The dangerous aura flickered and vanished — it might have been Lucian's imagination, but the "Ring of Congers" on his left hand was warning him that a powerful figure had indeed been nearby just moments ago.
"Lucian..." Afris noticed him standing frozen and was about to speak, but a downward press of his right hand silenced her. She stared at him with her semi-transparent eyes, confused.
In such a volatile situation, someone had actually come to this small chapel in the working-class district on the east side of the city — what exactly were they after?
After a while, when Lucian could no longer sense the dangerous aura, he used a barely perceptible secret transmission technique to speak to Afris: "Someone was just nearby — at least high-rank. Looks like they slipped into the Church of Redemption. Let's wait a bit longer. We can't let anything happen to Richard."
Afris instantly grew excited. An enemy? An enemy meant victory, and victory meant spoils!
She raised a paw and wiped the saliva from the corner of her mouth.
…………
Richard stood quietly before the cross, reflecting on their earlier conversation. The bud that had lain dormant in his heart for over twenty years seemed to be gradually sprouting under the sunlight. The muddled and contradictory beliefs he'd carried for so long were being slowly untangled, reshaping his heart of faith.
In this moment, he was at peace. He prayed silently: "If this interpretation of the Holy Scriptures goes against Your teachings and will, then let the Holy Light consume me — for that would mean my faith has been shaken by the Fallen Morning Star, and I shall descend into hell."
Tick, tick — time flowed like water, second by second. A layer of sacred, solemn radiance gradually settled over Richard's body, as though he were a saint receiving divine blessing. He raised his head, opened his eyes, traced a cross over his chest, his gaze gentle yet resolute, and murmured: "You are the One and the Many, the Beginning and the End. I believe I have understood Your teachings. God loves the world and redeems it. The purpose of religion is to safeguard faith, not to obstruct it. Every person has the right to draw revelation from the Holy Scriptures, so long as their heart is devout and they can receive the illumination of Your spirit."
Richard felt a joy in both body and mind. The filth that had muddled and confused him for twenty or thirty years seemed to evaporate layer by layer under the holy light. His faith grew ever more steadfast and devout, and in turn, the bottleneck that had held his strength at a standstill for decades seemed at last to touch the gates of rank nine.
"This is all Your grace. Only Truth endures forever." Richard traced a cross over the sacred emblem on his chest.
In truth, from Lucian's perspective, given the depth of Richard's devotion and his theological study, if he hadn't spent so long in confusion and wavering, he could have advanced to rank nine long ago — he might have even become a Holy Spirit Priest and stepped into the realm of legends.
Richard rose from his seat and gestured for the priests and bishops within the chapel to end their prayers and depart. He himself headed to the adjacent garden, breathing in the fresh night air mingled with the scent of flowers, savoring the beauty of life, and contemplating the religious reform platform he wished to propose. All of this, he believed, was bestowed by the God of Truth.
"Regardless of how dangerous the road ahead may be, or how much the Pope and the Cardinals suppress me, I will finish the platform and submit it to the College of Cardinals, spreading it to the other clergy." Richard harbored no thoughts of breaking away; he still placed his hopes in reform from within the Church. Suddenly, he sensed something and turned to see a Cardinal in scarlet robes and a biretta approaching with a smile.
"Octave?" Richard recognized him as a talent he had cultivated during his time leading the Lantart Monastery — the Cardinal who had previously overseen the Tribunal of the Holm Diocese.
Octave was an imposing middle-aged man with thick black eyebrows and a pair of sharp, pale-blue eyes. He smiled and said: "You must have heard about the recent events. I've been feeling conflicted, and so I thought I'd come to you for guidance."
"When resentment takes root in the heart, it blinds the eyes," Richard quoted from the Holy Scriptures, his expression kindly and imbued with a deeply comforting quality.
Octave traced a cross over his chest: "Yes, I worry that resentment has blinded me and made me forget my original purpose in serving the Lord, that I have been abandoned by Him. But, Master Richard — is it not a betrayal of the Lord's teachings to let evil run rampant before our eyes and tolerate it for the sake of various excuses?"
"…Because of faith, he feared neither demons nor flames, cast himself into the most dangerous enemy's midst, and never retreated…"
He too recited verses from the Holy Scriptures, his expression carrying a hint of challenge — questioning himself, and questioning the Church.
Richard shook his head: "What is evil? What about the nobles you executed was evil?"
"He listened to the 'Voice of Mysteries,' and he collaborated with mages for profit." Octave's voice rose.
Richard pointed to the Holy Scriptures in Octave's hand: "The Lord only told us: do not be greedy, do not lie, do not indulge in excess, do not be indifferent to life, do not let your heart be filled with pain and hatred. Which of those did that noble fail to observe?"
"He lied! He wove lies to collaborate with the mages!" Octave answered instinctively.
Richard smiled: "Liars shall not ascend to Heavenly Mountain, but shall wander the earth, struck by lightning and fire… That is the Lord's punishment for them. He never said one could be indifferent to their lives."
"He collaborated with mages and listened to the Voice of Mysteries!" Octave was beginning to lose grasp of Richard's reasoning.
Richard spoke with great equanimity: "The Holy Scriptures never said one cannot collaborate with a mage, so long as that mage is not an evil one who has violated the teachings of the Holy Scriptures."
"How could they not be evil? The Canon states…" Octave began reciting from the Canon.
Richard looked at him with a smile, and only when Octave fell silent did he speak: "Since you are following the Canon, then you must consider the will and wishes of the Church. So why has resentment taken root in your heart?"
Octave's face lit up with joy: "Exactly! It is not the Church I resent, nor the Canon — it is Their Eminences and Excellencies who sit so high above, who have violated the original purpose of faith and repeatedly amended the Canon! They have turned away from the Lord and can no longer effectively spread His faith. Master Richard, haven't you always disapproved of the Pope and his amendments to the Canon? I hope you will stand up, call upon the other clergy of the Holm Diocese, awaken their numbed souls, and together petition His Holiness to restore the original Canon."
"And if His Holiness refuses?" Richard had just been through one bout of persuasion, so he keenly detected the peculiar undertone in Octave's words.
"Then we shall elect a true Eminence who can truly represent the Lord's will! I believe many members of the College of Cardinals share this view!" Octave said with growing excitement and fervor. "In my heart, you are precisely such a candidate!"
"Do not let yourself be used. The correct course of action is to return the right to interpret the Holy Scriptures to every devout believer — justification by faith alone!" Richard shook his head and declined Octave's invitation.