The holy light of Taros not only affected the Sunscorch Tower in the secular kingdom, but also penetrated the vortex of Chaos in the center of Collow and appeared in the eyes of the Sanctum.
For many days, the Sanctum was shrouded in a tense atmosphere. The Light of Asurmen continued to weaken, and the Shield of Order covering the floating continent was so thin that it was almost invisible to the naked eye. The forces of Chaos in the endless void were constantly surging outside the shield like an upside-down sea, ready to cover the entire continent at any time. Such a terrible scene weighed heavily on the hearts of every Sanctum. The once glorious and proud race was now in the grip of depression and despair.
But all of a sudden, a powerful light shone from the other side of the murky Chaos. That powerful light tore through the boundaries of space and time, as if splitting the sky into two and illuminating the space outside the barrier. This scene shocked everyone and gave rise to hope out of nowhere.
In the eyes of the devout believers of the goddess of creation, the light was almost a miracle. It seemed to herald the end of the Dark Hour. Although the light gradually dissipated after ten minutes, it had inspired many people on the continent.
But most of the people who were inspired were ordinary people. The real upper management did not dare to be optimistic.
Pope Auguste VII summoned all the cardinals and inner court scholars in the pure white hall of the Basilica Icon. Under the eternal holy light of the pure white hall, these wisest and most authoritative theologians and polymaths in Collow discussed the impact of the light. Auguste VII sat on the high papal throne, listening to the report of one of the cardinals.
"Your Holiness, we have determined that the light came from the Ansu Continent, but we can't determine the specific location. The fog of Chaos has shrouded the orbit of every continent, and now we can't observe any specific land. We can only roughly calculate the current location of other continents based on the world model. But as the Chaos becomes more rampant, the accuracy of this calculation is also declining. "
A group of delicate models carved with magic gems floated beside the speaking cardinal. These models restored the details of the five floating continents and dozens of larger floating islands in Collow with amazing craftsmanship. They moved slowly in the air, simulating the approximate location of each continent in the Sea of Carnos based on some ancient data.
However, due to the influence of the Chaos Tide, the accuracy of this model was not very high.
"The Ansu Continent … Very good." Auguste VII rubbed his forehead. "The revelation of Asurmen has been confirmed once again. There is a miracle of the goddess of creation on that continent."
"The pillar of light has caused a great sensation among the civilians and the lower clergy." Another bishop stood up. "The good news is that our morale is recovering. The explanation of the pillar of light has been disseminated, and it is now recognized as an inspiring miracle. But there is bad news: after the light beam disappeared, everything returned to normal. The light of Asurmen is still weakening, and the barrier over the sanctum has not been strengthened. The effect of this miracle will probably decline over time, if no new miracles happen. "
"That light is just a sign. It's a sign from the Divine Kingdom that the Goddess wants us to persevere in this dark age. We should fight bravely in the dark to respond to the Goddess' will," Ogyust said slowly. "The people of the Sanctum never give up hope. It has always been so since ancient times."
Another bishop stood up. "The output of the sacred mountain of Asurmen has dropped by 1% again. Its weakening speed has stabilized, and there will not be any sudden fluctuations. But at this rate, we will completely lose the barrier in half a month at most. At that time, the sanctum will fall into darkness like the mortal world, and we will fight on this sacred land. The dirty blood of Chaos will stain the sacred land."
"Then we will fight them, just like those secular kingdoms," another bishop said loudly. "If the secular kingdoms can fight bravely, the people of Sanctum will certainly not retreat. We have urgently built the Spire of Flames and the Sunscorch Tower all over the continent. With the remaining power of Asurmen, these towers can help us survive this tide of Chaos. "
"The key is in the next century. If Asurmen can't recover, it is useless for us to survive this tide. We can't throw the burden on our children and grandchildren. I still insist that repairing Asurmen is the first priority. I have a plan. "
The bishops once again fell into a debate on this topic. All sorts of immature or imaginative plans were brought out, and then rejected by themselves. The scholars of the internal court also argued for what was right in such a debate, going head to head with the bishops, their faces red with anger. Each of them was a sincere good person. They did their best for the future of the world and the safety of Sanctum. But with the wisdom of mortals, it was difficult to solve the ultimate problem.
