I Became The Pope, Now What?
chapter-532

Quickly, everyone gathered in King Highland's solar. Along with newly arrived Einarr, Healer Hendrix and his elven wife Elaine also joined since their fates were connected to Sylvester's victory.

"May the Holy Light enlighten us." Lord Einarr entered the King's solar and saluted Sylvester. "I can see the days ahead are much brighter with your return, Lord Bard."

Sylvester nodded and gave the man a brotherly hug. "I have something for you, Lord Einarr. A certain princess gave it to me."

Sylvester took out a locket from his pocket and dangled it before the time-stopping Grand Wizard. "She is safe and will return home soon."

Lord Einarr quickly took the locket and looked at it intently. He recognized it easily, one belonging to Princess Zylena. He nearly teared up if not for the hardened heart he had forged after years of misery. "This… How did she survive all these years? Is she healthy?"

"By the will of Solis, we found each other when captured by Desert Cannibals. Since then, I have trained her in various abilities, and she has grown into a fine, strong girl. Don't worry, Lord Einarr, the future of Blackhart Kingdom is in safe hands. But, I would rather keep her under my protection until the end of this Holy war." Sylvester replied, showing as much concern in his words as possible.

There was no reason for Lord Einarr to go against Sylvester. The man stood there with his head held high because of Lord Bard. If anything, he trusted Sylvester blindly.

"Understood, Lord Bard. It's for the better. But may I know why I was called? You said it was urgent, and I did my best to arrive as early as possible." Lord Einarr asked, a little out of breath.

Sylvester nodded and looked around. He quickly went over to the doors and windows around the room and placed small Elder Runes on them that no one understood. It was to ensure the words within that room didn't reach any prying ears.

"In this room, you are all among those I trust the most. So I will reveal to you a few of my doubts and facts that I have come across throughout my travels. First of all, we have been betrayed in the Holy Land, not by Niel Grey, but rather by Saint Scepter— He is responsible for most of the madness spreading throughout the lands right now." Sylvester divulged, dropping the name of the man.

At that moment, all the people in the room looked left and right, wide-eyed as they suddenly recalled Saint Scepter, as if a lock was opened and their heads were flooded with memories.

"I know—Saint Scepter has some strange ability that makes it hard to perceive him unless his name is spoken or he's standing before you. He even fooled the Inquisitor High Lord and the others with this." Sylvester briefed them, trying to be as quick as possible.

"Then, you're saying that our enemy is the second most powerful man in the realm?" King Highland asked.

"The first most powerful," Sylvester blurted out the contrary. "My friend, Gabriel, studied in the Holy Land for the past few years and found a strange occurrence—the names of the Popes and Saint Scepters were tampered with…"

Sylvester revealed the mystery of tampered names to them. He didn't tell them who they were or that they came from a different world, but he did warn them that the entire recorded or known history of the Holy Land might be flawed or, worse, purposefully created in such a way for an unknown ulterior motive.

"So we are not merely dealing with Saint Scepter, but perhaps a millennia-long conspiracy with an unknown goal," Sylvester revealed, casting a dark look on everyone's face. "We're fighting a ghost at this point, so I hope that all of you can change your outlook on this war. This isn't just about me becoming the Pope and taking back the Holy Land—this is about ending this hidden devil that's guiding our reality."

Sir Dolorem knew there was something wrong with Saint Scepter, but what Sylvester said made it a lot worse. "How do you plan on dealing with him, Lord Bard?"

"We can't—not yet. Saint Scepter is likely a Supreme Wizard; at best, I have fifteen Grand Wizards in total. We would all die going against him, but I do have a trump card sitting in the North, beyond the cold mountains, but I don't know if he will ever return… Furthermore, we have something else to worry about that goes beyond just this conspiracy and Saint Scepter."

Faces fell at that revelation. What could be worse than learning their faith was manipulated by some evil men throughout history?

"I met the First Pope." Sylvester resumed, shocking everyone further. "It happened when I reached the hidden temple in the Divine Desert. He didn't die, but ascended to another realm. However, his death occurred because of the Orb of Purity—which he believes was placed by some unknown entity. His body died while sheltering the orb to end its effects on the surrounding lands—in doing so, he ascended.

"He enlightened me to the existence of a world beyond the past five thousand years—there used to be other faiths spanning tens of thousands of years. But the strange thing is, I met an elf, and he revealed to me that all their elders had mysteriously died four thousand years ago—all these elders were beings who knew about the world before the establishment of the Faith of Solis."

When Sylvester revealed so much, there were bound to be doubts about the Faith itself. Everyone's minds struggled to make sense of everything Sylvester was saying.

"Then, is the faith even real?" Queen Trinity asked.

