In the Temple of Beauty under the setting sun, within the Hall of Honor, Sansone, the Governor of Faloro, was currently standing in the great hall filled with various Bourbons glories, conversing with Adele, the last descendant of the Bourbons. His recent words had piqued Adele's curiosity.
"I've heard before that Faloro's previous Extraordinary system was different from the current one. So the current system was entirely established by the Church? How interesting..."
"You could say that. As the last descendant of the Bourbons, you must have heard the rumors that the Church was behind the Cold Moon Revolution, pushing it along. I can tell you clearly now that the Church was absolutely the main force behind the Cold Moon. They secretly collaborated with the anti-Bourbons forces within Faloro at the time, using the Greed King's oppressive taxation policies to intensify the various conflicts within Faloro, ultimately consolidating the anti-Bourbons forces to instigate the revolution and overthrow the rule of your ancestors."
With his hands still behind his back, Sansone continued to speak leisurely to Adele, who then tentatively continued to ask.
"Why did the Church overthrow the Bourbons? Was it because they were seeking the power of The Path of Depravity?"
"Otherwise? The Flamboyant King was obstinate, dreaming unrealistic dreams all day long like 'Faloro should have its own power' and 'The King of Faloro should not bow to others on his own land.' He actively sought the power of the Flower Lord, which not only violated the Church's great taboo but also behaved extremely erratically and assertively.
"Although the previous Faloro Royal Family had secretly pursued the legacy of the Flower Lord, they were always cautious and low-key. But the Flamboyant King went too far; many of his methods were practically blatant. Under his rule, the Bourbons' research progress on the Flower Lord's legacy could be said to have advanced by leaps and bounds, almost reaching the point of completely breaking free from the Church's Extraordinary dependence. This crossed the Church's bottom line; otherwise, the Church wouldn't have gone to such great lengths to plan a regime change."
Sansone said to Adele with a tone of matter-of-factness. As he spoke, he took out a cigarette case from his clothes, pulled out a cigar, and lit it. Adele, after hearing Sansone's words, couldn't help but show a hint of confusion in her expression.
"Completely breaking free from the Church's Extraordinary dependence... In other words, in the Bourbons Dynasty before the Flamboyant King, the domestic Extraordinary system still relied on the Church? The Extraordinary system held by the Bourbons was the same as the current Faloro?"
Adele voiced her confusion, and Sansone, after taking a puff of his cigar and exhaling a cloud of smoke, slowly spoke.
"No, it wasn't. The current Extraordinary system of Faloro is completely dependent on the Church. It is a powerful Extraordinary system created based on the national identity, ethnic identity, legal principles, and culture of all the people of a country. Upon this system is loaded one of the Church's Extraordinary paths, the strong subspecies of the Path of Austerity—the Path of Command."
"And the Bourbons Dynasty before the Flamboyant King, its Extraordinary system had a similar structure. The Church helped the previous Bourbons with an Extraordinary system based on national and ethnic identity, except that what was loaded and running on this system was not the Path of Command, but The Path of Depravity, which has existed in the land of Bourbons since ancient times. This system was referred to by the people of the Church as... National Worship Monarchy..."
As he smoked his cigar and exhaled smoke, Sansone slowly spoke to Adele. Listening to his words, Adele was slightly startled. After frowning and thinking for a while, she slowly spoke.
"National Worship Monarchy... This 'Light' system of Extraordinary system can also run Extraordinary abilities from other Spirituality systems? The Spirituality doesn't match, right? How can things of 'Light' bestow the Spirituality and abilities of 'Cup' upon others?"
"Don't misunderstand. National Worship Monarchy is not the source of abilities and Spirituality. The specific source of abilities and Spirituality is the national identity and historical legal principles of a country's citizens. There is no 'Cup' and 'Qi' (Awakening/Enlightenment) of The Path of Depravity in the land of Faloro, but they existed in great numbers in the past Faloro. Although the Flower Lord is no longer here, the various cultures and traditions created by the rule of the former Flower Lord still widely exist in the lives of the people of Faloro, in customs, festivals, and history; this is very difficult to erase."
