The cathedral was brightly lit, as the spiritual power of thousands of clergymen and the holy properties of the sanctum itself fused together, forming a clear distinction between the cathedral and the outside world. The outside world was shrouded in dark clouds, and the gloomy and depressing weather seemed to foretell the upcoming turmoil and suffering of this world, and the inside of the cathedral was filled with warmth and light.
But even with the 'holy' properties of the cathedral, the bright lights could not dispel the nervousness and unease of the clergymen.
The pope had locked himself in the prayer room for more than twelve hours, and during this period, dozens of powerful divine arts blasted out from the prayer room. No one knew if the first 'dialogue with God' in a thousand years would be successful. For the newly appointed Pope Automos, this was a challenge he had to face as a clergyman, and for the Disciples of Glory, this was the moment to verify if the legacy of countless generations was correct. If the pope succeeded in listening to the will of God, and there would be a miracle, then the legacy of the Disciples of Glory would be recognized, and its foundation would be unshakable. But if the pope failed …
Then the Disciples of Glory would be done for, and all the previous debates and doctrines would be meaningless. As a church that served the true God, the moment the true God denied its meaning, the value of the church's existence would no longer exist.
The young deacon came to the prayer room, and there were already a few bishops waiting. He bowed respectfully to the bishops, and asked one of them in a low voice, "Is His Holiness not out yet?"
"The pope is still praying." The bishop who was asked replied expressionlessly.
"Marshal Ophra is already in the cathedral," the young deacon said. "She has the will of the king."
"But before the prayer is over, no one can enter." The bishop shook his head. "Perhaps the dialogue between the pope and God has reached a critical moment."
The young deacon nodded slightly, and waited in front of the prayer room with the bishops.
And in the prayer room, the dialogue between Pope Automos and God had indeed reached a critical moment.
The goddess of creation was teaching him a special prayer that could resist the mental erosion of the Mad Lord, along with a large number of powerful divine spells and rituals that had been lost since ancient times.
Automus was baptized when he was born, and was educated in the Disciples of Glory as a page from the age of five, but he had never been as excited as he was today in his long life. The knowledge of the gods was so precious, especially the parts that had been lost over thousands of years. Generations of clergymen had tried their best to restore the divine models from the ancient scrolls, and almost everyone thought that the ancient knowledge could not be fully restored, and that the loss of knowledge was a punishment for the arrogance of the mortals. But who would have thought that it would one day be restored in such a manner?
Not only did God not blame his people for their stupidity and forgetfulness, he even personally taught them all over again.
Automos thought that he was probably the luckiest pope in the history of the Disciples of Glory.
As for the god's occasional mutterings such as "Much easier than five-three", "One lesson and one practice is useful", "There are actually four ways to solve this problem" and so on, Automos thought that it was the embodiment of the god's deep thoughts. Anyway, he could not understand it.
But before recording the divine models, he first carefully recorded the prayers that could resist the erosion of the Mad Lord. After all, he had to survive before he could discuss the inheritance of knowledge.
As the divine radiance faded, Automos looked at the enchantment scroll that had all sorts of spell models and prayers recorded on it, and said sincerely in his heart, "My Lord, I have recorded these things."
"Very well. Next, I will issue an edict to all believers in the world. They will know what is about to happen in this world, but not everyone can use high-level divine spells. So, I will hand over the original prayer to you. You need to distribute it to all bishops and clergymen above the bishop level. Within a month, you must learn how to use these prayers and set up a defense line around the world.
"Remember, from the moment you receive these prayers, you will bear the responsibility of protecting your people. You will face the erosion of the mad monster on a spiritual level, and face the scariest side of the universe …"
"If anyone feels that their will is not strong enough, they should leave early. I will not blame them, as such a wise retreat will prevent the mortal world's defense line in advance. But if you choose to accept, then you must persevere to the end, and I will always be with you.
"Remember, you are not fighting alone."
Automos felt that his soul was touched like never before, and he sincerely bowed before the portrait. "My Lord, I am ready!"
