For the next three days, Carlos had the same strange dream.
The blood-red sky, like a curtain soaked in blood, shrouded the dream.
Carlos stood on the barren land, the cracked black soil beneath his feet. In the distance, the enormous cross still stood on the horizon, the upside-down figure swaying gently against the blood-red sky.
This is the fourth night.
Carlos strode forward, his robes motionless in the windless dream, each step feeling like walking on cotton, silent and unreal.
But unlike the previous three times, this time he could feel that something was guiding him.
"Great Lord..." Carlos heard his own voice echoing in his dream, distorted beyond human comprehension, "If you are granting me revelation, please give me a sign..."
The figure on the cross suddenly stopped swaying.
Carlos's breath caught in his throat. He saw the Hanged Man's fingers; those pale, almost transparent fingers twitched slightly.
A chill ran up Carlos's spine from the soles of his feet. He was somewhat terrified, yet also filled with a strange anticipation.
"#$*...&€¢..."
A cryptic whisper suddenly broke the silence.
The sound did not come from the direction of the cross, but rather seemed to echo directly inside Carlos's skull, like the buzzing of thousands of insects flapping their wings at the same time, or like the low murmur of some enormous creature in the deep sea.
Carlos covered his ears, but the sound seemed to pierce through his flesh and blood, imprinting itself directly on his nerves.
"I... I am your faithful servant..." Carlos knelt on the ground, his forehead pressed against the cold, black soil. He didn't know why he was saying this; the words seemed to be forced out of his throat by some force.
The strange whispers grew stronger, no longer a single sound, but a superposition of countless sounds, like an old man's cough, a baby's cry, the scraping of metal, the snapping of trees... everything imaginable was there.
All these seemingly contradictory sounds blend together to create a reverberation that transcends human comprehension.
Carlos's eyes darted rapidly beneath his eyelids, his temples throbbed, and a gush of bright red heat flowed from his nostrils.
The Hanged Man's figure gradually twisted and elongated under the blood-red sky, turning into some kind of bizarre shadow. Black liquid began to seep from the cross, dripping Hanged Man's drooping hair. Each drop that landed on the ground transformed into the shape of an eye, then blinked and disappeared.
"Praise... the True God..." Carlos repeated mechanically, even though such a prayer had never appeared in the Bible he believed in.
His consciousness felt as if it had been torn in two; one part screamed and tried to escape, while the other part knelt in devout worship of the horrific sight.
Perhaps only a distorted mental state can bring one closer to the True God. The Hanged Man's face gradually became clear, and Carlos finally saw that face clearly.
--It wasn't a human face, but a constantly shifting, hazy shadow. Though it had features, it was like Mirage. Sometimes it showed his mother's face, sometimes it became an angel from a church stained-glass window, and finally it settled on his own face, but it was devoid of any living vitality, like a corpse.
"#$*#...&€¢|..."
Carlos stood up uncontrollably and walked toward the cross. With each step, the ground beneath his feet softened a little more. In the end, it felt as if he were walking on rotting flesh and blood, with black slime seeping from the ground and wrapping around his ankles.
When he finally stood at the foot of the cross, the Hanged Man stared at him with penetrating eyes, but he did not feel uncomfortable. Instead, he felt a strange sense of fulfillment, as if the most extreme fear had been twisted into worship.
"You... are a true god..." Carlos murmured, tears mingling with blood as they streamed down his face.
His brain automatically sought explanations for the horror before him: he must have misunderstood the doctrine in the past, and this was the True God. The relatively bright and gentle descriptions in the Bible were just a simplified version for ordinary believers, but he, as the chosen bishop, had finally seen the truth.
The Hanged Man suddenly laughed, the laughter reverberating through every nerve in Carlos's body. He felt his faith shatter like glass, only to instantly reform into a distorted form.
"This isn't a change of faith!" he told himself, "It's just a deeper understanding. I've always believed in this God, I just didn't know His true form before."
