Episode 321 – Change… Be prepared.
– The inflection point of fate…
– …the time has arrived.
– Wake up!
“Sigh!”
Ilya’s eyes widened at the sudden sound of a loud voice ringing in her mind. And soon he realized that he had fallen asleep in the same posture he had been praying in.
I was praying all night long due to the recent chaotic situation in the church. In the end, it was probably due to not being able to overcome fatigue.
‘Such disrespect…’
Ilya hurriedly refined her clothes and straightened her posture.
Then, he tried to offer up a prayer of repentance again under the statue of Amunda, the god of the sea and change that he worshiped.
“uh…?”
Strangely, my body felt light.
From my experience, it is normal for my whole body to feel sore and stiff when I fall asleep in a prone position to pray, but my body felt light as if I had slept well for several days.
“this…?”
I was confused, but soon I just smiled.
If your body is in good shape, you will feel better.
“Thank God.”
I thought that God had answered my prayers all night long.
But as I gave thanks to God, the voice that rang in my mind at the end came back to me vividly.
‘Then what about that voice…?’
A voice I’ve never heard before. But at the same time, it was a voice that felt somehow familiar and nostalgic.
I think I had a long and important conversation with the owner of that voice in my dream, but I couldn’t quite remember the content. There are just a few words that are deeply embedded in my mind as if I should never forget them.
“The time has come for the inflection point of fate? Prepare for change?”
I muttered something like a complaint, but it still felt vague.
However, one thing was certain: I felt very comfortable under the divine radiance that I could not even see my face.
“No way…”
Ugh.
At that moment, the stigmata on her right shoulder began to vibrate slightly, as if her guess was correct. The divine power spreading much more densely than usual also added confidence to her heart.
“Oracle… Oh my…”
I was infinitely moved and that was just as sad.
Because he lacked confidence, he was unable to properly accept God’s words.
With a painful and painful realization, Ilya looked at the statue again and prayed.
“To my all-embracing Lord….”
But then.
– Archbishop Ilya, the meeting is about to start.
There was a voice knocking on the door of the prayer room.
* * *
“Seonghwi is especially special today….”
“Oh, I guess I’m mistaken.”
“Originally a saint…”
The whispering voices around her were already familiar. Rather, my mind was just filled with thoughts about the oracle that I couldn’t properly accept.
It seemed like she had heard a lot of words, but all that remained in her mind were a few unclear words. And there is one ‘red’ color that remains as a strong image.
It felt extremely ominous to her.
‘Something big changes are happening in the world. Or did it happen?’
Even the simplest oracles were confusing, so I couldn’t say I received an oracle carelessly.
Of course, even if I said it, I don’t know if the corrupt cardinals who were the hands and feet of the former Pope would accept it.
When I thought about it, I sighed again.
At that time, a voice like she had heard before rang in her ears.
“What are you so worried about? Ilya.”
“Ah… Cardinal Tracy.”
A middle-aged woman wearing a pure white robe, like her, greeted her with a smile.
“I spoke to you first because you seemed very worried on this important day. Please forgive me if I interrupted your thoughts.”
Words as heartwarming as that smile soothed Ilya’s distraught feelings a little.
“Oh no. It’s an important day, so I’m just worried. But the Cardinal looks comfortable.”
“What do I have to worry about, having just become a cardinal? I just trust and follow Austin and Ilia.”
Tracy’s warm smile instilled courage in Ilya’s heart.
‘They probably didn’t know it would end up like this.’
Tenor Rainey. Sam Freeman.
The two cardinals, who were called the right and left hands of the previous Pope, have been delaying the election of the next Pope by making all kinds of excuses since the day of the last impeachment trial.
A situation where the public opinion of the Saints is extremely unfavorable to their faction. Even if the right to elect a pope was reserved only for cardinals, it was impossible to predict what kind of backlash would arise if the next pope were to be chosen from among those who had shown disgrace along with the pope at the time.
– In the worst case, there could even be a full-blown vote of no confidence in the leadership of the church called Resolutium.
