Bishop McKinley spotted the anxious cleric. He left his seat of honor in the hall, unnoticed by anyone; all eyes were fixed on the three bishops.
The three bishops paid no attention to Bishop McKinley's departure. Perhaps it was for the best that he had left, sparing them the trouble.
"What happened?" Bishop McKinley asked gravely.
No matter how much authority he had lost, he was still a bishop. So long as his position had not been stripped away, he remained an important administrator of the War God Temple.
"Bishop McKinley, after Heda Star requested communication, no one responded. Then the connection was cut off. When we tried again, we found that contact could no longer be established, and..." The cleric hesitated at this point.
"And what?" Bishop McKinley pressed.
"And the Heda Star temple has vanished from the temple map!" the cleric continued.
More than anything, the cleric himself could hardly believe it. In the history of the past several thousand years, a temple disappearing had never happened before.
The temple map was an enormous star chart maintained by the main temple, marking the locations of every War God Temple. Each marker corresponded exactly to a temple's formation and identifier.
As long as a War God Temple existed, its marker on the star chart would remain lit.
"What? Why wasn't such an important matter reported immediately?" Bishop McKinley broke into a cold sweat as he demanded.
Bishop McKinley did not hesitate any longer. He strode back into the hall and approached the three bishops.
"The War God Temple on Heda Star has disappeared. People must be sent there to investigate immediately. I request that the archbishop election be suspended!" Bishop McKinley shouted.
His words stunned the three bishops for a moment before they flew into a rage.
"Bishop McKinley,