The First Pope - Chapter 157

Chapter 157

The appearance of the Ice Coffin shattered the temple's calm, stirring the aura within into a frenzy. As the atmosphere grew agitated, divine power hidden in every corner of the temple began to awaken. More of it surged outward, filling the sky with silver, snake-like lightning. Even the seawater Olivia held back on both sides with her nature power started to become unstable.

Neither Cynthia nor Olivia had anticipated the disturbance caused by the Ice Coffin. They stopped their conversation, their expressions turning serious. Cynthia raised a hand to store the Ice Coffin away. "There isn't much time," she said pensively. "Let's split up."

She and Olivia had followed the dark aura here. Judging by its concentration, the Sethite wizards couldn't be far. Cynthia was about to ask Olivia to continue investigating the witches, leaving the more troublesome task of sealing the divine power to herself, when Olivia strode away, staff in hand. She left Cynthia with only her retreating back and a single, brief sentence. "I'll go seal the divine power."

Her figure vanished before Cynthia even had a chance to object.

Cynthia watched Olivia depart, swallowing the words she had been about to say. She raised a hand to touch her nose, an involuntary smile gracing her lips. As expected of a clan leader, Olivia was swift and decisive. For once, Cynthia was enjoying the rare feeling of being protected.

Cynthia gazed after Olivia for another moment before looking away. In high spirits, she twirled her staff and turned, continuing to follow the trail of the dark aura.

The temple of the God of the Ocean was far more complex than Cynthia had imagined. If not for the dark aura 'leading the way,' she never would have guessed that a place like a secret chamber existed within it.

The translucent, crystalline ice floor had vanished, replaced by dark, solid earth etched with strange patterns. The very existence of firm ground this deep beneath the sea was peculiar enough, but the markings carved into it captured Cynthia's attention even more.

Golden orbs of light floated around Cynthia, dispelling the darkness. She crouched down, studying the patterns on the ground with a slight frown.

What kind of formation would use such markings? Cynthia wondered, reaching out to tentatively touch the ground. Her fingertips carefully traced the uneven patterns. She paused abruptly, having felt something. Turning her palm upward, she saw that her fair fingertips were now stained with a faint crimson. At the same time, the faint scent of blood wafted to her nose.

The scent was faint, but it was unmistakably the metallic tang of blood.

The secret chamber was large and rather empty, and the orbs of light around Cynthia couldn't illuminate it completely. She took out a handkerchief, wiped the blood from her fingertips, and rose to inspect the room. A platform, about half a person tall and utterly unremarkable, caught her eye-or, to be more precise, the layer of frost covering its surface did.

The platform seemed designed to hold something. Cynthia circled it, lightly brushing her fingers across the frost. Seeing her hand turn a purplish-blue from the cold, she raised an eyebrow and retrieved the Ice Coffin she had just stored in her Space Gem.

The frost on the platform's surface had an aura nearly identical to the Ice Coffin's, making it difficult not to connect the two.

The moment the Ice Coffin rested on the platform, the temperature in the chamber plummeted. Frost began to crystallize on the walls as a bone-chilling cold seeped from the corners, threatening to envelop the entire room. The air grew so cold that even Cynthia felt a hint of discomfort.

She stood a meter from the platform, rubbing her numb hands together as she scanned her surroundings. The ghastly white mist obscured her vision, and her brow slowly furrowed.

She tightened her grip on her staff, but before she could chant a spell to disperse the cold, she heard unfamiliar footsteps. They were unhurried, each one seeming to strike her very heart. An invisible pressure made her instinctively hold her breath. Cynthia's expression shifted. As she spun around, she swung her staff, and golden flames erupted, enveloping her before spreading rapidly outward. The mist-shrouded chamber was instantly illuminated, but the Light Fire revealed no enemy.

As the mist dissipated, Cynthia's vision cleared. A slender figure in white walked toward her through the flames. A long white dress trailed on the floor, and a faint golden light enveloped her. Though the figure faced her directly, Cynthia could not make out her features, only the long white hair that cascaded to her waist.

The figure in white walked past Cynthia toward the platform, and the oppressive aura vanished with her. Cynthia stood silently for a moment before calmly putting away her staff. She turned to face the platform, where another figure had appeared at some unknown point.

It was an illusion.

Cynthia discreetly scanned her surroundings. The once-dim chamber had completely transformed. Walls of blue crystal, combined with the faint, cold mist, gave the room a dreamlike quality.

An Ice Coffin also rested on the platform, but unlike the real one, this one was open, and a figure could be vaguely seen inside.

Cynthia took a few steps toward the platform. Through the coffin's translucent walls, she could see an exquisitely beautiful, silver-haired woman lying within. The woman's face was identical to her own.

This was an illusion from the time her body was sealed. In that case, the two people beside the Ice Coffin... Cynthia looked up at the two unfamiliar figures, her heart stirring. Could they be the Goddess of Light and the God of the Ocean?

Before Cynthia could be certain of their identities, the figures in the illusion began to speak.

The Goddess of Light was shrouded in a faint golden glow. Though not as bright as Light Fire, it was surprisingly dazzling, making it difficult to look at her directly. She rested a hand on the Ice Coffin, her fair fingertips gently stroking its cold, hard surface. Her snow-white dress trailed on the floor, yet it remained immaculate. "Even gods who fear nothing have begun to grow timid," she said.

