embedded every ten steps. As far as the eye could see, there was no end to it.
After walking for an unknown amount of time, Mayne finally left the passageway, and his line of sight suddenly opened up. Under his feet was a flat stone floor, and he could see the angular walls and the chandelier hanging from the ceiling. Apparently, this secret passageway was connected to a basement.
"We are under the cathedral of the old Holy City." The Pope probably saw through his confusion and took the initiative to say, "The structure here is exactly the same as the cathedral, but it was built upside down. I used to call it the Reflection Church."
"Under the Cathedral?" Mayne was surprised. "I always thought there was no basement."
"There is no basement, because the two are not connected." O'Brien smiled. "You can only come here from the underground passage of the Pivotal Secret Area. The roof is made of a mixture of stone and clay several feet thick, and can't be penetrated by ordinary means. "
"Why... is it designed like this?"
"To keep the secret, but not to completely bury it," he said, "Before any Pope ascends the throne, he must come to the Reflection Church to witness the establishment, development, and growth of the Church, and at the same time remember the goal of the Church."
"To defeat the demons," Mayne said solemnly.
But O'Brien did not nod in affirmation. Instead, he sighed. "No, child, it is to win the smile of God."
The Archbishop was stunned. "What?"
The Pope did not respond to him again. Instead, he commanded the guards to move forward. According to the direction of the stairs and the ramp, they should be climbing up. Soon, the group arrived in front of a grand hall. Mayne recognized the familiar structure of the surroundings. This should be the prayer room of the Reflection Church.
The thick wooden door creaked as it was slowly pushed open. Although it seemed that the Pope had not visited this hall for a long time, he did not smell any dust. Obviously, someone had been cleaning this place.
"They can only send me up to here. You can push me in next," O 'Brien said.
"Yes, Your Holiness." Mayne took the handle and pushed the pope into the prayer room. The wooden door behind him closed again, completely blocking the light of the torch. Now, there was only the soft light emitted by the yellow crystal in the room. Like the layout of the secret passage, it was evenly embedded on both sides of the wall. But the difference was that there was a huge portrait hanging above the crystal. He vaguely remembered that the position of the portrait should be the window opening of the prayer room above ground.
The content of the portrait was similar. They were all half-body portraits of people dressed in gorgeous robes. They were in high spirits and their eyes were full of spirit, as if they were staring at every visitor who walked into the prayer room. And Mayne suddenly saw the portrait of His Holiness O 'Brien. In the portrait, he looked almost like a real person, staring at him with a smile. This strange feeling made him shiver uncontrollably. Goosebumps appeared on his back.
"Ah, you see me." The Pope probably sensed the change in the Archbishop's emotions. "This painting was completed half a year ago. I wasn't as old then, so it should look better. But it should have been hung after I died. "He looked at it carefully." I was too impatient. I wanted to see how I would look like when I was hung up. "
"Your Holiness, are these …" Mayne felt his throat go dry.
"Yes, they are all great pioneers, Your Holiness," he said softly. "Let's continue forward. I will introduce them to you one by one."
The Archbishop listened to His Holiness O 'Brien's summary while he looked at the portraits. Even though he knew that they were once the highest leaders of the Church, he still could not get rid of the strangeness in his heart. The figures in the paintings were too realistic. He could not imagine what kind of technique and dye the painter had used to create such half-body portraits. Coupled with the dim yellow light, the upper half of the portraits would gradually fade into the darkness as he walked further away, leaving only the lower half of the faces grinning at him.
Halfway through the hall, Mayne suddenly noticed that the figures in the portraits had become women.
They looked different and wore different clothes, but they were all beautiful. Such an outstanding appearance rarely appeared on the faces of mortals. The Archbishop was no stranger to this, but it was precisely because of this that he was extremely confused and surprised. His Holiness O 'Brien did not seem to have any reaction. He continued to calmly introduce their names, tenure and achievements.
These people were also the Popes of the Church.
He soon reached the end of the prayer room.
Facing the aisle in the middle of the hall was a full-body portrait that took up an entire wall. It was hung behind the prayer altar and surrounded by glowing crystals, so the picture was even clearer.
Mayne swallowed and looked at the person in the portrait.
The moment his gaze fell on the portrait, he suddenly felt his heart skip a beat. God above, what a peerless woman that was. Other than this, it was hard for him to find any other words to describe her. She had the beauty of a woman and the fortitude of a man. Both were natural and did not conflict when they appeared at the same time. Her red hair was like a burning flame, and the huge sword in her hand was like an extinguishing frost. She stood with her sword, her eyebrows slightly raised. She looked down at the front and her thin lips were tightly shut. Under that pair of sharp and threatening eyes, Mayne felt an overwhelming pressure that almost made him want to kneel in front of this woman.
"Your Holiness, this is …"
He turned his head with difficulty, but found that O 'Brien had already knelt down.
"She is the first Pope, above the Transcendents, Alice. At the same time, she also has a nickname — the Queen of Witches. "
Mayne felt his heart skip a beat. His previous guess was completely correct. The series of Popes in the early days of the Church were all witches!
"Why is the founder of the Church also a witch?"
"Kneel down to greet her, child. After that, I will let you see everything you want to know."
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