Amidst the eerie laughter, Carlos abruptly opened his eyes. The darkness of the bedroom was cut into geometric shapes by the streetlights outside the window. He was drenched in cold sweat, and there was a large sweat stain on the bed sheet.
Suddenly, he felt a chill in the middle of his forehead, as if it had frozen.
He got up and walked to the mirror, where he saw several light red, twisted lines on the middle of his forehead, which outlined a pattern resembling an eye.
Carlos stared at his reflection in the mirror and was suddenly overjoyed!
This is not a nightmare, it is a true divine revelation!
He has been serving a false image all along, but now God has officially chosen to reveal His true form to him!
"Thank you, great Lord." Carlos kissed the bishop's ring on his thumb, then froze. The gem on the ring had turned blood red, radiating an ominous aura.
He should have felt fear, but instead, he felt a twisted joy, and many things flashed through his mind in an instant—the extraordinary power to burn mountains and boil seas, the allure of immortality, the blissful divine kingdom above the heavens...
Carlos walked to the bathroom, took off his bathrobe in front of the mirror, and saw that the whites of his eyes were bloodshot and his pupils were so dilated that the irises were almost invisible.
"Amen." Carlos made the sign of the cross in front of the mirror, then paused and slowly reversed the gesture.
An unprecedented sense of power surged through his body; he felt a connection with some being, capable of releasing a special power.
"This is the power God gave me!"
Carlos was so excited that he immediately prayed to the True God on the spot.
After praying, he decided not to go back to sleep. He got up and went to his study, where he took out paper and pen and began to write and draw.
As a believer chosen by the True God, he felt it was his duty to help the lost sheep recognize the true image of God!
Carlos first wrote an application letter, intending to inform the Vatican Headquarters about the divine revelation he received in his dream.
But he only wrote half of the application letter when, as if realizing something, he tore the entire letter to shreds.
At this moment, he was no longer an ordinary bishop, but a chosen one who had faced the True God and received divine grace!
He is God's Executor on earth, which means he could also try to sit in the position of Pope.
Since he has been chosen by God, he should stand in the highest position closest to God!
With this in mind, he abandoned the idea of notifying the church Headquarters and began writing overnight, referring to the Bible, to create a completely new Gospel, adding many descriptions that were more in line with the image of the True God.
As the first rays of sunlight streamed into the room through the window, Carlos realized he had been writing furiously at his desk all night. His back ached a little, but he was unusually energetic.
Today there is an important Mass that he, as the bishop, must preside over. Thinking of this, he smiled; he would be preaching the "true" doctrine before all the faithful.
As Carlos put on his bishop's robe, he noticed that the lining was embroidered with tiny inverted crosses. He kissed the symbols and then solemnly put the robe on properly.
The bishop in the mirror appeared majestic and holy, but no one would suspect that beneath this sacred exterior, a seed had already sprouted—a seed from a blood-red dream, quietly changing everything.
As he stepped out of his house, the neighbor's child suddenly burst into tears and hid behind his mother. The mother smiled apologetically at Carlos, and some instinct compelled her to quickly pull the child away.
Carlos touched his face—had anything changed?
No, he is still himself, only closer to the truth.
The church bells rang, Carlos took a deep breath, and strode toward his "sacred" duty.
Carlos used his position as bishop to promote the new doctrines and paid out of his own pocket to make a large number of copies of the new Gospels, which he then distributed free of charge to believers and local residents.
When many devout believers opened this new Gospel, the first page contained a chilling image: a bizarre figure nailed upside down to a cross, with Hanged Man's eyes were empty and lifeless, giving off an extreme sense of evil. Below, however, were prayers praising the great spirit.
The believers could not accept this blasphemy. They denounced Carlos as a heretic who had tampered with the doctrine, a grave disrespect to God, and a sin deserving of death!
He was saved by the modern legal system; if it had happened a few hundred years ago, Carlos would probably have been burned at the stake by the devout believers.
Shortly afterward, several members of the Inquisition from the Vatican Headquarters arrived in a huff.
"Carlos, you sinner! As a bishop, you have privately altered the faith and the Bible, violating the decrees of the Holy See. You must come with us immediately to face trial."
