Sunset followed by sunrise; it was a rare sunny and warm day in winter.
Inside the solemn Cathedral of the Dead, all the high-ranking members of the Church of the Dead stood on both sides, their expressions dignified and solemn, yet their brows held a hint of joy.
A faint fragrance filled the air, accompanied by deep, resonant music, as if setting the stage for the upcoming ceremony.
Indeed, a country cannot be without a ruler for a day, and a religion cannot be without a leader for a day. The coronation ceremony of the new pope will take place the day after the selection results are announced.
Beneath the statue of the god of death is an altar, and a magnificent red carpet extends from the church entrance to the altar. The carpet is embroidered with various images of the dead, as well as scepters and swords symbolizing power. Those who walk across it will possess the authority to rule over the dead and believers.
The candles burning on both sides of the carpet cast a soft glow, guiding the way to the sacred.
"Thump—"
Accompanied by the clear tolling of bells, the church doors were slowly opened by two undead knights clad in black armor, and a figure walked in, stepping onto the red carpet.
He wore a wide black robe embroidered with silver threads forming skull patterns, but it did not look scary; instead, it appeared dignified and elegant.
The candlelight illuminated the handsome face of the newcomer, who was none other than the newly appointed Pope Milutinovic.
Phil Gray walked slowly down the red carpet, his steps firm and powerful. At that moment, the chanting of death hymns began to echo in the church, filling each of his steps with a sacred and solemn meaning.
All the church clergy bowed slightly, watching respectfully as the new Pope walked across the red carpet and arrived at the statue of God.
Before the altar, Phil Gray knelt before the statue, his expression devout. Elder Sid, holding the "Scripture of Death," approached him and solemnly proclaimed: "Milu, with the witness of the gods and many believers, I will crown you on their behalf. From this day forward, you will grasp the secrets of the path from the human world to the abyss, and will be the agent of the God of Death on earth. May you lead our Church of the Dead to create new glories! Praise be to the God of Death!"
Phil Gray chimed in, "Praise be to the god of death!"
He stood up and then bowed his head again, while the High Elder Sid took a silver crown from the Archbishop beside him. The crown was inlaid with several black gems and diamonds and was exquisitely crafted.
Elder Sid gently placed the crown on His Holiness the Pope's head, and then, like the other elders around him, knelt down to pledge allegiance to the new Pope.
Praise be to the god of death!
"Praise be to Your Majesty!"
The believers' voices were filled with excitement as Phil Gray slowly walked toward the throne that belonged exclusively to the Pope.
The throne carved from white bones symbolizes supreme authority and glory. It is said that these bones came from the body of a bone dragon thousands of years ago, an incredibly powerful creature from the abyss.
He glanced at the devout believers. The elders wore expressions of joy. Eli, holding the black cat, winked at him. The little black cat, though aloof, was also looking intently at him. Eli's eyes were also full of smiles.
He slightly curled the corners of his lips into a smile.
At that very moment, the statue of the god emitted a black light, and a dense aura of death enveloped the entire church.
This was the aura of a god they knew all too well!
"Is this a divine intervention?"
"Oh God! Praise be to the god of death!"
Praise be to the god of death!
The believers were extremely excited, but the deity seemed to make no response, nor did it issue any divine pronouncements. It simply remained quietly attached to the statue, watching everything inside the church.
“Let’s continue,” Phil Gray said, and the believers calmed their excitement and listened attentively to the new pope’s speech.
The papacy continued under the watchful eyes of the gods until the ceremony was completely over, at which point the statue returned to its original form.
This day is destined to be recorded in the annals of the church.
...
After a busy day of coronation ceremonies, Phil Gray finally had time to enter the deceased pope's bedroom in the evening. This palace, not far from the cathedral, was the residence of successive popes.
“Your Majesty, starting tomorrow, all matters concerning the Church will be handled in your study, in the first room on the left on the second floor. That is also where you will meet other guests. Of course, you may also go to the Cathedral every day, but I think you would prefer to stay in your palace,” the archbishop said, walking behind him.
"OK, thanks."
Phil Gray suddenly felt an urge to run away. He hadn't even finished dealing with the affairs of the Church of Fate, so why was he now working for the Church of the Dead?
"Tonight, Elder Sid will leave the church and go to the abyss."
"So urgent?"
“No undead does not yearn for the abyss. He had long wanted to leave, but he was always worried about the church. Now that the church has your leadership, he can leave with peace of mind.”
Phil Gray nodded, then remembered another mission he had for the Church of the Dead. "I heard you had a different opinion from the Grand Elder regarding whether or not to participate in the war against the Dawn Alliance within our church?"
