The Cathedral of Louen was located in the oval square, in the heart of the city. Neat white slabs covered the vast square, where roughly 22 avenues extended in all directions like a spider web. The main avenues led to all corners of the city. As a typical city of the Theocracy, the cathedral was also the administrative center of Louen, so it was the only large building at the center of the city. Within a few kilometers from the square, not a single building could match the grandeur of the cathedral, not even in another city. Now, the once glorious and steep-spire cathedral was like the rest of the city, shrouded in the shadows of darkness and Chaos.
Lifeless people that appeared like zombies came out on the avenue. These people were once the residents, the poor, the nobility, and even the monks and Knights of Louen. They looked stiff and blind, moved in the dark toward the cathedral, like those souls and shadows that lingered around eternally in the realm of the dead.
It was a creepy scene even when looking from afar. A person as well-traveled as Hao Ren also could not help but have goosebumps all over his skin. The same goes with the Sanctum investigators; they looked nervous. Calaxus, again, drew a sacred symbol in front of his chest. “The evil forces of Chaos must have distorted these innocent residents. They have lost themselves.”
A church knight took out a long sword, but after looking around, he felt helpless. “We can’t let them tarnish the sacred cathedral, but they are too many!”
Yes, too many of them. Everyone knew that the target of these walking dead was the cathedral, and the first thought that came to mind was to stop these zombies. But there were too many zombies; it could be tens of thousands, or even hundreds of thousands. Even if these zombies were defenseless, the few knights and monks could not possibly stop them.
Hao Ren turned his gaze at the cathedral in the middle of the square. He knew that it was impossible for the few of them to stop this “zombie wave.” There was only one solution before the zombies got into the cathedral, that was, to blow them up into pieces. But there was one problem if he did so—Calaxus would be mad at him.
When Hao Ren was weighing whether the use of force was feasible, he saw a zombie suddenly swayed before vaporizing into a puff of smoke and disappearing from the square out of the corner of his eye.
And then there was a second one and the third one. Zombies vaporized into the air as if cleansed by an invisible force when getting close to the perimeter of the cathedral. The scene reminded Hao Ren of the monsters of Chaos that were killed by the power of Order, where they turned into a puff of smoke before disappeared quickly.
“It seems those zombies could not get within 100 meters of the church,” Lily mumbled when she noticed the phenomenon.
Calaxus appeared a little at ease now. “The power of the great goddess remains in the holy land and shrouds the church.”
The zombies were like moths to fire, purified by the invisible sacred power around the church. Not long after, the shadows on the square had significantly reduced, and visibility became clear. At this moment, Hao Ren spotted something was moving across the glass window on the side of the cathedral in his peripheral vision.
“There are people in the cathedral!” He immediately alerted the others.
“In the church?” Calaxus and his deputy looked at each other. “With the blessing of the Goddess, perhaps those people still have a sound mind!”
Everyone ran to the cathedral. They ran past the few remaining zombies, which still staggered forward, seemingly unaware of the people who ran past them. Hao Ren, Calaxus, and the others came before the entrance without a hitch. But just a few meters away from the entrance, a white light suddenly beamed out of a narrow window beside the door, blowing up the floor in front of Calaxus as a sign of warning.
At the same time, a cautious voice sounded out of nowhere. “Stop coming further!”
“We are senior priests from Fidelinopolis!” Calaxus stopped in his tracks and exclaimed. “We come in peace. We want to find a place to stay, and try to figure out something!”
“Fidelinopolis?” The voice in the cathedral hesitated. The person was surprised and doubtful at the same time. Very quickly, the person asked, “Before the sanctuary of the goddess, lies will bring 10 times the punishment! Are you really from Fidelinopolis?”
Calaxus was perplexed. “What’s wrong with Fidelinopolis? I’m Cardinal Calaxus based in Basilica Icon. If you don’t believe me, you can check the list of high-ranking priests stored in your library. I’m right here; you can compare with the portraits on the list!”
The voice in the church hesitated again before becoming sterner than before. “Fidelinopolis has long been… How could any senior priests come out from there at this time!”
