Chapter 865
A Half-Man, Half-Deer Eivass (Request for Monthly Passes)
When the Pure White Saintess headed to the Twenty-second Ring, she had no idea what she was about to see.
Grey, of course, knew that this was the day Eivass would hold his Ascension Ritual.
Rather, Grey had already breathed a sigh of relief when she received the news.
— At least our Pope has come out alive, hasn’t he?
With the Ascension Ritual from Level 5 to Level 6 being merely a legend, the transition from Level 4 to Level 5 was practically the highest-tier Ascension Ritual in this World. The New Moon Ritual further increased its difficulty and became disadvantageous for the Path of Devotion.
Grey had even mentally prepared herself to urgently succeed to the Supreme Holy Crown.
After all, she herself was a candidate for the Eternal Pope and possessed the ability to wear the Supreme Holy Crown.
The only reason she wasn’t chosen as Pope was due to political reasons.
A Spirit with Amber Compaction Syndrome inheriting the Eternal Pope position—this was still too sensitive for the current Church.
— This would be akin to a Prince of Avalon rebuilding the Lloyd Society; Star Antinomy negating the founding declaration of “the capable shall lead”; the mages guarding and imprisoning the Child of the Moon in Daffodil Territory becoming Children of the Moon themselves; the Iris Flower, a symbol of freedom, beginning to rebuild the noble system and secret police; the Black Eagle mercenaries openly betraying their employers; and the slaves of the Ancient Kingdom of Anxi launching a large-scale uprising for the fourth time…
What, did all these things happen?
Ah, then it’s nothing.
As expected, the Church is too traditional, not brave and bold enough to accept challenges to tradition like other countries…
But in any case… Grey, who could have become Pope, gave the Supreme Holy Crown to Eivass solely to prevent infighting or even division within the Church.
If Eivass were to meet misfortune, she would, even at the risk of the Church splitting, directly wear the Supreme Holy Crown to maintain its existence.
— Even if accused, it would not affect her resolve. This is also one aspect of the principle of Devotion.
But it was good that Eivass had survived. Therefore, Grey’s first reaction upon receiving Eivass’s communication was to strongly urge him to inform the other Cardinals first and report that he was safe.
However…
“…Solving the Amber Compaction problem? Does such a thing truly exist?”
Grey was very worried about Eivass.
This child wouldn’t have chosen a Path Trait that helps solve Amber Compaction Syndrome during his Ascension Ritual, would he?
If that were the case, it would be an unrepayable debt…
And all these thoughts dissipated completely when Grey truly saw Eivass.
Looking at Eivass now, her eyes widened abruptly.
As one of the most outstanding candidates for the Eternal Saintess, Grey had naturally studied a vast amount of historical knowledge.
She also knew that the first Eternal Pope was not a woman but a man… Moreover, he was different from all subsequent Eternal Popes.
— The first Eternal Pope, “An Eternal,” was himself a Child of the Candlemaster!
He had a closer relationship with the Pillar Gods than any other Pope!
Although he was a Spirit, he had antlers on his head. After entering the Dream Realm, he first became an Apostle of the Candlemaster… and shortly after, he broke away and became a Heavenly Envoy. By then, he had already turned into a half-human, half-deer, making anyone who saw him feel that he bore a strong resemblance to the Candlemaster. In some remote areas untouched by the Church of the Nine Pillar Gods, the Candlemaster and the Heavenly Candlemaster Envoy were even conflated, with the latter believed to be a manifestation of the former.
This was undoubtedly a crime of blasphemy.
As the “Heavenly Candlemaster Envoy,” all his abilities fundamentally came from the Candlemaster.
Yet, the Candlemaster bore no hostility towards him… and the Candlemaster was never a kind and gentle being. Carstenning, the “Eternal Vanguard,” an Apostle of the Candlemaster, continuously led the great army of the Candlemaster’s Apostles in battles across various regions.
— Only when one possesses power oneself and offers devotion willingly can it be called devotion. Otherwise, it is merely an excuse for the vanquished to comfort themselves.
But the Candlemaster had never persecuted the Heavenly Candlemaster Envoy.
Furthermore, the Candlemaster’s other Apostles treated the Heavenly Candlemaster Envoy with considerable respect and friendliness.
Even the knowledge hidden within High-Tier Divine Arts did not mention the truth of this situation. It could only be understood that the Heavenly Candlemaster Envoy’s separation from the Candlemaster’s command was itself at the Candlemaster’s will.
Then who could say that the Heavenly Candlemaster Envoy and the Candlemaster had no connection?
But… according to the basic rules of the Origin River of “Creation,” gods and mortals cannot reproduce. Otherwise, it would be a violation of the “unpardonable Great Sin.”
How could the Candlemaster, who had existed since ancient times and created the nine Origin Rivers, have mortal descendants? Who could have given birth to the Heavenly Candlemaster Envoy with the Candlemaster? Or was the Heavenly Candlemaster Envoy’s mother another deity or Apostle?
To this day, this remains an unsolved mystery, even within the Church.
And now…
Grey clearly saw that small bumps had appeared on Eivass’s head.
They only looked to be two to three centimeters long. They had a texture resembling jade or emerald… The lower part was closer to jade white, while the upper part was a crystal red. Because Eivass’s skin was already fair, if one had poor eyesight and looked from afar, they might mistakenly think he had two bumps on his head.
But Grey immediately realized…
Those were antlers!
— The antlers on “An’s” head!
“Your Majesty the Pope!”