She gazed down at the God's Descendant in the coffin, her voice as cold as a winter's day yet surprisingly melodious. "Their self-righteous posturing is truly ridiculous."

"Ridiculous? The Earth Mother trusts them implicitly," the God of the Ocean said, leaning against the Ice Coffin with a soft laugh. "She expended no small amount of divine power to create the Dragon Knights."

"A great many of the gods 'grew up' under the Earth Mother's watch. She could never bring herself to expel and exile them."

"But the Sitatul Continent is her foundation. To abandon it would be to exile herself, and she would never agree to that."

The God of the Ocean chuckled, thinking of something, and shook her head with a sigh. "Having all the gods give up half their divine power would certainly alleviate the monster crisis for a time. It's the best option under the circumstances. It's no wonder the Earth Mother agreed to the plan so readily."

It was a pity. The Earth Mother was still thinking of the other gods, but they had already begun to plot against her.

"She only wants to protect this continent," the Goddess of Light said faintly.

The God of the Ocean glanced toward the golden light and raised an eyebrow. "Is it not because she is too benevolent?"

Though the golden light around the Goddess of Light obscured her from others, it had no effect on the God of the Ocean. The Goddess of Light shot her a placid glance, her faint tone laced with displeasure. "Is she benevolent toward you as well?"

Sensing danger, the God of the Ocean gave a dry cough. "No." She deftly changed the subject. "Should we tell the Earth Mother about the conspiracy of the God of Thunder and the others?"

The Goddess of Light looked away. "There's no need," she said, her gaze lowered.

"Then..."

"If they don't want a compromise, then we shall grant their wish." The Goddess of Light lifted her hand from the coffin and pressed it against the half-open lid. "Dark emotions have bred too many monsters, bringing the Sitatul Continent to the brink of collapse. This proves that gods are no longer suited to live here," she said softly.

"They want to kill the Earth Mother to open the Heaven's Gate and leave. I will help them fulfill that wish." The Goddess of Light gently pushed the lid, and the Ice Coffin slowly closed. Cynthia's vision suddenly went black, and the illusion around her vanished. Only the Goddess of Light's voice still echoed in her ears: "Killing them will open the Heaven's Gate all the same."

After dealing with the leaking divine power in the temple, Olivia retraced her steps to find Cynthia. She was now intimately familiar with Cynthia's aura and quickly located the secret chamber. But unlike Cynthia, who was trapped in an illusion, Olivia entered to find only the Ice Coffin on its platform and a room filled with a ghastly white mist.

Cynthia stood beside the Ice Coffin. Though a golden light surrounded her, a layer of frost had formed on her exposed skin. Her eyes were closed, her brow was furrowed, and she clutched her staff tightly, her entire posture on high alert.

Olivia scanned the chamber before raising a hand to gently wipe the frost from Cynthia's cheek and forehead. She then took Cynthia's wrist to check her condition. Finding nothing amiss, she let go and waited patiently for her to recover.

Olivia did not have to wait long. Cynthia's eyes slowly fluttered open, her expression complex and tinged with gravity. It made Olivia wonder what she had just experienced. "What is it?"

She looked Cynthia over, raising a hand to touch her hair, which was damp from the cold.

Cynthia replayed the conversation from the illusion in her mind, then raised a hand to rub her brow. She took a moment to organize her thoughts before answering, "I was just caught in an illusion stored within the Ice Coffin."

The conversation between the Goddess of Light and the God of the Ocean contained too much information. Feeling it would be difficult to explain, Cynthia simply took Olivia's hand and transmitted everything she had seen and heard directly to her.

The God Race's innate talent for this was certainly convenient. After viewing Cynthia's memories, Olivia, too, fell silent.

According to what they knew previously, the gods had created new races to deal with the monsters before they departed. But judging from the conversation between the Goddess of Light and the God of the Ocean, it was all a conspiracy designed by the gods to deceive the Earth Mother.

What surprised Olivia even more was that the monsters were born from the gods' own dark emotions.

The gods were the protectors of this continent, but they were also its destroyers. For a moment, Olivia was at a loss for words.

Cynthia, on the other hand, was less interested in the origin of the monsters and more astonished by the gods' conspiracy. "If the Earth Mother wanted to protect this continent, the other gods couldn't be allowed to stay. And if the other gods wanted to live, they had to kill the Earth Mother."

The so-called compromise was merely a stopgap, not a true solution. The Earth Mother simply wasn't as ruthless as the other gods.

"The new races were just a pretext. The gods' true goal was to weaken the Earth Mother, kill her, open the Heaven's Gate, and leave."

The Goddess of Light didn't seem to approve of the other gods' plan, but... in the end, the Sitatul Continent still collapsed. The guardian, the Earth Mother, was gone-whether she died or simply left, she was no longer here.

But even though the Earth Mother was gone, the Dragon Knights she left behind were still sealed in their temple. Cynthia touched her chin thoughtfully. "Do you think those dragons in the temple know about the gods' conspiracy?" she asked.

Olivia met her gaze. Seeing the slight curve of Cynthia's lips and the glint in her eyes, she knew her partner was already plotting something.

And sure enough, before Olivia could answer, Cynthia added with a smile, "I don't think they do."

If they knew, they certainly wouldn't have remained so obediently sealed in the temple.

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