Secrets: Priestess

Chapter 196 Confession
Hidden under her cloak, Claire stared at Tessa, who had a complicated smile on her face, and said, "Being noticed by the gods is just fun, right? You're a cultist now."

"But I was once a believer in the Goddess." Tessa's dark eyes revealed a look of nostalgia. "When I was very young, my father accused me of not being devout enough in my faith in the Goddess because of some remarks I made. He even beat me severely for it."

After hearing Tessa's reminiscences, Claire subconsciously recalled her childhood memories of "Claire Meazza".

With the special ability of the memory library, in just a few seconds, Claire recalled the scenes when Claire Meazza was scolded by Count Meazza in her childhood, but not once was the reason for being disloyal.

There is a problem with the memory again... Claire is almost accustomed to this kind of thing. Whether it is the memory of "Claire Meazza" or the memory of "Tai Poslan", or even the memory that originally belonged to "Jiang Zhe", there are signs of tampering.

But Claire was confident that one day she would dispel all the fog and uncover the truth. If the power of a Mid-Sequence Beyonder wasn't strong enough, then they would continue to climb higher, to demigods, gods...

Claire breathed a sigh of relief and looked back at Tessa.

"So, if you count them all, you have quite a rich religious resume."

Seeing Tessa's dismissive attitude towards faith, Claire couldn't help but complain.

Tessa's disrespectful attitude towards gods is definitely an anomaly in this world.

Born into a noble family that worshipped the Goddess of Night, Tessa embarked on the path of a witch. Now she works as a traitor within the witch cult. She even appears to have prayed to the Hidden Sage at some point in her past...

He is simply the walking embodiment of the word "blasphemy".

"I was very religious when I was little." Hearing the disdain in Claire's tone, Tessa retorted, "My thoughts strayed because of someone... He often talked to me about 'materialism,' 'science,' and 'believing in yourself is worse than believing in God.' He constantly described a world completely different from the one I lived in."

It was rare to hear Tessa bring up the past. Claire pondered over these brief words, feeling as if she was about to recall something, but it was obscured by an unknown force.

Claire narrowed her eyes and looked at Tessa: "Sure enough! We have known each other since we were very young, right?"

"Yes, we've known each other since we were kids." Tessa didn't shy away from the question, her expression revealing a hint of sadness and confusion. "Can't you remember anything at all?"

"But that's impossible..." After hearing Tessa's admission, Claire raised her arms with a headache and rubbed her temples. "I haven't been in this world long."

"If you don't believe it, then forget it." Tessa, who had suppressed her emotions, showed an indifferent expression.

In fact, Claire already believed what Tessa said. Many memory fragments vaguely showed that she had been in contact with Tessa when she was a child on Earth.

But she couldn't understand how this connection came about...

We can't be friends across time and space...

"Across time and space..." Claire murmured, using her cloak and mask to secretly observe Tessa's expression.

Claire discovered that although Tessa was trying her best to control her expression, when she murmured "across time and space" just now, Tessa's expression did change slightly, as if she was touched.

It really is a contact across time and space... Claire was basically convinced that her guess was true.

Thinking about the many strange events in this extraordinary world, and thinking about my own mysterious "time travel"...

Since there are already so many incomprehensible realities, a connection like this that transcends time and space is not something that is impossible.

So, all along, it was me, as "Jiang Zhe," who had known Tessa, and even... fallen in love with her? Claire suddenly thought of this possibility.

So what exactly is going on with Tai Perslan?

Didn’t I just travel through time and space to this world recently?

Claire thought about this and confirmed with Tessa, "Ty Perslan is me? Right?"

She didn't expect to hear an answer from Tessa, but just used this question to continue observing her expression.

Tessa nodded calmly and said frankly, "Yes."

It really is……

Seeing Tessa admit it so easily, Claire asked in surprise, "Aren't you going to let me think about it myself? Why did you answer such a question today?"

