Chapter 111 Fate of the Civilization

Without the glorious sacrifice of the Pope, perhaps the fate of the entire civilization of Holletta would have been completely different.

Although the giant Hao Ren captured belonged to the "rational" faction, he was still intent on destroying the civilization of Holletta before he was stopped. It could be said that the guardian was in an extremely dangerous state of flux at the time, with the destruction or salvation of the planet hanging in the balance. The Pope's sacrifice gave a push at this critical juncture, allowing the guardian to truly abandon the meaningless purge and revenge. Hao Ren felt genuine respect for such an elderly man who truly shouldered the great cause.

The simple, dark room had little decoration, with only religious artifacts of the Radiant Order and a few simple living utensils visible. A simple wooden table piled with manuscripts and files was placed against the wall on one side of the room, while the center of the room was occupied by a highly characteristic abstract-style icon painting in black and red. Other than that, the room was bare. Archbishop Auben was the last person to visit this room before the Pope's martyrdom. As the church's designated acting Pope in the event of the Pope's unexpected death, he was also the first to come here to sort out the Pope's belongings.

"The Pope must have comprehended the guidance of the Goddess from the icon painting," Archbishop Auben said, pointing to the abstract oil painting in the center of the room. "The Goddess warned us that no matter what happens, we must not slacken in our thinking, because the occurrence and evolution of everything in the world has its reasons."

Then he picked up a piece of parchment from the table next to him: "This is a note left by the Pope before his martyrdom. No one else has seen it yet. It's for you."

Hao Ren subconsciously took the parchment. The handwriting on the paper was fresh, and the smell of ink had not yet dissipated. He curiously asked, "Not for the bishops, but for a bunch of outsiders first?"

"The Pope left me a special message," Archbishop Auben spread out his hands, showing the note he found when he came here to sort out the relics. "Under the guidance of the Goddess, he has understood everything. He mentioned that if foreigners mention a conspiracy to kill the gods, then hand his manuscript over to you, because the Goddess's grace has manifested in you. Take a look at the manuscript. It was written specifically for you."

Hao Ren was about to read the manuscript when he heard Archbishop Auben's words and immediately felt a shock in his heart. He never expected that the Pope would leave these words before his martyrdom! Could it be that the old man foresaw in the last ten minutes of his life that the foreigners would learn the truth of ten thousand years ago from the guardian? Or... did a supremely powerful goddess in the dark really tell him all this, guiding him to leave these things behind?!

No matter what the truth was, he realized that this manuscript was extraordinary. A sense of inexplicable urgency urged him to read on:

"Foreigners, by the time you read this letter, I should have been summoned by God. I regret that I have to tell you some things in this way, but time is running out, and I have no other choice.

"I saw your arrival in the illusion descended by the Goddess, leader of the foreigners, Hao Ren. I cannot describe the scene of that illusion, because it is beyond the scope of mortal understanding. I saw light, fire, stars, you standing in the midst of it, and the Goddess's blessings surrounding you. This must be a premonition, the Goddess is using this method to convey her will. You are one of the chosen ones, you and your friends must be closely related to the Goddess. Although time does not allow me to comprehend all the contents of this premonition, I believe in my judgment—and if my judgment is correct, you will also know a truth.

"Ten thousand years ago, our ancestors committed terrible crimes, the evil of which is unspeakable..."

The content written behind this was the God-slaying event of ten thousand years ago. The Pope somehow "comprehended" this truth out of thin air. Although his description was vague and contradictory due to the information being comprehended, Hao Ren could still see that what the Pope was talking about was completely the same as what the giant said.

He already knew this part of the information, so after a quick browse, he quickly turned to the end. The content of the last few paragraphs made him frown:

"...The sins of the past are difficult to forgive, but just as night and day are inseparable, there is hope left in the disaster. I saw in the illusion that when that conspiracy shrouded the starry sky, the Goddess's power split apart, and she transformed into a form that mortals could not understand and fell asleep in the depths of this universe. She foretold me and made me understand the immortality of gods. The violence of the rebellious son can only make the Lord temporarily dormant, but they are far from being able to truly kill a god.

"For thousands of years, the prayers of the Radiant believers to the Goddess have never been in vain. We can always feel that a great will still protects all things in the world. This is the power of the Goddess, so we should firmly believe that the Goddess has not truly fallen, and the remnants of her must still be hidden somewhere.

