Bear School Astartes-Chapter 883 - 866: The First Toll

[Fire], holds a special significance in this world.

Seeing everything along the way, Lann feels that [Fire] is not just meaningful, it’s practically the key factor for the continuity and stability of the world.

And the [Fire Ritual], [Lord of Cinder]... these were the words he first heard coming out of the mouths of lumberjacks who hadn’t yet turned into wandering souls when he arrived in this world.

Originally, based on his ingrained thinking from the normal world, Lann had always thought [Lord of Cinder] was just a role akin to a host for the [Fire Ritual].

But now it sounds like the foundation for the world’s stability, [Fire]... is actually burning the mighty as [kindling]?!

It is this act that stabilizes the continuity of [Fire], leading to the respect for the mighty who pass the fire as [Lord of Cinder].

Lann furrows his brow and recalls the Maggot Men who willingly nailed themselves to the wall to cleanse the filth for the goddess they worship.

The cruel style of this world runs deep.

"Elderidge..."

Suddenly, Lann uttered this name, a name that he couldn’t separate from the Profound Church along the way.

"Tell me about this guy, would you? I’m an outsider; after hearing about him along the way, I’m quite curious."

"It’s rare to find someone who doesn’t even know the title of Lord of Cinder, the Profound Saint; your origins surely are distant."

Sirius walked alongside Lann to another location, until there were no others around, they leaned against the walls to talk.

Sirius’s cold voice echoed slightly under the church’s architectural structure, making it seem even more ethereal.

"The [Profound Saint] was originally a mage, later promoted by King Ausloes to Holy Office Archbishop, sent to the Cold Valley of Ilyushil as a symbol of the cooperative relationship between the White Sect and the Dark Moon Sect."

"But after he returned, he developed the nasty habit of cannibalism."

Upon hearing this, Lann’s eyes narrowed slightly for a moment.

"It should have been an unforgivable crime, especially since he was the Holy Office Archbishop at the time, a sin compounded. Yet, when Losric’s knights and clergy came to suppress him, they found Elderidge’s soul continuously growing during his cannibalism."

"Thus, not only did King Ausloes not immediately execute Elderidge, he instead kept him at the Profound Church. After all, it was originally a church for funerals for the Undead, and those Undead happened to feed Elderidge. For a massive soul was exactly the fuel for the fire."

"Later, when Elderidge consumed himself into a pile of black sludge, the fire was already nearly dwindled. People from Losric dragged him for the Fire Ritual, burning him."

"Of course, to keep the exalted name of [Lord of Cinder] untainted, Losric officially concealed the process, only bestowing upon Elderidge the title of [Profound Saint]... although rumors always exist among the populace."

Utilizing a cannibalistic criminal as fuel to stabilize the world seemed quite sensible to Lann.

But in this world, the exalted nature of [Lord of Cinder] is unparalleled. So someone like Sirius finds it quite mocking and unacceptable that such a criminal could also become a [Lord of Cinder].

The topic ended abruptly; people here don’t like wasting words.

So after talking, Sirius was ready to leave. But he reminded Lann one last thing while turning away.

"There are many Holy Scriptures and books in the Profound Church. If you need them."

"But be careful, Lann..."

The cold eyes underneath the silver headpiece fixedly stared at Lann’s pair of cat-like eyes.

"Some knowledge is not meant to be known."

"I know how to discern the importance, thanks for the reminder, Sirius. And may the moon bless you."

-----------------

In the following days, it seemed as if the confrontation between the two archbishops and another archbishop never happened, as the Profound Church operated as usual.

Except the sky outside the church, even in the day, grew increasingly dark.

The initially dim scenery Lann saw upon his arrival had now become a sort of luxury.

With the dimming of light, more and more people appeared outside the church, kneeling in prayer.

From the higher-ups within the church peering outside, almost a large area was filled with people with gaunt appearances and ragged clothes kneeling.

Among these people, some hidden Undead suddenly went mad, or some normal people suddenly had the Ring of Darkness appear on them and became Undead.

The more bleak the world became, the more people hoped faith could save them, even though the Profound Church had a poor reputation after [the Profound Saint].

Yet even within the Profound Church, there were many who started to show signs of the Undead Curse.

Those iron tower-like Church Knights now even acted as executioners.

Lann had seen Archbishop Klimte go find Archbishop MacDonald, or another short-statured Archbishop Louis, with a hurried look inquiring about something several times.

Vaguely, he heard things like ’Has there been news from Losric?’, ’Why hasn’t the Fire Ritual taken place yet?’.

And the answers from the other two archbishops remained unchanged.

’The Prince is considering’, ’He is reluctant to pass the fire’, ’The main officiant is persuading him’, ’But even if the Prince doesn’t pass the fire, he has preparations, for Losric captured a powerful warrior during battle, which can be burned first’.

Highlighting a ’delay’, and ’don’t worry’.

