Am I going to be controlled by the players too?

The streets returned to deathly silence.

The cold wind howled, and John was left alone, lying paralyzed in the pool of blood and mud, writhing in pain, tears streaming uncontrollably down his face.

He supported his broken body and crawled little by little to the edge of the stinking ditch, reaching into the cold, murky water to slowly fish out the piece of bread, which was covered in mud and swollen from being soaked.

John Clement knelt by the sewage, choking and trembling, wiping away the mud bit by bit, nibbling at the dirty bread—the best thing he had eaten in a month.

After finishing the last scraps, he was completely exhausted. He lay down in the depths of the cold, dark alley, closed his eyes, and quietly awaited death.

This time, he didn't want to struggle anymore.

…………

"Professor Felix is ​​dead."

The Church of St. Clement's Cathedral.

During the audience.

Freya and Sylvia left the theocratic dungeon and their first instinct was naturally to report the situation in the Dragon Realm to Pope John Clement III, the master of the theocratic kingdom.

"The Sage Malphite died four hundred years ago, at the hands of someone called 'The Corpse.' For those four hundred years, the demons 'The Fool' and 'The Magician' have been impersonating the Sage." Freya suppressed her grief and continued her report, "Professor Felix was also killed by that 'Corpse' when he acted alone."

"Afterwards, the seal of the Amber God was torn apart by the demons, and the four primordial demons have descended into the world. Now, Her Majesty Hime-no-Kami is fighting against the Black Tide in the underground city with the four Dragon Kings."

After listening to Freya's account, Pope Clement III remained silent for a long time, his expression unreadable, before finally saying in a deep voice, "I understand."

"There's one more thing."

At this point, no matter how difficult it was to say, Sylvia had no choice but to bite the bullet and say, "Her Majesty Hime no Kami said that she can only hold out for a maximum of one month, and that we should use the Dragon Vein and the Scepter to quickly become gods and then go to help her."

"The ascension ritual of the [Glory] Dragon Vein is 'to dominate a true god or a primordial being, or to dominate the entire world,'" Freya continued. "Her Majesty Himeko has decreed that the empire and its vassal states be incorporated into the kingdom to help us complete the ascension ritual, but the theocracy..."

At this point, the two of them looked at the Pope.

As one of the three great powers and the origin of the Amber God faith, the Theocracy was naturally the most important step needed to "dominate the world".

But... this country is a theocracy!

The fact that the initiation ceremony for "Glory" was controlled by the kingdom meant that converts to the future "Glory"-ruling true god. Although the Amber God's seal had been broken and he was likely dead, and this was a special circumstance, forcing over 103,000 devout believers of the kingdom and Pope Clement III, the "shepherd of the Amber God on earth," to convert was truly...

"I see."

After a long silence, Pope Clement III neither agreed nor disagreed, but nodded: "You may all leave now, and allow me some time to think about it."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

Sylvia and Freya exchanged a glance and had no choice but to leave.

As Pope John Clement III watched them leave, for some reason, the image of a small child huddled in the street flashed before his eyes.

That was myself a thousand years ago.

…………

When John Clement opened his eyes again, the biting cold and stench had completely disappeared.

Instead, there is ultimate warmth.

Soft, fluffy blankets enveloped his body, beneath him lay a clean, comfortable bed, dry and warm—a tenderness he hadn't felt in years. The fireplace nearby roared, its orange flames dancing, filling the room with warmth and dispelling all the chill and pain from his body.

A young man sat quietly beside the bed.

He had long, flowing, wispy amber hair that cascaded softly over his shoulders. His features were gentle and refined, filled with tenderness and compassion. His clean, pure white priest's robe accentuated his ethereal and serene demeanor, making him appear like a deity descended to earth.

John's confused gaze narrowed slightly.

"Ah... I see."

He had heard many stories about priests and little boys. Several of the orphans who wandered with him had never come out of a church after entering one. It was said that those priests were strange people with unusual fetishes who would eat the little boys after playing with them...

That's why, even when he was very hungry, he never considered going to the church.

John hadn't had a proper meal in a long time and was very thin, but if you looked closely, he was quite handsome, even somewhat effeminate. Some dockworkers had tried to seduce him by offering him money, but they scared him away.

After all, people of the same sex can't go to heaven together.

But now, I've become like this, and I'm already grateful to have been saved. Even if I'm toyed with and trampled on next...

John's lips trembled slightly, bracing himself for humiliation, but he still spoke in a hoarse and weak voice, his tone trembling with humility: "Could you give me some food first... I'm very thin now, not good-looking, and there's nothing fun for me."

"Pfft!"

The young man suddenly chuckled and reached out to ruffle John's hair: "What are you thinking, kid? I'm not a Japanese priest, I'm not interested in little boys falling from the sky."

Huh? What is this guy saying?

Where is Japan?

John was puzzled for a moment, but then he saw a faint look of heartache and guilt in the young man's warm amber eyes: "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have laughed at first... but your reaction was just too funny."

After saying that, he turned his head slightly and softly called out, "Felix."

Light footsteps sounded outside the door, and the cat-eared girl pushed it open. She trembled when she saw the young man, then her cat ears drooped down, and she bowed to John: "I'm sorry, meow! We were wrong, meow!"

Huh? Sorry? Why?

The priest in white looked at the weak John on the bed and apologized earnestly: "She is my disciple. I failed to discipline her properly and allowed her to steal without permission. I meant well but did something wrong, which is why you were beaten for no reason... Please accept our apology."

No, this is not your fault.

John stared at him, wanting to shout it out, but in his long despair and darkness, no one had ever said "I'm sorry" to him. Everyone thought he was lowly, deserved it, and was guilty. Even though he suffered all kinds of injustice and trampling, no one ever cared.

