'The First Epoch...'
In the study on the second floor of Villa No. 17 in Green Shade Town, Tivian North Suburb, Dorothy, dressed in comfortable casual clothes, sat at her desk, looking with great interest at the contents of the secret transmission placed on the table.
'This is... a secret transmission about the First Epoch. Rare. In the current Fourth Epoch, even records from the Second Epoch are extremely scarce. Now, to find a secret transmission detailing the First Epoch is truly precious...'
Dorothy sighed inwardly. Having been in this world for a long time, she had read a great many secret transmissions. Records of the First Epoch were only mentioned in scattered phrases in other secret transmissions that touched upon hidden history. The one before Dorothy now was arguably the only one she had seen so far that specifically researched the First Epoch, with the history of the First Epoch as its theme. This immediately piqued Dorothy's interest, and she began to read carefully.
The author of the secret transmission was an archaeologist from the Third Epoch Empire. It was essentially an archaeological record. According to the record in the secret transmission, they had excavated an ancient ruin on an island located in the center of the current Conquest Sea. The appearance of the ruins there greatly astonished the author of the secret transmission and his team.
The secret transmission described the author's astonishment upon seeing countless porticoes and pillars, dozens of meters high, in ruins on the island, and clearing out many continuous steps several meters high from the rubble. In months of survey work, any trace of civilization the author excavated was countless times larger than normal. This was far beyond the ruins of other alien races from the Second Epoch they had previously recorded, and it was very likely the ruins of the legendary giant race, which only existed during the First Epoch.
According to the author of the secret transmission, the Third Epoch people's understanding of the First Epoch mainly came from their archaeological process of various civilizations in the Second Epoch, where they found records of the First Epoch's existence in the Second Epoch's records. However, besides knowing of its existence, the Third Epoch people had very limited knowledge of the Second Epoch.
Because virtually no decent ruins were excavated, it was generally believed in the historical circles of the Third Epoch Empire that there were not many traces of civilization in the First Epoch. Perhaps it was the barbaric stage before the various races of the Second Epoch developed civilization, and thus the First Epoch was also called the Barbarian Epoch by Third Epoch historians for a long time. Some more extreme Third Epoch historians even believed that the First Epoch did not exist at all, and was merely a mistaken record or mythological conjecture of the Second Epoch. There had always been controversy in the Third Epoch historical circles about whether the First Epoch existed, until this excavation of the island ruins.
Dorothy could see the author of the secret transmission's immense excitement evident in the lines after confirming that this ruin belonged to the First Epoch, perhaps to the legendary giant race. The people of the Third Epoch had always believed that the First Epoch was an era without civilization... or with a low level of civilization, a barbaric age. However, judging from the craftsmanship of the giant ruins on the island, although the giant civilization of the past was rough and wild, it could not be called a primitive state with a low level of civilization.
Most of the content in this secret transmission was a record of the appearance of the giant ruins... speculation about the function of the functional areas... research on art and ideas for appearance restoration, and so on. Dorothy was not very interested in these. What she was more concerned about was the part about the giants' beliefs.
According to the secret transmission, the archaeological team on the island found a large flat area in the central part of the giant ruins, with a length and width of over a thousand meters. If there had been buildings here, it would have been the most magnificent and vast structure in the entire ruin. In the central area of this flat ground, the archaeological team discovered three giant stone pillars with a diameter of twenty to thirty meters, broken and damaged. On these pillars, which seemed similar to totem poles, were carved three god-like figures in relief.
The archaeological team of the secret transmission's author discovered these three reliefs and speculated whether they were the gods the giants believed in. Since the First Epoch had not yet completely shed the label of the Barbarian Age in the Third Epoch historical circles at this time, the gods carved on these three reliefs were temporarily named "Primeval Barbarian Gods," and the author also recorded and drew the appearance of these three reliefs.
The first drawing depicted a sphere with oceans and land on it, which to Dorothy seemed similar to a planet. Inside this "planet," on a seemingly deliberately depicted cross-section, was curled something resembling an embryo. Overall, it looked like a cross-section of an egg being hatched, except the shell was like the surface of the "planet," the part resembling the Earth's crust.
