Embers of Embers

Chapter 617 Destiny
Different from the city where candles are floating, the deeper you go inside the Saint-Naro Cathedral, the less light there is. The candles placed there have long been extinguished, leaving only solidified wax oil covering the ground.
Anthony walked slowly towards the depths of darkness. The wall covered with angels and demons slowly opened. Behind the gate of heaven, the elevator took Anthony into the deepest part of darkness.
It was the boundary between heaven and hell, and in the deep darkness, decaying dust rolled.
There is no defense in the Temple of Stasis, not even a demon hunter. Only the new Pope stays here alone. Since a certain day, he has been kneeling beside the Well of Ascension, under the cold iron face. , no one knows what he is thinking.
Everything is going down slowly, probably because of the conversation with Samuel, the long past is still repeating itself in front of his eyes.
Anthony recalled.
He always thought that he was shrouded in the light of faith, and as long as he fully dedicated himself to everything, God would sweep away his powerful enemies.
This is indeed the case. On that nightmare night, he was the only one who was not timid. He took up the spear and penetrated and nailed the burning demon hunter to death.
Anthony did it, and God also did it, but for some reason, Anthony's faith was no longer firm since then.
He began to doubt.
"What exactly is faith..."
he whispered.
Even after such a long time, the face of the witcher before his death still kept flashing in front of his eyes. He didn't have any last words, and he probably didn't bother to continue to say anything, but Anthony read the last question in his dim eyes.
【why? 】
After that, Anthony often suffered from insomnia. In the deepest part of the night, he seemed to be back to that bad night again.
For example, when it comes to measuring faith, Anthony doesn't think he can compare to the demon hunters. They are God's most loyal blades and the front line against darkness. Only the most devout faith can enable them to survive difficult trials. But in the end, people like this , but died in his own hands.
Or...in the hands of God.
So, what exactly is faith?
Is it a real unknown?Or is it just a tool to control people's hearts?
Until that moment, Anthony realized that he had never seemed to understand what faith was.
Everyone is a lost lamb, waiting for the day when the farmer harvests, and a new kingdom of heaven is piled up in the blood and corpses.
Anthony couldn't understand, and after so many years, he still didn't understand.
He once asked the highly respected cardinals, sought out the most pious pastors, and even visited the teachers of the seminary, but Anthony still couldn't find the answer, until one day, he met a person at the end of the alley …
The sound of metal friction woke Anthony up from his daze. The elevator had arrived at the Stasis Temple. Without hesitation, he put aside those messy thoughts and walked forward.
The sound of footsteps was particularly clear in this empty hall. It was clearly deep underground, but there was a breeze, as if countless dead souls were wandering there, breathing out their breath to the living.
Anthony could see the end of his field of vision, the figure kneeling next to the abyss. He didn't know how long he had been keeping this posture. The white robe was covered with dust, like a sculpture that was still placed.
If he hadn't heard the faint gasp, Anthony might have mistakenly thought that the new pope was dead.
After all, he was indeed close to death.
"Your Majesty, are you alright?"
Anthony looked at him like this, worried.
He didn't know exactly when all this change happened. In short, when he found the new pope, he had been lying covered in blood for a long time, and most of the blood had dried up.
There was violent erosion left next to the Well of Sublimation, as if some kind of evil demon crawled out of the well and inflicted heavy damage on him.
Fortunately, the new pope did not die, but the rampant erosion undoubtedly aggravated the corruption of his will. This time, the new pope did not know how long he could last.
"I'm okay...at least I won't die for the time being."
The new pope's figure was hoarse, and his iron-faced gaze stared straight into the dark well, never leaving.
Anthony stood beside him. From a high position, he could clearly see the armor worn by the new pope. They were very thin, so they were easily covered by his robes. The workmanship was not fine, but rather rough. It's like barely building a prototype and then putting it into use.
This is the armor of holy silver, which can help the new pope isolate himself from corrosion. It also isolates himself from the outside world. It is both a protective umbrella and a corresponding cage.
"I was just recalling the past, and as soon as I recalled it, I fell deeply into it..."
The new pope may have sensed the final outcome of his fate. He, who had always been indifferent, rarely showed some emotion, but this weak emotion was still so cold, as if he had lost his warmth a long time ago.
“They always say that when a person dies, they look back on their life and relive all their memories, as if they had lived it all over again for a brief moment.
This is the time God gives you. God will review your good deeds, count your sins in detail, and make the final judgment on you in a new review. "
The new pope paused for a moment, thinking of the guy named Lorenzo Holmes and the blurry face of 047 in his memory, and he continued.
"Unfortunately, judging from his intelligence, there is no god in this world, and what we have insisted on for thousands of years is nothing more than a white lie."
"Your faith... collapsed?"
Antony said tentatively, knowing that his words were offensive, but still curious to hear what the new pope had to say.
"No, this kind of thing collapsed as early as the night of Holy Advent. You should know that."
The new pope hesitated, thinking about how to express himself.
"I just feel a little regretful. My consciousness is no longer sharp, my memory has become blurred, and those familiar faces have been forgotten one by one... I didn't care about this. After all, we will eventually meet again in the review of our lives, but now I can't see them."
"So I'm trying to look back at it all, and since there's no God to judge me, let me judge myself."
The new pope let out a raucous laugh, then raised his head and looked up at Anthony.
"I just recalled the time when I met you."
Anthony looked a little surprised, and then those memories came to his mind, "I remember it was a thunderstorm night."
"Yes, on a thunderstorm night, I blocked you in the dark alley. According to my expectation, I will take revenge on everyone, and you are also on the list."
"Because I killed Michael?"
