Chapter 89
With a screech, the door swung open and light flooded in.
Nielsen and the Pope both turned their heads in unison. As they looked toward the long shadow cast within the temple, Nielsen suddenly recalled a moment.
The time when Elia, carrying a bunch of yellow flowers, had walked that very path for Cyrone…
“To return all fates to their rightful place would be the cruelest punishment for His Highness.”
Pope Winter said, staring intently at the figure stepping into the light. None present could deny the truth, Elia was the sole savior who could end this nightmare.
* * *
After a long silence, Nielsen finally spoke. A thick quiet hung heavily between the Pope, Elia, and Nielsen.
“Do you remember when time was reversed, Miss?”
“Y-You, how did you—”
Elia looked at Nielsen with surprise. Nielsen met her gaze calmly and continued.
“Precisely at the place where you took your last breath. From that moment, all destinies began to change.”
Elia slowly recalled that morning. The morning she woke after having died. She even remembered clearly the vow she had made that day.
“Yes. Though in the end, we’re back where we started.”
Elia smiled bitterly. Even if time rewound, she was still trapped, unable to escape Cyrone’s side no matter how hard she struggled.
“That one who turned back time was His Highness himself.”
At those words, Elia’s face was drained of color. She was stunned beyond expectation.
“What? How could Cyrone have…”
Cyrone was the one who reversed time? How? And why? Elia wanted to ask so many questions but couldn’t utter a word.
“It was because of a pact made with a devil for his soul. So now, His Highness is—”
“Could it be that the devil’s name is…!”
Elia interrupted in a trembling voice. Pope Winter, watching Nielsen and Elia with calm eyes, finally spoke.
“Belial.”
“My God!”
Elia clutched her mouth and staggered backward. She could hardly believe it. Her gaunt hands trembled uncontrollably.
“…He must have done it to save the Miss.”
Nielsen said gently.
“To save me? That would have been what Cyrone wanted, not me!”
Elia panted heavily, leaning on the desk. Her weakened body and spirit drained too much energy even from small excitements.
“So that’s how time was turned back. That’s why Cyrone’s soul is now controlled by Belial.”
Elia felt as if she might burst into laughter.
At last, the confusing questions inside her were falling into place. She had spent every day wondering what desire Cyrone sought to fulfill through his pact with the devil , and this was the outcome: turning back time to save Elia herself. Why had he been so foolish to go so far?
“What exactly does Cyrone want from me?”
Elia muttered like a lost soul. Nielsen looked at her with a heavy heart. It took a long time for Elia to regain her composure. Once she steadied her breath, she asked Nielsen and the Pope:
“So, what do we do now? Do we just stand by and watch? The Great Saint who can seal Belial. No, the heart of the savior is still alive. Very close by!”
Elia recalled the power of Raphael recorded in Barbas’s diary. The Great Saint was still alive. The heart of the savior was still beating. But where exactly was that ‘very close place’ he had pointed to?
“That contradicts the scriptures. The Great Saint has perished, and the only being capable of manifesting Raphael’s power is gone. God will no longer save the sinners of this land.”
The Pope shook his head firmly. What was unfolding before them was ultimately the ignorance of humans who defied God and took the devil’s hand. There was no longer a reason for God to save them.
“Then what exactly should we do?”
God placed the savior close by. Elia was distraught as even their only hope was denied. With a trembling voice, she asked.
“That is…?”
Nielsen glanced at the Pope. The Pope had yet to confirm whether the sacred altar could still be lit. After some hesitation, the Pope nodded, and Nielsen finally spoke:
“Miss, you must become the offering on the sacred altar.”
For a moment, Elia narrowed her eyes as if she’d heard something unbelievable. The Pope calmly, even reverently, added,
“According to the original destiny, Lady should not be in this place.”
The Pope paused, as if the bitterness weighed on him. In that hollow silence, Elia could only clench her fists tightly. Her original place, her original fate, the message was clear. In that fate, Elia was already dead.
“Therefore, only you, Lady, can restore everything back. Only then can you plead for God’s forgiveness.”
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