Chapter 136: Rewrite Reality
"Priest Nyx, are you alright？"Knight Borien initially wanted to ask why he let the militia charge without waiting for the signal, but seeing Nyx’s condition, he swallowed the words and asked with concern instead.
Nyx was being helped by the monks and had slumped to the ground, leaning against the cross.
Head disheveled and dried, his eyes seemed devoid of moisture, shriveled in their sockets.
The skin on his face was dry, almost revealing the shape of the skull underneath.
He raised one hand with difficulty, reaching out to Borien.
Borien hurriedly dismounted and approached, clasping Nyx’s hands.
Even through the gauntlets, Borien could feel how thin and cold Nyx’s palms were.
However, Nyx’s first words left him stunned.
"I am already dead."Nyx’s voice sounded like it was being squeezed out of a withered tree trunk.
"Don’t let them into the town, send the knights, find Wolf."
"Tell him to retreat."
"Wolf might think we’ve already been killed by the Holy Relic, so someone must inform him."
"Also, tell him, their spirits have been completely assimilated."
"If I were still alive, perhaps I could bring them back and ask for the Bishop’s help."
"But I am already dead."
"So abandon them."
"They’ve gone mad, they’re already dead, and they will see everyone in this town as sin that needs purification."
"They won’t feel pain. They will fight until all sin is purified, or until they themselves die."
"That is enough to accomplish the goal Wolf desired."
"Now, go quickly, or they will attack even Wolf."
Nyx’s eyeballs didn’t move; they merely trembled.
He had lost his sight.
"And you?"Borien held Nyx’s withered hand, its knuckles stark and prominent. Paired with that dry, hoarse voice, he seemed like a skeleton clad in human skin.
But strangely, Borien felt neither disgust nor revulsion. Instead, this version of Nyx radiated a warmth that made one want to draw near.
"I am already dead. Don’t mind me. Go."Nyx’s fingers trembled with difficulty, as if trying to push him away.
"...Alright, I’ll go inform Knight Wolf now."Borien hesitated, then spoke. After glancing at the three monks and four Temple Warriors, he turned and mounted his horse, leaving.
Nyx’s arms reached out chaotically.
"Claudy, Lain, Connery."He called out the monks’ names.
"We’re here, teacher, we’re all here."Claudy, grief in his expression, grasped Nyx’s hand.
He could feel that Nyx’s withered palm had no warmth at all.
"I’m already dead, I can no longer continue teaching you."Nyx said with difficulty.
"But I’ve already passed on all of my insights to you."
"And I believe this final lesson should be one you remember deeply."
"When you return, perhaps you’ll be promoted to Priests."
"You will come into contact with the power the Lord bestows upon us, the Servants of the Lord."
"You must use it cautiously, always remember the Lord’s mercy. You are guides for the lost."
"Do not lead them astray."
"You must always hold reverence for life, and even more so for the Lord."
"You must take the document I wrote last night to the Bishop. It contains what I felt when I was closest to the Lord.
"I wish for you to truly become Servants of the Lord."
"But I also hope you won’t be like me, only truly feeling the presence of the Lord at the end of your life."
Saying this, Nyx released his hand, murmuring softly.
"O Lord, I have committed grave sins, I shall go to Hell for repentance."
"Only, what I cannot rest easy about——”
Nyx’s gaping mouth stiffened, and his trembling, dry eyes fell still.
York Territory, Church of the Sanctuary, Great Church.
Oscar walked in.
He had slightly uneven legs, one arm missing, half his face wrinkled, and one eye ashen.
He looked at Bishop Corleon kneeling beneath the cross and was about to speak.
However, Corleon spoke first.
"If Priest Nyx had lived normally, he still had six months."
"But for him, dying now means realizing himself."
"I think, as a scholar, Priest Nyx wouldn’t want to die in bed, especially when he had just touched the Lord’s might."
Oscar closed his mouth.
Corleon had not only answered his question but also preemptively addressed the one he was about to ask.
"Those who embrace Mystery will return to Mystery."Oscar did not ask further, merely reciting a warning his teacher had given him when he was still an apprentice.
"Magic too is Mystery, and using magic always demands a price."Corleon said.
With Corleon’s words, Oscar felt warmth rise within his body.
