Chapter 803 [Gods]
The newcomer was Ignati, who nodded to Nora.
"Didn't you go to the North to rebuild the Sanctuary?" Gwen asked, somewhat surprised.
The professional Nora mentioned turned out to be him.
That's definitely professional enough.
“The rebuilding of the sanctuary does not require me, but steel, cement, and knowledge.” Ignati’s voice was still low, but much more spirited than before.
Upon hearing this, Gwen was alright, as she had little contact with Ignatius and the Silent Sanctuary, but Nora's eyes widened in surprise.
In her mind, this Patriarch had always been extremely rigid and conservative; how could he have changed his nature?
This was a matter concerning the reconstruction of the church, something that should have been handled with utmost care. If it were the old Ignatius, his answer would have been about holy scriptures and faith.
Nora felt a sense of absurdity; Isabella, the Empress of the Empire, and Ignati, the Patriarch of the Holy Temple, were now simultaneously agreeing with Castel's ideas.
In the future, will there really still be an Empire and a Sanctuary? Or will they all turn into another Castel?
Ideas and beliefs are the hardest things to change, especially for an empress known for her arrogance and the "Buried One" known for his conservatism.
Perhaps we'll witness some interesting things in the future.
"Let's not talk about those things anymore. What exactly is this ceremony all about?"
Nora and Gwen exchanged a glance and slowly began to explain to Ignati.
"So, you just arrived here and saw these corpses?"
“Yes, we haven’t touched these bodies; they remain as they were. The supernatural traces haven’t been removed yet. All I can determine is that it’s not a continuous ritual, and it points to Castel.”
"Pointing to Castells? How did you determine that?"
Nora paused, "These corpses are pointing in the direction Castel is heading."
"These corpses are indeed pointing southeast, but this place is far from Castel. How are you so sure of its final direction?"
Nora froze, then her eyes slowly widened.
Oh right, how did she determine the direction at first glance?
There's plenty of stuff to the southeast. Putting everything else aside, the direction these pursuers are heading is southeast. Why aren't they pointing at them and launching a counterattack?
This point is obviously much more reasonable, but she insisted on identifying it as referring to Castel at first glance.
"I...I don't know either, Lord Ignati."
Ignati stepped forward, gently placed his hand on Nora's head, and then stirred the Sea of Ignorance.
For extraordinary individuals, communicating with the Sea of Nothingness is the simplest thing; it's almost instinctive for them. In some ways, such as through the Investigator, they can even directly navigate the Sea of Nothingness.
A moment later, Ignati opened his eyes, his voice tinged with a strange tone: "Do you have some kind of connection with Castel? Did you perform any rituals there?"
What kind of ceremony?
"Summoning evil gods, changing beliefs, joining cults, etc."
Nora's already wide eyes widened even more.
Ignati looked somewhat helpless: "This kind of connection is more like the connection between a cultist and an evil god. If Castel didn't have no cults, they could have been put on trial right away."
There are no cults?
Gwen's expression was somewhat strange when she heard this. Did Castell really not have a cult?
She sees everyone as a cult member.
“I didn’t! I didn’t participate in any ceremony!” Nora’s voice rose two octaves.
"No?"
Gwen said this, and Ignati and Nora turned to look at her at the same time.
"Uh, I've seen Lady Nora and the banshees play football; it looked a bit like a cult ritual."
"Except for this!"
“Well, there are some there too.” Gwen chuckled sheepishly at Nora, who was glaring at her fiercely. “I often see you hanging from the top of the church.”
Nora: "."
Now it was Ignati's turn to widen his eyes. Shock, doubt, confusion, bewilderment, and sudden realization appeared in his eyes one after another, finally turning into pity.
"Nora, you've suffered so much these past years."
Nora flew up and slammed into Gwen's chin with a thud, like an uppercut. Then, still not satisfied, she spat at Gwen before turning to explain:
"That wasn't some strange ceremony; I was just having tea and chatting with Miss Chloe!"
"Why would you hang it on the top of a church to drink tea and chat?" Ignati asked, puzzled.
Nora was speechless.
"This...this has a deep history; it's normal for Castel's customs to be a bit strange."
Ignati paused for a moment, then spoke with a serious expression: "It might really be related to this. Hanging a head on the top of a church usually has a deep religious meaning. It is a kind of ritual in itself. If you go up there often, it is possible that it will form some kind of supernatural connection."
"As for this valley where thousands of people were sacrificed..."
The three of them looked down at the same time.
Thousands of people were piled up in the narrow valley, almost covering the entire ground, yet they were extremely orderly, with a certain pattern in mind.
"This is a summoning ritual."
"A summoning ceremony? A summoning ceremony for an evil god? Wouldn't that put Castel in trouble?"
Nora said that, but she wasn't too worried.
Evil gods are a huge problem anywhere, but only in Castel.
Putting everything else aside, the key areas of Castells are completely fortified, with almost all buildings being permanent fortifications.
No extra preparations are needed. Castel can defend and counterattack immediately after the evil god descends. Do you really think the machine gun positions and dragon breath cannons on the top of the church are just for show?
She's been hanging on the church roof for so long, she knows all this better than anyone.
"No, this is not a ritual to summon an evil god, but a ritual to summon a deity."
"Gods?" Nora was taken aback. "What are gods?"
The four major churches, whether in their scriptures or doctrines, all worship a certain concept.
For example, the inextinguishable candle worshipped by the Candlelight Church, the radiance worshipped by the Sleepless Sons, and even the white raven in the Silent Church are not specific symbols, but rather a mixture of concepts related to land, history, and culture.
If we had to pinpoint a specific reference, it's closer to a metaphor for the "North," rather than a real white raven made of bones.
In the official histories of any church, there is no concept of "God"; there are only dangerous "evil gods".
As for the Church of the Sea God, Nora had heard that they had completely fallen and worshipped the evil god, the Sea God.
As for what "Poseidon" is, he should be the one in the Stellar Furnace, right?
Therefore, when Nora heard Ignati mention "gods," she felt more bewildered than anything else.
"The word 'deity' is very ancient, and the related secret histories are among the most dangerous, requiring extremely careful reading under robust protection."
"All you need to know is that they don't exist now."
(End of this chapter)
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