Chapter 798 — In Poor Spirits
Blade of Dawn · Page 3 of 4
"Beyond that, all we can do is wait for word from the Sleepers. After all, whatever plan I devise here, the precondition is that the Sleepers are willing to cooperate. If my estimate is right, we shouldn't have to wait long—they're more anxious than we are."
...
Yuri Charwen had rested for a long while in his chamber within the underground palace before he recovered somewhat. He stepped out from the center of the formation array—inscribed with numerous mystic runes and possessing extraordinary effects such as calming the spirit, rectifying the mind, and filtering thought-pollution—and saw that Selina Geer's figure was already standing not far away.
"How is your condition?" the woman holding the lantern asked faintly.
"...About seventy or eighty percent recovered. To recover this much in such a short time is already quite good," the Hierarch of the Shining Measure said with a bitter smile. "That fellow Margrave... I warned him long ago that etching a psychic storm into one's subconscious as an emergency protective spell is simply the most absurd thing imaginable, and that sooner or later it would cause a disaster. Now he should finally have learned his lesson..."
Selina's tone was calm: "When a psychic storm lands on someone else, he's not the one who learns the lesson."
"..." Yuri was momentarily speechless, and after a pause could only shake his head helplessly. "Fair enough. So then, Hierarch of the Shining Truth, have you come to disclose something to me in advance?"
"Establishing cooperation with the Outsider Wanderer is the only choice."
The Hierarch of the Shining Measure fell silent for a moment: "...It's already been decided?"
"It's been decided."
"Including agreeing to the Outsider Wanderer's conditions?"
"Including."
"...I'm afraid some people won't agree," Yuri said in a low voice after a moment's pondering. "The order has grown to this day far more bloated and complex than it was at the beginning. Even among the bishop-level seats, not everyone is still devoted to scholarship and research..."
Selina looked into Yuri's eyes and said slowly, "They are followers of the Upper Narrator."
Yuri's eyes widened, but all he heard was her repeating:
"They are followers of the Upper Narrator."
For a few seconds he was stunned, his thoughts churning—and then this man, born into a noble Typhon family, steeped since childhood in the reshufflings of high powers and hardened by Aldern's many upheavals, suddenly realized something.
"...Certain people must have been on the list long ago, haven't they?"
"Earlier than you imagine."
Yuri looked at the lady before him—always so gentle and placid, so seemingly harmless—and could not help but laugh. "It really is as the Outsider Wanderer said... He has brought us an opportunity instead."
"Yuri, this is internal purification. It is not for the Pope's personal wishes, nor for anyone else's standing—it is for all our futures," Selina said quietly. "I hope you understand that."
"Yes," Yuri nodded slowly. "Internal purification... only purification. But must it truly be at a time like this? We are facing the threat of the Upper Narrator..."
"If what we face is a god, then the last thing we need is 'numbers.'"
"...I understand."
Selina nodded. "Good that you do."
The air was silent for two seconds. Then Yuri asked, "What of the Wendy Yaoyao Church?"
"The mental contamination has been contained, but she remains a devout follower of the Upper Narrator, and there is no telling when she will fully escape that state. You may visit her, but do not stay in contact too long."
As the words fell, Selina's figure dissolved into the air like a dream.
Yuri stood dazed for a moment, then turned and left the room.
He passed through deep, winding corridors, down ramps barred by layer upon layer of seals, until he reached the lowest level of this underground palace—the isolated quarter that housed the psychic choir.