Novel Full Chapter 769 - 427_2
An image of his father floated in his mind.
When he was sent to the Holy City, Duke Calvin didn’t have high expectations for him, only hoping for a path that didn’t rely on any Empire.
At that time, he was simply judged as having potential, so being seated on the white God Seat was not his father’s initial goal.
It was only later, as his rank continued to rise, that the possibility gradually emerged, prompting his father to write to him, insisting he must strive for it.
……
Inside the Holy Curtain Hall, three candidates stood side by side.
The dome hung high above, with platinum-colored arches extending upwards in layers, seemingly without end.
The Holy Hall itself needed no decoration to manifest its majesty; the sheer scale of the space was enough to make one instinctively hold their breath.
The grand cardinals stood in the shadows of the higher corridors, their faces hidden by hoods and light, only leaving an eerie sense of mental scrutiny.
Eduardo stood in the center, with a calm expression.
He could feel the woman on the left, known as the Forest Holy Maiden, maintaining a synchronization with the life network of the Holy Hall in an almost instinctual manner.
Her breathing, heartbeat, and even the faint spiritual flow on her skin subconsciously aligned with the Golden Feather Flower array.
On some level, she had already been partially accepted by the system.
On the other side, the presence of the adjudicator clad in a platinum robe was altogether different.
His Fighting Energy frequency was exceptionally high, causing the air to tremble slightly even though he deliberately restrained it.
It was a power repeatedly honed, existing solely for execution and judgment.
The adjudicator’s gaze briefly swept over Eduardo.
There was no hostility in that gaze, but it carried a clear judgment; if this were a trial, he was confident he would be the last one standing.
The Forest Holy Maiden also sensed the presence of the two.
She did not turn her head, only tightened her fingertips slightly. A subtle change occurred in the vine patterns of the floral relief on one side of the Holy Hall.
There were no words exchanged among the three, but an invisible contest had already begun.
It was not about who was stronger but about who was more suitable.
Eduardo could feel the shifting focus from the scrutiny above, continuously comparing the three.
This was the most outstanding individual the Avalonia could produce in this era.
Also the finest candidates this system had selected for itself over the long years.
They were all geniuses, and precisely because of that, they stood here, as candidates.
At this moment, the grand cardinal walked slowly to the four candidates.
His skin was so pale it was nearly translucent, as if detached from sunlight for a long time, with blood vessels faintly visible beneath, like silk threads soaked in water.
With each step he took, the embedded reliefs of the Golden Feather Flower on the floor would tremble lightly.
The sound spread along the stone lines, permeating the entire floor of the Holy Curtain Hall, making one’s bones resonate.
The grand cardinal stopped before the three.
He opened his withered fingers, raising a Holy Order forged from gold leaf from his sleeve: “According to the first volume of the Avalonnia Code, the will of the anointed cannot be directly viewed, the transmission of divine cannot be desecrated.”
His pace of speech was steady and emotionless, as if reciting a manual memorized thousands of times.
“In the next twenty cycles of day and night, you will enter into eternal tranquility with the current Holy Seat.”
As this sentence fell, a barely audible echo came from deep within the dome of the Holy Curtain Hall.
It was not an echo but more like a slow confirmation.
The grand cardinal slightly raised his chin, scanning over the four individuals.
“These twenty days are not a waiting period. Your consciousness will collide with the crown at a high frequency.
Those who endure are divine; those who do not are dust.”
The Holy Order closed slowly, and the ritual commenced.
Twelve cardinals emerged from both sides of the Holy Hall, forming two lines, retreating backward while maintaining their gaze on the throne.
The distance, speed, and angle of each step were disturbingly precise.
Their faces bore the same expression.
Neither joy nor piety but a serenity calibrated over long periods.
As if confirming that a certain process had finally entered the planned phase.
When the last cardinal exited the Holy Hall, the massive stone doors began to close slowly.
The turning door hinges emitted a heavy and prolonged rumbling sound.
The massive white stone door, weighing tens of thousands of tons, closed bit by bit, with runes densely covering it gradually lighting up, forming flowing chains of light that completely isolated the last ray of natural light.
Only four remained inside the door.
On the white throne, the current Pope sat.
His body was suspended by countless golden threads, like a finely manipulated puppet.
The threads extended into the shadowy depths of the dome, with no visible source.
When he spoke, the sound did not emerge from a single throat.
It was an overlapping whisper, as if thousands simultaneously sighed by the ear: “Come… who can share this… vast love?”
Eduardo’s right palm suddenly throbbed with stabbing pain.
As if an alarm intentionally buried within his soul was forcibly triggered at that moment.
The Divine Grace was screaming.
Escape.
Escape immediately.
The ability of memory reading went out of control under this stimulus.
It was not that Eduardo actively sought to observe, but that everything around him offered itself to him.
In that instant, his vision was forcibly torn apart, with the surface structure of the Holy Hall peeled away like a fragile shell, becoming transparent.
The towering white stone pillars reaching into the dome ceased to be a load-bearing structure.