The second drawing also depicted a sphere overall, but if the first sphere was like an abstract planet, the second was a more concrete sun. Yes, the second relief could be clearly seen as a sun, with a circular disc and radiating light beams carved, just like the totem symbols in many classical civilizations with sun worship traditions.
However, there was a difference. In the image depicted by the author of the secret transmission, the inside of this "sun" symbol was almost completely blackened, not left blank to symbolize light as is common when drawing the sun. And outside this sun pattern, a circle that was not blackened was specifically drawn to enclose the dark part, somewhat resembling a ring. To Dorothy, this entire drawing did not seem to be depicting the sun, but rather a scene during a solar eclipse, as only then would the inside of the sun be blackened.
The third drawing depicted something much more abstract. It was a series of complex and difficult-to-understand, somewhat abstract geometric shapes. This was the most complex and most difficult image among the three drawings to describe in words. Like the other two images, this one was also circular overall, looking like a pattern in a kaleidoscope, with countless lines radiating outwards from a central origin point, extending outwards in layers. Although the lines were intertwined and dense, they did not feel dizzying; instead, they conveyed a sense of inexplicable regularity and order.
Although this pattern looked complex, like the product of countless interwoven lines, Dorothy could tell at a glance that although these lines appeared numerous, there was only one. Only one line, drawn in a single stroke from beginning to end, depicted this seemingly complex pattern. This single line continuously wound and extended outwards from the origin point inside, and after reaching the outermost part, it returned inwards, finally returning to the origin point, with the beginning and end connected and merged at one point.
Because of its complexity, this entire pattern could cause some visual illusions if looked at for too long. Occasionally, it looked like a "path," and if one stared at it, it seemed as if one could infinitely rush towards the central origin point. At other times, it looked like an open "eye" gazing back at the viewer, and after the viewer carefully concentrated on observing, the "eye" seemed to close again.
These three images were presented before Dorothy's eyes. While drinking the hot coffee on the table, Dorothy observed and memorized them with great curiosity, then continued to turn the page to the rest of the secret transmission. Dorothy was very curious about how the giants recorded these three totem symbols, whether there were inscriptions or notes, but the archaeological team of the secret transmission's author found no trace of writing in the entire ruin, so naturally, these did not exist.
Dorothy continued to read. Towards the end of the secret transmission, she could see the author's various conjectures about the giant ruins, from the giants' way of life to their social structure. However, in Dorothy's opinion, these conjectures were rather wild and lacked more concrete evidence, thus their credibility was relatively low. Except for one conjecture...
The author of the secret transmission and his team surveyed the entire island of the ruins and found that many of the ruin buildings extended directly to the cliffs at the edge of the island and then stopped. The complete high walls directly broke off here, and the remaining parts seemed to have sunk into the sea. Many roads also extended to the edge of the island and then disappeared, and no traces of any port ruins were seen on the island.
Therefore, the author of the secret transmission speculated that the ruins on the island were likely only a part of a giant settlement. More parts of this settlement, which might have been a city, might have collapsed and sunk into the sea along with the ground. This island should now be only a remaining part.
The individual giants were huge, so the land required to support one giant would be much more than for ordinary people, and the space for giant activities would also be much larger. The area occupied by a large giant settlement is predictable. Judging from the scale of the buildings on the island, the author of the secret transmission believed that the sea area where this ruin was located might have been vast land during the First Epoch. The extent of its vastness is still unknown for now, but it would definitely not be smaller than the well-known large islands of that time. And such a vast expanse of land has now completely sunk to the bottom of the sea, leaving only this desolate small island.
At the end of the secret transmission, the author stated that he would begin surveying the seabed in the sea area around the island to see if anything else could be discovered, and then the secret transmission abruptly ended. Dorothy did not know whether this Third Epoch archaeological team had any other discoveries in the end, and could only let out a slight sigh of relief after closing the secret transmission.
"Phew..."
"The giant civilization of the First Epoch... and the Primeval Barbarian Gods they believed in? Interesting..."
Leaning back in her chair, Dorothy rubbed her chin and murmured with interest. At this moment, countless thoughts had arisen in her mind.
'From the information I currently have, I can conclude that the Dragons and giants of this world lived in the First Epoch. The situation of the Dragons is still unclear, but the giants seem to have had a certain level of civilization and also had beliefs.
'The key is those three symbols of belief... They feel very closely related to the current gods...'
