Free Web NovelChapter 394: Chapter 85: The Morning Star Shines Anew, a New Chapter Begins
Kane’s storytelling, the warmth of the fireplace, the voices of her family... all these familiar things wrapped around her like a soft blanket.
The cold, chaotic, suffocating world outside was, for this moment, temporarily shut away.
She wouldn’t speak of the burning mills, wouldn’t mention the empty gazes, wouldn’t describe the figures stumbling into the unknown wilderness in the cold wind.
Those were burdens from another world, and they shouldn’t weigh down this warm living room on a festive night.
Tonight was just a night for a family reunion.
A little late, but a reunion nonetheless.
"Eleanor," Murphy suddenly said, his voice remarkably clear over the crackling of the fireplace. "Rest early if you’re tired. Some roads, when traveled for a long time, require you to stop and look back at where you came from, so you don’t lose your way."
Eleanor looked up, meeting her father’s calm gaze.
"I understand, Father," she said softly.
Aurora stood up. "It’s getting late. Everyone should go rest. There’s still a lot to do tomorrow."
The family rose one after another.
Kaiden and Alina left first, saying they had to go inspect the newly built aqueduct early the next morning.
Eleanor bid her parents goodnight and turned toward her room.
In the hallway, she glanced back one last time.
The living room door wasn’t fully closed, and in the warm light that streamed out, she saw her mother bending over to adjust the fleece blanket on her father’s lap. Her father raised his hand and gently squeezed her mother’s.
...
「Holy City, Chenxi Hall.」
Morning light filtered through the stained-glass windows, casting countless magnificent and solemn pillars of light that slanted across the great hall’s floor, which was polished to a mirror shine.
Saint Cyril Cardinal stood before the massive pedestal of the Morning Star Bell.
In the mottled light and shadow, the deep red cardinal’s robes he wore looked almost like solidified blood.
Elizabeth stood a few steps away, dressed in simple white, her face calm and serene. Only her eyes, as black as night, reflected the ancient Holy Artifact before them.
The Morning Star Bell hung there silently.
The ancient bell, a body of dull, dark bronze, was covered in a mottled patina and fine cracks left by the passage of time. The carved patterns of stars and Holy Emblems upon it were also blurred and indistinct, making it look unremarkable, even somewhat dilapidated.
"Elizabeth." Saint Cyril’s voice shattered the almost frozen silence of the great hall. "I can feel it... The resonance of the Holy Artifact’s core has reached an unprecedented intensity. It is waiting, waiting for the right moment to be truly awakened."
He slowly turned his head, his murky gaze locked tightly onto Elizabeth’s face. "Tell me, child, are you ready? Ready to let Oriane’s Morning Star toll for the first time for a new era, for a new Pope?"
Elizabeth slowly raised her eyes, but her gaze did not meet the old man’s directly. Instead, it fell first upon the giant bell.
Her gaze seemed to pierce the bell’s cold surface, probing into its extraordinary interior.
After a moment, she finally spoke softly, her voice clear and cold, stirring faint echoes in the vast, empty hall:
"Whether the bell rings does not depend on my readiness, Lord Cardinal. It depends on the will of the Holy Artifact itself, on whether Oriane approves of this moment, of this hope."
"I can only promise that I will do my utmost to call to it, to become that possible medium. But whether the toll is loud, whether it can resound across the world as you wish... I cannot guarantee."
"Cannot guarantee?" Saint Cyril’s brows knitted together sharply, the crisscrossing wrinkles on his face seeming to deepen in an instant. "Elizabeth, this is not a ritual we can simply ’try’! This is the cornerstone that will lay the foundation for everything! What we need is certainty, is conviction, is a toll so powerful that the moment it rings, all those with treacherous hearts and all those who waver are left with nothing but to kneel and tremble!"
"Do you realize I have already ordered the Secretaries to draft the most magnificent invitations? They will be sent with the utmost speed to every corner of the Continent—to the Emperor of the Rotalia Empire and his Legendary Grand Marshal, the King of the Phlanis Kingdom and his Dukes, every Legendary Knight on the registry, all influential nobles, the heads of merchant guilds... Everyone will be invited here, to the Holy City, to witness the dawn of a new era, to witness me—Saint Cyril—be crowned the new Pope of the Church Court amidst the roar of the Morning Star Bell and rule over the domain of faith!"
His voice trembled slightly with agitation, yet it carried a heart-pounding fanaticism. "By then, the Holy Hall will be packed with the most powerful and influential figures on this Continent. All eyes will be focused here. The toll of the bell must be perfect! It must be soul-shaking! It must force every single person present, no matter where they come from or what thoughts they harbor, to admit—this is a miracle! This is the irrefutable transfer of authority, ordained by Oriane herself!"
He abruptly thrust out a hand, withered as a branch and covered in liver spots, pointing at the silent, giant bell, his fingertip practically trembling. "Do you see those restless Shepherd Leaders in the north? Do you see the Equalist Sect spreading their dangerous ideas within the Imperial borders? Do you see the hyenas everywhere, taking advantage of the chaos to tear at the foundations of the Church Court? The toll of the bell is the loudest answer to them all! Where its sound reaches, order shall be rebuilt and the land of faith restored! It will wash away all confusion and crush all dissent!"
Saint Cyril gasped heavily a few times, as if the outburst had drained what little energy he had left.
He slowly drew back his hand, pressing it against his heaving chest, but his gaze remained fixed on Elizabeth as his tone softened slightly:
"So, do not speak of ’cannot guarantee,’ Elizabeth. You must succeed. For the survival of the Church Court, so that faith is not devoured by the flames of schism, so that this Continent does not slide completely into the abyss of chaos... you must make the Morning Star Bell, at the very moment of my coronation, issue that proclamation that has been awaited for hundreds of years—for me, and for the new era!"
Elizabeth quietly withstood the overwhelming pressure of the old man’s words.
The magnificent light and shadows of the Holy Hall flowed over her simple white robes, yet her exquisite, perfect face remained expressionless. "I understand, Lord Cardinal. I will do everything in my power to make the bell ring."
"Send out the invitations as you wish. Let everyone who is meant to be here come and witness this... miracle with their own eyes."
Saint Cyril gave her a deep look. "Very good. Then, go and prepare, Elizabeth. There is... not much time left. The day the envoys and powerful figures from across the Continent gather in the Holy City will be the day the Morning Star shines again, the day a new Chapter begins."
