The Pope

"Stop!" the Goddess finally spoke, unable to bear it any longer. "You've copied too much!"

"Ahem!" Truman cleared his throat and closed the Apocalypse of the Night. "When it comes to preaching, who could possibly surpass that one? This is the most suitable path."

"I'm not a God yet, and this isn't my path." The Goddess made her refusal clear, hinting at what she meant. This was far too embarrassing.

"Oh, people are going to copy it anyway, so I might as well do it myself," Truman muttered, feeling a little excited.

"You'll be a God soon enough," Truman said.

"Hmm?" The Goddess had already gained a deep understanding of just how mysteriously strange this collaborator was.

"The Annihilation Demonic Wolf is about to die!" The words landed like a thunderclap, and the Goddess's expression changed as well.

From his conversations with the Goddess, Truman had learned about the current state of the world. He did not know when the Goddess had descended into this era; she had been very cautious and had not revealed it.

But the Giant King Aurmir, the Annihilation Demonic Wolf Flegrea, the King of Exotic Species Vathun, and the other five Ancient Gods were still alive, locked in constant conflict.

"Lunatics will eventually be swept into the graveyard of history. Why don't we give them a push? It's the tide of history." Those Ancient Gods were indeed powerful, but they were far too insane to be saved.

"Why do you know all this?" The Goddess simply fixed her gaze on Truman, starlight scattering around her. She was deeply unsettled.

Truman had been here for less than two months and hadn't even left the City of Darkness. How could he know anything about the tide of history?!

"I heard the prayers of all living beings, as well as your will." Truman immediately slipped into his role as Pope.

"Is that where the Book of Dreams gets its power?" The Goddess ignored the second half of his words and fell into thought.

Truman's face darkened. The Goddess's identity before she crossed over had been far from ordinary, and her instincts were exceptionally sharp. Now, they were sharper still.

"Fine." The Goddess did not ask further questions. She simply nodded, accepting Truman in this role. They had already established a degree of trust, which would make many things easier from here on.

The Goddess's hidden power protected this City of Darkness, and everyone within it was her believer.

But beyond this city lay a world of bloodshed and savagery.

Beyonder Creatures that went mad from devouring every kind of characteristic, supernatural races that hunted humans as food—this was a world set to nightmare difficulty for ordinary people.

The City of Darkness was a rare exception. Even the city-states protected by Ancient Gods were not spared all manner of slaughter. After all, this was a mad era, and the Ancient Gods themselves were unreliable.

From that perspective, this era truly deserved to end.

"Now, Your Excellency the Pope, what do you want to do?" The Goddess turned her gaze on Truman, her expression serious and solemn.

"Do what I ought to do..."

Before long, Truman stood atop the Deep Dark Citadel, holding the only copy of the Apocalypse of the Night in the world aloft.

"The Goddess above shall grant us peace and deep sleep."

"Praise the Goddess!" All the believers under her protection knew how fortunate they were.

Living in this City of Darkness meant they did not have to stay on constant alert for mad Monsters or risk being captured as food by supernatural races. All of it was the Goddess's gift!

Hum!

A deep power rippled outward like waves across a pool, passing over every believer in the City of Darkness. The Night Fragrance Herbs and Deep Sleep Flowers shimmered with faint light, and an unprecedented calm soothed everyone's hearts.

"Praise the Goddess!" The believers could not hold back their praise.

Just then, every believer sensed something and looked up at the person standing beneath the Goddess's statue.

He was glowing. His linen robe shimmered with a dark sheen, and the Badge of Divinity pinned to his left breast radiated a peaceful power.

"By the Goddess's Oracle, I am the Pope of the City of Darkness. You may address me as Your Excellency the Pope."

Brilliant starlight fell from the Goddess's statue, seemingly gathering into a Crown of Starry Sky and settling on Truman's head.

The people of this era were frighteningly pure, and the miracle that had just occurred had shaken them to their core.

"Praise the Goddess! We pay our respects to the Pope!" The voices of praise grew louder and more unified. Suddenly, Truman felt a mysterious connection forming between himself and the believers.

At the same time, all the believers understood the meaning of the title Pope. He was God's representative, the one who would manage the believers on the Goddess's behalf—their "father" in faith!

"Faith and anchors?" Truman studied the mysterious connection between them. In his perception, pure points of light in different hues gathered together, gradually forming a small, slowly flowing galaxy.

I knew it. Truman looked at the points of light before him, filled with delight. Gods need anchors to preserve their humanity, but what I need is to use these Anchors of Divinity to leverage my Book of Dreams!

The power of the Book of Dreams he could use had originally been negligible. But now, with these Anchors of Divinity, he could leverage a much greater power.

I have to make sure the believers trust and respect me enough—even fear me. Truman had found a clever shortcut this time.

Becoming Pope had allowed him to connect directly with the believers of the City of Darkness and inherit the believers the Goddess had gathered over the years.

Did I just steal the Goddess's peach?

"Praise the Goddess!" Truman said this sincerely.

