Chapter 011: Prophecy

Anthony glanced at Du Fan and said calmly, “Du Fan, still can’t you figure it out? In that war, neither we nor Roland Academy had any so-called victors. We were both losers back then, and we remain losers even now… Over the past thousand years, successive popes have strived to restore the glory of the Holy See, but how easy is that? Once humans seize power, how can they bear to give it up? Take the Gavin Empire, for example. Despite Austin III’s apparent respect for our Holy See, in his eyes, the threat posed by our Holy See might even be greater than that of the Laney Empire, which he worries about every day…”
“Is this the current state of the Holy See?” Du Fan frowned and closed his eyes for a moment before saying, “Lord Anthony, let’s go outside.”
Anthony smiled and said, “What, you don’t want to see the murals behind?”
Du Fan shook his head. “No need. If Lord Anthony wanted me to see these murals and hear about the history of the Holy See today, I think that’s enough. The murals behind merely record how our Holy See managed to survive despite its wounds… There’s no point in looking at them; it’s better not to.”
Anthony nodded and said softly after a moment, “Du Fan, do you know why I wanted you to know these things today?”
Du Fan shook his head slightly. What Anthony had told him today were indeed extremely secret matters for the Holy See—secrets passed down orally by the church’s leaders and absolutely forbidden from being known to believers… After all, the Holy See’s current texts had completely mythologized the ancient era, even turning that war of the Dark Ages into a sacred battle of the Templars’ northern campaign… As for the war that led to the division of the Holy See, it had been entirely erased from historical records. In this era, people didn’t even know about the deep ties between the Holy See and Roland Academy.
Of course, Du Fan also believed that on the Roland Continent, besides the Holy See and Roland Academy, there must be others who knew these secrets. But those who knew them surely understood that such matters couldn’t be spoken of casually.

After all, such matters concern the authority of the Holy See and the foundation of faith. If believers were to learn of these things, not to mention the Holy See, even the entire continent might face destruction. After all, at this time, humans believe they are the most advanced beings apart from the gods; even the mighty dragon race is merely seen as larger lizards in human eyes… But if ordinary people discovered that their ancestors were once the lowest-class slaves, I’m afraid… Anthony’s gaze fell on Du Fan, as if he could see through his thoughts completely. He said in a low voice, “Du Fan, there are two reasons why I tell you this. First, I want to let you know that from today onward, you can be considered part of the Holy See’s elite. Of course, you’re still young, and even the Pope can’t immediately promote you to archbishop. But you should know that a position there has already been reserved for you. As for the second reason, I also want you to understand what our true enemy has been all these years.” Du Fan frowned and asked, “Lord Anthony, what do you mean?” Anthony smiled slightly and said, “If it were just the Roland Academy, to be honest, the Holy See really wouldn’t take it seriously. But our true enemy isn’t them—it’s… human hearts. Only by controlling people’s hearts can we restore the glory of a thousand years ago. And I believe all of this will fall into your hands to be realized, Du Fan.” Du Fan frowned. “What do you mean?” Anthony smiled and said, “If you don’t want to look at the murals behind, then let’s take a look at the last one together. If you do, I think you’ll understand.” “The last one?” Anthony nodded and said, “Stare at it carefully. I think you’ll understand in a moment!” With that, Anthony pointed to the hexagram magic array above their heads… The entire magic array seemed to turn as deep as the starry sky… In that nearly infinite depth, the glow of the stars seemed to form various images, like rippling waves. Eventually, some blurred images appeared within those waves. These images passed by like illusions, yet they could be seen clearly—even the expressions on the people’s faces were unmistakable.

Du Fan watched for a while longer before suddenly realizing that what he was seeing was exactly what he had seen in the mural before, only much more detailed. At this moment, he didn’t need Anthony’s explanation to understand the story behind the scenes…

Finally, these narratives completely disappeared, leaving behind a large blank space. After that, a scene took shape in the starry sky: atop a towering cathedral, a person dressed in a papal robe gazed at everything before him. Below him, countless believers knelt on the ground—almost exactly as in the first mural Du Fan had seen. Yet this scene contained many indescribable elements that hinted at something, though it was impossible to put into words.

As Du Fan pondered what this meant, the entire scene suddenly trembled and then slowly vanished. The magic circle reverted to being just a magic circle, with nothing visible inside anymore.

Du Fan shook his head and glanced at Anthony, asking, “Lord Anthony, what does this mean?”

“Can’t you see?” Anthony smiled faintly. “This is a prophecy! Only this time, it predicts the future of our Holy Church.”

“The future of our Holy Church?” The last image flashed through Du Fan’s mind—“To restore the glory of a thousand years ago?”

“Yes…” Anthony nodded. “That’s our hope, and it’s also our future.”

Du Fan shook his head with a bitter smile. What did this mean?

Anthony seemed to sense Du Fan’s disdain and said calmly, “Du Fan, there’s no need to reject it right away. In fact, if you knew who left this prophecy, you would surely believe that all of this is true.”

“Who?”

“Leois I.” Anthony sighed. “Both this place and this final mural were left by Leois I. After all, he was an unparalleled warrior. When he founded the Holy Church, he already predicted its future… Du Fan, if you compare these murals left by later generations with Leois I’s prophecies, you’ll realize that every one of his predictions has come true, as if our future had already been arranged by him.”

Du Fan nodded slightly. After a moment, he asked, “What about that large blank space at the end?”

Anthony gave a bitter smile and said, “This is the wonder of Leo I’s prophecy. Although we know that there is content within that vast emptiness, we can absolutely not see it until it happens. Only after it occurs do we realize that all our choices match exactly what was predicted…”
Du Fan thought for a moment before sighing, “In that case, what’s the difference between having a prophecy and not having one?”
Anthony shook his head. “No, there’s a big difference… I think Leo I left this prophecy for a reason. At least, it predicted the future of the Holy Church… During the Holy Church’s glorious era, this final prophecy wasn’t useful. But after the War of Judgment, when people’s hearts were scattered, it was only after seeing this prophecy that successive popes firmly believed the Holy Church would return to its glory of a thousand years ago… I’m not sure why Leo I left this prophecy, but at least it gave us courage…”
Du Fan gave a bitter smile and said, “Did Lord Leo I leave nothing else besides this?”
“There is…”, Anthony nodded. “He left another message, but only successive popes know it, and it’s passed down only among them. Du Fan, if you want to know it, you’ll have to work hard!”
Du Fan smiled faintly and said, “I’ll try my best.”
Anthony smiled and said, “Well, I’ve told you everything I wanted to today… There’s obviously more to talk about, but this isn’t the right place. Let’s go outside first.”
Du Fan nodded slightly and said, “Please.”
The two exchanged a glance and almost simultaneously stepped out of the room’s door. Soon after, a burst of holy light appeared before them. When Du Fan’s vision cleared again, he found himself back in the hall, unaware of when. The glowing statue of the Light God on the platform was still dazzling, but Du Fan no longer felt it to be filled with radiance…