Xyrin Empire-Chapter 649: The Darkest History of the Goddess Sect

Chapter 649: Chapter 649: The Darkest History of the Goddess Sect

The sacred hall was ablaze with lights as the baptism was proceeding.

This was a wondrous building, one that merged incomprehensible symbolic elements and minor distortions of the laws during its construction. When standing outside the Baptism Hall, you might assume it to be nothing more than a rather tall dome-shaped structure. However, once you step inside, the vast interior space would astonish you—capable of accommodating a gathering of twenty people without feeling empty, and of housing millions for a pilgrimage without feeling crowded. Yes, the interior of the Baptism Hall was mutable; space here was always in a state of perfect balance. No matter how many believers entered, it would always prepare an adequate spot for you, "Neither disrespecting the Goddess with emptiness nor shaming our Lord with overcrowding." That was the purpose of the random spatial changes in this holy temple.

The Baptism Hall was a circular, domed building with no columns or similar supports inside, only several thick vines that hung down from the high ceiling. Intricate paintings adorned the walls of the hall. Unlike typical religious artworks, these murals depicted various wild animals, plants, and humans—not miracles of the gods or tales of devout pilgrims. These images represented the prosperity of life in the world, in fact, they included every type of life in the universe, even single-cell organisms, drawn to scale. In Lilina’s words, "I’ve painted them there; if you can’t see them, that’s a problem with your eyesight."

Having the images of all life forms in the universe on the walls of one hall seems an impossible feat. Herein lies the second marvel of the Baptism Hall: the paintings didn’t reveal everything to all onlookers. Each person who came here saw different images in the murals. Only those with a deeper understanding of the essence of life and more respect for the natural balance saw more content in the murals and could glean more secrets of the world. Lilina had explicitly stated in the Divine Canon, "Whoever witnesses one thousand eight hundred forms of life in the ultimate site of baptism, shall gain eternal life." Such a claim might be true, but so far, no one has been able to confirm it, because according to the Red Dragon Queen Alexstrasza, who once challenged this trial, beneath the image of the one thousand seven hundred and ninety-ninth life form was written:

The following content is visible only to those who reply.

No one can leave their mark on the walls of the Holy Land, so no one has yet gained immortality through this method.

At the center of the hall stood the Baptism Platform—a shallow "bowl"-shaped altar, half a meter above the ground and twelve meters in radius, carved entirely from green crystal, with shimmering ripples. In the middle of the "bowl" was a several meters tall pearly white sculpture depicting a beautiful girl with long hair reaching to her waist. She held a water jug in her arms, and the holy water for the baptism flowed continuously from this jug, sprinkling into the shallow "bowl" below. It’s easy to imagine that the sculpture represented the Life Goddess: Lilina had created it using divine power, based on the sacred image of Dingdang in her divine form—a rare good deed by that crazy girl, in my opinion.

According to religious etiquette, the initiates needed to stand on the Baptism Platform, in the bowl-shaped altar, beneath the water jug in the goddess’s hands, and be drenched by the holy water pouring out—an ordeal that had to last for three minutes. Miraculously, the chosen ones didn’t get wet. Every minute, the conducting priest would ask a question, to which the initiate had to answer truthfully according to their own thoughts. Correctly answering the questions prevented them from getting soaked. These questions weren’t necessarily religious, but completely random and unpredictable. Initiates needn’t be nervous; only lying, stalling, or an answer against the doctrines would trigger a reaction from the holy water, and the questions were never too difficult.

After the baptism, the degree of dryness on one’s body was the most direct indicator to judge a believer’s faith. Our greatest His Holiness the Pope, Ding Lili Na Dang, could stand under the test of the holy water for seven days and remain dry—as it was said in the latest edition of the Bible from yesterday, anyway.

A holy site brimming with miracles, with baptism rituals so solemn, sternly complex, and sacred (a rarity in all Dingdang Sect’s religious activities), could clearly not be a privilege afforded to each believer. This highest level of baptism was reserved for special characters, such as racial leaders or epic heroes. Normally, the baptisms for Goddess believers from various worlds were much simplified ceremonies, like pinning down the new unfortunate soul in a chair while the local priest brandished a kettle overhead—I imagined it that way.

Fina’s baptism ceremony was coming to its last step. Soft and pure singing echoed in the air, permeating the minds of everyone present. The delicate girl standing on the Baptism Platform with a serene expression on her face was answering the priest, Artemis’s, final question: What is your view on a girl’s struggle with acne?

Fina thought for just one second before honestly answering, "I don’t know."

A very appropriate response: truthful, unhesitant, and not contradicting any doctrine, thus the baptism concluded satisfactorily.

I watched just this ending from below, but the ending alone was enough to leave me absolutely flabbergasted.

"I say, where do you get the questions for your baptism ceremony?"

I spent half a minute letting the organs on my face return to their normal workstations, then I nudged a solemn Avalon Priest draped in a Divine Robe beside me, who bowed to me and replied succinctly, "Baidu."

