Chapter 72: Child of Divine Grace

[Nightmare, you have completed the extra node!]

[Node Reward: Compendium of the Divine Gifts of Pain (Pending Collection)]

Li Nanke raised an eyebrow, glancing around the interior of the mausoleum, but could not find any faintly glowing reward item.

The mausoleum was shrouded in deathly silence. The frenzied monster from before had been utterly slain. With the cessation of the Divine Gift of Pain, the monster’s body gradually shrank, reverting to the size of an ordinary human, though its grotesquely twisted form could never be restored.

Colette’s soul had finally dispersed and been released, her endless agony brought to an end.

Reynold’s gaze was complicated, his voice tinged with uncertainty. “Edward, we’ll be able to end Anya’s suffering as well, won’t we?”

The Church of Penance was not like this mausoleum. Leaving aside the many powerful foes within the Cathedral of All Saints, countless Inquisitorial troops were stationed at the foot of Ashen Mountain.

Now that Reynold had lost his position as an internal instructor in the Inquisitorial Army, storming into the Church of Penance was nigh impossible. That was why he needed Li Nanke’s help, and was willing to give up everything for it.

But often, unwavering faith alone cannot overcome the chasm of strength between enemy and self.

Li Nanke closed his eyes and pondered for a moment, then suddenly strode forward and severed the head of the Scorched-Faced Mother with one stroke, tossing the grotesquely mutated head to Reynold.

“Yes. We will end Anya’s suffering.”

Reynold frowned, receiving the bloody and fearsome head, his expression a little puzzled.

Li Nanke continued, “To reach the Cathedral of All Saints, the two of us cannot rely on force alone, not even by disguising ourselves as devout pilgrims. We’ll never get close to the core of the Church.”

“That’s why we must use certain special means.”

Reynold cradled the severed head, lost in thought. “Is this the special means?”

Li Nanke replied, “Exactly. Just trust me.”

With that, he strode out of the mausoleum and returned to the small wooden cabin outside the monastery.

Colette’s dwelling was extremely simple. Apart from some basic household furnishings, there were no other decorations.

Li Nanke’s eyes swept across the bookshelf and found a tome emitting a faint white glow.

[Compendium of the Divine Gifts of Pain]
[Type: Item/Reference]
[Quality: Inferior]
[Rating: 50/100]
[Details: A tome compiled by Colette from years of gathering Church records, containing accounts of every Divine Gift of Pain in the world...]

Li Nanke frowned as he flipped through the book, but soon found himself absorbed by its contents.

[The First Divine Gift: The Father of Thorns]

[Centuries ago, a devout believer, tormented by guilt, prayed fervently to the legendary Supreme Lord for forgiveness.]

[He knelt amidst a thicket of thorns; the barbs tore his flesh and embedded themselves in his body.]

[Perhaps moved by his piety, the Supreme Lord bestowed a divine gift never before seen. Thorns entwined his limbs, pain contorted his body, and the thorns fused with his very flesh, making them one.]

[Many believers witnessed the descent of this divine gift and fell to their knees, imitating his acts of mortification both physical and spiritual. The Supreme Lord, in turn, continued to bestow ever more divine gifts. Thus, the faith that worships suffering, pain, and torment was born.]

[As the Divine Gifts of Pain descended again and again, their manifestations varied, giving rise to many sects. Most venerate the Supreme Lord directly, but some worship the miracles wrought by the Divine Gifts of Pain.]

[The First Divine Gift is revered as the Father of Thorns. Unlike other churches that worship the Supreme Lord, the Church of Penance venerates the Father of Thorns, taking the First Divine Gift as their central faith.]

[At its founding, the Church of Penance was weak, surrounded and persecuted by the populace and rival sects for their extreme beliefs. The Holy King barred the cathedral doors, inverted the throne, and dared not face the approaching blades.]

[Tormented by suffering, the Holy King prayed devoutly to the Supreme Lord, begging for a divine gift to protect the throne and forever secure his power. Thus came the Ninth, Tenth, and Eleventh Divine Gifts, which shook the entire world...]

[The Ninth Divine Gift: The Thorned Holy King]

[Tormented within, the Holy King prayed for eternal dominion. The Ninth Divine Gift of Pain descended: countless thorns sprang from nothing, entwining the cathedral, forming a towering mountain of thorns that sealed the Church off from the outside world.]

[The rampant thorns pierced the Holy King’s body, binding him forever to his throne, so that he ‘ruled’ as a prisoner, eternally enduring torment.]

[And not only the Holy King—all clergy within the Church were fixed in place by thorns, condemned to serve the Holy King for all eternity.]

[The descent of the Ninth Divine Gift quelled much of the anger among the besieging populace and believers. Witnessing the miracle with their own eyes, they fell to their knees in awe, worshipping the Church of Penance.]

[Yet a few still deemed the Holy King and his Church heretical. They raised their torches, igniting the thorns and the cathedral itself in a roaring inferno... Thus were born the Tenth and Eleventh Divine Gifts.]

[The Tenth Divine Gift: The Eternal Dusk]

[The fire of heresy burned for a full month. The grand mountain of thorns was reduced to ash. The spreading smoke and cinders blanketed the world. Plagues and mutations ran rampant. The Holy King’s anguished cries seemed to echo from the mountaintop, resounding through the heavens.]

[That moment became eternally frozen at dusk; since then, the setting sun has never descended...]

[The Eleventh Divine Gift: Unknown]

[After the flames died, the Holy King did not perish. He reappeared before the masses, calling himself the Child of Divine Gift, and founded the Cathedral of All Saints upon the ash of the burnt mountain of thorns.]

[The Holy King’s resurrection became the Eleventh Divine Gift. As more and more divine gifts descended, his followers grew ever more numerous, until the Church of Penance became the world’s mightiest order.]

[Yet the Eleventh Divine Gift is far more than mere resurrection. The Holy King underwent some unknown transformation, a secret the Church has taken great pains to conceal...]

Within the tome, hundreds of Divine Gifts are recorded, many connected with the Church, such as the Gravebreaker Archbishop, the Grand Marshal of the Sacred Hammer, as well as the Eternal Lady of Pain, the First Licker, and the Scorched-Faced Mother herself.

The book’s final words read: Through my study of hundreds of Divine Gifts of Pain, I vaguely sense there may be a way to end all such gifts in this world. But upon reflection, I quickly dismiss this foolish notion. For I still await rescue, unable to free myself from pain—how can I hope to end all suffering in the world? —Colette