The sacred mountain of Asurmen.
The second half of the meeting was almost fruitless. Auguste VII had to stop everyone from arguing. After the bishops and scholars had left the Pure White Hall, the pope stood up tiredly. The joints of his no longer youthful body creaked. He felt that the crown on his head was so heavy that it seemed to crush his neck, and his robe was like a shackle that bound his hands and feet.
The valet on the side immediately came forward. The middle-aged man, who had followed Auguste VII for 30 years, saw the fatigue on the pope's face. He helped the pope take off the heavy golden crown and took the scepter. "Your Holiness, are you going back to the palace to rest?"
"No," the pope waved his hand. "Let's go to the Icon Hall."
The valet blinked as if he was a little surprised by the answer. But years of habit made him swallow his doubts and just nodded gently.
The Icon Hall — from the name, one could tell that it had a special meaning in the Basilica Icon. This hall was almost the most magnificent space in the Basilica Icon and the most sacred place. From the Pure White Hall, one had to go through three corridors, two inner courtyards, and two long halls to reach its entrance. The pope was no longer young, and he was even more reluctant to use convenient magic when going to the sanctuary. So it took him nearly an hour to reach the Icon Hall.
The valet pushed the golden-red door open. The pope tidied up his clothes and stepped into the hall.
The hall was wide and empty. There were no tables or chairs, only two rows of tall columns arranged in parallel, extending from one end of the hall to the other. Bright light shone from a series of circular holes above the hall, making the entire space seem to be floating in a layer of white holy light.
On both sides of the hall, behind the two rows of pillars, huge lifelike statues were quietly sitting upright, dignified and sacred.
Auguste VII walked along the central axis of the hall, bathed in the gaze of the two rows of statues as if he was being reviewed by the ancient kings. He was full of piety and abandoned all distracting thoughts.
This was the Icon Hall. Its name came from the sacred statues in the hall, and even the name of the entire Basilica Icon was derived from them.
No one knew who made these statues, and even the founder of the Theocracy did not leave a word. This room had existed long before the establishment of the Theocracy. The 21 statues seemed to come from the era before mortals, and the entire Basilica Icon was just an extension of the original foundation of the Icon Hall. As time went by, the popes changed generation after generation, and the secular kingdoms changed again and again. Only the mysterious statues in the Icon Hall had not changed since ancient times.
If these statues stood up, they would be ten meters tall, but their size was far from their most eye-catching feature. What really amazed and even awe-inspiring was their lifelike appearance. Although they were made of stone, they were as clear as real people. It was as if a group of real rock giants were sitting here. They did not look like statues but like sleeping creatures.
This made everyone who stepped into the Icon Hall for the first time shudder. Even Auguste VII still remembered the fear and uneasiness he felt when he first stepped into this place.
But that was all in the past. Now that he had become the pope, stepping into the Icon Hall and being watched by every statue was no longer a daunting challenge but a baptism of the soul and heart.
The pope walked all the way to the end of the hall and was about to reach the statue of the King of Kings. But at this moment, he suddenly stopped and stared in the direction where he came from.
The two rows of statues were as silent as ever. Their cold stone faces were expressionless, and their eyes were staring straight at the center of the hall.
But Auguste VII had a creepy feeling in his heart.
He shook his head. He had not felt this way for many years. He was surprised that he had lost his composure.
At that moment, he felt that it was no longer the glorious ancient kings staring at him, but an indescribable terrible thing. Those hollow eyes fell on him, giving him the illusion that he was falling into the abyss.
The old pope calmed himself down and shook the weird illusion out of his mind. He turned around and bowed devoutly in front of the statue of the King of Kings.
"Wardens of the Ancient Era, please enlighten me …"
The old pope's deep voice echoed in front of the statue of the King of Kings.
Then the voice stopped abruptly.
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