Chapter 635
“Now, the Lord has finally regained part of His power! But He cannot bear to see His followers turn against one another.”
At this point, Tara clasped her hands together over her chest and declared with a resonant voice, “The merciful Lord wishes for our unity. Only by standing together can we better serve Him and spread the message of salvation to the world, allowing everyone to bask in the Lord's glory...”
The incident involving the divine servant in Bolun City a month ago still lacked a clear conclusion. Many cardinals and archbishops even doubted that Yulisi, who claimed to have “felt” everything, was merely suffering from a tainted mind, hallucinating some indescribable entity.
But now, everything seemed to have reached a conclusion.
Not only the goddess... but the divine servants also existed.
All of this proved that the theories of the Holy Descent Sect were indeed correct... that divine beings and the Holy Spirit truly existed... and that they would descend upon the world.
From her position on the throne, Shaer watched Tara passionately delivering her speech below. At that moment, Tara was still dressed in her maid outfit, while the audience consisted of high-ranking officials clad in ornate clerical robes. This contrast made Shaer bite her lip to suppress a smile.
She was indeed stifling laughter, but not because of the scene; rather, from her perspective, she could only see the top of Tara's head and a small part of her body, making her look like a little green mushroom swaying about.
Tara's call to action was effective. Eleanor took the lead, responding to the call for unity, which meant that at least the Tribunal would stand firmly on Shaer's side.
What surprised everyone, however, was that right behind Eleanor, responding to the call, was Madeleine, who had initially mocked Eleanor.
But Shaer was not particularly surprised by this turn of events, as she had witnessed a similar scene in her simulations.
When she first summoned the Dark Worm, also known as Leimeides, it was Madeleine who was the first to submit directly.
The reason Eleanor was not the first was that she had been the one sacrificed by Shaer, and that sacrifice had made Eleanor a nemesis.
Madeleine was a typical priest whose faith had been eroded by countless ineffective prayers. When a true divine being or Holy Descent appeared, her once-exhausted faith would be reignited, just like most of those who had knelt moments ago.
As nearly all the high-ranking officials expressed their stances, an unexpected event occurred.
The former pope, while everyone’s attention was focused on Shaer, took out a beautifully crafted ritual dagger. Amidst the prayers of atonement to the goddess, she prepared to plunge it into her own heart to end her life.
This was her way of seeking redemption for her actions.
Although the wavering faith in the goddess was not solely her doing, but rather the inevitable result of years without response, she had indeed been the one to instigate a complete turn towards self-righteousness.
This act had indeed revitalized the declining Church of the Savior Goddess, which had distanced itself from the Holy Descent Sect, attracting a large number of new followers. However, this action was viewed by the Holy Descent Sect as a deeper betrayal, and nearly everyone from the sect loathed her to the core.
In this situation, she knew she would be judged as a sinner, so she chose to end her life early.
But her action was stopped by two individuals: Persi and Eleanor.
Eleanor, being a member of the Tribunal, believed the pope had no right to decide her own fate; her sins would be judged by the goddess and the Tribunal together. Persi, on the other hand, simply thought that such a joyous occasion should not be marred by misfortune, especially in front of Lord Shaer.
The pope's suicide was thwarted, but someone had to temporarily lead everything.
Clearly, Shaer did not intend to directly lead the church, as that would involve many matters to handle, and she did not have the time for that.
Thus, the search for a new pope became urgent.
With Shaer present, a new election for a temporary pope began right there.
Most believed that Tara or Persi should become the temporary pope, as they were closest to the goddess, but Shaer vetoed that idea.
Instead, Shaer’s choice was Madeleine.
This was merely to select a temporary pope to lead the Church of the Savior Goddess; once the church was merged, a formal election would certainly take place.
Therefore, the temporary pope needed to be someone very familiar with the Church of the Savior Goddess and powerful, and Madeleine fit the bill perfectly.
The reason for not choosing Eleanor was that her mental state was unstable, and due to her background, she was prone to extremism. It was likely that she would start purging heretics within the church on her very first day as pope.
After a brief discussion, Madeleine was elevated to the position of new temporary pope, tasked with handling all matters before the merger.
The descent of the divine being and Shaer’s affairs would be kept strictly confidential; only the upper echelons of the church would be privy to this information, and any leakers would face the wrath of the entire Tribunal.
At this moment, there was no need to worry about leaks, as everyone’s faith was at its peak, and emotions were running high. All of Shaer’s commands would be regarded as divine decrees.
Persi stayed behind to oversee the Church of the Savior Goddess, while Eleanor temporarily became Shaer’s bodyguard.
Having settled matters with the Church of the Savior Goddess and dropped this heavy bombshell, Shaer left the church with Eleanor and Tara.
With the Church of the Savior Goddess taken care of, the next step was to deal with the Holy Descent Sect... and to find Sadana.
Shaer did not use simulations; instead, she directly engaged in the church merger in reality.
Now, Shaer was no longer afraid of change. One reason was her newfound confidence, as this matter had been validated countless times in simulations; the other was the unseen enemy she faced...
Continuing to live a normal, peaceful life might actually align with the will of that deity, allowing Him to descend into this world. What Shaer needed most now was change—not just in reality, but in the old ways as well.
Shaer returned to the Russell Duke’s residence, preparing to bid farewell to Aivina.
At this time, the entrance to the Russell Duke’s residence was slightly less crowded, as it was already lunchtime.
Due to the large number of guests, the Duke had invited some people to another estate for discussions, which inadvertently provided space for Shaer and Aivina to have lunch alone.
“What were you up to just now?” Aivina asked, spearing a few beans with her fork and glancing in Shaer’s direction.
But Aivina had already guessed somewhat what was going on. The Russell family had a few followers of the Church of the Savior Goddess, albeit very few.
Earlier in the morning, a family member had reported an unusual perception, and not long after, Shaer had come to find her. Shortly after Shaer went to the Church of the Savior Goddess, more followers came to report anomalies...
Aivina didn’t believe it was unrelated to Shaer.
She speculated that Shaer had likely obtained a form of “uniqueness” from the Church of the Savior Goddess and wanted to make some sort of deal with them.
However... Aivina sensed that Shaer’s mental state had weakened considerably, as if she had just gone through something that greatly affected her spirit.
‘It’s nothing, just became a god, that’s all.’
Of course, Shaer couldn’t say that.
“Nothing much, just had a little discussion about cooperation,” Shaer replied, swallowing a piece of meat with a smile.
The “cooperation” Shaer referred to was, of course, about the church merger.
But to Aivina, this confirmed that Shaer had indeed obtained “uniqueness”... it was indeed “uniqueness,” but merely the “uniqueness” of complete integration.
“Are you planning to go to Blis?” Aivina asked, looking at Shaer.
“Yes,” Shaer nodded. She had come to say goodbye to Aivina.
“I’ll go with you,” Aivina said, putting down her knife and fork. “I need to continue perfecting the resurrection ritual.”
“...Why do you need to go to Blis to continue perfecting the resurrection ritual?” Shaer blinked, momentarily confused by Aivina’s words.
“Don’t you think you’re a great subject?” Aivina said, her expression deadpan as she looked at Shaer. “The ways your mental pollution and weakening manifest are always different, making treatment quite challenging.”
Shaer: “...”
That sounded... quite reasonable.
It seemed that since the time of the “Listener,” Aivina had been continuously gaining “experience” from her... she really did seem to be the perfect material for the “Listener” path’s advancement.
“Alright then.” Shaer smiled and nodded.
Going to Blis and finding Sadana would take time, so Shaer decided to directly use her predetermined points to enter the simulation...
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