"Then go, I still have two questions to answer …"
Automos touched his forehead to the ground in reverence before standing up. But just as he was about to leave the prayer room, the will of the goddess of creation suddenly swept over him again. "Wait, Automos, there is one more thing."
The pope immediately stopped and turned to the portrait. "My Lord, please instruct me."
"What the hell is this thing in front of you that looks like an abstract painting?"
"… Eh?"
At that moment, Automos felt that his life as a clergy was facing the biggest challenge ever!
"My Lord … We are painting you …"
"… Eh?"
At that moment, Rheia, who was billions of light-years away, also felt that her life as a goddess was facing the biggest challenge ever!
After some awkwardness (well, it was the biggest awkwardness in Automos' eyes), both sides finally reached a mutual understanding and consensus on the matter of the portrait. The new portrait would replace the abstract paintings passed down from the 'Age of Chaos', and to ease the awkward atmosphere, Automos had to find a new topic. "My Lord, today's unusual weather …"
The goddess sounded a little confused. "What about the weather?"
"Is it also a sign of the coming turmoil and chaos? We need to explain everything to our believers … "
The goddess of creation's voice came after another two seconds of delay. "Ah, my power has swept across the world, and occasionally it would react with the free energy in the atmosphere and cause some weather anomalies, but there is no such thing as a sign."
"… Then how should we deal with it?" Automos asked.
"So go home and collect your clothes! Why is this child so dumb! "
Automos was speechless.
The door to the prayer room finally opened.
The young deacon and a few bishops who had been waiting outside quickly went up to greet him, and they saw the fatigue on Pope Automos' face.
Communicating with God was indeed a heavy burden for mortals, and even the most powerful pope in the Church could not bear it. The bishops all had the same thought when they saw Automos' stumbling footsteps.
"Your Holiness," a bishop came before the pope, "the oracle …"
"God has descended." Automos did not wait for him to finish before he took out the scroll that was brimming with holy power. The divine power emanating from the scroll was far beyond the human clergy's imagination and shocked everyone, as the devout clerics could not help but bow down. "This is the knowledge that He has bestowed upon us. The Lord has also given us a decree, ordering us to unite and prepare to face the greatest challenge in the history of this world. I will hold a meeting of the bishops to inform you all of the details. "
The bishops bowed down and prayed sincerely, their voices filled with joy and determination. "Praise the Lord."
Automos took a deep breath, and after calming himself down, he said, "The Lord has two other oracles …"
The bishops said in unison, "Please enlighten us, Your Holiness."
"First of all, the holy images should be redrawn. As we have discussed in the previous meetings, the images we have now are a collective illusion caused by the spiritual interference of the First Born. As the First Born was corrupted by evil forces, the images were also distorted. The goddess did not blame us for this, but we must redraw the image of the goddess."
As he spoke, he took out another scroll. "The Goddess has given us a revelation, and the new images will be drawn according to this."
A bishop took the scroll, and as if he was holding the key to the fate of the world, he opened it solemnly. He saw a beautiful little girl on the scroll, and she had one hand on her hip, and the other was making a V sign in the direction of the viewer.
The bishops were speechless.
Automos was speechless.
"God's will is God's will," Automos said firmly after a long while. "Just do as she says."
One of the bishops finally reacted. "Then … what about the other oracle?"
"The Goddess told us not to guess the weather, and to inform everyone to go home and collect their clothes."
The bishops were speechless.
Automos closed his eyes, and in an instant, he seemed to have aged ten years. "God's will is God's will."
The bishops finally dispersed, and Automos finally let out a sigh of relief. In just a short ten minutes, he felt that there was a huge gap between him and the former pope. While they were about the same in terms of experience, his temperament still needed to be honed.
He also noticed the young deacon who was still standing, and as he walked towards him, he said, "Marshal Ophra should have been waiting for a long time, right?"
"She is waiting for you at the cathedral. She rejected our arrangement to send her to the lounge."
"In the Disciples of Glory who advocate seclusion, the lounge is not much more comfortable than the lobby." The Pope nodded slightly and walked forward. "Let's go see her together. A war is about to begin. God has already taken his place on God's battlefield. It's time for man to step onto the battlefield of man."
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