Dorothy thought to herself. The three symbols in the secret transmission immediately made her deeply associate them with the six secret domains symbolized by the six main gods, and she came up with a highly probable conjecture.
"There is indeed this possibility... but there is still a lack of some evidence..."
Dorothy whispered, and then she began to think about another interesting point mentioned in the secret transmission.
'According to the speculation of the author of the secret transmission, the kingdom of the giant race may have completely sunk into the sea, and this island with ruins was discovered in the Conquest Sea, which is the sea between the Main Continent and the Ufeiga Continent. This means that during the First Epoch, there was vast land between these two continents?
'Then was this a large island like Prit that has sunk into the ocean? Or...'
Dorothy pondered in her mind. Since there were no other clues, her contemplation did not last long, and she quickly came back to her senses, focusing her energy back on the secret transmission.
After reading this archaeological secret transmission from the Third Epoch Empire, Dorothy continued to read the other secret transmissions sent by Atchery one by one.
These secret transmissions were of various types at Dorothy's request, containing all sorts of Spirituality and being quite disorganized. In Dorothy's view today, most of the content of these secret transmissions was of little significance and did not attract her attention, until Dorothy found an envelope among this pile of secret transmissions.
Looking at this envelope, Dorothy was a little curious. After holding it in her hand and pressing it a couple of times, she found that it contained thick paper similar to parchment. There was no writing on the envelope, and no information could be discerned.
After checking it again, Dorothy directly opened the envelope and then reached inside to feel around. First, she took out a letter paper. After unfolding it, she saw a few lines of neat, meticulous small characters. Upon closer inspection, it turned out to be written by Atchery.
"Regarding the text information of Hyperion, I only found this one in the Bureau of Scriptures. It is located in the deepest part of the Forbidden Scripture Corridor in the Great Library. Theoretically, it is a place where only the Holy See has permission to read. In the current saint church, I am the only one who can enter there without permission and bring things back without leaving a trace, and I cannot bring back even a little more.
"I dare not read the books there except for the titles. This is the only one with Hyperion-related information on the title. Read it quickly and send it back. I need to return it immediately."
Sitting in her seat, Dorothy looked at the note Atchery had left her, somewhat stunned for a moment. After coming back to her senses, she shook her head slightly and sighed inwardly.
'This... is a forbidden book among the Church's forbidden books, something only the Pope can read. Even the Cardinal does not have the qualification... Atchery actually risked it to bring me the book...'
Dorothy thought this to herself. She hadn't expected that Atcherie, as the Cardinal of the Bureau of Secrets, would be willing to take some risks just to find a book for herself. It might not be an issue for Atcherie to retrieve general or other forbidden secret transmissions from the Court of Tribunal given her status, but Dorothy hadn't anticipated that she would dare to touch a secret transmission that only the Pope was qualified to read. Dorothy believed that her relationship with Atcherie was far from being that good.
For a moment, Dorothy was surprised that Atcherie was willing to risk getting the secret transmission for her, but upon second thought, she felt that Atcherie didn't need to worry too much. Her helping her was based on the Mirror Moon's oracle. The Mirror Moon is the Saint Child of the Shining Light Church and also a deity. Compared to the Pope, the Mirror Moon is naturally greater. Relying on the Mirror Moon's oracle, Atcherie didn't need to be completely timid under the Pope's plans.
Perhaps when the Mirror Moon gave Atcherie the oracle, it also provided Atcherie with some means to prove that she had received the oracle in urgent situations. With the Mirror Moon backing her, she really didn't have to worry much about the Pope's accountability afterwards. At most, she just needed to be mindful of the feelings of other Saint Cardinals and avoid causing widespread misunderstandings.
"It's so good to have backing..."
Dorothy sighed with a smile, then placed the note she was holding aside. She extended her hand, wearing sanitary gloves, to take out the other items from the envelope. At this moment, she was eagerly anticipating information about Hyperion.
As expected, what Dorothy took out of the envelope was an old, yellowed piece of parchment. After taking it out, Dorothy carefully placed it on the mat on the table and examined its contents closely. She then discovered that this secret transmission was not a book or text, but a painting.