“What happened to Fidelinopolis?” Calaxus was shocked. He sensed something terrible from the short sentences. “What do you mean?”
No one in the cathedral answered him. Instead, there were more questioning. “You don’t even know this? Then your identity is even more doubtful.”
“No, we did come from Fidelinopolis directly. We have left there more than a month ago.” Calaxus knew that things might get out of his control and quickly explained, “We are an investigation team under the orders of the Pope, departing from Fidelinopolis to Ansu mainland over a month ago. There is a record of our trip. Due to some accidents on the Ansu mainland, we could only make it back today.”
“Investigation team?” The person in the cathedral seemed to begin to believe. “It seems that there is indeed this record. But as far as I know, the investigation team had encountered a storm before it reached the mainland of Ansu. The last message we received was their distress call. You guys have survived?”
It seemed that things about the Sanctum investigation team were not a secret here, and the person in the cathedral was also a senior clergyman in the theocratic system. That would explain why the person knew about Calaxus’ mission group.
“With the goddess’ blessing,” Calaxus could not help but chant the phrase. “We got the help of a local leader and were lucky enough to survive the storm of Chaos. But we lost the Sacred Hammer, having no means to contact Sanctum, we were unable to send back news of our status.”
The person in the church was silent for a moment as if in thought. A while later, the person said, “You don’t look like a minion of the Nightmares. Please wait a minute, let me inform the archbishop. You should not trespass the cathedral as the defense mechanism has been activated; it would kill anyone trying to break into the building.”
And then there was silence. Hao Ren and the others waited patiently outside. A few minutes later, they heard footsteps coming from behind the entrance.
A light was shimmering on the church entrance, and the defensive array covering the entire building began to open up. When the door opened, a middle-aged man in a white robe with a broad angular face emerged.
The man looked at the few persons standing outside the door. He recognized the costumes of the men of Calaxus, who were clergymen and warriors of Sanctum. Their clothes were torn, and armors were damaged, which matched the downing incident of the Sacred Hammer. But the person was a bit suspicious seeing Hao Ren, Lily, and Lady Gloom.
Their attires were very different from that of Sanctum, even considered strange in the worldly kingdoms. The cloak and hood that Lady Groom wore were slightly better, but could easily arouse suspicion when walking in the street.
“They come from the continent of Ansu,” Calaxus said. During this uncertain time, Calaxus could not easily trust anyone, including the survivors inside the cathedral, because there was no guarantee that there were no minions of the darkness lurking around the place. So Calaxus was careful of what to and what not to reveal. “They are messengers of the Kingdom of Taros. I give you my guarantee. Can we go in now?”
The middle-aged man stepped aside, revealing the dimly lit nave inside. “Get in before the second nightmare comes.”
Everyone went into the cathedral. Calaxus frowned looking at the dimly lit nave. The place, where believers and priests conducted worship, was used to be bright with hymns filling the air. But now all lights seemed to have been removed. Even the magic circle above the cathedral was inactive and the Mithril lines intertwined on the dome of the hall became an obscure pattern, making the inside of the cathedral look gloomy.
On the rows of benches, the senior monk saw many curling figures.
It seemed more survivors were hiding in the cathedral than he had expected. Or was it?
“Why don’t you light up the place?” Hao Ren asked as he felt it weird for a sanctuary to be so dark.
The middle-aged man sighed. “Light in the dark will attract the unclean. Our sacred crystal reserves are limited; we need to be frugal in its usage.”
Calaxus glanced at the middle-aged man, who was also a monk. “What position do you hold in this cathedral?”
“I was an archivist of the cathedral of Louen. With the goddess’ blessing, I’m now officially a bishop,” the man replied. “You can call me Bernstein.”
“Where is the archbishop?”
“Bishop Holtzman and other survivors are in the crypt. His Holiness was wounded during the battle with the Nightmares. Now he needs to rest. I’m taking over his duty for now. Of course, you can go see him.”
Calaxus nodded and said nothing more.
When he saw the archbishop, things would become clear.
