The First Pope - Chapter 151

Chapter 151

The God Race members within the Temple of Light were no different from other God Race members, aside from their prophetic abilities. Even after living in the temple for hundreds or thousands of years, they had yet to establish a complete system of Light Magic. They only knew a few simple spells and incantations. However, because they had lived in an environment saturated with the aura of light since birth, their sensitivity to the Power of Light was far superior to that of Darcy and the others.

They were like Doris before she had met Darcy and Chloe. And Doris had indeed run away from Thacker Plain, which made Cynthia suspect that she might have once been one of them.

After receiving the report from the Light Knights and learning that Cynthia had discovered a group of their kin in the Temple of Light, Darcy and Doris rushed back from the Slade Sea Region.

The image of the Goddess of Light had always been beautiful and dreamlike, but her temple was not as magnificent as one might imagine. After staring at the pure white surroundings for a long time, the sense of sanctity gradually faded, replaced by a lingering feeling of coldness and detachment.

"You're saying you've been in the temple this whole time?" After the initial surprise of finding new kin, Darcy, like Cynthia, began to suspect that Doris might have once been a member of this group. "Has no one ever gone outside?"

Darcy pulled Doris, who was standing slightly behind her, to her side and introduced her. "This is Doris. She's the only one among us with the gift of prophecy, and she grew up in Thacker Plain."

While Darcy was introducing her, Doris had been observing these God Race members, a flicker of confusion occasionally crossing her eyes. She raised a hand to scratch her head, trying hard to search her memories, but after a long while, her mind remained blank regarding the Temple of Light.

Several of the older God Race members exchanged glances. Becky, who held the most authority among them, walked over to Doris. She gently took her hand, held it for a few seconds, then let go. "I know you," she said to Doris.

Seeing Doris's bewildered expression, she explained, "You probably don't remember me. I was the one who sent you away when you were little."

Becky and the others had lived in this temple for as long as they could remember. Thacker Plain was occupied by the Vampires, and only this temple was safe. The moment they left, they would be captured.

Whether the first batch of God Race members who "awakened" in the temple after the Goddess of Light left the Sitatul Continent had ever left, or if they had been hunted by Vampires, Becky and the others didn't know. In any case, for as long as she could remember, very few of the God Race were willing to step outside this temple.

They possessed the ability of prophecy, so they knew very well what they would encounter if they went out.

The God Race were not immortal. In this temple, they bid farewell to the dead and welcomed new life. The future prophesied by every God Race member trapped here was largely the same, but there were a few exceptions.

These individuals were called "hopes" by the elders. Doris was one of these hopes. She was sent out of the Temple of Light, she evaded capture by the Vampires and survived. And then, for the first time, the minds of these God Race members, who could only guard the temple day after day, shrouded in darkness, saw a glimmer of light and the figure who controlled it.

Becky was happy to see Darcy and the others, but she was even more curious about Cynthia. She looked over Darcy's shoulder toward the slender figure standing beside the statue of the Goddess of Light, her gaze profound. "...Is she the one who drove the Vampires from Thacker Plain?"

Her tone was extremely respectful.

Darcy followed her gaze and nodded with a smile. "The God Race owes its current standing to Cynthia."

Becky stared at Cynthia without blinking until her image gradually overlapped with the one that had constantly appeared in her mind. She whispered, "She must be an emissary sent by the Goddess of Light to save the Sitatul Continent."

Darcy's lips curved into a gentle smile. "Many humans think so as well."

When they were recruiting believers, they had always used the name of the Goddess of Light to coax people. But now… more and more people were becoming genuine believers from the bottom of their hearts.

Cynthia had already learned about the experiences of Becky and the other God Race members before Darcy and the others arrived. This confirmed her suspicion: these God Race members in the temple had also been "sealed" here as a new race. The only difference was that, unlike the new races in other temples, they could come and go as they pleased.

The "seal" that held them back was the Vampires who hunted and killed them, not a barrier left by the Goddess of Light.

However, as a new race meant to fight demonic creatures, the Goddess of Light had surprisingly not left them with a system of Light Magic. This resulted in Becky and the others being able to sense the Power of Light but not use it, which was truly baffling.

Cynthia looked up at the statue, her golden eyes, for once, devoid of their usual smile, replaced by a deep solemnity.

Except for the slightly blurred face, the rest of the statue was carved with lifelike detail. Even the petals clinging to the hem of the skirt seemed to still exude a refreshing fragrance. Cynthia's gaze slid down from the statue's face, finally resting on the petals of the skirt. She reached out and touched one lightly; the cold sensation made her frown.

Suddenly, some unfamiliar images began to flash in her mind. The colors were incredibly vivid. Cynthia paused for a moment, then closed her eyes slightly, trying to see the content of the images clearly. But a dazzling golden light always obscured her vision, allowing her to see only a blurry figure and long, snow-white hair fluttering in the wind.

Is this… the Goddess of Light? Cynthia slowly opened her eyes, looked down at the statue's skirt, and fell into deep thought.

Cynthia had been in the Temple of Light for three days. For three days, she had been searching the temple for a place where she could "glimpse" the secrets of the gods. But disappointingly, after a thorough search, she had "seen" nothing.

