Lucian stared blankly at the horizon like a true ghoul, murmuring to himself in confusion. "Is that a Cardinal of the Northern Church, or the Southern? Why would he appear inside the Necromantic World? Is he hunting Nikanorov?"
The main cause of the split between the Northern Church and the Southern Church lay in their differing interpretations of certain doctrines and prayers — especially their deep skepticism of the Pope's claim to be "the God of Truth's mouthpiece on earth." After the schism, the Southern Church renamed the Pope to Patriarch, stripping the office of its exalted status as "the Voice of God." The Patriarch now served merely as the convener and chairman of the College of Cardinals, leading the Church in the name of the entire College rather than by personal divine mandate.
Precisely because the disagreements centered on these matters, both churches maintained remarkable similarity in their clerical hierarchy — from the College of Cardinals down through Cardinals, Bishops, and Priests — as well as in vestment styles, forms of address, and the shape of their crosses. Lucian could not distinguish the two by clothing alone. Both deliberately preserved the old conventions to prove their legitimacy as the true faith.
The moment the question arose in his mind, Lucian mocked himself. "Shell-shocked into stupidity, have I? He entered through the crevice at the bottom of the mine shaft — he must be a Cardinal of the Northern Church! And there's only one such figure in this area: the seventh-tier Cardinal Nevsky…"
Even if a Cardinal of the Southern Church had somehow infiltrated the vicinity of Ural City, he would never dare move about so openly wearing the red robes of a Cardinal. Heretics were despised even more than heathens!
"Had this Cardinal tracked Nikanorov and only then discovered the rift to the Necromantic World, or did he already know about it? If the former, there's no particular problem — but if the latter, the relationship between him and Nikanorov becomes rather interesting. The Necromantic World isn't exactly a common cabbage sold on the street corner — it's not the sort of thing many people would know about. Come to think of it, was that high-level undead creature that flew past earlier connected to either of them? What type of undead was it, exactly?"
The secrets of the Necromantic World were just like its outward appearance — perpetually shrouded in a hazy gray mist, impossible to see through or grasp, leaving Lucian utterly perplexed.
Given the Cardinal's appearance, Lucian decided to wait before venturing out. The Cardinal certainly wouldn't stay here long and could return at any moment. Moreover, he had very likely set up clever traps outside to determine whether he was being followed. Rushing out through the rift now would be an easy way to expose his existence. And if yet another powerful figure came in after, he would run straight into them.
Patience, in the vast majority of situations, was a virtue.
Waving his arms aimlessly, Lucian shuffled across the black, white, and gray wasteland with the same vacant, dazed expression as the other ghouls. He feigned "searching" for any corpses that might be found while patiently awaiting the Cardinal's return.
Meanwhile, Lucian browsed through the books on Church history he had collected within his Soul Library, paying particular attention to the events surrounding the Northern–Southern schism.
On this subject, both the Southern Church and the Northern Church had done everything in their power to blacken the other's name, elevate themselves, and destroy every historical record that might prove unfavorable. Reading the two accounts side by side was positively comical. The Southern Church recorded that His Holiness Pope Gregory I had been saintly and compassionate, merciful toward the devout, while accusing Ivan — the first Patriarch and the ringleader among the Cardinals who split the Church — of greed, corruption, moral decay, and deceiving the world.
The Northern Church, for its part, recorded that His Holiness Saint Ivan had devoted his entire being to the Truth, to the Lord, and had stepped forward to expose the Pope's hypocritical mask so that the world would not be led astray. They further accused Gregory I, who had raised the faith of the True God to its greatest height, of being a false believer who stole the Lord's glory — the most blasphemous wretch worthy of purification.
Although the Arcane Council — that "blasphemous organization" — had gleefully collected and preserved most of the destroyed historical records from that era, and had documented the entire process with a "neutral" perspective through their own understanding, these materials were rather plain and unremarkable. Beyond letting Lucian learn about certain embarrassing scandals involving Church dignitaries, they revealed nothing of value.
"…On that day, the True God's gaze fell upon the Holy City. Saints Ivan, Alexei, Uriel, and Felix, together with seven Holy Spirit Priests — Sot, Allest, Siricius, and others — stepped forth under the golden radiance and accused Gregory of being the incarnation of the Lord of Hell…"
"Saint" was an honorary title within the faith of the True God, second only to "the God's mouthpiece on earth." It was believed to denote a high-ranking angel serving the True God who had descended into the mortal world — similar in function to the Grand Archanists of the Arcane Council or the "Chosen" of other Churches. Like those titles, it did not directly represent power but was often closely correlated with it. Priests who held the title of Saint — Holy Spirit Priests, Holy Light Priests, and the like — advanced through the Legendary realm faster and more easily than their peers. They were invariably among the most formidable clerics beneath the Pope.
Reading this account of the Northern Church's account of the "splendor" of the Supreme Theological Council, Lucian frowned. "Didn't Mr. Rhein say that comparing the Church histories side by side would reveal something interesting? Why can't I find any thread at all — I can't see anything problematic… Does he mean the personal dirt they throw at each other? It's certainly amusing, but it's an entirely different sort of 'interesting' from what Mr. Rhein meant…"
Although the historical documents yielded no clues, Lucian had nothing to do and dared not attempt Meditation or Arcane Magic analysis, so he kept reading to pass the time.
After a while, the figure in Cardinal's robes flew back from the horizon. He streaked across without pause, making no attempt to purify the multitude of undead creatures on the wasteland, and quickly departed through the crevice in the mine shaft. As for Nikanorov and that high-level undead creature, neither reappeared — they seemed to have vanished completely into the boundless, desolate, frigid expanse of the Necromantic World. Everything returned to its eternal, unchanging silence.
"Did they finish their discussion and then kill Nikanorov?… If he tracked Nikanorov here, I need to leave as quickly as possible."
Lucian, who had been reading the Northern Church's "Biography of Saint Ivan," processed the scene rapidly in his mind, analyzing every possibility. If this Cardinal had not known about the Necromantic World in advance, nor grasped the enormous significance of its existence, then his subsequent actions would be fairly predictable: he would report to the Northern Church's College of Cardinals and seal off the mine shaft for exploration. Therefore, Lucian — unwilling to take risks — had to leave before the Cardinal sent anyone to establish that cordon.