"Since you've thought of this, you're not far from the truth." Tessa tightened her loose pajamas, crossed her legs, and sat on the soft chair behind her. Her expression became a little serious. "More importantly, I've noticed that you seem to have a close relationship with the gods again. This makes me very worried. I need to exchange some information with you."

I'm involved with the gods again? Why again? What is Tessa worried about...

Claire frowned and asked, "Exchange information? What do you want to know?"

Tessa asked directly, "What role do you play in the Church of Evernight? Why does Daly Simone, the 'Dead Spirit Mentor,' seem to be following your lead?"

Claire was silent for a moment. There were many things she wasn't ready to reveal to others, even if that person was Tessa, whom she should have trusted.

At least for now, she hasn't figured out how to tell Tessa everything.

Claire sighed and said, "I am a true follower of the goddess. My heart was broken after the last battle of Tingen, and it was the Church of Evernight who saved me with a holy relic. The heart in my chest is actually a holy relic of the church."

"Are you religious?" Tessa suddenly asked again.

Claire was stunned. She pondered the question carefully and finally shook her head. "I'm grateful to the goddess and willing to contribute my strength to the church, but as for piety... I really can't do it."

After going through so much, it's not that he doesn't believe in the Goddess of Night, but it's hard for him to be as devout as Dunn, Arianna, the other Night Watchers, and the Red Gloves.

Claire asked herself, even if one day she could really sacrifice herself to save others, she would never sacrifice her life for the Goddess of Night.

"Yeah, if you're not even pious, then how can you become the Blessed of Night?" Tessa gave Claire a rare mocking smile.

Claire was startled.

Yes, she is not pious, so why should she become the goddess's favorite?
Tessa was silent for a few seconds, then shook her head and chuckled. "You actually told me that a witch like me could become a follower of the Night... If I truly still believed in the Night devoutly, then that would make sense... But I know that I 'believe in myself more than the gods.'"

Claire calmed down and spoke to Tessa, "Are you implying that God's gift of grace is ulterior? But without the Goddess of Night, I'd be in my coffin. What could a righteous God possibly be interested in?"

Claire had thought about this question a lot, but she had no clue, let alone an answer. She wanted to see if Tessa, who kept talking mysteriously all day, knew anything.

Facing Claire's questions, Tessa spread her hands and said:
"I don't know the answer to such a high-level question. I'm just a 'witch', not even a demigod. How can I guess what a god is thinking?" "If it's an evil god, maybe he just has a bad temper and wants to see us, tiny ants, have fun. But a righteous god... I don't think he would have such a silly reason."

We're back to the same thing again... Claire also thought that she had some special qualities that attracted the goddess' attention, but what exactly was this special quality?

Tessa joked, "Maybe it's your unique way of thinking? That's how you tricked me when I was a kid."

Claire rolled her eyes at that.

Tessa suppressed her flirtatious smile and continued, "If I really had to look for a special characteristic... maybe it's the ability you and I used to have to communicate across time and space?"

"Can you tell me in detail?" Claire asked.

Tessa looked at Claire with a deep gaze, as if she was looking through Claire in front of her, into the distant past. Her expression was filled with uncertainty and confusion.

"Actually, I still haven't figured out how you and I can communicate across time and space. Judging from the content of our conversation, the world you live in is a technologically advanced place without any supernatural abilities."

"Of course, if you insist on calling it a clue, we did find something..."

"You should be sure of this, right? Intis's Russell Gustav, the Caesar who launched the Industrial Revolution, is definitely from the same world as you. Perhaps this is the reason."

Is it because of Emperor Roselle?

There was some truth to that. After all, this fellow not only became the emperor of the Intis Empire in his later years, but he also seemed to be a prominent figure in the mysterious world. He even created twenty-two blasphemous cards that concealed the secrets of God...

Twenty-two blasphemous cards? Could this be related to this?
Claire thought about it for a while. Among the things recorded in Roselle's diary, this was the only thing that could be related to the gods.