"Yes, Solis is real—I met him when he saved me from the cannibals. He ordered me and showed me the path and my destiny—I want all of you to know that we stand on the right side of history. The entire realm shall flourish as long as we win, including those beyond the sea." Sylvester concluded, at least bringing their doubts to an end. However, not all questions could be answered, as Sylvester himself remained unaware.

"That's a lot to digest." Lord Einarr said. "What you said makes sense if we think about it deeply, but at the same time, it makes me feel afraid. We have no idea what we're up against—according to you; we're facing creatures beyond our level of understanding."

"That is why we must give our best and unite." Sylvester tried to motivate them. "I believe I was born for a reason, and so were you— we are all destined for a fate that was written even before our birth. So all we can do is stay true to ourselves and continue to live righteously, fight for what is right."

King Highland settled into his chair and rubbed his face. "I want to leave a world free of this madness for my son."

Healer Hendrix clenched his fist, and his long, white beard fluttered. "I always had a feeling there was something uncanny about the Holy Land. Now I know why… Lord Bard, you have my support. If you do this, we do it all the way."

Sylvester gave a nod of appreciation. "Thank you. I believe we all have much thinking to do tonight, so let's meet again in the morning. If you have any ideas, I will be delighted to hear them."

"Let's end this meeting then." King Highland rose. "I will discuss it with Trinity."

Sylvester expressed his gratitude. "Mum and Sir Dolorem, you two should rest too. I have something to discuss with Lady Elaine for now."

"You can use my solar for it." King Highland said and left with his wife. Following that, Lord Einarr followed suit. In the end, Sir Dolorem and Xavia took their leave.

However, Healer Hendrix didn't go as Elaine was his wife, and he was always worried for her due to her elven heritage.

"What do you want from her?" Healer Hendrix asked.

Sylvester chuckled a bit. "Calm down, Hendrix. I'm no wife-snatcher."

"Like you can ever do that." Hendrix scoffed and folded his arms. "I will not leave this room. Talk about whatever you want right in front of me."

Sylvester knew Hendrix wasn't at all worried about him wooing her. The man just loved his wife deeply and worried for her safety a little too much. Furthermore, considering Sylvester had only met her once before, it made no sense why they'd talk alone.

"Fine." Sylvester began. "Lady Elaine and little Daline's lives are connected to mine. If I fall, we all shall fall."

Hendrix nodded. It was a sad reality.

Sylvester walked closer to her and spoke in broken elven language instead. "What did you mean by the words you told Sir Dolorem? Why did you say you pity me because of my eyes?"

Elaine replied in Elven tongue as well. "Because I thought about it for years. The first time we met, I was instantly attracted to you, but it wasn't a sexual or physical attraction—it was as if my soul told me to be close to you. I felt safe near you. I had never felt such a feeling from any other elf in my life.

"I tried to think, and eventually, I remembered the old tales from Alfia, which our elders used to tell us when we were young. These were stories of a princess born with golden eyes who grew to become stronger than any could imagine—but the same golden eyes were coveted by an evil devil, and she perished fighting against it. The story has variations, where the protagonist sometimes becomes a prince, a King, or a Queen, but in the end, they all die—they all had golden eyes.

"It's an old saying among the elves—'Your eyes, I pity you'—we say it whenever we wish to warn someone about a risk to their life. It's used so often that the meaning is lost—but when you combine it with golden eyes and elven blood—it becomes a frightening tale."

Sylvester's brows rose as he took in the information. "Could this story be about Remira?"

"Mother Goddess?" Elaine exclaimed. "Why do you think that?"

"Will it be too much if I say she spoke to me? Called me her rebirth?" Sylvester asked her.

Thud!

Elaine suddenly stumbled back and collided with Hendrix's chest. "T-Then… It would all make sense! Your strength, your eyes, your songs, and… the attraction I felt… Yes!"

Sylvester smelled the emotions of both. He felt extreme worship from Elaine and confusion from Hendrix, but there was no hostility.

"Elaine, can you teach me elven magic?"

"Yes! I would be honored to, Your Holiness!" She blurted back, almost fanatically.

"No, she won't." Suddenly, Hendrix interrupted and quickly placed his hand on Elaine's mouth before she could protest. "I won't allow her to teach you until you tell us who your father is—for all we know, it could be an enemy faction of the elves, one desperate to kill Elaine's tribe."

Sylvester gazed at Elaine's face to see what her emotional reaction was going to be. He didn't fear the two. If anything were to happen, there were ways to deal with them, though he desperately hoped it never came to that since he was fond of them.

"My father is King Rathagun Xeek Eldaron." He revealed without any suspense.

Thud!

Elaine fell to her knees, her eyes reddened, and teary. The scents coming from her went beyond religious fanaticism.

"O' my Holy Mother! I pay respects!"

"..."