Alice in the Land of Steam

Is Chapter 780 arriving soon?

The underground ruins of the Roald District, the ruins of the Great Hermitage of All Saints Gospels, deep inside the temple.

The candlelight was dim under the broken statue, and the bleak firelight formed a circle of dry corona, with only a few strands of light flickering laboriously in the center, and completely dimmed at the edge. This struggling firelight reminded Sister Livia of her childhood, when the Seven Stars Disk District was still the poorest neighborhood in the entire Lunweiting, and public facilities were not as complete as they are today, so street lamps often broke down, and the wicks that burned out due to overheating or never burned at all were like now, flickering in the transparent glass cover, emitting a dim and uncertain light, attracting many small flying insects around, and drunk workers or ragged vagrants leaning against the lamp poles.

At that time, many bodies were buried in the church cemetery every winter, and at night they were dug up again and thrown into the sewer so that the bodies would have a temporary home the next day; at that time, the church union had not yet built matchbox-like low-rent housing along both sides of the street, and people were still like ants, dozens of them crowded in the same nest, and a fire could burn hundreds of insects, just like an ignorant child could overturn an entire ant nest with one hand; at that time she was just a young girl, but she had learned to sneak into the cathedral chapel to listen to the pastor's sermon without any guidance, and she was as quiet and well-behaved as if she was listening to her mother's lullaby. When Lord Pancras saw her, he said that this child had the qualifications to become a saint...

But it's so strange, why do I suddenly remember those things? It's been a long time, they are insignificant memories, and there is nothing worth recalling... Is this moment the same as that moment?
At some point, a cold wind blew in from the collapsed dome, passing through the broken roof beams and scattered benches, echoing in the empty and abandoned hall, much like the roar of a wild beast. The dust in the corner was lifted by the wind, flying up and down around the corona, blurring people's vision and shrouding the nearby gray-white altar with a rotten and moldy smell. It was like a dead tree that should have been decomposed a long time ago, but because it was buried deep underground, even ants or fungi were unwilling to go deep into such a dark place, so it survived alone and remained silent until now.

Sister Livia suddenly asked, "Why are you telling me this?"

"Because I think that among the followers of the True Spirit Sect, you are not the most hopeless one. After all, you were just deceived. This was never your own choice, right?" Karaboss said, "What if I say that I can give you two choices and let you decide your own destiny?"

Livia was silent for a moment. Neither the "two choices" nor the "determining fate" were her main concerns. What she cared about most at this moment was: "What good will this do for you?"

She didn't believe that the enemy would show sympathy for no reason, not to mention that this enemy was a saint of the united sect, a witch of the so-called witch association, and the witch who caused the natural disaster ten thousand years ago. According to the story she told, witches and animists should be mortal enemies, right? What reason did she have to help herself?
"Benefits?" Carabosse smiled silently. Her smile had a completely different temperament from before, just like the night can be both cold and gentle. "Not everyone in this world asks if there are benefits before doing something. At least the reason I want to do this is just because it is necessary, not because it can bring me any benefits."

"What kind of necessity is it?" Livia asked again, but this time Carabosse did not answer, but just looked at her. The nun knew that she might not be able to ask more information, so she thought about it and brought the topic back to the beginning: "Can I ask what kind of choice it is?"

She is afraid.

Sister Livia did not experience that glorious era. Unfortunately, her life began in an era of declining faith. Since she understood what faith was, all branches of animism, including the True Spirit School, have been on the decline, suppressed by the combined forces of religious groups, governments of various countries, and the "Religious Decree" to the point of being suffocated and dying.

She could only see the tip of the iceberg of the glorious period of animism in the "Psalms of Consecration" taught by the old lady, in the details between the lines of the holy scriptures, and in the stories told by old man Pancras with emotion and sadness... At that time, people were still praising the greatness and selflessness of the Virgin Mary in creating the world, praising the contributions of the saints in analyzing the heavens, the earth and spirituality, and exploring the potential and power given to each person by the Holy Spirit, instead of being like now, struggling to survive, exhausting all their efforts, and even being forced to go astray, hoping that the illusory God of conception could change the world and bring them hope.

"Of course, I won't lie to you like Mufasa did, because there is no need for that."

“The price is the loss of humanity.”

"The first option is—"

As long as she reaches the end of this road, she can transform into the true Son of God Gabrielvia, the messenger of the Three Saints, change the fate that could not be changed in the past, save the souls that could not be saved in the past, and then realize the glory that had been achieved in the past. The reshaping of ideals and the tracing of the times are only in this seemingly distant but extremely close distance. Could this short road be more difficult than the road of survival that countless animist believers have walked through in the past ten, hundred, and thousand years?

Now, she has the opportunity to regain her glory.