Do not……

And one more thing--

In his later years, Emperor Roselle seemed to have planned a major event that led to his downfall!
The goddess wants to train me to collect those blasphemous cards?
Or is it related to what Emperor Roselle will do in his later years?

Claire also thought of the gray fog world, the magnificent palace above the gray fog, and Klein Moretti, the man in the palace who called himself "The Fool."

Russell, Klein, and she, these travelers from Earth are all very special!
At this moment, Tessa suddenly told Claire a story from the past that shocked her. "I'm willing to talk about this with you today because I want to tell you that before you came to my world, when you were still in your world, you had already come into contact with the gods."

Hearing this, Claire was stunned for a moment, then frowned deeply and asked in disbelief, "I've been in contact with a god? Before I traveled through time?"

Tessa cupped her cheek with her fair hands and said softly:
"Tai Perslan is the product of your prayers to the gods."

"We both long to see each other. I drank the 'Assassin' potion and embarked on an extraordinary journey... and you prayed directly to a certain god and obtained a body in this world. Should we choose the name of this body together?"

"I named you Tai because you said it means 'peace' in your language."

"And Perthland is the surname you insisted on because you said your hometown is an ancient porcelain country, and Perthland means 'porcelain'."

Ty. Perslan.

Perthland...

Claire had doubts before, but when Tessa told her the origin of the name herself, Claire was truly certain that Tai Perslan was her.

Tessa continued, "You prayed to the gods for this body, allowing your consciousness to travel between the two worlds. It was as beautiful as a dream."

Consciousness traveling between two worlds? Claire was certain she had no such memory... Was this a memory that had been obscured and tampered with?
Furthermore, granting others the ability to travel between two worlds... could a god actually do such a thing? A sense of horror welled up in Claire's heart, and her detached mentality, which had always been fostered by time travel, began to fray.

If there really is a god who can do such a thing, her hometown...that is, the Earth, is probably also within the reach of the god's sight!
If the gods can bring her from Earth to this place, then there is a high probability that they can also send the people of this world to Earth!

According to this idea, time travelers are nothing more than toys or props in the hands of gods.

"Then..." Claire's voice was a little dry at this time, "Who did I pray to for this body?"

It's the Hidden Sage...

Claire speculated in her heart.

But Tessa shook her head and smiled bitterly, "You never told me anything. Whenever I asked you about this, you avoided answering."

Claire was stunned when she heard this, and blurted out somewhat inappropriately: "It's not hidden..."

"Probably not." Tessa interrupted directly. "There was a period of time during which you lost consciousness and became a vegetable. During that time, I was in contact with that person... The reincarnation ritual that followed was also obtained through my prayers to that person. It was me who had direct contact with that person, not you. At least I don't know if you have had such contact..."

Tessa's words made Claire gasp. Could it be that he wasn't the Hidden Sage?
The contamination of the sage hidden in the body, is it something that happened later?
The hidden sage has nothing to do with praying for a body or traveling through time?

So, to which being did I pray...

Just as Claire was lost in thought, Tessa suddenly said, "I now suspect it's the goddess you believe in now."

After hearing Tessa's speculation, Claire remained silent for a while.

Tessa continued, "It is because of this suspicion that I told you so many things from the past."

The goddess of night?
Yes, it is possible.

But Claire thought of another possibility.

The gods she was currently involved with included the Hidden Sage, the Goddess of Night, and the Fool from the Gray Mist World...

She had once resisted the contamination of the Hidden Sage under the protection of the gray fog, which proved that the power contained in the gray fog was definitely at the level of a god.

What puzzled Claire was why the current owner of the gray fog was Klein, whose sequence was not very high.

Furthermore, the childish appearance this young fellow occasionally displayed in the palace above the gray fog didn't seem like that of a shrewd and calculating person...

(End of this chapter)