Chapter 16
Although she didn't know what would happen next, Shaer refused to let herself fall into a situation where she was at the mercy of others.
"Your Excellency Yulisi, please let me speak first," Shaer said slowly, calculating her words in her mind. "It may be hard for you to understand, but neither of us is real right now."
"Everything happening now is a future I am witnessing... none of this has truly occurred yet."
"When I wake up, everything will revert to a state where you have never seen me, and you won't have any memories of me."
After hearing Shaer's words, Yulisi fell silent for a moment before slowly nodding. "That doesn't change anything, Miss Shaer. You can still accompany me to the Holy See; think of it as a chance to familiarize yourself with the process."
"On the way, I can also tell you where to find me, so we can meet more quickly in 'reality.'"
Yulisi seemed to accept this explanation readily and even proposed a flawless plan, leaving Shaer with no excuse to refuse.
But how could she rush off to the Holy See to become a saintess when she didn't even understand what being extraordinary meant?
"Wait a moment. Before that, I have some questions for you." Shaer didn't respond directly to Yulisi but instead asked, "What is the potion? What is the Reenactment Ritual? And what about that bottle of 'Avenger' potion that Thomas has?"
"You know about this potion... well, perhaps the goddess has already informed you," Yulisi replied, shaking her head. "You've seen the notes; the Reenactment Ritual is about retracing the path once walked by the goddess. The most crucial aspect of the ritual, aside from the reenactment itself, is the potion."
"The process of reenactment is also the process of digesting the potion."
"And the 'Avenger' potion shares the same origin as the 'Ascetic' potion; both come from the most basic potions of the Savior Goddess Church, differing only slightly in materials and rituals."
"The 'Ascetic' path is the mainstream of the Holy See, while the 'Avenger' path is too unstable, with a high chance of collapse. Only those chosen by the Tribunal are qualified to walk this path."
"Du Wen pursued the wrong path, which led him to this state... but he was killed before he could even take the potion."
"Currently, there is only one saintess on the 'Ascetic' path in the Savior Church, so I suspect you might be the saintess of the 'Avenger' path... of course, this is just my guess."
"Do you have any other questions?"
Yulisi answered Shaer's inquiries without reservation, but she also leaned a bit closer, as if afraid that the newly discovered saintess would slip away right under her nose.
"I have another question." Shaer looked at the potion floating behind Yulisi and asked, "What would happen if I were to drink the 'Avenger' potion directly in my dream?"
"If I truly am the saintess as you say... drinking that potion shouldn't cause any problems, right?"
After hearing Yulisi's description of the two different paths within the Savior Church, Shaer had a bold idea.
Exchanging for potions outside was too expensive, requiring 100 Fate Points...
After this simulation, she would only have 10 points left. Who knows when she would be able to gather 100 Fate Points?
But what if she completed the ritual directly in the simulation?
What would happen?
Shaer wasn't sure about the specific changes, but she was certain that if she completed the ritual, the Fate Points awarded by the system would definitely not be less.
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**Chapter Fifteen: Was She Not Lying? Is This Real?**
She wanted... to drink the potion?
Yulisi was surprised by the girl's words but did not express any opposition.
Yulisi was quite confident that the other party was indeed the saintess; she just lacked the Church's certification.
The current saintess in the Holy See had also consumed the potion before becoming a saintess, unwittingly digesting it—blessed by the goddess, the saintess took the shortcut on the path of reenactment.
"These things were originally meant for you. If the ritual fails, I can help extract the potion from your body," Yulisi paused for two seconds before continuing, "but I must warn you in advance."
"If you are not the saintess and the ritual truly fails, even if I extract the potion's components from your body, some residue will remain."
"These potion residues could cost you half your life, leaving you crippled, insane... or even causing your body to undergo mutations."
"Moreover, you will be tormented by endless whispers in your ears, compelling you to seek out the potion. Even if you don't go mad now, in ten, twenty, or thirty years, you will."
Yulisi tried to paint a more terrifying picture in hopes of changing the girl's mind.
She had just touched Shaer's soft cheek, and judging by her skin and bone structure, she couldn't be older than fifteen. A little scare should be enough to deter her.
"Thank you for the warning," Shaer said calmly after listening to Yulisi's description. "Do you know the correct ritual?"
Seeing that the girl had not been dissuaded, Yulisi decided not to press further. This was Shaer's choice, and from both a personal and a Church perspective, Yulisi had no right to interfere.
"I have the correct and complete ritual," Yulisi said, her tone becoming solemn as she faced Shaer. "But the prerequisite is that you need to join the Savior Goddess Church; otherwise, I cannot teach you the complete ritual."
"Uh?" Shaer felt a bit uneasy upon hearing Yulisi's words.
Join a religion? To be honest, after learning about the existence of extraordinary powers, Shaer didn't doubt the goddess's reality, but precisely because of that, she was even more hesitant to join a faith.
She had no genuine belief in the Savior Goddess Church, let alone worship a deity. Just five minutes ago, she had even taken two coins from the goddess.
If her heart wasn't sincere, would the goddess not bestow any divine punishment?
"Do you have any doubts?" Yulisi asked when she noticed Shaer's silence.
"But I know nothing about the Savior Goddess Church... I only glanced at the doctrines and scriptures two years ago," Shaer replied, her tone quite polite.
Yulisi didn't quite understand Shaer's hesitation and said directly, "Most people know nothing before joining the Church."
"You can learn those later. You just need to ensure that your code of conduct aligns with the doctrines of the Savior Goddess Church. 'Faith without action is dead.' Start with small acts of kindness, and you will gradually experience the grace of the Savior Goddess."
"As long as your actions do not violate the doctrines, the goddess's salvation will follow you."
So, it means...
It doesn't matter whether I believe or not, as long as I don't break the rules?
Shaer had always thought that the churches here were based on faith alone, not realizing that each church had its own circumstances. The Savior Goddess Church in front of her clearly operated on a basis of actions leading to justification.
It had a bit of the idea of judging a gentleman by his actions rather than his heart.
If that's the case, then it's not so bad. As long as she didn't violate the tenets, she wouldn't have to worry about divine punishment.
"Alright, I believe." Shaer nodded and asked, "Is there a baptism or something like that?"
"I can baptize you," Yulisi said, feeling a bit excited inside.
The girl in front of her might very well be the future saintess, and she had become the guide to the saintess. This was a sacred and thrilling moment for any believer.
The baptism ceremony of the Savior Goddess Church was not complicated, and in fact, it was somewhat overly simple.
Most of the Church's followers were impoverished and illiterate, so the baptism required reciting scriptures, which were usually read aloud by Church members. The person being baptized only needed to place their right hand on their chest and silently wait for the recitation to finish.
After about five minutes of scripture, just as Shaer, with her eyes closed, was about to doze off, Yulisi touched her forehead with a finger, signifying the completion of the baptism.
From now on, Shaer was considered a member of the Savior Goddess Church, at least within this simulation.
After all, it didn't cost anything; a little belief wouldn't hurt.
"Take this emblem; it temporarily symbolizes your identity." After the baptism, Yulisi reached into her robe and carefully pinned a semicircular emblem onto Shaer's cloak.
"Um..." Shaer wanted to say something but thought for a long time and could only ask, "What is the process of the ritual?"
"The branch with the fewest people in the Holy See is the Tribunal, because the conditions for the 'Avenger' ritual are extremely harsh," Yulisi said, recalling the items needed for the ritual in her mind as she spoke slowly. "So far, I've summarized that the reenactment process with the highest success rate requires three things."
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