Blue Rose's Death

The atmosphere between Loki and Pure White visibly became tense.

No one else dared to speak, and the only one who could interject at this moment was Iver.

"In fact, Cardinal Loki."

Iver tapped his chest three times with his right hand and said, "I am personally involved in this matter—because the bishop named Mercedes died in the closet in my room."

"If Saintess Highness hadn't had other important matters to attend to at the time, she would have been the first person to see her friend's body. I would have been a witness to it all."

"So what?"

Loki countered with a question.

He appeared completely calm, as if he knew nothing about the Pure White Amber.

Iver raised an eyebrow slightly.

—Could this be Loki in disguise?

Was he pretending not to know anything about it, hoping to escape punishment as a suspect? But just then, Pure White suddenly spoke up, saying something that surprised Iver: "Cardinal Loki, Iver knows about that matter."

...Um?

Iver looked at Pure White with some surprise.

What did he mean by that? Loki's expression also changed slightly.

He frowned slightly, looked into the pure white eyes, and said sternly, "You should know that this kind of thing cannot be told to outsiders. Especially not to the Short-lived Races."

"I didn't tell him everything, just as I didn't tell him those secrets about you."

Pure White looked at Cardinal Loki with equal seriousness and earnestness. "This matter concerns only me."

"That's not the case. Our affairs are related to the Theocracy itself, and to you, to me, and to all of us."

"But in the end, this matter is still my business."

The two high-ranking Theocracy acted as riddle tellers, arguing in a language incomprehensible to outsiders.

However, Iver was able to understand it.

It is precisely because of this that he can easily discern information that others cannot.

... Judging from this, it seems Cardinal Loki already knew about Pure White Amber? No, according to their statement, the entire Cardinal Bishop should know about it.

That makes sense. Given Pure White's upright and trouble-averse nature, she's unlikely to be the type to deliberately hide something like this... Since someone could use this to scheme against her, it means that this secret is, in a sense, no longer a secret. On the contrary, Loki doesn't want more people to know about this... Why is that?

And then there's what Pure White said about the secret of Loki...

... Could it be that Cardinal Loki also has some secret, perhaps even comparable to the matter of Pure White Amber?

Is this related to the Controlled Fire? And is it related to his sudden death?

As Iver pondered this in his mind, Cardinal Loki looked at Iver again.

"I'm not the kind of person who likes to repeat things over and over, so I'll just say it again here. If you don't want to hear it, then I won't say it to you again."

Cardinal Loki said solemnly, "The Theocracy will soon be in chaos—you haven't chosen a good time to come here. If I were you, I would leave the Theocracy first and come back at the end of the year."

Pure White, standing to the side, simply interrupted, "I will protect him."

But Iver noted that she did not deny that the Theocracy was in chaos.

Cardinal Loki shook his head. "You can't protect him."

"—You couldn't even protect the Bishop Mercedes, and you think you can protect Iver? The troubles he's entangled in are far greater than those of the Bishop Mercedes."

Upon hearing the first half, Chunbai frowned slightly—for Chunbai, whose personality was as calm as still water, this was already considered anger.

But when she heard the second half, she paused for a moment.

The Pure White Saintess temporarily set aside her anger over her friend's murder, frowned, and asked Cardinal Loki seriously, "What do you know about Iver?"

"My past is chasing me."

Cardinal Loki replied, "I will not be able to control my own destiny."

Pure White frowned slightly. "When?"

"Yesterday."

"Did you pray to the candlelight liar?"

"I prayed to Him three times last night."

Cardinal Loki smiled slightly, showing no fear. "It seems now that the Time to Return the Soul to the Sky."

Chunbai squinted at him and said, "Then... won't you come with me? I can protect the witnesses and the criminals."

"I've already said that matter has nothing to do with me."

Loki shook his head slightly and turned around to answer.

"Was it done by someone from the Controlled Fire faction?"

"That's right."

"Unexpectedly, "Loki replied.

"Who is it?" Chunbai pressed.

Upon hearing this, Loki turned to look at her and uttered a name.

"Gloria Blue Rose".

Suddenly, a noticeable wavering appeared on Chunbai's usually calm and expressionless face.

Upon hearing this, Iver, who had been quietly standing by, suddenly raised his eyebrows.

Because he had heard of that name before.

This is not a good thing.