On this ancient piece of parchment, a man was depicted. He had a handsome face, a strong physique, and long hair flowing behind him. His bare upper body revealed a perfect physique like a marble sculpture, with dense and well-proportioned muscles, appearing robust and light without any excess bulk, and a simple cloth skirt wrapped around his lower body.
The man's face was handsome and upright, with no fluctuation in his expression, revealing a divine radiance that was indifferent to everything. He stood upright, with his hands crossed in front of his chest, holding a magnificent scepter in one hand and a curved scimitar in the other. To his left was a sun symbol. To his right was a crescent moon symbol. And above his head was a sun with a black center and a white edge.
In a corner at the bottom of the painting, there was a string of text written in empire language. Dorothy, who now knew empire language, quickly translated and recognized it.
"Light Emperor - Hyperion"
In this string of text, the part "Light Emperor" was crossed out with a line, and then another word was written below it. After carefully examining it, Dorothy understood its meaning. It was...
"Eclipse"
In the study, Dorothy sat in her seat, looking at the content on the parchment painting, and couldn't help but fall into a long silence. Her eyes carefully examined the content of the painting, and after some time, she sighed softly and said.
"Hoo... I really didn't expect to see the second chapter of such a painting..."
Dorothy exclaimed with emotion like this. That's right, she had seen a similar painting before! That was during the Adria incident. After fighting with Mukhtar of the Save the World Faction, Dorothy also received a painting with a similar style from the opponent's body.
That painting seemed to have been copied by Mukhtar from some stronghold of the Save the World Faction. The male protagonist in that painting was exactly the same as the man in the painting in front of Dorothy, almost the same person.
Unlike the painting in front of Dorothy now, in the painting in Mukhtar's hand, the things held in the hands of the man in the painting were the same, but the posture was different, with his hands spread wide open. In Mukhtar's painting, there were also a boy and a girl on the left and right sides of the man, but now the children were gone, replaced by the more intuitive sun and moon symbols.
And above the man's head, the sun wheel in Mukhtar's painting had become a black sun with a black interior and a halo on the outer ring in this parchment painting... And this symbol was almost completely identical to one of the three totem symbols worshipped by the Giants in the first era archaeological records that Dorothy had seen before...
'This is really... interesting...'
Looking at the pattern on the parchment painting in front of her, and recalling and comparing the content of the other painting in her memory, Dorothy couldn't help but think and sigh in her heart like this. Then she began her analysis in her heart.
'So... this painting is of Hyperion? The painting in Mukhtar's hand from the Save the World Faction and the one painted on this parchment deep in the Church's Court of Tribunal are of the same person?
'Light Emperor... Is this Hyperion's title? Is he the Light King? Is Hyperion the founder of the Third Era Empire? After he established the Empire, did he directly change his title from Light King to Light Emperor?'
Dorothy thought to herself in her heart. If the information conveyed by these paintings was correct, it could almost be confirmed that Hyperion was the name of the Light King.
'Interesting... really interesting... The title given to me by the Mirror Moon is the name of the Light King, so is the Light King the key to the riddle the Mirror Moon spoke of?'
Dorothy thought this to herself, then began to observe the content of the painting more closely and started to analyze it.
'Light King, logically speaking, should be the main deity of 'Light' in the Third Era. Why are there things related to 'Shadow' in both of these paintings? In the Save the World Faction painting, the scimitar in Hyperion's hand and the girl beside him... In the Church painting, the symbol of 'Shadow' is directly drawn. In the Save the World Faction painting, the sun above Hyperion is still a normal sun symbol, while the sun above his head in this painting collected by the Church has become a black sun...
'What... does this mean? Is there a temporal connection between these two paintings? And why is that black sun... so similar to one of the three totems worshipped by the Giant race in the First Era? According to the annotation below... this should be called 'Eclipse'?
'Also... if the emperor of the Third Era Empire was Hyperion, then as the Light Emperor, as the Divine Emperor, he should have ruled the entire Empire immortally until now... But according to various signs, it seems that Hyperion, as the Light Emperor, is gone... The Empire he left behind even fell into an era of two emperors ruling together for a time, and then completely perished. What happened during this time? What did Hyperion encounter? Is he still alive now... What is his relationship with the current Radiant Savior?'
Dorothy thought to herself like this. At this moment, in her heart, she already had a series of highly probable conjectures, but so far, these conjectures were just conjectures, and there was no actual evidence, so she was not in a hurry to draw any conclusions.
