Mycroft Continent, Southern Sea, Frontier Sea.
The endless vast blue sea in the south is covered with clouds and raging storms all day long, as if it rejects all outsiders.
But among the churning whirlpools and waves, there is a gray-white island standing tall. It is hidden in the mist and waves, allowing the turbulent waves to hit the rocks on its cliffs at will, making it appear so indestructible.
In the legend of the sea people, this is not the true face of the gray island. If one day, the storm in the distant sea stops and the clouds disperse, then a pure white island will appear among the surging waves, towering to the top. The sacred mountain reaches into the sky and is obscured by white clouds.
Church of the Seven Gods, Holy Mountain in the Far Sea.
The gray island named Ada is almost surrounded by cliffs. In front of its only entrance to the sea, there is a huge holy white stone tablet with several bright red characters on it.
'Where faith comes, the storm ceases'
On Gray Island, there are many white buildings and temple complexes, and tens of thousands of residents live here. They are all priests of the Church of the Seven Gods, receiving training, or serving the trainers.
Some people were born here and will die here. New people are constantly coming here to be tempered by their faith, and then become qualified priests and return to the mainland to fight against evil and drive away diseases. There are also many old people here. After working hard all his life, he returned here to spend his remaining years, enjoying the tranquility of the holy land.
As the gathering place for all the beliefs of the human race in the world, Gray Island is shrouded in a strong power of holy light all day long. Under this light, all evil cannot get close and has no escape. The eyes of the seven human gods will always be Watch here.
And in the central temple, the teleportation center.
With a flash of silvery white, a knight covered in blood walked out of the teleportation array.
His armor was covered with scars, and traces of acid and various strange attacks were everywhere. Under the purification of the power of Holy Light on Gray Island, the knight let out a groan of pain, but some relief, Countless black energy emerged from his wounds and armor, and then was purified inch by inch, turning into nothingness.
After resting for a while and recovering some physical strength, the knight silently passed through the obstruction of the temple guards and refused the attendant's request to change his armor and cleanse his body. He moved forward and passed through the buildings on Gray Island. It seemed that I want to use this filthy body to walk up to the most holy mountain hidden in the clouds.
Legend has it that it takes seven days and seven nights without rest to reach the top of the holy mountain.
The guards and attendants on the road seemed to know this knight. They looked at each other hesitantly, wondering whether they should stop him, but just when they hesitated, the knight had already climbed the holy mountain.
The pure white mountain is like a sharp sword, thrusting into the depths of the cumulus clouds. Lightning flashes on its mountainside, and thunder explodes around it.
The knight looked up at the mountain and paused for a moment. No matter how many times he looked at it, he could not help but be shocked by its majesty and ruggedness.
But now is not the time to stand still. The knight shook his head and stepped onto the long ladder leading to the top of the mountain. This long ladder has countless steps, and each step is made of pure white solid rock. On both sides of this long staircase, there are countless gray arches, one after another, like an endless long chain.
In the Holy Mountain, there is a mysterious chain formed by the convergence of countless power of faith and holy light. Anyone without the power of order or holy light will be blocked by it, and time and space will be distorted by it, so that he will never reach his goal. Only with faith can you find the true path. This is the truth that you can reach the top of the mountain by walking for seven days and seven nights.
How devout is the knight's faith? There was no obstruction along the way, and he ran towards the top of the mountain as fast as a sharp arrow.
On the way, he passed the sacred statues of the seven gods, the black ring of the god of justice and power, the withered heart of the god of love and decay, the white snake of the god of order and destruction, and the thorn bird of the god of law and freedom. , the hammer book of the god of protection and change, the forked eye of the god of wisdom and choice, and the bones, soil and grass of the god of life.
The knight had no respect for the statues of these holy objects. Only when facing the holy objects of the God of Life, he stopped slightly and lowered his head to show respect.
Finally, he crossed the clouds, penetrated the fog and lightning, and arrived at the top of the Holy Mountain, in the temple that was always illuminated by the sun, the bright moon, and the stars.
