"You, you're from the Church of the Dead? What's your connection to that conman?" Caroline looked at Phil Gray with suspicion. Why did he look so much like the person who had cheated her out of her money?
"How dare you! This is our Pope!" The undead knight holding her glared at her fiercely.
Vincent and Melody remained silent, quietly awaiting their fate. They only hoped that the Church of the Dead would be wary of the power of Dawn and spare their lives.
Seeing the woman yelling at His Holiness the Pope, the legion commander couldn't help but frown. He was about to signal the knight to shut up when His Holiness the Pope walked straight up to the three of them.
"Don't you recognize me?" Phil Gray asked with a smile.
Upon hearing this, Vincent and Melody looked up. They did have a sense of familiarity with the person in front of them, but they had never seen this face before.
It seems they really didn't know anything about Dawn and the Cult of Destiny during the time they were possessed by the gods. Phil Gray put on the mask he used to conceal his identity in Dawn, and then revealed the Dawn mark on his hand. "Do you recognize me now?"
"Huh? You're Phil?"
How could that be?
"Kane the Holy Son?"
The three were shocked and looked at each other in disbelief. Caroline called him Phil, but Vincent and Melody clearly called him Kane's Holy Son!
Not only were they shocked, but even the legion commander and the other undead knights were shocked. How could their emperor have the mark of the Cult of Dawn on his wrist, and it seemed that he knew these three people!
Just as the legion commander was about to ask a question, Phil Gray stopped him. He took off his mask, lowered his sleeves, and calmly said, "I know you all have questions, so let me make this short and sweet. Legion commander, you must have heard about the news about the Pope of the Church of Destiny that caused such a stir a few days ago."
"Yes."
The legion commander quickly recalled the bits and pieces of rumors he had overheard, then his eyes widened: "Could it be..."
"I am the Pope of the Church of Destiny, and also the former Holy Son of the Church of Dawn, and currently the Pope of the Church of the Dead." Phil Gray dropped this bombshell, leaving everyone present stunned.
What is it?
Why can't they understand?
Our Pope is actually the same Pope of the Church of Destiny who also serves as the Son of Dawn?
The legion commander's mouth moved involuntarily a few times, but he didn't know what to say.
The three captured men stared blankly at the person before them. Because they were possessed by a god, they were completely cut off from information. Vincent asked in confusion, "But you clearly have the mark of the Day Prophet. How could you possibly be the Pope of the Church of Destiny?"
Phil Gray smiled: "Because I am the favored one of the daytime prophets, the favored one of the gods of fate, and of course, the favored one of the gods of death."
"This...this is impossible...this is impossible..."
All three shook their heads.
Phil Gray did not argue with them, but instead summoned three divine powers in succession. Golden light danced at his fingertips, then turned into eerie black mist, and then into a mysterious silver-white color, disappearing from his hand.
This move convinced everyone who dared not believe it.
"I am revealing my identity to you today because I want to tell you that I will lead the Church of Dawn, the Church of Destiny, and the Church of the Dead. The three churches will work together, help each other, and move towards prosperity together."
Phil Gray's voice carried a hint of authority and solemnity.
"Wait, you're going to lead the Church of Dawn too?" Melody suddenly asked. She admired this man who was favored by three gods, but she also clearly remembered the things she overheard when she asked him for help, including his plan to kill Vincent to seize the position of Pope of Dawn.
“Yes, I’m sorry. A lot happened in Dawn during the time you were possessed. His Majesty was corrupted by gods from other worlds. He killed all the elders except Elder Nancy, and I eventually dealt with him. You weren’t there at the time, so Elder Nancy made me the Pope of Dawn.” Phil Gray looked at Melody apologetically. Although the previous Pope of Dawn had done something irreversible under the control of the gods of the Abyss, he had indeed died at his hands.
"No! It can't be, how could this be!" Melody didn't want to believe it. She held her head and tried to stop herself from listening to the person in front of her.
“That’s impossible! You look so much like that liar! You’re lying to us! How could my grandfather have been killed by His Majesty?” Caroline looked at him suspiciously as well.
