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

Chapter 210 Praise to the God of All Machines!

September 18th, noon.

when!when!when!

As always, twelve bells rang in succession, and white steam billowed from the chimneys at the top of the Church of Saint-Roselle. Hymns of praise echoed inside and outside the church as the giant gears and levers turned.

In Roselle Square outside the church, all the pedestrians stopped in their tracks at this sacred moment.

Audrey was among them, accompanied by her personal maid Anne, and Susie, who was sitting quietly to the side.

"I hope everything goes well," Audrey murmured softly, her brows slightly lowered.

Just then, Audrey suddenly sensed something—someone was watching her.

She subtly glanced to her right, where, away from the crowd, stood a woman in a long black dress. Her face was veiled by a thin black gauze, obscuring her features. But Audrey was certain the woman was secretly observing her.

Audrey crossed her hands in front of her lower abdomen, but secretly used her left hand to touch the ring on her right index finger.

The Church of St. Rosell is nearby, housing not only a saintly archbishop but also a great sage from the Steam Church. If the other party truly intends to do something, she will take Annie and the others to the church immediately.

Seemingly noticing Audrey's subtle movement, the woman in the black veil and black dress merely chuckled softly. Her laughter was quiet, yet somehow, it seemed to reach Audrey's ears at just the right moment.

She knew Audrey had discovered her spying, but she didn't care and never thought of hiding it.

Moreover, Audrey was not her target.

"Was this ring a gift from your husband?"

Audrey watched the woman slowly approaching, and a soft voice reached her ears.

Audrey didn't show any extra expression, only a polite smile, and said courteously:

"This is a coming-of-age gift from my friend."

She didn't expect the other person to take the initiative to talk to her, but this only made Audrey more wary.

Her intuition told her that the woman in front of her was definitely not simple.

For any extraordinary individual, they never doubt their intuition. Because their intuition is more than just intuition; it is a spiritual warning!

"A friend? A coming-of-age gift?"

Although her expression was obscured by the black veil, Audrey still caught a hint of amusement in the woman's eyes.

"I have to go now, see you next time."

The woman glanced at the church where the bells had stopped ringing, smiled, and waved to Audrey.

But before Audrey could react, the woman had already taken the first step and gracefully walked towards the Church of Saint-Rossel.

"Ash Black?"

The woman in the black dress murmured the name to herself, a slight smile playing on her lips.

That's a really good name.

"What exactly is she trying to do?"

Audrey watched the woman in the black dress walk into the church, her face showing surprise and a hint of doubt in her judgment.

Is she being a little too sensitive?

The other person might really just be an ordinary believer in steam energy who happened to come to the steam energy church to pray on this particular day.

As for why he was spying on her, that's not really anything strange.

Back in Backlund, this was also common, but it was mostly men. And when they were caught peeping, they didn't panic; instead, they would approach the person and start a conversation. This isn't hard to understand.

The girl frowned slightly. Although the logic made sense, she still felt that something was amiss...

-

Inside the Church of San Rosell, Embers boarded a special train that was parked inside the church.

Ember was certain that this was the special train that had brought them to Intis yesterday, but only one day had passed, yet the interior of the train was completely different. The carriages, which were originally filled with luxurious compartments and sleeper berths, were now filled with seats, and most of these seats were occupied.

They were all members of the Mechanical Heart, including Ikonser and others from the Kingdom of Rune.

For them, the purpose of entering the world of painting was clearly different from that of the embers; it seemed to hold more special significance for them.

when!

Just as the bells outside the church stopped ringing, a bell suddenly rang out inside the church, accompanied by devout chanting:

"Sound the bell once, push the lever, and start the piston and pump!"

On the steam train, all the members of the Mechanical Heart looked incredibly devout.

when!

Another bell rang throughout the church.

"Ring the bell twice, press the button, ignite the engine, set the turbine ablaze, and life begins!"

Woohoo!

The locomotive of the special train spewed out a thin mist, and the melodious whistle heralded the start of the journey.

when!

