Mystery: The Undead Don't Die from Linking the Fire

Chapter 209 The Great Sage of the Steam Church

In Piazza de Saint-Rossel, the sounds of flutes, violins, accordions, and lyre intertwined and overlapped, drifting gently through the air. A steam-belching train passed through the bustling square, surrounded by fluttering white doves, and continued along its tracks towards the back of the church, heading towards the interior of the Saint-Rossel Church.

The huge and complex gears and levers are arranged in a special pattern. They look messy and rough, but they give people a sense of sacredness and majesty.

This is the headquarters and temple of the Steam Church, a place blessed by the gods!

Amidst the melodious sound of the train whistle, the train slowly pulled into the station and stopped at the platform inside the Church of Saint-Roselle.

Archbishop Horamik Hayden, dressed in a white priest's robe and wearing a clergy cap, had been waiting on the platform for some time. He looked at the three members of the Embers trio disembarking from the train with a gentle and kind smile on his face.

"Lord Ash, Miss Audrey, please come with me. Someone wishes to see you."

"Who?" Ember asked calmly, staring at Horamik.

Khoramik's expression turned serious, and he solemnly said:

"It is His Majesty the Great Sage."

"The Great Sage," Audrey thought to herself, carefully considering the word.

Within each major church, there is a "Triple Crowned One".

In the Church of Storms, the triple crowned one is the Pope;

In the Church of the Night, the triple crowned one is the Pope;

In the Church of the God of War in the Fusak Empire, the Triple Crowned One is the Grand Patriarch;

Over a hundred years ago, the Church of the God of Craftsmen had a Pope as its Triad Crowned Person. However, when it changed its name to the Church of the God of Steam and Machinery, its Triad Crowned Person also changed to a Great Sage.

It is said that this reform was proposed by Emperor Roselle, who was then the consul of the Republic of Intis…

The young girl's eyes sparkled as she looked at Archbishop Horamik, who was leading the way, and with the air of an innocent noblewoman, she asked curiously:

"Archbishop Horamik, is it true that the 'Great Sage' was invented by Emperor Roselle?"

"Yes."

Archbishop Horamik turned around, making no attempt to hide anything, and nodded with a smile:

"The Steam Church was once crowned with the Pope, but at the strong suggestion of Emperor Rosell, the title was changed to 'Great Sage,' which continues to this day. In fact, Emperor Rosell's proposed reforms were far more extensive than that."

After a pause of one second, Archbishop Khoramik continued:

"In Emperor Roselle's complete proposal, the Triple Crowned One is the 'Great Sage.' The Archbishop and the Bishop are 'Sages,' the Mechanical Heart will be changed to the 'Guardians of the Faith,' the Deacon will be changed to 'Priests,' and ordinary believers will be called monks..."

"But ultimately, these reforms failed to be implemented as Russell had hoped."

Why?

Although she already had some guesses in her mind, Audrey couldn't help but ask.

"Because it's too complicated."

Khoramik shook his head and said regretfully:

"In Emperor Roselle's early vision, he designed a large number of different titles and positions, such as the Sages, Gene Masters, Logicians, and Blacksmiths as high-ranking officials. Even among these four high-ranking officials, there were further subdivisions. For example, the Sages, from highest to lowest, were the Chief Hermit, the Lord of the Doctrine, the Old Master of the Machines, the Acquirer of All Things, the Elder Commander, the Data Predator..."

"This is undoubtedly a brilliant idea, but the size of the Steam Church is not suited to such a massive internal structure. It would make the Steam Church's system too bloated, making it unable to carry out effective management and action."

"Emperor Roselle was aware of this, so he did not insist on implementing it all. He only left some aspects, such as the Triple Crowned One, the Great Sage, who was himself a saint."

"Of course, the original complete plan left by Emperor Rosell is still preserved in the Church of St. Rosell. Perhaps one day, the Steam Church will be able to implement this series of reforms as Emperor Rosell envisioned."

Audrey lowered her head silently, as if she had realized something.

There are many speculations about the relationship between the Steam Church and Emperor Roselle, but the most mainstream one is that Emperor Roselle and the Steam Church parted ways for some reason.

