The sun approached the horizon with its shining hue, the realm was the same, but there was something new. The air in the Holy Land felt soothing too, and crowds walked to one destination to catch a single view.
The Holy Land donned its best regalia; decorations adorning every corner, streets were cleaned again, and the scent of fresh paint emanated from the buildings all around. The Pope's Palace was the focus that day, where the eagerly anticipated anointment of the new Pope was to unfold.
It was a significant event, as this was no ordinary Pope, but one who would perhaps go down in history as the youngest Pope to ever exist. In the past, in the future—ever.
Sylvester donned robes that were suitable for his position, but didn't make them too lavish. He wore light golden robes similar to a normal Clergyman—but his had embroidery of various colors, and some inexpensive crystals were sewn on it. The ones to make it were none other than the Bright Mothers, and Sylvester wore it with utmost pride.
The mitre, however, was the same as the old Pope. Only its colors were changed to complement his robes. However, he didn't wear it as the ceremony had yet to take place. The head Cardinal Priest of the Magna Sanctum was to come and perform some rituals.
Having some time to kill, Sylvester went to the tenth basement floor of the Pope's Palace to see what had intrigued him for a long time. Someone had told him long ago to see the place with his own eyes, and the time had come. With Aurora and Gabriel, he went down the elevator and then the staircases.
"What do you expect to find there?" Gabriel asked him worriedly, as it was now a habit to feel anxious whenever Sylvester was interested in something. "I hope you're not going to that door Saint Scepter talked about."
Sylvester denied and strode down the stairs, "I'm not that foolish, Gabriel. No, I want to see the tenth floor for another reason. It'll prove one of my theories—why this world is so backward, despite being so old; Why are there no scientific innovations that could change the world; Why did it take so many years for someone to come up with a steam engine? I've seen intelligent people, so the absence of innovations makes no sense."
He spoke from his own knowledge of human civilization. Because, as far as he knew, humans went from inventing the wheel to reaching the moon in a span of five thousand years. Heck, Sol also had the same conditions as people of his past world. Plagues and constant warfare should have pushed innovation.
Sylvester wasted no time and finally reached the tenth underground level of the Pope's Palace. Before him stood an enormous room, and at its other end were massive black double doors engraved with all sorts of safety runes and anti-magical unlocking mechanisms. But before Sylvester's Elder Magic, all runes were as good as nonsensical mutterings.
He placed his palm on the doors and began breaking through the various protection runes one by one. He wasn't gentle, inflicting such damage that the runes were slowly destroyed, vanishing from the door's engravings.
A loud click resounded in the end, signifying the doors' unlocking. Sylvester stepped back a few feet and pulled the doors out. They moved with a cacophony of creaks as if they hadn't been opened in decades. Clouds of dust gushed out from the cracks as the gap widened. Each door was at least two feet thick. Clearly, it was meant to remain closed and hide whatever was within.
"Stay behind me," Sylvester ordered Gabriel and Aurora, and walked in before the dust could settle. The airflow already made them all sense that the place was massive, but the chilling feeling made it apparent that it was bigger than their imagination.
Soon enough, they came out of the dust and saw the view. They halted their steps immediately as the underground chamber felt more like a massive garbage dump than anything else. Turns out, they were just one step away from falling into a colossal pit the size of the Palace's floor space. It was deep enough that they found it hard to see its bottom. But again, it was filled with so many items that the real base was likely much further down.
"What in Solis' name is this place?" Aurora exclaimed, her voice filled with pure confusion. "What is all this?"
"A graveyard of history and innovation," Sylvester exclaimed, already having noticed a few things in the vast pit. "Look over there. Don't you find it similar to one of my steam engines? And look there, doesn't that look like the tram I created in Miraj city, just looking more like… a train? Look further. You'll see a few bicycles as well."
Sylvester couldn't stop himself and jumped forward using Light Tiles. He descended slowly, looking around at the pile of treasure. 'What! Isn't that the initial design of a helicopter? Leonardo Da Vinci made it… Gabriel mentioned that he was once a Pope.'
From trebuchets to harpoons, crude ancient muskets, cannons, musical instruments, entire ships fitted with steam turbines, and so much more. As far as he could see, items were all over the place, but none of them went anywhere close to the modern era, making it clear to him that no reincarnator before him had been from a modern period.
"Max, what's this?" Gabriel picked up something small after landing with him. "It looks like a… a compass you made?"
"No!" Sylvester rushed to Gabriel and snatched the item. True, it had a dial and was shaped like a compass, but this one had twelve markers, signifying twelve hours. It also had two hands, one for the hour and one for the minutes—no hand for the seconds. "Someone managed to precisely calculate the time and formulate the clock with gears tailored to its cycle—this is a clock, Gabriel. And it makes things so much easier for us now—I won't have to make precise calculations."
Sylvester looked at the vast field around him, "This place is filled with inventions made by great innovators and perhaps our past Popes. Inventions that could've changed the world but were held back—because 'they' didn't want these to come out?"
"Why would nameless gods be against innovation? Won't more people mean more prayers?" Aurora asked with amusement, picking up something from the ground that seemed like a blood pressure measuring device to Sylvester.
