Embers of Embers

Chapter 137 Heaven's Gate
The Place of the Seven Hills, the Cathedral of Saint-Naro.
The cold evening wind poured into this magnificent church from the window, and the invisible hands slightly lifted the white curtain, shaking and swaying the clusters of candles, as if they were alive and breathing.
As the center of power of the Holy Gospel Papal State, the Cathedral of Saint-Naro is much grander than ordinary people imagine. The towering spire points to the sky like a spear. The place is brightly lit and the melodious hymns resound day and night.
This is the place with the highest concentration of faith in the world and the most magnificent church in human history. It is built entirely of huge and neat white bricks, inlaid with gold and silver. Under this land are buried the popes of all generations. It is a pilgrimage place that fascinates all believers. .
Some people say that there is a door hidden deep in this city-like church, which leads to the holy kingdom of heaven.
Climbing up the steps with history, the long red carpet stretches all the way to the golden icon. It looks up at the dome, and the gods carved on it are also looking at the mortal world and watching it, even on a cold winter night. , it is still warm here, the air is filled with sweetness, and the melted wax oil solidifies on the ground, gathering into a white tide, swallowing up all faith.
The priest was wearing a black cassock, and his musket and sword were slightly exposed as he walked.
He is so out of tune with this place. Although the priest is the most devout believer, there is the soul of the devil hidden under the flesh.
It stands to reason that many people should be needed to take care of such a huge building, but every time the priest comes back here, everything is in order, as if the servants have just dealt with it, but no matter how you search, you will finally find that there seems to be only you here Like a person, it seems that what keeps the church running is the unseen ghost, which makes people feel cold while being warm.
The rustling sound of the pen tip rubbing against the paper was heard. The man was wearing a simple white robe and sitting behind a mahogany table filled with documents. There was no trace of steam technology here. Everything was as ancient and solemn as the one depicted in the oil painting hundreds of years ago. .
A sea of ​​candlelight surged up around the man, rippling slightly with the breeze.
The interior of the Cathedral of Saint-Naro is as majestic as a labyrinth. Many functional departments of the Evangelical Church are established in it, even the papal hall, which holds power. It is located on the upper level of the church, standing behind the painted floor-to-ceiling windows. In front of you, you can overlook the sunset and moonrise over the entire Seven Hills.
The priest did not bother the man. He knelt on one knee on the red carpet and lowered his head in silence.
A long time passed, and everything was so quiet that the only sounds left were the friction of the pen tip and the dripping of wax, until a tired sigh broke the silence.
"Father Anthony?"
The man did not raise his head, but continued to write something on the paper. He was very attentive and his pen was strong.
The document written on this table once determined the fate of the entire Western world, and now a new destiny is being drawn up by his hands, now the Pope, Ceny Lothair, who is revered as the King of Kings. .
"Your Majesty."
the priest responded.
"Well, how did things go?"
The Pope asked casually, the tip of his pen was dipped in ink and he continued writing.
"The heretics have been burned to death and their remains thrown into the Tiber, and now no one will oppose our proposal to build a factory."
"Where are the old guys?"
"They have realized that the situation is over and are preparing to flee abroad. Most of them have been intercepted and secretly executed on the spot for treason. A small number of those who escaped the net are still being hunted."
"What about those who surrendered? Do they still try to resist?"
"No, we have secretly suppressed them many times. Now their wealth has shrunk significantly, and those industries will return to the church one by one."
A brief conversation without any emotion, but it is such a conversation that determines the direction of a kingdom.
The Pope finally finished writing. He raised his head. There was no shocking face, but a simple iron surface with beautiful patterns outlined with gold lines, hiding the real face underneath.
"Father Anthony, I think it's time for you to step out of the shadows. Now that the country has stabilized, we should set our sights further afield."
During the Pope's short tenure, he successfully grasped all the power, and now this power will be smashed into the world outside the territory.
"Your Majesty..."
The priest was a little stunned for a moment. He was the guard in the shadows and the Pope's secret envoy, but now the things in the shadows were coming out of the darkness.
"Perhaps only you can do this job."
The Pope stood up. His words were very calm, but they carried an order that could not be refused. The priest could only stand up slowly and follow closely behind the Pope.
"Father Anthony, you must have heard those rumors recently."
"You mean..."
"The Demon Hunting Order has nothing to hide, just tell it."
