"O immortal god of fate, your people beg for your mercy."
"I dedicate everything to fate, I obey fate, I follow your will, may our fate be everlasting."
The streets were bustling with activity, the air filled with a joyful atmosphere. People came and went, carrying white bouquets and wearing white wreaths on their heads or wrists. They greeted each other and sang hymns praising the god of fate.
Such liveliness has been a long time coming in this remote little city.
This is the annual day of divine descent. It is said that on this day, the god Ansel, who controls destiny, will descend to earth to bless his followers, and the Church of Destiny will hold a celebration to welcome the god's arrival.
"Tom! You've stolen food again! I'll beat you to death!"
The large-bodied woman glared fiercely at the boy who was stuffing snacks into his clothes, then picked up her shoe and threw it at him.
The thin boy was still busy gathering the snacks on the table into his arms, but his agile body skillfully avoided the oncoming attacks.
The mud-covered shoes caused the remaining fruit and snacks on the table to fall off the table, shattering them into pieces.
"Oh no! This is for His Holiness the Pope!"
The fat woman shrieked, looking frantically at the mess on the ground, "You wretched creature! I'm going to drag you to the Knight Commander and lock you up in jail! Oh dear, what am I going to do!"
The fat woman regretted her previous indulgence of the boy in stealing food instead of handing him over to the Vatican.
The boy pursed his lips, hesitated for a moment, and took out the snacks he had just put in his pocket. There were still five or six pieces left, which still looked very tempting, but they were covered with some dust.
"Aunt Jennifer, I'm sorry, I didn't know this was for the Pope. The celebration is about to begin, and if it's not delivered on time, I'll be punished, won't I?" the boy said with some guilt.
He knew very well that if he hadn't been able to steal some food here the previous times, he would have starved to death long ago. He just didn't expect the snacks to be so valuable today.
The plump woman took the remaining five pastries and placed them on a plate. Although they might be tainted with impurity, there was no time to prepare them again. These pastries were made from the Flower of Destiny, which was gathered at midnight, and it would take a whole day to prepare them. According to custom, the Pope had to eat these pastries before the start of the celebration to show his loyalty and purity to the gods.
Jennifer rolled her eyes at him. "That's the only way we can send it over. Hopefully, fate won't punish us. And I don't want to see you in the kitchen again!"
Then she pointed to the mess on the ground, "Clean all this up, I'm going to take some refreshments to His Holiness the Pope."
The boy gave her a grateful look, a hint of hesitation flashing in his eyes, while Jennifer had already walked away.
Jennifer walked nervously toward the palace, but outwardly remained calm. Standing at the palace gate was an old man dressed in a white robe, the hem of which was embroidered with a golden flower of destiny, signifying that the old man was one of the three bishops of the Papacy.
“These are refreshments prepared for His Holiness the Pope. Best wishes!” Jennifer said with a smile.
The bishop looked at the five small pastries lying alone on the exquisite plate, a hint of surprise flashing in his eyes, but he didn't say anything more, only saying, "Go in."
Upon entering the palace, one finds busy servants everywhere, while His Holiness the Pope sits in the center.
At this moment, His Holiness the Pope seemed to be resting with his eyes closed. Jennifer could see his delicate and youthful face and his long gray hair, which belonged exclusively to the Grey family.
His Holiness the Pope is only 23 years old, yet he has been the Pope of the Church of Destiny for four years.
Jennifer carefully placed the plate on the table, a movement that seemed to wake His Holiness the Pope. He opened his eyes, his expression cold and stern, his icy blue eyes making her uneasy. She quickly knelt down, "Your Majesty, these are your snacks."
The Pope nodded, began to enjoy his snacks, and she breathed a sigh of relief before taking her leave.
Jennifer walked briskly, and those around her couldn't help but marvel at how agile her large frame was.
She thought to herself that now that she had finished her morning tasks, she would go back and get dressed before happily attending the celebration.
At 10 a.m., the celebration began on time. For this city, which is governed by the Church of Destiny, the annual Divine Descent celebration is of great significance.
Pure white, sacred petals of destiny rained down from the sky, and the nobles and dignitaries attending the ceremony stood in reverence. Amid cheers, His Holiness the Pope led the papacy and ordinary believers to the statue of the God of Destiny.
Surrounded by the crowd, Phil Gray listened to the praises of the God of Fortune and the Pope, but he felt a little flustered. The reason for his fluster was that he had no idea how to carry out this celebration.
