Six Hundred Thirteen to Sainthood
In the afternoon in Gramorn, by Twinkling Star Lake, many citizens gathered together, pointing and discussing the enormous structure that suddenly appeared in the center of the lake. The municipal police urgently mobilized, coming to the lakeside to disperse the onlookers. These onlookers, driven away, had no choice but to leave the scene.
The appearance of the church in the lake created a bustling atmosphere around the area near Twinkling Star Lake close to Gramorn city. Meanwhile, on a small hill far from the lake, a tense atmosphere was spreading.
At the top of the small hill, several ordinary-looking men and women stood there, anxiously gazing at the massive church in the distance, seemingly waiting for something.
Just then, a crimson glow suddenly appeared in the air, followed by a thick bl**d mist that formed two human-like figures. Soon after, Ed and Gethsmoor appeared on the scene. Upon seeing them, those present immediately bowed.
“Priest Your Excellency! Witch Your Excellency!”
Without paying much attention to their subordinates present, Ed and Gethsmoor looked towards the distant church in the lake, their brows furrowing with undisguisable shock. Gethsmoor couldn’t help but speak first.
“Is that the Moon wh*re’s temple!? How could it suddenly appear? And during the day? What’s going on, Ed? How many days until the full moon?”
Turning his head, Gethsmoor sharply asked Ed beside him, while Ed muttered gravely.
“It shouldn’t… It shouldn’t be. Is that really the Night Sky Empress’s temple? Could it truly be hidden in this lake? But why now?”
Looking at the scene on the lake, Ed’s face was filled with confusion. Then he turned to his subordinates and asked.
“What happened just now on the lake surface? Was there any large-scale ritual being performed? How did this temple suddenly appear?”
“No, there wasn’t any ritual. We didn’t see anyone performing a large-scale ritual. That thing suddenly appeared out of nowhere. There were no signs before. We were all startled,” one of Ed’s subordinates responded with a look of fear. He seemed to recall something and continued immediately after.
“Oh, right. When the temple appeared, Sister Vania from the Church was conducting her holy relics exhibition nearby. The exhibition had just ended when the temple suddenly emerged from the lake.”
“Which sister? Where are they now?” Ed paused, then asked urgently, and his subordinate pointed toward the lake immediately.
“After the temple appeared, the sister seemed to have taken her people to explore the lake by boat. They seemed to want to enter the temple.”
“What…”
Listening to his subordinate, Ed glanced at Gethsmoor beside him, and both of them focused their gaze on the distant church in the lake. Then they transformed into a bl**d mist and floated towards that direction.
…
On the other side, in the center of Twinkling Star Lake, in front of the enormous church, several boats had docked. From these boats, several uniformed knights and military guards from the Church stepped onto the wide platform. After stepping onto the strange building, Vania, dressed in white nun attire, couldn’t help but survey the surroundings.
“This building… It’s real, not an illusion. Incredible, such a large, real thing suddenly appearing out of nowhere?” Vania said in astonishment, looking around. Nearby, Gaspare approached cautiously.
“I didn’t expect… we would get up here so easily. It seems there are no restrictions or guards around. However, it’s still too early to let our guard down.”
Gaspare spoke, then looked curiously at the surrounding buildings with other knights and guards. Seeing the exquisite stone columns and the tall circular dome, he couldn’t help but exclaim.
“What a huge building. The style is somewhat similar to the Holy Church’s churches, but there are significant differences. Could this be some heretical temple?”
Gaspare speculated cautiously, and Vania continued.
“There’s a possibility. The corridors and columns, as well as many details, resemble those of the Holy Church’s. If this wasn’t built by heretics, it might be a lost relic from the early days of the Holy Church. There are many differences between the architectural styles of a thousand years ago and today…”
Vania, touching the ancient columns, explained in a scholarly manner. Having been born in the Historical Records Office, she had read many secret histories and transmissions, making her knowledgeable despite her low rank. Compared to Gaspare, who had been part of the Holy War Army system, Vania was more authoritative in this field.
“A lost relic from the early days of the Holy Church?” Hearing this, Gaspare’s eyes lit up. Looking around again, he continued.
“Sister Vania, if this is indeed a lost relic from the early days of the Holy Church, then recovering it would be a great honor. Given the size of this church, if it was once part of the Holy Church, it must have held great importance.”
“Yes, but we need to investigate further to understand the situation here. Let’s go in and take a look.”
Speaking, Vania walked toward the huge church door, followed by Gaspare and the guards.
Walking along the long stone path, Vania and the others examined the surroundings as they advanced. Finally, entering through the open doors, they found themselves inside a vast chapel. Looking up, the spacious area under the circular dome without any supporting pillars left them astonished.
“Inside… It’s huge. Is this a chapel? Wait, what is that…”
Gaspare, marveling at the space, suddenly focused his gaze on a towering white statue in the center of the grand hall. When he saw the goddess statue with closed eyes, long hair, draped in light gauze, holding a round mirror, his expression turned serious.