And the images that had just flashed through her mind provided no useful information either.

The sound of soft footsteps echoed in the empty temple as a familiar presence approached. Cynthia returned from her thoughts, turning slightly to look at Olivia walking toward her. Her brow unconsciously relaxed, and her red lips curved into a beautiful arc.

Olivia walked up to Cynthia and handed her a bottle. She looked her up and down, and only after seeing that the cracks on her neck had gradually faded did she avert her gaze. "What were you thinking about just now?" she asked.

The bottle contained Holy Water. Although Cynthia kept saying she was fine, ever since Olivia learned that Holy Water could speed up wound healing, she would bring some back for Cynthia every time she returned from outside.

The Holy Water was tasteless, much like ordinary river water. Cynthia uncorked the bottle but didn't drink. She subtly leaned closer to Olivia, her elbow gently brushing against her arm. "I was wondering why Her Majesty the Queen is coming back later and later," she said with a grin.

Olivia glanced at her, her fair, slender fingers pressing against the wound on Cynthia's neck. "Drink the Holy Water," she said flatly.

Cynthia had always seemed composed in Olivia's eyes, but from the way she had to watch her drink the Holy Water these past few times, it was clear this God Race member could be quite childish in some respects. For instance, she wouldn't obediently drink the Holy Water when she was injured. If she wasn't watched, the bottle would likely be tossed aside somewhere.

And she always tried to deflect with some frivolous remark. Having been fooled once, Olivia was now on high alert.

Under Olivia's watchful gaze, Cynthia swirled the bottle of Holy Water, bantered with her a little more, and finally, obediently tilted her head back and drank it all.

After all, it wasn't that she disliked drinking Holy Water; she just enjoyed teasing the person who brought it to her.

The temple doors remained open. Darcy was explaining the current situation on the Sitatul Continent to Becky and the others. Olivia glanced in their direction and said in a low voice, "If prophecies appear at the right time, they could be a significant help to us."

Before, only Doris could prophesize, and it was uncontrollable, making the ability seem somewhat useless. But now, there were over a thousand God Race members just like Doris.

Although it was still uncontrollable, the probability of foreseeing danger had increased considerably.

"The Vampires will not give up on the Sitatul Continent. After they retrieve the Blood Coffins, their next step will be to weaken the power of the various races on the continent." The Vampires were selfish. They only wanted to see the Sitatul Continent remain in chaos. No matter which race restored peace to the continent, they would not spare them.

If these God Race members could accurately predict the Vampires' movements, they could prepare in advance.

"The Vampires retrieving the Blood Coffins…" Cynthia paused, then suddenly said with a smile, "What would the Ventrue do if they couldn't get the Blood Coffins back?"

"I'm a little curious."

"Samantha would probably come to the Sitatul Continent to investigate the situation herself." Olivia glanced at Cynthia, her light green eyes narrowing slightly. "You don't want the Vampires to get the Blood Coffins back?"

"Inside the Blood Coffins lie the sealed first-generation Vampires. The Ventrue will never allow the coffins to remain outside their control." Cynthia toyed with the empty bottle, speaking nonchalantly. "It's rare to have something the Vampires care about in our hands. Letting them take it back so easily would be letting them off too lightly."

"Withholding the Blood Coffins will enrage the Vampires. Samantha might disregard everything and lead all the clans to attack the Sitatul Continent again." Olivia's brow was furrowed as she spoke. She was also unwilling to let the Vampires retrieve the coffins so easily, but it was a fact that their current strength was no match for the Vampires.

"It will be difficult for us to stop the Vampires' attack on our own."

Cynthia smiled at Olivia. "What if it's not just us?" she said softly.

She reached out, took Olivia's hand, and squeezed it gently, conveying her thoughts to her. She chuckled lowly and said, "Let's make another trip to the Mentos Desert another day."

Whatever the Vampires feared, she would try to make it a reality. It would take too long to develop the God Race to a point where they could rival the Vampires, and the Vampires would not give them that time. Since the Vampires wouldn't give them time, they might as well make this war even more chaotic.

The calm after a storm is the only true calm.

Outside the Temple of Light, the sky had already darkened, but inside, it was still as bright as day. While Cynthia and Olivia were talking, a petite but exceptionally resolute-looking young woman hurried into the temple from outside. Upon seeing Cynthia, her tense expression finally relaxed. She bowed to Cynthia and Olivia and said in a solemn voice, "City Lord Susan sent a knight to report that they discovered traces of witches while patrolling Ochester."

Cynthia let go of Olivia's hand and raised an eyebrow. "Witches from the Anderson Family?"

Sophie shook her head. "It seems they were witches from the Garcia Family." She paused for a moment, then added, "The knight said he thought he saw a Sethite wizard with the Garcia witches, but he wasn't entirely sure."

Garcia witches and Sethite wizards… Cynthia was taken aback. The smile on her face slowly vanished, and her brow furrowed. "Do you know what their purpose is in Ochester?"

"City Lord Susan believes they intend to attack the Slade Sea Region."

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