The Cathedral of Louen was located in the oval square, in the heart of the city. Neat white slabs covered the vast square, where roughly 22 avenues extended in all directions like a spider web. The main avenues led to all corners of the city. As a typical city of the Theocracy, the cathedral was also the administrative center of Louen, so it was the only large building at the center of the city. Within a few kilometers from the square, not a single building could match the grandeur of the cathedral, not even in another city. Now, the once glorious and steep-spire cathedral was like the rest of the city, shrouded in the shadows of darkness and Chaos.
Lifeless people that appeared like zombies came out on the avenue. These people were once the residents, the poor, the nobility, and even the monks and Knights of Louen. They looked stiff and blind, moved in the dark toward the cathedral, like those souls and shadows that lingered around eternally in the realm of the dead.
It was a creepy scene even when looking from afar. A person as well-traveled as Hao Ren also could not help but have goosebumps all over his skin. The same goes with the Sanctum investigators; they looked nervous. Calaxus, again, drew a sacred symbol in front of his chest. “The evil forces of Chaos must have distorted these innocent residents. They have lost themselves.”
A church knight took out a long sword, but after looking around, he felt helpless. “We can’t let them tarnish the sacred cathedral, but they are too many!”
Yes, too many of them. Everyone knew that the target of these walking dead was the cathedral, and the first thought that came to mind was to stop these zombies. But there were too many zombies; it could be tens of thousands, or even hundreds of thousands. Even if these zombies were defenseless, the few knights and monks could not possibly stop them.
Hao Ren turned his gaze at the cathedral in the middle of the square. He knew that it was impossible for the few of them to stop this “zombie wave.” There was only one solution before the zombies got into the cathedral, that was, to blow them up into pieces. But there was one problem if he did so—Calaxus would be mad at him.
When Hao Ren was weighing whether the use of force was feasible, he saw a zombie suddenly swayed before vaporizing into a puff of smoke and disappearing from the square out of the corner of his eye.
And then there was a second one and the third one. Zombies vaporized into the air as if cleansed by an invisible force when getting close to the perimeter of the cathedral. The scene reminded Hao Ren of the monsters of Chaos that were killed by the power of Order, where they turned into a puff of smoke before disappeared quickly.
“It seems those zombies could not get within 100 meters of the church,” Lily mumbled when she noticed the phenomenon.
Calaxus appeared a little at ease now. “The power of the great goddess remains in the holy land and shrouds the church.”
The zombies were like moths to fire, purified by the invisible sacred power around the church. Not long after, the shadows on the square had significantly reduced, and visibility became clear. At this moment, Hao Ren spotted something was moving across the glass window on the side of the cathedral in his peripheral vision.
“There are people in the cathedral!” He immediately alerted the others.
“In the church?” Calaxus and his deputy looked at each other. “With the blessing of the Goddess, perhaps those people still have a sound mind!”
Everyone ran to the cathedral. They ran past the few remaining zombies, which still staggered forward, seemingly unaware of the people who ran past them. Hao Ren, Calaxus, and the others came before the entrance without a hitch. But just a few meters away from the entrance, a white light suddenly beamed out of a narrow window beside the door, blowing up the floor in front of Calaxus as a sign of warning.
At the same time, a cautious voice sounded out of nowhere. “Stop coming further!”
“We are senior priests from Fidelinopolis!” Calaxus stopped in his tracks and exclaimed. “We come in peace. We want to find a place to stay, and try to figure out something!”
“Fidelinopolis?” The voice in the cathedral hesitated. The person was surprised and doubtful at the same time. Very quickly, the person asked, “Before the sanctuary of the goddess, lies will bring 10 times the punishment! Are you really from Fidelinopolis?”
Calaxus was perplexed. “What’s wrong with Fidelinopolis? I’m Cardinal Calaxus based in Basilica Icon. If you don’t believe me, you can check the list of high-ranking priests stored in your library. I’m right here; you can compare with the portraits on the list!”
The voice in the church hesitated again before becoming sterner than before. “Fidelinopolis has long been… How could any senior priests come out from there at this time!”
