I Forgive You

It was early morning, just as dawn was breaking.

Yanis then proceeded to the Twenty-First Circle with some trepidation.

The higher one goes in the Theocracy, the smaller the land becomes and the fewer people there are. The Twenty-First Ring is like a huge palace... and this is the nurturing place for the Candidate Saintess.

After verifying her identity, presenting her tokens, and registering her blood and soul fluctuations, Yanis put on a specially made gemstone brooch that could record the entire process. Guided by two Pope Guard, she followed the prescribed route to the agreed location.

Each Candidate Saintess undergoes various closed-door training programs here until they acquire the ability to communicate with the Nine Pillar Gods and fully develop all their abilities. They are only released if they fail to meet any of the required criteria.

The training of Saintess is exceptionally rigorous. Failing any assessment is not permitted.

With such a high attrition rate, any qualified girl who meets the age requirement will be recruited here—the recruited Saintess may be eliminated at any time.

The reason there are only women is because the highest level of the "Eternal Saintess" lineage requires the Inheritors to be a pure, serene, and quiet young woman. Although the Saintess "Pure White" is active outside, there are at least twenty or thirty Candidate Saintess within this group.

Those who are not eliminated will be considered as candidates. If any accident occurs to the current Saintess, the best candidate will be selected to fill the vacancy immediately.

The cruelest part is that even if you meet all the standards, even if you don't make any mistakes, even if you are the best in all the assessments... if you eventually reach the age limit, you will be eliminated on schedule.

To ensure the purity of their minds and prevent them from being contaminated by other ideologies that could lead them astray, the Candidate Saintess are restricted in their access to all individuals during their various stages of study. Furthermore, all conversations with these visitors are strictly monitored. Spreading deviant ideas to Candidate Saintess is considered a top-level crime within the Theocracy.

As a temporary visitor, Yanis was naturally not allowed to speak with any of the Candidate Saintess. Therefore, she would not encounter anyone on her journey.

All of this was planned.

As Yanis walked down the solemn and quiet corridor of the Holy Church, the synchronized footsteps of two Pope Guard echoed in her ears. The sound reverberated in the empty Holy Church —a corridor several hundred meters long, wide enough for more than twenty people to walk side-by-side, now held only the three of them.

In the extremely quiet environment, even the footsteps of the two of them echoed in the pure white corridor, sounding like a thousand troops.

A thought suddenly popped into Yanis's mind: perhaps it was the right thing Grey did to find Lady Blue Rose as Gloria's mentor.

If Gloria were still studying in the Twenty-First Ring, Yanis would never have seen her. The atmosphere here would probably have caused Gloria to freeze long ago. It's fortunate she was sent down to recuperate... otherwise, she might have lived this long.

Mercedes stayed here for a long time because he refused to admit defeat. Although he did not have any amber, he joined the Controlled Fire.

The Controlled Fire is a faction that opposes the Inheritors, and the only Inheritors Mercedes has ever encountered is the Eternal Saintess.

Presumably, during her years of arduous cultivation, she had long since come to deeply resent the succession system for the position of Candidate Saintess.

The surrounding pure white corridors are almost entirely undecorated... there are no sculptures, no paintings, only identical, protruding flame reliefs and lighting fixtures.

Pure white candles, pure white flames, an endless cycle. It seems endless, like the end of the world—while the slightly upward slope brings a sense of fatigue. The corridors here are all of this structure, known as the "Infinity Corridor."

The Twenty-First Ring has no road signs or any time-marking devices.

There are no clocks or watches, and you can't see the sun, moon, or stars.

The Saintess must maintain a highly regular lifestyle, paying close attention to their own state of mind and even their heart rate and breathing rhythms, to remember and constantly judge the current time under these circumstances. If their biological clock becomes disrupted, they will be eliminated.

This was one of the ascetic practices meant to gradually wear down the anxiety of the Candidate Saintess, but it made Yanis unable to help but become anxious.

The road seemed endless, and she felt anxious and distressed.

When she turned the corner and finally saw Grey, Yanis immediately shouted and rushed to greet her:

" —Grey!"

It looks like a huge chapel, but there are no seats for those attending the service.

The crimson wooden floor resembled dried blood. The ceiling was dark red, and the room was filled with thousands of white candles of varying heights, burning quietly, filling the room with a faint, sacred incense.

The Pure White Saintess, dressed in a white robe that resembled a wedding gown, was kneeling peacefully before the nine statues.

She clasped her hands together in front of her chest, her eyes blindfolded with a ribbon. From a distance, she looked like a blooming lily.

The two Pope Guard stopped at the doorway, letting Yanis walk past.

Yanis was initially quite anxious, but the scent of the incense gradually calmed her down. Her hurried footsteps also slowed down as a result.

"Grey, what's wrong with you..."

... Why did you choose this place to meet?

That's what Yanis originally wanted to ask.

But the Saintess, Pure White, didn't turn her head and calmly said, "I wait for you like this every day, Yanis."

"Every day is an endless cycle, and I don't know if things will change tomorrow. But I can only keep going... I can't be anxious, I can't regret, and I can't give up."

"You've only walked for an hour, but I've walked for 195 years."

Yanis fell silent, speechless.

She stood three or four meters away from the Saintess, but hesitated to go forward.

She remained silent for a long time before softly saying, "I didn't know... you would wait for me forever."

"Because I believe in you."

Grey replied, "Yanis wouldn't lie to me; she will definitely come back."