As Karabos spoke, he took another step to the side, making way for the altar under the statue. "You will complete the experiment that the Cursed Ring King Kenos failed to complete, and at the same time realize the common obsession and long-cherished wish of your three generations of guides in the True Spirit Sect. This is a very simple thing. You just need to walk over and touch the original stone inscription of "The Beginning of Spirituality". The soul of the Son of Saint Gabriel will absorb all the power of faith that has been accumulated over thousands of years, allowing this embryo, which is only in its embryonic form, to grow into the most complete form, just like the Spring Spirit God Tifu and the Earth Mother Spirit God Titan summoned by Rochelle in Nimsher. You will become the faith in the hearts of all True Spirit Sect believers. Only under the Virgin Mary, the Saint and the Holy Spirit, the Holy Son of Saint Gabrielvia, the messenger of the Three Saints in One, you will gain the power of a god, enough to help you change the fate that could not be changed in the past, and save the souls that could not be saved in the past, such as your fanatical and devout brothers and sisters who are fighting for their faith at this moment."

Because it suddenly occurred to her: What is the price?

The dark witch openly mocked the famous red-robed monk. As a believer of the True Spirit Sect, Sister Livia should have defended her fellow brothers, but she was the one who was deceived, and it was the enemy who revealed the truth to her. This was really ironic, so much so that the nun could only remain silent, as if she did not hear these words, nor the sounds of fighting still coming from the wind.

The statue of the All-Spirits enshrined on the altar was broken and blurred, but now it seemed to have returned to its original state, looking at its believers again across ten thousand years of time and space, conveying silent mottos in silence. Sister Livia slowly opened her mouth, as if she wanted to say something, give an answer, or a choice, but her upper and lower lips trembled uncontrollably, and they couldn't touch each other, let alone say a word.

Karabos raised his head slightly, his deep eyes seemed to see the battlefield in the distance through the high wall. In front of her, Sister Livia, who was leaning against the wall, could no longer hear what she was saying. She stared blankly in the direction of the altar and the manuscript of the saint preserved on it. On the obelisk that required the strength of ten people to lift, there were densely engraved ancient Yaldes characters. I guess every blurry or clear font was carved by the saint who created human civilization and religious system? In the era when the ancient Yaldes city was the most prosperous, human civilization was the strongest, and animism was the most common.

As if he had guessed what she was thinking at the moment, Carabosse said calmly, "The imaginary god made up purely of the power of faith does not possess any emotions of living beings. All complex things will be assimilated and merged into the only faith. You will no longer remember your own name, no longer have memories of the past, and no longer have thoughts of sadness or joy at any time. You are a god in the eyes of believers, born from their faith and existing to respond to their prayers. This is the so-called divinity."

She glanced at Livia, and every word seemed to emphasize something: "If you gain divinity, you gain power; but if you lose your humanity, you lose everything."

If you lose everything, what's the use of gaining divine power? Sister Livia's body trembled involuntarily. At this moment, what emerged in her mind were not only the tragedies caused by the believers of the Holy Spirit Return Sect who summoned the conceived gods, but also the scenes of the past: she ran in the streets and alleys of the Seven Stars District, the young girl laughed happily, and the heels splashed the desolate dust; she listened to the pastor's sermon in the bright and clean chapel, and her curious eyes looked at the statue of the saint on the altar more than once, feeling his majesty and kindness; she took over the ball of light at the baptism ceremony, integrated it into her soul, and from then on she would always hear another voice echoing in her ears; she followed the old lady in the church to learn to sing hymns, and after the old lady passed away, she stood in her place and taught other little girls who seemed familiar to sing hymns; she recalled again the evaluation of old man Pancras on her. When he saw her that day, he said: This child has the qualifications to become a saint, and pious blood flows in her body...

As happy as the little girl was at that time, Sister Livia is as sad today, because she suddenly remembered that the old man had not finished speaking. There was another sentence after it, but for some reason she had forgotten it: this piety will one day make her lose something important.

She gradually calmed down, her body no longer trembling, and she removed her hand from the wound on her abdomen, letting the blood flow out, soaking her dress and forming a scarlet ocean under her body. She said quietly, "This is not even a choice."

"You're right. This is not really an option." Carabosse nodded slightly. "Then I'll give you another option."

She extended her hand to Sister Livia, who was sitting against the wall. It was a gesture of invitation: "Would you like to join the Witch Society, Miss Livia?"

……

There was dead silence on the Indorsis Bridge.

After a few seconds of strange silence, Alice swallowed hard and uttered dryly, "You're kidding, aren't you?"

Her Majesty the Queen of the Kingdom of Great Britta is actually a philosopher of the Witch Society? This is really absurd. Although there have been similar examples in the past, such as King Barbarossa the Redbeard who unified the Kingdom of Minsuria and the surrounding states and established the Great Empire of Minderias, he was also a philosopher of the Witch Society, but that was a historical figure in the Middle Ages. How could it be as shocking as a monarch of a country personally revealing his identity on such an occasion?