Phil Gray knew they would find this hard to accept, so he sighed and said to the legion commander, "Release them first, and I'll take them back to Dawn."
"His Majesty……"
The legion commanders were also bewildered. They wanted to hear His Majesty's explanation. They and Dawn were sworn enemies. How could their own Majesty suddenly become the other's Majesty? Should they be happy or sad?
"You can go back to the church first. You can tell the archbishop and the elders my true identity, and also tell them some good news: I have reached the level of a god descended." Phil Gray glanced at the legion commander indifferently, exuding the aura of a god descended death god's chosen one, making everyone feel an indescribable fear.
The legion commander, though also a god-level demotion, felt the pressure. He immediately realized that His Majesty's god-level demotion was far more powerful than his own, and dispelled the last trace of doubt in his heart.
That's right. The favored ones of the three gods are naturally stronger than the favored one of the gods.
The legion commander knelt on one knee and answered loudly, "We will obey your will!"
Even the usually serious and aloof legion commander was starting to wonder what the elders' expressions would be when they heard the news.
...
Phil Gray led Vincent and the other two toward the Cult of Dawn. Although the Skeleton Bird wasn't a powerful combat pet, it was perfectly adequate as a mount. Its size could grow large enough to accommodate the four of them.
This was quite novel for the three members of the Dawn Cult, as they had never ridden an undead mount before.
Along the way, Caroline, Vincent, and Melody exchanged information extensively, and she learned that the person she had met by chance on the ship had later become the Holy Son of their Dawn!
Phil Gray reintroduced himself, explaining why he had been hiding his identity and how he had become a Chosen One of the Dawn. He then recounted in detail what had happened after their disappearances, providing numerous specific details that matched the information they already possessed. This made them somewhat believe Phil Gray's words, though they still found it difficult to accept what had transpired.
Caroline also shared her experience: after arriving at the church on Malu Island, she was trapped in a dream from which she could not escape. Fortunately, someone rescued her, and when she woke up, she found that the church had long been reduced to ruins, and that it was the work of the Dream Cult.
But after finally escaping the church, she discovered that a terrifying-looking ghost was following her. She was terrified and tried every possible method, spending a long time trying to get rid of the ghost.
Just as she was about to return to Dawn, she was captured by a group of followers of some unknown god and then possessed by an evil god.
She felt that she had been extremely unlucky the whole way!
"Does the spirit that follows you have half a white face and half a black face?" Phil Gray asked.
"yes."
“He was a senior of Dawn. I think he might have accidentally entered the Abyss of the Dead and became like that. He was probably the one who rescued you from the church on the island. If you hadn’t shaken him off, you might not have been possessed by the gods,” Phil Gray said helplessly.
"What?!" Caroline was filled with regret.
“I received a letter saying that I would only be told where Vincent was if I went alone. I didn’t dare tell my father and the elders, because they would never let me go. But I was very worried about Vincent, so I wanted to talk to you about it. I never expected this to happen…” Melody lowered her eyes and said in a low voice.
"But you hear I'm going to kill Vincent and become the Pope of Dawn?" Phil Gray shook his head. "I'm deceiving the betrayer of fate. I have no intention of harming Vincent. Miss Melody, it seems you can't think rationally when Vincent is mentioned."
Melody lowered her head, staring blankly at her hands. She knew she was wrong. If Phil Gray hadn't lied to them, she might never see her father again…
Immediately, tears streamed down her face.
Vincent could only remain silent. He couldn't comfort Melody because he himself couldn't believe that the dawn had changed so drastically in just a day.
Caroline, however, still clung to a sliver of hope, expecting to return to the City of Light and have her grandfather appear with her favorite little dress, telling her it was all a joke.
Unfortunately, at the moment of returning to dawn, all the luck vanished.
Inside the Cathedral of Dawn, under the sorrowful gaze of Elder Nancy, the three saw the coffins of the late Pope and several elders, and instantly broke down in tears.
“The war is over, it’s time for them to rest in peace.” Elder Nancy sighed, her face growing even older. “Let the funeral be held tomorrow.”
“Hmm.” Phil Gray stood behind them, unable to bear watching this scene any longer, and turned to leave.
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