On the Way

That evening, around seven o'clock, the stagecoach arrived in Avignon. The distance from Marseille to Paris is nearly two hundred to three hundred leagues (a traditional French unit of length, with one league being approximately four kilometers), which is clearly not a distance a stagecoach can cover in a short time. In fact, there are no direct stagecoaches from Marseille to Paris; passengers traveling to Paris generally have to change coaches at various stages.

Under the twilight, the stagecoach passed through the towering walls of Avignon and entered the ancient city. Stepping off the coach, Joseph looked up and could see the Palace of the Popes looming on the hillside, shrouded in the dusk. For a long time, Avignon served as the residence of the Catholic Popes. Although the Pope had long since returned to the Vatican, the city remained a direct territory of the Holy See. This special status would not change until the outbreak of the Great Revolution.

"That is the Palace of the Popes," Father Alfonso explained from the side, seeing Joseph gazing in that direction. "Although His Holiness the Pope is no longer here, this place remains a holy site."

"May I go inside and take a look?" Joseph asked.

"Ah, child, I am afraid that is not possible. That place is not for just anyone to enter," Father Alfonso replied. "As a messenger of the Church, I have traveled between Marseille and Paris many times, and every time I pass through here, I can only gaze at this sacred palace from afar. Hmm, Bishop Minier has been inside; if you are interested in the situation within, you can ask the Bishop yourself in the future."

Joseph shook his head upon hearing this and said, "I do not need to ask the Bishop. I think I shall be able to enter it myself in the future."

Alfonso, thinking he meant he would one day become a bishop himself, smiled and said, "That is also what the Bishop expects of you."

However, that was not what Joseph truly meant. Joseph knew that in a few years, the Great Revolution would break out. During the Revolution, especially during the time of Robespierre, Catholicism was trampled into the dirt and kicked by ten thousand feet. Almost all churches were confiscated and converted into so-called "Temples of Reason." The holy icons in the churches were replaced with busts or full-length statues of revolutionary leaders and heroes of the past. The Palace of the Popes, a fortress of reactionary forces, was naturally no exception. By then, it would be far too easy to go inside and take a look.

Avignon is still a direct territory of the Holy See today. Because Jesus once drove the merchants out of the Temple of Jehovah, the commercial atmosphere in Avignon is much lighter compared to other cities of similar size. There are no merchants shouting and hawking their wares in the city; among the people walking about, some are dressed in black robes, while the majority are devout pilgrims.

Of course, Joseph understood that this was merely a surface phenomenon. When it comes to greed for money and the art of trade, few institutions in this world can compare to the Roman Curia. After all, they were the ones who invented indulgences and could sell a poultry feather as an angel's plume. Yet, on the surface, they still maintain an appearance of holiness.

After getting off the coach, the passengers bid each other a friendly farewell. Joseph followed Father Alfonso along the street for about a hundred fathoms (an old French unit of length, approximately 1.624 meters) until they reached the pitch-black gate of a monastery. However, Father Alfonso did not head directly toward the main gate; instead, he turned to the right, approached a small, equally dark door, and raised his hand to knock gently.

The small door did not open, but there was a window with iron bars on it. The window was pulled open, and an eye appeared at the small opening.

"I am a messenger sent to Paris by Bishop Minier of the Corsica diocese. We need to stay here for the night. This is the Bishop's godson, and he will be traveling to Paris with me," Father Alfonso said while handing over a document.

The eye looked at Alfonso and then at Joseph. A hand appeared at the window to take the document, and then the small window was shut.

After a while, with a creaking sound, the small door—its hinges seemingly rusted—was opened. It revealed a large man dressed in black clerical robes, his face mostly obscured by a hood. The large man stood hunched in the dark corridor, silently returning the document to Alfonso before stepping aside. This movement made Joseph notice that one of his legs seemed to be slightly lame.

Alfonso led Joseph inside. The large man closed the door, locked it, and reached out to take a lantern from the wall, holding it in his hand to lead the way.

