Chapter 1311: The Envoy

The prayer hall of the Cathedral of the Night was, as ever, dim, and only through the openings in the walls did some light seep in, like so many stars in the night sky.

Klein took a seat in an unobtrusive corner, removed his tall top hat, and began to pray like a devout believer.

He briefly touched upon the matter of Roselle's resurrection in that last mausoleum, placing the emphasis on the pollution of the "Primordial Moon," and made a special point of noting that the great Emperor, in order to prevent the "Red Moon" within his body from being born into the real world, had voluntarily halted the convergence of the "Black Emperor" pathway's "uniqueness" and of three Sequence-1 extraordinary characteristics.

At the close of the prayer, Klein laid out the hidden dangers posed by the existence of the "Blasphemy Cards" and expressed concern over the whereabouts of the "Mother" card and the "Moon" card.

Roselle had, in fact, only spoken of being wary of the "Mother" card and had not mentioned the "Moon" card; but Klein knew that the "Earth" and "Moon" pathways had once both belonged to the "Fallen Mother Goddess," so, erring on the side of caution, he deliberately added the "Moon" card.

This was also the chief reason he was worried about the "Earth Mother Goddess" Lilith.

Compared with most of the twenty-two pathways, high-Sequence Beyonders of the "Tiller" and "Moon" pathways had a major advantage: they need not fear the awakening of the Primordial within their bodies, nor were they afraid of "personality split" when nearing the underground, for the extraordinary characteristics they possessed did not directly originate from the Primordial — there was no corresponding spiritual brand. If they entered the depths directly, entered the "Sea of Chaos," then no matter who, they would suffer pollution; only the degree and the manifestations would differ.

This advantage, in those ancient ages, was very likely the reason why the vampire ancestor Lilith was more special than the other Ancient Gods: She did not need to divert a great portion of Her energy to fight against the Primordial's will to awaken. And in those times the invisible barrier protecting this world was still solid enough to keep the "Fallen Mother Goddess" and the other Ancient Stars outside, making it hard for Them to exert too much influence on what was within.

But as time went on, this advantage gradually turned into a problem.

Even as the underground pollution grew thinner, the invisible barrier itself grew more fragile, with cracks opening up; in such conditions, the "Earth Mother Goddess" Lilith's situation became ever more difficult, for what She now faced was the increasingly strong and increasingly terrible erosion of the "Fallen Mother Goddess" — and in that respect, the dead True Creator was certainly no match for the still-living "Fallen Mother Goddess."

Considering the influence that Outer Gods exceeding Sequence have upon their own pathways, Klein judged that, in matters of this sort, there must not be the slightest oversight.

Once his prayer was done he waited nearly five minutes more, and only when he was sure there was no response did he rise, put on the high top hat of a wandering magician, and unhurriedly walk out of this church belonging to the night.

For him this was, above all, a fulfilling of the duty to inform; as for what the "Goddess of the Night" intended to do, and whether She would prompt him on certain matters, he could not interfere at all.

In short, Klein could only, for the moment, trust that the "Goddess of the Night" knew the difference between what was urgent and what was not.

…………

Backlund, South Bridge District, Church of the Harvest.

Emlyn White stepped down from his own carriage, glanced at the sun veiled by clouds and pale mist, and put on his half-high silk top hat.

On the way to the church door, he gave a light turn to the ring on his left hand, as though to advertise his identity.

The ring as a whole was semi-translucent, as if made of pale-red amber, the top set with a blood-red gem — it was precisely the reward Emlyn had received long ago: the "Ring of Lilith."

— Since becoming a Demigod, Emlyn had been able, to a certain extent, to suppress the "blood thirst" attached to this ring; he had now only to drink three phlebotomy-vials of human blood each day and would no longer suffer the related ill effects. Thus, to display his special status as a Favoured One of the Ancestor, he had begun wearing this ring at all times.

Entering the Church of the Harvest, Emlyn, of his own accord, removed the top hat from his head.

At that moment, Casimir, Ernest, and the other Backlund vampires who had been waiting for Bishop Utravsky's sermon rose one after another, looked down at the floor of the aisle, and spoke in subdued voices:

"Good morning, Count."

Emlyn looked straight ahead and gave an almost imperceptible nod:

"Has Mistral not yet arrived?"

"Count Mistral has set up a small chapel in his own home," Ernest explained briefly.

Emlyn passed no judgement on that conduct, and merely said, walking onward:

"When mass is being held, however, one must still come here."

He glanced left and right and then asked:

"Where is Bishop Utravsky?"

"The Bishop is waiting for you at the rear; an envoy of the Church has arrived." Ernest, mastering the expression on his face, answered Emlyn's question with considerable respect.

An envoy of the Church… Emlyn gave a turn to the pale-red ring on his left hand and walked to the rear of the church.

Soon, in the reading room, he met Father Utravsky and the Church envoy, who had slightly curly black hair, a high nose, and deep-set eyes.

"This is His Excellency Archbishop Loretto," Father Utravsky introduced.

He was standing by the window, all but blocking the greater part of the light.

"Good morning, Your Excellency Loretto," Emlyn responded in the manner of the Church of the Earth Mother.

Loretto said in rather awkward Loenese, with a smile:

"There is no need to call me 'Your Excellency'; though you are not yourself an archbishop, you have the standing of one. From today, you are the cleric of the Church responsible for vampire affairs in Backlund — a Senior Deacon."

Without giving Emlyn time to digest the news, Loretto went on:

"I have come to Backlund at the Pontiff's bidding, to tell you in person of certain matters within the Church that you must take heed of."

"Please speak," Emlyn replied politely, holding down his inward complacency.