The task of ordinary priests and all subjects of Noviens rising up and overthrowing the leadership of the church. They were concerned that something that had happened only once in the history of the church could happen again.
In the end, as they wasted time waiting for public opinion to subside, the last thing they put forward was the vacant position of cardinal.
The idea is to select a successor to Cardinal Essel, who died while returning from McLane.
There is an honorary cardinal, Ilia, but before she was a cardinal, she was the archbishop of Amunda, the god of the sea and change. The basis was that she had no choice but to remain in an honorary position now that Cardinal Klinsmann of the Temple of Amunda was alive and well.
They calculated that public opinion in the Saints would calm down by that time, but it was Tracy, an innocent priestess who was famous as an ascetic in the Saints, who became a new cardinal on the back of the seething public opinion at that time.
She had a close relationship with Cardinal Austin, and what she said at the cardinal’s inauguration ceremony made the waning public opinion even more noisy.
– We will not allow an impostor like Julius Umberto I to become Pope again!
As a result, testimony regarding the corruption of Tenor Rainey and Cardinal Sam Freeman, who were the central axis of the former pope faction, came out one after another, and they eventually declared an Imperatorium, a period for the election of a pope.
It was aimed at the fact that the cardinal was given the privilege of being immune from arrest during the period of the Imperatorium.
And now that the end of the election period was approaching, it was difficult for even Ilya to predict what they would do as they stood on the edge.
“It’s difficult. Really…”
Even though Tracy is an ally, there are still as many as seven cardinals from the opposing faction.
“I can only hope that none of them put forward the Pope.”
“…No way.”
That was the worst case scenario.
It took a whopping 100 years for the denomination, which had suffered a total lack of confidence in the denomination called Resolutium, to regain the trust of the people and regain its name as the center of faith on the continent.
At the time, the saint’s name, Honor, was known as a symbol of corruption, and he had to go through a dark period until nine new saints and a saintly woman emerged from within the collapsing church and reestablished the church.
The name of the current saint, Noviens, was meant to honor the Nine Great Gods, but it was also meant to honor the nine saints.
‘We cannot repeat the worst history.’
And the corrupt high-ranking priests at the time were beaten to death by the angry people.
Tenor Rainey or Sam Freeman wouldn’t make such a terrible move if they didn’t want to die like that.
“Please be strong, saint. Everyone in the congregation is looking at Ilia and Cardinal Austin. You must have courage.”
“Yes, of course.”
Cardinal Tracy’s words once again filled her heart with courage.
‘okay. Let’s focus on what we have to do now.’
Ilya decided to stop thinking about the uncertain oracle and focus on the church’s impending crisis.
Because of that, I did not feel that the power contained in the stigmata was weakening even slightly.
“It’s been a while, saint.”
As she entered the Hall of Glory, the conference room of the central temple, tenor Laney greeted her with an awkward smile.
His thin lips were drawn into a line that sometimes looked strong and sometimes cruel, but his brown hair was noticeably grayer than before.
You can roughly guess how much stress he has been under recently.
‘It’s all self-employed.’
However, Ilya simply nodded with a cold expression as she had no intention of ruining the future of the church with such sympathy.
Similarly, she received a formal greeting from Sam Freeman, who had bags under her eyes, but the only time she smiled and greeted Cardinal Austin was when Cardinal Austin entered the room.
And it was the same for the opposing faction, so the atmosphere at the gathering of 10 cardinals, including the honorary cardinal Ilia, was extremely cold for a long time.
Was that uncomfortable?
“The Imperatorium period is not long left. I think it’s time to come to a conclusion…”
Tenor Rainey spoke first, as if trying to break the cold atmosphere.
Naturally, the crowd’s attention was focused, and words that Ilya had not expected came out of his mouth.
“The seven of us will give up our right to elect a pope to pay for the sin of supporting that impostor.”
“yes!?”
Ilya raised her voice without realizing it because the words were so unexpected, but Tenor, who glanced at her, continued speaking in a heavy voice.
“I just want to place one condition.”
also.
