I, the wizard, the foolish Buddha.

Brianna overheard Joan and Helena's discussion behind her and telepathically said to everyone, "That's the sun~ Maybe it looks a little strange because of that 'exposure' you mentioned?"

Helena asked curiously, "Yes, shouldn't the sun be orange? Didn't you say that after a long period of 'exposure,' every corner of the sky will be colored by countless stars streaking across it?"

Roland was covered in sweat but didn't utter a sound.

Joan said with some doubt, "Perhaps it's because the distance between the Earth and the Sun is too close, and there are no stars in between? I remember seeing an astrolabe at the academy. In our vicinity, there were only us and the Sun."

This aligns with the Church's mythology—the gods have departed from this world, and only the Pope, representing the sun god, shines with light.

Roland had never studied astrology in detail, so he really didn't know how many planets were in this star system.

Now that he heard Joan say that there were only two celestial bodies, the 'Sun' and the mother star, his vision went black—he was even more certain of what that 'Sun' really was.

That's a black hole!

Roland remembered that back in Vermeek, the old Black Abyss members had mentioned the 'Black Barrier Bottle' when discussing it. This bottle would isolate everything while creating a sky that was both real and unreal.

The reason this sky is said to be fake is that people on Earth looking outward cannot observe real planets—it's all fake.

Therefore, the 'Black Barrier Bottle' is also known as the 'Garden of Eden of the Angels of Peace'. Creatures living on the earth's surface are like ants living in a false backdrop, forever unable to discover the true world outside through observation.

And the outside world cannot observe them. This achieves absolute isolation of information.

The reason why this sky is said to be real is because the sky that people observe is not created out of thin air—it is a 'bubble' of a parallel world!
So strictly speaking, observers on Earth can also observe the universe—but it's a bubble in another spacetime!

Based on what we see now, the 'rope' in the sky should be the 'angel of euthanasia'.

Therefore, like the 'Black Barrier Bottle', it creates a false sky.

Therefore, all the celestial phenomena observed by wizards have been completely false!

Their world has no sun at all!

There is only one mother planet and one black hole!
Roland suddenly realized that everything seemed to make sense—both the Old and the New Churches said that the gods had left this world, so people on Earth could not see the stars that the true gods represented. All they could see were the afterglow left behind by the gods!
Secondly, Roland remembered that Taras and his mentor Merlin had discussed 'black holes' when they were in Greyfalcon City.

Taras explained that the ocean of the lower world stores all information. The 'angels' of the Forbidden Creators operate within this ocean. Since Merlin wasn't familiar with the terminology surrounding the 'lower world ocean,' Taras provided a brief explanation.

After hearing Taras's description of the ocean in the lower world, Merlin's mentor said something like, "This ocean in the lower world sounds a bit like a black hole. If it is a black hole, then it is indeed a perfect information storage medium."

Then, Taras also seemed to say that because the bottom ocean of this world is completely chaotic, it may be different from the black hole that his mentor Merlin was familiar with.

However, if one possesses sufficient technology, it is indeed possible to enter it for work, or to use it to travel to distant planes, or even another great astral plane.

At that time, Roland was spying on Queen Heracles with his senior, so the discussion between their mentor Merlin and the others went in one ear and out the other.

He originally wanted to ask them in detail what they had just talked about, but because Lady Heracles saw the 'camera' and scared Roland so much that he forgot about it.

Now he remembers everything.

'No wonder, no wonder the whole world would fall into the 'sea' of the lower world if the gods loosened their grip even slightly. We're living right next to a black hole!'

Last time, the world had already fallen into the event horizon of a black hole, but the gods pulled it back!
Without the euthanasia angels, they would have been torn to pieces and sucked in long ago!

Taras said that the ocean of the underworld must have a projection in the surface world.

This projection will be an object containing all information, through which people can also retrieve everything about the past.

Wizards have never found this projection, and many people have been speculating about what it is.

