Secrets: Priestess

Chapter 176 Mind
Xio was a little confused.

I finally found a clue about the pharmacist for Greylint, but could it be all in vain?
Xio felt a little uncomfortable.

Tessa's eyes narrowed.

Was it the man who had also accepted the pharmacist's commission? Was it the "world" of the Tarot Club? Tessa instantly formed these associations, and the more she thought about it, the more likely it seemed.

With the permission of the Eye of Wisdom, Tessa, Xio, and the fat pharmacist went to a nearby compartment to conduct a private transaction. "Although I no longer need the medullary crystals from the Elven Spring, since you came to me with this material, I can give you the clue to the original pharmacist's formula for free."

The disappointed Xio's eyes suddenly lit up: "Really? Thank you so much!"

"Uh... don't thank me so early." The chubby-faced pharmacist, whose iron mask barely concealed his features, sighed. "According to the latest feedback, the trouble with the person holding the potion formula has been resolved. Even if you go there now, it will be difficult to obtain the potion formula from him."

Xio tried, "I want to try."

"There's a Harvest Church on Rose Street in the southern part of the bridge. Bishop Utravsky inside possesses the 'Pharmacist' formula. But he's not a very easy person to communicate with."

"Harvest Church?" Xio's eyes were confused. "Which church is this?"

She hadn't even known there was such a church in the corner. However, it seemed unlikely that this church could be associated with any of the three major churches in the Kingdom of Loen. Whether it was the Goddess of Night, the God of Storms, or the God of Steam and Machinery, none of them had anything to do with "harvest."

……

"Harvest Church?" Claire was surprised. When she was talking about her personal mental problems due to past trauma and not being able to find a psychologist to treat it in a sarcastic tone, Dunn, who was accompanying her on the investigation, suddenly talked about a church that was not the Goddess Church.

This is a church that is not one of the three major churches and is registered in the internal records of the Night Watchers. It worships the Earth Goddess, who is also one of the Seven Gods.

Although the names of the seven orthodox gods are praised in the world at the same time, the seven gods are not a united front, at least the relationship between them in the church is not unified.

The Church of the Storm rejects the God of the Eternal Sun, Knowledge, and Wisdom.

The Church of the Goddess of Evernight and the Church of the God of War are incompatible.

The Church of the God of Steam and Machinery had no reports of conflicts with other churches, but it was dependent on the Church of Storms and the Church of Night in the Kingdom of Loen, and could not share Loen's missionary rights with other righteous gods.

Therefore, in the Kingdom of Loen, only the Church of Mother Earth, outside of the three major churches, was granted the right to preach.

However, under the tacit suppression of the three major churches, the Church of Mother Earth only has a few scattered churches and very few believers. There is even no need to form a team of extraordinary people. Even if it is established, it will not be recognized by the government and cannot cooperate with the police department. It is considered an "illegal armed force."

According to the internal records of the Night Watchers, the Church of Mother Earth controls two sequence paths: "Tiller" and "Pharmacist", but the latter seems to be incomplete.

Dunn sorted through the information he had on hand, handed the questionable parts to Daly, and said gently:
"I also met Bishop Utravsky by chance. He possesses a divine artifact called the 'Nightmare Candle,' which allows the holder to communicate directly with the spiritual world. It should help you resolve your spiritual problems."

"Nightmare Candle?" The name sounded like it could solve mental problems. Claire asked doubtfully, "But would a bishop of a foreign god use such a precious artifact to help us, the Red Gloves?"

"This alien bishop has a rather peculiar personality. He won't refuse your request." Dunn sighed, his gray eyes revealing a complex emotion. He spoke in a somewhat elusive manner, "This bishop likes to be called 'Father Utravsky.' As long as you address him that way, he's very easy to talk to and can communicate with you fluently and cordially."

In other words, if you don't call him that, you might be treated unfriendly?

What kind of special hobby is this?
Claire had a strange feeling in her heart. She felt that the person Dunn was talking about had the style of an old-fashioned cosplayer. As long as you praised them for being in line with their character, they would be very friendly.

Dunn continued, "This bishop is originally from Feysac, and is a Warrior Path Sequence 6 'Dawn Knight'."

Dunn's words surprised Claire even more. The Earth Goddess was the only faith of the Feynaport Kingdom in the south, while the Feysac Empire in the north only obeyed the God of War.

