The King, the Second Prince, and all the dignitaries were petrified. The solemn coronation ceremony turned into a disaster in the blink of an eye, no one could process it. It was not ordinary people that were burning, but the Pope and the Darling of God, and that was enough to make them horrified. But, even more unbelievable, the all-powerful Pope, the highest saint, actually tried to put out the sudden flames, but was unsuccessful. What is the origin of this flame?
Everyone glanced at the cold face of the statue of the God of Light, suddenly felt that they understood the origin, and immediately knelt in repentance. At any rate, one of the burning victims was the newly appointed Bishop of Sagya Kingdom, the people of Sagya couldn't escape responsibility. If the Father became angry with the whole Kingdom, Sagya would disappear off the continent's map.
That's terrible!
The King was pale with fright, his lips were trembling, and he kneeled on the ground, whispering incoherently: "God of Light, please forgive my sins, and bring all the calamity on my head, please spare my people."
Zhou Yun Sheng had long ago pulled the Bishop to kneel in the least populated corner, he sat on the sidelines and watched the miserable scene.
Boel had howled until his voice thinned, but the new Bishop was still twisting in pain. His forehead was full of sweat, his lips were bitten bloody, and the pain didn't seem to be easing.
A few minutes later, the golden flames finally stopped burning, and the Pope's robe had been burnt to ashes, exposing his body. In order to avoid embarrassment, he immediately took out a new robe from his space ring and replaced his dress, then his heart shook fiercely.
He'd found that the trace of divine power in his body had disappeared, and he didn't have much light power left. Without the divine power, he wouldn't be able to beat even the Elder Bishop, Byrd.
Every time a dark war broke out, the Pope had to stand in the rear with a number of light priests and cast light circles to support the three forces. He was the embodiment of the God of Light in the mortal world, the spiritual ruler of all the continent's creatures. He'd enjoyed such lofty honor and status, he simply couldn't afford to lose it.
His mind was in turmoil, he almost couldn't suppress showing a distorted expression, his throat filled with blood, it touched his teeth but his forcefully swallowed it down.
He must never let anyone know about this!
Boel's condition was even more depressing. His soul was burned for a long time, but it didn't burn to ashes, instead, all the advantage he'd gained from living in the Temple of God's atmosphere for so long disappeared. Meaning, the pure spirit and tough body he had achieved after five or six hundred years, a body that made him ripe to become a god, was stripped from him.
He could still use his power of light, but he couldn't add it back through meditation like before, every use would lessen his supply, until he became a downright mortal.
He laid on the floor, barely breathing, his robes were burnt to ashes, revealing his naked, love-stained body.
The Church required every light priest to keep their virginity, because only pure people were qualified to serve the Father. They could fall in love with someone, but only in their hearts, they couldn't do carnal things, and couldn't leave heirs. Of course, it was another matter if the Father loved and showered favor on them.
But because of the scarcity of light priests, the Church wouldn't severely punish a priest for losing their virginity, but their opportunity to inherit high positions would be revoked. Boel's body clearly showed why the Father punished him, because he didn't qualify to become a Bishop!
When a human's body was licked by flame, they would cramp their hands and feet, and unconsciously curl up. At the moment, Boel's posture was very ugly, he looked like a boiled shrimp, curled up into a ball, his back bent to the limit, revealing his spine. Red hickeys ran along his vertebrae, all the way to his hip and inside his thighs. Everyone could see the results of the intense and wild sex he'd enjoyed.
His buttocks were slightly parted, and his red and swollen hole was clearly visible, causing even the most licentious and self-indulgent nobles to heat up in shame upon seeing it.
The Second Prince staggered back, his eyes reddening in anger. He hadn't touched Boel these past few days, so who left those traces? The Pope, who Boel treated with an ambiguous manner, was the only suspect.
No wonder the Father dropped golden flame to burn the two people, their sin deserved such wrath! Thinking of this, the Second Prince's angry mood turned fearful. If the Father knew about Boel and the Pope's scandal, of course, he would surely know his scandal. Would the Father punish him too?
He fell limp, his legs no longer had the strength to support him.
The nobles erupted in murmurs, then, afraid to disturb the Father, they quickly quieted down and silently repented. When they thought that things couldn't get any worse, the documents that the Pope and the King had jointly written, the ones which canonized the Second Prince as Crown Prince and Boel as Bishop also began to burn, in the blink of an eye, not even ash was left.
Then, the two white roses the two had personally picked and placed at the Light God's feet quickly withered, emitting a rotten odor.
This series of events caused everyone to freeze, their hearts filling with panic and despair. The Father was always benevolent, why would he use such an extreme way to vent his anger? This showed the extent of how infuriated he was with the two guilty parties.
They recalled the Pope's declaration, that Boel was the Darling of God, and that he and the Father had unanimously selected the most appropriate Bishop candidate. But, looking at the current events, that was undoubtedly a big lie! Obviously, the Pope was the one who wanted to choose Boel, and, before the ceremony, didn't the Elder Bishop assert that Boel was not the Father's choice?
The King also thought of this sentence, he looked at the Elder Bishop for help, and Bishop Byrd, who had already taken off his Bishops robe, calmly looked back at him. The King wanted to kill himself in regret! Bishop Byrd had travelled to the palace three times, asking him to take back the will that canonized Boel, but he had rejected him.
