Mayne was stunned. He stared into the old man’s eyes, trying to see what the other party meant.

However, he couldn’t find what he was looking for.

His gaze was no longer profound as it had been in the past, able to thrust deep into his heart. He might have had the wisdom given by the successive Popes, gained knowledge from the ten thousand scriptures, but…   He lacked time.

His Excellency was not joking, Mayne realized that his journey was indeed reaching its end.

His eyes were somewhat cloudy.

He knelt down again, with his forehead touching the ground, but this time His Excellency did not ask him to get up like before. After reaching that position, his voice called to him.

“Follow me.”

The guards taking care of the Pope carried him into some sort of cart and after placing him in it, started pus.h.i.+ng him towards the door in front leading to the Cardinal Secret Area. Mayne immediately followed after them, leaving the Cardinal Temple as it turned into a long and narrow corridor. On the smooth wall, every ten steps or so an illumination crystal was embedded, at a glance reaching until its end.

He did not know for how long he walked, but after a while Mayne left the corridor, and his vision suddenly brightened, turning the rough floor into one made of smooth, flat slate. He could see the angular walls, and on top, a chandelier hanging from the ceiling, apparently this secret pa.s.sage was connected to a bas.e.m.e.nt.

“We are in the old Holy City’s underground Cathedral,” watching the confusion in Mayne’s eyes, the Pope went ahead and said, “the structure here and the one above ground are exactly the same, but it’s built backwards, so I’m used to call it the Reflected Church.”

“Underground Cathedral? I have always thought the Cathedral had no bas.e.m.e.nt.” Mayne exclaimed with a bit of surprise.

“Indeed, it does not have one, both are not interlinked,” O’Brien smiled, “the only way to get here is through the underground corridor from the Cardinal Secret Area. The roof is made of several layers of thick slate and a clay mix, which makes it generally impossible to chisel through.”

“Why…   is it designed like this?”

“In order to keep the secret, but not bury it thoroughly. Every Pope, before taking the throne, must come to the Reflected Church, and witness the establishment, development, and expansion of the Church, while simultaneously keeping in mind its goal.”

“Defeat the Devils.” Mayne replied.

O’Brien did not nod in affirmation, but instead let out a slight sigh. “No child, it is to win the smile of G.o.d.”

The Archbishop froze. “What?”

The Pope did not answer him, and instead directed the guards to move on. Following the stairs and slope’s direction, they started to go upwardly. Before long, the group arrived at a grand, magnificent hall. Its structure was familiar to Mayne, judging by the surroundings, this should be the prayer room of the Reflected Church.

The thick wooden doors were slowly pushed open, producing a squeaking sound. Although it seemed like the Pope did not visit this hall frequently, it did not have the particular smell of dust…   it was very neat, making it obvious that someone had always come to clean it.

“This is as far as they can take me, you have to take over and push the cart.” O’Brien said.

“Yes, Your Excellency.” Mayne took the handle, pus.h.i.+ng the Pope into the prayer room, and then the wooden doors behind them were closed again, leaving the light of the torches behind. Now, the only illumination inside was the soft light emitted by the illumination stones, similar to the ones embedded at the sides of the corridor, but the difference lay in the huge portraits hanging over the stones. He vaguely remembered this location, in that place should be the window openings of the above ground praying room.

The portraits were mostly similar with only minor differences. They were dressed in gorgeous robes, full of energy, and with bright eyes, like those of a G.o.d gazing at each visitor that entered the praying room. Mayne was surprised to see His Highness O’Brien staring at his own portrait, with a smile on his face. This strange feeling made him s.h.i.+ver and sent gooseb.u.mps to his back.

“Ah, you saw me.” Sensing the change of the Archbishop’s mood, the Pope said. “This picture was finished six months ago, when I was not as old as now, at least I wanted to look good. But it should have not been hung until after I died.” He looked at it carefully, “I was too impatient at this point, I wanted to see what I looked like hanging up like this.”

“Your Excellency, these are…” Mayne felt his throat becoming dry.

“Yes, they are the great pioneers, successively holding the t.i.tle of Pope of the Holy Church.” He said in a soft voice. “Go ahead, I will introduce you to the eleven of them.”

The Archbishop listened to the brief description of His Excellency O’Brien, at the same time he was looking at the portraits. He knew these were the supreme leaders of the Church, but an inexplicable weird sensation remained in his heart. The characters in the paintings were so lifelike, he could not imagine what kind of technique the painter used to create such portraits. In addition, the yellow light was not so bright and only reached half way, the upper half of these portraits were gradually fading into darkness, leaving only the faces grinning at him.

After pa.s.sing half way through the hall, Mayne was surprised, noticing the characters in the portraits had become women.

They were all different in appearance, their attire was also not the same, but they all could be called beautiful, having little resemblance to the faces of common people. The Archbishop was not familiar with this, but this was the reason he felt extremely confused and surprised. But still, His Excellency O’Brien seemed to have no response and still, calmly introduced their names, their period in the post, and their merits.

These people were also the Popes of the Church.

The prayer room soon came to an end.

Right in the middle of the hall, a full body portrait occupied the entire wall surrounded by four illumination crystals, making the picture clearer.

Mayne swallowed a saliva, as he looked towards the person in the painting.

The moment his eyes finally fell on the picture, he suddenly felt his chest fiercely jumping. This was just a peerless woman; except for this word, it was difficult for him to find any other word or expressions to describe her. She had both the woman’s sweetness and the man’s resoluteness, unusual conditions, both appearing as natural without any conflict. Her red hair was like a burning flame, in her hand she held a cold, bright sword. She leaned on the sword with her eyebrows slightly raised, both of her eyes looking straight ahead, the thin lips tightly closed, not showing the fury of power. Under the gaze of those eyes, Mayne felt a pressure capable of moving mountains, making him almost unable to bear kneeling down in front of the woman.

“Your Excellency, this is…”

As he turned his head with difficulty, he found that O’Brien had knelt down.

“She is the First Pope, the Transcendent, Akaris. She also had the nickname The Witch Queen.”

Mayne was startled, his previous guess was absolutely correct, the earlier Popes of the Church were witches!

“Why would the founder of the Church be a witch?”

“Kneel down to her child, later, I will show you what you want to know.”