Alice in the Land of Steam

Chapter 826 Is he a very complicated person?

Once upon a time, Metien was Lingge's sweetheart. Although she sometimes disagreed with her brother, she was considerate and always chose to accommodate him. Or, in other words, the siblings' lives after losing their adoptive father were originally based on mutual accommodation. However, since someone broke into the siblings' lives, this situation has changed, and now she has become a leaky little cotton jacket.

However, this also indirectly shows the importance that Metien attaches to Tianxin Church.

She mentioned to Lingge more than once about rebuilding Tianxin Church. Even after the quarrel with Lingge that night in the Gospel Convent, she did not change her mind. Perhaps she was still young and did not know what faith was and what it meant to believers. But before that, she had clearly realized that faith for her was Tianxin Church, the days when she prayed devoutly under the same statue with her father and brother. Under the compassionate gaze of the goddess, in her stone eyes, Metien saw hope and the future she wanted.

Therefore, Lingge was not surprised by her persistence. Even if this persistence was mixed with some scheming, for a teenage girl, it was already amazing to muster up the courage to do it. How could he ask for more?
In contrast, Miss Livia's insistence was more suspicious. Although her reasons were somewhat credible, they lacked some persuasiveness when compared with her identity as a True Spirit Sect believer for more than ten years. The young man guessed that something must have happened in this long night, unknown to him, to cause such a huge change in this devout nun, and Livia had not mentioned this matter to Metien.

Did he conceal it on purpose, or did he think that the reason was something that a child as young as Metien shouldn't know?

Linger took a deep look at the nun on the bed, then turned back and said to his sister calmly, "Metien, go downstairs and have something to eat first. Miss Shelia has prepared a midnight snack for you."

"Ah?" Metien blinked and didn't react for a moment: "What about you, Lingge?"

"I'll stay here." Ling Ge said, "I have a few words to say to Miss Livia."

"Really just a few words?" Metien glanced at his brother suspiciously, then turned his gaze to the nun on the bed, but saw that Livia was still leaning quietly against the head of the bed, with her hands gently pressing the snow-white sheets. But if you look closely, you will find that there are fine wrinkles near her fingers, indicating that the nun's mood is not as calm as it seems.

But he was soon relieved: "That's true, you are her brother, of course you know Metien better than I do."

A ferryman who guides souls?
Lingge recalled that before, Gern had said some obscure words to him, vaguely hinting at the actions of the True Spirit Sect and the inside story of the Witch Society. However, he was too preoccupied with Gloria's affairs at the time and ignored it. Did he let down the ferryman's efforts?

Lingge was not surprised by her every word, and just asked: "What's the request?"

I'm not Alice.

If Lingge was not Metien's brother and was the last pastor of Tianxin Church, Livia would even want to hide it from him, even if the price was that she would be driven out of Yunjingkong Island and lose this last shelter. She had this awareness and believed from the beginning to the end that it was necessary.

Livia was a little surprised: “You know?”

At the very end, Sister Livia mentioned the most crucial thing to Lingge: when she suggested that Metien pray for her companions, the little girl underwent an incredible change in front of her, which she still finds hard to forget.

Only after he could no longer hear his sister's footsteps did Linger look back at Livia on the bed. He was about to say something, but the nun spoke faster than him: "I know what you want to ask, Mr. Linger, and I am willing to tell you everything I have experienced and know, but before that, I hope you can agree to a small request of mine."

"Every word I say to you tonight in this room is known only to the two of us. Please don't tell anyone else." Livia saw the young man frowning slightly and quickly added, "I don't want to hide anything, but this matter is really important and may even affect the future of the world, so the fewer people who know about it, the better."

Sister Livia shook her head and told Lingge what had happened before. Because she promised not to hide anything, she even told him the truth about the Cursed Ring King Kenos and the Soul of Saint Gabriel. From the time when the Judge Mufasa asked her to recover the original stone carving of the Saint's manuscript, trying to use the majestic power of faith contained in it to make up for the incompleteness of the Soul of Saint Gabriel, to the time when the Dark Witch Carabos of the Society appeared and defeated her, and invited her to join the Witch Society but failed, and then took back the Soul of Gabriel in her body, and finally she met the ferryman Gern at the Homecoming Station, and with his help, she incredibly crossed the space and came to this Cloud Whale Sky Island.

But she did not object, perhaps because she thought this conversation was inevitable. Metien hesitated for a while, and finally closed the book on her knees, put it on the cabinet beside the bed, and then turned and left the room. However, the moment she closed the door, her little head poked in from the corridor again, and she said worriedly: "Lingge, Miss Livia is still injured, you can't bully her, okay?"

"The future of the world?" If other people heard this, they would inevitably think it was a bit exaggerated, but Ling Ge reacted almost immediately: "Are you referring to Metien?"

Linger neither admitted nor refuted this, but just asked: "Why do you feel that Metien is just an ordinary girl?"

"The Arkanian tribe is the ferryman who sends souls from this shore to the other shore. Some secret ancient legends have mentioned that this shore and the other shore are not only in the material sense, but also in the conceptual sense. It is believed that the Arkanian tribe also shoulders the mission of guiding lost souls to the right path, but not everyone can get their approval." Sister Livia said sincerely: "I used to think this was nonsense, until Lord Gern brought me to this island, I found that all the legends are not groundless, and they have their own meaning of existence."

Lingge made a verbal promise, and Metien finally felt relieved and closed the door. The footsteps in the corridor gradually faded away, and could no longer be heard through the thick walls.

“She’s not ordinary.”

