The Holy Man of Another Century Gospel

Chapter 80 Dust to Dust

On the third day after the Pope's death, Eric met the high priest Sinmagu who came from Lutia in the church where the pope was staying.

Since he could arrive at this time, Eric knew that he had not encountered any obstacles and felt a little relieved.

Perhaps the cardinals also felt that making things difficult for him on such a matter would only cause more trouble.

Simagu naturally did not have to queue up to pay his respects like ordinary believers. Otherwise, with the number of believers gathered in the holy city at that time, he would not be able to see the Pope for the last time on the day of the burial.

After entering the cathedral, he went straight to the old Pope's body and stared at the old man lying among the white flowers. There was no physical movement and the changes in his expression were very subtle, but Eric could feel the sadness that could not be concealed from his whole body.

He suddenly remembered that the saint had mentioned that Xinmagu lost both his parents when he was young, and the human wizard who adopted him when he was wandering only regarded him as a slave with some magical talent and beat and scolded him at every turn.

And the old Pope Sergius VI, who brought him back to Lesire, was probably his last connection with the warmth of the world.

After standing still for a long time, Simagu, like other ordinary believers who came to pay their respects, took the Pope's hand and kissed the Prophet's Ring on his hand for the last time.

The difference was that he held the Pope's hand for a long time, just like when he left here half a year ago, the Pope also held his hand for a long time.

Eric looked around and saw that after Simagu came in, all the cardinals' eyes were focused on him.

At this moment, they did not express anything.

After a moment of silent mourning, Simagu let go of the Pope's hand and shifted his gaze to the College of Cardinals in the corner.

Eric bowed slightly in greeting.

Xinmagu was stunned for a moment, nodded in return, then turned and left the cathedral.

Eric sighed in his heart. It was too difficult to talk to the high priest in such an occasion.

He just nodded politely, and several eyes turned to him, wondering how they would speculate about his relationship with Xinmagu.

It was even more impossible for him to chase after him at this time.

There are still four days before the Pope's burial. Eric estimates that Xinmagu will stay in the Holy City until the Pope is buried before leaving, so he still has a chance to see him again.

The appearance of Xinmagu was the only thing worth noting that day. As for the prince of any other small country or the minister sent by the emperor, they were completely out of Eric's sight.

On the fourth day, the saint was finally able to get out of bed and went to the cathedral in person, where she sat among the cardinals for half a day.

And as if they had made an appointment, those old cardinals who had not attended before also came this afternoon.

Eric was also present, as the Saint had requested, and she had not concealed her conversation with the cardinals from him.

—The cardinals began discussing the election of a new pope.

Of course, this is just preliminary discussion or testing. The formal election will have to wait until the old Pope is buried.

There are many people eligible to be elected: all cardinals of the Vatican, and clergy at the level of archbishops - even including Simagu.

However, the contemporary saint Morwenna Tullus is not among them.

Firstly, the candidate must be under 70 years old – frequent changes of popes are not good for the Vatican;
The second is that when the Holy See first established the saint, it deliberately made a "patch": the Pope can only be a man.

After nightfall, on the way back to the monastery, the saint said to Eric: "When you become a saint, you will be eligible to be elected as Pope."

Eric wasn't thrilled. "That's just my qualification."

The Saint looked at him and said, "Just now, a few cardinals hinted to me that if I support them now, they will repay me through you in the future."

Eric smiled, then quickly remembered that it was still the Pope's mourning period and smiled softly, "It's just a blank check."

The old man looked over again and asked, "What's a check?"

"..."

Eric pursed his lips. "I mean, this is a promise that won't be fulfilled."

"You are still quite lucid." The Saint Girl responded with satisfaction. "After I die, you must continue to be vigilant and don't easily believe anyone's promises."

"Yes." Eric had no such expectations. "I will keep your teachings in mind."

"You'll go in my place tomorrow. If anyone says anything to you, don't agree to it yet. Just deal with it and tell me what they said when you come back."

"Yes, Your Highness."

It was the dead of winter, and the weather was freezing. The Pope's body had been given a magical spell to keep it from decaying. On the morning of the seventh day, when Eric arrived at the cathedral, the former Pope lying there still maintained his appearance when he was alive.

And this is the last day.

