...The Holy Messiah Empire's most prosperous capital was undoubtedly the City of Sacred Chants, located on the Great Plains of Sacred Chants. But when it came to the holy land of the Saint Radiance Church, one had to mention a small rocky city in the empire's northwest, surrounded by numerous perilous mountain ranges.
The place where the god descended—Gansawalan.
The city was tiny. Its mottled, low walls were covered in moss and weathered scars, with no trace of Magic upon them. The buildings and sculptures within the city likewise bore a yellowed, ancient air. Only the church at the city's center remained spotless white.
Yet this rather humble little city was the holy land in the hearts of countless Saint Radiance Church believers, as well as the sole place where every Pope's succession took place.
For this was where the 'god' had once descended, and where the first Holy Radiance Church had been established.
Though this holy city had become somewhat dilapidated over the millennia, it still drew tens of thousands of devout pilgrims to worship. Not even its remote and treacherous location could stop them, all for the chance to witness the place where the god had touched the mortal world.
But due to its special status, only truly devout believers were permitted to enter.
At this moment, Saint Messiah III stood alone in the Pope's Prayer Room deep within the church. Facing the flawless, pure light contained within the Golden Chalice upon the altar, he pressed one hand against the silver-white Holy Emblem of Light on his chest and prayed silently.
He had been uneasy lately. A strange sense of agitation had lingered around him, one he could not shake even through prayer to the god.
It was an extremely dangerous sign. As one of Yar Continent's strongest