As if the air itself froze, the confused faces of all the people turned static. Be it Sol, the Sand Continent, or the Central Continent. Every sentient being in the region, be it a human or even non-human, heard Sylvester speak directly to their minds. His voice reverberated with a soothing warmth.
"To all the children of Solis! I am Sylvester Maximilian, the Pope—The answer to all your dreams and hopes! Do not be frightened, for I speak through the ancient magic I inherited, with the power of a Supreme Wizard."
While Sylvester spoke, he wondered if he could do something more now that he was a Supreme Wizard. From what he had realized, he could hear what was happening in people's minds around him using the solarium. Then, in theory, it was also possible to show them a visible image.
'Let's make this otherworldly.'
Sylvester resumed speaking and used the Elder Magic. It cost him more solarium, but nothing he couldn't manage. Soon, he attempted to form a static image of himself in the people's minds. He didn't make it seem accurate, but rather, he made himself appear as a man sitting on a throne with a halo behind his head and his face covered in some shadow. It was aimed to draw awe from them as well as intimidate them.
"For many millennia, you have been betrayed, hurt, and ignored. You have suffered for generations as the mindless wars stained our lands with blood. Corruption is rampant, and murder and deviant behavior are all too common. Kingdoms fighting kingdoms, lords fighting lords—in the end, who suffers the most?
"What is the value of your life? What gives someone the right to kill you merely because they wanted to? What makes a commoner lower than a noble? Where is the law? Where is the order? Where is justice?"
Sylvester's words echoed in the people's minds, along with the image of a terrifying yet majestic form; they couldn't help but take him seriously and ponder on everything he said. His words were bound to be engraved in their thoughts for ages to come.
"In my reign, justice shall hold no prejudice. None have the right to kill, noble or not—slavery is the sin of the devil, none are lowborn, and none are special. A new order shall be formed based on mutual respect and safety that shall be provided by the Church and the Kingdoms.
"But those who are corrupt, those who kill, rape, steal, smuggle Tears of Solis—I am watching you, and you shall face justice under the wrath of my burning light. For the rays of Solis brighten our world, but if you anger it enough, it can burn—The sooner, the better, this lesson you learn."
The limitation of being a divine voice in their minds was that he couldn't speak too much, as it would reduce the majesty of the moment. So, he decided to finish his experiment with a hymn that was bound to energize the people. A sort of proof that, indeed, the Lord's Bard, their new Pope, was the one behind the voice.
♫Sons and daughters of the supreme deity,
Rejoice, for the shadows now flee.
Endured long, now rise and be free,
Join my song, and unleash your inner spree.♫
♫O' Solis, the architect, the axis of this domain,
Bestow upon us your boon; let your radiance rain.
With true-hearted folk, and their Holy Pope's reign,
We'll shape this world as your shining, prime plane.♫
♫Such, we await your embrace and the final judgment,
If we've sinned, please guide us to a path of atonement.
We vow from our depths never to forget this moment,
May your light forever grace us with enlightenment.♫
Sylvester stopped his speech after that and began withdrawing his senses from the solarium around him that connected to people's minds around half of the world. He didn't know what his actions would bring upon him, but he reckoned it'd be something good. But how good, it was yet to be known.
A few seconds later, he opened his eyes and looked around at the Holy Court. The Clergymen also seemed to wake up from a slumber, fixing their robes and standing straight. They had an expression of renewed vigor on their faces, and the scent of worship permeated much stronger than before.
'Was I able to reach the Sand Continent?' Sylvester wondered since he only tried to reach as far as possible in the south, without knowing where his limitations were.
"Holy Court is adjourned," Sylvester announced and stood up.
Thud!
"Your Holiness!"
Just as Sylvester walked between the groups of Clergymen to exit the place, the men knelt and kept their heads held low. They didn't shout or chant anything as they were wiser. But the respect they showed seemed to come from the bottom of their hearts.
'Did it work a bit too well?'
He waved at them and left the building with Gabriel beside him.
As they walked down the stairs, Sylvester gave him his new task, "Tell Lazark to find out how far my mind messages went. If they reach the Sand Continent, immediately inform me. I'll go home now and get some sleep."
Yes, he needed much rest after his ranking up and the battle. In essence, he hadn't slept in months since he had also trained continuously inside Nehilius' void.
"Have a good night then, Max," Gabriel patted Sylvester's shoulder, smiling maturely. He had a tired look on his face too. "You did more than enough, so now let the rest of us take up our tasks. I'll handle the administration, and you focus on your goals for social improvement. You don't have to work on everything."
Sylvester appreciated his good friend's words. But he couldn't help but feel annoyed, "When was the last time you shaved?"
"..."
"Been a few days. I was just too busy. Why? Do I look ugly?" Gabriel rubbed his face in confusion.
Sylvester sighed and walked away, "Nothing—Just paying a price for my blood. See you tomorrow, Gab."
Leaving Gabriel clueless, Sylvester walked down and looked around. The stagecoach waited for him, and the happy, smiling Archbishop reinsman waited for him to climb in. But as always, to his dismay, Sylvester picked up his bicycle and began pedaling toward his house. It was muscle memory at that point.