"Ring the great bell three times, and sing in unison, praising the god of all things!"

"Praise be to the God of all machines!"

"Praise be to the God of all machines!"

Inside the carriage, the members of Mechanical Heart began to offer their devout praises.

After the prayers ended, the special train slowly started moving and continued along the tracks.

Meanwhile, after finishing his prayer, Ikonser looked at Ember, perhaps thinking he was confused, and lowered his voice to explain:

"This is an internal prayer ritual of the Steam Church, not open to the public, and only used during important ceremonies."

"Praise the God of All Machines?" Ember's expression was slightly subtle.

"Cough cough."

Ikonser coughed twice and mumbled, "This was also proposed by Emperor Roselle. He had always wanted the Steam Church to be renamed the Church of the Machine God, and for the God to be given the title of God of All Machines. This impudent request was of course rejected by the Great Sage, but the ritual was preserved..."

The god of steam and machinery was originally the god of craftsmen, and it was only under the influence of Emperor Roselle that his name was changed. However, this clearly did not conform to Emperor Roselle's wishes, so he insisted on converting the Steam Church into the Church of the Machine God and changing the god of steam and machinery to the god of all machines. He even promoted various religious rituals of "praising the god of all machines" within the Steam Church, showing that he was still determined to achieve his goal.

The god of steam and machinery clearly neither agreed to Emperor Roselle's "folly" nor refused—

It is certain that they themselves are not averse to the title of "God of All Machines," otherwise they would not have allowed such a set of rituals to be passed down and openly spread among the core members of the Steam Church.

"Perhaps He wanted to become the 'God of All Organs,' but encountered some obstacles?"

Ember had a vague idea in his mind: the God of Steam and Machines might not not want to become the "God of All Machines," but he must have been hindered by some force, or perhaps he himself did not have enough confidence or strength to become the true "God of All Machines," which is why he had only been secretly promoting it within the church instead of announcing it to the outside world.

Changing one's name may be influenced by some taboo among true gods.

For example, the title of the goddess of night is:

More sublime than the stars, more enduring than eternity, you are the Crimson Lord, the Mother of Secrets, the Queen of Calamity and Fear, the Lord of Sleep and Silence.

It contains not only the goddess of the night, but also the lord of crimson, the mother of secrets, the queen of calamity and fear, and the lord of slumber and silence.

The moment the Goddess of Night absorbed these titles, the other true gods had to shun similar titles. At least until now, there has been no overlap in titles among the seven great gods.

Even though the God of War and the Goddess of Night were enemies, neither of them ever wagered their own titles to seize the title of the Goddess of Night. Similarly, the Eternal Sun and the Lord of Storms were also enemies, but they never used their own titles to confront each other head-on.

This reminded Yu Jin of the ancient sun god, whose name was:

O Creator of all things, You are the All-Knowing and All-Powerful One; You are the source of all greatness; You are the beginning and the end; You are the God of Gods; You are the ruler of the vast star realm.

The ancient sun god's power is far greater than that of the seven existing gods, as evidenced by his titles alone: ​​"Omniscient and Omnipotent," "God of Gods," and "Ruler of the Vast Star Realm."

However, when the 'Ancient Sun God' perished, the newly born true creator, while inheriting the title of 'Creator,' did not dare to inherit the full title of the Ancient Sun God. Instead, the title was changed to:

The Creator of all things, the Lord behind the veil of shadow, the fallen nature of all living beings.

Undoubtedly, this series of honorific names are all related to the authority corresponding to the true gods.

"In other words, the authority wielded by the God of Steam and Machinery is insufficient for him to become the God of All Machines?"

Yu Jin tapped the table lightly with his index finger, as if he had just realized something.

If the God of Steam and Machinery wants to become a true God of All Machines, he might need to reach the level of the ancient Sun God. But if he could truly achieve this, the Church of Steam wouldn't be the weakest of the seven major orthodox churches.

Of course, it's also possible that the god of steam and machinery lacks not authority, but a name—

Om Messiah.

