ushernet Chapter 726
Chapter 726
Chapter 726: Chapter 112 I Forgive You Chapter 726: Chapter 112 I Forgive You Early in the morning, as the sky began to lighten ever so slightly,
Yanis had already left, on her way to the twenty-first Ring with some trepidation.
The further upward one went in the Holy Nation, the narrower the ground became and the sparser the population.
The twenty-first Ring was like a massive palace...
and this was precisely the nurturing ground for the would-be Holy Maidens.
After verifying her identity, showing the token, and registering her blood and soul vibrations, Yanis donned a specially made gemstone brooch capable of recording the entire process.
Under the guidance of two Papal Guards, she followed the designated route to the agreed location.
Each candidate for the Holy Maiden underwent various types of enclosed study here, communicating with the Nine Pillar Gods until they had fully developed their abilities, or they were eliminated if any of their data fell short, only then could they be let out.
...
The training of a Holy Maiden was exceptionally stringent.
No failure in any assessment was tolerated.
Under such a high dropout rate, any girl with the right qualifications would be brought here upon reaching the appropriate age — with any candidate at risk of being eliminated at any given time.
The reason only females were chosen stemmed from the top-level inheritance of the “Eternal Saintess”, which required that the Heir be a pure, indifferent, and tranquil young woman.
Though the “Pure White” Holy Maiden was active outside, there were at least twenty to thirty candidates inside.
Those not eliminated were considered reserves.
Should the current Holy Maiden encounter any mishap, they would immediately select the best replacement.
The cruelest part here was that even if one met all the standards, had committed no errors, and passed all assessments with the highest excellence...
if ultimately, they exceeded the age limit, they would also be terminated on schedule.
To ensure purity of thought, free from contamination by other ideologies that might lead to deviation from the Path, the trainee Holy Maidens were limited in whom they could meet during different phases of their learning, all of whom were investigated, and any visitor’s conversation was under strict surveillance.
The dissemination of abnormal thoughts to a candidate Holy Maiden in Holy Nation was considered a crime of the highest degree.
And Yanis, being a temporary visitor, was naturally not permitted to speak with any candidates.
Therefore, on her way, she would not meet anyone.
All this was planned to the smallest detail.
Yanis walked along the solemn and austere corridors of the sanctuary, the sound of the Papal Guards’ synchronized steps echo beside her.
The footsteps resonated in the desolate sanctum — in the hundreds of meters of corridor wide enough to accommodate twenty people walking shoulder to shoulder, there were only the three of them.
In the incredibly silent environment, even just two sets of footsteps, echoing in those pure white corridors, sounded like the march of thousands.
A sudden thought crossed Yanis’s mind:
Grey choosing Lady Lantana as a mentor for Gloria was perhaps the right decision.
If Gloria were still studying at the twenty-first Ring, Yanis wouldn’t have been able to see her.
The atmosphere here might have Amberficated Gloria long ago.
It was good that they had sent her down to recuperate...
that’s how she could have survived for so long.
Mercedes, because of her refusal to be outdone, had stayed here for a long time, though she had not turned to Amber, had joined the Controlled Flame.
The Controlled Flame was a faction opposing the Heir, and the only Heir Mercedes had ever come into contact with was the Eternal Saintess.
She must have grown thoroughly disillusioned with the institution of the trainee Holy Maidens during her years of ascetic practice.
The pure white corridors around were nearly devoid of any decoration...
no sculptures, no paintings, just completely identical, protruding flame reliefs and light fixtures.
Pure white candles, pure white flames, in an endless cycle.
It looked as if it would go on endlessly, as though one were walking to the end of the world — and the gently ascending slope would induce a sense of weariness.
All the corridors here had such a design, known as the “Infinite Corridor”.
The twenty-first Ring had no signs, no devices to mark the time.
There were no clocks or watches, nor could one see the sun, moon, or stars.
The Holy Maidens had to remember and constantly gauge the current time based on a highly regimented life, their physical states, and even the rhythms of their heartbeats and breaths, despite the absence of time-telling devices.
