434: The End of the Church

Others tightly gripped the arms of the people next to them, trembling uncontrollably, their faces pale, their teeth chattering loudly: "It's gone, all gone."

"The Divine Grace has vanished. The warm Magic Power that was just here... how could it disappear just like that?"

"Ah! My heart feels terrifyingly empty, like someone ripped out my soul. I... I can't bear it..."

"Just a moment ago, I could still feel His Eminence's gaze, and now suddenly... What exactly happened?"

"Silence! Everyone, silence!" The High Priest clenched his fists, fiercely suppressing the choke in his throat as he shouted a command.

"His Holiness the Pope is still here. The shattering of the Statue of the Deity might be a temporary accident. Divine Grace, Divine Grace will surely reappear." His voice was terribly hollow, failing to convince even himself.

A middle-aged believer with a full beard suddenly leaped up, charging forward two steps with bloodshot eyes, screaming hoarsely: "An accident? The High Priest calls this an accident?"

"What kind of accident can shatter a Statue of the Deity into dust? What kind of accident can make everyone's Divine Grace evaporate in the blink of an eye?"

"High Priest, you better explain clearly. Is it His Eminence... has He abandoned us?"

"Impudence!"

The High Priest roared in anger.

But encountering the other man's desperate, dried-well eyes, the subsequent scolding caught in his throat, unable to be uttered.

Alvaro pressed hard on his chest, his Adam's apple bobbing, his hoarse voice filled with panic: "No, it shouldn't be like this."

His Holiness the Pope clearly felt it—

The invisible connection between him and the Divine Being, maintained for centuries, had just snapped with a "crack."

The source that supported the Church and granted him power had vanished completely, leaving not a trace behind.

A metallic sweetness suddenly rushed up his throat. The Pope gritted his teeth and swallowed it back, his body swaying involuntarily.

At this moment, a low-ranking Priest scrambled into the Altar, his robes covered in mud, strands of wet hair stuck to his forehead, gasping for breath with a crying voice: "Your Holiness, High Priest! This is bad, something terrible has happened!"

"Don't panic. Calm down and speak."

Alvaro leaned heavily on the Offering Table beside him to steady himself, his fingertips digging painfully into his palm as he struggled to maintain composure.

The Priest swallowed hard, his voice hoarse like a broken gong: "Chisong Town... Urgent report from Chisong Town! The spy we placed in Viscount Morris's Viscounts Manor sent back word: the Viscounts Manor was completely wiped out by the 'Eye of the Dark Night' from the Royal Capital."

"What?"

The High Priest staggered back a step, his voice suddenly rising sharply, "Eye of the Dark Night? How could they find the Viscounts Manor?"

"That Base was extremely secretive."

"And that's not all!" The low-ranking Priest bent over, coughing violently, "The Mine Cave to the north has also been sealed by the Royal Family. None of the people sent to make contact have returned. All—all communication has been cut off."

"The Mine Cave is sealed?"

The Priest in charge of logistics stamped his foot anxiously, "Without ore, how can the Ritual be performed? It can't be done at all."

"More than that," another Gray-Robed Believer said, his face drained of color, his lips trembling, "The Chisong Town Branch Hall manages all material transportation. Now that the Base has been destroyed, won't the supplies to all the Branch Halls be cut off?"

"It's over. If the Viscounts Manor is exposed, has the Royal Family already set their sights on us..."

"The Eye of the Dark Night is directly subordinate to the Royal Family. If they act, it means the Royal Family intends to deliver a fatal blow to us."

Panic spread like a plague. The Congregation chattered loudly, their voices growing louder and louder, making it hard to breathe.

Alvaro's face grew even paler, and the metallic sweetness surged in his throat again.

"And... and there's worse," the low-ranking Priest suddenly shuddered violently, as if recalling something terrifying, "Urgent messages just arrived from all the Branch Halls: every single Statue of the Deity they worship, at that exact moment just now, lost all its Divine Radiance... and shattered! Just like ours here... exactly the same."

This sentence struck like a clap of thunder. The Altar fell into instantaneous silence, followed immediately by an even more violent outburst of chaos.

"All the Branch Halls shattered?"

Someone shrieked.

"This isn't an accident. It absolutely cannot be an accident."

"All Statue of the Deitys shattered, Divine Grace severed... Did the Divine Being... did He Fall?"

"Impossible, I don't believe it. The Divine Being is eternal; how could He Fall? We must have angered Him somehow!"

A white-haired Old Priest dropped to his knees, pressed his palms together, and kowtowed like a madman, his forehead hitting the cold, hard stone slab, drawing blood instantly.

"Angered Him? We have served faithfully for generations, pouring out our hearts and souls. Where did we Fall short?"

"Without the Divine Being's protection, the Kingdom will never let us go. The Temple of a Thousand Faces is finished, utterly finished."

"My power is also draining away. The Magic Power I could sense just now is completely gone. I'm just an ordinary person now..."

"Me too. I can no longer sense the Divine Being's guidance. Ahead... ahead is pitch black..."

The successive bad news struck Alvaro's heart like heavy hammers.

The Statue of the Deitys were shattered, Divine Grace was severed, the Divine Being... perhaps truly had Fallen. Coupled with the Royal Family uprooting their Bases, the Temple of a Thousand Faces had reached a dead end.

He widened his eyes, his pupils reflecting the pile of silent dust on the Altar. His body swayed, and the metallic sweetness he had suppressed finally broke through, trickling down the corner of his mouth.

"It's over, all over," the Pope muttered under his breath, his voice barely a whisper.

"Your Holiness, hold on!" The High Priest hurriedly supported him, but as soon as he touched his arm, he felt the Pope's body go limp.

"The Divine Being is gone, and our faith..."

"The Kingdom will soon come to suppress us. Our brothers at the Branch Halls are likely doomed."

"I don't want to die, I really don't want to die. Divine Being, save me..."

Desperate wails echoed inside the Altar.

The Congregation hugged each other and wept bitterly. The Old Priest looked around in a daze, utterly lost. The High Priest drew the Dagger at his waist with a *zheng*, his eyes bloodshot as he roared: "We're going to die either way, we might as well fight them!"

"Fight?"

"Now that our Divine Power is completely lost, how can we fight the Eye of the Dark Night? How can we oppose the Kingdom's Army? We'd just be throwing our lives away!"

"So, should we just wait here to die?"

"Flee! Quick, run! Find a place to hide."

The chaotic arguing, crying, and roaring merged into a single din. Just then, Alvaro's vision went dark, and he fell straight backward with a heavy "thud," hitting the marble floor, losing consciousness.

"Your Holiness!!!"

"Quick, call a Physician! Save His Holiness the Pope."

"The Pope has collapsed! What should we do now?"

"No Pope, no Divine Being. We are doomed, truly doomed."

The underground Altar completely descended into chaos.

Crying, screaming, arguing, fleeing... the once sacred and solemn Hall was now filled only with panic and despair, permeating every inch of the space.

The Temple of a Thousand Faces, this Church that had lurked in the shadows for many years, finally reached the brink of collapse as the foundation of its faith crumbled.