"What the National Worship Monarchy system does is guide out these powers that exist in historical legal and cultural principles, reintegrate them into Extraordinary abilities, and bestow upon the user the ranks capable of carrying these abilities. The power of The Path of Depravity belongs to Faloro; National Worship Monarchy is just a tool nested upon Faloro. The Bourbons before the Flamboyant King had always been imperfectly using the abilities of The Path of Depravity through the National Worship Monarchy."
As he smoked his cigar and exhaled smoke, Sansone spoke to Adele. When he got tired of talking, he even specifically found a seat to sit down. Adele's expression became even more serious after hearing these words. After thinking for a while, she continued to ask.
"Bourbons... When did it start using this system to obtain the abilities of The Path of Depravity?"
"From the beginning, in the middle of the War of Succession, the Bourbons Duke. In order to gain the Church's support among the candidates, he executed the Forest Dancing Girl, who had helped him achieve victory, in his territory under the charge of witchcraft. After this, he received the full assistance of the Church and won the War of Succession, not only conquering domestic competitors but also expelling the Prit's Roaring Lance. After the Bourbons Duke was formally crowned upon winning the war, the Church established the first version of the National Worship Monarchy for him, providing Extraordinary protection for the Bourbons Dynasty for hundreds of years thereafter."
"Heh, according to the documents from that time, the Roaring Lance Dynasty wrote a large number of letters to Faloro after their defeat to mock the Bourbons for being willing to be the Church's dogs, and after that, they also had the Wind King Rebellion, and the Hyacinth who came to power afterwards wasn't much better."
With a hint of mocking laughter, Sansone said as he sat in his chair. His words again surprised Adele.
"Wait... According to what you mean... The legendary witch who once bewitched the Bourbons Duke was the Forest Dancing Girl? The Forest Dancing Girl rescued the Bourbons Duke in his time of need, and afterwards, he had her burned at the stake to please the Church?" Adele said with some astonishment. She had never thought before that the two most crucial women in the legend of the Bourbons Duke were actually the same person in the end? The Bourbons Duke actually executed his benefactor in the end?
"Yes... This is one of the biggest scandals the Bourbons were most unwilling to make public. It's such a big scandal that even I don't want to disclose it; even if it were disclosed, no one would believe it, and it would even attract Spirit Sight. It is one of the deepest secrets hidden by the Bourbons Royal Family. If it weren't for the Bourbons' demise and the confiscation of their property and secret records, we wouldn't even know such a thing happened..." Shaking the ash from the cigar in his hand into the ashtray on the nearby table, Sansone said this, while Adele continued to speak with a confused expression.
"So who exactly was that Forest Dancing Girl?"
"That's unknown. Records about her are extremely scarce even in the Bourbons documents. Now we can only speculate that she might have been a remnant member of the Flower Mistress's faith in Faloro from before the era, wanting to use the Faloro war as an opportunity to support a force to revitalize the Flower Mistress's faith. But she didn't expect to meet such an end, which is truly tragic..."
Continuing to bring the cigar to his mouth, Sansone said with a sigh. Adele was silent for a moment. The identity of the Forest Dancing Girl made her think of her teacher, Dalena, who was one of the hidden inheritors of The Path of Depravity in the remote areas of Faloro. Perhaps the Forest Dancing Girl had a similar identity to Dalena.
Thinking of the relatively tragic fates of the Forest Dancing Girl and her teacher, Adele couldn't help but feel a slight sadness in her heart, but she quickly recovered and continued to ask Sansone.
"You just said that the situation of the Hyacinth Dynasty that came to power after the Wind King Rebellion in Prit was similar to the Banquet Wine? Does that mean they also have the National Worship Monarchy granted by the Church?"
"Of course. The current Despenser was also single-handedly supported by the Church from the internal chaos in Prit. It wouldn't make sense not to control them. However, the situation with the Hyacinth is a bit better than with the Banquet Wine. Only most of the high-level Extraordinary positions above Scarlet are granted by the National Worship Monarchy. Although they have retained the normal inheritance methods from Apprentice to Scarlet, only one normal Scarlet is allowed."