If one’s biological clock became disoriented, they would be eliminated.
This in itself was one of the practices to gradually wear down the anxiety of the trainee Holy Maidens, but it made Yanis herself start to feel anxious.
The path seemed to have no end, and the anxiety in her heart was distressing.
“`
As she turned the corner and finally saw Grey, Yanis couldn’t help but shout and rushed over:
“—Grey!”
The place looked like a huge chapel, yet there were no seats for a congregation.
The reddish-brown wooden floor was like dried blood.
The ceiling was dark red, and the room was filled with white candles of varying heights—thousands of candles burned quietly, filling the room with a faint, sacred incense.
The Pure White Saintess knelt serenely in front of nine statues, dressed in her gown that resembled a wedding dress.
Her hands clasped in front of her chest, eyes covered with a ribbon.
From a distance, she looked like an open lily flower.
But she couldn’t wait to breathe a sigh of relief for having passed this ordeal; instead, she stared straight at Grey, her eyes filled with fear: “Could it be...”
“—I’m not afraid of that kind of thing.”
The Pure White Saintess spoke as she untied the white cloth band from her eyes: “Because I can no longer succeed as Pope.
Once it’s revealed, the impact on the Church would be too terrible.
“All the Cardinals know about it.
Under these circumstances, it’s less likely that I’ll be attacked...
because that would help cover up the fact of my spontaneous Amberfication, worsening the impact on the assailant.”
She slowly opened her eyes.
Her left eye was a beautiful sky blue, while her right eye was as dark and splendid as the starry universe.
The eyelid on her right eye was partially damaged; it could not fully close nor fully open, resembling a glass eye.
“...You’ve already Amberficated.”
Yanis’s expression turned grim: “Is it because of...
me?”
Although there was no detailed study, the color of Amberfication was generally related to the Path.
And black was the color of the Path of Love.
“Don’t flatter yourself.
I can’t live without you, Yanis,”
Pure White closed her eyes again, one layer of silk after another.
Yanis immediately stood up and went behind her to tie the band back on for her.
“I was just thinking...
Never mind.
A deserter like you wouldn’t understand.”
The Saintess was about to say something, but upon “looking” at Yanis, she eventually gave up.
She reached out and casually crushed the gemstone brooch on Yanis’s chest: “Our conversation could bring trouble to you and Master Freya.
You better not hand this over...
If asked, just say we fought and I broke it.”
“...Is that alright?”
“As the Saintess, I still have that much authority,”
Pure White replied.
“Oh, right.”
Upon hearing about Freya, Yanis remembered another matter: “The dates from Aiwass—do you still have them?”
“I do.
I only used them twice, and I stopped after that.”
The Saintess nodded, “If I consume them, perhaps Amberfication can be cured.
But after two doses, I felt that wasn’t enough.
“I don’t know how long they can be preserved, nor if they can still be produced.
So it’s better to save them for posterity...
They might be useful to Elves in the future.
That’s why I prayed for the power of amber to preserve them.
They should last a few hundred years at least.”
“Good thing you didn’t continue using them...”
Yanis, somewhat alarmed, then explained Freya’s theory.
Pure White was silent for a while, but eventually shook her head: “Don’t worry too much, it’s just a theory.
“However, since Master Freya is here...
it’s better to hand them over to someone professional.”
As she said this, she took out a blue gemstone ring: “They’re in here.”
“What about Cardinal Loki’s situation?”
“They’re still investigating, but the results are quite optimistic.”
Pure White’s mouth curved slightly upward, “The Ring of Eighteen has been able to confirm that Bram’s Giant power comes from Cardinal Loki.
The evidence is now fixed.
Regardless of whether I manage to succeed as Pope, he definitely can’t.”
“...What?”
At these words, Yanis was stunned: “Cardinal Loki is the Wildfire Giant?”
She thought of Aiwass, who had gone to see Cardinal Loki alone and became nervous: “Wait, then you come with me—
“Aiwass has gone to find Cardinal Loki!”