At that moment, the Book of Dreams, disguised as the Apocalypse of the Night, gave a faint tremble. Dream Phosphor spilled from it, drifted through the air, and merged into the believers.

That night, the City of Darkness could also be called the City of Dreams. In their dreams, the believers would receive what they desired most and heal their deepest wounds.

But the greatest benefit was that the pollution inevitably accumulated within them each day was completely quelled, restoring their mental state to its fullest.

"May our dreams come true!" said the Purifier, Saint Truman.

The next day, after staying awake all night, Truman led thousands upon thousands of believers in prayer.

"Thank you, Goddess, for granting me food!"

Truman had set himself the goal of ensuring that this city-state—and even one of the Orthodox Churches of the future—would remember his name forever. He would begin with every aspect of daily life, and the most important of all was naturally "food."

The Goddess treated this City of Darkness very well indeed. A Stone of Abundance, equivalent to a Sequence 4 Saint in the later era, had been placed at the feet of her statue. Its influence covered the entire city, where fruits, milk, and all kinds of food were plentiful.

In this era, a city-state like this could already be called Heaven.

After that, Truman carried out all sorts of measures, making the believers feel that God was truly everywhere in their daily lives. He devised a complete, if somewhat complicated, set of prayer rites and, in the name of the Pope, had them written into the Apocalypse of the Night.

At the same time, he also brought over the contents of the true Apocalypse of the Night from the later era, revising them to suit the times.

"The Creator awoke from chaos, shattered the darkness, and made the first ray of light..."

"In the Second Epoch, the Goddess awoke from darkness and would one day reclaim the authority that had been usurped..."

"Praise the Goddess!"

Truman had essentially laid down the framework for the Apocalypse of the Night. All the Popes who came after him would be left to patch it up.

He even offered a copy to the Goddess. He just didn't know whether she would be embarrassed after reading it...

On this day, Truman diligently led all the believers in prayer, having already established a simple Mass. That was more than enough to ensure his title of Saint Truman would be passed down through the ages as the City of Darkness grew and changed.

"The Goddess is summoning me." It wasn't long before Saint Truman, who had essentially established the foundations of the Church of Evernight, disappeared, leaving behind only those words.

Truman had not lied to these innocent lambs. The Goddess really had summoned him!

The Goddess had indeed been moved. Though it was more likely that she had already made plans, and Truman's arrival had simply given her a better choice.

After all, he was a Subordinate God of the Annihilation Demonic Wolf, and the Wolf completely countered her power of concealment. There were many things she could not conveniently do.

"...I'll be counting on you!" The Goddess's soft voice rang out beneath the statue.

Two objects appeared before Truman through a reversal of concealment, gradually becoming real.

A glove and a dark robe.

"The Gloves of the Ancient. They can summon me from the Historical Void, and they can also take you anywhere in the world."

"The Robe of the Sage. It is the Sage's instrument of mastery over knowledge, and it can also transform you into an Information Being."

"These are what the Pope deserves."

"Whoa!" Truman's eyes lit up as he took the two objects. "A fusion of the Planeswalker and the Scholar of Yore, along with the Sage's knowledge!"

Whoa! How did the Scholar of Yore get mixed up with the Planeswalker?

Well... in an era where people devour everything, I guess it's not that hard to understand.

And the Robe of the Sage was a treasure, too!

Now that Truman had arrived in this world, the Book of Dreams was enough to keep him safe. But when it came to combat power, it was far too unreliable. With these two items, as long as he didn't provoke Subordinate Gods or Ancient Gods, he could go almost anywhere in the world!

As someone known as the Purifier, he was unafraid of pollution, so he didn't have to worry about any side effects.

"I will not fail you!" Truman said solemnly. After that, he spent his time adapting to the two Mystical Items. The Book of Dreams provided him with seemingly endless Spirituality, and he did not have to worry about negative effects. He could even use their abilities at will.

"I can't drink Potions anymore. Am I supposed to become the greatest collector of all time?"

Imagining himself pulling out countless Mystical Items and crushing his enemies with them, Truman raised an eyebrow. "That doesn't sound too bad."

"But it's not a long-term solution..."

Truman toyed with the two objects, gazing at the Book of Dreams as he sank into thought.

Several days later, Truman, fully prepared, came to stand beneath the Goddess's statue.

Brilliant points of starlight descended, and the Goddess sent Truman out of the City of Darkness.

Truman appeared in a vast, boundless primeval forest stretching all the way to the horizon.

He now wore the Robe of the Sage, its dark fabric adorned with brilliant points of starlight. In one hand, he held the Book of Dreams, disguised as the Apocalypse of the Night; on the other, he wore the Gloves of the Ancient, marked with mysterious and strange patterns.

His short black hair was stylish, and his inner quality as the Purifier was even more striking. His fair face and bright eyes, along with the Angel Wings visible through Spirit Vision, made him look like an Angel who had truly descended.

In short, he looked excellent—so likable that people would find themselves drawn to him and want to get close.

I'm not a newcomer, but this is a new book. I hope you'll support it!