The Cult of the Black God was ruled by the Three Saints.

The Hierophant of Darkness, Dreltein Thelix.

The Saintess of Destruction, Elezar de Reflasion.

The Pope of Death, Jedex Tieland.

Following Tesranach’s plan, they had all returned to this era and established the Cult of the Black God. Each took responsibility for a different source of power: aura, mana, and divine power. They served as pillars that fused necromantic energy with existing forces for the cultists to wield.

But Jedex had been killed by Karnak. In other words, the pillar responsible for divine power had crumbled. A replacement was needed.

"So, Valeria, I understand why you’re here," Dreltein said, staring at the freckled girl before him with an unconvinced expression, "but even so... I didn’t think you would be the next to return."

Tesranach had chosen to return Elezar first for no grand reason. She had simply been standing at the front. In contrast, Dreltein and Jedex had been selected for specific reasons. Only after Elezar was sent back did Tesranach realize they could just barely manage to send two more within the bounds of what was permitted.

So they chose the only martial king alive at the time, Dreltein, and the eldest and the strongest of the fallen popes, Jedex.

Valeria, however, was the youngest of the seven popes. Though she would eventually come to wield divine power befitting the Pope of the Sea, currently, she was just a seventeen-year-old apprentice priestess.

"I don’t mean to disparage you, Valeria," Dreltein continued, "but wouldn’t it have made more sense to summon someone like Georg or Evander, who already held positions in this era?"

Elezar offered a bitter smile in response to his question. "Ah... about that."

It had been Elezar who chose Valeria. She had gone out of her way to find Valeria’s current body, kidnap it, and perform a special ritual using an Anti-Time-Space Transcender to summon the future Valeria’s soul into it.

"The other popes... Well, it was much more difficult to kidnap their current bodies," admitted Elezar.

"Hm?" Dreltein frowned. "Why’s that? Aren’t most of the other popes just low-ranking priests at this point in time?"

"They were in the original timeline," Elezar said, shrugging.

In the original history, this was a peaceful era. Tesranach had not yet emerged, and the balance of power across the continent had been stabilized by the Three Archmages and the Four Martial Kings.

In such times, there were few chances for individual brilliance to shine. Accordingly, the future fallen popes had spent this era leading uneventful lives in religious institutions as ordinary priests.

What changed the world was the rise of Tesranach, the Monarch of Death. As chaos began to spread, the future popes finally found opportunities to reveal their talents. Most of them quickly earned recognition within the Church of the Goddesses and finally rose to their positions as popes.

"But that’s not how this timeline turned out, is it? Thanks to us," she added with a wry smile.

Now, the world no longer followed its original path. The Shadow of Doom had broken loose and thrown the continent into chaos. And amidst that chaos, devout and talented priests were rising to prominence faster than before.

The future popes were no different. They were, after all, people with enough ability to reach the papacy one day. In this tumultuous world, would they really be sitting quietly? Before they had bent the knee to Tesranach, they had been overflowing with righteous zeal and devotion. They were ready to defend the world and destroy evil.

Elezar gave a small laugh. "Right now, all the other popes are working against the cult."

Every one of them had joined the King’s Order of the Seven Kingdoms or the Brigade of Purification.

It was not something Elezar or Dreltein could handle directly.

"Which makes them quite the pain to kidnap. And we couldn’t send any of our public factions either. We’d have to order it done through the dark church..."

But unlike the original timeline, the current versions of the popes were already high-ranking inquisitors. Some were already first-class inquisitors or high inquisitors. It was only natural. With their exceptional skills and strong convictions, they had quickly rose to the top amidst the chaos.

To make it even more difficult, strong priests always made for excellent sacrifices in black magic rituals. And if there was one type of person cultists hated most, it was the inquisitors of the Church of the Goddesses.

Even if they weren’t destined to become popes, the cult would have loved nothing more than to kidnap and sacrifice them in all sorts of rituals.

"Thanks to that, they’re heavily guarded, and the cult is always being watched for any suspicious activity. It’s not easy to get close."

Of course, if they really wanted to, they could kidnap them. But doing so increased the risk of unwanted complications. Thus, it was better to take the safer route. Since Valeria was only an apprentice priestess at this point in time, she didn’t have the same level of protection as an inquisitor.

"Was it our own doing that’s now holding us back? So many problems arise the moment we try to move forward," Dreltein muttered, clicking his tongue.

Elezar continued, "That’s also the reason I mentioned earlier. This is why we’re running low on necromantic power."

They needed to raise the still-young Valeria to Jedex’s level as quickly as possible. Only then could she take his place. To that end, they had poured a substantial reserve of darkness into her, converting it into divine power.

"Thanks to that, I’ve restored my power to this point," Valeria said.

With a bright smile, she lifted her hands, and a radiant light of the goddess spread outward from her body. Had any ordinary priest seen that scene, they might have fainted on the spot. From a seventeen-year-old girl radiated divine power on par with a cardinal.

Of course, to a martial king and an archmage, it wasn’t exactly awe-inspiring.

"She’s not quite pope level yet," Dreltein observed.

"I’m not fully complete. But at least I’m capable of standing in for Jedex." Retracting the light, Valeria murmured casually, "From this point on, I am the Pope of Death."

"I see." Dreltein nodded calmly.