“This statue… It’s the Holy Mother? No, it looks too young. None of the Holy Mother statues have this posture or mirror. This isn’t the Holy Mother… It’s an Other God! Sister Vania, this might be a temple of a heretical deity!”
Gaspare said seriously to Vania beside him. When he looked at Vania, he saw her standing there, eyes fixed on the distant statue, pupils slightly dilated, showing clear surprise.
“Sister Vania, do you know which heretical deity this statue represents? Should we destroy it now?” Gaspare directly asked, seeing Vania. Hearing this, Vania paused slightly, then quickly replied, shifting her gaze from the statue to Gaspare.
“I’m sorry, I don’t know which heretical deity this idol represents. I’ve never seen such a description in the secret transmissions and scriptures I’ve read,” Vania said, then added thoughtfully.
“But, Priest Gaspare, don’t panic. Since the architectural style is so similar to the Holy Church’s, the possibility of it being a heretical deity is small. This might be an early style of the Holy Mother statue, or perhaps it has been altered by heretics.”
“An early style of the Holy Mother statue… or one altered by heretics?” Hearing Vania’s words, Gaspare’s eyes showed confusion. In matters of religious history, he was not as professional as Vania. Since she proposed her view, he had no intention of refuting it.
“So, can we confirm whether this is a heretical Holy Mother statue or an early Holy Mother statue? If it’s a heretical statue, it needs to be destroyed…”
“There’s no way to confirm yet, but even if it’s a heretical or even a heretical deity’s statue, we cannot destroy it lightly. It might become an important component of a future ceremony,” Vania said to Gaspare. Hearing this, Gaspare’s expression became even more confused.
“Ceremony? What ceremony?”
“It’s the Sainthood Ceremony… In the Secret World beyond the Holy Church, it’s also known as the Idol Swap Ceremony, meaning idol replacement.”
Vania explained to Gaspare, further explaining.
“The Holy Church often doesn’t simply destroy temples of heretical religions, even those it recovered from its distant past but significantly different from today’s. Instead, it evaluates them and tries to transform them into current Holy Church churches. The most crucial part of this transformation is the Sainthood Ceremony.
“The Sainthood Ceremony is a medium-sized ceremony that can modify the meaning and symbolism of a religious site and establish new connections. For heretical temples, this ceremony can free them from the control of heretical deities and bring them under the light of the Lord. For heretical churches and lost relics of the Holy Church, this ceremony can help recover lost sanctuaries.
“When dealing with religious sites outside the Holy Church, this ceremony is frequently used. The key involves handling the main symbols within the religious site, and the statue clearly is the main symbol here, so we cannot act rashly now.”
With a serious expression, Vania said to Gaspare. Listening to her, Gaspare couldn’t help but reflect.
“Sainthood Ceremony? I’ve heard of it before. For valuable ritual sites, the Holy Church indeed uses this method. Unfortunately, when I was in the Knight Order, I only encountered insignificant cult shrines that were directly destroyed, and I never witnessed this ceremony…
“Sister Vania, do you think this church needs a Sainthood Ceremony? So we can’t act rashly?”
“Yes, I can feel the significance here. It’s worth having a Sainthood Ceremony to bring it under the light of the Lord. This place will become another important evangelistic site for the Holy Church in Prit. If possible, I even want to personally conduct this ceremony,” looking at the huge chapel, Vania said with hope. Hearing this, Gaspare asked again.
“Based on what you said, Sister Vania… We can’t perform the Sainthood Ceremony now, right?”
“Yes, I learned about the Sainthood Ceremony from scriptures and don’t know the specific procedures. We alone can’t perform this ceremony; it requires specialized knowledge, extensive arrangements, and personnel involvement, even taking a long time.
“But none of that is a problem. After we thoroughly investigate here, I will send a report to Tivyán, explaining the situation and requesting professionals to come and assess and hold the ceremony. We’ll see if we can participate based on the circumstances.”
Vania responded to Gaspare. Listening to her, Gaspare nodded silently.
“Sister Vania, you’re right. Regardless of whether this was once a heretical temple, this statue is ultimately the Holy Mother’s. Once we take over here, this will be a Holy Church sanctuary.
“We should continue exploring here. Sister Vania, we need to inform Tivyán as soon as possible and have them send people over. Until then, we must protect this place.”
“Alright…” Hearing Gaspare, Vania nodded seriously, then led the team deeper into the church.
Outside their sight, under a stone beam above the chapel, a tiny black bat hung upside down, silently watching the situation below.
Meanwhile, outside the church, atop the massive circular dome, Ed and Gethsmoor stood, monitoring the situation below with their respective methods.
Seeing the Glorious Church members who had entered their target ahead of time, Ed’s eyes contained a sharp, cold determination. A bl**d mist gathered in his hand, but after careful consideration, he finally exhaled deeply, dispersing the bl**d mist, though the coldness in his eyes remained unchanged.
…
Thank you to my book friends for the treasure chest donation.