"How is it possible, how can you kill him? Michael is so powerful, and you were just an ordinary mortal at the time," the new pope mocked, and then sighed, "He was just too tired. Before he collapsed completely, I was just stabbed by you...but people's anger always needs a vent, right?"
Anthony didn't answer.
Yes, according to the trajectory of fate, he was supposed to die on that thunderstorm night, but just like a trick of fate, everything developed in the other direction.
"You should have died there, but you survived," the new pope remembered something and asked, "I seem to have never asked you, why did you say those words at that time?"
It's strange to say that one is the mysterious pope who suddenly rises, and the other is the Templar knight who suddenly betrays all the cardinals. They are the real group. It stands to reason that they should know each other's ins and outs, but sometimes they seem to never understand. Passing each other, just adhering to a tacit understanding that is difficult for some people to understand, we have come all the way to where we are now.
Anthony didn't answer, but the sound of rain fell in his ears.
In the night when the cold rain and thunder intertwined, Anthony looked at the man standing under the heavy rain, and his eyes were filled with light similar to thunder.
Needless to say at that moment, Anthony knew who the other party was and what he was going to do, but before his death, he questioned the surviving Raphael.
"Faith, what exactly is it?"
Anthony stood in the rain like a lost lamb.
Raphael has already mobilized the secret blood. If he wants, he can make Anthony struggle to die in the most desperate hell, allowing him to enjoy the same pain that all demon hunters experience before death but a hundred times more severe.
But when he heard Anthony's words, for some reason, Raphael didn't take action.
Every witcher was once a priest. This was a necessary step in their career, and the same was true for Raphael.
Looking at Anthony, he suddenly felt that he was not a madman who came for revenge, but a guide who led the lamb.
"That's when we joined forces. As for my reasons and why I said those words, it's actually just like what I told you. I just want to know what faith is. Before I figure this out, I still I don’t want to die.”
Anthony answered, continuing his sermon along the lines of memory.
“Since the Night of Holy Advent, I have been thinking about who is truly pious, the surviving cardinals or the witchers who died in battle?
Are they a group of mortals who pray every day, or monsters who have gone through deadly battles and trials and guard the gates of hell? "
He shook his head.
"I once stood on the side of the Cardinals, but they failed to give me the answer, so this time I want to stand on the side of the demon hunters. Maybe you can give me the answer."
Anthony stared at the abyss below. In order to figure out the answer, he himself was implanted with secret blood and became a member of the demon hunters. It stands to reason that he should be closer to the answer, but it seems that it is still hidden. In the fog, it is difficult to see.
"I think you may never find it again. God is false and faith never existed." The new pope laughed, with a sharp roar coming from his throat.
Antony's face was expressionless. He shook his head and rejected the new pope's words.
"No, I think it is real, but we have never found it. I think... I am about to see it."
"Oh? That sounds really good."
The new pope wore an iron mask and no one could see his expression. After a while, he spoke slowly.
"Actually, I think you have never been confused. You know exactly what you want. Now it's me who is confused."
The new pope was telling the truth. Having experienced so much, his state of mind had already become hard to fathom, and everything he did was for the most extreme purpose, just like Michael's confusion before his death.
【why? 】
During the not-so-long reign of the new pope, all he did was pursue the truth of the past. To this end, he used power and poison to join forces with Anthony to kill one enemy after another, intimidating the cardinals, and chasing the exile. By.
He took the papal crown, formed a new order, and imprisoned the old pope in the Well of Ascension until all the truth was dug out of his mind.
That was a tipping point, and countless monsters have jumped onto the stage ever since.
Adren did not kill him when he came, maybe because he was a pope and a demon hunter, or maybe because he needed someone to look after the Well of Ascension, at least he couldn't let it stay here without protection.
The new pope survived by luck, and all the truth was perfectly constructed from Edron's mouth and the information sent by Lorenzo.
He knew the original appearance of the world and the reason for the night of Holy Advent.
It can be said that the obsession that had been supporting the new pope was relieved. He knew the "why" of all this, but after that he fell into deep confusion.
The new pope has finally reached the end, but where should he go after that?
"Has he left already?"
Anthony looked around, and the cold and strange feeling disappeared a lot. It seemed that Edlen had left.
Anthony also felt very strange about this original watchman. He was once a pope, a patriarch, the leader of the first Eastern Crusade, a man of glory and merit, but his final outcome turned out to be Such an immortal monster wanders alone in this world, as if it all comes from the curse of the secret blood.
"Well, it seems that he was persuaded by Holmes, or at least very interested. I think he is now in Old Dunling, waiting for the target to appear." The new pope said.
"You look much older." Anthony moved his eyes to the new pope.
"I am wearing holy silver, even Edron needs to break my armor if he wants to see me clearly..."
"No, this is the breath, it can also be said to be the demeanor and temperament. What you feel now is like a flame swaying in the wind. The power that has been supporting you to move forward has disappeared, and maybe you will be extinguished in the next second.
Like a dark destiny. "
Anthony said sadly that he should actually be happy for the new pope, after all he has fulfilled all his obsessions, but he also felt sad, as if such an ending was too bleak.
The new pope listened to his words. During the time he was watching here, he also thought about these things. It seemed that it would not be so bad if it ended here. However, there was still a trace of unwillingness in his heart, as if all this should not be the case. Such an ending.
"Destiny... I hate the word destiny. Just like some people say that secret blood is a destined curse. There are always people who blame some mistakes on these inexplicable words, as if this can excuse the mistakes."
He groaned and clenched his fists repeatedly, as if feeling the remaining strength in his body.
"If you lose a goal, establish a new one," the new pope said solemnly, "Isn't it that people are supported by goals one after another?"
The nearly extinguished candle flame flickered and rose.
(End of this chapter)