'I'm really curious... What role did you play in the secret about me that the Mirror Moon is keeping? Light Emperor...'
Scratching her head, Dorothy thought this to herself, and then finally began to carefully examine the parchment on the table, preparing to put it away after the examination.
However, after examining the back of the parchment, Dorothy suddenly found that there was content there as well. Something was drawn on the back of the parchment.
Seeing this scene, Dorothy immediately flipped the parchment over and placed it on the table to examine it carefully. She found that what was drawn on the back of the parchment was actually a map, a map of an unknown place that was somewhat familiar to Dorothy.
Looking at this somewhat familiar map, Dorothy carefully recalled and thought about it in her heart, and after a while, she immediately remembered where she had seen this map.
She had also seen it on Mukhtar's painting. On the Save the World Faction's painting of Hyperion, there was also a world map drawn. Unlike the maps commonly used in the Fourth Era, on the map attached to that painting, there was a large piece of land, nearly a third of the Main Continent, to the east. And the outline of the local map on the back of this parchment was almost identical to the part added to the east on the map in Mukhtar's painting.
Therefore, this painting depicts the eastern part of the Main Continent! Or rather, it depicts the eastern part of the Main Continent that existed in the Third Era and may have disappeared in the Fourth Era. Now that area is the Lost Sea, which is suspected to be where the Mirror Moon's Night Sea is located.
On the map on the back of this parchment, someone had marked a point with a pen. Below this point, there was a small annotation. The handwriting of this annotation was the same as the annotation on the front of the painting, indicating that it was written by the same person.
"Eclipse... Ritual Site..."
This was the content written in the annotation. After carefully examining it for a couple of glances, Dorothy couldn't help but frown slightly and think to herself.
'Eclipse... Ritual Site? Does this mean... that an eclipse occurs at this place during a certain period, and a ritual is performed here? So what kind of ritual is this? Is it related to Hyperion?
'Was some kind of ritual held in the eastern part of the Empire in the Third Era? If so, I wonder if it was successful?'
Dorothy thought to herself like this. As she thought, she continued to examine the parchment in her hand, hoping to find more clues, but after flipping through it for a while, she couldn't find any more content, so she temporarily gave up and carefully put the parchment away.
After putting away the parchment painting, Dorothy rubbed her forehead, briefly organized her thoughts, and began to read the remaining secret transmissions. There were not many remaining secret transmissions. Dorothy didn't find the last secret transmission she was interested in until she was almost finished reading all of them. When Dorothy saw the content of the secret transmission, her eyes immediately lit up.
In this secret transmission, the Scarlet Tier promotion ritual for the Incarnation path of the 'Silence' path was actually recorded! And the reason why the Church possessed the Scarlet ritual of the 'Silence' path was very simple, because this secret transmission was actually part of an interrogation record, and the subject of this interrogation record was the former leader of the Hai Sha Society, Garib!
That's right! During the Adria's Phantom Thief incident, due to the actions of Dorothy and Naifnis, the leader of the Hai Sha Society, Garib, was captured on the spot by Archbishop Antonio of Iweig. Afterwards, he was directly sent to the Holy Mountain for trial. Under the methods of the Court of Tribunal, even as a Scarlet Tier Extraordinary, Garib quickly couldn't resist and spilled everything, which naturally included the Scarlet ritual of the Incarnation path.
After the Church finished interrogating Garib, they sent the interrogation record containing the ritual content to the Court of Tribunal in the form of a secret transmission for archiving. Now, it was selected by Atcherie and sent to Dorothy along with other secret transmissions, allowing Dorothy to see information about her former enemy again after more than a year.
"Ah... this is quite a coincidence..."
Looking at the secret transmission in the form of an interrogation record in her hand, Dorothy recalled the glory of Adria while smiling and speaking. At this moment, she was still sighing at the speed of time, that more than a year had passed so quickly.
'I didn't expect that Mr. Garib could still help me now... I wish him a smooth time in prison. By the way, for Scarlet Tier Extraordinaries, the Church should have a certain 're-utilization' policy, right... Otherwise, it would be too wasteful. I wonder what this policy is specifically like?'
Dorothy thought to herself like this, then she began to open the secret transmission and carefully read its content to understand the situation of the Scarlet ritual of the Incarnation path.
