When Li Wen reached an agreement with the two Arcane Academy apprentices and laid the first stepping stone to the Arcane Academy's library, Moria's footsteps had already stepped onto the vast square paved with pure white marble in front of St. George's Grand Cathedral's door.
Different from the hustle and bustle of other areas in Camelot, everything here seems to be shrouded in an invisible veil called faith, making it appear particularly solemn and sacred. The air was filled with the faint aroma of rosin and holy oil. In the square, the believers who came to pray or pay homage were neatly dressed and looked pious. They consciously slowed down their steps and lowered their voices for fear of disturbing the tranquility of the place.
Moria looked up at the majestic and almost miraculous building in front of him.
The main body of St. George's Grand Cathedral is made of holy white bricks. The towering bell tower seems to pierce Sky Dome. The huge stained glass windows reflect the colorful halo under the morning light, silently depicting the ancient deeds of Radiance saints in the form of light and shadow. Its existence itself is the most intuitive and shocking interpretation of Radiance belief.
Moria did not stay too long in the square and went straight to the church's heavy front door, which was made of white oak and fine gold. The huge door is always open, open to all devout creatures, without anyone guarding or interrogating it. Holiness itself is the most severe barrier, enough to deter all evil.
The moment he stepped onto the threshold of the church, a solemn silence and vast sense of holiness hit him. What appeared in front of him was a nave wide enough for a giant dragon to crawl. The columns were towering, extending upward, supporting the dazzling dome. Sunlight penetrates through the huge stained glass windows on both sides and is projected obliquely on the smooth, mirror-like marble floor.
The smell of holy oil and incense in the air became stronger, and the choir's ethereal singing came faintly.
This is the core of Radiance in Kingdom of Arthur, the palace of faith. Even though as Firstborn of the Temple, he is used to the majesty of the Holy Land, Moria can still feel the majestic power derived from pure faith. He gathered his mind and walked slowly along the side of the nave, his footsteps leaving a slight echo in the empty church.
An older priest in black robes noticed him. The priest was guiding a few noble disciples, but the aura of Moria that perfectly blended with the surrounding environment, but also carried a certain older and purer Radiance atmosphere, made him unable to ignore it. He bowed to the nobles and then came to greet them.
"May Radiance be with you, strange brother." The elder priest's voice was gentle and steady, with the skill of having experienced church affairs for a long time. "The light in your body is pure and firm. I don't know where it comes from, and what kind of help do you need?"
Moria stopped, put his right hand on his chest, and responded with the etiquette of the temple, "May Radiance always be here. My name is Moria, I came from Canaan, and I was ordered by the temple to track down a stolen sacred object."
Hearing the word "temple", a hint of surprise flashed in the eyes of the elder priest, and then turned into a deeper respect. He bowed again and his attitude was much more respectful than before. "It turns out that I am the eldest brother of the temple. I am disrespectful. Please follow me. It is not convenient to discuss in detail here. Bishop Valeus is handling academic affairs in the side hall. He has been waiting for you for a long time."
Moria nodded, followed the priest through the central hall, and turned into a quiet corridor. On one side of the cloister is a hollow stone window, where you can see the neatly trimmed holly and a white statue of a saint in the courtyard. On the other side are portraits of archbishops Arthur in the past. They look solemn and watch every passer-by quietly in eternal oil paint.
The door to the side hall was gently pushed open. The furnishings in the room are simple, with only a huge long oak table filled with various parchment files and letters. An old man with white beard and hair but a ruddy complexion and calm eyes was sitting behind the table, holding a quill and writing something quickly on a document. He is the academic bishop of St. George's Grand Cathedral, Ron Valius.
"Your Majesty Bishop," the elder priest reported softly, "This is His Excellency Moria from the temple."
Bishop Valeus put down the quill in his hand, looked away from the file, and landed on Moria. He did not get up, but calmly said to the priest who was leading the way, "Please step aside first, Grigori. No one is required to be present for the rest of the conversation."
"Yes, Lord Bishop." The elder priest bowed respectfully, then quietly exited the side hall, and thoughtfully closed the heavy oak door.
Suddenly only Moria and Bishop Valeus were left in the room. The old bishop stood up slowly. He walked around the long table filled with documents and took out a white candle about the thickness of an arm from the niche on the side. He placed the candle on a simple silver candlestick in the center of the table, lit a handful of pure Radiance with his fingertips, and Ignite lit the candle wick.
The flames rose, and the light they emitted was unusual, but a warm and soft light that was almost golden. As the candle's body burned, it began to slowly drip thick wax like melted gold. A holy smell mixed with the smell of pine wood and ancient books quickly filled the entire room.
After doing all this, Bishop Valeus sat down again.
"Welcome, Enoch." He whispered, "Carlo has already told me about those things."
Moria nodded slightly, but just in case, he still described his experience since Black Dragon Territory in a concise and concise manner. He described the chaos created by Zotes using "Great Blood", told how he recovered the sacred object, and also frankly admitted Nasha's betrayal, and how "Great Blood" was replaced by a counterfeit.
"... According to the confirmation of Mr. Selwyn·Lagoven, acting president of Artificer's Hand, Nasha is a member of 'The Truth Society' and has died at the hands of Mr. Selwyn. But before that, 'Great Blood' must have been transferred."
"Then I went to Port Belen to seek the help of a fortune teller," Moria continued. "The prophecy she gave was: the evil thing forged by disaster has returned to the nest of the king's power. It is not held by one person, but is held by ten thousand people."
"The lair of royal power...Camelot." Bishop Valeus repeated in a low voice. He tapped his fingers lightly on the table, making a rhythmic sound. "It is not held by one person, but is controlled by ten thousand people. The Truth Society Those crazy people, do they want to..."
A terrifying light flashed in the old bishop's eyes, and he seemed to instantly understand the chilling and terrifying plot hidden behind that prophecy.
"They are going to decompose 'Great Blood'." Bishop Valeus's voice is as cold as the cold wind in the Far North. "They use some kind of alchemy or taboo ritual unknown to us to decompose and dilute the extremely polluting defective product, and then mix it into some kind of medium that can be exposed to a large number of people."
Moria's face also became extremely ugly. He thought of countless possibilities, whether it was drinking water in the city, a batch of ale in the brewery, or even currency in circulation... No matter which one, the consequences would be catastrophic.