There is no way these people will just go away.
Austin, who saw Ilia’s expression harden, spoke on her behalf.
“…Tell me.”
“Instead of giving up your right to be elected, please bury our past sins. We want immunity. And…”
At those words, Austin’s face hardened and Ilya, unable to hold back her anger, jumped up from her seat and screamed.
“Nonsense! Aren’t you afraid of God’s iron fist for the sins you committed as a priest? If you know the shame, you should accept those sins obediently!”
Ilya was truly ashamed of them.
How can those who act on God’s will be so shameless?
Anyway, when I die and see God, everything will be revealed. To her, who did not understand the corruption of priests, the tenor’s words were blasphemy itself.
“They admitted their own sin! This sin was committed after the election of Cardinal Austin…” “
…There is immunity for the cardinal’s comments during the Imperatorium, saint. First, let’s hear what he has to say. let’s see.”
However, Ilya’s anger did not spread to her allies, and she soon realized her mistake when she saw Austin’s calm face.
“I’m sorry, Cardinal.”
“Youth’s vigor is not a bad thing. Isn’t it thanks to you that we have come this far?”
Austin responded with a warm smile and turned his gaze back to the central tenor.
Then, tenor Rainey, who seemed to have aged even older in a moment, continued speaking with a wry smile.
“After getting to this age, I can only believe in what I see. The world after death is none of my business. All I want is a comfortable last year in this life. All I want is that promise.”
These are extremely secular words for a religious leader to say.
At those words, Austin’s calm complexion hardened coldly.
“Is that what a cardinal would say now? You are truly corrupt to the end, Tenor Rainey.”
“To me, you just look ridiculous. Entrusting your whole life to the madness of a God who doesn’t even exist. Those who serve gold could have been more understandable.”
“…You don’t hesitate to say things that will land you in hell. There are degrees of depravity. Even the merciful gods will not forgive your words!”
“Merciful? Hehehe. Cardinal Austin, do you really think the gods are merciful? “The gods who created this world full of children starving and dying from disease as soon as they were born because they couldn’t eat properly?”
“Stop!”
“Then do you know that it was difficult to find the names of the nine great gods before the era of the Great Migration?”
“Divinity ?” Stop insulting me, Tenor Rainey! “I won’t hold back any longer!”
“What if I don’t hold back? If we don’t cooperate, the church will fall?”
“Isn’t it all because of the sins you committed!”
Unable to hold back, Ilya screamed again, but Tenor did not stop talking.
“The original sin committed by our ancestors tens or hundreds of generations ago is being committed in modern times. If you ask anyone, it’s not a terrible guilt-by-association system. Don’t be ridiculous, they are merciful gods. If it were a selfish and cruel god, it would be persuasive.”
“How can someone with divine power say such a thing!”
“Divine power? Oh, you mean this?”
Wow.
A bright yellow radiance that only priests can see rose from Tenor Rainy’s fingertips.
The divine power of Ageron, the god of gold and commerce.
However, those who unleash that divine power become as corrupt as they can fall. He was an abandoned priest..
“I believe in my God. I just believe that God is not merciful and absolute. So, I just want to focus on this life.”
“Such nonsense…!”
“Have you ever thought about why a corrupt priest can continue to use divine power, saint?” ”
Stop! stop! Is now the time for a doctrinal debate?”
Austin hurriedly intervened in the sudden doctrinal debate and stopped the conversation.
Anger could clearly be seen in his twitching eyes.
“Repentance for the sins committed comes first, tenor. Forgiveness is a matter that can only be discussed later.”
The words spewed out at the end were extremely realistic.
“Repentance… After all, you are more flexible than a young saint. Well, if you give me a chance, I will do whatever you want. What method would be best?”
“…We will discuss the method of repentance again after we finish the Imperatorium.”
“Hoo?”
The tenor grinned at that, and his slanted gaze turned to Austin and the saint.
“Just promise me something. It would be nice if you could give it to me. But then who will be the next pope? “You? Or the saint?”
The audience’s eyes followed his words.
