Alice in the Land of Steam

Chapter 771 Are you waiting for me?
When the chase in Westminster seemed to be coming to an end, Sister Livia was standing in front of the ancient ruins of the Great Hermitage of All Saints in the underground ruins of Roald, staring at the desolate and bleak scene. As time passed, this temple, once known as the home of all souls, had long lost its former solemnity and sacredness, and showed a somewhat desolate twilight in the darkness. This was Livia's first impression of it, and perhaps it would become the most lingering impression in the next few decades.

Archaeologists from the Institute of Prehistoric Heritage have repaired and cleaned the temple ruins to protect its integrity and prevent it from collapsing suddenly during the archaeological process, causing a second destructive blow. However, archaeology requires that the original appearance of cultural relics and buildings be maintained as much as possible, so they have only done the most basic protection work. The scene presented to Sister Livia still bears the traces left by the catastrophe in the past.

The spacious and smooth square in front of the temple and the central avenue may have been the place where many believers passed by thousands of years ago to pay homage to the glory of the saint. However, now the ancient stone bricks have been crushed by the weight of time, sinking several centimeters and almost submerged in the mud. Only mosses and underground plants stubbornly poke their heads out from the cracks, and the withered grass, which is dull and dry due to lack of light, bends in the turbid air. The flying buttresses and dome corridors surrounding the outer edge of the temple are tens of meters high and cannot be easily crossed. However, they have been broken into several unrelated sections by the collapsed rocks. Some are incomplete and damaged, leaving only a section of the wall, while others are like isolated peaks and cliffs, still standing towards the direction of the city, as if gazing at the last glimmer of the prosperous and glorious ancient times.

But what it saw was a battlefield where a group of unbelievers who had entered this place without the saint's permission and some fanatics who thought they had been guided by the saint were killing each other. This proved that this era was no different from the past. Both had lost themselves in blood and fire. Time had gone around in circles, and it had only brought everything back to the starting point.

The broken dome is covered with vines and corroded by the remaining light; the round arched stone pillars covered with cracks seem to stand firmly but are crumbling; the solemn tower spires are all decorated with statues symbolizing all spirits but their faces are blurred; the corridors, aisles, courtyards, churches...all the buildings that can be built with wood and stones are telling the language of the past, a story that has lasted for thousands of years.

If the saint were to be reborn, what would he feel if he saw with his own eyes that the city he founded was experiencing its first war, and the church where he lived in seclusion had now become a rotten tomb of grass, wood and stone?
Sister Livia sighed deeply when she thought of this, but her brief stop could not turn back time, and this fleeting sigh could not bring the saint back to life and return to this place. Therefore, she could only barely cheer up and walk on the dilapidated bricks to move deeper into the ruins of the All Saints Gospel Monastery.

She walked through the ruined square, the dilapidated walls, the desolate towers, the bleak courtyard, and along a corridor filled with spider silk, ants, and stone lizards, and came to the end of the temple. During this process, she remained highly alert, but did not encounter a single enemy. This did not reassure Sister Livia. On the contrary, she felt even more uneasy, because if the "First Explanation of Spirituality" was indeed kept here, would the Federation of Churches not even leave a guard?
The Temple of the End should be the most well-preserved building. Although the wood and bricks still have a rotten smell after years of wear and tear, the overall structure is still intact, so you can still feel its past glory from the towering dome, majestic stone pillars and silent reliefs. A giant wooden door over 15 meters high opened a gap slightly, enough for people to pass through. Sister Livia's already vigilant heart was raised again. After silently reciting the canon prayer in her heart, she clenched the silver bracelet in her hand and slowly walked into the temple.

Unexpectedly, there were candles burning in the temple. The beeswax candles on the silver candlesticks seemed to have been covered in dust for many years. The flames they released were rotten and moldy, and only covered the middle aisle, while the rest of the temple was still submerged in bottomless darkness, giving people a creepy feeling, as if there were countless evil beasts hiding in there, secretly watching, waiting for the opportunity to devour living people.