Even Audrey originally thought that the reason why the Steam Church did not implement Emperor Roselle's reforms was because of the strained relationship between the two sides.

But Audrey also knew that if the relationship between Emperor Roselle and the Steam Church was truly that bad, the Steam Church would undoubtedly try every means to erase Emperor Roselle's traces in its history and deny his contributions. But the Steam Church clearly did not do so; even its sanctuary was still bearing the name "Roselle."

Judging from Archbishop Horamik's words, even in the later years of Emperor Rosell's life, the relationship between the Steam Church and Emperor Rosell did not seem to be as bad as outsiders speculated.

Even so, the fact that Rosell the Great suffered from widespread defection in his later years is undeniable. Although the relationship between the Steam Church and Rosell the Great was not particularly bad, their failure to offer assistance in the end suggests that Rosell the Great may have done something unacceptable to them.

Audrey followed Ember, accompanying Archbishop Horamik through the long corridor. The walls on either side were adorned with enormous, brightly colored murals. These murals depicted the miracles of the "God of Steam and Machinery," and the contributions of popes and great sages throughout history to the Church. Audrey even saw a mural related to Emperor Roselle…

Finally, they arrived at the enormous door, tens of meters high, and at the most sacred and magnificent temple of the Steam Church.

The great sage of the Steam Church is among them!

Khoramik stopped, his face still bearing a kind and gentle smile:

"Lord Ash, you must walk the rest of the road alone. I will wait for you here to return."

The Great Sage only wanted to see Ember.

Audrey clearly understood this as well, and stepped forward, saying softly:

"I'll be waiting for you here."

Rumble!

The massive doors, tens of meters high, slowly opened with the sound of gears turning. Audrey subconsciously looked up at the dome inside the giant hall, which was over a hundred meters high, and deeply felt her own insignificance.

Amidst the rumble of gears, Ember stepped into the temple, a symbol of the most sacred place in the Steam Cult.

The towering pillars on both sides, each over 100 meters tall, resemble welcoming attendants, their gears constantly turning, tirelessly pushing the levers again and again, as if playing a welcoming symphony.

boom!

The door behind me suddenly slammed shut with a loud bang.

But Ember did not answer; he simply walked step by step toward the high platform in front of the temple.

On the high platform, a figure seemed to have been waiting for a long time.

It was described as a shadowy figure, but it wasn't a person; rather, it was a puppet composed of countless gears, screws, chains, bearings, and other mechanical parts. It had a human form, but that was all. Ember had seen the puppets made by Horamik before, but Horamik's puppets were often covered with a layer of "human skin" to make them look more like the real thing.

But the doll in front of him clearly had not undergone any such "modification," instead presenting a completely primitive appearance. His mechanical head was adorned with a triple crown inlaid with sapphires, emeralds, and other gemstones, and he wore a bright red papal robe. In his hand, he held a scepter that was also composed of mechanical parts and had a peculiar shape.

And these are precisely the standard three-piece set of the Triple Crowned Ones of the True God Church!

tread!tread!

Ember approached step by step, finally stopping three meters in front of him, and politely asked:

"A great sage?"

The doll nodded slightly. Its head, made up of a massive number of mechanical parts, seemed to try to appear as kind as possible, but what it ultimately showed was a slightly terrifying and ferocious eerie smile.

With that eerie smile, He stepped down the stairs and approached Ember, introducing himself with a smile:

"Nice to meet you, Lord Ash. I am the Great Sage Caul, Belisarius Caul."

His voice was incredibly stiff, devoid of any emotional fluctuation, and not much different from the mechanical voice that Ember had imagined.

"The Great Sage Kaul?"

A strange look appeared on Yu Jin's expression, and he suddenly asked:

"What is your relationship with Emperor Rosell?"

A strange, complex expression crossed Caul's face, and he murmured:

"He...I'd say he's my friend; my name is related to him."

After a pause, Caul spoke again in a slightly nostalgic tone, in his distinctly mechanical voice, devoid of any emotional fluctuation:

"He once told me that I would one day become a great sage. In the later years of his life, he came to me and said that he needed my help and hoped that I could forge a suit of armor for him so that one day he could be freed from his eternal slumber."

"Did you do that?"