Therefore, he simply doesn't know how to deal with the kindness of others.

John's throat tightened, a surge of bitter emotions welling up inside him. He shook his head violently, his voice broken and weak: "It's not your fault...it really isn't. It's just bad luck, it's my own fault."

The priest with long amber hair leaned slightly forward, looking tenderly at his wounded soul, and asked softly:

"To make up for this debt, would you like to stay with me? Be my student, live in the church, and you will never have to go hungry, suffer humiliation, or wander again."

John trembled in an instant.

The deathly dark world was suddenly illuminated by a beam of light.

Overwhelmed by a mixture of ecstasy, resentment, and gratitude, he broke down all his defenses, and tears streamed down his face, soaking the soft bedding. He gripped the edge of the blankets tightly, his fingertips trembling, his whole body shaking slightly, as if afraid this was a hallucination of impending death, and that it would shatter and vanish in the next second.

"I...can I?" His voice trembled. "I'm filthy, I'm a Night Soldier, I...am I worthy?"

The priest gazed at him tenderly, his eyes showing no disdain, only a gentle acceptance of everything.

John fought back tears, raised his red eyes, and softly asked the two most pressing questions in his heart: "Father...which god do you believe in?"

"And what is your name?"

The flickering firelight illuminated the young man's gentle profile, but he seemed stumped by the question, pondering for a long time before slowly speaking: "The god I worship is myself. As for my name... you may call me—"

"The Good Corpse, or perhaps—the Amber God."

…………

“Morpheus is dead, Felix is ​​dead, and my lord… is dead too.”

The teaching country, the prison of darkness.

The oldest prison of the Church of the Builders, founded by the God of Amber, is divided into nine levels. The first eight levels imprison the world's most fanatical blasphemers, esotericists, heretical gold, and even the devil himself.

And at this moment, on the ninth floor, in the deepest part—

Many years later, Pope John Clement III once again set foot on this place.

The Pope, who had abstained from alcohol for life, was now downing glass after glass of strong liquor, recounting events in the outside world while distributing his jug to young men imprisoned in the cell. These were the former messengers of the Amber God, now "sinners," legends wielding the "Devil" card—

Judas.

Judas, dressed in a simple white prison robe with his short black hair hanging casually over his forehead, took the wine jug handed to him by the Pope, took a big gulp, and then asked drunkenly, "What are you going to do? Accept Himegami's proposal?"

"Hmm." The Pope raised his head in confusion, looking at the dark ceiling of the dungeon. "Protecting humanity is the will of my Lord."

Even if it means turning away from my Lord?

“My Lord is dead, but He is my God, my Savior, and everything in my life…” The Pope lowered his head and took a deep breath. “Even if I am pierced by the sharpest spear in the deepest abyss, I will never turn away from Him.”

"Then why did you come to me?" Judas shook the wine jug in his hand. "You've already made your choice, haven't you? Then you don't need me to analyze your emotional problems anymore..."

Upon hearing this, the Pope scoffed, "Yudas, your emotional analysis is never accurate. You said Felix liked me, but when I went up to confess, she scratched my face until it bled..."

"That's because I could tell you'd suffocate if you didn't say what's on your mind," Judas said, pursing his lips.

"Is this why Felix has been away from the Papacy for so long?" the Pope sighed. "I should have known better than to listen to you. What terrible advice you gave me... I haven't seen her for almost eight hundred years. It's a pity she's dead, and I'll never see her again..."

Having said that, he picked up the wine jug and sauntered toward the prison exit.

Just as he reached the door, he couldn't help but turn back to look at Judas: "You...aren't you going to try to persuade me?"

"Why stop it?" Judas tilted his head. "You know, I have always loved all positive emotions, whether it was your crush on Felix back then, or your piety and martyrdom towards my Lord now, they are the most beautiful things in the world."

"Moreover, now that the gods you worship, the old friends you trust, the girl you secretly love... the news of the deaths of three people is coming to you all at once, it's hard not to want to die, isn't it?"

“You…” Pope John Clement III was both amused and exasperated, “you are truly an incorrigible ‘devil’…”

"Then, farewell."

"Yes, farewell."

…………

"This is a relic of His Holiness Pope John Clement III, specially left for you two."

A cardinal knocked on Freya and Sylvia's door and handed Freya a tray covered with a red cloth.

"Huh? His belongings? Why?"

Freya and Sylvia were both taken aback; more than grief, confusion overwhelmed them at that moment.

The cardinal remained silent, simply lifting the red cloth to reveal a card on the tray. The card depicted an elderly man in a red robe seated before the congregation, wearing a three-tiered crown symbolizing power. His right index and middle fingers pointed to the sky, signifying blessing; his left hand held a scepter shaped like the letter "Prajna," symbolizing holiness and authority.

The "Pope" card.

“The ceremony for the ‘Pope’ plaque involves the approval of thirteen cardinals and all the divine messengers, culminating in the ascension to the papacy,” the cardinal said silently. “Any one of you who is willing to accept it can gain our approval and complete the ceremony.”

Freya looked completely bewildered: "Why, why did you do this..."

"To attain godhood through [Glory], using a lower-tier Legendary card of [Glory] is the most suitable choice, and 'The Pope' is one of them," the Cardinal said. "But the only requirement is that the Theocracy cannot be merged into the Kingdom; conversely, the Kingdom must be merged into the Theocracy, and the Theocracy as a whole must not convert. Furthermore, the successor to the 'Pope' must be a devout follower of my Lord, Amber God."

Ah, I see...

Pope Clement III was unwilling to convert, nor did he want the papacy to convert. So he chose to be martyred with the goddess Amber, leaving Freya, who now possessed the "Glory," to decide who would succeed him as pope.