Compared to the rear section of the church where Shade had appeared just now, the main hall was relatively well preserved. Even more than half of the long stone benches remained intact. The space was broad enough that, in its prosperous days, it could have seated at least several hundred people to listen to the Father's sermons.
Unfortunately, the windows on all sides were now blocked by debris. Short grass that remained lively even in winter grew from the cracks between the floor tiles, and the wall behind the pulpit no longer bore any trace of a holy emblem. There was no way to tell which Old God this church had belonged to.
Nature's wildness and the solemn church had merged perfectly together. Everything in the mortal world would eventually be unable to resist the mighty power of time.
The only thing worth noting was the statue of a middle-aged man in a long robe, seated at the first row of benches on the right side of the central aisle. The statue was extraordinarily lifelike: the details of its hair, the folds of its robe, and the wrinkles at the corners of its eyes were exactly like those of a living person. Its eyes were fixed on the empty wall where the holy emblem should have hung, and Shade could even see relief and melancholy in its gaze.
The statue's face had the typical features of a southern Kasonlik native. If the light here had not been fairly bright, Shade might even have thought it was a living man.
"A stone statue?"
He walked over and placed a hand on the seated statue's shoulder, then felt a thick layer of dust beneath his fingers.
An ordinary stone statue.
"Just a statue?"
Yes. If you don't believe it, you can try