I Became The Pope, Now What?

63 63. Return of Sylvester Holmes

Sylvester and his little buddy headed to the Magna Sanctum Temple early in the morning as they'd have to take a boat to reach it. The temple was situated on an entirely different Peninsula, the Golden Peninsula.

He did not encounter his friends along the way, so he took a boat alone. Not everyone could get to the Magna Sanctum, however. Even if one took the boat, when deboarding it, there would be sentries to check your identity and permission.

The temple was renowned as the holiest site for the Faith of Solis, but what made it that was unknown. There was no talk about anything being buried there. Nor was there anything supernatural. It was just a giant golden structure founded by the first Pope more than five thousand years ago.

"I will never get used to the grandeur and beauty of this place." Sylvester was in awe of the beauty of the temple as the boat reached closer. It was huge, taking one whole Peninsula. And it appeared as if it was naturally etched out of the land.

The Golden Peninsula was not named as such because of the temple but because of its strange land. Shockingly, the land of the Golden Peninsula was 70% made of gold, in the form of gold sand or chunks of gold stuck in rocks. This gave the entire Peninsula a golden color, and the First Pope used these same rocks when the temple was made.

So now, whenever the sunlight fell on the temple, a sharp golden light would shine in all directions, as if the temple was the beacon of light fighting the darkness around it, purifying the lands nearby.

"This has to be the biggest building structure I've ever seen," Sylvester muttered, as he could not think of any building more immense than this even in his last world. But of course, he didn't rule out that there could be even bigger ones in this world.

"Permission slip." the sentries interrupted as the boat reached the shore.

Sylvester took out the parchment given to him by the School of Dawn. "Priest Sylvester Maximilian, God's Favored Candidate."

The sentries glanced at each other's faces and nodded. Smiles took over them as they gestured for him to enter. "Have a good morning, Lord's Bard."

"Thank you." Sylvester smiled back and entered. This was a regular occurrence for him. His name was quite famous in the Holy Land and among most clergy, but nearly none knew his face.

Sylvester climbed a thousand stairs to reach the top of the temple's base. There was almost nobody there, as the place was not open for anyone other than the required clergy, which included the guards, the Archbishop responsible for praying there, and the remaining team of administrators and caretakers. Even he had never seen the temple from inside in these years.

"Chonky, I know it's all shiny here, but do not! I repeat, do not take anything," he warned Miraj, as he still remembered the fake eye stones he had from the Archbishop in that cave years ago.

"Then I am useless? You said gold is good; rest is rotten wood." Miraj asked, feeling his only job was being taken away.

"No, I am not stopping you forever, but just here. You can't mess around here. Who knows how secure this place is? I don't want any risks as long as we're here."

Miraj had to agree in the end. "Okay, Maxy. I only watch today and drool."

Sylvester proceeded towards the temple's main building. However, he was stopped and told to go around from outside to the sea-facing edge. So he did, and what he saw there left him mesmerized. The shining reflection of the temple was falling on the seawater, forming a strange small area of shining water.

It looked like a pond full of the water of youth; drinking might make one's soul soothe. He looked at a far distance. The blue sea appeared endless, but the mere thought that another continent existed on the other side was exciting yet threatening because it was full of enemies—at any time, it could be the war of two hegemonies.

"Max, here!"

He noticed Felix touching the water at the extreme edge of the land. The other three God's Favored Candidates were with him, goofing around.

"What does the water taste like?" Sylvester asked.

Felix shrugged. "Salty, wanna try?"

"No, I had a tasty breakfast in the morning, I don't want the taste in my mouth. Where is Archpriest Edmund? Why did he call us here to announce our job postings?" He asked, noting that they were the only extras in the whole Golden Peninsula.

"God's Favored, please proceed into the temple. They are waiting for you." Just then, a sentry came to call them.

The five boys quickly tidied themselves and followed the man into the sacred temple. The whole structure was like a vertical mountain with multiple peaks, one being the highest. The temple was made in a way that the sunlight would always fall inside no matter what part of the day and illuminate the whole area.

As they walked in, they saw finely etched engravings of some long-forgotten language. Various runes, even art pieces, were etched on the gold walls. The ceiling, however, was as high as it could look. But the light illuminated each part of it with the help of sun ducts.

There was only one large empty hall inside the temple, where at the end was a large round orb shining as if it was the sun. It appeared that all light from the sun ducts was diverted with the help of reflective orbs, and all those reflections conversed into the largest orb.