At the entrance of the temple, there are countless guards in white robes with gold patterns. Unlike the guards at the bottom of the mountain, although they know the knight, they will not give in. Instead, they will all step forward to stop him. These guards apologized, There was no hesitation in taking action. Instead of using weapons, they all reached out and grabbed the knight's body, hindering his progress, as if they wanted to take him away alive.
But the knight's body was as unshakable as a mountain. He allowed these guards to hug his armor, hands and feet, and his whole body shone with holy light. No one could stop his steps. The knight remained silent, step by step, with unstoppable momentum. Moving forward, all the guards were left behind by a gentle yet powerful force, and were unable to get up for a moment.
With firm steps, he entered the temple.
On both sides of the majestic and huge arches of the temple, there are statues of the guardians of the Holy Mountain in ancient times. These statues are holding giant swords and shields with resolute expressions. They seem to have been guarding this place until the end of time.
And above the arch, there is a row of clear words written on it.
'The lonely sun, the twin moons, the endless stars, the thousand-year plain, only the light remains forever'
Deep in the temple, at the end of the arcade, an old man with white hair, golden eyes, a holy silver crown, and a pure white scepter is sitting on his seat, seemingly waiting for the arrival of the knight.
"Loranda, you're here."
This kind-faced old man seemed to have known what was going on at the foot of the mountain for a long time. He did not block the knight's progress, and even asked the guard behind the knight who was about to continue blocking to retreat. He did not seem to be concerned about the knight's forced entry into the temple. Angry, the old man gently said to the knight named Loranda: "If you want to enter the Holy Mountain, you don't need to force your way in. Why is that?"
This old man is wearing a simple white robe with ancient patterns on it, but the scepter in his hand and the crown on his head are both flowing with a powerful light that is so rich that it makes people breathless. The white chair he sits on It seemed simple, but it was actually carved from rare holy white crystal. The sunlight fell from the skylight of the temple and shone in front of him, shining with the endless power of the Holy Light of Order.
Facing the old man, the knight took a deep breath. The wounds on his body healed quickly under the healing power deliberately exuded by the old man, and the scars disappeared.
But even so, his breathing was trembling, as if he was suppressing his anger, which was in sharp contrast to the unstoppable momentum before.
"Godfather Eagle... Vichy is dead."
After a long time, the knight's breathing calmed down, but it was very heavy: "My comrade-in-arms, Vichy, who grew up with me and saved me several times, is dead."
"Yeah."
After a moment of silence, the old man named Eagle shook his head. His voice was still gentle, but it contained a calm to cold tone: "Although I can comfort you and relieve your sorrow, Loranda, As the strongest knight of the younger generation of the church, you should have known for a long time that there will always be sacrifices in battle, not to mention that those you are fighting are the most evil things from other worlds, the Familia of Chaos."
"In the face of this kind of existence, death is normal. Not everyone is as strong as you."
Eagle said this, as if he had seen through everything: "I originally thought you were used to it."
"Your Majesty the Pope, no one will get used to this kind of thing!"
The knight said angrily. He took off his helmet covered with brown blood scabs, revealing his white-blond hair and resolute and handsome face. His blue eyes revealed true anger. This man was like a marble statue. The knight looked angry and said loudly to his godfather, the pope of the church: "Vichy is dead, Greer is dead, my elders, my friends, and many comrades-in-arms, they are all dead."
"I was adopted and taught by you since I was a child. I have devout faith and have been working hard to learn martial arts. In the Temple of Heaven, I swore to protect this world and fight all evil. Although I have only survived in this world for twenty-seven years, these two I haven't wasted a moment in these seventeen years, but I have completely dedicated myself to gods and humans!"
Loranda's voice suddenly rose in pitch. He frowned and said loudly to the old man in front of him: "Since I have mastered martial arts, I have been in the Plague Land of the Western Mountains, fighting hard against the most evil things. My heart is extremely passionate about my responsibilities, and even though I have been close to death several times, I have never doubted my belief, but!"