He was afraid of offending the Pope then, but if he'd known that he would offend the Father instead, he would have torn the will apart.
"My child, go and appease your Father, so his anger will calm." The Elder Bishop pointed to the statue.
In one second, Brainless Sheng forcefully took control of the body in excitement. He glanced at the Pope and Boel's terrible conditions and felt very happy.
If the Father rejected Boel, does that mean I still have a chance? Can I take Boel's place?
His eyes sparkled, and he immediately kneeled before the Father's statue, intending to repent for a while and confess, when he saw the smelly flowers still placed by the Father's feet and reached out to clear it away.
Suddenly, a wisp of gold wrapped around his hand and forcefully pulled him up, causing him to land in the Father's arms, his hot face placed on the Father's lap. He struggled to get up, but suddenly felt a warm and wide palm stroking his head, the other hand gently rubbing his spine.
Is this the Father? Is he caressing me?
He couldn't believe this conclusion, so he laid stiffly in the Father's arms, motionless, reluctant to even blink. He feared that if he moved a little, the caressing he was feeling would disappear like a popped bubble.
He opened his big, tear filled eyes, but didn't dare let his tears easily fall, he even restrained his trembling. He could only bite his lip and look very pitiful.
The Light God had projected an apparition to replace the statue that was holding the boy, he lowered his head, gazing at the boy with indulgent eyes as he gently wiped his tears, then he intimately caressed his thick and curly eyelashes. Seeing his panic-stricken blinking, and involuntary trembling, he laughed joyfully.
He turned his palm, and a flower crown woven of red China rose appeared in his hand, he placed it on top of the young boy's head, kissed between his brows with strong love and divine power, then faded from the temple.
He came and went very quickly, so no one saw his true body in the temple, but the suddenly appearing rose crown on the boy's head was real, causing everyone to marvel, while giving the Pope and Boel sharp glances.
They'd guessed that all the suffering today was thanks to them. But they now knew that Joshua was the true Darling of God, and since the two had moved against him, they could only await death, the real sense of death, where even the soul was destroyed.
"My child, did the Father forgive his ignorant believers?" Seeing the child was just holding his crown and giggling, forgetting everything in his surroundings, the Elder Bishop had to remind him.
"Father didn't say anything. I want to repent to the Father alone, can I?" The boy blinked his wet eyes.
"Of course you can. Let us all retire, the Father doesn't want to see us right now, including His Holiness the Pope." The Elder Bishop spoke very bluntly. After angering the Father, the Pope's good days would definitely come to an end, not to mention, he would later have to explain how those traces got on Boel.
Even if he let others take the rap, winning the trust of the foolish mortals wouldn't impress the omniscient Father. The Father would take back everything he had bestowed upon him eventually.
Two maids wrapped Boel up in a robe and helped him out. They hadn't expected that the noble and pure looking priest Britte had such lustful bones, after taking care of him, they should go to the holy pool and wash their hands.
Instead of leaving, the bigwigs stared at the Pope and the King with condemnation, asking them to give an account. Didn't you say your decision was sound? That the new Bishop is the Darling of God and a messenger he sent to us mortals? Was that the so-called Darling, the messenger? Are you kidding?
The Pope was ashamed, but he bluntly said that he was deceived by Boel, and he would hold him for interrogation, then he used his injury as an excuse to go back and rest. He was still, after all, the Pope, no one dared to embarrass him, so they had to let him leave and hold the King accountable instead.
The King gave then a very sincere apology and was preparing to announce Boel's withdrawal from the Bishop position, when there was a loud snap, and the light stone on the Second Prince's crown broke, crumbling to dust on the floor. At the same time, the shimmering crown quickly rusted and became old, as if time had fast forwarded.
Everyone stared in dazed shock, then the late prince's wife laughed with vigor, "Hahaha, do you see? This is punishment for your sins from the Father. Those with an evil heart can only wear a corrupted crown."
"No, that's not true! I didn't do anything!" The Second Prince held his crown and shouted, under his forceful hold, the pinched crown actually changed shape, it now looked like a cheap jester's hat.
"Do you dare swear to the heavenly Father that you have nothing to do with my husband's death?" The late prince's wife questioned.
The Second Prince's face paled as he shook his head, under everyone's sharp gazes, he turned around and escaped in a panic.
The King seemed to age dozens of years in an instant, he covered his face, and bent over, his thoughts unknown. The venerable Elder Bishop came out to say that he would solve this disaster acceptably, so the still terrified elite finally left.
"Joshua is the true Darling of God, right?" When the others were gone, the King assuredly asked.
"Correct."
"Why didn't you tell me earlier?"
"I remember telling you many times. But you chose to trust in Boel Britte, not me."
The King was silent.
"What does the red rose mean, do you remember?" The Elder Bishop patted the King's shoulder and slowly walked away.
The King looked down in thought for a moment, then his heart started climbing from the abyss of despair and up the mountain of hope. A red rose – pure love ah, I love you dearly. If this was the Father's true message, then the Sagya Kingdom would have a bright future as long as it had Joshua.
That's great, we have hope. Thank you for your patience Father, and please forgive us our stupidity.