This warmth flowed through him, restoring his short leg, missing arm, wrinkled skin, and ashen eye to their original state. This was the price he had paid for using astrology.
Though he could slowly recover through magic, it was never this easy.
Still, while restoration was a good thing, in his heart he felt a chill completely opposite to the warmth his body experienced.
"Are you still human now？"Oscar opened his mouth, voice hoarse and tinged with fear, and asked.
"Of course I am human."Corleon, with his back to Oscar, replied."I am the Bishop of the Church of the Sanctuary."
"Aren’t you curious about the Lord’s power? After staying in the Monastery for so long, have you sensed the Lord’s greatness?"
Oscar moved his trembling legs and sat in the last row.
He did not know if what he felt was fear from the depths of his heart, or the scholar’s spiritual tremor in the face of Mystery.
"I only felt boundless fear."he said.
"It’s like the greatest Mystery buried beneath Benevolence."
"The Lord is One, and also the Myriad; the Lord is the past, the present, and the future. The Lord created Heaven and Earth. The Lord set the world's order with words, created the Cradle of Life with power, distributed the Path of Stars with wisdom. The four seasons shift in the Lord’s hands, and rain and dew descend from the Lord’s Throne."He recited words from the Holy Scriptures.
These words were also used as the preface to the Divine Word Manuscript.
"You are still treating the Lord as a kind of Mystery."said Corleon.
"You may try seeing the Lord simply as the Lord, rather than as a Mystery based on your preconceived notions."
Oscar shook his head dully.
"You yourself said ‘preconceived notions.’ How could that possibly change so easily?"he said.
"Besides, how could I dare see the Lord as merely the Lord?"
"That is truly omniscience and omnipotence. That wouldn’t be overwriting reality, that would be rewriting reality."
"Now when I look at the Great Church, my body trembles."
"When I look at you, I feel like I’m facing some unknown… terror."
"Bishop, I am afraid."
Oscar covered his face.
"You are simply lost."said Corleon.
"Humans are born lost. You don’t need to resist it, nor flee it—just as the Lord does not mind your pursuit of the Lord’s power.
"The Lord also rejoices in your search for truth."
"You are a scholar and a magician. Lifespan to you is just a number."
"You have enough time to search, to explore, and to confront your preconceived notions directly."
After speaking, Corleon paused briefly, then continued.
"Return to the Monastery. Knight Wolf will be back soon."
"He will bring back Priest Nyx’s remains, and also the document Priest Nyx wrote down when he was closest to the Lord."
"You can read it then. Perhaps you’ll find some of the answers you seek."
Oscar remained silent, then held onto the armrest and stood up.
"Can Mr. Nyx be considered a Saint of the Church of the Sanctuary？"he asked.
"What do you think？"Corleon asked in return.
Oscar didn’t answer and turned to leave.
After Oscar left, Olivia appeared in the church.
"Do you need me to kill him？"Olivia’s little face was serious.
"...He is your teacher."said Corleon.
"But he’s very dangerous now, and he harbors resentment over Priest Nyx’s death."Olivia spoke with reason.
"Even though he has filled his residence with magic, once I wear the Concept Armament, I can ignore those spells and kill him outright."
"Also, if he tells Melia about this, she might come to resent the Church as well."
"Right now she manages the Church’s finances and logistics. If something happens to her, it’ll affect the Church’s logistics operations."
"For instance, she might submit bizarre requisitions through Cicero, wasting the Church’s coins and resources."
"So, I believe we should kill him and Melia together."
"...If you’re really that idle, go copy the Holy Scriptures ten times."After a brief silence, Corleon spoke.
"Ah?! Can I copy 《Gourmet Foods and Spices》 instead？"Olivia’s face couldn’t hold the tension anymore, and she pleaded pitifully.
Corleon felt emotionally exhausted.
《Gourmet Foods and Spices》was three times thicker than the Holy Scriptures.
"Then copy it a hundred times."he said.
"...Alright then, but if you do decide to kill them, just give me a signal."Olivia replied and then ran off like she was fleeing.
After Olivia left—
"Do you want to copy it a hundred times too？"Corleon asked.
"I didn’t say anything!"Cicero, who had somehow appeared on the pew, looked terrified.
"Then get back to work."
"Alrighty."