This ritual is mainly divided into three steps. The first step requires an extremely excellent Spirit field, the quality of which is required to be higher than that required for the Chalk ritual. From the perspective of a ritual site, it needs to reach the level of a temple. Here, the promoter needs to resonate with a powerful spirit of Scarlet level.
The second step requires the promoter to be able to contain a thousand ordinary spirits in their body and be able to tame these thousand spirits, making them completely in sync and not affecting any of their own actions.
The third step requires the promoter's own spirit to be banished to the depths of the Netherworld by a special method after leaving the body, and then relying on the weak connection with the physical body, return to the physical body from the depths of the Netherworld. This is a very dangerous ritual step, because in the depths of the Netherworld, the spirit is very likely to get lost or encounter powerful inner-world creatures, leading to being unable to return forever, which is very dangerous.
'This... is the Scarlet ritual of the Incarnation path? Three steps... It feels like none of them are easy, the difficulty doesn't seem to be less than Adele's.
'But no matter what, Neff's ritual is finally here. After knowing the ritual, I can slowly find ways to do it. There are always more solutions than difficulties...'
Looking at the secret transmission placed on her desk. Dorothy thought to herself like this. She was not completely without a clue about how to perform these steps.
'Scarlet Tier souls, there's already Rahman, and Church-level Spirituality fields exist in the New World. Those places where wild sacrifices are held are probably them. I wonder if I can borrow one through Uta's connections?'
'And a thousand souls can be obtained quickly by communicating with the Netherworld. The issue is how to make Neff suppress these thousand-plus thoughts, which definitely needs careful study. As for returning from the Netherworld... what this book says does seem quite dangerous. Whether Neff is willing to perform this ritual without guaranteed safety is probably a problem...'
Dorothy analyzed this in her mind. After much analysis, she estimated that Neff would most likely have to go to the New World this time. She could contact Kapak and Uta later to discuss the specific situation with them.
Finally, after finishing all the secret transmissions, Dorothy let out a long sigh of relief and then stretched widely in her chair.
"Whew~~ Finally finished... This is the first time I've read so much in one go..."
After stretching, Dorothy lowered her hands and began rubbing her shoulders, extracting Spirituality as she rubbed.
Because the number of these secret transmissions was large and the quality was excellent, the amount of Spirituality Dorothy extracted in one go was substantial. Combined with what she had before, the reserves of each type of Spirituality surged to at least over 30 points. """enlightenment""" was full, and the next highest, """Shadow""", was over 40. At this moment, Dorothy could be said to be at the peak of her Spirituality abundance in her Extraordinary career.
"It's good to have backing... I feel like I won't need to worry about Spirituality at all in the future..."
After rubbing her shoulders, Dorothy couldn't help but sigh with emotion. Of the many secret transmissions, Dorothy didn't use all of them to extract Spirituality. For the language secret transmissions, including empire language, Dorothy exchanged them for otherworldly knowledge. Not only did she exchange for the other two sections of the Time Slowing Dragon Roar, but she also learned other Dragon roars and some other otherworldly knowledge. In short, Dorothy had a great harvest this time.
'I should prepare to return all these secret transmissions immediately. I hope Atchelly's second batch of secret transmissions arrives soon.' After standing up from the chair in front of the desk, Dorothy thought this to herself. At this moment, she also knew that Atchelly was currently busy with other matters, so this second batch of secret transmissions probably wouldn't arrive that quickly.
...
Main Continent central plains, center of the Protector States, Holy Mountain.
At the peak of the Holy Mountain, which pierced the clouds like a pillar of heaven, within the grand and magnificent Great Chapel of the Holy Mountain Grand Church, a solemn atmosphere currently pervaded. Of the only seven seats in this Great Chapel, six were now occupied. Except for the main seat belonging to the Pope in front of the Holy Altar, which remained empty as usual, figures were present on the other seats.
The six great Cardinals of the Church's Cardinal Council were all seated in their positions. A solemn atmosphere permeated the air of the Great Chapel. At this moment, grave expressions were displayed on the faces of the six Cardinals present. And in the middle of these six Cardinals, another figure was kneeling – Vanya, formally dressed in a white Sister's habit.