"So I waited here... this is my training."

"You are my Infinity Corridor."

The Saintess answered calmly.

Her voice was cool and calm. There was no anger, nor anxiety.

It's as if all emotions have been worn down by endless cycles, leaving only obsession.

"...sorry."

"An apology is pointless, Yanis. I want to hear your explanation."

"—Anything about that is fine!"

Yanis couldn't contain the turmoil of emotions surging within her—a mixture of guilt, remorse, anxiety, and fear. These incredibly complex feelings tormented her; she felt as if she wanted to rip her heart out of her chest and carve it into poems of separation and reunion with her paintbrush.

After she advanced to the Fifth Level, becoming a renowned and respected figure in the world, and being revered as a master, she had never experienced such a vulnerable moment.

She even thought she had grown up and would never be afraid again.

But now, Yanis realizes—it's simply because she hasn't encountered something she truly cares about yet. It's simply because she's become strong enough that she's no longer so easily losing what she cherishes.

She gripped the jeweled brooch at her chest for a moment, then finally decided to speak. She told Grey the secrets of the Elixir of Immortality! and the Tears of Time, and recounted the mystery of the Tears of Time's theft.

—If this leads to Freya being held accountable, then she will take responsibility—she will do everything in her power to get her to safety. Yanis has made up her mind.

She already felt terrible for Grey, and now she had to tell Grey this.

Upon hearing this, Grey remained silent for a long time.

"So you care about me this much."

She ignored the anxious Yanis and simply asked softly, "Then why didn't you come back?"

"... because of my cowardice."

This time, Yanis finally gave her own answer, "I couldn't face the first mistake... so I made one mistake after another."

Finally, Grey got up from the ground.

She turned around and said calmly, "Kneel down."

Without hesitation, Yanis knelt down in front of Grey.

Grey reached out and gently stroked Yanis's cheeks. She lifted Yanis's face, making her look into her eyes.

At first, Yanis didn't understand, but after maintaining this posture for a while, she suddenly seemed to realize something—her pupils suddenly dilated.

Grey's lips curled up slightly.

"Then I forgive you, Yanis."

Grey's cool, calm voice echoed, "In the name of pure white, I forgive your sins."

In that instant, Yanis felt something heavy in her heart suddenly disappear.

But she couldn't wait to breathe a sigh of relief after passing the test. Instead, she stared directly at Grey, her eyes filled with fear. "Could it be..."

"I'm not afraid of that kind of thing."

As the Pure White Saintess spoke, she untied the white cloth binding her eyes. "Because I am no longer able to succeed Pope. If this were revealed, the impact on the church would be too bad."

"All the Cardinal know about this. In this situation, I am actually less likely to be attacked... because that would only obscure the fact that I spontaneously condensed my essence, and would have a worse impact on the attacker."

She slowly opened her eyes.

Her left eye was a beautiful sky blue, while her right eye was a brilliant black, like the starry sky of the universe.

Her eyelids were partially damaged, and her right eye could neither close nor open completely. It looked like a glass bead prosthetic eye.

"... You have already become amber."

Yanis's face turned pale. "Is it because of... me?"

Although there is no detailed research, the color of amber is basically related to the path taken.

Black is the color of the Path of Love.

"Don't flatter yourself. It's not like I can't live without you, Yanis."

Pure White closed her eyes again and tied the ribbons layer by layer. Yanis immediately got up, went behind her, and helped her tie the ribbons.

"I was just thinking... never mind. A deserter like you wouldn't understand anyway."

The Saintess was about to say something, but after "looking" at Yanis ultimately gave up.

She reached out and casually crushed the gemstone brooch on Yanis's chest. "These conversations might cause trouble for you and Master Freya. So don't hand this over... If they ask, just say we got into a fight and I broke it."

"... Is everything alright?"

"As Saintess, I do have this much power."

Pure White replied.

"Oh, right."

Upon hearing Freya, Yanis remembered something else. "Iver's dates—do you still have any?"

"Yes. I only took it twice, and then I didn't take it anymore."

The Saintess nodded. "If I take them, it might cure my Amberization Disease. But after two doses, I feel the amount is still insufficient."

"I don't know how long they can be preserved, or whether they can continue to be born. Since that's the case, I might as well preserve them and leave them for future generations... They might be useful to the elves in the future. So I prayed for the power of amber and preserved them. Preserving them for at least a few hundred years shouldn't be a problem."

"It's good you didn't continue taking it..."

Yanis was somewhat frightened, and then explained Freya's theory.

Chunbai remained silent for a while, then finally shook her head. "Don't worry too much, it's just theory."

"However, since Master Freya is here... let's leave them to the professionals."

As she spoke, she took out a blue gemstone ring. "They're in here."

"And... what about Cardinal Loki?"

"An investigation is underway, and the results are relatively optimistic."

A slight smile played on Pure White's lips, "We've confirmed with the Eighteenth Ring that Bram's giant power comes from Cardinal Loki. The evidence is solid. Regardless of whether I ultimately succeed to the Pope, he certainly won't."

"...What?"

Upon hearing this, Yanis was stunned. "Cardinal Loki is the Wildfire Giant?"

She thought of Iver, who had gone to see Cardinal Loki alone, and became nervous. "Wait a minute, you come with me first—"

"Iver has gone to find Cardinal Loki!"

My sleep schedule is getting back to normal; I'll have dinner and come back for the second chapter!