He hadn’t questioned her qualifications due to any personal feelings. As long as she was capable, he had no issue.

"In that case," he said, "I’ll have to repeat my earlier question."

Dreltein looked her directly in the eyes. "Is this truly Tesranach’s will?"

"Yes, without a doubt." The freckled girl nodded earnestly. "Before I was summoned here, I personally stood before him and heard his commands."

***

In the depths of a distant void, beneath the shadow of a tree, a girl heard the voice of a god.

"What would you have us do?" she asked her god.

"Act as planned," came the answer.

The girl voiced her worries. "I fear I may not have entirely understood your plan."

Her god assured her, "You need not fear. Simply do as you are told."

She still worried. "Of course I shall. But I fear I may misinterpret your will."

Her god assured her once more. "You need not fear. Simply act as you desire."

She asked, "Then are you saying I may kill him?"

"I did not command that he be spared," was the answer.

She was confused. "But didn’t you forbid his death?"

She was met with an even more confusing answer. "Denying death is not the same as granting life."

"I do not understand," she voiced her confusion.

"You need not understand. Tell them this as well." The God of Death delivered his oracle. "As long as they do not leave the empire, all shall proceed in accordance with fate."

***

Dreltein sighed. "So what exactly are we supposed to do with this Karnak fellow?"

Elezar’s expression mirrored his own confusion. "I don’t know either."

She had felt the same frustration when Valeria first relayed Tesranach’s oracle. It was clear that Karnak possessed an Anti-Time-Space Transcender. It was equally clear they could not simply leave him be.

But neither she nor Dreltein could leave the empire. And sending someone else to the Seven Kingdoms to deal with him? Almost impossible. Maloka and Leven Strauss had already been defeated, and they had no one else in the Church of the Black God who were any stronger.

Meanwhile, Karnak had risen to an eighth circle mage, was now surrounded by powerful aura users, and even had the backing of the Strauss family.

And judging by the signs, he might even have struck some kind of deal with the Twilight Order.

Both his personal power and his faction’s influence were growing by the day. Yet Tesranach refused to say anything concrete about how to deal with him. It was truly frustrating. Why was he offering only vague guidance at such a critical time?

No, it’s not strange at all. He’s always been like that.

He opened his heart only to his inner circle and kept everyone else at a distance.

Then, Elezar frowned. Something about her thought felt odd. Inner circle?

Tesranach didn’t have confidants. He was a solitary being, unique and absolute. Then why did that thought even come to mind?

But the question quickly faded from her thoughts. As if the thought had never truly existed, it faded from her mind, melting away into the haze of uncertain memory. All that remained was the unwavering conviction that the plan must be carried out.

"For now, let’s ignore this Karnak," Elezar said, raising her hand as she glanced at Dreltein and Valeria. "Fortunately, we have two Anti-Time-Space Transcenders at our disposal, and with these, we can finally proceed according to the original plan."

Two pitch-black cubes floated above her open palm, drifting silently in the air. Though one had already been used on Valeria after Jedex’s loss, the intended recipients of the Anti-Time-Space Transcenders had already been determined from the beginning.

One of them was a mage whose renown rivaled Elezar’s as one of the Three Archmages, the Lord of the Tower of Dawn: Diogres Colon.

"It’s time to bring him back."

***

News of Martial King Gellard’s death sent shockwaves through the Seven Kingdoms Alliance.

And rightly so. While the Lacania Empire had two archmages, and the Berus Federation had one, the Seven Kingdoms Alliance had none. 𝑓𝓇𝘦ℯ𝘸𝘦𝑏𝓃𝑜𝘷ℯ𝑙.𝑐𝑜𝓂

The only real symbol of pride they had left was the Delphiad’s Martial King. Now that he had fallen so suddenly and meaninglessly, how could the blow not be devastating? And then, just a month later, the Strauss family shook the alliance once again with shocking news. The newly appointed head of the family, Leven Strauss, declared the realm he had recently attained.

—Purple tier? Did they say purple-tier?

—And in his early twenties?

—My god...!

Indeed, it was befitting the Strauss family. Even after losing both their martial king and heir, the strength of that great martial family hadn’t faded one bit. Now, the young new head had already reached a realm so high, it left everyone speechless.

No one doubted it anymore. He too would one day rise to the rank of martial king and carry on the glory of his family, and of the entire alliance.

—But who is this Varos fellow?

—He’s supposedly the same age as Sir Leven and also purple-tier?

—No clue. Some say he’s a friend of Sir Leven’s?

While unveiling his purple aura, Leven Strauss made one more announcement to the world: His own cultivation had only been possible thanks to his training and mutual rivalry with his close companion, Varos.

And he declared that he would continue training alongside his companion and uphold the name of Strauss with pride, to ultimately follow in the footsteps of his father and become martial king.

Karnak grinned after gauging the public reaction. "Perfect. This makes Leven’s reintegration feel totally natural."

Had it been revealed that Leven reached the purple-tier through instruction from Varos, it might’ve seemed suspicious. But what if it was framed as two young, promising geniuses sharpening each other like rival blades?

Karnak said, "That sounds a lot more organic. As I always say, words matter. It’s not just what you say, but how you say it."

After all, the same truth could be accepted in completely different ways, depending on how it was phrased.