In the morning, the most important burial ceremony of the Pope's funeral was still held in the Cathedral of the Holy City.

As the heavy bells rang again, the saint and all the cardinals attended in person to preside over this final ceremony.

The entire square was packed with believers. Those who could stand in the church to watch the ceremony were either bishops from various dioceses on the continent, politicians from the empire or several major kingdoms, and some lay representatives of noble birth.

"Yela, please have mercy--" The nuns in the monastery softly sang the hymn "Mercy".

"His Majesty has gone to the Kingdom of God! That is what he deserves, God's promise."

The Chief Cardinal read the eulogy, recalling the life of Pope Sergius VI and his contributions to the Church.

It was only then that Eric realized that the meteor shower he had "predicted" half a year ago was also seen as proof of the Pope's significant contribution during his administration and special recognition from the gods.

He saw the saint frown, but soon regained her solemnity.

The long eulogy took nearly an hour to read before it ended. Some elderly people could hardly stand, and finally they waited for the Pope to be buried.

Several knights of the Church lifted the Pope's body and placed it in a cypress coffin that had been prepared long ago. The chief cardinal placed the holy books used by the Pope during his lifetime and the papal staff, which symbolized his pastoral ministry, into the coffin.

"Agustin—"

The chief cardinal called out a name, and Eric saw that the saint's eyes became moist again.

This was the real name of Sergius VI before he became Pope.

"Agustin—Agustin—"

The three calls of his true name symbolize that he has cast off all the false titles of the world and returned to the embrace of God with his original true appearance.

The prophetic ring on the Pope's hand was removed and broken, which meant that all papal bulls issued in the name of Pope Sergius VI and sealed with the ring came to an end.

Several knights of the Church lifted the coffin lid, and the most senior cardinals gathered around, placed their hands on the coffin lid, and recited silent prayers.

Then, close the coffin.

After the funeral ceremony, the Pope's coffin was carried by twelve knights, slowly circling the Holy City Square crowded with believers, and then carried to the crypt of the Holy Mountain Cathedral to be buried with all the popes of the past.

Eric, representing the saint, and some young cardinals were the last group to see the Pope off.

Following the Pope's coffin in front and walking out of the Holy City Cathedral, Eric saw Xinmagu walking into the farewell procession.

The latter didn't look at him, his expression frozen, and just followed.

Countless believers who had gathered in the holy city also followed to see them off until they reached the foot of the holy mountain, where they had to stop. The remaining group of more than a dozen people continued up the mountain road until they reached the summit.

The Pope's coffin was lowered into the tomb in the crypt. Craftsmen who had been waiting there sealed the coffin with lead and then engraved the Pope's name, birth and death years, and his motto during his tenure on the outside.

Finally, the tomb was sealed with a stone tablet, and the inscription on the tablet was the Pope's title [Sergius VI].

Everyone saluted the stone tablet and slowly exited the underground tomb.

The leading knight shot a ball of light into the sky, which was still dazzling even in broad daylight.

Boom--boom--

After receiving the signal from this side, the bell tower of the Holy City Cathedral rang for the third time, and the sound spread throughout the sky and the earth.

This was the final farewell to the old Pope.

The wind and snow were biting. Eric stood on the holy mountain and looked around for a few seconds. When he turned around, he found that Xinmagu had already walked down the mountain alone.

"Shouldn't it be time for us to go down the mountain?" He looked at the cardinals.

"Take a break, Your Highness Eric, we are not young anymore." said one of the cardinals who had not yet recovered.

Eric said that the saint was still waiting for him and had something to arrange, so he went down the mountain first.

"The High Priest!"

When he caught up with Xinmagu, the latter was a little surprised to see that he was alone, but didn't say anything.

And Eric was also thinking about what to say.

"Will the Archpriest stay to participate in the election of the Pope?"

"No." Xinmagu glanced at him, then looked towards the holy city below the mountain. "It's meaningless."

"So what does the high priest think is meaningful?" Eric asked.

Xinmagu stopped and looked at him.

"This is something I've been thinking about. Perhaps you can give me the answer."

Eric was overjoyed to see that he seemed willing to listen to him, but soon felt something was wrong.

Why does it feel like Xinmagu is waiting here?

(End of this chapter)