Seemingly sensing Phil Gray's concerns, Pope Dawn and Elder Glen exchanged a glance and said with a smile, "Pope Phil, there's no need to worry. Apart from a few of us here, no one else knows your true identity."
"Yes, it's simply because your father did me a great favor before, and I was so impressed by his appearance that they had no choice but to tell me. You are very good, with the same demeanor as your father back then." Elder Nancy said with a smile, her eyes showing a hint of reminiscence. Her golden hair was mixed with a few white strands, and there were lines of vicissitude at the corners of her eyes, indicating that she was already quite old.
“That’s good,” Phil Gray breathed a sigh of relief, then smiled wryly, “If my identity gets out, it will be bad for both Fate and Dawn.”
“Actually, we can’t understand why the White Day Prophet would choose the Pope of the Church of Destiny as his Holy Son. Phil, can you tell us why you suddenly became a believer in the White Day Prophet? After all, as the Pope of the Church of Destiny, your devotion to destiny should be beyond question.” The Pope of Dawn’s gaze was inquiring.
Phil Gray didn't know if Vincent had told Pope Dawn about the corpse of the cult elder, but he didn't dare gamble, so he simply pinned everything on the dead George.
Thinking of this, he stood up and said with great difficulty, "First of all, I have to apologize. At that time, George, who was the one who created the Nightmare Monsters in the Dark Night Parish, coerced me, an ordinary person, to cut off the right hand of the deceased Elder of Dawn, leaving the mark of death on my hand..."
He became more and more indignant as he spoke, “Later, the Holy Son Vincent came after me, and I learned that I had saved the Holy Son Vincent by chance. He told me that the solution was to become a follower of the Prophet of the Day. I knew that this was impossible, but the Holy Son Vincent still kindly gave me the book ‘The Book of True Knowledge in the Day’ and a statue of a god. I don’t know why I was chosen by the Prophet of the Day.”
Nancy interjected, "The elder's corpse? Elder Ralf?"
“Yes, the Holy Son Vincent was in charge of investigating the abduction of Elder Ralph’s body by the cultists of death. As for the Dark Night Parish incident, I reported to the Pope that George had a necromancer named Jesse and a Dream Follower under his command, and they were trying to summon the offspring of the Dream Goddess,” Elder Gran explained.
“That’s not your fault, child. You’ve worked so hard. How come the Church of Destiny can’t even protect its own Pope?” Nancy said with heartache, patting Phil Gray’s arm with her somewhat withered hand.
"Thank you for your understanding." Phil Gray felt a warmth in his heart. Elder Nancy was very friendly to him. He wondered what her father had done to help her back then.
"Has something happened within the Church of Destiny?" Pope Dawn asked meaningfully.
"Um."
Phil Gray told them about the bishop and the knight commander's rebellion and his escape.
As one of the six major churches, Dawn has never attacked the Church of Destiny, so he is not worried that they will take advantage of the internal strife in the Church of Destiny to do something.
“So that’s how it is,” Nancy said with a look of sudden realization, then said in a gentle tone, “Perhaps you are destined to become the Holy Child of the Dawn. All the ups and downs and wanderings are only for the moment when the sunlight falls on your hands. It’s not that the God of Fate doesn’t want you to be his favorite, but that you have already been chosen by the Prophet of the Day.”
Phil Gray smiled. He knew Elder Nancy was trying to comfort him, but they were all wrong. He too was a chosen one of fate, oh, and death.
However, he still said gratefully, "Thank you, I am honored to be chosen by the Prophet of the Day."
Pope Dawn nodded, saying with considerable appreciation, "At your age, you should be carefree like Vincent, enjoying the wonderful things in this world under the protection of the Church and your family. But you have shouldered the heavy responsibility of the Church of Destiny with your young shoulders. You have done very well these past four years. From now on, relax a bit in Dawn." As he spoke, he brought the scepter in his hand closer to Phil Gray. "Similarly, I hope that you can take over my responsibilities in the future. I believe you are already quite adept at the work of the Pope, aren't you?"
Vincent didn't seem carefree either. He had just seen Vincent looking very haggard. But he didn't expect that the Pope of Dawn would value him so much, and even explicitly say that he wanted him to become the future Pope!
Isn't there also Vincent, the Holy Son who has lived in Dawn for more than ten years?
He felt that the pope was quite adept at making empty promises.
Phil Gray humbly shook his head. "Thank you for your trust. I will fulfill my duties as a Holy Son, but I am still the Pope of Destiny. It seems that there has never been anyone in the history of the continent of Ver who can simultaneously hold the position of the Pope of two religions. Perhaps Holy Son Vincent is more qualified than me."
Pope Dawn laughed out loud, "What the future holds is not something you or I can decide; it depends on the will of fate, isn't it?"
Phil Gray laughed too. "You're right."
It seems that Pope Dawn thinks he can't return to the Church of Destiny. The Church of Destiny would never allow another god's chosen one to become their pope. Even if all the members of the church support him, the god will not tolerate it, since it is even more unbelievable than an ordinary person becoming pope.
But Phil Gray cannot be judged by common sense.
He was somewhat worried about what would happen after these people found out he was one of the Three Gods' Chosen. He hoped that the revelation would be delayed, at least until he had enough strength.
After a while, Nancy hesitated before speaking again, "Back then, your father's decision to make you pope actually caused some controversy."
“Yes, I know.” Phil Gray nodded. Many people believed that the original owner’s father abused his power to make his son the pope, but he felt it wasn’t that simple.
Nancy shook her head and continued, "Back then, the Church of Destiny had two holy sons and one holy daughter, all of whom were eliminated by your father's orders. This drew a lot of criticism. One of the holy sons was your aunt's son, which led to your aunt leaving the church in a fit of anger and never returning. But based on the time I spent with your father, he was not someone who indiscriminately killed innocent people. I still can't understand it."
aunt?
Patrick had previously told him about how the original owner's father killed the Holy Son in order to allow his own son to take the throne, but he hadn't mentioned that one of their relatives was involved.
Phil Gray could only nod silently; he wasn't the original owner of this body and knew very little about what had happened back then.
"Alright, if you can't figure it out, just leave it to time. You'll figure it out someday. At least Phil is now rightfully my holy son." Pope Dawn smiled, breaking the silence.
“I trust my father’s character, and I will find a way to find out the truth,” Phil Gray said firmly.
"Yes, good child." Nancy's gaze became even more kind and gentle.
"By the way, I heard that your friend saved our Dawn's city of Numas?" The Pope's gaze turned to Eli, who was sitting silently to the side.
“Yes, this is my friend Eli,” Phil Gray introduced.
Eli stood up and smiled, "Greetings, Your Majesty the Pope."
“Maurice has already sent me a message about what happened back then. I’m very curious about how you saved the lives of everyone in the city. Only a God-level elder could have done that in that situation, and you…” The Pope swept Eli’s gaze with an inquiring look, “Dawn is particularly sensitive to the aura of death. If I’m not mistaken, you should be a chosen one of Death, right?”
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