"... Then, where is Gloria?"

Pure White took a deep breath.

Loki glanced at her, then looked back at the mirrors.

He pointed to a mirror, and suddenly a girl appeared in the mirror.

Her flaxen hair was very short, even shorter than Iver's.

The next moment, her image suddenly magnified. It expanded from a mirror to the entire wall, and the image that could only show her face before now showed her whole body.

Gloria wore a thin, breathable white robe. She was short and looked like a fourteen or fifteen-year-old girl.

Beneath her clothes, one could clearly see rows of gemstone crystals, like scars.

Her palms, the backs of her hands, her shoulder blades, her collarbone, her neck... were covered with dense clusters of gemstone crystals. She even seemed stiff when she moved.

What's most striking is her right eye.

Her right eye had transformed into a deep blue gemstone as beautiful as the starry sky, seemingly containing countless stars. Yet, it lacked a pupil and an eyeball.

She was holding a thick stack of letters in her hands.

That was a confession written in slightly distorted handwriting.

It is faintly visible that the text written above describes the murder of the Bishop Mercedes.

She walked to the edge of the earth, where a certain ring was near its edge.

Then, a golden glow ignited in her hand—perhaps also a particularly bright amber color.

Catalyzed by the light, the letters came to life one by one, transforming into paper cranes that flew off in all directions at the same time. As the paper cranes scattered, she leaned forward, her arms outstretched, and fell to the ground.

"... Gloria!"

Pure White exclaimed in surprise.

She subconsciously took a half step forward, extending her right hand as if to grab something. But at the last moment, she slowly lowered it.

"... When did this happen?"

"This morning."

Cardinal Loki replied.

The next moment, he waved his hand.

The scene suddenly changed.

It was a leafless tree twisted and shaped through horticultural techniques. Originally intended as a seat, it was now scattered with numerous gemstone fragments—blue, green, yellow, red... The entire tree shimmered under the embellishment of these broken gems.

Only a gemstone face with its eyes tightly closed lay before the tree. It too was shattered into two large halves, with only the part above the chin remaining intact.

"Gloria Candidate Saintess."

Cardinal Loki replied, "Her Amberization Disease is already in its late stages, and she is only alive because of your conversations with her. But she has been tired of this state for too long... Maintaining the status quo is also a twilight endeavor. 'Stopping amber itself cannot stop amber' is a paradox of the elves."

"But clearly, rather than delaying Ningpo's death and ultimately freezing her soul in those sculptures, she preferred a short but brilliant death."

"How can you define her actions towards Mercedes as murder... rather than salvation?"

Loki turned back to Pure White: "As far as I know, Bishop Mercedes didn't resist when she died. Are you so sure she wanted to live, to be with you... waiting for the future Nether?"

This time, however, Chunbai subconsciously looked away.

"Your Highness Saintess Maiden."

Loki said softly, "Only one best Saintess can be chosen from among dozens of Candidate Saintess. They are all your substitutes. They may become the Saintess when you encounter an accident."

"If you don't die, the others will be destined to be Candidate Saintess for life, spending their lives cultivating techniques that resonate with the Nine Pillar Gods, living in a high-level environment isolated from the mortal world. You should know how high the probability of Candidate Saintess the Amber Realm is."

"You say it's because elves who aren't prone to Amber Condensation become Professionals, and therefore Professionals aren't prone to Amber Condensation. Then let me ask you, does the inheritance itself truly not affect the probability of Amberization Disease flare-ups? The high Amber Condensation rate of the Candidate Saintess, the almost life-or-death bond between each group of the Pope Guard —if one dies, the other will also condense Amber... and your former mentor, Betina Tia Blooming Flowers —are the deaths of these people truly unrelated to the inheritance itself?"—You are a successor, you are a survivor, Saintess Highness. Just like me. We are all lucky. But there are always some unfortunate ones. Some cannot become Inheritors, and some Inheritors die. Among those who follow me, not all are Professionals —there are also Inheritors have encountered the Amber Condensation crisis, seeking change, healing, and liberation. They are elves too.

"Now I ask you, Saintess Highness—"

Is Controlled Fire really wrong?

Cardinal Loki's words remained unwavering even when faced with the Saintess and the four Pope Guard.

His gaze was as fierce as fire, and the crimson light burning in his pupils was like the setting sun.

The sun was setting at dusk.