"The miracles left by the Goddess are still walking on the earth, and the glory of God will eventually return to this world.

"Foreigners, I am inspired by the premonition descended by the Goddess, but I am very clear that our world—our civilization is difficult to respond to the Goddess's expectations. But I see the way to realize this premonition in you. Perhaps the depths of the starry sky hold all the answers. In the illusion bestowed by the Goddess, you are standing in the light of the starry sky, so I implore you, please accept my last request: go find her and awaken our mother.

"If you can really see this letter, it must be the guidance of the gods."

Hao Ren finished reading the contents of the message with a serious face. As soon as he finished reading it, Lily grabbed it and said, "Hey, let me see, let me see!"

Lily, Nangong Wuyue, and the purely lively Gunther huddled together and lay on the table to read. Three tails of different shapes could be seen swaying there like dogtail grass. Vivian peered over from the side, and after a long while, she poked Lily's back with her fingernail: "Did you see anything?"

"Nothing much," Lily shook her tail. "What the Pope said isn't much different from what we guessed before. He's talking about the remnants left after the Goddess died."

"No, if it's just referring to the remnants, he wouldn't have left such a solemn message," Izhaks said in a muffled voice, crossing his arms. Relying on his height advantage, he didn't even need to lean over to read the things on the letter. "According to the content of the message, the Pope obviously had a breakthrough connection with the Goddess's power during meditation. He's probably really touched on something essential... probably the Goddess in a state of slumber."

"You're saying the Goddess is really alive?" Lily widened her eyes. "Not remnants, but really, truly... alive?!"

Vivian glanced at the husky and pointed her finger at the original words on the parchment: "Open your dog eyes and take a look. The Pope clearly said, 'The Goddess is sleeping in the depths of the universe in a form that mortals cannot understand.' Since he used the word 'sleeping,' it means he really witnessed the Goddess's state with his own eyes. You need to know that the original doctrines of the Radiant Order never mentioned that the Goddess was in poor condition."

Lily didn't even listen to the second half of Vivian's words. She was just glaring her eyes hard: "I'm glaring!"

Everyone: "..."

"Why is this husky's thinking always different from others..." Hao Ren sighed long and rubbed his forehead, then carefully put away the parchment. "In short, this matter must be taken seriously. Regardless of whether the Pope's meaning is what Old Wang guessed, we should continue to investigate the whereabouts of the Goddess."

Hao Ren's initial goal was to investigate the whereabouts of the Creator Goddess, but after learning that this god had fallen ten thousand years ago, he almost gave up this idea. However, now seeing the Pope's message, the hope in his heart was ignited again: True gods are immortal!

He was startled by the violence of the "rebellious son" before, and actually thought that the Goddess had vanished into ashes, leaving only a trace of her soul. But now, after calming down and thinking about it, he realized all kinds of doubts: According to the giant, at the moment when the Goddess was killed, there were actually no eyewitnesses in the true sense, because the Goddess, along with the entire Founding Star, were exiled in a big explosion to an abnormal space called the "Dark Realm." The guardians were either caught in the explosion and failed to survive, or they could only watch from afar, and no one really saw the scene of the Goddess's death.

That means the Goddess might really still be alive!

"It's a pity that the Pope is dead," Nangong Wudi sighed. "Otherwise, I would definitely ask him what he saw in meditation. I'm sure he saw more than just this, but there are many things that cannot be explained through language and words."

"I now sincerely hope that all the doctrines of the Radiant Order are true," Izhaks also sighed. "In this way, the Pope's soul can really return to the Goddess's side, which is also a comfort to him. He was a respectable human being, willing to risk his life for his beliefs, which reminds me of old friends..."

Archbishop Auben made a religious gesture on his chest in a measured manner: "The soul of His Holiness the Pope will surely return to the embrace of the Goddess. Please do not doubt this."

"Regardless of whether we doubt it or not," Hao Ren smiled and nodded to the Archbishop, "I promised this matter, we will continue to investigate until we find your Goddess and awaken her—if she is really just sleeping."

Lily blinked her eyes and looked over: "Because of the guidance of the gods?"

Hao Ren curled his lips: "Because of the guidance of the work manual..."

(Going out to do errands this afternoon, I estimate there will only be one update =.=)