“What happened to Fidelinopolis?” Calaxus was shocked. He sensed something terrible from the short sentences. “What do you mean?”
No one in the cathedral answered him. Instead, there were more questioning. “You don’t even know this? Then your identity is even more doubtful.”
“No, we did come from Fidelinopolis directly. We have left there more than a month ago.” Calaxus knew that things might get out of his control and quickly explained, “We are an investigation team under the orders of the Pope, departing from Fidelinopolis to Ansu mainland over a month ago. There is a record of our trip. Due to some accidents on the Ansu mainland, we could only make it back today.”
“Investigation team?” The person in the cathedral seemed to begin to believe. “It seems that there is indeed this record. But as far as I know, the investigation team had encountered a storm before it reached the mainland of Ansu. The last message we received was their distress call. You guys have survived?”
It seemed that things about the Sanctum investigation team were not a secret here, and the person in the cathedral was also a senior clergyman in the theocratic system. That would explain why the person knew about Calaxus’ mission group.
“With the goddess’ blessing,” Calaxus could not help but chant the phrase. “We got the help of a local leader and were lucky enough to survive the storm of Chaos. But we lost the Sacred Hammer, having no means to contact Sanctum, we were unable to send back news of our status.”
The person in the church was silent for a moment as if in thought. A while later, the person said, “You don’t look like a minion of the Nightmares. Please wait a minute, let me inform the archbishop. You should not trespass the cathedral as the defense mechanism has been activated; it would kill anyone trying to break into the building.”
And then there was silence. Hao Ren and the others waited patiently outside. A few minutes later, they heard footsteps coming from behind the entrance.
A light was shimmering on the church entrance, and the defensive array covering the entire building began to open up. When the door opened, a middle-aged man in a white robe with a broad angular face emerged.
The man looked at the few persons standing outside the door. He recognized the costumes of the men of Calaxus, who were clergymen and warriors of Sanctum. Their clothes were torn, and armors were damaged, which matched the downing incident of the Sacred Hammer. But the person was a bit suspicious seeing Hao Ren, Lily, and Lady Gloom.
Their attires were very different from that of Sanctum, even considered strange in the worldly kingdoms. The cloak and hood that Lady Groom wore were slightly better, but could easily arouse suspicion when walking in the street.
“They come from the continent of Ansu,” Calaxus said. During this uncertain time, Calaxus could not easily trust anyone, including the survivors inside the cathedral, because there was no guarantee that there were no minions of the darkness lurking around the place. So Calaxus was careful of what to and what not to reveal. “They are messengers of the Kingdom of Taros. I give you my guarantee. Can we go in now?”
The middle-aged man stepped aside, revealing the dimly lit nave inside. “Get in before the second nightmare comes.”
Everyone went into the cathedral. Calaxus frowned looking at the dimly lit nave. The place, where believers and priests conducted worship, was used to be bright with hymns filling the air. But now all lights seemed to have been removed. Even the magic circle above the cathedral was inactive and the Mithril lines intertwined on the dome of the hall became an obscure pattern, making the inside of the cathedral look gloomy.
On the rows of benches, the senior monk saw many curling figures.
It seemed more survivors were hiding in the cathedral than he had expected. Or was it?
“Why don’t you light up the place?” Hao Ren asked as he felt it weird for a sanctuary to be so dark.
The middle-aged man sighed. “Light in the dark will attract the unclean. Our sacred crystal reserves are limited; we need to be frugal in its usage.”
Calaxus glanced at the middle-aged man, who was also a monk. “What position do you hold in this cathedral?”
“I was an archivist of the cathedral of Louen. With the goddess’ blessing, I’m now officially a bishop,” the man replied. “You can call me Bernstein.”
“Where is the archbishop?”
“Bishop Holtzman and other survivors are in the crypt. His Holiness was wounded during the battle with the Nightmares. Now he needs to rest. I’m taking over his duty for now. Of course, you can go see him.”
Calaxus nodded and said nothing more.
When he saw the archbishop, things would become clear.