At this moment, Vanya was silently kneeling in prayer before the Holy Altar. To her sides, the gazes of all the seated Cardinals converged on her. Among these gazes were doubt, gravity, interest, solemnity, and anger... And the angry gaze came from Cardinal of Tribunal Klama.
"Sister, Vania Chafilun... Do you know your sin?"
Staring intently at Vanya before him, Klama spoke in a serious tone that seemed to suppress anger, while Vanya, kneeling on the ground, quietly answered in silence.
"Respected Cardinal of Tribunal, I do not recall committing any sin..."
"Hmph, openly colluding with a cult, unauthorized use of the holy staff, disregarding Church law... You still dare to say you are innocent?" Hearing Vanya's answer, Klama snorted coldly and then continued. Before Vanya could speak, Amanda, seated on the other side, slowly opened her mouth.
"I need to correct you, Cardinal of Tribunal. So far, the Rose Cross... or rather, the Judge of Heaven, has not shown any characteristics of a cult. It is more accurate to define them as heresy. Compared to groups like the Placenta Corpse Coffin, they are closer in nature to the Craftsmen's Guild."
Amanda said this to Klama, while Klama responded directly to Amanda with a cold laugh.
"Craftsmen's Guild? Heh... The Craftsmen's Guild wouldn't actively influence internal members of the saint church and infiltrate to develop informants like them. What else is this if not a cult?
"And Cardinal of Salvation... I advise you to speak less today. Everyone has already seen how unconditionally you favor this sinful Sister. Your words are simply not valid as reference. Furthermore, given your current situation, you are not qualified to defend her!" Klama said this to Amanda in a serious tone. Then, after reaching out and touching his cheek, he spoke again with even more obvious resentment in his voice.
"Actively attacking another Cardinal, openly defying the Cardinal regulations set by the Holy See... You are currently also guilty! Although the Holy See is not present and I have no right to judge you, according to the pre-drafted content of the Cardinal regulations, you have also temporarily lost most of your power to participate in discussions and vote in the Cardinal Council. Allowing you to sit here is already the greatest tolerance!"
Klama said this to Amanda, and Amanda, after hearing it, also snorted coldly and looked away. Although the Pope was absent, the entire Cardinal Council still operated according to the rules set by the Pope. Among these were penalty clauses that could take effect even without the Pope's personal order. Amanda's active attack on Klama that day also triggered one of these clauses, and she was now restricted in many of her powers. Of course, these were merely restrictions; the penalties that would truly affect the substance of Amanda's status had to be made personally by the Pope himself.
However, these restrictions were not completely without effect. At least for now, Amanda had temporarily lost the right to vote in this judgment against Cardinal Vanya. According to the regulations, she could only watch as the other five Cardinals jointly judged Vanya.
After responding to Amanda, Klama refocused his gaze and attention on Vanya, then continued to speak to Vanya seriously.
"Now, I ask you again, Sister Vanya, do you know your sin?"
"Then I will also reiterate to you again, Cardinal of Tribunal, that I do not believe I have any sin..." Looking towards Klama, Vanya continued to speak in a stern tone. Just as Klama seemed about to erupt, she immediately continued speaking.
"Lord Klama, everything I have done from beginning to end, including cooperating with heretics, has been for the benefit of the saint church and its tens of thousands of followers. I have done nothing contrary to the Lord's teachings. My cooperation with heretics has saved countless innocent lives. What sin is there in this?"
With a sincere expression, Vanya looked at Klama and spoke directly, while Klama, after hearing Vanya's words, replied coldly.
"Don't confuse the issue. I am not talking about salvation... or teachings... Regardless of whether you posed a threat to the saint church, regardless of how many unrelated people you saved, your secret collusion with a cult is a serious violation of Church law. Seeking the holy staff because of the cult's instigation is an even greater sin!"
Speaking to Vanya with a firm and stern tone, Klama watched as Vanya remained completely unmoved by his words. She glanced around, looking at the other Cardinals nearby, then replied very calmly and slowly.
"Secretly communicating with heresy... This is indeed a violation of Church law, but perhaps the Cardinals present here do not know that my actions were all due to 'revelation'. What I carried out was the decree given by the 'Lord'. Before the will of the 'Lord', no Church law can become an obstacle or restriction, right..."