A Feysac man who was on the warrior path actually became a priest of the Church of the Earth Goddess?!

And a "Requiem Master" not only didn't beat his brains out after meeting a "Knight of the Dawn", but instead became friends with him?!
Captain Dunn, aren't you afraid that the church will treat you as a traitor for doing this?
Claire didn't hide her attitude, so Dunn could tell what she was thinking. He said, "It's hard to call him a friend... You'll know once you meet him. He claims to have been a pirate who committed murderous crimes. But after meeting a missionary from the Earth Mother, he converted to the Earth Mother religion, reformed his ways, and became a priest of the Earth Mother."

Claire couldn't help but complain, "Isn't he a friend? But Captain Dunn, you know this guy very well."

Dunn smiled and shook his head, explaining, "Because he once asked me to kill him, to kill the other him in his spiritual world. He took out the 'Nightmare Candle' and pulled me into his spiritual world, where I saw the violent and violent him he described as in the past."

"Even though I could stay lucid in the dream world, I was still significantly affected by that magical item. Due to various factors, I was unable to defeat the tyrannical 'Dawn Knight' in the spiritual world."

After hearing Dunn's detailed explanation, Claire was thoughtful.

"I see. And that magical item can actually materialize different personalities..." Claire felt more and more that this Nightmare Candle was very suitable for dealing with her situation.

Of course, Claire didn't think she had any mental problems, but after her limited communication with Tessa, she had a new suspicion in her heart.

Perhaps she is not the product of the fusion of the two souls of "Jiang Zhe" and "Tai Perslan".

Perhaps, "Jiang Zhe" and "Tai Poslan" are the same person?

If the "Nightmare Candle" is really as magical as Dunn said, perhaps it can really help me confirm these doubts...

After entrusting Daly's investigation to Dunn and Leonard, Claire took the steam subway alone and arrived at the South Bridge District according to the address described by Dunn. She found the Harvest Church on Rose Street.

The golden church has a striking spire and the Holy Emblem of Life engraved on its outer wall. It is a stick figure baby surrounded by symbols such as wheat ears, flowers and springs, which is completely different from the surrounding buildings.

Thinking of Dunn's description of Bishop Utravsky as "as long as you obey the other person's mental state, you can communicate cordially," Claire chose to enter through the main entrance of the church.

Inside the church hall, rows of seats are neatly arranged, with a huge holy emblem of life at the top and lit candles on both sides.

At this time, the church was empty. After all, very few people in Rune believed in this foreign god, so naturally few people came here to pray.

On a seat in the front row, there was a tall man in his forties or fifties wearing a brown clerical robe. He had thin, sparse eyebrows, and obvious wrinkles around his eyes, cheeks, and mouth.
This priest was like a giant, just sitting there, like a small mountain, giving people a great sense of oppression.

He was over two meters and twenty centimeters tall, with light blue eyes—all typical characteristics of a Feysac person. Claire made a judgment and confirmed the man's identity.

The Feysac people claimed to possess the blood of "giants," and were considered an evil race by the people of Loen. Furthermore, relations between the Kingdom of Loen and the Feysac Empire were poor, with small-scale wars even breaking out occasionally along the border. The fact that the Church of the Earth Goddess, combined with their Feysac identity, hadn't been provoked by the people of Loen showed that Bishop Utravsky had some talent.

The Feysac man wearing a bishop's hat had his eyes tightly closed, his hands clasped together, and his chin resting against his chin, as if he were making the most devout confession.

After Claire entered the church, he slowly opened his eyes and turned back to look at her. His azure eyes were filled with piety. "Hello, child. Are you here to listen to the Mother Goddess's teachings? Is there anything I can help you with?"

child……

Claire's lips twitched slightly as she said, "Father Utravsky, I'm a colleague of Dunn Smith."

Bishop Utravsky's attitude remained unchanged, and he continued devoutly, "When you gain the pure joy that comes from life itself, no matter who you are, you will truly understand the Church of the Mother Goddess, just as I do."

Wearing the "Heart of the Goddess" and converting to the Earth Mother Goddess? Claire was afraid that the holy object in her chest would explode.

Claire heard Dunn say that during his conversations with Bishop Utravsky, he frequently recited scriptures from the Church of the Earth Mother. To avoid repeating Dunn's mistakes, Claire quickly explained her purpose.

"Father Utravsky, I'd like to borrow your 'Nightmare Candle' to resolve my own mental issues. Would you be willing to do so?"

