Chapitre 34: The Royal Library (I)
<Zero>
Chirping birds sang their daily songs as they welcomed the risen sun. Oddly enough, their songs reminded him of the salty, crunchy flavor of potato chips.
Potato chips? thought Zero as his eyes fluttered open. Why does their singing remind me of potato chips? He smacked his lips a couple of times as his stomach grumbled. He hadn't eaten anything for a day now. In death, there was no need for food, so it hadn't crossed his mind.
Warm, multi-colored sunlight cascaded down upon Zero's pale skin. Upon looking around, he noticed that the ceiling and walls had an extraordinary number of glass mosaics. From angels blowing their trumpets, to an epic battle of dragons with the six heroes that saved the races, each had its own story to tell. A large lotus-shaped chandelier hung upside down on the surface of the ceiling. A soft glow on the white lotus petal dimmed as if it had just completed a task.
Each color he saw brought forth a variety of different food smells that tickled his nose. Light pink smelled like the spicy scent of hot pepper; orange brought forth a tangy citrus smell; yellow smelled like an aged cheese. A colorful whirlwind of taste burst in his mouth as he continued to look around.
All his senses were out of whack; he smelled colors and tasted sound. He tried to get up, but failed. His arms shook and collapsed, and he fell back. Just like a newborn baby Zero felt naked and weak. He sincerely hoped he wouldn't have to experience death and resurrection again.
Who killed me? he thought to himself, searching for an answer. It must have been a professional. I didn't feel any bloodlust from whoever it was. To hide's one presence and intent is difficult enough and he could usually sense them.
"Well, there was the bounty that I have in my Origin form, and it would make sense if they were trying to go after that." His head throbbed from overthinking. "I'll find out later. I wonder where Agnis and Zeraph are."
Scrolling through his status menu, he searched for Agnis and Zeraph. Both were not online at this moment. At least I tried. He sighed.
"Well, I'll call them up to see if there okay later."
Doooooong!
The bells of the Church of Infinity rang loudly, welcoming back the fallen hero from the dead. Once again he pushed himself up. He noticed that he was lying on top of a marble platform. On it was a large oak tree design with twelve of the world's elements drawn out in a perfect circle. He was lying in the center of it all.
Carefully he stood up and dusted himself off. Walking slowly to keep from collapsing again, he headed toward the exit. Walking over the bridge that connected the platform from he was resurrected, he glanced back once more. It was a beautiful, mesmerizing sight, where death and life met. A place one could not exactly put a name to but could be at peace.
With both hands he pushed the double oak door; upon opening it he saw a large majestic cathedral standing tall. Its walls were white as snow. A pathway lined with exotic trees and plants led to the cathedral. Birds flocked near the ground, swarming around a priest who appeared to be feeding them. It was a warm brisk day, the sky slightly overcast and the wind whistling with joy, but Zero knew that today was just the beginning.
It had been almost three quarters of the day in real life, and he was still not too tired. He wanted to finish a couple more things before logging out. He knew that the Sense gear had a safety feature. It would log out the players when they were in safe zone and had played well over two days straight.
Scanning around, Zero felt safe. Something about this area felt clean and pure.
"Did you hear," A group of female priest walked past him heading out of the church. "This place has a secret guardian that protects this church."
"You're kidding right?"
"No. I really mean it. There is a legend about when the Church of Infinity is in danger; a guardian angel that protects this place will appear to save the people from the dark times."
"That's complete bogus. Have anyone ever seen them before?"
"Uh…No."
"Not even once?"
"Nope."
"That's why it's called a legend."
"Well, the Church of Infinity has lasted for thousands of years, and even when pushed back to the corners of the Fire Continent, it still stood strong. Legends start from somewhere, and in the past hundred years it had gained a huge number of followers."
"True. This cathedral is the largest on the Fire Continent, and it served as the headquarters for all Disciples of Infinity."
Their loud voice trails off into the distance. It made sense; he too wondered if there were any guardians that really did protect this place. That was an answer, he could not reply too. Just fleeting memory, his mind changed towards his task.
Zero had an unfinished job to do; to get rid of the necklace of toes. Even though it just the necklace, having the fat man appear before him gave him enough physical proof in that it needed to be disposed of.
He began heading towards the cathedral. There was no time to waste. He had already experienced the predicament in death and it would be best to get rid of the possible cause of unluckiness.
Choirs sang praises for their god with a variety of different hymns. Scholars ran around with heavy stacks of books and scrolls as if they were about to topple over. Gardeners cut and pruned bushes and trees, making the garden organized. Several dogs ran underfoot, tails wagging furiously as they followed their master. Passing through, there were young disciples walking next to their teachers. He walked through the welcoming open doors of the cathedral.
Rows of chairs were neatly placed facing a raised dais standing at the end of the room; behind it was a giant glass mosaic sign of Infinity. Its dazzling colored lights shone down upon the middle of the room. A large silver basin of water the size of a small swimming pool was deeply embedded into the ground. Beautiful chandeliers dangled high over the water. He walked over to the basin of water.
"Is that what I think it is?" Zero peered into the pool of water. "Yep. It's holy water. It so cliché. Well, at least it's useful."
Making himself comfortable, he sat down in front of the sparkling pool and drew out the necklace of toes. I hope the church people don't get angry, thought Zero worriedly. He looked around nervously to see if there was anyone around him. He pulled out a wooden stick that he had snapped from a passing tree. He put the string of toes on the stick and gently dipped it into the water.
While concentrating on not letting it fall into the silver basin, Zero did not hear the female bishop step out behind him. She was wearing simple white-and-blue clothes and a blue bishop hat, and she carried a large oak staff heavily embedded with holy light magic. Small holes the size of his thumb was cut up and down the shaft. With each movement it whistled a soft, pure, flute-like sound that matched with her footsteps.
"Child, what are you doing?" croaked the surprised bishop. She stared down upon Zero, appalled.
"Shhhhhhh. I'm waiting for souls to come out," said Zero quietly as he raised his hand to silence the bishop. "There are angry vengeful spirits in these toe nails."
The bishop stared down upon Zero with widened eyes.
"I have been trying to appease the angry souls, but nothing has worked," sighed Zero. He had a feeling that these toes were possibly one of the reasons why the dark apparitions appeared to haunt him in his death. This was the necklace that the fat man had personally kept on him.
"Child, that's not going to work," cried the bishop. She glanced back and forth from the guard that was stationed at the front doors and back at Zero, debating over what she should do. "You do know that is sacred water to endow weapons and bless people with," she said with concern. "Be careful not to drop it."
"Well, if you don't have any better idea of how to exorcise toes, then leave me alone." Zero made a shooing motion towards the bishop. In complete bewilderment, the bishop could not even turn around and leave. His outrageous behavior had shocked her to the core.
"Oh wait," An idea struck him. "Before you go, would you bless my toes? I have ten toes that need your help. Please bless the string holding the toes. It went through a lot as well," asked Zero with a straight face.
What other way is there? thought Zero. His eyes casted upon the bishop with serious eyes, he was dead sure that this was the best way to expel the curse.
The bishop clasped her wrinkled hands over her heart. "Child, how did you obtain tho-o-se? Were you the one that d-d-did this?" the bishop stuttered.
"No," spoke Zero carefully as he looked upon the startled bishop.
The bowl of holy water began to gurgle. Dark bubbles formed around the toes that were floating in the water. A dark ooze began to spread from them and taint the holy water.
État de l’alimentation hebdomadaire
-- Classement
Power Stone 
-- Power
stone