After walking through a dark corridor and taking a suspended cage down into a giant cave located deep underground, Mayne came to the Pivotal Secret Temple again.
His Holiness O'Brien was already waiting at the door.
Mayne thought that His Holiness looked older than the last time he had seen him. He was sunken-eyed, and wrinkles around his eyes now had covered his whole face, looking like a spider web. His smile, however, remained kindly as before. Mayne could not help but kneel down in front of the pope. His nose twitched as he began to weep. "Your Holiness, we..."
"Get up, my child." The pope sounded calm and gentle. "I've heard that you're in trouble. Let's talk about it in the hall."
Only several candles placed in the corners of the hall were lit up, as today was not the day for incarnation ceremony where rows of candles would light up the whole place like stars. The pope sat in his chair, panted a little and said, "Now, tell me. What has happened outside?"