“Yes, if we were to go to war with the Dawn Alliance, it would mean that we would be standing against most of the sects on the continent of Ver, which would put us on the same side as those filthy and despicable plague makers and the Blood Calamity. Moreover, War and Dreams are not exactly reliable allies. Who knows if they will turn their attention to us when we and the Dawn Alliance are both weakened?” The archbishop explained while secretly pondering the thoughts of the new pope. His intuition told him that the pope shared his opinion.
As expected, the new pope agreed, saying, "You're right. I will soon announce that the Church of the Dead will not participate in the war against the Dawn."
"After the Grand Elder leaves tonight?" the Archbishop said with a chuckle.
"That's right."
"But the Second Elder and the commander of our Legion of the Dead might not be very supportive of your opinion," the Archbishop said worriedly.
"But they won't openly oppose me as soon as I take office, will they?"
Phil Gray didn't want to think about that. He had issued a declaration on behalf of the Church of the Dead that they would not join the war. Could they openly deny their own decision to the outside world?
"You're right. It seems I can draft your first imperial decree upon taking office tonight."
"After the Grand Elder left, his position..."
"Of course, it's the Second Elder and the next level up."
"Then there should be one elder position vacant, right?"
"No, our council of elders is divided into senior elders and junior elders. The senior elders are the top five elders, and only those who have been demoted from the divine level can serve as senior elders. There is no limit to the number of junior elders. Anyone who has reached the divine level is qualified to serve as a junior elder, and those who have been demoted from the divine level will become candidates for senior elders. Therefore, the candidates will fill the vacancies of the five senior elders. According to past rules, the holy sons who failed in this selection are all qualified to become junior elders."
"So that's how it is."
"Of course, if they don't want to be idle elders for the time being, they can apply to become bishops of a district in Gilga City, or become bishops in local cities. Through layers of training, they can also become the next archbishop. The Third Elder should have already started making arrangements for them."
"Do I have the authority to appoint them to any position?" Phil Gray felt that the Church of the Dead and the Church of Destiny operated quite differently. In the Church of Destiny, he could appoint whomever he wanted to hold any position.
However, there are indeed quite a few Divine Descent level elders here, and if it comes down to strength, I really can't beat them.
The archbishop chuckled. “Of course, if your appointment is reasonable. But for positions like archbishop or grandmaster of the knights, you may need to carefully consider it and listen to the opinions of the elders.”
“Alright, may I appoint Eli as the next archbishop?”
The archbishop paused for a moment, then smiled at His Holiness the Pope, his mustache trembling slightly. "It's probably not appropriate for him to take on the role now, but I will do my best to train him and let him gradually take over my duties. When the time is right, he will officially take over my position."
Phil Gray felt even more favorably toward the archbishop. "Thank you."
"You're too kind. By the way, our Legion of the Dead will be back around tomorrow afternoon. He led a portion of the Knights to explore a ruin deep in the North. He couldn't even make it back when the former Pope passed away, but he's only back now because of your inauguration. He'll probably come to pay his respects to you tomorrow."
"I see..."
"Don't worry, I will definitely issue your first imperial decree before he returns."
"Thank you for your hard work, Archbishop."
Phil Gray and the archbishop exchanged a glance and saw the smile in each other's eyes.
As for how the Second Elder and the regimental commander would react, he wasn't afraid at all.
Perhaps because he didn't have deep feelings for the Church of the Dead, he always had a feeling that he could run away at any time, no matter what would happen to the church afterward. But the Church of Destiny was like a home that was always waiting for him.
After the archbishop left, Phil Gray sat on the large bed in the chapel, which had been renovated after the death of the previous pope. Apart from its somewhat somber style, it was quite to his liking.
"Phew..." He let out a soft breath, the fatigue of the past few days vanished.
At that moment, he heard a notification that the Proverb was complete. His eyes lit up as he felt an even more surging death power break through the original limitations and break through to the Divine Prophecy level!
Before this, he had impersonated a divinely inspired follower to become Pope; now, he has finally earned his title.
"The new skill is Death Scythe, and it's actually a weapon-type skill..." Phil Gray conjured a long scythe made of death power in his hand. The blade emitted a cold light, making people feel as if they were being stared at by the Grim Reaper. It seemed ready to harvest people's lives and souls at any time.
"One strike can reap a life, another can annihilate a soul. Besides being usable directly, if integrated into one's own weapon, it can transform into an even more powerful weapon, unleashing tremendous power..." Phil Gray was overjoyed, but then his expression turned strange. "But my only weapon is the Sunfire Sword, one filled with the divine power of dawn, and the other formed from the divine power of death. If the two are fused... won't it explode?"
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