You guys know, right now I really feel like giving Lilina a good beating.

Probably because the baffled look on my face was too obvious, the Nameless Priest standing beside me quickly tried to cover for his Female Pope leader, "Your Majesty, actually, His Holiness the Pope had already standardized the ceremony. At the beginning, the baptizee could answer questions with a group of friends nearby and even had the chance to phone a friend for help, but these options have been canceled..."

There are so many flaws this time; can I just not bother pointing them out?

The baptism ceremony had ended. Fina was walking down from the altar, and the officiating Priest Artemis smiled as she pinned a green leaf brooch symbolizing a follower on Fina, "Congratulations, Fina, you have now become a follower of the Goddess. May the Goddess’s blessing be with you—when she is at work."

Being a follower of Dingdang is tough.

"Fina! Artemis!" I squeezed through the crowd and called out to them.

Artemis was momentarily taken aback, while Fina gave me a flat-toned question, "My friend, what brings you here?"

Without punctuation, who would know she was asking a question.

"I suddenly heard you were joining a sect, came to have a look. What did Lilina tell you?"

"Lilina told me that believing in the Goddess helps improve social knowledge—I’ve been deeply troubled by this recently."

...Believing in such nonsensical stuff is the real lack of common sense, you clueless fool! Lilina, do you usually bully the innocent Fina like this?!

"I hadn’t thought of that reason. Bishop Lilina just asked me to conduct the ceremony for this new sister," Artemis suddenly revealed a complex expression, then scratched her head, a gesture that completely shattered the clergy image she’d maintained for so long, reverting back to the brash girl she used to be, "But I think having faith is always good, especially joining the close-knit Goddess Sect. We’ll take good care of Fina—umm, the Imperial Code doesn’t prohibit Imperial People from joining a sect, does it? Fina now seems like a standard Angel Envoy."

"That’s not a problem," I smirked, then reached into my pocket, "Dingdang, come out, meet your new Divine Believer, freshly swindled by Lilina."

The little creature was pulled out of the pocket while hugging my finger, its face seemingly still stained with oil from eating just now. Fina and the little thing looked at each other for a while, then Fina nodded mechanically, "Hello."

Little One licked its fingertip and let out a thin, sharp call, "Fina~~ so you believe in Dingdang now, huh?"

This was the historic meeting between the Goddess and her new follower, and let me reiterate, the devout bunch around here who worship Dingdang are no pushovers either.

"Wow, this place is huge," the Little Thing that I pulled out of my pocket exclaimed as if it had just left its nest for the first time. After greeting Fina, it started curiously looking around. Despite bearing the title of Goddess, this Little Thing that has been hanging around with me had never been to the Baptism Hall before. Soon enough, it discovered a whole new world, hopped onto my shoulder with a plop, and began shouting as it pointed at someone nearby, "Ah Jun, Ah Jun, who is this idiot holding a jar? The water is spilling out!" freёweɓnovel_com

Instantly, silence enveloped the surroundings, and Artemis was on the verge of tears.

I waved my hand in front of a slightly stiff-faced Fina and said earnestly, "Fina, it’s not too late to renounce your faith..."

I can’t quite describe the atmosphere in which Fina and I were respectfully escorted out. Just minutes ago, one of the most severe blunders in the history of the Life Goddess Sect had taken place, right in front of at least a dozen bishops, over a thousand Divine Guardians (Heroic Spirits), hundreds of High Order Priests, and an Imperial Leader. From now on, whenever I recall today, the disconsolate faces of those Heroic Spirits will spring vividly to mind.

Reportedly, from that day on, the Life Goddess Sect defined new standards for Goddess Statues in their doctrine. No matter what form the Goddess Statue took, it was required to hold a lollipop in its right hand. It might look a bit nonsensical, but at least it would prevent our Lady Goddess from making the same mistake again... Dingdang couldn’t recognize anything else afterward.

Fina’s cottage was located in the central area of this village, right next to Artemis’s residence. As a newly minted Xyrin Apostle who was still ’wet behind the ears,’ Fina was supposed to settle down in Shadow City, but she seemed to prefer the natural beauty of Avalon. So, after completing her soul adjustment, she took up residence here, which was quite understandable. For the past several centuries, Fina had lived in an environment of a steel throne and chilly command halls. She had almost forgotten what a vibrant and lively world looked like. This picturesque heaven and earth were more comforting to the former Queen than the memory of the steel jungle known as Shadow City.

"Friend, I’ve learned how to make tea. I hope you’ll like it."

After allowing me into the house, Fina got up to prepare the tea while I took a quick look around. Like most of the buildings in this village, Fina’s house was a two-story residence, but only the first floor was for living; the second floor and above were reserved for the Prayer Room and other religious symbols. Within my field of vision, this not-too-large house was impeccably tidy, almost too tidy. Apart from the essential furniture, I didn’t spot any decorative items, making it hard to tell that a girl lived here. Although I was aware of Fina’s lack of emotion and her unfamiliarity with certain common-sense matters, I was still surprised that aside from maintaining the basics for survival, she didn’t seem to have any personal hobbies.