Yu Jin asked with great interest.

Instead of getting into serious business, he started chatting as if he were talking to a friend.

"certainly."

Kaul's mechanical voice seemed to carry a hint of seriousness:

"For so many years, I have been making this armor for him, but something has always been missing, and I have been unable to meet my expectations."

Caul shook his head regretfully, as if calming himself down, and after a long while asked:

"Do you have any other questions?"

Without much hesitation, Yu Jin calmly asked:

When will I be able to enter the world of painting?

Caul, clearly having anticipated this, began to explain:

"The painted world owned by the Steam Church has strict time restrictions for opening and entering. The next opening time is tomorrow at noon. After the ceremony, you can enter with others and stay for up to one month. After one month, the painted world will automatically teleport everyone out."

After a moment of contemplation, Yu Jin asked again:

What's in the world of painting?

"I have no idea."

Kaul shook his head and answered mechanically:

"The world of paintings is vast, and even I have not been able to fully explore it, nor can I know all its secrets. After all, this world of paintings has only been in the hands of the Steam Church for a short time, less than two hundred years."

"What exactly you need depends on your requirements; you'll have to find the answer yourself."

Ember frowned slightly and suddenly asked:

"Did you come from the Church of the Night?"

Kaul seemed to freeze for a second, then shook his head and said:

"No, I did have some contact with the Church of the Night when I was young. But I never joined the Church of the Night, nor did I ever worship the Goddess of Night."

After a second's hesitation, Caul asked in confusion:

Why do you ask that?

"It's nothing, I just think the way you talk is similar to theirs."

Ember gave Caul a simple answer to his question, though Caul was still puzzled after receiving the answer.

But Ember knew very well that Kaul was not the same as the Church of the Night.

The Church of the Night clearly knows more information and has repeatedly expressed its willingness to share it, yet it always prefers to remain a mystery.

As for the Steam Church, they might simply be 'unaware'.

In the heart of Eden stands a magnificent cathedral over eighty meters tall, supported by countless giant pillars.

A figure slowly passed through the main entrance of the church, and Li saw a magnificent yet empty hall. At the depths of the hall stood a huge cross, with a gray-white dragon statue coiled around it.

In front of the dragon statue was a long table that wasn't very big.

At the head of the long table sat an elderly man in a wheelchair.

His name is Paulie Dellow, a key leader of the Psycho-Alchemy Foundation.

Dellaud watched the figure enter the church, smiled, and gestured for him to follow.

"Miss Lust, please have a seat."

The woman, known as Lust, wore an elaborate black dress. Tall and striking, she was unmistakably a stunning beauty. Unfortunately, her face was covered by a greyish-white mask, obscuring her features.

On that cold, gray mask, two eyes sunk to the middle of the nose, as if looking at people from below, giving people a feeling that is both funny and bizarre, yet also subtly terrifying.

"Lust" sat in her designated spot, calmly watching Dellaud:

"What do you need me to do?"

Her voice was clear yet aloof, but it also seemed to possess an invisible allure. Her movements were simple and direct—just a simple act of pulling out a chair and sitting down—yet they carried a captivating charm, so alluring that anyone who saw her would unconsciously fall under her spell.

Dellaud knew her personality well, so he didn't feign profundity, but simply smiled and said:

"I need your help to kill someone, and that person is currently in Trier. This mask is your reward for this operation, and you will also receive an additional Level 1 Sealed Artifact under your control."

"Take charge?"

Lust frowned slightly, seemingly somewhat dissatisfied.

Dellaud looked somewhat helpless, and said with a wry smile:

"You should know that everyone is like this. Although it's nominally in charge, it's practically no different from belonging to you, isn't it?"

"Lust" still frowned, but said nothing more, only asking:

"Should I act alone? 'Jealousy' is also in Intis, and Dilis and Trier aren't far apart. Could I ask him for help?"

Dellaud shook his head and sighed:

"I'm sorry, no. 'Jealousy' is currently on another mission, and this mission must be completed by you alone. Moreover,"

Dellaud paused for a second, gave 'Lust' a deep look, and smiled:

"With your abilities, I don't think this should be difficult for you, right?"

"Lust" paused for a moment, then asked softly:

Where is he?