Yet the words repeated over and over, while the sight outside never improved.

Upon knowing that passing the fire meant being burned by that [Fire], Lann could understand the Prince’s reluctance to pass the fire.

But if what the two archbishops said was true, then why hasn’t the powerful captured warrior been burned yet either?

Allowing the world to crumble, what good does it do?

Living in an apocalypse that can almost be seen to its end with the naked eye.

This urgency, akin to placing one’s neck on a guillotine, is undeniable, yet Lann still maintains his calm.

He no longer looks at the increasingly chaotic and insane situation outside the church but instead immerses himself in the piles of books within the Profound Church.

Since the situation is already chaotic, he himself cannot afford to be chaotic.

If his mind remains unperturbed, there is a chance to survive against all odds.

He begins to understand this world, teetering on the brink of collapse, from the church’s library.

The Holy Office possesses peculiar supernatural powers, so there should naturally be a corresponding worldview.

A worldview explains the world; science has its scientific worldview, and magic has its magical worldview. The Holy Office’s "miracles," essentially storytelling, ought to have an intelligible worldview.

Though mages oppose the Holy Office, Lann is not one to favor biased perspectives. He only wishes to gain a fundamental understanding of this world from the church’s library.

Archbishop McDonald and Archbishop Louis have not completely confined their group; instead, they greatly praised and supported Lann’s desire to study the Profound Church’s library.

They even specially recommended some books. 𝘧𝑟𝑒𝑒𝘸𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝓁.𝘤𝘰𝓂

This further convinces Lann that Sirius was right: some knowledge can be harmful.

Finally, with Mentos’ support, Lann astonishingly documented most of the books within the Profound Church.

The intelligent mind collates these fragmented pieces of knowledge into a system.

"Indeed, vastly different."

The Demon Hunter closes the hard-covered book with a snap, softly sighing.

Meanwhile, outside the Profound Church, there are scarcely any sane people left. Even the gravekeepers who once worked outside the church wielding two swift blades have mostly turned into undead.

Mad screams can even penetrate the thick stone walls of the church, lingering ceaselessly.

And Lann finally comprehends the foundational existence of this world.

In the Holy Office’s narrative, there was initially nothing but towering trees and immortal Ancient Dragons.

It was a chaotic, ambiguous world with no concept of time because there was no "passing away" or "death."

Then, {Fire} emerged and separated cold from heat, light from darkness, life from death; the First Flame birthed the concept of souls, creating intelligent life.

Great King Gwyn of the Divine Race led his people to break the immortality of the dragon scales, the witches of Izalis burned the trees with flames, and the early dead spread the miasma of death to corrode the flesh of Ancient Dragons bereft of their scales... thus forming the current world.

The role of {Fire} is to sustain the "ordered" world, preventing it from reverting to its primordial state.

The Holy Office’s {Miracle} is to recount the tales of divine beings, transforming them into magic.

Naturally, they wish to maintain the world created by the gods and protect this stable world.

Mages, however, fundamentally differ, relying on their own wisdom for exploration.

They care little about the First Flame; after all, in pursuit of greater power and realms, isn’t there supposed to be something even more "primal" and "ancient" than the First Flame in this world?

Their ultimate goal is to approach and even become immortal Ancient Dragons and Trees.

In other worlds, the discord between the Holy Office and mages could be attributed to compatibility and affection issues.

But in this world, it’s a fundamental divergence of paths.

Having grasped these foundational worldviews, Lann can finally connect and analyze the recent happenings.

Thanks to Mentos’ cognitive aid, otherwise, aligning such fragmented knowledge would have consumed significant effort.

And with these foundational worldviews, Lann could finally decipher the peculiar knowledge within the Profound Church’s scriptures.

Previously, he always thought, like Archbishop Klimte, that the other side was merely engaging in formalities, trying to seize chaos at this world’s brink of collapse.

But now, Lann stares at the books recommended by the two archbishops.

"Damn...!"

He blinks his eyes, cursing involuntarily.

They actually... had no intention of continuing to live in this era sustained by {Fire}!

Meanwhile, outside the Profound Church, the sky has already darkened.

Yet, unlike previous sunsets.

This time, the darkness is not due to the sun setting.

Looking afar, the sun appears as though experiencing an eclipse, with most of its area engulfed by darkness, leaving only a ring of burning light.

And at the lowest point of that ring, like the sun bleeding, a crimson beam flows downward.

Just like the blood shed by the Maggot Man pinned to the wall at that time!

This is by no means a normal sunset; everyone realizes it.

{First Flame} has declined to this extent!

Subsequently, an enormous bell sound, originating from nowhere, resonates throughout every corner of the world.

And Archbishop McDonald and Archbishop Louis appear to have long anticipated this scene.

They respectfully stand with most priests in a hall within the deepest part of the Profound Church.

Inside that hall is a giant coffin, which is currently undergoing subtle movements.