Chapter 103

Chapter 10: The Transformation of the Sacred Icon

“Oh no, I seem to have forgotten to ask him for the Princess’s contact information…”

Realizing this too late, Luo Wei slapped her forehead. She had been so focused on maintaining her cold and aloof image that she had actually forgotten all about it.

“Miss Luo Wei, how is it?”

Hathaway looked up at Luo Wei, a hint of nervousness flashing across her expression.

At this moment, they were inside the Silent Chapel in The Metropolis. The two of them stood before the Sacred Icon, and this Sacred Icon of the Gray Goddess Nanala was likewise bleeding shockingly; the severity of it even surpassed that of the small Sacred Icon back at home.

“It’s nothing.”

Luo Wei shook her head, steadying herself slightly.

This was Luo Wei’s first time multitasking, controlling two puppets at once while maintaining their fluid movements, and she was still a bit unpracticed.

So much so that they even forgot to ask for the partner’s phone number.

“You mean… the Sacred Icon is fine?” Hathaway asked with a hint of doubt.

“I’m fine.”

“…Who asked about your situation?”

Hathaway’s eyelid twitched. How could Miss Luo Wei be so absent-minded at such a critical moment?

She slowly exhaled and stood up, her figure slightly unsteady.

Several young junior nuns nearby rushed over to support Hathaway, their wide, sparkling eyes gazing at Luo Wei with naive confusion.

“Hathaway… Your Excellency,” an aged voice croaked from the side. An elderly nun, leaning on a cane with her body stooped, wore a worried expression. “Is… your… health… alright…?”

As a Silent Priest who had yet to ascend into the transcendental realm, the elderly nun still retained a limited ability to speak; however, much like Hathaway before her, the number of words she could use in a single sentence was strictly restricted.

No matter the location, the followers of the Church of Silence are always very few and far between. This branch of faith is exceptionally rare in every country, largely because the Gray Goddess, who is often regarded as an evil cult deity, is highly unpopular with the mainstream public.

However, because the Church of Silence possesses unique traits—the ability to preserve precious archival records, document silent histories, and safeguard unknown pasts—it represents a form of power that every nation finds necessary to utilize.

Consequently, no matter how unwelcome the Church of Silence may be, whenever they intend to establish a chapel in a particular location, they are generally never refused.

Although the Silent Chapel of The Metropolis was situated on the outskirts of the city, the populace shunned it; under normal circumstances, no one would visit, and the only presiding Priest was an old nun.

As for these young nuns, they were actually just abandoned infants adopted by the old nun—even though the most noble monarch of the Kingdom of York was always female, impoverished families in this era would still choose to abandon female infants when forced by circumstances.

None of them had entered a Transcendental Path, nor did the old nun intend for them to experience the pain brought by a Transcendental Path; it was a torment that ordinary people found difficult to endure.

Hathaway smiled at the old nun, and Luo Wei beside her spoke up on her behalf,

“She says she can still hold on.”

“Whatever… you do… do not… push yourself…”

The old nun was deeply worried about this.

“Can you really hold on? I see a crack appearing in your soul,” Luo Wei said to Hathaway through her thoughts.

“Having you see through my weakness is truly an embarrassing matter… Since you know something is wrong with my soul, you should properly help me check on the status of the Sacred Icon!” Hathaway looked at Luo Wei resentfully, her small face looking quite aggrieved.

To verify whether there was a force severing the link between the Sacred Icon and the deity, Luo Wei and Hathaway came to this Silent Chapel and performed an interpretation ritual.

An interpretation ritual was completely different from a prayer. A prayer was merely saying hello to the deity; in reality, ordinary deities rarely responded to prayers. However, as one of Nanala’s few senior believers, Hathaway was always able to receive Divine Revelations from Nanala.

Performing an interpretation ritual, on the other hand, was essentially like placing a call to the deity, asking for their assistance.

Previously, when deciphering Luo Wei’s report letter, Hathaway had utilized a form of deciphering ritual.

This kind of strong-connection ritual, combined with the layout of the Silent Chapel itself and its personal execution by the star pupil Hathaway, should have certainly elicited a response from the Gray Goddess Nanala.

Unfortunately, although the deciphering ritual was being maintained, the Sacred Icon remained as if dead; even as no word came through, it began to weep blood once more.

Performing the interpretation ritual required the guidance of the soul and was extremely taxing mentally. Hathaway forced herself to maintain it for a long while, letting Luo Wei take the opportunity to check the situation, but Luo Wei unexpectedly zoned out at such a moment…

Until Hathaway truly couldn’t hold on any longer, Luo Wei was still in a dazed state, which really made her feel somewhat indignant.

But the moment she thought of it being Miss Luo Wei, she felt instantly relieved.

“Don’t be in a hurry,” Luo Wei said, resting her chin on her hand. “I know you’re anxious, but for now, just stay calm.”

Upon hearing these words, Hathaway’s expression became the perfect illustration of someone bristling with indignation.

“Granny Grona,” Luo Wei looked at the old nun, her tone softening slightly. “Did anything similar occur while you were praying?”

Granny Grona shook her head.

“What about the others? And what about the other churches?”

“Never… have I… heard… of any… such thing.”

Granny Grona watched the crimson tears streaming from the Sacred Icon, her old, wrinkled skin bunching up into thick folds as she tremblingly performed a prayer ritual.

“Could it really be that this is happening because I read the Grimoire of Forbidden Curses?”

Hathaway’s expression was full of anxiety; this was the thing she feared the most.

“It’s possible, but the likelihood is not high.”

Luo Wei reached out her hand, using her finger to lightly scrape off some of the bloody tears from the Sacred Icon.

Starfire flashed and vanished; the bloody tears dissipated in an instant, and a corresponding information stream surfaced in Luo Wei’s mind.

【Connection failed, call error, connection failed, call error…】

The information stream would always present itself in a way that Luo Wei could understand. It was obvious that this situation was just like being out of a service area when making a phone call.

Why was it that this only happened with Hathaway?

The answer was simple. To be precise, only she had truly “placed a call” to the gods; ordinary believers… including the old nun, possessed no such ability.

Luo Wei recalled her meeting with the Troupe Leader earlier today, and her expression gradually darkened.

“Perhaps some entities intervened, severing all communication with the gods within The Metropolis from another dimension…”

What kind of grand handiwork would it take to achieve this…

Luo Wei had a strong premonition that she, Eliana, and the others seemed to have all underestimated the storm about to sweep through the Metropolis.

“There is a question I must ask you, Hathaway.”

Luo Wei looked at Hathaway solemnly.

Upon hearing this, Hathaway’s small face once again showed an unmistakable nervousness,

“What question?”

“Do you have Cassandra’s contact information?” Luo Wei asked.

“Huh?”

The topic had clearly taken an abrupt turn, catching Hathaway completely off guard.