"Nothing is impossible." The Queen smiled gently. She withdrew her hand and put it back on the golden cane beside her, with an elegant and calm posture: "According to the latest report of the association, the philosopher Dickens has guessed your identity, Miss Alice. If his guess is true, then you should know the meaning of the name 'Victoria'."

Perhaps because there were so many people around, she did not directly point out that Alice was from the "Earth World", but it also proved from the side that the Witch Society is indeed connected to the Earth.

Alice was confused when she heard this: Of course she knew that even if people had never heard of Queen Victoria, they must have heard of the Victorian era of the British Empire, right? But there were Victorias in this world, such as the Restoration Queen Victoria who supported Marshal Napoleon in launching political and military reforms during the Hundred Years' War, and the queen in front of her, who was a direct descendant of the Restoration Queen. The blood relationship allowed her to call herself Queen Victoria II after she succeeded to the throne. But who would have thought that this "Victoria" was not only her name, but also her code name for philosophers?

If this is the case, then we can understand what Gloria said just now: If Her Majesty the Queen came forward as a member of the Victorian royal family, then this matter would naturally have room for maneuver; but when she came forward as a philosopher of the society, even Gloria, as a daughter, would probably not be able to plead for Linge and the others in this matter.

That doesn't make sense. Since your mother is a philosopher of the Witch Society, why would you, as a daughter, take the huge risk to spy on the Witch Society? Is it because you have reached the rebellious stage and want to find some excitement in your dull life?

Alice couldn't help but glance sideways. Not only her, but other people, after knowing the intricate relationship, couldn't help but cast doubtful and inquiring eyes towards Gloria, but Her Royal Highness the Third Princess ignored them all and stood leisurely at the back of the crowd. She had no intention of explaining, nor did she think of leaving this group of conspirators and returning to her mother.

Only Lingge seemed to have guessed something. He looked at Gloria deeply, then quickly retracted his gaze and looked up at Her Majesty the Queen. He asked without dodging, "If that's the case, why didn't Her Majesty arrest us directly? I think you and the Witch Society behind you have mobilized such a large force, not just to block us on this bridge and say a few words, right?"

By the way, reveal her true identity and scare these ignorant country bumpkins... Ling Ge felt that she should not be such a boring person.

Her Majesty the Queen smiled and said, "Of course not. You all made a big noise in Westminster tonight, but it's a bit of a headache for us. Even if Professor Heinrich, whose interest was disturbed, did not ask for it, we should still invite you to the Ladist to have a chat. Unfortunately, when the incident happened, our leader happened to be a guest in the palace. After hearing about this, she was very interested in you and wanted to meet you. Although she was delayed for a while due to some things, she should be here soon. Please be patient and understand the leader's curiosity. After all, the mid-year meeting is about to begin, and she still has a lot of things to deal with. If you are transferred to the Ladist, she will have to wait until a month later to meet you. I'm afraid she can't wait that long."

The leader of the Witch Society wants to meet us and is on the way?

Ling Ge and Saint Xia Liya looked at each other in bewilderment. If they remembered correctly, in the story told by the Witch of Fear Fei Er, this leader was the origin of everything, right? It was she who awakened the sleeping Chaos Kings, it was she who proposed the Eden Plan and gained the support of the Chaos Kings, it was she who founded the Witch Society and brought the knowledge of the Earth World to the Mirror Star World through her philosophers, guiding the direction of civilization and history behind the scenes; at the same time, it was she who led the Witch Society and suppressed the Order Kings with contradictory ideas again and again, including the decline of the Goddess of Creation and the promulgation of the "Religious Decree"... It can be said that if it weren't for her, the Order Kings would never have been suppressed to this extent by relying on the seven Chaos Kings alone.

Ever since hearing that story, Lingge has been very curious about this leader, because he could tell that Fei'er's admiration and trust in her were genuine, and Her Majesty the Queen in front of him seemed to be convinced by her. Even Sir Devann and the fully armed soldiers guarding behind her couldn't help but straighten their chests when they heard the word "leader", as if after knowing the news of her arrival, their spirits became more high-spirited, and of course, more vigilant.

To be so admired by witches, philosophers, non-staff members of the society, and even ordinary members of the Night Watch or the Balance of Order, it is obvious that this leader has extraordinary charisma. Add to that the skill, decisiveness, and foresight she has demonstrated in the process of ruling the Witch Society and guiding human civilization... As such a person was about to appear in front of him, Ling'er's heart gradually began to sink, and he felt that the situation seemed to have become more difficult.

Of course, it was difficult originally.

　Give me some meow
　　
　
(End of this chapter)