Witch, Fireball and the Evil God of Steam-Chapter 920 - 192: Is This You? (Part 2)

"Is that you?"

Ethan asked.

If even Mary herself couldn't tell, it was enough to suggest that there were some unknown secrets involved.

"That was me in my early twenties, back then I was still quite thin."

"This isn't you."

"This is me."

"Look carefully again, this is a girl called Ave-Margaret from the Empire, who is also currently the Prime Minister of the Empire's cabinet."

Upon hearing this, Mary stared at the photo of Ave for a long while, falling into confusion and bewilderment.

"You're not lying to me?"

"I'm not lying to you."

Ethan said, "We consulted some members of the Church Court, and the new bishop of the Imperial Capital's Church Court believes that only 'reincarnation' can explain such a coincidence."

The bishop ordered someone to bring a box of church literature, using real cases from it to explain the coincidences found between Ave and Mary.

In the long records of the Life Divine Teachings, similar cases have appeared a few times, usually a few centuries later when a believer exhibited the traits of a once-great figure of the church. A faction within the church called this phenomenon 'reincarnation', believing that heroic spirits with powerful souls and noble qualities would return to the world when humanity faced a crisis.

This faction passionately discussed the relationship between Mary and the Goddess of Life. Many still believe that Saint Mary is the reincarnation of the Goddess of Life, as humanity during the Third Epoch faced an unprecedented catastrophe.

If it weren't for Mary's existence, the entire world would have become a feast for the Evil God Bazatous.

However, even in the cases proposed by the new bishop, there had never been two individuals who looked exactly alike.

Moreover, the 'reincarnation theory' was just a hypothesis put forward by one faction within the church, and nobody could prove it.

"Impossible."

Mary immediately refuted this hypothesis, "Even according to the 'reincarnation theory' proposed by the faction, it must be based on the complete demise of the former's soul."

She herself did not like this idea.

Despite the fact that it had once led many believers to view her as the very incarnation of the Goddess of Life, it nearly made her life live in its shadow.

After the Scarlet Plague ended, she spent many years pondering the theory of 'reincarnation,' and Mary dared to assert that throughout the church, no one understood reincarnation better than she did.

Even the bishops who advocated for this theory were left speechless during debates by her arguments.

"This is merely an unfounded speculation, meant to satisfy some people's desire for pilgrimage."

Nobody understood the inner workings of certain people within the church better than Mary did.

If they could shape her as the reincarnation of the Goddess of Life, then those who had fought alongside her against the Scarlet Church would automatically be elevated to the status of the goddess's apostles. The faction leader she had left speechless in debate composed a tome called the "Blade of the Goddess" after the Scarlet Plague ended, to boast of their outstanding contributions.

Mary said, "This is vanity at play."

"That is what I'm worried about."

Ethan's expression turned serious.

If one set aside the coincidences and the church's theologically colored interpretations, then this matter could likely point to a deeper conspiracy.

Clone technology, and other unknown secrets.

Regarding the relationship between Ave and Mary, Julius did not disclose any details until he was tied to the stake and publicly executed.

Based on her father's oral accounts, Ave discovered that there were many ambiguities about her birth.

This was because her father was a complete rebellious youth in his younger years, refusing to follow family tradition and resolutely choosing to marry a woman everyone opposed, namely her mother.

Because of this, her father once fled the Imperial Capital, and it was during this time that she was born.

In Ave's memory, her mother was extremely vague, and later during heartfelt conversations with her father, he finally revealed to her the reason he eventually returned to the Imperial Capital.

Because she had contracted a strange illness, at the time, his father consulted local hospitals and the church, but everyone was at their wits' end. Out of options, he had to bring her back to the Imperial Capital and have her personally meet the then Pope, Julius.

The Holy Word Art was Julius's bargaining chip.

And the Margaret Clan considered this matter a disgrace, sealing all scandals about their heir eloping with a wild woman. After they returned to live in the Imperial Capital, everyone acted as if this incident had never happened.

Thinking of the possible intrigue, Ethan felt a shiver down his spine.

He preferred to believe it was just Little Dark getting into conspiracy theory videos recently, playing them in the living room before bed, causing him to overthink.

"Senzi, friends should help each other."

Mary heavily patted Ethan on the shoulder, saying, "Though I can't determine what's going on yet, it'll eventually be investigated thoroughly."

"I knew I could count on you, good buddy!"

Ethan became more spirited and continued the topic they hadn't finished at the beginning, "Regarding helping you reconstruct your body, I have some preliminary ideas."

Upon hearing this, Bajatos also proudly raised his head.

He had been waiting for Ethan to say those words.

Nobody understood better than He did how to reconstruct a body, and Mary was someone He admired greatly, second only to Bazarian in His regard for humanity. No matter what kind of strong physique she wanted to create, even if it was turning her into a spaceship, He could fulfill Mary's wish.

"First, if you want to bear the strength of your soul, an ordinary body definitely won't do."

The closest thing is the 'God Descension Art' created by the counterfeit God of Trickery, where the members of the Divine Attendants, under the secret orders of the counterfeit God of Trickery, selected the most suitable practitioners in the Imperial Capital, transforming them into Choir members to serve as reserve materials for the God Descension ceremony.

However, this ceremony was neither humane nor could it permanently sustain Mary's soul. If the God Descension ceremony was used, it would mean Mary would have to replace her body every now and then.

The Choir puppets could at most accommodate a Saint-level soul, whereas Mary's soul strength far surpassed that of a Saint.

"We could also fully utilize holy remains."

"I support it!"

Bazatous, who had remained silent, suddenly voiced His support.

He thought Ethan was truly a genius for coming up with such an excellent idea.

Bazarian was the first human He took an interest in. He had descended to this plane through a ceremony, hearing Bazarian's call, and Mary, millennia after the First Epoch, was another human who invoked a sense of familiarity in Him, reminiscent of Bazarian.

If He could merge the two joyous events from His memories, it would bring Him even more joy.

His sudden statement successfully caught Mary's attention, and she studied Bazatous for a while.

"You are...?"

This seven-eyed woman also evoked some familiar feelings in her, but they were not pleasant memories.

Mary steadied herself, reassuring herself that it was probably just because the woman had seven eyes.

"I am Ba—"

"He's my good buddy, you can just call him Old Ba."

Ethan quickly interrupted Bazatous's self-introduction; that name couldn't be allowed to reach Mary's ears for the moment.

"Hello, Old Ba."

Mary extended her hand to the seven-eyed woman, feeling a subtle sensation in her palm.

A chill touching her soul, with a sticky, slippery feel.

"Very good."

Ethan, as the team leader, stated, "Next, our goal is to find all the remains of the goddess!"

.........

That night.

Meanwhile, on the other end of the continent.

Ave sat alone in the room on the second floor of the mansion, enjoying the rare tranquility of the surroundings.

She's been overwhelmed these past few days. They had received reliable information that Carlo had already mobilized a front-line force of tens of thousands, plunging the entire cabinet into a tense state of war preparation, with more and more small countries showing goodwill towards the Empire and expressing their willingness to send reinforcements.

Will there be a war?

She faced the mirror in the room, reflecting her somewhat haggard appearance and... something else.

It was a woman who existed deep in her memories, representing an unfamiliar term.

Mother.

The woman in the mirror now stood behind her, looking at her with gentle eyes.

This was the second time.