I had also seen Silvia’s living space, which was equally neat. That slow-witted Silver-haired Mole might not have many hobbies due to limited brainpower, but at least she would occasionally collect some of the latest candy wrappers to display on a shelf or design some cards to hand out to children. Yet, it seemed like Fina’s place was even more barren than hers.

"Black tea."

Lost in thought, a cup of steaming tea was placed before me. Fina sat down opposite me and stared blankly in my direction.

"Um, what’s up?"

I felt uneasy under this expressionless girl’s gaze. Initially, I planned to ask about how she’d been these past few days, but now I didn’t feel comfortable starting the conversation.

"Ding Lili Na Dang said, staring into someone’s eyes when talking with a friend is a sign of politeness and honesty."

"...She finally gave you a correct piece of common sense," I said, facepalming, "and yet you’ve still misunderstood it... Anyway, just do as you please. I came to see how you’ve been these past few days. Are you getting used to living in this world?"

Fina’s lips formed a very tiny arc as if she intended to smile a bit. "Thank you for your concern, friend. I am very well here, and everyone is extremely kind. People help each other, and it’s countless times better than the environment I used to live in."

"Uh." I scratched my head but got a bit stuck. Everything I had thought out previously seemed so well-planned, but communicating with Fina proved to be really challenging after all. This girl, lacking emotions and common sense, was definitely not a good conversation partner. Any topic you opened up with her was doomed to lack resonance. Not to mention anything else, I even doubted whether she knew what "satisfaction" or "happiness" felt like. With these premises, could I really determine Fina’s current state of life?

"Friend, your expression looks troubled," Fina observed. "My memory bank tells me that this expression means you are troubled. Can I help you?"

"Ah," I sighed, giving up on trying to discern any emotions from Fina’s face, then pulled Dingdang out of my pocket. "Little Thing, I’m a bit down. Can you be cute for me?"

"Awu!"

Sure enough, the next second, I got bitten by Lady Goddess.

"Friend, do you find it difficult to communicate with me?"

While I was busy pulling Dingdang off my hand, Fina actually took the initiative to speak, and I couldn’t tell if it was just my imagination, but it seemed... she had a bit of an apologetic look on her face?

"It’s not that," I said. "It’s just...well, you came from another world to a completely unfamiliar environment with no family around, so I wanted to check on you. I’m just a person who can’t help but meddle. Artemis and the others were taken care of by me in the same way."

"Um," Fina nodded slowly, then began to formulate her response. "Friend, I can feel your kindness, but I am truly sorry, I really don’t know which facial expression to use to express what I feel inside, and I don’t even know what the feelings in my heart mean. I can be sure of one thing, and that is now, I am... ’happier’ than I was on that Steel Throne. This is the first emotion I learned after I left those machines. I hope this will ease your worries, friend, I am really sorry..."

Seeing the girl in front of me with a hint of tension and panic in her eyes, yet utterly unable to express it with her face, I immediately waved my hand to stop her futile attempts, my face already wearing a smile. "Alright, maybe I understand what you mean now. No problem, I ’educated’...uh, trained Pandora in almost the same situation once. Knowing you’re happy is good enough, even if life is a bit monotonous."

Once again, I pondered over Fina’s room environment, like that of an ascetic monk. It’s incredible that this mechanical girl with no hobbies, who is simply happy just being free, could tolerate such conditions. Hopefully, through constant contact with those around her, she’ll gradually recover a human heart. At least for now, it seems that she can feel nervous because of my trouble which is a significant step towards regaining a human heart. Artemis really did have a tough job.

"There’s nothing much else, today the sisters from Mercury Lamp are coming over to play, the house is probably already turned upside down by a bunch of kids, and I actually came here to escape to some peace and quiet."

After chatting with Fina for a bit, I finally told the truth. Visiting here to check on the well-being of the citizens was a noble excuse indeed, but in reality, I feared a group of rowdy Rose Maidens even more. The calm and dignified Zhenhong might be managed with Anwina’s black tea, Cui Xingshi seemed obedient enough, but Cang Xingshi, who never stops talking, is a real disaster waiting to happen. And then there’s Chu Mei with her totally childlike antics and the active Golden Canary... Heaven help me. Haven’t I already got enough kids at home? Is the Imperial Royal District going to turn into a preschool class soon?

"Really?" Fina replied. "Lilina told me that Lolis are the most powerful beings in this world because they are females and minors. It seems that is true."

"I wonder how much of that kind of ’general knowledge’ she’s instilled in you," I muttered disappointedly. "Well, I can’t go back before Big Sister finishes imposing order, so let’s talk about the Carnival, shall we? You are a former Queen, after all, and when the Pan-Galactic Civilization Community participates in the Carnival, you’ll have to make an appearance too..."

(To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to visit Qidian (qidian.com) to vote for recommendation tickets and monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation.)

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