Sylvester wondered what could be the reason for this orb to exist, but the next moment he felt Solarium overly charging his body as if he had entered a room where the air was water, and it tried to stop him from moving.

The closer he got to the orb, the harder it got to proceed further. There was also a new smell he sensed, similar to sunflowers. He had no idea what it meant, however.

Surprisingly, he noticed that other than one kneeling man close to the orb, all were standing meters away, as if they simply could not move in further.

"Welcome, blessed ones."

"Holy Father?" Sylvester exclaimed and saluted. The other boys followed him and did the same.

The Pope got up from kneeling and walked toward the group with a kind smile. "You five must be feeling hard to walk any closer, don't worry, most others can't even walk as much as you have. What you see is the Orb of Purity, and only those with the purest soul and the strongest body can touch it.

"No Pope has ever been able to do it. The legends say that the one who touches it shall receive the blessings from Solis himself and ascend to a level even higher than Supreme Wizard—demigods, I'd say."

Sylvester raised his hand to ask questions. "If it's only a test of purity, then why is it in the largest temple of Solis? Is there something more to it?"

The Pope nodded and reached Sylvester. He strongly patted both of Sylvester's shoulders. "Look at you, tall and strong. Priest Felix, you've outdone your father, it seems. And Priest Louis, I originally thought you'd not last until the end, yet you proved me wrong. I'm so proud of you. Priest Griffin, it seems you did spread your wings like a griffin. While Augustus, your talent with theoretical knowledge is unmatched. All you five boys have filled my heart with pride and hope for an even better future for the faith."

Of course, Sylvester knew this was the usual pep talk that most generals give before sending their men to deadly missions. So he was not very moved, but others were.

"Now, for Priest Sylvester's questions… walk with me, young ones." The Pope started to move out of the temple. "The ancient texts and secured records of the first Pope say that this orb was present here even before the temple was built. In fact, it would be correct to say the temple was built around the orb. Initially, the Holy Land was inaccessible because the Orb of Purity radiated too much Solarium under the direct sunlight. Even at night, the land was unreachable.

"That is when the first Pope, Luther Vas Hermington, fought against the pressure of the Solarium, but even he could not touch the orb and missed by merely an inch. But he contained the orb inside this large temple while ensuring the light remained—just enough to fulfill its purpose.

"What was left became the Holy Land, the purest of all lands in the world. Every inch of soil here is filled with Solarium that has been emitted for thousands of years. This is why no evil entity can step foot inside here—this is why this temple is called Magna Sanctum, another word for Great Saint."

They had arrived outside the temple, prompting them to look at its form. To think, the whole Holy Land would be inaccessible without this temple. It was unimaginable. And now it made sense why nobody other than authorized personnel was allowed inside.

The Pope continued. "But it is also true that Solarium can heal. So every once in a while during the Pilgrimage, I allow a few gravely injured or sick faithfuls to come near the temple. Most can't step onto the land and return from the sea—feeling healed."

Sylvester, however, had only one thought in his head. 'So if I ever wish to destroy the Holy Land, I only need to destroy this one temple?'

"Your Holiness, the posting applications." Just then, a clergyman arrived.

The Pope took the bunch of parchment and thanked the man. "I'll see you in the office, Gunther. Now, I have your job postings in my hand. We have selected these positions for you after a discussion in the Sanctum Council.

"Priest Louis and Griffin, you two shall join the Inquisitor Army." He handed the two their documents and moved on.

"Priest Augustus, you are assigned to the Exorcists. You have a talent for this. I know it, so work hard and learn from your seniors."

But when he looked at Sylvester next, he caused a shockwave in the latter's body.

'What has this mad man planned for me now? Isn't this life already miserable enough?' Sylvester questioned silently.

The Pope handed the parchment to the two. "At last, Priest Sylvester and Felix, you two are to work as SI, an abbreviation for Sanctum Inspectors, sometimes called Holy Inspectors. You two shall work as a team under the direct supervision of Saint Wazir's office."

Sylvester internally frowned as he read the parchment, which was his work identity document. He held himself back from tearing it apart. The words on it appeared menacing, telling him the future would be somewhat threatening, filled with moments full of adrenaline—Which he didn't want.

[Name: Sylvester Maximilian.

Clergy Rank: Priest

Job Title: Sanctum Inspector

Level: Group C

SI No. DB0F9

Branch: HQ

Override authority: B

Identification: Golden eyes, mole behind left ear.

Salary Grade: C

Living Expenses: 500 Gold Graces

Mission Expenses: TBA]

___________________