He had just transmigrated from Earth. Heaven knows why he woke up one morning to find himself sitting in a magnificent palace and transformed into Pope Phil Gray of the Church of Destiny. The only information he had now was the name and identity of his body and the upcoming divine descent celebration.
Standing before the statue of the God of Fate, Phil Gray was instantly awestruck by the five-meter-tall sculpture. He wondered how the sculptor knew the true face of the God of Fate, having sculpted the deity's posture and appearance so vividly that it seemed as if the true god had reappeared.
With the continuous chanting of hymns filling his ears, Phil Gray heard the three elderly men in white behind him shout in unison, "Your Holiness the Pope, please invite the divine to descend!"
Phil Gray gritted his teeth. He had no idea what to do. What should he do? Was he going to be discovered that he wasn't the original owner of this body?
In a state of extreme panic, he suddenly felt a sharp pain in his stomach, and his vision began to blur. Just before he lost consciousness, he suddenly remembered the black fingerprint on the pastry he had just eaten. Damn it, could he have eaten something dirty and gotten food poisoning?
"Something terrible has happened! His Holiness the Pope has fainted!"
"What happened?"
"Quickly help His Holiness the Pope back."
As Phil Gray fell, screams erupted all around, and the celebration instantly descended into chaos.
But none of this mattered to Phil Gray anymore. He fell into a deep sleep, and he heard a voice calling his name from Earth, but he was too weak to respond until the voice faded and disappeared into nothingness.
He didn't know how long he had slept, but he began to hear people talking.
"This divine descent celebration has been a failure. Alas, is this all part of the God of Fate's plan?"
"Even if the Pope hadn't fainted, it wouldn't have succeeded. If you ask me, the god of fate has long forgotten about us. It's been so many years since a divine intervention has been successful. He simply doesn't care about us believers."
"Shh, keep your voice down. Are you in contact with those people?"
"Who are they? Those apostates who claim that their fate is in their own hands, not in God's? I'm not that stupid. We still have to live in this city. Offending the Vatican won't end well."
"Maybe it's people like them who have angered God, which is why God is ignoring us."
"But there are more and more people like this."
Phil Gray listened quietly. The speakers seemed to be two cleaning servants, and although it was obvious they weren't speaking an earthly language, he could understand them clearly.
Only after the two servants quieted down did he cough, pretending to have just woken up, and ask, "What's wrong with me?"
The servant cried out in a panic, "Lord Wilder, His Holiness the Pope has awakened!"
The man who entered was dressed in black. Judging from his build, he was probably a young man. He wore a black patterned mask, but you could see his brown pupils underneath. He had a somewhat cold demeanor.
Phil Gray was surprised; this was the only person he had seen in the Church of Fate dressed in black. The Church of Fate seemed to prefer pure white, just like the color of the Flower of Fate.
“Your Majesty, you are awake.” Wilder bowed slightly.
"How long have I been unconscious? How did the descent of the gods go?" Phil Gray asked cautiously.
"You were unconscious for three days, and the three bishops announced that the Descent of God ceremony was temporarily canceled. As for the reason for your unconsciousness, it was related to the snacks you ate before the Descent of God, which contained a deadly poison. However, members of the Church of Life who came to attend the ceremony removed the poison from your body."
The cook was being interrogated by the Vatican that day. According to her, a boy had come into contact with the pastries, but his whereabouts were currently unknown. Several bishops believed that it might have been made by another church or an apostate. "Wild replied.
Phil Gray nodded, then tentatively asked, "Does this poison also affect memory? I feel like I can't remember many things."
Wilder's brown eyes flashed with surprise as he looked the Pope up and down. The Pope's face was somewhat pale, and his icy blue eyes were no longer as domineering and indifferent as before, but filled with confusion.
"The poison you were given is a very common toxin from the virus creators. It does not cause amnesia, so it shouldn't cause you to lose your memory."
“But I really can’t remember. I only remember that I was the Pope of the Church of Destiny, and that I was presiding over a divine descent ceremony before I fainted,” Phil Gray said innocently, rubbing his temples.
Wilder paused for a moment, then a slight smile appeared on his lips as he stared intently at Phil Gray.
"This kind of poisoning leading to amnesia is rare, whether in the Church of Destiny or other churches. However, some members of the Church of the Dead deliberately possess other people's bodies, usually using amnesia as an excuse. Are you aware of that?"
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