It seemed that a heavy rain was coming.
It was supposed to be noon, but the dark clouds as thick as ink had blocked almost all the sunlight. The sky was as dark as midnight. The sun had not appeared since morning, so the lights in the city had not been extinguished since morning.
The streets and alleys of the Royal City of Holletta were deserted. Although it had not rained yet, people had no interest in going out in this abnormal weather. Whether it was nobles or civilians, they all seemed to feel that something unsettling was shrouding the world. They all hid in their homes, closed the doors, closed the windows, comforted the children at home, and hoped that this strange phenomenon would end as soon as possible.
But even in such weather, there were still people running around outside. The legendary marshal of the kingdom, Ophra, was wearing her favorite white light armor. She was accompanied by a few attendants to the Cathedral of Glory. The silver-white armor made her look like a white flame in the dim environment, giving people a sense of encouragement and stability. Just looking at her back was enough to calm the hearts of the guards in the cathedral square.
After stepping into the Cathedral of Glory, the dim world outside seemed to be completely isolated. The cathedral was brightly lit and filled with a warm atmosphere. Although the Disciples of Glory's "Ascetic" commandment limited the cathedral to no luxurious decorations and overly comfortable furnishings, just entering such a bright and warm place was enough to cheer people up.
Ophra stopped in front of the portrait and looked up at the huge curtain hanging from the dome of the cathedral. On the huge curtain, indescribable colors were entangled to form a strange and inexplicable pattern. This was the Disciples of Glory's depiction of the goddess of creation in their hearts, or rather, their impression of the existence of "God". For thousands of years, these strange patterns had been hanging in every cathedral of the Disciples of Glory.
But what was the actual situation? Was this indescribable pattern really the impression that the goddess's projection gave to the believers? Or was it a hallucination caused by the mental suggestion of the First Born after being influenced by the underground creatures for thousands of years?
Ophra looked up at the pattern on the curtain, and her mind could not help but have these wild thoughts, and she knew that she was not the only one who had these wild thoughts. In fact, in recent years, the discussion and revision of the legends, doctrines, and commandments of the Disciples of Glory had never stopped. Not only were the impious "deviants" outside the sect discussing these things, but even the internal members of the Church were also debating about these things.
It all started four years ago, and Ophra knew it very well. It started after the foreigners helped the people to remove the parasitic First Borns on the planet. Ordinary civilians may not know much about it, but Ophra and some other insiders could easily figure out the connection between the two.
After the removal of the First Born, the mental suggestion from the depths of the underground also ceased. The people on the surface were naturally affected. Some ideas that had never occurred before would emerge, and some things that were once firmly believed would also be shaken with the termination of the mental suggestion. The various debates faced by the Disciples of Glory in recent years were proof of this.
As a person in the military field and not in the religious field, Ophra was not sure whether this change was good or bad. The Disciples of Glory might be on the right track after getting rid of the mental influence of the First Born, but it could also be fundamentally shaken. It all depended on whether the faith of the church was more influenced by the goddess or the corrupted First Born.
But no matter what, the Disciples of Glory was still the most influential church in the world, and was also the most trusted religious organization by the people. Thousands of years of accumulation was one reason, and the noble sacrifice made by the Pope and Bishop Gelton a few years ago was another important reason.
That sacrifice at least proved one thing: no matter how much the church was influenced by the First Born in the process of inheritance, at least the former's heart to protect the world was true.
All kinds of chaotic thoughts came together and gradually subsided. Ophra noticed that a friar was walking towards her, so she took the initiative to ask, "Where is the Pope?"
"His Holiness has locked himself in the prayer room since last night," the young friar said with a bow. Although the clergy of the Disciples of Glory had a special and transcendent status in the kingdom, in front of a living legend like Ophra, even the Pope would have to show enough respect, let alone an ordinary deacon. "But he already knows that you will be visiting at this moment, so he should be coming out soon."
"Is that so... No hurry, I'll just wait here," Ophra said gently, then turned to look at the corner of the church — two nuns were whispering to each other. Looking at the slightly nervous look on their faces, Ophra knew that something big had happened in the church last night. "His Holiness is very concerned about the 'Divine Will'. You have seen the weather outside, it is not normal for this season."
"We're also waiting for a clearer God's will," the young deacon said. "The power of God suddenly swept across this world. This is something that has never happened for thousands of years. The only similar records are from the ancient times, which were left before the 'God's Apocalypse'."
Ophra nodded understandingly. "Understandable."
