Ring of Fate

Chapter 1119 Nightmare
Trier, Candidemarkt district.

Leon, who looked like a scholar, stood in front of the living room, preaching to the members of the cult with a solemn and serious expression.

He had moved out of the Golden Rooster Inn because the order had grown in size.

Although the official power of the Honest Man Market District did not seem to care much about his private spread of foreign god beliefs, Leon felt that he should still be cautious and not make a big fuss.

If some devout and fanatical believers of "Eternal Sun" or "God of Steam and Machinery" in the market area discover this sick religion and go to the church to report and protest every day, the two major churches will have to intervene even if they don't want to!
Moreover, as the number of believers belonging to him increased, Leon really needed a temporary residence to serve as an underground church.

After finishing his sermon, Leon raised his hands and pushed them outwards, his voice suddenly becoming high-pitched:

“Praise you, follower of the Yellow and Black King, priest of Doomsday and War, the multifaceted one who conquers everything, the true god of disease!
"Praise be to you, the ancient one who transcends time, the one who remains eternally young, the bringer of disease and plague, the lady who spreads pain and despair, the protector of the adventurous spirit of mankind, the companion of the great god of disease!"

The believers gathered in the living room followed suit and completed the final praises of the ceremony.

Leon listened to the echo of their voices and suddenly felt dazed.

He actually didn't quite understand why the names of the two gods were changed again and again, especially the great "God of Plague", whose name had been changed several times and had almost nothing in common with the description in the initial stage. He also took back the title of "God of Disease", and the "God of Disease" became his partner and queen.

Leon once asked His Holiness the Pope about this matter, and His Holiness the Pope replied that this symbolizes the elevation of the person and authority of the "God of Plague."

When the praise was over, Leon signaled the priest who assisted him to distribute the Holy Communion.

Communion consists of a drink and a food:
Choose between absinthe, red wine or cooled boiled water, and between mashed potatoes or meatloaf.

Seeing believers enjoying the Holy Communion with satisfied faces and sincerely feeling fulfilled, Leon felt sincerely that his efforts over the past year had not been in vain and he had a great sense of accomplishment.

In the afternoon, he left his apartment and went to St. Robert's Church on Market Avenue.

It was not that he still secretly believed in the "Eternal Sun", but he felt that the Church of the Sick was developing very quickly, and many things would become more and more formal. He and other bishops must think of some details in advance and be ready to offer advice to His Holiness the Pope at any time to improve all aspects of daily worship, large masses, and church scriptures.

In this matter, the Orthodox Church is a very good reference.

The market avenue was as busy as usual. Outsiders from the steam train station poured into the sea of ​​Trier like a river. Some chose to ride in horse-drawn carriages, some carried suitcases and walked on foot, and some were not careful enough and had their wallets stolen. They were so anxious that they shouted and chased after the patrolling police, and the patrolling police were not enthusiastic enough to offer help.

Leon entered St. Robert's Church and saw a rather unfamiliar bishop standing in front of the altar.

He walked over and asked doubtfully:

"Is Bishop Christopher away today?"

The strange young bishop laughed with a complicated expression:
“Bishop Christopher has been transferred elsewhere and I will be taking over his job.

"You can call me Evelyn."

Another new bishop... Leon couldn't help but frown.

In his hometown, except for those priests and bishops whose status rose rapidly, others would stay in one place for several years. Some would even be in charge of a rural church for more than ten or twenty years. The St. Robert's Church has changed five bishops in the past year.

Now this is the sixth one!

It wasn't like this in the first half of last year...

The bishop I met when I first arrived in Trier stayed here for more than half a year...

Leon instantly recalled the many changes that the Church of the Eternal Sun had undergone over the past year:
The "Eternal Blazing Sun", whose honorable name had never been changed, unexpectedly sent down an oracle like the "God of Plague", and drastically modified its original honorable name. Even the status of the holy emblem of the sun was changed. It was no longer placed on the altar, but was reduced to one of the sacred symbols!
Leon turned his gaze towards the altar and saw a huge cross erected there.

He exchanged a few words with Bishop Evelyn, sat down in the first row of chairs, and pretended to pray.

Not long after, he, as a "wizard", suddenly had some spiritual premonitions. He suddenly opened his eyes and turned his head to look to the side.

He saw Lugano, who had once again become his direct superior.

This Archbishop of the Trier Diocese of the Church of Sickness, a Sequence 5 Druid, actually appeared in the St. Robert's Church of the Eternal Sun!

When the thick-browed Lugano found Leon there, he did not show any panic or fear. He took off the half-high silk hat on his head, sat next to his subordinate, looked at the huge cross on the altar, and asked in a low voice:

"What are you doing in the Church of the Eternal Sun?"