"Chonky, we're going to test your limits later," Sylvester told Miraj, who sat in the custom basket he had made that was attached to the bicycle handle.
"Test?" Miraj tilted his head cutely, his ears twitched in wonder. "What test?"
"To see how fat your butt can grow. You're a force to be reckoned with, Chonky. But we need to find your limit first."
Miraj quickly turned his head and looked at his butt, squishing it with his paws, "But… If I drink all the water here, the fish will die. What will I eat then? I love bananas, but sometimes fish is the best."
"Hah…" Sylvester patted Miraj's head. "True, I'm afraid this world isn't ready for the wrath of Mega-Chonky. We'll ask Nehilius to create a large planet with infinite water."
Soon enough, Sylvester arrived back home. But since it wasn't night yet, Xavia and Zeke hadn't returned from their work. So, he used his own key, went inside, and without even bothering to turn the Light Crystal lamps on, jumped onto his bed to sleep. He tried his best to stay awake, but he knew that sleep would soon envelop him.
"Good night, Chonky." Sylvester placed Miraj underneath his blanket, beside his chest, and waved his hand to shut the door.
"Nya…" Miraj meowed softly as he yawned and closed his eyes.
Within a second, both of them found themselves in the realm of dreams. Where Sylvester saw an optimistic future, where the dragons and elves knelt before him. He stood on a raised rock, covered in golden armor, his blonde hair fluttering with the wind, his old spear back in his hands, and a magnificent beard adorning his face—he couldn't help but smile in his sleep.
At the same time, Miraj saw himself drowning in a sea of banana smoothies. It was a nightmare, but Miraj laughed instead of crying as he began to devour all of the banana smoothies. Effectively, the furball converted his nightmare into the best dream he could hope for. Even in his sleep, he couldn't help but giggle and burp.
Such was the nap they had. They hoped to sleep all the way until morning and feel refreshed. Sylvester knew that Xavia wouldn't disturb him even if she saw he had returned. Being a mother, she understood that sleep was more important than a few exchanges of words with her son.
However, what Sylvester hadn't expected was to be greeted by the loudest banshee upon waking up.
Bam!
Sylvester, a Supreme Wizard, had bone density strong enough that mere kicks wouldn't hurt him, or even wake him unless he wanted to. So he slowly opened his eyes with a groan, feeling the warm light from the window.
"Grrrr…"
"Chonky's snoring again," Sylvester mumbled and decided to get up and meet Xavia.
However, just then, he felt some weight on his right shoulder, and a new scent assaulted his nose. He turned his face to the right and looked. There was long, brown hair—a woman was hugging him like a pillow, snoring; her face was almost resting on his shoulder, and drool was falling.
"Aurora!" Sylvester jumped back from his bed, throwing away Miraj, who was sleeping happily on his other side.
"Who attacked?!" Miraj immediately hissed.
Sylvester shouted at the woman, "What are you doing in my bed?!"
"Hmmm?" Aurora opened her eyes and woke up. She slowly sat up on the bed, rubbing her eyes and tucking her unkempt hair back. "Sylvester? When did you co—"
Right away, her head looked down, and the twin peaks dangled in all their glory.
"Noooooo…!" She shouted and pulled the sheets to cover herself. "Why did you sleep with me?!"
"What? It's you who entered my bed! This is my room!" Sylvester shouted back, denying the allegation.
Aurora threw the pillow at him, "I've been sleeping here since yesterday morning! I've been here since before you returned, you fiend!"
Sylvester scoffed, folding his arms as he felt no sexual attraction toward the woman, no matter how beautiful she was. He just tried to defuse the situation in a calm manner, "How can you speak like that to your Pope? This is my room to begin with, so it was a misunderstanding. And you snore and drool too much; look at my robes—they're dirty."
Bam!
This time, the pillow hit Sylvester's face.
"Pervert!"
Sylvester took a long, calming breath and noticed the scent of happiness, surprise, worship, calm, and excitement. He understood she was merely teasing him at that point. Both of them had seen each other naked in past missions, so it made no sense to scream like children.
"I heard from Felix. It must have been an exhausting investigation in Marashia. How did it go?" He asked as he threw clothes at her.
"Hmph!" Aurora scoffed and stood up on the bed, throwing away the blanket and also her shame. In her naked glory, she proudly picked up her clothes to wear, "Forget me. I should be the one to congratulate our new Supreme Wizard."
Creak!
Just then, the door to the room opened, and Xavia entered, a big smile on her face that sadly didn't last long. "Max, did you com—"
Sylvester looked back at the shamelessly naked Aurora on the bed and then at Xaiva's face. He looked back and forth a few more times and just sighed. Knowing the more he tried to clarify, the more it'd sound suspicious. He just kept his mouth shut.
'What a start of the day.'
"Oh! I smell honey and pancakes!" Aurora chirped, however. "You're a lifesaver, Xavia. I'm famished after sleeping with Sylvester."
"..."
Aurora quickly dressed up and left the room, but Sylvester and Xavia were left behind, looking at each other's faces.
"She's just joking, Mum," he tried to clarify. "I'm still a virgin."
But somewhere deep in his heart, he felt it was the wrong thing to say.
Thank you for reading. Gifts and GT votes are highly appreciated.