Upon hearing this, Carlos remained calm and composed, putting down the Gospel in his hand and arrogantly following the people from the Inquisition away.
"Our religion is the Executor of the True God on earth; you are the sinners!"
Although we live in a modern society governed by the rule of law, being arrested and imprisoned by the Inquisition usually doesn't end well. Even though the Vatican is small, it is still an independent country. Killing a sinner in the Inquisition won't attract any attention or interference from anyone.
But Carlos remained completely calm. He had the protection of the True God, and when the True God descended, these lost sheep of the mortal world would immediately know who the king and queen were!
The Pope dares to openly question the True God's Executor? Ha! He should abdicate! It would be better if Carlos took over the papacy!
The church Headquarters is currently preparing for Pentecost, also known as the Pentecost of the Pentecost. Vatican is one of the very few theocratic countries in the world and is also a holy site for pilgrimage.
On the day of the festival, countless devout believers from all over the world come to worship, attracting numerous tourists and boosting the tourism industry, thus generating economic revenue.
Everyone in the Holy See was busy preparing for Pentecost, and with Carlos imprisoned in the Inquisition, no one had time to deal with him for the time being.
Perhaps this "no action" is a different kind of handling, leaving him to fend for himself in the Inquisition forever.
However, Carlos remained extremely calm. He possessed power bestowed by the True God, and he quietly awaited the most opportune moment. He was determined to deliver a stunning comeback under the world's watchful eyes, for only in this way could he have a chance to ascend to the throne of Pope!
On the day of the festival celebration, the celebrant wears a bright red vestment, while everyone else wears white robes. Priests and pastors stand solemnly on either side of the Mass, while young boys and girls gather around, chanting clear hymns in unison.
The sound of the chorus resounded through the sky, and the area around the celebration was packed with believers and tourists from all over the world, many of whom had their eyes closed in prayer.
The celebrant proceeded with the celebratory rites according to the established procedure, while the Pope, wearing a crown and holding a scepter, proclaimed the doctrines.
At this highly anticipated climax, a red glow suddenly appeared in the originally clear blue sky.
The crowd began to stir, and countless people looked up in shock to see the entire sky being rapidly dyed blood red at a speed visible to the naked eye, with a somber light flickering among the red.
"Amen, what's going on?"
"Is it a miracle...?"
Something doesn't look right.
Many devout believers firmly believe that this scene must be a manifestation of their True God.
But for the general public, who have no faith or only a superficial faith, this ominous red color... looks utterly bizarre.
The local Holy See members were a bit confused, as this part of the celebration had not been rehearsed.
The Pope and the cardinals exchanged bewildered glances, their eyes gradually hardening. If all other possibilities were ruled out, then it could only mean... this must be their Lord performing a miracle!
The largest statue in the Holy See trembled slightly, emitting a strange, dark red light that dispelled its original whiteness.
All those present saw a beam of light shoot into the sky, and the next second, an illusory door that could not be described in words appeared high in the sky. Behind the door, a towering tree could be vaguely seen, its lush branches emitting a dark, metallic luster.
A moment later, a figure slowly emerged from the doorway.
Now everyone was certain that what they were witnessing was undoubtedly a manifestation of True God.
Praise be to our Lord!
The Pope and a group of high-ranking Holy See knelt and shouted in excited devotion, their hearts pounding and their eyes filled with fervent passion.
The atmosphere was infectious, and even tourists without faith were corrupted by the terrifying atmosphere. Those who were already steadfast believers became even more disoriented, their minds blank, seemingly left only with the instinct to praise True God.
Many supernatural phenomena have occurred around the world, and some countries have even confirmed the awakening of Ancient Gods.
In this age of extraordinary occurrences, as one of the world's three largest religions, the Pope is naturally often asked whether his "god" has given any instructions.
Previously, he would only speak vaguely and say ambiguous things.
But from this moment on, he can proudly stand tall and loudly proclaim to the whole world that his god... has arrived!