"Your Excellency, Archbishop, I want to learn how to preach better," Leon explained humbly.

He did not ask Lugano's purpose in going to St. Robert's Church.

Lugano smiled to himself:
"Me too."

At this point, he sighed and added:

“At the same time, I also come to feel the sunshine.”

"Feel the sunshine?" Leon asked puzzledly.

Lugano looked at the huge cross on the altar and said:

"I always feel that the sunshine outside is not scorching enough, not warm enough, and can hardly dispel the coldness and fear in my heart. Only the sunshine here can shine into my soul and make me forget those anxieties."

"Uneasy?" Leon also felt uneasy.

He was disturbed by the fact that the Archbishop's words were somewhat blasphemous and impious:

What kind of cold and fear can't be solved and eliminated by the great "God of Disease" and the great "Queen of Disease"? Why don't you pray to them and seek help from His Holiness the Pope, but come to the St. Robert's Church of the "Eternal Sun" Church to feel the sunshine?

Will I be silenced after hearing the Archbishop's blasphemous words? As Leon was worried, Lugano retracted his gaze and observed Bishop Evelyn who had walked to the long tables on the side of the church. He lowered his voice and said:

"I've had nightmares for a long time, haven't you?"

"No." Leon was very sure.

"Do you feel uneasy sometimes?" Lugano asked further.

Leon shook his head at first, then answered uncertainly:

"I am a 'wizard', I have a strong spirituality, and I have a sense of uneasiness when I encounter problems, but subsequent troubles are avoided and solved, and the corresponding uneasiness disappears."

Lugano sighed again:
"I had nightmares for a long, long time, and I woke up every time."

"Have you ever asked His Holiness the Pope about the root of the problem?" Leon asked tentatively.

Lugano smiled and said:
"I have consulted, and I have prayed to the great 'God of Sickness' and the great 'Queen of Sickness', and the answer I got was:
"'Don't worry, but don't get close.'"

Don't worry, I understand. What does "Don't get close" mean? Going deeper into the nightmare will lead to your own downfall and being dragged into the abyss? Leon instinctively analyzed these two sentences.

Suddenly, he remembered one more thing:
A mystical circle he joined had problems recently, which seemed to be caused by a Beyonder from the "Cultivator" path.

In another occult circle related to him, the host and many members warned everyone to be careful of extraordinary people from the two paths of "cultivators" and "pharmacists".

The Archbishop is a Sequence 5 Druid from the Cultivator pathway... Are his frequent nightmares related to the abnormalities of these two pathways? Leon did not dare to speak out what was in his mind.

Lugano continued:
"The Pope also told me that when I feel the worst, I can go to the church of the Eternal Sun and sit for a while."

“I see…” Leon expressed his understanding.

But deep down in his heart, he still planned to use the mirror to report the matter to His Holiness the Pope. He couldn't just trust whatever the Archbishop said, right?

Lugano sat in St. Robert's Church until the evening and was busy dealing with various affairs of the Trier Diocese.

Late at night, he finally returned to the rented apartment, drank a glass of milk, stretched his body, and finished his bedtime prayer.

After washing up, Lugano lay down on the bed and turned off the gas wall lamp.

He looked at the ceiling immersed in darkness and the crimson moonlight seeping through the curtains, at the distorted patterns formed by the interweaving of light and shadow, and was unwilling to close his eyes for a long time.

He was afraid to sleep and to dream.

He once tried to change his schedule, working at night and resting during the day, but the nightmare still came.

After an unknown amount of time, Lugano finally fell asleep.

In a daze, he suddenly shuddered and seemed to wake up.

He saw the familiar gray-white mist and the stone slabs soaked in water.

Here we go again... Lugano is not surprised at all.

The nightmare came as expected.

He staggered to the edge of the gray fog, but did not dare to walk out. He could only stay here, looking outside, looking into the depths of the dream.

He vaguely saw a familiar street.

That's where he lives now.

But the streets and houses in the dream had completely collapsed, not a single one was spared, and there was a similar scene in the distance, with no end in sight.

Under the crimson moonlight, the ruins are messy, dilapidated, cold and silent, showing a kind of mysterious beauty that has been abandoned for a long time but is full of special spirituality.

Green plants have climbed up all the destroyed buildings. Some are so dense that they seem to cover the dead houses with a shroud, while others are full of fresh fruits.

Looking at this scene, Lugano was filled with fear from the bottom of his heart and his whole body went cold, as if he had seen the future of Trier and the fate of himself and others.

This is the nightmare he has every night:

A dead Trier where all humans are buried and all buildings have collapsed.

A Trier where there is only crimson moonlight forever.

(End of this chapter)