Sister Livia took two steps forward and suddenly stopped, staring at the statue on the altar that was carved from the images of countless gods. In ancient times, believers of animism respected saints but did not worship them. Instead, they worshiped the Virgin Mary who created all things and the Holy Spirit who symbolized the spirituality of all things. The worship of saints was derived after his death and gradually replaced the status of the former two.

The statues were also damaged by weathering, and most of them were incomplete, but the unique characteristics of the animism system could still be seen from their blurred appearance. Their images were taken from all things in nature, including birds and beasts, plants and rocks, but they were given human-like appearances, some holding scriptures as if reciting, and some opening their arms to embrace all living things, in various shapes and lifelike.

Sister Livia's gaze slowly moved downwards and landed on a figure below the statue, where the candlelight was the brightest. Her back outlined a tall and slender figure in the swaying halo. It seemed that she was a woman?
The other person had been standing there from the beginning, with his back to her all the time, seemingly defenseless, but Livia did not dare to be careless, because she found that she could not see through the person's true or false. She seemed to exist nowhere, and seemed to be everywhere, just like the so-called... light?
The other party also raised his head and stared at the statue in front of him. Was that look of admiration or indifference? Livia couldn't see or guess. She suddenly found a stone-carved scripture on the altar next to the other party. Her heart skipped a beat. Although there was no evidence, the nun instinctively felt that it was the "Spiritual First Interpretation" she was looking for, the original handwriting of the saint.

She was just wondering whether she should just go for it or find out the other party's strengths and weaknesses first. At this moment, the woman spoke first. Her voice, as cold as moonlight, echoed in the empty hall, stirring up a long and lingering sound: "The Virgin Mary endowed all things with spirituality, and humans followed the example of all things to awaken their spirituality. The spirituality of all things is predetermined from birth, but the spirituality of humans has the possibility of unlimited growth. Therefore, all things are the teachers of humans, but humans should be the masters of all things... This is the viewpoint put forward by Tumi in his "Introduction to Spirituality". It must be said that he is a very smart man, and he is very good at pleasing others."

Humans can only use magic by awakening their spirituality, which is their biggest disadvantage. However, in Saint Tumi's mouth, it became the reason why humans will replace other aliens to rule the world. Livia was stunned at first, but after reacting, she frowned and said in an unhappy tone: "The words of the saints have their own reasons. Even if you are a member of the united cult, you should respect the saints' contributions to human civilization instead of calling them by their names, which is so rude."

Before the establishment of the United Religious Orders, although there was no "Religious Decree", the attacks from the religious community were equally brutal. However, even those heretics who attacked the animist system spoke of Saint Tumi with respect. This is because Saint Tumi was not only the founder of religion and faith, but also the founder of human civilization and the supernatural system. Anyone has reason to deny his teachings, but also has the same reason to respect his contributions. How could the United Religious Orders be an exception?

"Rude? Haha."

The other party chuckled, as if Livia had told a rather amusing joke, but the laughter did not last long and soon stopped. She stretched out her hand and gently pressed on the stone scripture on the altar, saying, "I know who you are, Miss Livia, the Saint of the True Spirit Sect; I also know why you are here. The stone inscription of "The Beginning of Spirituality" compiled by Tumi himself is here. It should have been transported away ten minutes ago, but I took the initiative to leave it here for the purpose of meeting you at this moment."

Sister Livia frowned even deeper: "What do you mean?"

He could have taken the scripture away, making the enemy go for nothing, but he deliberately left it behind, waiting for the enemy to come looking for him. Was he too arrogant, or looking down on himself? Or both?
"Nothing special."

She turned around, and the first thing that caught Sister Livia's eyes was not the arrogant and indifferent face, but a pair of eyes as dark as the night, as if reflecting all the darkness in the world. At this moment, the nun suddenly understood why there was an ethereal and uncertain aura about the other person, as if it did not exist but was everywhere, because she was not light, but darkness.

Light exists nowhere, and darkness exists nowhere; light is everywhere, so darkness is naturally everywhere as well.

"I just want you to snatch this manuscript of Tumi from me." The other party stretched out a hand to her, as if inviting her to a party, with a reserved and cold expression: "Come and give it a try, Miss Livia, if you can do it."

　Give me some meow
　　
　
(End of this chapter)