Gabriel responded to her before Sylvester could, "They are the gods who don't ask for prayers, Lady Aurora. I don't think they care about more or fewer meatbags—their intentions ought to be something otherworldly, unholy, and disgusting."
Sylvester wholeheartedly agreed with him there, "There seem to be a lot of books as well. After the crowning ceremony, let's all come back and sort this place out. This huge chamber alone could very well be a massive leap for mankind."
'What do the gods want?' Sylvester kept a solemn face, but in his heart, he felt helpless uncertainty. The reality remained that if 'they' decide to kill him, he won't be able to do anything about it.
"Meow!" Miraj suddenly approached Sylvester, nudging forward what resembled a statue of Anubis.
Sylvester pocketed it, knowing Miraj wanted to play with it as a toy. "Let's get back to the surface. Sunrise must be close."
But Aurora and Gabriel didn't move and kept staring at Sylvester as if wanting an explanation. Understandably so, since Miraj had stopped bothering with being silent and secretive.
"At least tell me what it looks like?" Aurora questioned. "We know you have a secret guardian angel, but what is it?"
"I want to know too," Gabriel added.
Sylvester sighed and caught Miraj in his hands. "Extend your hand and tap gently."
Aurora carefully and confusedly brought her hand down, not knowing what to expect. She merely followed Sylvester's moving head, following his subtle guidance to direct her arm. Her breath almost stopped, wondering what kind of godly, angelic entity this was.
"Fur?!" she exclaimed once she felt the hair. "A lot of warmth… squishy and cozy."
"Meow!" Miraj made some noise and chomped on Aurora's hand, licking it.
"..."
"Cat?" She was not very certain, but continued to ask. "What color?"
"White," Sylvester replied. "Very cute and smart… as smart as Felix."
"Not that sharp then," Aurora mumbled and used both hands to touch Miraj. "Awww… he's so fluffy and… I feel like squishing him!"
Sylvester allowed her to do it. Otherwise, she would never stop pestering him, "Go ahead."
Woosh!
Without wasting a single second, Aurora grabbed Miraj and hugged him in her arms tightly. She rubbed her face on the poor kitty's head, "O my squish ball… I wish he had told me earlier… so many squishes missed."
"Nyoooo…" Miraj, who hated squishes unless they were from Big Mum, wriggled in her arms.
Being very flexible, he quickly got out of Aurora's hold and jumped back on Sylvester's shoulder, licking his fir to fix it.
However, Sylvester didn't reveal anything else about Miraj. Permitting them to think it was a guardian angel was enough. He didn't want to let them touch him either, but he allowed it since Miraj had interacted with Aurora before.
"He's spoiled by Mum, so try to be careful with him. Let's go now." Sylvester said and leaped out of the vast pit. They exited the doors and closed them. Sylvester placed Elder Runes to keep it sealed this time. It was too valuable not to be protected—finally understanding why it was behind such thick doors.
"Frick!" Gabriel suddenly cursed. "The sunrise is coming! Sylvester! Run!"
Sylvester did so and ran faster than any of them. Rituals were significant in the Holy Land, especially for one about to become the Pope. They legitimize his rule, after all.
"Meoooow…" Miraj almost flew off his shoulder, clutching onto the robes with his front paws.
Sylvester didn't stop and quickly leaped out of the first ventilation shaft he found and came out into the open. From there, he ran to the Holy Court of the Pope.
When he climbed the gigantic stairs of the Palace, he reminisced about the first day he arrived there. He went up to the door in the arms of the Inquisitor High Lord.
Woosh!
Sylvester arrived on time and started to walk solemnly after reaching the main entry. He fixed his clothes, patted them clean, and stepped inside the massive hall of the Palace. The intricately adorned golden throne lay before him in the distance, placed on an elevated platform accessible by the stairs. Many Clergymen were present there, standing on both sides.
'This is where it all started, on Pope Axel's lap—It took a while, but at last, it's my time to fill the power gaps.'
His long golden blond hair fluttered behind him, and his golden eyes gleamed with expectations and some hesitations. But his steps were firm and powerful, unwaveringly moving toward the throne, around which a few Priests stood.
Thud!
The instant Sylvester walked in, with his moving steps, the Clergymen flanking the halls began to kneel towards him, their hands held together, eyes closed, and prayers on their lips.
Sylvester had rarely seen the Holy Court, but it felt as overpowering and empty of warmth as ever. The airiness was a reminder of all the sick in the world, a chill that even the feeble torchlights couldn't burn.
'Little Shane, I hope this reduces your pain. Beyond this, I will remove whatever evil remains.' Sylvester muttered under his breath and walked up the stairs. 'Blood, tears, lives lost—all for this moment.'
"All hail!" Cardinal Priest of Magna Sanctum, an old bald man with a long white beard, shouted. "Eightieth Pope of the Faith of Solis, the Blessed Bard, the Son of Solis, the God's Favored, the Grand Crusader, the Judge, the Supreme Healer, the Dragonslayer, Bane of Beastaria, the Uniter of realms—Sylvester Maximilian… Let the rituals begin!"
Immediately, thousands of giant drums across the Holy Land began to thump in unison, the same theme and beat. Following them, countless trumpets were added, and at last, the violins were included—everywhere, in all the peninsulas.
The rituals began with loud proclamations through music.
