As prayers rose across the Main Plane, the Pope of the Dusk Church snapped his eyes open in the Prayer Hall at the church's headquarters, shock and fury on his face. He wore a white robe trimmed in black, embroidered with a sun about to sink beneath a dark horizon.
"What is happening? Why is there such a grand ceremony of prayer to our lord?"
Why didn't I know about a ceremony this grand?
The Pope gripped the Scepter and spoke toward an unlit corner of the hall. "Go. Investigate this. I want to know who held such a grand ceremony without my knowledge."
Something stirred in the darkness. Then a Dark Elf in black leather armor was thrown out of it.
The Elf's handsome face was turned toward the Pope. Dark red blood ran from his eyes.
"Yes..."
The Pope had barely begun to raise his Scepter when he stopped. "It's you, Child of God. Malor Ingna Rui, you planned this!"
Only a handful of people in the church could have hidden a ceremony of this scale from him. Malor Ingna Rui was one of them, and his presence here made it obvious who was responsible.
"I did," Malor Ingna Rui admitted with a mild expression.
"Why?"
The Pope clutched his Scepter, watching the former Child of God warily.
"To welcome my father's return, of course."
"Welcome God's return? Isn't he in his Divine Kingdom?" the Pope murmured.
"There's no need to deceive me."
Malor Ingna Rui raised a hand and plunged it into his chest, pulling out a Golden Heart. At the same time, his body began to change. Below his neck, aged flesh gradually gave way to dusky yellow light, within which the faint outline of a transparent Hourglass Bell appeared.
His expression turned cold. The flecks