Please don't question multi-week players

Chapter 416. The Altered Past
While Jiang Jianxin and the answer to the truth were having a brief exchange, Little Fairy Doctor had already looked at her.

The little girl spoke in a friendly voice, like a mature woman:
"What do you wish to ask about Aoba-no-Kami?"

Jiang Jianxin had a long list of questions she wanted to ask, so she politely began by saying:

"Please come out first, let's talk outside."

To everyone's surprise, Little Fairy Doctor covered her mouth abruptly upon hearing her tone and manner of speaking, exclaiming in shock:
"My God, you...you..."

She suddenly shut her mouth again, quickly walked outside the shed, and then turned around to wait for Jiang Jianxin.

The latter was also surprised by her sudden enthusiasm, and Jiang Jianxin walked out somewhat bewildered.

"pat..."

As soon as the shed door closed, the little girl grabbed her hand and said excitedly:

"Is it you? Is it you... Lord Aoba!"

Before Jiang Jianxin could respond, she seemed to have already confirmed it; tears streamed down her face, yet she smiled.
“You’ve grown up… That’s wonderful, really wonderful.”

"Uh……"

Jiang Jianxin still had some doubts:
"How can you be so sure I am Aoba-shin?"

Little Fairy Doctor wiped away her tears and said:

“Your tone and manner of speaking are so unique that it’s hard for others to imitate them… I’ve spent a lot of time with you before, so I know your speaking style very well.”

"So it's definitely you, it must be you, there's no mistake!"

Before Jiang Jianxin could ask any further questions, Little Fairy Doctor had already started rambling on:
"The Pope of Light once said that you speak with an air of nobility, but your tone is different from that of ordinary nobles, and there is always a kind of...ancient charm in your voice."

Jiang Jianxin had no memories of the past and couldn't reminisce with her, so he could only smile awkwardly.

"Well...you know, as people grow up, they tend to forget many things from their childhood."

"Was I... very familiar with the Pope of Light in the past?"

She knew that the saintess and the pope were in the same palace and must have some interaction, but she had nothing to say at the moment and did not want to end the conversation, so she asked a question.

Unexpectedly, Little Fairy Doctor nodded vigorously:

"The Pope of Light is Lord Edric—he adopted you as his sister, don't you really remember?"

These words caused Jiang Jianxin to fall silent.

"The Pope of the Temple of Light?"

"Edric?"

Her tone became increasingly hesitant with each sentence.

After all, in her current memory, her brother is the rightful Death Priest, and there is no way she can connect him with the Temple of Light.

How could it be that, according to this person's account of the past, the older brother became the Pope of the God of Light?

“That’s right, but…”

Little Fairy Doctor nodded firmly at first, then showed a hint of confusion.

"For some reason, when I ask other people now, they all say that Lord Edric is the current Death Silence Priest."

"That's strange... but my memory isn't wrong, he's clearly the Pope of the Temple of Light..."

These two completely contradictory statements instantly sparked a guess in Jiang Jianxin, who had experienced many bizarre events.

She quickly identified the answer and verified the truth:

Why is this happening? Is this a two-cycle issue? Because she has played through many cycles, she is already familiar with this situation.

The truth answered slowly:
[Hmm... this is still on the same timeline. However, a deity above truth forcibly interfered with the past, causing changes in the future.]

What she remembers is the past before it was interfered with—because she died on the original timeline.

Jiang Jianxin, who is above the truth, knows one person, and that is the old Ji from the fourth time.

Old Ji has directly ascended to the throne of truth. He is probably so powerful that he can freely traverse timelines and forcibly interfere with the past without any problems.

However, she did not expect that in the timeline before the interference, her brother was actually the Pope of Light.

I don't know why, maybe it's because she's too familiar with Edric, who sends her all sorts of rice ball emojis all the time and speaks very casually. The two siblings tease each other from time to time.

The thought of her goofy older brother dressed in a white robe, holding a scepter and looking aloof and holy made her lips involuntarily curl into a smile.

Having an acquaintance as pope is truly fatal.

It feels like churches have lost their sacredness.

Jiang Jianxin suppressed his laughter for a long time, thought through the sad things, and finally regained his expressionless demeanor.

She coughed twice, and finally said:
"...That's good. In Little Fairy Doctor's memory, during the cycle when Edric was Pope, wasn't he very kind to the believers?"

Her brother was a gentle and kind-hearted person. Although Jiang Jianxin was unable to witness his future as pope, she could imagine that if that were the case, he would certainly be a kind and lovable figure.

However, when she asked the question, Little Fairy Doctor's expression became somewhat subtle.

She said vaguely:

"How should I describe it... perhaps I don't remember it very clearly. His Holiness was indeed very good when he first ascended the throne, kinder and gentler than any other... but as time went by..."

In her hazy memory, that figure had gradually become blurred. Little Fairy Doctor hadn't actually seen the Pope many times, but she had seen God Qingye many times.

According to Aoba Shin's later account, as well as popular rumors, the Pope's temper became increasingly eccentric, and he saw his sister less and less often.

Later, at a celebration, she squeezed into the throng of people and, through the thousands of lights and noise, saw the Pope on the high platform in the distance.

Multiple layers of pristine white robes enveloped him from head to toe, giving him an air of solemnity and distance. Only his golden eyes, symbols of light, revealed an almost detached expression beyond the sacred ritual—

It seemed to be filled with despair and sorrow at the same time, and also revealed an inhuman coldness and mockery.

At that moment, Aoba-shin stood quietly beside her, without making a sound.

Fireworks burst into bloom across the night sky, and cheers from the crowd surged and subsided like a tide, but Qingye Shen only slightly furrowed his brow.

She saw the sorrow and a faint sense of helplessness in her brother's eyes.

But when Qingye Shen trembled and opened her palm, only a lake-green healing light floated in her hand.

This light can save everyone in the world, but it can't save him on the high platform.

"Om..."

On the high platform, the Pope slowly raised his pure white scepter, and the blessing of the God of Light, accompanied by a humming sound, sprinkled like shattered silver into every corner.

In the shadows where no one was watching, Aoba took a deep breath, slowly lowered the brim of his hat, and turned to leave in silence.

She said nothing.

But Little Fairy Doctor knew that from that day on, something had completely changed and could never be brought back.

The series of events that followed indeed proved this point. Little Fairy Doctor sighed and concluded:
"Later... everything changed."

　I'm experiencing writer's block, so this post is a little late. I'll do a double update tomorrow (Thursday).

　　(End of this chapter)