At this point, his voice slowed down, as if it was forced out from between his teeth: "... They are all dead. I have been surrounded by people five times. They are all dead. No matter who they are, they are the best in the church. Knights, their futures are extremely bright, many, many... I originally thought I could endure it, but in the end I discovered that my heart is not indestructible."
"The death of Vichy made me finally start to doubt the meaning of my oath and the meaning of fighting. After this battle, I thought about it for a long time."
At this point, Loranda's voice returned to calmness, and he said expressionlessly to the old man who had been silent until now: "Master Godfather, Master Pope, I don't understand, whether it is the Plague Land in the Western Mountains or the Northern Empire in the North. What’s the point of allowing these chaotic cancers to cling to our world in a land that is under siege?”
"...To bloom, flowers need to cling to the soil, and rootless duckweeds also need to float in the river."
After listening to his godson's question, Eagle thought for a while, and then replied softly: "Just like people need food and fire needs firewood, if a world of order is to be maintained, it can only rely on the burning of chaos as the source. "
"The fire was poured out thousands of years ago. Without these tumors as a source of firewood, the fire on the Mycroft Continent would have been extinguished long ago."
In a few words, the old man told the truth of the matter, but the knight's face was full of doubts and troubled. Although he knew that his godfather did not deceive him and gave a real answer, he could not understand it.
Seeing Loranda's expression, Eagle smiled slightly, shook his head and said: "I have already given an explanation, my child, you really can't understand this now, it is too early... Twenty-seven Even though he is very strong at his golden peak at the age of 18, he still has not reached his ultimate goal or reached his ultimate goal. It makes no sense to tell you the causes and processes of these things."
"How could it be meaningless!"
After hearing Eagle's words, Loranda could not help but retort: "Godfather, you raised me who lost my parents due to political struggle. Although you are not my parents, you are better than this, but you are always so mysterious. , unwilling to tell any truth!”
"The Plague Land, with your power, can be completely eliminated long ago. The power of legend is equivalent to the gods walking in the world. Even if it cannot be eliminated, you can completely close the time and space gate and completely seal the Plague Land. Just like the legendary archmage of the Kaos family in the Northern Empire four hundred years ago! But you do nothing, you just let us use our lives to fill this bottomless pit!"
"After it is sealed, there will be other sources. Although the time and space gate in the North is sealed, there are still remnants. The effort is not proportional to the price. You know what Kabala Kaos paid to proceed... Sigh."
Suddenly sighing, the old man lost interest, and said slowly: "Igor, you don't understand, there are some things that you can't just do if you want to. Now you have to stay in the Plague Land. The only thing you can do is, It is to become stronger in the battle and not let the sacrifice of your comrades be in vain, only after you become the next Pope of the Church of the Seven Gods and the successor of the Saint."
He paused for a moment, and then said to the knight word by word:
"That's when you'll know the truth."
Loranda seemed to want to refute, but the pure white scepter in Eagle's hand suddenly began to shine.
The eyes of both parties were focused on the scepter, watching the light flicker and flow like breathing.
"Aha."
The old man laughed, and the wrinkles on his face wrinkled slightly, looking like he was genuinely happy.
The knight watched quietly from the side, extremely surprised. He knew clearly that although his godfather was kind, he had not smiled so happily for a long time.
After being happy, there is silence.
"Let's go to the Northland."
Eagle suddenly spoke and said to the knight. His expression did not seem to be joking, but extremely serious: "Because of the oath, I can't tell you anything, but if you really want to know what is the truth, then You can go to the fortified land in the North and have a look."
"There are people out there who are similar to me and similar to you in the future."
After finishing speaking, the old man raised his scepter and signaled the knight to retreat.
Although Loranda was confused, his anger had already been vented, and he was also thinking about what Eagle had said before, so the knight slowly retreated after bowing.
After the knight left, the old man sat on his crystal seat and quietly looked at the scepter in his hand.
At the top of the scepter, there was a weak flame shrouded in countless haloes, burning slowly.
Chapter two! The second chapter can be divided into 2 chapters!
I am very satisfied with the writing of this chapter, but I think it will be criticized as watery (not all the foreshadowing is watery)
(End of chapter)