"What are you thinking about?"

Seeing that Yu Jin seemed to understand something, Ikonser couldn't help but ask.

He was actually a little uneasy. Could it be that his words had given Ember a blasphemous thought? If that were the case, wouldn't he become a sinner of the Steam Church?

"It's nothing."

Yu Jin shook his head, vehemently denying it, and turned his gaze to the window.

The winding track extends continuously inside the church, which undoubtedly also utilizes alterations to the laws of physics, since the interior of the Church of Saint-Roselle obviously does not have enough space to lay such a long track.

Through the car window, Yu Jin could already see the end of the track extending to the left—

It was a huge door nearly eighty meters high, with two tightly closed doors engraved with a huge triangular holy emblem. The solid triangle was filled with symbols such as steam, gears, and levers.

That is a symbol of the god of steam and machinery!

Rumble!

As the special train wound its way along the tracks, it drew ever closer, and in the process, amidst the turning of gears and the roar of engines and turbines, the giant gate slowly opened inward.

The track leads all the way into the huge, hundred-meter-high portal.

The interior was not dark; instead, it was filled with bright sunlight.

But when you look up, you can't see the sun; all you can see is the magnificent dome, which is taller than the gate and over a hundred meters high!

Under the sunlight, the embers could easily see the interior of the enormous hall—

At the end of the tunnel, there is a magnificent mural that is almost as tall as the dome.

Without needing anyone else to "explain," Ember had already recognized the true nature of the "mural"—it was a painted world!

Woohoo!

The special train sounded its melodious whistle again, and suddenly accelerated as it passed through the winding tracks and its front end faced the gate entrance.

Ember had lost sight of the world of painting, but could clearly feel the emotion of 'excitement'.

It wasn't his emotion, it was the emotion of this special train—it was excited!

Clang! Clang! Clang!

The special train sped past, rushing through the gate at a speed far exceeding that of ordinary steam trains, heading straight for the murals at the end of the hall!

boom!

Without anyone stopping them or warning them, the front of the car crashed straight into the mural.

However, there were no accidents involving vehicles crashing, people dying, or trains derailing.

Because the locomotive, along with all the carriages connected to it, entered that 'mural' together!

Waaaaah! Waaaaah! Waaaaah!

The train's whistle, like a cheerful melody, began to sound continuously, echoing throughout the entire train and allowing everyone to feel the excitement emanating from it.

The moment they passed through the painting, everyone's vision, including the embers, was "refreshed".

The bright, warm sunlight still shone overhead, but the once hundred-meter-high dome had vanished. The special train continued to speed along the tracks, but those tracks seemed to float above the clouds, with drifting white clouds below, offering absolutely no support!

The track, suspended in the air, stretched forward in a curve, seemingly without end. At the rear of the train, in the direction they had come from, the same winding track continued to extend backward, yet there was no trace of a dome or palace.

Below the special train are countless towering chimneys that spew out large amounts of white smoke, and countless cities made up of various mechanical parts such as gears, levers, steel and bearings, standing on the barren land like islands floating in the boundless sea!

"A miracle! This is a miracle!"

As Ikonser gazed at the ever-advancing "cities" below, his face radiated visible excitement and fervor. And he wasn't alone; all the members of the Mechanical Heart wore the same fervor.

This was their first time entering the world of painting; for most members of the Mechanical Heart, this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

But when Yu Jin saw this scene, he did not feel any joy. Instead, he frowned.

The world depicted in this painting appears quite steampunk and incredibly magical.

But this world, just like the world depicted in the painting at the Aurora Museum, gave him almost the exact same feeling; it was just a substandard imitation.

Yu Jin remained silent, somewhat disappointed, but not prepared to turn back now.

He planned to go and see the core of this world, the place where the 'spark' was kept—

If it exists.

Woohoo!

The melodious whistle sounded again, and Yu Jin looked out the window.

Before they knew it, they had arrived at a train station.

(End of this chapter)