The monastery had no windows facing the street, and the windows facing the inner courtyard were very small. Even during the day, the corridor was extremely dark, and at this moment, it felt even more eerie and deathly silent. Only the light of the lantern and the flickering shadow of the lame giant leading the way could be seen.

This scene inexplicably reminded Joseph of the dark underground passages of the Zakarum Cathedral in the game Diablo. The limping giant walking ahead also inexplicably reminded him of the "Dark Wanderer." Thus, Joseph could not help but look around vigilantly, fearing that a group of red-skinned Fallen holding small torches might suddenly jump out from somewhere.

However, the world Joseph had transmigrated into was a normal one after all. In the long, dark alleyway, only rats scurried out, not monsters, and the giant leading the way was merely a taciturn gatekeeper; no mysterious fires ignited where he walked.

After walking for a while, the gatekeeper stopped, fished a ring of keys from his waist, opened a small door along the corridor, and turned back to say in a low, disjointed voice, "You... tonight... here."

He then raised the lantern, lowered his head, and walked inside. Alfonso led Joseph in as well. By then, the giant had already lit the candles on the candelabra in the middle of the room. The room was instantly filled with a dim, yellowish glow.

Having lit the candles, the gatekeeper stood up and walked out, ducking his head to pass through the low doorway. By the light of the candles and the lantern in his hand, Joseph saw a long scar on his face.

Seeming to notice Joseph's gaze, after the gatekeeper left, Alfonso sat down in front of the table and said, "He was once a captain for His Majesty the King. He was wounded during the Seven Years' War, and after retiring, he couldn't find work, so he came here to be a gatekeeper."

He then sighed and added, "Life is getting harder these days. Even able-bodied people struggle to survive, let alone someone like him. Fortunately, the Church does not forget those who have fought for the Catholic faith. The Lord will also bless him, Amen."

"Amen," Joseph echoed.

The next day, just as dawn broke, Joseph and Alfonso left the monastery and bought two tickets for the stagecoach to Les Tours. As soon as the two boarded, they heard a surprised voice: "Brother Alfonso? Little Joseph?"

They looked over and saw that the young couple they had met the day before were already sitting in the coach.

"Ah, it is you two? Are you also going to Les Tours?" Alfonso asked.

"Ah, we are going to Lyon," the husband replied happily. "I found a job at a school there."

"That sounds like a decent job," Alfonso said.

"Thank you," the husband replied.

Everyone began to chat, as if they had forgotten the argument that had occurred on the coach the day before. However, after they parted ways in Lyon, Alfonso sighed to Joseph, "I truly did not expect that the influence of that apostate would be so great."

"What apostate?" Joseph asked.

"That Voltaire, who was dragged into hell by the devil just last year," Alfonso replied with a rare, biting tone. "That damned apostate, it is said that when he was dying, he still spewed blasphemies, saying he wanted to be buried with half his body inside the church and half outside. That way, if he were lucky enough to go to heaven, he could enter from the church half, and if—though it is not an 'if' but a certainty—he were to be cast into hell, he could escape from the half outside. Heh, where could he run to escape the palm of the eternal God? He must be very warm in that great pit of fire now, hahahaha..."

"But Mr. Grégoire did not seem to mention Voltaire just now," Joseph asked again. "And the things he said did not seem particularly unreasonable."

"You are right," Alfonso said. "He did not mention that apostate directly. But many of his views—the ones you find reasonable or even very logical—actually come from that apostate. Joseph, you must be careful; this is exactly where the devil is most terrifying.

The devil never reveals his true face to people; on the contrary, they disguise themselves as prophets and saints, using their seemingly brilliant 'reason' to seduce you and lead you onto an evil path. This is the most terrifying and dangerous aspect of those apostates, devils, false prophets, and antichrists. Child, you must know that the devil Lucifer was once the most glorious archangel beside the Lord. He, too, possesses a light that can deceive people. Therefore, if we do not rely on the Church, we are easily deceived by them. May God punish them, Amen!"