"The Nightmare Candle..." Bishop Utravsky exclaimed. "This item truly can resolve spiritual problems. Not long ago, a brave and wise young man used this magical item to kill the sinful me I once was. It has allowed me to become purer and closer to the Mother Goddess."

Closer to the Mother Goddess… This description gave Claire goosebumps. She couldn't help but wonder, could it be that the real Utravsky was dead, and this person before her was a new personality, completely brainwashed by the Mother Earth Goddess…

But no matter what, since she was here, Claire still wanted to see the Nightmare Candle.

Just as Dunn had said, Bishop Utravsky did not hide anything and brought a candle for Claire.

The candle was more than half burned, and was wrapped in something that looked like human skin, with several bumps protruding from it.

Its wick is very short, pitch black, and has fine scaly patterns.

Bishop Utravsky calmly handed the Nightmare Candle to Claire.

As Claire reached out to take it, she was covered with spiritual energy. The spiritual energy she fed back was very similar to that of the "Invisibility" bracelet, and should be made of the mid-sequence extraordinary characteristics of the audience channel.

After activating her identification ability, Claire vaguely sensed that the Nightmare Candle did not soothe the mind or eliminate negative emotions.

It allows people to enter the depths of the target's mind, plant mental hints, or directly solve mental problems deep in the mind, such as eliminating one's own split personality, or giving psychological hints to others.

This magical item has strange abilities, but its negative effects are also extremely severe, and it may cause the split personality to hunt down the original person.

After entering the spiritual world for more than five minutes, the holder will be completely lost. The holder's spirit will never be able to return to the body, and will become a sacrifice to the Nightmare Candle and turn into a vegetable.

But I'm just using it to reach deep within myself, to examine my spirit and manage my time well. It should be safe, Claire thought, and followed Bishop Utravsky to the small prayer room next door.

"No one will come to disturb you here. You can try to light the Nightmare Candle again." Bishop Utravsky's attitude was kind and gentle, but he did not explain the negative effects of the Nightmare Candle.

This... must be intentional.

However, Claire, who had already grasped the characteristics of the Nightmare Candle, still carefully lit the candle wick when Bishop Utravsky dodged.

The candlelight flickered softly, but nothing around her changed. Claire was still in this small prayer room.

But at this moment, Claire clearly realized that this was already her spiritual world!
According to the effect of the Nightmare Candle, if there is self-doubt, other personalities, or an inharmonious mental state in the mind, then at this moment you will see other "I"s appear before you...

The spiritual world is essentially a dream world.

The surrounding scenes are constantly changing, including familiar scenes on Earth and scenes from today's bizarre world.

Various scenes changed one after another, but apart from Claire herself, no other figure appeared.

When time was almost up, Claire suddenly felt the power of the "Heart of the Goddess" in her chest shrink. A hidden sage's contamination suddenly emerged as the power of the Goddess shrank.

A water mirror suddenly appeared in front of Claire, reflecting a woman who looked exactly like Claire, but with an evil smile.

This is……

Reason told Claire that the time was up. There was no time to think too much. Claire relied on her own will and the power of nightmare to escape from this spiritual world in time.

Claire opened her eyes from her dream and saw the simple furnishings of the small prayer room. Looking back on her brief spiritual exploration, she found no trace of "Jiang Zhe" or "Tai Perslan", which to some extent proved that Claire's guess was possible.

"But the woman in the water mirror who gave me a bad feeling... is she suffering from mental problems caused by the evil god's contamination?"

The expected problem did not exist, but another hidden danger was unexpectedly discovered. Claire didn't know whether to be relieved or smile bitterly.

"Is this another personality hidden deep in my soul, a personality contaminated by the power of the evil god?" Claire recalled that she was vaguely affected by this personality during the Battle of Tingen.

“Perhaps it was born at that time?”

"No, it's also possible that it was born when it came into contact with the power of the Hidden Sage during the reincarnation ceremony..."

Claire's face was gloomy as she pondered, but no matter when this personality that looked a bit sick was born, now that she had discovered this problem, she had to solve it.

"Should I use the Nightmare Candle to ask others to enter the psychic space and hunt down another personality, just like Bishop Utravsky did?" Claire rejected this approach in her heart.

"So... try to solve it yourself?"

For a moment, Claire had no idea.

(End of this chapter)