Some have questioned whether it exists in the void—phenomena suggest that when people enter that distant void, it is indeed easier to detect fluctuations in the ocean of the underlying world.

But the wizards couldn't see the projection.

However, because the wizards' technology was developed in a very unbalanced and specialized way, they didn't know how to use gravitational waves to monitor celestial phenomena. Therefore, they failed to detect the thing that was so close at hand!
Furthermore, the angels' deceptive canopy made the 'black sun' appear as if it were 'shining brightly' in people's view. No one noticed anything unusual.

Now, the sky was painted with the colors of all the stars, and Roland saw it with his naked eye.

At this moment, Roland suddenly heard Brianna say, "Joan, you are wrong—you don't know this, but in astronomy, the Holy Court is actually more advanced than the Eastern Realm."

In our galaxy, besides us and the sun, there is another star.

It is the 'Shepherdess'—if you have visited the 'Dracula Family's' gallery, you should have seen it in paintings.

The existence of this thing was predicted long ago by the people within the Papacy. However, because it absorbs all light, it is difficult to observe, and therefore the wizards have never discovered it.

Upon hearing this, Roland's eyes flickered slightly, and he looked up at the magnificent sky once more.

A moment later, his pupils suddenly dilated.

That 'Black Shepherd Star' does indeed exist!
The sky was like a scrambled oil painting, a jumble of colors. And those black hues were the trails traced by the black hole known as 'Herakka' across the sky!
Therefore, its trajectory in the sky is actually very, very numerous.

Because its trajectory was so numerous, it was mistakenly identified as a piece of black paint in the magnificent sky.

After watching for a while, Roland suddenly realized something was amiss. The black trail sometimes followed a pattern. At that moment, like all the stars, it streaked across the sky in a vortex.

But sometimes it can be incredibly chaotic, like graffiti in the sky by a madman!

A bead of sweat slowly trickled down Roland's forehead.

What would it mean if there were two black holes near Earth, and one of them was traveling along an unpredictable trajectory?
Could it disrupt the orbits of Earth and another black hole?
At this moment, Roland heard Brianna say, "In fact, even within the church, most people are unaware of these secrets."

Many people have always believed that the star of 'Heracles the Shepherdess' does not exist—because she was originally a witch, so there is no divine position for her in the heavens.

But it does exist—it's right here in our world, and it has a profound impact on us.

It is sometimes quiet, sometimes chaotic and manic.

In its chaotic state, it forms a complex system of motion with us and the sun.

Roland's vision went black, and he was covered in sweat, thinking—Isn't this the Three-Body Problem?! Are we really the Trisolarans?!
Roland hurriedly asked, "Is there a solution to this complex movement?!" Brianna smiled mysteriously and said, "Of course there is a solution—the Holy See's scriptures say, 'The Angel of Peace, with the help of the great sun, is constantly correcting the trajectory of the goddess's destiny, causing her to forget sin and, as a true god, quietly watch over the demons.'"

Roland breathed a huge sigh of relief.

But then he frowned.

Roland had a strange feeling that Brianna's words might hide some important truth.

He couldn't help but ask, "Are you saying that the Holy Court believes that the Angel of Peace, along with the Sun God, is restraining Heracles? If I can control the Angel of Peace, can I also control Heracles?"

Brianna rolled her eyes and said, "How can you be so superstitious like those believers? As a staunch researcher of magic, do you really think the supreme god of heaven would be a black star?"
The idea that celestial trajectories are related to fate is an outdated and superstitious ancient magical theory.

Now only the church believes in this kind of thing.

Roland suddenly realized that what Brianna said made a lot of sense.

Helena mentally muttered to Roland and Joan, "Compared to that sun and rope thing, I think what controls Heracles is her mental state."

Roland and Joan nodded deeply.

Brianna, unaware of their private conversation, continued, "Ignore these exaggerated and unrealistic claims. However, it's possible that the goddess Heracles might indeed be guarding some terrible demon."

Roland broke out in a cold sweat and didn't dare to reply.