Unlike the ruthless Blood Pope at the center of the legend, the Pope actually does not have any majesty that makes people unable to approach him. He is very approachable, just like an ordinary priest, but the priest can detect that underneath that calmness, he is a mortal. The mystery and violence that cannot be peeked into.
He is like the giant whale swimming in the ocean. He has no ferocious fangs and no terrifying murderous aura. He is almost like a mascot. But when the giant whale flips its body, it can smash ships at will. .
"The Demon Hunting Order has been rebuilt, and most of the logistics and maintenance have gradually caught up. Even the dusty stasis temple has been opened again... But Father Anthony, I have only built armor and horses. What it lacks now is A knight who can fight."
The Pope did not continue speaking, but just looked back at the priest. There was darkness under the iron mask's eyes. If the priest hadn't been able to see a few faint spots of light in the darkness, he even felt that under the iron mask and the robe, It's a shadowless ghost causing trouble.
"Come with me."
he said again.
In the deep corridor, every time when walking in this magnificent church late at night, the priest would always feel that he had entered an endless maze, and every corner of his field of vision seemed to have no end.
Some people say that there are many secrets hidden in this huge labyrinth. Some doors lead to the tombs of past popes, some doors lead to unspeakable secrets, and some people say that there is a door behind which is the holy kingdom of heaven.
He didn't know where the Pope was going to take him. The priest only had a vague expectation of what would happen next. He felt a little crisis, but in front of the mysterious King of Emperors, the priest didn't even have the courage to hold on to the iron sword. sword.
Only the Pope in front of him knows the full picture of this huge labyrinth. Because the construction process is too long, the Cathedral of Saint-Naro has been in a state of being built and used at the same time. The keys to most of the rooms have long been lost and forgotten. Only the master key in the hands of the Pope can open all of this.
"We're here, Father Anthony."
The Pope said suddenly. At some point, the two of them had stopped in front of a huge wall, with angels and demons carved on it. But at this moment, they all looked sad, and their expressions were so lifelike that the priest couldn't help but feel slightly absent-minded.
He once handled a heretic case. There was a sculptor with amazing skills. His works were extremely lifelike. Some people said that he sealed the human soul in the stone to give the sculpture the "vitality" of a living person.
The wall in front of him is like this, as if the angel and the devil are imprisoned in it.
"Your Majesty..."
The priest was uneasy as he had never been before.
"Father Anthony, you are currently one of the only people who has accepted the gift of the Secret Blood. After the rebellion of Dean Lawrence, we almost lost the Secret Blood technology, so I hope you will be in charge of the rebuilt Demon Hunting Order. I hope you don’t disappoint me.”
"You mean to make me... the new dean?"
The priest's voice trembled slightly, how glorious and fearful it was.
The iron face agreed, and the voice could not be rejected.
"During your busy days, we found traces of Dean Lawrence. He betrayed God and he needs to pay the price."
The Pope said, and then took out a hexagonal iron key from under the white robe. Through the light, the priest could see that the smooth surface actually had many grooves that were difficult to distinguish with the naked eye, and it was this almost imperceptible concave and convex Formed this master key that can open everything.
Familiarly inserting it into the gap in the wall, the key turned on its own without even needing to twist. The huge mechanical structure twisted and operated where the priest could not see it, and finally slowly pulled the heavy wall apart, and a Elevators covered in dust and rust appeared among them.
"I've heard the rumors that they call this thing the Gate to Heaven."
There was a hint of laughter in his words, whether it was ridicule or something else.
The priest froze in place. Those rumors were right. There was a door to heaven hidden in this maze-like church, and now it was in front of the priest. All the secrets were buried in it. The wind came from the deep. Coming slowly.
"As the new dean, you still have a lot to learn, Father Anthony."
There was a faint sound under the iron surface.
The two of them stepped inside, and then the door was sealed, and the long-dusted elevator began to work and descended with the sound of metal friction. The only sound of the priest's breathing seemed to be left in the darkness, until a faint red light came from the gap under his feet. lights up.
But then there was an inexplicable force that strangled his throat. Fear and pressure went together. As the depth deepened, erosion continued to attack. The magnificent orchestral music became clear from blur, as if there was an orchestra under the red light. Zhong Sheng sang.
He suddenly laughed hoarsely.
The priest knew where the final destination was, but he thought it was a bit ridiculous. This was not the gate to heaven. It clearly led to the burning hell in the dark depths.
It had been forgotten for six years and was once the residence of the Demon Hunting Order.
The Temple of Stasis.
(End of this chapter)