In an instant, the intelligent Saintess Grey understood the truth: “You… have become a Child of the Candlemaster?”
So, Child of the Candlemaster wasn’t about bloodline, but a special identity that could be bestowed!
“Yes.”
Eivass nodded joyfully and admitted, “I have obtained the power gifted by the Candlemaster… With this power, I can heal almost all injuries. This naturally includes Amber Compaction Syndrome.”
“…But haven’t we already verified that Amber Compaction isn’t a disease, but a runaway blessing?”
“Then let it be controllable again.”
Eivass said with firm determination, “There is no ‘loss of control’ that must exist in this world.”
Grey fell silent and did not reply further.
But she felt a strange sense of familiarity in her heart—
Compared to Pope Eivass, who seemed to have attained sainthood and was free of all desires, the current Eivass made her feel as if she were seeing the human youth she had first met.
Optimistic, passionate, cheerful, and unyielding… dazzling like the sun.
Ever since he came to the Eternal Holy Kingdom, he had brought liveliness to this silent and boring land.
“How is the research on the Fruit of Sin Thorns progressing?”
Eivass asked.
Grey calmed her mind and looked up, saying, “There is good news… but in a sense, it is also bad news.”
“Oh?”
Eivass asked with interest, “Elaborate?”
“According to Freya’s analysis, the power contained within the Fruit of Sin Thorns is similar to Sin Thorns. Sin Thorns possess a power that can inflict injury, almost ignoring any resistance, similar to the power of balance, yet completely different. The power of the Fruit of Sin Thorns is closer to ‘digested Sin Thorn power’.”
“It is gentler, but its offensiveness is greatly reduced, and it can weaken runaway blessings within the body. For Spirits who have already developed Amber Compaction, the Fruit of Sin Thorns can at most alleviate their symptoms of Amber Compaction Syndrome. But it cannot completely eliminate them… In other words, it can only suppress, not cure.”
At this point, Grey glanced at Eivass, “However, we have already begun having more priests advance to become Illuminators, and the output of the Fruit of Sin Thorns we obtained for research has also greatly increased. So we don’t need to trouble you.”
“But it still cannot be mass-produced or universally applied. Currently, there are primarily two research directions. One is to analyze more Fruits of Sin Thorns and find a way to obtain an alchemical formula to convert Sin Thorns into Fruits of Sin Thorns, thereby greatly reducing the cost. The other was proposed by me.”
“Since the Fruit of Sin Thorns can weaken blessings within the body, can it serve as a milder preventive agent?”
“…Synthesizing a vaccine for ‘Amber Compaction Syndrome’ using Fruit of Sin Thorns extract?”
Eivass pondered seriously and felt that Grey was simply a genius: “I feel like it might work.”
Compared to the excessive medication and the crude elimination of the Amber Heavenly Envoy’s power—turning Amber Compaction Spirits into short-lived humans—both of these approaches are much milder. Whether it’s suppressing the pain of late-stage Amber Compaction Syndrome or preventing its occurrence in advance, its significance is clearly greater than “completely curing Amber Compaction Syndrome, even if it means dispelling the blessing of longevity along with it.”
“So…”
Grey said this, then looked at Eivass with some hesitation, “Your Majesty… do you still want to cure my Amber Compaction Syndrome in advance?
But if you have already become a Child of the Candlemaster… then what grounds do I have to become the Eternal Pope?”
She had not forgotten that the Eternal Pope was originally the successor of the “Heavenly Candlemaster Envoy”; and the Heavenly Candlemaster Envoy himself was the Spokesperson of the Candlemaster.
Now that a new “Child of the Candlemaster” had appeared, how could her legitimacy be higher than Eivass’s?
“So there’s no need to make it public.”
Eivass nodded, “After I cure you, I will first hand the Supreme Holy Crown to you.
And at this time… you will be the acting Pope. Will you safeguard the Supreme Holy Crown for me?”
Eivass spoke gently.
He then took off the Supreme Holy Crown from his head and lightly placed it on Grey’s head.
Subsequently, he took off the papal robes he was wearing and draped them over Grey as well.
Under Grey’s gaze, Eivass’s body suddenly bled profusely—
His body seemed to crack, and streaks of blood dripped out.
Immediately after, light condensed on the two young antlers on Eivass’s head. They extended, forming a pair of Shining white antlers, and Eivass’s body gradually transformed into a half-human, half-deer form.
Only his upper body was human, with a pair of luminous antlers on his head, much smaller than those of the Candlemaster and the Heavenly Candlemaster Envoy. They looked to be less than twenty centimeters and were much more pronounced than his previous two small bumps. The tips of the antlers were each burning with a pure white flame.
Below Eivass’s waist, it became the body of a strong and streamlined white deer.
His abdomen, which was also the chest of the half-human, half-deer form, bore black markings like a sun disk. The places where his body had previously cracked and bled had all solidified into mysterious but ominous black patterns. These patterns connected the human and deer bodies, looking like some kind of stitching lines, or like totems drawn on the body.
Eivass’s pupils transformed into a peculiar sacred radiance.
It looked like a cluster of golden red fire burning within a nearly transparent light purple crystal.
The fire formed the appearance of vertical pupils, so beautiful that one couldn’t look away.
Eivass, who was originally shorter than Grey, was now about the same height as her. If the antlers were included, he was even taller.
“It’s… like the Heavenly Candlemaster Envoy…”
Grey murmured, “This is… the legendary mythical form?”
Indeed… it was as sacred and inviolable as if it had walked out of an ancient myth.
(End of this chapter)
