[Vol. 8] Chapter 112: Shattered Resonance
As the Holy Knights led several thousand candidates to line up in front of the plaza, arranging them one by one by number to stand before the Saintess and the statue for evaluation, the priestess, who had purposely stayed near the back of the crowd, rubbed her hands quietly, the corners of her lips slightly raised in expectation.
This first step of the process was something she and Edwina had already planned in advance.
A few days ago, when they put on a show pretending the Goddess had come down from the heavens, Violet had indeed followed the plan and sent a beam of light into the statue. But that light really was just light. No special power, no divine presence like Frederica had just described with all that talk about spirits and avatars of the Goddess...
It might fool people who don’t know any better, but anyone with even a little knowledge about divine matters would easily notice something was off.
In the end, whether it was the “Light Worshipper Church” or the “Goddess Church,” faith energy would always flow toward any being whose concept closely matched that of a certain priestess, as long as the faith was strong enough and not intercepted by something else. It didn’t matter where or when it happened. She would receive it through the natural flow of cause and effect. Statues or similar things were really just for making worshippers feel better emotionally.
At least, this statue right in front of them had no real spirit in it. Technically speaking, Violet could give it a mind using her weapon, the [Eternal Scepter of the World's Heart], but she wasn’t bored enough to do something like that.
This “test” was actually being run by more practical and “scientific” forces.
Very soon, the first candidate, led by a Holy Knight, arrived at the statue to begin the trial.
By the way, although this Goddess statue had been moved from inside the Grand Court to the open plaza and was now available for public worship, it was still heavily guarded. The elite Holy Knights protected it around the clock and strictly controlled all visits. Regular people weren’t even allowed within ten meters of the statue, let alone this close.
So, it was easy to see that the first group of trial participants was feeling a bit nervous.
The first person to go up was a man in holy robes. He looked average in every way. But judging by the golden four-winged symbol proudly worn on his chest, he was clearly a high-ranking cleric from the Goddess Church.
It probably wasn’t a coincidence that he was chosen to go first. Still, Violet didn’t bother to think too much about such small matters, going first in this kind of test wasn’t really a good thing anyway.
The old cleric looked like he had been through a lot. Wrinkles lined the corners of his eyes, and if he was a regular human as he appeared to be, he was likely close to retirement age. Priests at this age were usually calm and deeply faithful. The Church probably didn’t want the first person on stage to fail too badly, either.
However...
Thanks to Violet’s excellent eyesight as a divine being, even though the high platform was far away from where she stood, she could still clearly see every move made up there. She watched as the old priest respectfully knelt before the statue and performed a formal worship ritual.
Only after Frederica gave a nod of approval did he carefully walk up and place his rough, weathered hand on the six-winged divine symbol engraved into the statue, a mark said to allow communication with it.
“ZZzz~!”
The moment his hand touched the symbol, golden light suddenly burst forth. As surprised gasps spread through the crowd, the massive statue, more than a hundred meters tall, began to glow softly. As if pulled by something, that golden light turned into a shining beam and instantly covered the old priest, wrapping him completely in radiant light as he took the trial.
The holy light shone brightly, dazzling and grand.
Seeing such a majestic and sacred scene, the huge crowd in and around the plaza couldn’t help but start whispering among themselves.
“What does this mean? Her Holiness the Saintess said the statue would respond, did he really succeed?”
“Looks like it. That old guy clearly seems like a senior priest. His faith must be solid. If someone like him can’t pass the test, what chance do the rest of us have?”
“You can’t say that for sure. If the Goddess allows even non-believers to take part, there must be a reason. We don’t even know what this trial is really about, maybe passing it isn’t only about faith.”
“Hey... look, doesn’t that guy’s face look kind of... wrong?”
Just like the last person said, even though the light shining down from the statue looked holy and impressive, it wasn’t blinding. It was more like a thin, golden mirror. People outside could still vaguely see the changes happening to the old priest as he stood inside the light during the test.
The process didn’t take long. As the shining golden beam lit up his body, the old priest naturally closed his eyes, as if feeling something mysterious and beyond words. But after just a few seconds, his face clearly twisted in pain.
The next moment, as if hit by some invisible force, the old priest’s eyes flew open in shock and he suddenly fell backward!
“Bang!!!”
The moment his hand left the carved symbol and one foot stepped outside the beam of light, the golden light from the statue suddenly shattered into pieces, and the whole statue dimmed once again.
At that moment, the Judgment Saintess, who had been watching closely, raised her hand and used an invisible holy force to support the old priest before he fully collapsed, saving him from falling in front of the entire crowd.
“Huff... huff... thank you, Your Holiness...”
Like waking from a dream, the old priest looked at his hands, now away from the statue. He stumbled for a moment before slowly standing back up with the help of a nearby Holy Knight. His face, once full of hope and devotion, was now filled with sadness.
“My mind was confused... I saw illusions... sigh... this is the result of my own mistakes. Praise the Goddess... Even though I’ve gained something from this trial, I guess this is as far as I can go. I’m sorry, Your Holiness, for showing such a shameful side.”
“It’s all right. Please go get some rest. There are many ways to serve the Goddess. As long as your heart stays true, the Goddess is always with us.”
“Yes... All-knowing Goddess, thank You for Your guidance. Glary offers You his sincere apology. I will spend the rest of my life making up for this... may the light of the Origin cleanse me...”
With a bitter smile, the old priest gave a small bow and stepped down from the high platform, guided by the Holy Knight. His mood was heavy, very different from how he first appeared. Frederica, who seemed to know him, gently shook her head, a bit disappointed. She probably didn’t expect such a devoted follower to fail like this.
But the trial had only just begun. The Saintess then spoke loudly to the crowd below.
“Glary Lambert did not pass the trial. He has failed. Next.”
Lambert, huh... So that’s who he was.
The Church really did choose someone important to go first. It’s just too bad, this trial couldn’t be passed with faith alone.
Hidden among the crowd, the silver-blue eyes of the priestess flashed with a faint light when she heard that last name, the same surname as August Lambert, the former Pope and a member of one of the three divine bloodline families of the Holy Empire. She now understood many things.