Vanya said this solemnly to Klama. Hearing her words, the Cardinals present immediately began to react differently. Some suddenly raised their eyebrows slightly, some suddenly looked grave. Klama was first stunned after hearing Vanya's reply, then couldn't help but laugh loudly.
"Haha! Do you know what you are saying? Vania Chafilun... 'Revelation'? 'Divine revelation'? Apart from the Holy See, no one in the saint church can receive the Lord's divine revelation! You bypassed the Holy See and claimed to have received the Lord's divine revelation? This is the crime of falsely transmitting divine decrees! A monstrous crime!"
With a slight hint of excitement, Klama spoke directly to Vanya. He seemed invigorated by the possibility of convicting Vanya of a greater crime. The crime of falsely transmitting divine decrees was the most severe category of offense within the entire Shining Light Church, and the corresponding penalties were the most brutal.
Many of the Cardinal Bishops around were surprised by Vanya's words, and at this moment, Klama was preparing to write down a major sin for Vanya in the records. It was at this time that Vanya spoke again.
"Cardinal of Tribunal is correct... In the saint church, the 'Lord' indeed does not issue divine decrees to beings outside the Holy See. However, this 'Lord' only includes the Holy Mother, Saint Child, Saint Father, the Three Saints, and the Save the World. But the divine decree I received came from the Saintess... The Church law does not explicitly state that the Saintess will not issue divine decrees to people outside the Holy See..."
"What? Saintess?!" Hearing Vanya's words, many Cardinals present couldn't help but be startled with surprise, and Klama also seemed to feel surprised and slightly furrowed his brows. In the public Church law, the Saintess was completely nonexistent. This was a secret belief tacitly permitted by the Pope, belonging only to the Bureau of Secrets. Therefore, Church law naturally wouldn't state that the Saintess had the same behavioral logic as the other Three Saints.
"Hmph... You actually know about the Saintess? Stop joking. The Saintess is a belief that only exists within the Bureau of Secrets. You are not a member of the Bureau of Secrets... Firstly, I have never heard of the Saintess transmitting any divine decree before. Even if she did, how could it possibly reach you? You are not a member of the Bureau of Secrets... Stop spouting nonsense here!"
Klama said sternly to Vanya, while Vanya, after a slight pause, replied calmly.
"Cardinal of Tribunal, I am not speaking nonsense. The Saintess's divine decree... was truly heard by me. If you don't believe me, you can consult Cardinal of Secrets now. She has also received a corresponding divine decree, and she can testify for me."
Vanya said this so calmly. Hearing Vanya's words, Klama's expression couldn't help but freeze. He then quickly turned his head to look at the petite figure sitting on the Cardinal's seat on the other side and asked directly.
"Cardinal of Secrets, this sinful Sister is spouting nonsense about you..."
Klama said this to Atchelly. After hearing this statement, the black-haired girl wearing the luxurious Cardinal's robe first looked at Vanya, then looked at Klama, who seemed to be eagerly awaiting her denial, and then slowly opened her mouth.
"I am very sorry, Cardinal of Tribunal, this Sister Vanya has not spoken any nonsense or lies. During the battle against the evil god a few days ago, I did indeed feel the grace of the Saintess at a critical moment and was granted divinity. At the moment of defeating the evil god's minions, in the spiritual realm... I first felt the Saintess's divine decree..."
"The Saintess said... Sister Vanya is one of the few noble and pure individuals in the current saint church. Many of Vanya's actions, including using the holy staff, were from Her will... Sister Vanya has received the Saintess's divine decree; it is not false."
Atchelly said this to her many Cardinal colleagues present, then watched as expressions of even more obvious surprise appeared on their faces one by one, and saw Klama's originally invigorated expression suddenly sink drastically, completely collapsing.
Atchelly had indeed received the Saintess's divine decree, but Vanya was not mentioned at all in this decree. Although Vanya was not mentioned, Dorothy was highlighted. The meaning in that divine decree almost directly said that Dorothy was the Saintess's earthly representative.
For Atchelly, since Dorothy was the Saintess's earthly representative, if Dorothy said that Vanya was mentioned in the Saintess's divine decree, then she was mentioned, right? What else could be done?
Atchelly thought this to herself. Anyway, Dorothy and the Saintess looked exactly alike. It didn't matter if Dorothy was treated as the Saintess~