Different from the city where candlelight was fluttering, the deeper you went into the Cathedral of San Naro, the less light there was. The candles had long been extinguished, leaving only solidified wax covering the ground.
Anthony walked slowly towards the depths of darkness. The walls covered with angels and demons slowly opened. Behind the gate of heaven, the elevator took Anthony to the deepest part of the darkness.
That is the boundary between heaven and hell. In the deep darkness, decaying dust is rolling.
There is no defense in the Temple of Stasis, not even any demon hunters. Only the new Pope stays here alone. Since a certain day, he has been kneeling beside the Well of Sublimation. Under his cold iron face, no one knows what he is thinking.
Everything was slowly going down. Perhaps because of the conversation with Samuel, the distant past kept repeating before my eyes.
Anthony recalled.
He always believed that he was surrounded by the glory of faith, and as long as he devoted everything he had, God would wipe out his powerful enemies.
Indeed, on that nightmare night, he was the only one who did not flinch. He picked up the spear and pierced the burning witcher to death.
Anthony did it, and God did it too, but for some reason, Anthony's faith was no longer firm after that.
He began to doubt.
"What exactly is faith..."
He whispered.
Even after so much time, the witcher's face before his death kept flashing before his eyes. He didn't have any last words, and perhaps he was too lazy to say anything else, but Anthony read the final question in his dim eyes.
[Why?]
After that, Anthony often suffered from insomnia, and in the deepest part of the night, he seemed to be back to that terrible night.
For example, when it comes to measuring faith, Anthony doesn't think he can beat the witchers. They are God's most loyal blades, the first line against darkness, and only the most devout faith can enable them to survive the difficult trials, but in the end, such people died in his own hands.
Or... in the hands of God.
So, what exactly is faith
Is it a real unknown, or is it just a tool to manipulate people's hearts
Until that moment, Anthony realized that he seemed to have never understood what faith really was.
Everyone is a lost lamb, waiting for the day when the farmer harvests the harvest and builds a new heaven amidst the blood and corpses.
Anthony couldn't figure it out. Even after so many years, he still didn't understand.
He had asked the respected cardinals, sought out the most devout priests, and even visited teachers at the seminary, but Anthony still couldn't find the answer, until one day, he met a man at the end of the alley...
The sound of metal friction awakened Anthony from his trance. The elevator had arrived at the Temple of Stasis. Without hesitation, he put aside his messy thoughts and walked forward.
The sound of footsteps was particularly clear in this empty hall. Although it was deep underground, there were gusts of breeze, as if countless dead souls were wandering there, breathing towards the living.
Anthony could see the figure kneeling beside the abyss at the end of his vision. He didn't know how long he had been in this position. His white robe was covered with dust, like a sculpture that had been placed there for a long time.