But after thinking for a moment, he still asked, "Is this the church's speculation, or your own speculation?"

Brianna said, "It's His Holiness the Pope of Andorra. You know, although he's a bit eccentric, he believes everything in the scriptures."

Therefore, he believed that the goddess Heracles must be guarding a demon.

But once it escapes, and even takes control of the stars represented by the shepherdess, then the sun, moon, and stars will be stripped of their radiant appearance, and a mad, black constellation will rise slowly into the sky.

"Torn off their glamorous facade? Dark stars?" Roland frowned and muttered these words repeatedly.

Seeing Roland deep in thought, Brianna was somewhat speechless. She was about to say something when she sensed someone contacting her through the communication crystal, so she took the crystal out of her pocket and started talking to the other end.

Soon, another platform appeared in the distance. At that moment, Brianna ended the call.

Seemingly noticing that Roland was still dwelling on her words, Brianna said somewhat exasperatedly, "Alright, Roland. His Majesty Andor is indeed a wise old man, but he is ultimately a believer. He is too superstitious about the gods."

Therefore, he inevitably sometimes acts strangely or irrationally.

Besides, as long as the goddess Heracles stays quietly in the River Styx, everything will be fine, right? — You've already dealt with those lunatics, Dracula and his gang; they didn't summon anything, did they?"

Upon hearing this, everyone's expressions became somewhat subtle.

Roland coughed but didn't dare to say anything. Helena and Joan, on the other hand, changed the subject.

Brianna was focused on the platform they were about to reach and didn't notice the expression on the face of the person behind her.

She continued, "The Pope's words may sometimes sound reasonable, but you should just take them with a grain of salt."

If you do meet him in the future, be careful—if you actually believe him, be careful not to be fooled into becoming a believer.

Roland thought to himself, 'I won't meet with him.'

At this moment, the group had already landed on the platform.

Compared to the original platform, which was empty, this platform has many statues of angels and a sacred monument, and it looks like it was built to commemorate a mythological story.

However, Roland could tell that these angel statues seemed to be alive.

Brianna said, “They are true angels. They sleep here, and once they come into contact with divine grace, they will truly awaken. There are many such ‘statues’ in the Holy See. There is a reason why the Vatican believes they are evenly matched with the Eastern Kingdom.”

“Indeed, they have a lot of trump cards up their sleeves,” Roland nodded and said.

He had no doubt that if the Holy See's divine grace was sufficient, it could summon a terrifying army of angels. And this was indeed something that wizards should pay attention to.

However, Roland was no longer interested in any army of angels.

After all, compared to things like 'ropes,' 'black holes,' and 'a goddess who makes the stars pale in comparison,' the number of angels the Vatican possesses is no longer important.

Just as Roland had predicted, the Holy See, like the Crimson Shrine, uses the 'Holy Stele' for internal teleportation.

Brianna prayed skillfully on the holy monument, and then the runes on the monument changed. Immediately afterwards, two beams of light fell on either side of the monument.

These appear to be two teleportation points.

Seeing that everyone was a little confused, Brianna said to Roland, "We've been dawdling here for too long, and the monks who are supposed to be receiving us are getting impatient."

You know, the Holy See is quite dogmatic in many matters, and it would be very troublesome to arrange for you to move in tonight.”

Roland interrupted, “Brianna. I need to see that ‘higher-dimensional topology’ and those ancient scriptures as soon as possible.”

"You brat, let me finish!"

Brianna raised her eyebrows and said, "I've already made arrangements—Floren happens to need to see you, and she'll pick you up to go to the library. I've also given her that topology to take with her."

You'll see her when you teleport there in a bit.

As for the matter of 'Prince Alaye's entry into the Holy See', although the Holy See made special arrangements, it was still relatively low-key and simple.

Moreover, the person the Pope placed on the Holy See's side was that old geezer, 'Johnson.'

With a smile, Brianna said, "So? That old man Johnson still carries a lot of weight in the Papacy. Does the Holy See value Prince Alaye highly?" (End of Chapter)