"In fact, not just Faloro and Prit, many major countries on the Main Continent are in similar situations. Over the past thousand years, the Church has intervened in the foreign and domestic affairs of the various countries on the Main Continent for various reasons, seizing the opportunity of unrest to support pro-Church regimes to come to power, and trying every possible way to abolish or weaken a country's traditional Extraordinary inheritance, forcing their National Worship Monarchy's Extraordinary system upon them, making them dependent on the Church for Extraordinary power."
"This situation exists in many countries on the Main Continent, but the degree varies. For example, it is less severe in the current Prit, while it is more severe in Faloro and Iweig."
After a long exhale of smoke, Sansone slowly spoke. After hearing his words, Adele was silent for a while before slowly continuing to speak.
"According to what you're saying... Over the past thousand years, the Church has been dedicated to weakening and eliminating the traditional Extraordinary inheritances of various countries, forcibly embedding its influence. Is the reason for this to ensure the spread of the faith of the Three Saints in these countries?"
"That should be the case. After all, if you trace the traditional Extraordinary inheritances of each country deeply, they will likely be connected to various Foreign God Belief (heterodox god beliefs) from before the era. Allowing these inheritances to exist would not only hinder the spread of the faith of the Three Saints but also potentially cause these extinct Foreign God Belief (heterodox god beliefs) to revive. Therefore, in the Extraordinary systems of various countries, the Church is dedicated to embedding its influence." Sansone continued to speak slowly, and Adele's tone rose as she continued.
"Then... What the Flamboyant King Xia Er was doing was actually trying to break away from the National Worship Monarchy system and let Faloro regain the authentic legacy of The Path of Depravity?"
"That's right. Although my overall evaluation of Xia Er is not very high, I do have to admit that he was a genius, a rare genius both as a king and as an Extraordinary. He was originally as unremarkable as many ordinary Bourbons princes, but after falling ill with a fever during a trip to the ancient Bourbons Duke's territory and recovering, he became a different person, becoming as described in later historical records: flamboyant, extravagant, confident, energetic, and exceptionally talented."
"Xia Er was interested in the hidden secrets within Faloro's culture from a young age and studied them deeply. He completely disdained the Extraordinary inheritance from the Church. While pretending to accept the National Worship Monarchy, he was constantly thinking about how to completely break free from it. Before he became king, he traveled throughout Faloro, exploring the hidden history and secrets of the land under the guise of training, joining various secret societies, and using his influence as Crown Prince to collect various resources for research, and he achieved considerable results."
"Before his coronation, Xia Er had already restored the authentic inheritance of The Path of Depravity's Black Earth and Chalk ranks. After his coronation, while governing the country, he even used national resources to begin his research, ultimately even successfully advancing to Scarlet, fulfilling his dream of possessing the power of Scarlet without relying on the Church."
"After successfully achieving authentic Scarlet, Xia Er began to dedicate himself to freeing Faloro from the Church's influence and becoming a truly independent country. However, his overly flamboyant and confident personality harmed him at this point. In the process of executing his plan, he moved too quickly, failing to consider that he should be patient in the face of the absolutely dominant Church. His repeated drastic actions finally made the Church lose patience with him, which ultimately led to his premature death, preventing him from living out the long life of a Scarlet Extraordinary..."
Putting out the almost finished cigar in the ashtray, Sansone said with a clear sigh in his tone. Adele, after silently listening to his words, continued to ask.
"Historical records state that Xia Er died in a shipwreck accident upon returning from a distant expedition. Was the Church involved in this...?"
Listening to Adele's words, Sansone leaned back in his chair and sighed before speaking.
"The Church's suspicion is very high, but even I cannot find any clues that can reduction (restore/reconstruct) the specific situation at the time. The death of Xia Er is an eternal mystery in Faloro, and the answer to this mystery is probably only known to the seven people on Holy Mountain."
"After Xia Er, the Greed King messed up Faloro in just over twenty years. After the Church took this opportunity to completely overthrow the Bourbons, Faloro completely bid farewell to its traditional Extraordinary inheritance. The National Worship Monarchy that the Church gave us carried power that didn't originally belong to us."