Perhaps too many things happened tonight, whether it was the desperate pursuit in Westminster and the Indorsis Bridge, or the direct confrontation between Sister Livia and the dark witch Carabosse, all of which made people feel thrilling and unexpected, so this incident seemed a bit dull. Linger did not give a big reaction, he just asked in detail about the changes that had taken place in Metien, and then according to Miss Livia's description, the image of the little girl in the game naturally emerged in his mind: blonde hair, holy, peaceful temperament, and a pair of eyes that seemed to embrace everything.

really.

In this world, there are no two unrelated things, let alone happening to the same person. "Is that why you care so much about Metien?" Linger asked.

The nun nodded and tried to explain her thoughts with the doctrine of animism: "I have said just now that the goddess of creation believed by the Holy Goddess Church is very likely the Holy Mother in the Trinity system. This is not to deceive you, but my true thoughts. In addition, the other two fulcrums in the Trinity, the saint symbolizes the forerunner of human civilization, Saint Tumi, and the Holy Spirit is considered to be a concept without material form. It is people's abstract cognition of the spirits of all things. People worship the Holy Spirit, not a specific object, but are inspired by the gestation and growth of the spirits of heaven and earth. This is also an aspect of the True Spirit School's doctrine."

"But this statement is actually not accurate. As far as I know, one of the branches of the animism, the Spiritual Language Religion, which is centered on the belief in the Holy Spirit, once proposed a view that although all things have their own spirituality, human faith will bring these scattered spiritualities together, thus giving birth to a soul that integrates all these properties. Lord Deville, the chief priest of the Spiritual Language Religion, believes that this soul is a symbol of the Holy Spirit. When the world is in danger of destruction, He will use the spirituality in His body to reshape the form of the heaven and earth and all things, and save all living beings from the catastrophe."

At this point, Livia's expression suddenly became serious. "Perhaps you will think this is nonsense, but our world is indeed undergoing some changes. Those omens that cannot be seen with the naked eye are already stirring. It is the disaster of destruction mentioned by Morya's Great Witch Sangir in his prophetic poem, the increasingly rampant expansion and aggression of the Witch Society, the depravity and blasphemy of countless religious believers who have begun to abandon the purity of their faith and instead pursue the creation of false gods, the extraordinary people in the East Continent who are indifferently watching their country perish in the war, and the foreseeable future of the West Continent... I believe you have witnessed it with your own eyes, Mr. Ling."

The prophetic poems of the Moryas, the struggle between the young queens, the corruption of religious believers, and the colonial war taking place in the East Continent... everything is connected and points to the same ending.

The nun in front of him seemed to believe that a catastrophe that would destroy everything was brewing in secret, which was more terrifying than the disasters of the gods, catastrophes and natural disasters in ancient times, and would destroy everything, annihilate everything and ruin everything. She was powerless in the face of the disaster, just as she was powerless when facing the dark witch Carabosse, but she also had things she could do.

"Perhaps now, Metien has not realized her mission, but one day, destiny will call her, the world will need her, and even everyone's hope will fall on her shoulders. That is not an easy thing. She will feel confused and afraid, and sometimes she will think about the meaning of her existence. Those are all normal and are obstacles she must overcome."

Livia said word by word: "So, I want to stay by her side, follow the guidance of the Virgin Mary, and protect the awakening of the Holy Spirit. I will do my best to protect and guide her growth. Whether she chooses to move forward or backward in the end, it is the path I choose."

"Guard? Guide?" Ling'er's expression changed slightly, as if these two words touched some long-buried emotions in his heart.

"Yes." The nun nodded solemnly and said, "As Metien's brother, you should be more aware of her naivety and immaturity. She has no clear understanding of faith and is still at a stage where her emotions determine her direction. I was also an immature person in the past, but after experiencing what happened tonight, I have understood many things and may barely be able to act as a guardian and guide. Mr. Ling, some things cannot be taught through words, but can only be influenced subtly, or may usher in drastic changes one day, but the latter will inevitably be accompanied by cruel memories, just like me tonight. Would you want Metien to experience those things?"

The young man was silent.

If possible, he naturally hoped that his sister would never understand those things, but he also knew that people could not remain naive forever. Metien needed to grow up, and there were many ways to grow up. As Livia said, should she change her ideas subtly, or should she have to experience some cruel things to understand how immature she was in the past?
From the perspective of an older brother, he seemed to have no reason to choose the latter.

The silence lasted only a few seconds. When the young man spoke again, his voice was very low, as if he was worried that someone outside the door would eavesdrop and hear things that must not be known no matter what: "... whatever you want."

Livia opened her eyes wide, with a look of surprise on her face: "Do you mean, I can stay?"

"I say it's up to you, as long as others don't object."

"Then, let me join the Holy Goddess Cult..."

"Go and tell Metien that I'm no longer a pastor at Tianxin Church, and this matter has nothing to do with me. Also, I hope you remember your promise. No third person can know what happened tonight."

"I understand, Mr. Linger!"

Seeing Miss Livia nod her head vigorously, Lingge was silent for a while and suddenly said, "I don't know what you misunderstood, but Metien is not a holy spirit. She has nothing to do with the so-called animism and the Trinity."

After that, without waiting for Livia to answer, he turned and walked out of the room, leaving only a few words in his place: "If you are injured, take a good rest and don't let Metien worry. Good night."

Livia leaned against the bed, staring at the young man's back as he pushed the door open and left. The door was then closed, isolating him from the light. For a moment, she couldn't understand what he was thinking. If he agreed to let her stay because he believed what she said, why did he deny the relationship between Metien and the Holy Spirit in the end? Apart from the messenger of animism, who else could have such a close relationship with the Virgin Mary?

Accept, yet deny; resist, yet acquiesce.

"You are such a ..."

The nun was stunned for a long while, then slowly uttered, "What a complicated person, Mr. Ling."

In fact, what she originally wanted to say was "What a weird person."

　Give me some meow
　　
　
(End of this chapter)