God had left this world, and he had been gone for a long, long time.
Ordinary civilians did not know the truth, and even most of the clergy did not know the truth of the fall of God. In fact, a few years ago, even Ophra herself knew nothing about it. But after the arrival of the outlanders, many truths were gradually revealed.
Ophra knew very well that the Goddess of Creation, who protected the world, had fallen 10,000 years ago. The source of power that the Disciples of Glory prayed to and gained from praying was actually a little 'echo' left after the fall of the Goddess of Creation.
But the 'death' of the true God was only a superficial and temporary situation. According to the information obtained from Countess Becky, the body of the Goddess of Creation had been found by the foreigners and seemed to have recovered. Now the fallen God should be reorganizing the order of the universe, and Holletta... it was just a very small corner of this vast universe.
So until now, Holletta had not received any clear will from the Goddess. The newly recovered God must be very busy.
But last night, the situation suddenly changed. The will of the Goddess swept across the entire planet, and almost all the clergy and more devout believers heard the voice of the Goddess. But the human spirit was too fragile, and no one understood any real meaning from the moment the Goddess descended. So the Pope locked himself in the prayer room last night to communicate directly with the Goddess.
Ironically, this was the first time in thousands of years that the Disciples of Glory had truly established contact with the Goddess.
In the prayer room deep in the church, the new Pope Automos closed his eyes as he bent over the holy portrait and quietly listened to the will of the true God from the depths of the universe.
It took him a long time to successfully establish contact.
Although the ancient books of the Church recorded the ways to communicate with God, and various records from ancient times also described the situation of God descending under various circumstances, the truth was that God had left this world for tens of thousands of years. All the prayers and communication methods were actually just theories on paper. Those methods that became messy and wrong after being passed down from generation to generation could only lead to one of two outcomes —
The God you are calling is not in the service area.
The God you are calling is temporarily unavailable. Please try again later.
But no matter what, the connection was successfully established, and to the old Pope's shame, it was the Goddess who initiated the call.
The voice of the Goddess echoed clearly in his mind, and just hearing this voice was enough to bring tears to the eyes of the ordinary believers. "… Is that so? You have rebuilt civilization … I have been asleep for so many years, it must have been hard on you …
"Yesterday? Ahem … I have not used the free microphone for a long time, I … No, it's nothing. Last night was just a test call, I did not actually speak, so it's normal that you could not understand anything. "
The words of the Goddess were really profound.
The old Pope almost used all his strength to control his emotions, and asked respectfully and cautiously, "My Lord, the believers have been seeing ominous signs recently, do you have any instructions?"
The Goddess paused for a moment before saying gently, "There is indeed a disaster. My friends and I will do our best to protect the safety of this world, but you also have your own mission."
"Please enlighten us, my Lord."
The Goddess paused again before speaking again, "The oldest evil power in the universe has awakened. I had defeated it many years ago, but it has come back again, and its goal is to drag the entire world into chaos and destruction.
"My friends and I will stop it and completely destroy it in this war, but this power is everywhere, and it will corrupt the mortal world, and vainly try to use your souls as its food to strengthen its own power.
"An army will descend upon you, led by the Outlanders. They are heroic spirits from another world, and the army is made of shining metal, and within the metal armor is the beating fire of the soul, you can tell at a glance.
"As for you, you have to reorganize your troops before the arrival of this army. Let the soldiers prepare their weapons and let the civilians stay at home. Light the holy fire in every city and village, sprinkle holy water, and chant a special prayer once a day. I will send that prayer to you. It can strengthen the mortals' resistance to the evil power and protect your souls from being invaded …" "And you have to reorganize your troops before the arrival of this army.
"Apart from that, you should also stop all fighting in the mortal world, because the conflict among mortals is easily used by that power, and it will take advantage of your negative emotions, catalyzing your fighting into a disaster that can destroy the world.
"And if there are already people controlled by that power, you should deal with them decisively, and I will send you the methods to identify the infected and deal with different infections. Remember, do not abuse this power, because the negative emotions brought about by abuse is also the source of disaster … "
"Yes, my Lord, I will obey your teachings," the old Pope immediately said respectfully, and then hesitated for a moment, but still mustered the courage to ask his own question. "My Lord, when you were giving the decree, you paused many times, could it be … that there is another decree that is not convenient to tell us? As long as it is within our power, we will swear to die … "
"Oh, no, I'm writing five three."
The words of the Goddess are really profound …
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